Posted August 13, 2010 by beefjack.

The day of reckoning is upon us.

All week we’ve been counting down through our hundred favourite games in the world. The first day was for numbers 100 to 71. The second was for 70-41. On the third we went through positions 40-21, while yesterday we entered the top 20. Now it’s time for the top ten, and to reveal our favourite game in the world.

It’s been a fascinating list for all of us. Just for a little transparency: it was arranged by each nominating games and suggesting where they should be placed, then working out how many people had suggested each game and averaging everyone’s ideas of where they should be placed in the list and… oh, it got complicated. But the point is, since we were all voting for our favourites, rather than what we considered to be objectively the best, we ended up with a really diverse collection of fantastic games.

So, what do you think? Agree? Disagree? Of course you’ll disagree – the likelihood of you coming to the exact same hundred games, ranked in the exact same order, is tiny. That’s why you can now vote in our Readers’ Top 100. There are special prizes to be won for BeefJack members, too – they’ll be announced soon.

Here we go, then. You ready? Yes? Right then. Onwards…

10. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

1998 :: N64 :: Nintendo

Kent says: “Ocarina of Time might have been our Lord of the Rings. Tight, fresh, colorful, satisfying — who can forget the joy of finding another glass bottle and filling it with milk? 12 years ago I dug up graves, I rode a horse, I burned down spider webs with sticks. When I hear those wonderful songs I lapse into happy memories. Zelda: Ocarina of Time might be why I love videogames.”

Jack says: “Well, it had to be on here somewhere, didn’t it? Though I gotta say, it was the distractions from the actual main quest that really had me loving this title. The fact that it made me take up the ocarina might contribute my love of it as well.”

9. Pokémon Red/Blue

1998 :: Gameboy :: Nintendo, GameFreak

Kent: “The nearly unchanged Pokémon game boy games remain the best way to spend a boring weekend at your great aunt’s house or a mind-numbing trans-Atlantic flight.”

Lewis: “I never liked Pokémon. I never collected the cards. I never owned an original Gameboy. But it’s the memories, isn’t it? I still remember sitting in my friend’s attic bedroom as a kid, frantically playing on this, desperately trying to get somewhere in the hour or so I was there before ultimately slunking off to my Gameboy-less home. I think I must have really liked it.”

8. Super Mario 64

1996 :: N64 :: Nintendo

Jack: “It was the first Mario game in 3D. Does any more really need to be said?”

Kent: “No. But I’ll say it anyway. This is the most eclectic and enjoyable game I’ve ever played. There was always another star, and it was always the perfect amount of juicy. Metal Mario kicked ass.”

7. Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

2002 :: PC, Xbox :: Bethesda

Emily: “The first really long game that I ever played on PC. Probably still the best really long game on the PC.”

Kent: “Within an hour of beginning the game, Morrowind casts you into its sprawling wilderness, and this is excellent. Fascinating and empowering, Morrowind creates and encapsulates a profound sense of wonder.”

Lewis: “Is this really more than eight years old? Good grief. I remember the day I first played it so vividly. I’d never seen anything like it before in my life. A wonderful, majestic RPG.”

6. Grand Theft Auto III

2001 :: PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC :: Rockstar, DMA Design

Lewis: “A lot of this list has been about great memories for me, as much as it has been about great games. Here’s another that conjures those up. I was in a band at the time. We used to rehearse in the drummer’s spare room. Except we rarely did much of anything musical, because GTAIII had just come out, and all we wanted to do was take turns wreaking hilarious havoc in Liberty City. GTAIV presented that city remarkably, but this first 3D GTA painted it in the most vivid colours. A hilarious, expansive and masterful game, and one of the great works of satire of our time.”

5. Mass Effect

2007 :: Xbox 360, PC :: EA, BioWare

Emily: “The character customisation is a great touch, but every time I play I’m always a female Shepard. There is no better way to experience Mass Effect.”

Lewis: “Agreed. It’s the voice acting, I suspect.”

Ewan: “I’m all about the storytelling and this is BioWare at its best. Mass Effect really encourages you to explore and find every secret to help you battle the most insidious and dangerous enemy the galaxy has ever faced.”

4. BioShock

2007 :: PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 :: 2K Games

Lewis: “Ooh, controversial. I didn’t expect us to end up putting this so high on the list. But actually, I’m quite glad we have. I certainly can’t think of any smarter or more cerebral first-person shooter. It beat Half-Life 2 hands-down, for me personally.”

Jack: “I didn’t think I’d play an FPS more twisted than Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, but there you have it. I actually think I prefer Cthulhu in some ways, since BioShock is significantly less difficult and isn’t quite so terrifying. However, this game did have me asking people “would you kindly…?” for a good couple of weeks after completion.”

3. Portal

2007 :: PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 :: Valve

Matthew: “It took the medium and set on its head. Almost literally. Sure, Valve weren’t the first to let players tunnel through reality in a videogame, and theirs took a while to really get started, but no-one else combined mind-bending physics problems, tests of spatial awareness, action, a pitch-perfect, blackly humorous script and one of the greatest evil masterminds of all time.”

Kent: “Do you have a friend who doesn’t play games? Get them to play Portal. Works every time.”

2. Deus Ex

2000 :: PC :: Eidos, Ion Storm

Lewis: “Uh, guys? There’s a problem with the list. I think it must be broken. Deus Ex should be at number one, right? Right? Guys?”

Anthony: “Deus Ex gave you a number of tools and put them in worlds with a number of obstacles, and it was up to you to determine which tools you’d use to overcome what obstacles. This rather simple formula made Deus Ex a massive hit and it seemed obvious that game developers would imitate it. For one reason or another, that has not happened. As opposed to being the first of many, Deus Ex is just as original today as it was when it was released. Its sequel, Invisible War, just couldn’t quite recreate that genuine feeling of freedom.”

Ewan: “I completed this in one enormous marathon session over the course of a weekend. I looked up after the end sequence to see the sun coming up on a glorious Sunday morning. The kind of game that makes you lose track of time for quite so long is very rare indeed. Warren Spector created a real diamond with Deus Ex.”

1. Half-Life 2

2004 :: PC, Xbox :: Valve

Ewan: “Are we counting the Episodes, as well? I cried at the end of Episode 2. Valve had taken Half-Life from a revolutionary blend of FPS and platform action to the most gripping story-based game of all time. You will feel real emotions for all the characters in Half-Life 2 by the time you reach the end of Episode 2. If you have a heart, you’ll cry too – I promise you that.”

Anthony: “The grav-gun may have been Half Life 2′s “wow” factor, but what makes it a brilliant game is the narration. From the moment you arrive in City 17 you are on an epic adventure that flows from one amazing encounter to the next until it is done. More so than any other game, Half Life 2 feels like a great action movie, but that comparison does not do it justice. City 17 is a fully realized world, complete with intriguing and emotionally appealing characters. Even though modern games should have far more advanced character models and animation, no one has been as successful at conveying emotion through non-verbal communication.”

Lewis: “This wouldn’t have been at the top of my list. But we were almost unanimous in agreeing that it should be somewhere near the top. In the end, no other game had the same level of support as Valve’s seminal shooter sequel and its attached expansions, Episodes 1 and 2. I still think BioShock eclipsed it. But importantly, most people think I’m wrong. All hail Half-Life 2!”

So. There you have it. Do you agree? You don’t, do you? We can see it in your eyes. Well, no worries: debate away in the comments, and vote away in the Readers’ Top 100. Thanks for joining us. You’ve been delightful.