Feature: The 52 Most Important Video Games of All Time

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Some of the games on this list are great. Others are downright awful. But all 52 games on this list have influenced the medium of video games in a lasting, meaningful way. Here are 52 games for the ages.

*[NOTE FROM THE EDITORS]:

This list was surprisingly challenging to write because it ranks importance, not necessarily quality or popularity. The GamePro editors generally decided that, in order to make a spot on the list, the game had to meet the following criteria:

- Have a lasting influence that's still observed in modern gaming. This automatically rules out huge but largely irrelevant series like Sonic the Hedgehog (which sprung from the same pool as Super Mario Bros. anyway). Ditto for Castlevania.

- Serve as a focusing lens, not just an empty industry "first." Okay, so Quake was the first 3D shooter. So what? Other, earlier shooters had far more gameplay influence -- id's own trend-setters Doom and Wolfenstein, for instance. Same goes for Virtua Fighter...yeah, it's cool, but how important is the super-nichey 3D fighter genre in modern gaming?

- Impact the industry in a way beyond mere sales. Innovation trumps sales every time -- it's all about influence. For one reason or another, the games on this list changed the way things were done. Sometimes, sadly, these changes are for the worse.


52. Pitfall!
The first home console game to successfully translate the frenetic arcade action of games like Donkey Kong, Mr. Do! and Dig Dug, Pitfall took the Atari 2600 to a whole new level and made Activision the first major third party player, a legacy that continues to this day.


51. Mystery House
In 1980, there was no HDMI or progressive scan, just a bunch of white text on a black screen. But this text-based adventure game, created by Sierra On-Line founders Ken and Roberta Williams, was revolutionary for one simple reason: it featured graphics at a time when most computer games did not. The first adventure game to feature a visual component, Mystery House was a commercial success, selling copies in the tens of thousands, which, in those days, qualified it for blockbuster status. Its most significant contribution was to prove that the visual element is crucial to the success of a video game title....something gamers take for granted in this age of anti-aliasing.


50. Contra
Up, Up, Down, Down... ahhh, you know the rest. Though a classic in its own right, the NES version of Contra forever changed gaming by popularizing the use of cheat codes, which played a major part in early gaming culture.

After the Konami Code, gaming would never be the same.


49. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
Simply revolutionary in premise and execution. When THPS hit the PlayStation in 1999, it was an instant hit among gamers of all persuasions and became the key cash cow for publisher Activision. Though the later installments are more conventional, the first game changed perceptions about what form sports games -- and console games, for that matter -- could take.


48. Gran Turismo
Racing games were stuck in low gear until Polyphony Digital's landmark Gran Turismo: The Real Driving Simulator came along in 1998 and changed everything. Where to start? Gran Turismo upped the ante in every single way, from the insanely realistic driving physics to the endless component customizations. Even the graphics were remarkable for its time (real-time reflections!), and its early use of the Dual Shock analog controller set standards across all genres. Modern racing titles, which pride themselves on their realism and customization options, are standing on the shoulders of Gran Turismo.


47. Duke Nukem 3D
More influential than Quake and funnier than Doom, Duke Nukem 3D was one of the first games to feature a protagonist with a real personality...in this case, the hard-drinking, wise-cracking Duke Nukem. His snarky one-liners may have been cribbed from Evil Dead, but Duke's gravel-throated voice and deadpan delivery lent the game a thick layer of sarcasm. Add in countless B-movie references, interactive environments that have yet to be matched, and an arsenal of off-the-wall weapons, and you've got yourself one of the most important shooters ever released.


46. Super Mario Kart
Though not instantly recognizable as an earth-shaking game, Super Mario Kart holds up on closer examination. This fast-and-furious racer turned the racing genre on its ear, spawning a "kart racing" phenomenon that prospers to this day. More importantly, the SNES original paved the way for combat racers like Wipeout, Twisted Metal, and Burnout.


45. Halo
At first glance little more than a gorgeous console shooter, Halo's innovation lie curled within its scores of subtle gameplay refinements. By making the player's health meter recharge, Halo eliminated the need for frustrating health pickups (though they appeared in an almost vestigial fashion in the first game). This recharging health meter has since appeared in hundreds of games and is the current model for nearly all action games. Other trend-setting developments included limiting players to carrying two weapons at a time, a design choice that highlighted strategy and realism, and putting a key focus on vehicular combat -- an unusual but defining choice for a first-person shooter.


44. Nintendogs
Though not everyone appreciates this choice, Nintendogs clearly represents a turning point for modern video games based purely on its accessibility. Based on the foundation of digital pets like Tamagotchi, Nintendogs introduced millions of non-gamers to video games. Along with non-traditional games like Brain Age, Nintendogs turned the Nintendo DS into a bonafide cultural phenominon.


43. Enter the Matrix
A landmark evolution in the relationship, and marketing budgets, shared between filmmaking and video game design, as well as an international mega-hit, thanks to intertwining storylines and game cutscenes filmed during the actual production. And yet another example of fans' perpetual disappointment with games licensed from films. All of which started with...


42. E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
Notorious as the most colossal flop in the history of the industry, E.T.-- reportedly made in just five weeks and by many accounts the worst video game ever made -- cost Atari millions of dollars in unsold cartridges and did even more damage in consumer trust. E.T. is also greatly responsible for the video game crash of 1983, which spelled disaster for the once omniscient Atari. Nintendo rose from their ashes, Atari never again regained market relevance, and gamers who had learned a major lesson about licensed titles spoke definitively with their wallets.


41. Wii Sports
With its revolutionary controller that presents tried-and-true game scenarios in a whole new way, the Wii may change the way we interact with games forever. Gaming meets exercise, interactivity is raised to a whole new level and so many interface conventions are shattered.

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40. NBA JAM
Though sports simulation titles hog the limelight, NBA Jam reminded us not to take sports too seriously. Its off-the-wall presentation paved the way for a whole generation of arcade-influenced sports games, most notably NFL Blitz, the EA Big series, and even crash-happy racers like Burnout.

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39. Spacewar
Spacewar was the first true video game ever created. This simplistic interstellar action game took a monumental programming effort. Developed by some obviously intelligent people at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the DEC PDP-1 computer, Spacewar featured two spaceships -- the needle and the wedge -- battling it out on a plain black playing field dotted with stars. Despite its simplicity, the game had some innovative features, including actual physics (gravity would affect the trajectory of player shots) and an accurate representation of the night sky. Oh, it also had one feature that we've all come to take for granted these days: multiplayer deathmatch! Spacewar is as important to the history of the video game industry as the invention of the wheel was to the automobile industry.


38. Mortal Kombat II
Arguably the best Western fighting game to date, and certainly the title that defined Mortal Kombat as a brand, this game launched a thousand imitators en route to becoming one of the most famous -- and infamous -- video games ever made. Its technical and artistic mastery is only matched by its gushing gore.

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37. Devil May Cry
What may go down as the PlayStation 2's first true killer app, Devil May Cry's epic size and scope served the industry's game designers as a reminder that the imagination-instead of technology-is the true frontier. Its influence is obvious: without Devil May Cry, games like Ninja Gaiden and God of War simply would not exist.


36. Diablo II
Although its predecessor was a groundbreaking genre creator with a truly revolutionary random dungeon generator, Diablo II launched the franchise into accessibility by streamlining the interface and developing an extremely important, well-maintained online component in its free Battle.net service. That it's still popular seven years after its introduction speaks volumes.


35. Geometry Wars
A classic shooter in its own right, we bestow immortality on Geometry Wars because it redefined how games are distributed. Rather than create an epic 40-hour game experience released on an expensive DVD, developers Bizarre Creations instead built an immensely polished little shooter that could have easily found enormous arcade popularity in the mid-80's...had it not been released in 2003. Its infinite accessibility and its pioneering digital distribution over Xbox Live make it a vastly important game.

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34. Dragon Warrior
Although only a cult hit in America, Dragon Warrior's arrival in Japan powerfully affected the industry by delivering the definitive console role-playing game. In many ways, the road to Final Fantasy and Zelda started here.


33. Deus Ex
A landmark blending of genres that introduced a whole new level of role-playing-style depth to first-person shooters, Deus Ex quietly changed the way you play run-and-gun games forever. Even the conspiracy-laden storyline stands alone. But did Deus Ex (or its in formal predecessor, System Shock 2) get the respect it deserved? Hardly.


32. Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty
Westwood Studios' groundbreaking Dune II established the modern control structure for real-time strategy titles. Without this game, there would be no Command & Conquer, WarCraft or Age of Empires.

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31. Dance Dance Revolution
Video games as calisthenics, the Japanese phenomenon didn't take make as big a splash as expected with us lazy Americans, but it did spark major ideas with game developers, many of which are still to be realized.


30. Zork
Fantasy gaming took a major step into the virtual world with this, the most famous text-based game title. The road to World of WarCraft took a major turning point here.


29. Ultima Online
The first graphics-based MMO not only changed gaming, but may have changed society forever. In-game player-staged protests led sociologists to take note of this bizarre new underground subculture with the silly moniker, "MMORPG."


28. Adventure
The most innovative and important title to launch from the first mainstream home video game console, the Atari 2600, Adventure pilfered from Tolkien and Dungeons & Dragons to create an epic fantasy with multiple zones, increasingly difficult bosses, unfurling quests and, coolest of all, secret rooms and messages thanks to the legendary "magic dot." Every video game RPG ever made owes some influence to Adventure -- and the entire game contains less code than your desktop wallpaper image.


27. Half-Life
Half-Life is an important game that will still be recognized decades from now for its massive contributions to game storytelling. Its perfectly paced plot gradually unraveled through short interactive cinemas, which meant the player always felt utterly rooted in the game world. Half-Life's interactive storytelling made CG-rendered cinematics utterly trite and pointless, though lazy gamemakers still rely on them even today.


26. Pong
Widely (and falsely) credited as the first video game, Pong was the breakout title that launched the idea of video gaming into the cultural consciousness and established video games as a noteworthy medium. This game also introduced gaming concepts that were elaborated in games like Breakout and Arkanoid and spit shined in modern titles like Virtua Tennis. Pong was also the first major title from Atari, the industry's first dominant leader, and gave that company the brand-name recognition to enter the home market as a major force.


25. Guitar Hero
A milestone. Who hasn't played air guitar? Turns out those rock star ambitions can be realized in a video game. The only question on this one was, "What took so long?" Guitar Hero may have been built upon the success of games like Guitar Freaks, but it alone made music games relevant thanks to its slick controller and intuitive interface.


24. Resident Evil 4
"Survival horror" went from a bizarre catchphrase to an industry cliche when Resident Evil burst onto the scene, firmly establishing the PlayStation as a viable destination for third-party publishers and introducing the first truly scary interactive horror movie to gaming fans. The genre peaked with Resident Evil 4, which was probably better than any horror film in the past 10 years, as well as a clear inspiration for Gears of War.

But why is Resident Evil 4 on the list and not the first game? Because RE 4 was the series' pinnacle, expanding on the stuff that worked (suspense, action, and a customizeable arsenal) and leaving out the stuff that didn't (god-awful dialogue, slowly shuffling zombies, and the ink-ribbon game saves). A truly landmark title in modern gaming history.


23. Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike wasn't the first mod project ever but it will go down as the most important. What began as a simple homebrew experiment quickly ballooned into one of the biggest online entities in gaming history and helped elevate the modding community to the heights of legitimacy. Counter-Strike is a classic -- easily one of the best games of the decade.

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22. Kung Fu
You put a guy on one side and another guy on the other... and then let them fight. Think people are gonna want to play video games like this?


21. Myst
The game for everybody other than gamers, Myst mystified audiences and became a major killer app for the first generation of PC graphics cards and CD drives. This title's challenging and rewarding puzzles, which unlocked beautiful, mesmerizing environments, may not have been enamored by hardcore gamers, but the public at large fell in love. Until The Sims came along, this was the highest-selling PC game of all time.


20. Halo 2
The first killer app for online console gaming, Halo 2 defined Xbox Live as the premiere model for matchmaking services, allowing it to expand with content delivery like demos, downloads, game patches, and even advertisements. Not one game has ever even approached the flexibility and simplicity of Halo 2's online service -- it's still at the top of its class.


19. StarCraft
Sure, StarCraft is one of the most popular video games of all time and practically the national sport of Korea, but its true lasting impact is its revolutionary Battle.net multiplayer gaming system, which enabled it to become a major "virtual sport" worldwide. Its influence is still felt nearly 10 years later.

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18. SimCity
SimCity paved the way for cerebral games while creating an entire genre and one of the industry's most enduring catchphrases. Simply say "sim-"anything and you understand the nature of the game you're describing.

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17. Street Fighter II
Along with Mortal Kombat II, this is the definitive 2D fighter, and genre leader Capcom's most enduring title. Street Fighter II's popularity was such that its exclusivity is widely recognized as having single-handedly saved the Super Nintendo from losing the console war to the Sega Genesis.


16. Doom
Not only the most famous first-person shooter of all time (rightly deserved, for introducing the world to the gaming style), Doom's revolutionary shareware delivery was one small step for games, but one giant leap for independent game developers. This was one of the first games in which users took an active interest in modding, providing a showcase for future programmers.



15. Metroid
What started out as a quiet, unassuming platform game with a goofy title stunned players with a plethora of surprises, from sprawling hidden areas and epic, exhausting boss battles to its coup de grace, the revelation that your fearsome hero, Samus, was actually female.


14. Final Fantasy VII
The Final Fantasy series had become irrelevant in America and the PlayStation was losing ground to the superior technology of the N64 when Final Fantasy VII struck the world, reminding everyone of the power in disc-based games and setting a new benchmark for both graphics and storytelling.


13. Super Mario Bros.
Arguably the most popular console game ever and one of the top-selling video games of all time, Super Mario Bros. saved the industry from the great crash after the fall of Atari and established platform gaming conventions that transcended the leap to 3D and are still widely used today.

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12. Tetris
The title that flushed a thousand toilets, Tetris, the little Russia-originated game that could, propelled the original Game Boy into the mainstream and became the fuel that launched modern handheld gaming. All that with just a few strange shapes!


11. Civilization
The dawn of the cerebral video game may have broken with Civilization, the pioneering turn-based strategy game of politics and economy from mastermind Sid Meier. This title branded its own genre while establishing a rare breed in this industry: An auteur game.


10. Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solid is one of the most innovative and important games of all time for many reasons, particularly because it broke the fourth wall of gaming. Though it's not always a popular example, the mind-bending fight against Psycho Mantis epitomizes the impact of Metal Gear. It was one of the most interesting and amusing boss battles of all time; Psycho Mantis "read" your moves from the controller, making him unbeatable. To win, you had to switch your controller to the 2nd port. Weird, wacky, but downright innovative, Metal Gear Solid re-introduced game designers and gamers to the notion that a game could innovate in this day and age above and beyond graphics and level design.


9. GoldenEye 007
Hands-down, the console killer app of the 90's, the best game ever licensed from a film, and still arguably the best console first-person shooter of all time, Rare's GoldenEye 007 for Nintendo 64 silenced the naysayers who believed the FPS would never transcend mouse-controlled computer platforms. It also established split-screen head-to-head gaming as a viable, compelling scenario, thus paving the way for a little franchise we like to call "Halo."


8. The Sims
The highest-selling computer game of all time, Will Wright's masterpiece finds its strength in its malleable nature, since this "life simulation" can be so many things to so many people. Whether you're looking for a challenging game of balance and endurance, an exercise in raising pets, or an architecture and decorating exercise, you're bound to find something compelling in The Sims or its multitude of expansions, spin-offs, and sequels. A rare match of style and substance, and absolutely a threshold step in the history of gaming.


7. Wolfenstein 3D
As revolutionary as any title in the history of the medium, Wolfenstein 3D introduced gamers to a whole new perspective in shooting-first person -- at a time when static sprites dominated flat, Super Mario-driven gaming. Wolfenstein 3D launched id, the most influential developer in the 90's rush of first-person shooters, and allowed John Carmack to bust the door open with Doom and Quake. This title was as big a step in video games as sound or color in motion pictures.


6. Pac-Man
Originally launched in 1979, Namco's Pac-Man quickly became the most popular video game of all time. Pac-Man launched a global phenomenon, featuring the medium's biggest star character (and Mad Magazine's Man of the Year 1982). The title also gave birth to the 80's arcade culture while riding a wave of merchandising that reached Saturday Morning Cartoons, toys, pajamas and Pac-Man Fever, a beloved Top 40 record. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Pac-Man must have one hell of an ego -- the format was borrowed, evolved or outright stolen by dozens of imitators, and remains a staple of arcade collections and mobile time diversions today. Though its gameplay heritage doesn't influence many games anymore, it's hard to imagine another game ever having the global impact of Pac-Man.


5. Super Mario 64
This Nintendo 64 launch title arrived in the fall of 1996 as a herald of the future: Never again would the beating heart and soul of video games live in two dimensions. Another title masterminded by Shigeru Miyamoto, Super Mario 64 utilized the Nintendo 64's unique controller's delicate touch to deliver an unprecedented amount of control, from Mario's cautious footsteps to a mini-stick dedicated solely to camera manipulation. Super Mario 64 also perfected the hub-based system of linear level evolution, allowing the player to re-enter levels with new powers and skills to explore new areas, a concept which dominated console games for the generation.


4. World of WarCraft
In years to come, this title may very well bound to the top of this or any list considering monumental achievements in gaming. With a worldwide player base topping eight million, World of WarCraft was the breakthrough mainstream massively multiplayer game, and the exact moment when video gaming became a social exercise by necessity. Incorporating the best of so many influences, WoW takes only moments to learn, but offers an astoundingly complex, ever-expanding world that remains accessible thanks to its evolution bite-sized increments. Simply put, the whole world is playing WoW, and gaming will never be the same.


3. The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda was a breakthrough when it was released in America in 1987, and quickly became the first mainstream RPG video game hit. It also began one of the most innovative and influential gaming dynasties of all time and, along with Super Mario Bros., rescued the industry from the devastating effects of the crash of 1983.

The is the masterpiece from the master, the most important game from industry legend Shigeru Miyamoto, who has had a hand in creating many, many landmark titles in video game history. The Zelda cartridge was distinguished by a golden casing, and was the first to include a battery pack for saving your progress, helping establish the game as a monumental milestone for the NES. But this was no simple cosmetic slip and bait: The game itself is perhaps the most influential RPG ever made.

A classically structured fantasy tale, Zelda put you into the green moccasins of Link, the young pauper destined to assemble the TriForce and use its power to overthrow the diabolical Ganon and save the princess Zelda. With so many now-classic features that instantly became go-to RPG conventions even in modern titles like World of WarCraft and The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, Zelda can be considered the Casablanca of video games. And somehow, each new sequel retells the same story while delivering status quo-shattering breakthroughs. Later incarnations, like 1991's SNES entry A Link to the Past, were lauded as masterpieces, and some consider Zelda's 1998 installment The Ocarina of Time to be the best video game ever made. And the ball keeps rolling: Last year's GameCube and Wii Zelda title, Twilight Princess, has established that console as a major force against its overpowered competition while also redefining the way we interface with a video game.

Look back on the history of video games, and realize how many times the industry took a step forward wearing shoes emblazoned with the Legend of Zelda logo. This is where it all began.


2. John Madden NFL Football
Electronic Arts has established an empire as the most successful third party games publisher of all time, and they've done it squarely on the shoulders of their infinitely successful Madden NFL franchise -- the top-selling series in gaming history and most important weapon in the console wars for more than a decade. Last year alone, Madden was the top-selling video game of the year, and fueled EA's power moves to secure the exclusive rights to the NFL while granting a gigantic boon to the Xbox 360 by agreeing to work with Microsoft's Xbox's Live service (thereby forcing the mighty Microsoft, or allowing them, to cease their own sports line).

Ironically, the title owes very little of its success to its namesake. In fact, association with the game (which first launched for the Apple II in 1989, and moved into console domination in 1992) has made the actual John Madden far more known and respected than he ever was within the world of pro football. But John Madden's fame and the video game's influence rose together through generations of technology, and a cultural touchstone was created in the fusion. John Madden indelibly became the voice of video game sports the game incorporated his actual voice in 1996. Now, those vague comments, questionable insights and bizarre thought processes are a beloved part of millions of armchair quarterback's favorite moments every year.

Revenue and respect from Madden has allowed EA to dominate the video game market share and elbow their way into some of the most valuable rights on the market, including Harry Potter, James Bond and those nigh priceless exclusive pro sports rights. No game in history has sold as many consoles as Madden, and the end of this franchise's domination is nowhere in sight.


1. Grand Theft Auto III
In everyone's life, there comes a time when you can confidently point to an Earth-shifting cultural change and just know. Elvis Presley didn't merely alter the landscape of rock, he changed music. Star Wars didn't influence genre films or set precedents in science fiction, it changed movies. Forever. And in that same way, Grand Theft Auto III changed video games because its influence will extend to almost every genre of games, possibly forever.


Sure, folks took umbrage at the game's pervasive violence, questionable ethics, and potentially terrifying impact on society. But nobody can deny GTA III's revolutionary impact on game design. When Grand Theft Auto III landed in October of 2001, it instantaneously dated every game that came before it. The open-ended sandbox design of GTA III was a masterstroke, allowing the player an unprecedented degree of freedom to play as they choose. Whether following the main plot or ignoring it, players were free to indulge in any number of diversions at whatever level of morality they found comfortable. Suddenly, level-based gameplay -- an unspoken contract between gamer and game designer for more than 20 years -- was laughably antiquated. Even the hub-style launching points popularized by Super Mario 64 felt old and dusty. Simply put, GTAIII redefined how games are played, serving as a wake-up call to an industry that had had for years fallen into a safe, sleepy rhythm. GTA III's lesson? That creative boundaries must be attacked with the same vigor as technological hurdles.

After GTA III, everything from Tony Hawk to fighting games, shooters and even the Simpsons franchise went back to the drawing board. No other game in the last 20 years has had more impact than Grand Theft Auto III. It radically evolved the bond between gamer and game, in the process changing everything about how games are made and played.

Madden surprised me. i didn't think any sports games would of made the list.
I loved the "Kung Fu" Game. When they were out, It was only second to "Karete Kid" Kemo to the Fly ctahing side game.
another thing, >.> ET....Big surprise. After reading about it and my parents owning the game, letting me play it and only after 5 minutes told me to turn it off because it sucked. I didn't want to at the age of 5 and after watching ET.

[deadmanwalkin]

personally i think gta vice city should've been numbah 1 instead of gta 3 but hey w/e

[Darth Fozzy]

Why the hell was Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic not in the list?? That is a travesty!!!

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Why the hell was Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic not in the list?? That is a travesty!!!

:dunno: Grand Turismo II or 3 didn't make the list. :thud:

[JohnCenaFan28]

Why wasn't Kingdom Hearts there!?:hmm: But anyway, most of those games there I've played and were really good.

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Wow. That list brings back many memories. I think I played almost every game on the list at one point or another.