BoB's Top 100 Games

[Wolf Kanno]

VIII is a flawed but fun game imho. Wouldn't have ranked it higher than FFV but I feel BoB has already established with me that beyond our mutual issues with FFX our taste in FF games couldn't be farther apart (See the lack of FF IV/VI on this list and the inevitable reveal of FFVII being his Number One game) but I can agree that VIII has some good moments that I do feel counter some of it's less desirable elements. Don't necessarily agree with the love story thing, but I rarely like love stories in my video games.

[Colonel Angus]

I remember VIII being my favorite FF before the PS2 editions came out. I've gotten to play it again recently & it brought back a lot of great memories. Triple Triad is outstanding. I wish I could find it online just to play when I'm bored.

It also has my favorite summon, Diablos.

BTW, Miss Mae is going to trout the bed when she reads your thoughts on FFXII's romances. #TeamBalthier #TeamFran

[Loony BoB]

beyond our mutual issues with FFX our taste in FF games couldn't be farther apart (See the lack of FF IV/VI on this list

To be fair, FFIV (like FFIII) is a game I've not included because I need to replay it and actually get further than I did last time around. I remember liking it to some degree, though, so I'm optimistic. FFVI just doesn't do it for me but I think if I had played it on a handheld console in my bedroom when it came out, I'd have enjoyed it a fair chunk more. Instead I've played it on PC and on a PSP on the bus and while I like a lot about the game, it's just not one of my favourites.

BTW, Miss Mae is going to trout the bed when she reads your thoughts on FFXII's romances. #TeamBalthier #TeamFran

I never saw them as romantic, let alone a couple. But I always had suspicions that they were a couple! Just... not romantic at all with each other in the game.

[Ayen]

Damn, VIII made it even higher on this list than it did mine. Though I suppose a two spot difference isn't that much of a gap.

[Pumpkin]

I like FFVIII a lot

I do not, however, like Triple Triad

[Loony BoB]

8. Civilization IV
PC, 2005

I have spent a lot of time on this game. It'll probably be in the top five games based on time spent on it. I like to play as the Indians, because fast workers never lose their usefulness throughout the entire game, and they can make excellent makeshift scouts too if you're competing for villages during the early stages. The early stages are always the most enjoyable for me, too, because I just love picking up those villages and discovering the best spots to settle as early as possible. The downside of this is that the game gets less interesting for me as it goes on... same with Danielle who usually loses interest once war starts kicking in.

But that's okay, because if we find a game dull we can just start all over again anyway. xD Often it becomes quite obvious that we're going to win and we stop there, too, rather than going the distance. When I'm playing solo, though, I tend to go full out on the world domination stakes. I don't play on the harder difficulties either, because quite frankly I'm not that good at the game despite how much I enjoy it.

Civ IV is pretty much the perfection of this kind of game for me. The only thing I still to this day find lacking is that I want to be able to go to space and discover new (alien) races to compete against once I launch my rocketship. I want it to be a kind of progression thing, a bit like Spore kind of got into. Once you are the dominant force in one place, you keep going up and up until you own the universe. That would be awesome. But this isn't really a criticism of the game, it's more just showing off how I love it so much that when it becomes clear that the end of the game is nearing, I get a little sad about it. That's a compliment if anything!

[Pike]

This is easily the best Civ game and possibly the best 4X game ever made. Yes, I think it's mechanically more sound than SMAC. It's just that good. And yeah it's my top played game on Steam and I haven't played it in like a year, which should show you how much I used to play it.

[Skyblade]

BoB, you need to play Master of Orion II. Seriously.

Granted, it's only the space section, as all the planetary part came before the game starts. But it will show you how wrong you are about Civ IV being the "perfect" 4x game. I've never gotten that sort of timed burnout, and mechanically, it is an even better game.

[Christmas]

Haha, I played this one. I like V much better though.

I just like to turn everyone into my vassals.

[Loony BoB]

7. Chuck Yeager's Air Combat
PC, 1991

This game will not feature on 99.9% (if not a higher percentage) of Top 100 Game lists and I accept that. However, for me, this game dictated my younger gaming years and therefore is dominant in the reason I love video games. It also helped me learn a fair bit about the history of air combat and introduced me to Chuck Yeager himself.

This game is both basic and yet very in depth for it's time. It covered most of the more general things you'll get in Air Combat games released these days and allowed you to participate in dogfights from World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. In all instances, you could participate from either side, so that meant you could pick up a MiG just as easily as a McDonnell Douglas (my fave plane was always the Phantom). You could also create your own battles, meaning a score of Spitfires could happily make attempts to shoot down a supersonic jet. In these custom cases I'll openly admit that I would use the cheat options and just get the satisfaction of taking down far more foes than I reasonably should.

Anyway, I loved this game like crazy and it's possible that I've played it more than any other given that I would play it regularly for years, possibly as much as all the other games I had combined, before consoles such as the PSX took hold of me.

[Ayen]

Man, this takes me back to the days of Super Huey II and Fokker.

[Dr Unne]

7. Chuck Yeager's Air Combat
PC, 1991

This game will not feature on 99.9% (if not a higher percentage) of Top 100 Game lists and I accept that. However, for me, this game dictated my younger gaming years and therefore is dominant in the reason I love video games. It also helped me learn a fair bit about the history of air combat and introduced me to Chuck Yeager himself.

This game is both basic and yet very in depth for it's time. It covered most of the more general things you'll get in Air Combat games released these days and allowed you to participate in dogfights from World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. In all instances, you could participate from either side, so that meant you could pick up a MiG just as easily as a McDonnell Douglas (my fave plane was always the Phantom). You could also create your own battles, meaning a score of Spitfires could happily make attempts to shoot down a supersonic jet. In these custom cases I'll openly admit that I would use the cheat options and just get the satisfaction of taking down far more foes than I reasonably should.

Anyway, I loved this game like crazy and it's possible that I've played it more than any other given that I would play it regularly for years, possibly as much as all the other games I had combined, before consoles such as the PSX took hold of me.

My favorite memory of this game was flying as high as possible until you start to stall, and then flying full-speed into the ground. I think you black out or your plane rips apart before you explode, something like that. I gave myself bonus points for crashing into my base. Good times.

(This game is definitely not on my top 100 list.)

[Loony BoB]

You do indeed black out if you hit enough G's. =]

[Loony BoB]

6. Football Manager (series)
PC, 2007-2012

I've only included 2007-2012 because those are the games I've played. "But Daniel, why haven't you played 2013 or 2014? If you love this series so much, shouldn't you be loyal to it and buy all the games?" Well, here's the thing. I have a saves in FM2012 that have over 50 days of gaming on them. Why would I want to give that up? Until they make it so that I can import my save into the newer FM's, I'm not going to buy them every year. I play for the long haul, and right now this is not something I could do if I switched every year (well, unless I gave up on life, love and every other game out there).

I adore this game. It's incredibly well designed and incredibly addictive. In an ideal world, Eyeson F.C. would be continuing to play for a full 90 minutes on certain nights with fully commentary by yours truly of every match. Sadly, I don't think I can get away with that if I want to keep up with other games and, uh, not get divorced. xD But I do hope to bring back Eyeson F.C. into the Let's Play forum this summer, so please nag me about this over time and it'll probably happen. We'll get to the Premier League... eventually!

I don't really know how to sum up my enjoyment for this game, I'm really struggling... It's like when you marathon your favourite TV series. Imagine being able to watch every episode of Game of Thrones - every episode, even the ones that aren't released yet (hell, the ones that aren't made yet) right now. Imagine being able to do that for all three of your favourite new TV series that aren't finished. Getting to watch them for as long as you can dream of watching them. That's what FM is like. You can play for as long as you like and you don't have to wait for the next episode. You don't have to wait for the next match. You can just click a few buttons and progress onto it and play that one, too. This is Football Manager, and it is amazing.

[Bubba]

I am no longer allowed to play this game. When I was in my teens and early twenties, I was obsessed with these game. I remember leading Juventus to the treble in Championship manager Italia. I have also won the premier league with Rochdale FC. This game is scarily addictive and as such I never play it any more. Lots of fond memories though.

There is that urban myth as well where everyone had a friend who took it way too seriously and used to wear a suit if they got to the FA Cup final.