My 100 Favorite Video Games of All Time: Part 2 (90-81)

90 - Capcom Vs. SNK 2

Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 did not make my list. GASP! This game, however, (obviously) did. Why did I pick this one over MvC2? Capcom Vs. SNK 2 is a solid, tight fighter that was just more well balanced and less luck-based than MvC2. Also, unlike its competition, CvSNK2 required you to actually execute the special moves, instead of simply pressing a single button on the controller to pull of a screen-filling death-dealer. Also, I liked the lineup on this one a little better because it featured some of my favorite characters from King of Fighters like Iori Yagami and King.

89 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was a fun skateboarding title that came out of left field and became a massive success. Its first sequel took everything the first title did right and ratcheted up the pace, level size, trick list, skater selection, goals and even the already fun licensed soundtrack. The series has had a long life, going on for over a decade, and while it has fizzled in recent years, struggling to keep up with an evolving industry, this particular title still holds up. I still pop it in my Playstation on occasion. Just as a pick-up-and-play title, it is a classic.

88 - Kid Icarus

As a kid, I wasn't able to buy my own video games, and there was one video store, called Video Oasis, about five minutes from my house that I would get an opportunity to visit regularly. The video game selection was small, filling about one shelf, and they did not have this title. I actually first heard about the character Kid Icarus (which wasn't even his name) on the amazingly silly extended Nintendo commercial, Captain N the Game Master. It would be more than ten years later before I would play this title and boy was I blown away. The vertical level design, epic level of challenge and perky theme song still resonate with me to this day.

87 - Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando

By 2003, the Sony action-platformer trifecta of Naughty Dog, Sucker Punch and Insomniac, were already becoming a household name. The first Ratchet and Clank was a very fun platforming title with some amazing level design. As soon as I landed in that massive futuristic city, with buildings that just kept going into the distance and hundreds of flying cars in every direction, I was spending more time taking in the scenery than I was actually playing the game. Add some very funny story sequences, great writing and some of the coolest weapons ever and you have a true classic.

86 - Burnout Paradise

This game. I was already a Burnout fanboy when this game came out. When I got my hands on the extreme speed, open-world gameplay, and exciting soundtrack I was confident in calling Burnout Paradise my favorite title of the series. I haven't completed this title yet, mainly because I'm just letting it stretch out. When I'm bored I'll turn on my PS3 and do one or two events then set it down. This title is pick-up-and-play at its best.

85 - World of Warcraft

Time suck. Life suck. Soul suck. I'm not sure why I like this game. I just know I'm an addict; a very, very sad addict. I see the commercial for that lame rehab reality show with celebrities crying like little girls in front of Dr. Drew and consider them lucky they aren't addicted to WoW (or ARE they?!). I'm still playing this one today, thank you Cataclysm for giving me more reasons to lose hours of my life on this useless time-waster. I just can't help myself...

84 - Sly Cooper and the Thievius Racoonus

Yay! Another one of Sony's platformers, this one from the very talented folks at Sucker Punch, Sly Cooper was a different game for its time. The episodic storyline was done like a Saturday morning cartoon, the cell-shaded graphics made it look like one, and there were even little episode titles for each level. The level design was also top-notch, focusing on a combination of acrobatics, stealth and speed. This is one of my favorite PS2 games of all time!

83 - Halo 2

I loved Halo, though I didn't play it until 1 year after its release (that's when I finally picked up my X-Box). Halo 2 was Halo on steroids. Dropping the rest of the title (“Combat Evolved”, how many people actually remember that anyway?) in lieu of a numbered series, this Bungie title brings dual-wielding, more vehicles, and online multiplayer to the mix. This is one amazing game. Also being able to play as a Covenant character was also pretty darn cool.

82 - Fallout 3

Bethesda apparently likes to make games that overwhelm because this one has so much depth, so many quests, and so many characters that it feels like it could have been broken down into an extended four-title shooter series. Instead, they made a massive, visceral RPG experience and did it in a nuked-out Washington D.C. Way to raise the bar guys! It is probably going to be a while before an RPG is released that can compete with this one, but we'll see...

81 - Mortal Kombat 3

Mortal Kombat was a ground-breaking and controversial fighter that was like Street Fighter filled with dead bodies. The sequel added more characters which resulted in a list that was, at the time, just overwhelming. The third in the franchise added even more new characters, a complex and fun combo system and even more new types of Fatalities, and it all culminated in a perfect combination to qualify it as one of the best fighting games of all time.