Heading into the next generation of gaming, the team at Press-Start are going to take a moment and reflect on some of the greats of gaming past. Each member has now ploughed through their memory and tossed and turned on their decision to ultimately bring you. Press Starts Best Games of all Time.
Kevin – KOTOR
It’s nearly impossible to choose my ultimate favorite game throughout my life. Super Mario Brothers 3 and Donkey Kong were essential to my childhood, Spyro and Crash as much so. I think the game that means the most to me is Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2 (cheating here).
KOTOR absolutely blew my mind. I was expecting something akin to Jedi Academy and was disappointed at first that it was a turn-based D20 style RPG. These feelings quickly evaporated when I realize how deep, how engaging and how beautiful the game was. The combat system was miles deeper than anything I had experienced, the dialogue was fresh and sharp, and the setting, oh the setting. Star Wars was always a pet favorite of mine and I fell in love with the locations instantly. Even Taris, a planet bemoaned by many KOTOR fans, I still loved to bits. Everything in this game screamed perfection for Star Wars fans. And then came 2 that completely reinvigorated the tropes and clichés of Star Wars. Gone was the black/white moral system and in place were morally difficult consequences, shades of grey and an incredibly dark storyline. The writing was better, the settings were better and with the introduction of the Restored Content, KOTOR 2 became the ultimate Star Wars game, miles better than 1 and with the right mods, the perfect game.
Tyla – Gears Of War
Personally the best game I’ve experienced would probably be the Microsoft exclusive Gears of War released with the Xbox 360 console. The amount of hours and kills I clocked up during ranked games truly ate away the early years of my teenage life, by choice of course. My clan was competitive and we were in pretty good standing to win the Cyber Gamer 4v4 ladder, with regular scrims and practice together we placed 3rd in Australia for the online tournament in a very early form of eSports. Since then I’ve held that game in high regard and will never forget the teammates I played with and the introduction to my competitive career that was had all those years ago.
Apart from the competition element I had with the game the campaign was sublime, the story was captivating and quite moving at times, especially when we saw the story unfold with further sequels to the game with some crazy plot twists involving main characters and what not.
Diego – Mu
Choosing a best game of all time is a hard ordeal, and it’s extremely subjective even when choosing for yourself, because lots of games are “best of all time” at different things. The way I want to see it, and to make my life easier, is to choose a game that made a big and positive impact on my life. For best game of all time for the above reasons, I’m gonna have to go with Mu Online. You’re probably thinking that my choice is absurd and unrelated, but this game meant a lot to me in high school. Back when all I played was free games on my budget Dell PC, Mu was always my go-to choice, and thanks to Mu, I was also saved from ending up as a loner in high school, because the game came up as a conversation topic, allowing me to meet people who became some of my dearest friends, who also initiated me in the world of music.
Hayden – Road Rash 64
Best game of all time has to be Road Rash 64. That game taught me that video games could be for adults too, I played that game with almost everyone in my family.
Joshua – Skyrim
For me I’d have to say Skyrim is the best game for me. The amount of time I invested in multiple characters that all grew and had a story, the different ways each character played because of how I made them, and it’s just an amazing game. Even with all of its bugs, the replay value alone makes it amazing, but just the depth at which I can delve into it is what makes me come back time and time again.
John – Dragon Age: Origins
It’s hard to just say what the best game is of all time for me. I feel like if I play out of Nostalgia it’s not fair on games that have come out more recently. So I’m going to have to go with the game I keep going back to, again and again since its release back in 2009. That game is Dragon Age: Origins, this is one of the very few games that I have perfected on PC 100%. Yet, I’m still coming back to it this very day. For some reason I missed out on this type of RPG until DAO came out, and it caused me many sleepless nights and probably quite a big drop in my grades at the time.
Jake – Jak 3
It is a difficult task to select the best game of all time, especially after enjoying so many great games throughout my personal gaming experience. Ultimately after much inner turmoil I have decided to go with Jak 3 after initially playing it on the PS2. After playing through the entire series, Jak 3 to me is the game that transformed me from a casual gamer to something much more serious. Jak 3 offered an amazingly intricate plot with great twists and humor to keep coming back for more. Whilst offering tasks challenging enough to keep me glued to the controller. A wide variety of guns and those collectable precursor eggs I invested hours to collect but what really stood out to me is the amazing story that Naughty Dog unraveled, full of highs, lows and emotions. I am yet to find a game more cherished by myself and one that I have invested more time into and that’s why Jak 3 is my best game of all time.
Shannon – Ape Escape
My favourite game of all time would be the original Ape Escape. It was one of the first games that I ever played on my PS1 and its still one of my favourites to this game. It incorporate a beautiful 3D world with some of the most inventive gadgets that i’ve ever used in a video game. The series still sits really close to my heart and it started my love affair with Sony Japan.
There it is, the absolute very best game from each of Press-Starts team members. We would love to hear what your best game of all time is in the comments below.
