kisrael.com | videogames | powerlist

These are the ratings from EMG's 100th issue "Top 100 Games Ever" from 1997, their 2002 list, Game Informer's "Top 100 Games of All Time" (August 2001) then IGN.com's online lists from 2003 and 2005. This page calculates each game's "power ranking" by adding their cumulative "(101 - rank)" for its entry in each of the lists. (This is probably unfair for games that are too recent to make the older lists; thems the breaks.)

This isn't meant to be a "better" list, just an interesting little tool. Each of these lists made much better reading, with a description of why it made the cut, so it's worth looking for the back issues or at least seeing IGN's online charts.

Yes, I know this is tragically geeky of me. I started seeing had the made out in which systems and which years made the biggest impact from the 1997 list. When the 2002 update came out, I then wanted to see how the list changed. Then I added in IGN's info into a big static page. When I threw GI into the mix (an "odd man out" in many rankings...plus they don't include year info) I went a little nuts and put the script itself online, allowing people to only look at certain charts. I had to fudge a few things, ignore a few differences in versions and years and what not. (And a lot of typos) but I think the numbers are pretty good. If EGM makes a new list (in 2007 or so) I might tweak the interface to allow comparing in different orders. (It's not chronological so that the EGMs would be lumped together...what's a year difference among friends.)

Use Charts:
EGM
1997
EGM
2002
GI
2001
IGN
2003
IGN
2005
  
  Name Year Pts IGN
2005
1. Super Mario Bros. 1985  100               
2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 1998  99               
3. Tetris 1986  98               
4. Sid Meier's Civilization II 1996  97               
5. Super Mario 64 1996  96               
6. Sid Meier's Pirates! 1987  95               
7. StarCraft 1997  94               
8. Street Fighter II 1991  93               
9. Star Wars: TIE Fighter 1995  92               
10. Super Metroid 1994  91         10       
11. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 1992  90         11       
12. X-COM: UFO Defense 1994  89         12       
13. Chrono Trigger 1995  88         13       
14. Rome: Total War 2004  87         14       
15. Super Mario Kart 1992  86         15       
16. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night 1997  85         16       
17. Star Control II 1992  84         17       
18. ICO 2001  83         18       
19. Metal Gear Solid 1998  82         19       
20. Ms. Pac-Man 1981  81         20       
21. Deus Ex 2000  80         21       
22. Half-Life 1998  79         22       
23. Super Mario Bros. 3 1990  78         23       
24. Tecmo Super Bowl 1991  77         24       
25. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn 2000  76         25       
26. Final Fantasy II (IV) 1991  75         26       
27. Burnout 3: Takedown 2004  74         27       
28. Half-Life 2 2004  73         28       
29. GoldenEye 007 1997  72         29       
30. Halo 2001  71         30       
31. SimCity 2000 1993  70         31       
32. Resident Evil 4 2005  69         32       
33. God of War 2005  68         33       
34. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 2000  67         34       
35. Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty 1992  66         35       
36. Command & Conquer: Red Alert 1996  65         36       
37. Wave Race 64 1996  64         37       
38. Madden NFL 2004 2003  63         38       
39. DOOM 1993  62         39       
40. Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution 2003  61         40       
41. System Shock 2 1999  60         41       
42. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec 2001  59         42       
43. Soul Calibur 1999  58         43       
44. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island 1995  57         44       
45. Battlefield 1942 2002  56         45       
46. Super Mario World 1991  55         46       
47. NHL '94 1993  54         47       
48. The Secret of Mana 1993  53         48       
49. Grim Fandango 1998  52         49       
50. Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi 1991  51         50       
51. Grand Theft Auto III 2001  50         51       
52. Metroid Prime 2002  49         52       
53. Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings 1999  48         53       
54. Panzer Dragoon Saga 1998  47         54       
55. Fallout 1997  46         55       
56. Final Fantasy III (VI) 1994  45         56       
57. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! 1987  44         57       
58. Super Smash Bros. Melee 2001  43         58       
59. Bionic Commando 1988  42         59       
60. Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle 1993  41         60       
61. Sam & Max Hit the Road 1993  40         61       
62. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time 2003  39         62       
63. Sonic the Hedgehog 1991  38         63       
64. Advance Wars 2001  37         64       
65. MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat 1995  36         65       
66. Homeworld 1999  35         66       
67. Rayman 2: The Great Escape 2000  34         67       
68. Starsiege: Tribes 1998  33         68       
69. Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs 1990  32         69       
70. Pokemon Red/Blue 1998  31         70       
71. Half-Life: Counter-Strike 2000  30         71       
72. Galaga 1981  29         72       
73. Return Fire 1995  28         73       
74. Syndicate 1993  27         74       
75. Crimson Skies 2000  26         75       
76. Tetris Attack 1996  25         76       
77. Archon 1984  24         77       
78. Star Wars 1983  23         78       
79. Shining Force II 1994  22         79       
80. Baseball Stars 1989  21         80       
81. Freedom Force 2002  20         81       
82. Gunstar Heroes 1993  19         82       
83. Contra 1988  18         83       
84. Ultima VII: The Black Gate 1992  17         84       
85. Prince of Persia 1989  16         85       
86. Final Fantasy X 2001  15         86       
87. Thief II: The Metal Age 2000  14         87       
88. Final Fantasy VII 1997  13         88       
89. Alone in the Dark 1992  12         89       
90. Master of Orion 1993  11         90       
91. Virtua Tennis 2000  10         91       
92. Dragon Warrior 1989  9         92       
93. Quake II 1997  8         93       
94. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 1998  7         94       
95. Herzog Zwei 1990  6         95       
96. Mafia 2002  5         96       
97. F-Zero 1990  4         97       
98. BattleToads 1991  3         98       
99. Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss 1991  2         99       
100. River City Ransom 1990  1         100