The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

Look folks, we all know that helicopter.html is the best video game ever made.  But, what's the second best?  That question has plagued nerds like you and me for decades.  ...and now, with the "hot chick competition" out of the way, it will be answered.

Joe Tex and I, with the assistance of Guat, have come up with a bracket of 64 of the most fun, influential, and overall best video games since the original Atari.   They are broken up into 4 quadrants (Capcom, Konami, Activision, and Namco).

Each day (or couple of days if things get slow), we'll put a few polls up, with info on a few games.  Read up on the choices, and choose carefully, because it's one and you're done.

As we move forward, the polls will be locked, whittling down to one winner.

GAME ON!


Edit: Your favorite game may not be listed.  If this upsets you, please log off of this website and continue masturbating to hentai.

you stole this bit from Maxim radio.

Theives! ::)

Yeah...we stole the hot chick competition from them, too.  And we'll probably do best song at some point (which they did).  Maxim is doing best franchises...it's similar, but their list is totally lame.  They have PONG on it and crap like that, that were never really good games.  We're (for the most part) a bunch of dudes that grew up with chicks, movies, video games, and sports.  ...what the hell else are we going to talk about?

You better have RE4 on there.

We can't say who's going to be on there or who isn't going to be on there.
But let me just say this.  I'm 100% positive that after all the games are out in the open, everyone is going to chime in with "Hey dumbasses, you forgot ______.  That game was awesome!". 

You're just going to have to live with it. 

Hey dumbass, you forgot Metal Gear!  Any of them..

Another thing:

We elected to go for variety and sacrifice some crowd favorites.  For example, while Super Mario is a great series, and pretty much every game could be a contender for a top 64 choice, there are just too many of them.  ...same goes for Mega-Man, several different Madden games, etc.  For the most part we picked just one that we considered the best (personal choice) or maybe a couple, if there were significant advancements in the series, spanning generations.

In closing, I realize that Super Mario Bros. 2 is a better game than Scorched Earth for example, but it won't be in this list.

Also, this wasn't a personal list, and frankly, I don't like several of the games on this list, but due to their popularity, they were given a shot at the title.  Some of my very favorite games of all time were left home.  :(   Poor "Marble Madness."

Dig Dug?

Oh hell yeah...Dig Dug should be in the mix for sure!   ;D

I have to admit,I'm not going to be able to vote in alot of the polls...Especially when they're console games.I already admit,I'll favor the Arcade game versus a a console game.I'm pretty positive some the games that I love wont even get a whiff of the list...I'm not going to complain about.I am glad to see that it's not going to be dominated by new games..I was happy to see classics like Galaga,and pitfall...

Some of my favorites....for future consideration...(I'll limit to 7...)
Burgertime
Crystal castles
Dragon's lair
Bard's tail
Romance of the three kingdoms (any version)
Oddworld abe's oddysee
Shadowrun

this number kept getting wittled down from 12,10,8,7, so I wouldn't be complaining...

Stupid question.... is it possible to see the results of the polls on a single thread?  If it is difficult (or impossible), don't worry about it.  I just thought it would be cool if it cold be done.

I'm afraid that some good games might be getting left out of the tourney due to the narrow focus of the people making the list. 

At the end of Round 1, we will display the bracket and the results of all the polls / threads.


How the hell can you say this?  There are still 3/4, or 75% of all video games left that haven't been revealed yet.  We're nowhere near done.  Keep your pants on until the whole bracket is displayed. 

That's why I said "I'm Afraid", instead of "you guys suck"

Besides, I know what games you and Dave are into and which games you guys may never have played before, and it makes me worry.

Did you even read this post?  Several of the games on here I have never played, and I didn't go by my own personal preference.  I did research.

OK, I'm not complaining, just voicing a concern.  I like this idea.

And yes, I read the post several times.

I have another question...

What are the recommended voting criteria?

- Influential nature of the game
- innovativeness/creativity
- plot
- gameplay (fun factor)
- time spent playing

Or some factor of all of the above?

Good question.  I guess just vote for the one that you think is better....for whatever reason.  The one that holds up the best, gives you the best memories, and makes you want to play it all over again are probably good starts.

OK, great, thanks.

I've seen you and others voting for games based on how they revolutionized the industry, but I suppose that stands as only a key to your underlying reasoning.

Top whiny complaints:

1) I liked the [popular game] series, but [some particular edition] is way better than [the edition we chose].  That better be on the list.

2) You better have [some game that I remember being good when I was 10, and impressionable, but didn't hold up] on the list.  That game rocked.

3) I am old and only like games that have graphics comparable to Tetris.  [any new game] makes me dizzy and disoriented.

4) I am a fanboy of [game system].  [Popular, but subpar franchise from said system] was all I had to feel better about not being able to play Super Mario Bros.  It better be on the list.

5) I've never played [insent game], therefore it sucks.

6. If [My favorite game] isn't on the list, this whole bracket sucks and I refuse to vote for any other game until the problem is rectified.

7. I've seen 3 games, and I cannot believe what a farse of a system you guys have.  I realize that there are 61 more games to be revealed, but I already see where you guys are going with this crap.  It's a slap in the face to any video game player that [game you don't like] is on the list, and you should have it removed immediately, and never spoken of again.

8. I really think helicopter.html should be on the list.

You mean to say that helicopter.html is NOT on the list?  This whole bracket sucks and I refuse to vote for any other game until the problem is rectified.

By definition, helicopter.html can't be on the list since this bracket is to determine the 2nd best game.

Word.

Hmmm well either way, I'll love to see the outcome. Imagine the result. A few people will try to play a game(If they don't own it) and then play it for a LOOOOONG TIME. I'm betting that a few Old school games will make it(I will see it happen). Oh by the way if you are pissed seeing your game on this list. Some ENTIRE systems (pretty bad ones but a system none the less) are missing.
Remember It not if you win or lose, well actually it is, but oh shoot I forgot the freakin' moral. Oh well.

I really enjoyed the helicopter game...but I guess I just don't understand what in the world would make people consider it the #1 video game of all time.

Hell, I wouldn't even put it in my top-10.  ::)

Diablo (and pretty much every other game in this bracket) smokes the helicopter game right out of the water.

HOW DARE YOU QUESTION THE HELICOPTER GAME!

I will not tolerate your insolence!

Did anyone ever notice that they didn't make a helicopter2.html?  That's because the game would be so good, that it would suck in the population, and society would cease to exist, because we'd all just stay home playing it all the time...kind of like what Opium did to China a ways back.

Eventually we have a helicopter.html religion, food, holiday, monument, and giant plush toy. I wonder what the plush toy would look like. Helicopter.html must be the best game, since with more complex games come more things to fix. Helicopter.html was so simple it had no mistakes. None. Not even lack of high explosives.

I've been tracking these brackets in my own personal spreadsheet.  A few observations...

- As of now, we're still missing 4 matchups in the first round.
- There are 4 matchups Dave posted that the Brackets weren't listed:
 Halo vs MK3, Elder Scroll vs TMNT, FF7 vs 1942, and Zelda vs FF2
- There are 5 brackets by my count (Activision, Capcom, Konami, Namco, and Square).  Am I F'ed up?

Yeah...but it's not your fault.
I'm going to post the last 4 right now.
As for the one list of brackets, I just didn't list them on that one day.  I'll put a list of everything after the first round is done.
There are only 4 brakets.  There is no Square bracket....Joe screwed up.

Round 1 is done, and here are the winners from their respective brackets:

Capcom:
Pitfall
Doom 2
Zelda: Link to the Past
Castlevania
Excitebike
Metroid Prime
Punch Out
Super Mario 64

Konami:
Ms. Pac Man
Goldeneye
TMNT
Metroid
Super Mario Kart
GTA: Vice City
Resident Evil
Virtua Fighter 4

Activision:
Galaga
Contra
Battlefield 1942
Zelda
NFL 2K3
Half Life
Tetris
Super Mario 3

Namco:
Scorched Earth
Resident Evil
Halo
Double Dragon
World of Warcraft
Tecmo Super Bowl
Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Mega Man 2

I’m not going to post the 2nd round matchups, until they’re upon us.  All you can be sure of is that no game will play another outside of its bracket until the final 4.

Some surprises from Round 1:
- Donkey Kong Country going down to Virtua Fighter 4.  I didn’t see that coming.
- Street Fighter II falling to Zelda.  While I knew Zelda would get lots of votes, I thought SF2 would take it, considering the kind of people we have on the site.  …not to mention, SF2 started off with a huge lead.

Notables that didn’t make our list of 64:
- Helicopter.html – we already knew it was the best…why ruin the contest?
- Burger Time
- Pole Position – we already had a few racing games and old Atari games…couldn’t make room for it.
- Splinter Cell – we chose Metal Gear Solid 2 instead.
- Max Payne
- Mortal Kombat 2
- Sonic – I just thought that it was popular, but never really a great game.  We had many other more deserving platformers.
- RBI Baseball
- Current generation Madden
- Blades of Steel
- Centipede
- Dig Dug
- Battletoads
- Super Metroid
- Super Mario World
- Donkey Kong
- Ghosts and Goblins
- The Simpsons (arcade)
- Golden Axe
- A slew of Lucasarts games (Grim Fandango, Monkey Island)
- Kings Quest
- Killer Instinct
- Daytona USA
- Toobin’
- Tapper
- Duck Hunt
- RC Pro Am
- Star Wars (arcade)


Go ahead and add any others. 

Splinter Cell got hosed!  BOO!  MGS2 didn't even win... :(

Frogger!!!

Yeah....frogger was pretty dope.  No arguments from me.

Games left after Round 2:

Capcom:
Mike Tyson's Punch Out!!
Excitebike
Doom 2
Zelda: A Link to the Past

Konami
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Metroid
Super Mario Kart
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

Activision
Contra
Half Life/Counterstrike
Tetris
Super Mario Bros. 3

Namco
Tecmo Super Bowl
Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Halo
Double Dragon

Some surprises from Round 2:
Super Mario 64 is out.  I personally think that's a top 5 of all time.
Virtua Fighter 4 got blanked.  I'm not surprised that it lost, but it beat Donkey Kong Country in the first round and couldn't even get 1 vote in the 2nd.
Goldeneye is out.  This game was my personal best ever...and it got beaten pretty badly by Vice City.

The great eight:

Capcom
Punch Out!! (NES)
Doom 2 (PC time exclusive)

Konami
Super Mario Kart (SNES)
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2 time exclusive)

Activision
Super Mario Bros 3. (NES)
Tetris (GB)

Namco
Halo: Combat Evolved (XBOX time exclusive)
Tecmo Super Bowl (NES)

what does "time exclusive" mean?  Vice City is available for PC and XBOX

Yes, but PS2 had an agreement with Rockstar to release it on their system first.
XBOX had to wait a full year before the game was released for them.  The only reason for the wait was because of time exclusivity.

OK, so "time exclusive" means that it was exclusive for some period of time?

I just have never heard that phrase before, looking for clarificaiton.

Yeah, it's actually really common these days.  Back in the SEGA/Nintendo days, you'd just have exclusivity.  A third-party company would usually make a game for one machine or the other.  These days, there are too many systems to allot all of your resources to a release on a single console.  In order for the consoles to get the advantage of being the only system to carry it, they reach deals with the game makers for time exclusivity.

It was big with the GTA series (PS2 first), as well as Splinter Cell (XBOX first) and Resident Evil (GC first).

Wait, what the hell? How did Goldeneye lose? Unless you hosed it by matching it up against GTA or Resident Evil...

It faced Vice City and lost pretty bad.

Dude,  anything would have gotten hosed eventually.  Halo won this whole thing as soon as it hit the list.   ::)

I know it was going to lose eventually, but I hardly think that you could call this bracket a proper guage of the popularity of video games when TMNT lasted longer than Goldeneye. Goldeneye was the flagship game for N64 and was always the most popular game for that console; the only thing that came close was Perfect Dark. TMNT was never anything special, there were any number of action/fighting games that were better on NES/SNES.

While I agree that TMNT is nothing compared to Goldeneye, this tourney can really only determine the best game.  Single elimination brackets aren't designed to say that 1st round eliminations are worse than 2nd round.  ...it's just a luck of the draw in who you play.

Our winner is Halo, by a one vote margin.

That's it?  Weeks of voting, no pomp and circumstance?  No Ticker-tape parade?

Feel free to throw a party, if you'd like.  I have been busy, and have put enough pomp and circumstance in the voting threads.  Go ahead and add bad-ass pictures and videos to this thread.