Latest PC Gamer Magazine Top 100 PC Games of All-Time

[defboy99]

There were some older games in the Top 100 (25 from the 1990s and one from 1985), but I think the reason so many of the games were recent releases is that the majority of the people who ranked the games are relatively young. Now, if you had a bunch of fossils like myself (ahem...cough, cough...) creating this list, it would be different and include many more older games. But if you get a bunch of 20-something or even 30-something reviewers who haven't experienced many of the older games, you'll end up with a list such as this, biased toward more recent games. It's all opinion anyway and this magazine puts out this list just to stir up debate and to perhaps draw attention to some of the reviewers' personal favorites, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Just take every list of this sort with a grain o' salt... I imagine if PC Gamer's readers voted, the Top 100 of All-Time would be much different.

With that said, here's PC Gamer's rationale regarding why they chose the games on the list:

"The Top 100 simply represents the games we love, ranked by how much we love them. Our goal is to give you an actionable resource--a list of what you and any PC gamer should play today. To that end, historical significance doesn't matter in our selection; weighing nostalgia over what's fun now wouldn't provide a useful list."

[Fozzie]

That's still no excuse for Baldur's Gate II only making #76 on last year's ranking. Is it even on the list this time? You didn't mention it.

[defboy99]

Unfathomably, Baldur's Gate II wasn't in the Top 100 list. Anywhere. At all. That sound you hear is my jaw hitting the floor.

However, Foz, I think one of your all-time faves was at #69: Jagged Alliance 2. (Seems like I read a post awhile back where you said you loved JA2.)

[Fozzie]

Yes, Jagged Alliance is my favourite game. And seeing how they are currently screwing up the "remake", that won't change in a hurry...
I just thought about my own personal list and was kind of surprised that TQ doesn't make it to the Top 5.

My own Top 10 would be something like

#1: Jagged Alliance 2
#2: Baldur's Gate 2 (and 1, combined with the fan mod...)
#3: Incubation
#4: Monkey Island (1-3, can't really pick one, maybe 2)
#5: Diablo 2
#6: Deus Ex
#7: Day of the Tentacle
#8: Titan Quest
#9: Emperor
#10: Dungeon Keeper

Just from the top of my head, maybe I forgot some to put above some others...

[Nightmare14]

i prefer older games personally, their actually game play and dtory is always better, hell the graphics are even rather good for their time, nowwa day games are nothing more then graphics, yes they have relatively decent stories and whatnot but nothing compared to the older games

my favourite top 10 games would have to be
1) Diablo II
2) Baulders Gate II-Throne of Baul
3) Titan Quest Immortal Throne
4) Pac Man (yes i know its only an arcade game but still i love it)
5) Final Fantasy VII
6) The Elder Scrolls III-Morrow Wind
7) Final Fantasy 10 (part 1)
8) Baulders Gate 2-Dark Alliance (PS2)
9) Tom Clancy's Slinter Cell
10) Borderlands


I'm only 16 and like i said this is my favourite top 10 games and plenty of my friends have favourite games along the same lines, I think these times of magazines are pretty much designed for a type of extra marketing for games, with a few of the old games still making money, so as that people dont read into the choices too much

[defboy99]

@ Foz -- Your personal Top 10 is actually very intriguing, seeing as you have a few games there that I'd like to play but haven't (Deus Ex, the Monkey Island games). I've also never played Jagged Alliance 2. Maybe I should check into that. My system is ancient so it would probably run on it. Also, I heartily agree with your choice of Baldur's Gate 2 ranked right up near the top. That game is as close to perfection as a game can get, and even a couple of years after finishing it, I still think about it often.

@ Nightmare14 -- Nice to see my personal all-time fave on your list: Morrowind.

I suppose my Personal Top 10 might look something like this:

1) Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
2) Titan Quest: Immortal Throne
3) Half-Life series
4) Baldur's Gate series
5) Diablo 2
6) Quake 2
7) Duke Nukem 3D
8) Unreal series
9) Icewind Dale series
10) Neverwinter Nights

Honorable Mentions: Medal of Honor: Allied Assault & expansions, first two Call of Duty games, X-Wing & TIE Fighter, and others that escape my mind at the moment)

[Fozzie]

OMFG you haven't played Monkey Island? I don't care how, but get your hands on copies of parts 1-3 (everything after that isn't worth the hassle, regrettably) and play them immediately. They run perfectly with Scumm VM on any platform. There's only one condition: you have to play them "old school" - meaning you CANNOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES look up solutions on the web. And that means also if you should obtain the "HD-Remakes" of the first two, you have to play them with the original graphics option and without speech. Those are meant to be savoured reading the text lines.

P.S.: No, really. I'm dead serious. Do it. Do it.

[Laurrrr]

I guess it wouldn't hurt to post my top ten:
1. Sanitarium
2. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl
3. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Prypiat
4. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky
5. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2
6. Fahrenheit
7. Call of Juarez
8. Deus Ex
9. Fallout New Vegas
10. Grand Theft Auto 4

Mentions: All the Total War games and others which I can't remember. I know my list is made of plenty of new games and guess what....I don't care, say what you say and f*ck off. This post is addressed to all the smartasses who will comment at me.

[defboy99]

@ Laurrrr -- What's with all the new games, Laurrrr? Just kidding, man. You, too, have games on your list I want to play (all the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games, Deus Ex). Don't worry--I don't think anyone is going to hassle you regarding your choice of more recent games. Incidentally, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl was ranked #36 on the PC Gamer Top 100 of All-Time list.

@ Foz -- I think you've convinced me, Foz. I'll see what I can do about locating the Monkey Island games. As long as all the dialogue is written out, I'll be fine (hearing-impaired). You're mighty convincing!

[Laurrrr]

@ Laurrrr -- What's with all the new games, Laurrrr? Just kidding, man. You, too, have games on your list I want to play (all the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games, Deus Ex). Don't worry--I don't think anyone is going to hassle you regarding your choice of more recent games. Incidentally, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl was ranked #36 on the PC Gamer Top 100 of All-Time list

I won't be surprised though, apparently there are people dumb enough not to understand the difference between subjectivity and objectivity. They may not post but I know there are some who think that way.

inb4 people calling me an hypocrite because PC Gamer's top is subjective.
Not really, as far as I am aware critics should be as objective as possible with a bit of subjectivity not a whole top pulled out of their asses like Violos said.