(This suggestion from @JollyNiceSoup)
I think the question on all our lips is what is your 265th favourite game.
I can tell you this: it’s not as good as my 264th favourite game.
When I was asked this question, I immediately thought of a really easy way to figure it out, which I have since forgotten. I do hope I remember it before I type much more, as otherwise this is going to be tedious. Um. Nope. Going to have to do it the long way round.
Let us assume that the only games I like are those that I own. Crucially, this doesn’t work the other way round, although I do own one hell of a lot of crap. At the last update (it’s a few games behind, but it’ll do), I have 2575 games in my collection, which means that, when ranked in order from Run Baby Run on the Spectrum to Resident Evil 2 on the game.com, game 265 is only just outside the top 10%.
Using another assumption, that the top 10% will be the very best games, it could be argued that game 265 is the very best game that isn’t in the top tier of great games. Does that make sense? Think of it this way: burgers are great, yes? If all the best burgers are beef based (and they are), then game 265 is the best chicken burger. That’s a terrible analogy.
So which is the best game that isn’t one of the best games ever? And have I just made the game more complicated?
Looking through my collection, I jotted[ref]Nobody used that word any more.[/ref] down all the almost-bests I could see. Did I scoop 264 games out of the list first? Hell no.
Right then. That list, spoilered for length:
[spoiler]
A Boy and His Blob (Wii)
Advance Wars: Dark Conflict
Affordable Space Adventures
Aggressive Inline
Akiba’s Trip
Assassin’s Creed III
Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation
Batman: Arkham Origins: Blackgate
Battlefield 4
Beach Spikers
Beyond Good and Evil
Biomotor Unitron
Canis Canem Edit
Capcom vs SNK
Castle Master
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate
Catherine
Child of Light
Contact
Cool Spot
Daytona USA
de Blob
Diggers
Earthworm Jim
Eledees
Endless Ocean
escapeVektor
Everyone’s A Wally
Fable III
Fairune
Flunky
Freedom Planet
Geometry Wars Galaxies
Goat Simulator
Grand Theft Auto III
Gynoug
Ice Climbers
Impossible Mission
James Pond 3: Operation Starfish
Joust
Keystone Kapers
Kirby Canvas Curse
Kirby and the Amazing Mirror
Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush
Liberation Maiden
Lit
Lollipop Chainsaw
Lost in Blue
Lucky Dime Caper, The
Marble Blast Ultra
Mario Golf: World Tour
Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga
Micro Machines
Midtown Madness 3
Monster Hunter Tri
Mortal Kombat II
No More Heroes
PGA European Tour
Patapon
Pilotwings Resort
Pool Paradise
Postal 2
Prey
Psycho Pinball
Psychonauts
Rabbids Go Home
Rampart
Rayman Legends
Retro City Rampage
Rhythm Thief & The Emperor’s Treasure
Rock Boshers DX
Scribblenauts
Secret of Mana
Sega Rally
Skylanders Giants
Sonic Advance 2
Sonic Advance 3
Sonic Chaos
Starfighter 3000
Street Fighter Alpha
Streets of Rage
Streets of Rage 3
Strider
Stunt Racer 2000
Super Off-Road
Super Skidmarks
Super Smash Bros U
Talmit’s Adventure
Theme Hospital
Theme Park
Toki Tori 2
Tokyo Highway Challenge
Tokyo Jungle
Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam
Tony Hawk’s Underground
Tony Hawk’s Underground 2
Virtua Fighter 2
Virtua Racing
Wario Land 4
We Love Katamari
Wolfenstein 3D
XIII
Yoshi’s Story
[/spoiler]
But which of these is best? Some are easy (Daytona USA is better than Sega Rally, Tony Hawk’s Underground is better than Underground 2, Kirby and the Rainbow Painbrush is better than Canvas Curse), but others are harder – is XIII better than Fable III? Akiba’s Trip or Street Fighter Alpha?
The only way to do this is pick the first game from the list and then go down the list until there’s a better game. Then go down the rest of the list with that game, unless there’s a better game. And repeat until the end of the list is reached. So that process, in list form:
A Boy and His Blob
Affordable Space Adventures
Batman: Arkham Origins: Blackgate
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate
Geometry Wars Galaxies
We Love Katamari
Which means, that the best second tier game – and therefore by my reasoning above, my 265th Favourite Game is We Love Katamari for the Playstation 2!
Cake and balloons for everyone!
