PC Gamer (US) did Best Games Ever lists in 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, and 2005.\u00a0 After that, there weren’t full lists for a few years.\u00a0 The next list is from 2010, but that is done with the US & UK staff together.\u00a0 I will list everything from those lists, plus also readers’ lists PCG US published in 1995 and 2000.\u00a0 What about the years after 2010?\u00a0 I am not sure which years have lists.\u00a0 I do know that there is also a list in 2025, I mentioned and included it in my 1998 Retrospective articles. Look for it there if you want, but I think it’s a pretty terrible list.\u00a0 These list are all much better.\u00a0 I am not sure what lists they did in the years in between, but I may continue looking to find that out.\u00a0 The 2025 list claims that the lists are annual, but as you can see that is not entirely true.\u00a0 Some years they make one, others they don’t.<\/p>\n
As a note, PC Gamer US and UK used to be entirely separate publications, and were at least from their foundings in 1993-1994 until sometime in the 2010s, when the two were merged.\u00a0 The websites merged in 2010, it seems, and the magazine sometime after that, perhaps 2018, though in 2010 they started sharing content and working together on some articles.\u00a0 It makes sense that they have been merged, as gaming is more international now than ever and physical media is in significant decline, but these lists are mostly from before the merger.\u00a0 I have never read PC Gamer (UK) so I don’t know when or what their pre-merger Best Game Ever lists included.<\/p>\n
I may go through PCG archives from 2006-2024 to continue this with more of their Best Game Ever lists, but I have not done that yet so this list of the first 11 years of PCG Best Games Ever lists will have to do.<\/p>\n
Please note: The magazine issue months listed below are the months on the labels.\u00a0 In practice, magazines are generally on shelves the month before the month that the label says, and were written before that.\u00a0 That August 1994 article was likely written in June, for example.<\/p>\n
Table of Contents<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ————<\/strong><\/span> The first PC Gamer Best Games Ever list was from the magazines’ first year of operation, 1994. The first list was a list of their choices for the top 40 PC games up to that point… kind of; they have an additional 10 listed at the end, so it really is a top 50, they just didn’t have space for full details on places 41 to 50, just to list the names.\u00a0 I am considering those as part of the list.\u00a0 I do not have the issue, but you can find scans of the issue online in multiple places. Here is one example: https:\/\/www.retromags.com\/files\/file\/6340-pc-gamer-issue-003-august-1994\/<\/a> This scan is missing pages, for some reason, but the Top 40 list is intact.\u00a0 It is a 12 page article with no advertising in between the pages of the article.\u00a0 The issue is 114 pages long.\u00a0 The magazine would get much thicker in future years; it’s interesting to read this, the writing and article styles are so different from the PCG I know so well!\u00a0 I first read the magazine in 1996.\u00a0 By then it had its style it would stick with through the rest of the decade.<\/p>\n This is the list:<\/p>\n 40. Beat the House (Spirit of Discovery) The Ten Best Games that Almost Made the Top 40:<\/strong> Future Watch: The Early Favorites for Next Year’s Top 40:<\/strong> The Eight Most Important Games of All Time (in no order):<\/strong> <\/p>\n ——— PCG did not have an editor’s list in 1995, but when they published their 1994 list they got a lot of responses from readers criticizing their choices and giving their own. The results were compiled in the January 1995 issue into this readers’ top 40. This list won’t be a part of my analysis section at the end as it is a readers’ list and not an editors’ one, but it is interesting and well worth reading. It is a four-page article with two pages of ads in the middle in a 186-page issue.<\/p>\n The magazine can be read here: https:\/\/archive.gamehistory.org\/item\/78c2dcf2-da0f-4d6b-8008-f6eca4f4eb7a<\/p>\n 40 – V for Victory: Utah Beach; 39 – Star Control II; 38 – Ultima VII: The Black Gate [not in editors’ list]; 37 – Commanche: Maximum Overkill [not in editors’ list]; 36 – Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers [not in editors’ list]; 35 – King’s Quest V [not in editors’ list]; 34 – Pinball Fantasies; 33 – Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Edition; 32 – Star Wars: Rebel Assault [not in editors’ list]; 31 – Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe [not in editors’ list]; 30 – SimCity; 29 – Star Wars: TIE Fighter [not in editors’ list because the game had not yet released when PCG published their list]; 28 – Ultima VIII: Pagan [not in editors’ list]; 27 – The Bard’s Tale [not in editor’s list]; 26 – Chuck Yeager’s Air Combat; 25 – Myst [not in editors’ list]; 24 – IndyCar Racing; 23 – Sam and Max Hit the Road; 22 – The Secret of Monkey Island [not in editors’ list]; 21 – Syndicate; 20 – Sid Meier’s Railroad Tycoon; 19 – Falcon 3.0 (Falcon Gold); 18 – Lemmings; 17 – Betrayal at Krondor; 16 – The 7th Guest [not in editors’ list]; 15 – Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds; 14 – Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis; 13 – Links 386 Pro; 12 – Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle; 11 – Dune II; 10 – Front Page Sports: Football Pro; 9 – Aces over Europe; 8 – Red Baron; 7 – Return to Zork; 6 – Civilization; 5 – Alone in the Dark; 4 – Wing Commander; 3 – Wolfenstein 3-D [not in editors’ list]; 2 – Star Wars: X-Wing; 1 – Doom.<\/p>\n It’s a very solid list, isn’t it. A lot of the games on it are also on PCG’s list, but a few weren’t. Either way on that this is a pretty good list really.<\/p>\n What would my list have been? Well, in December 1994 when this issue would have been on store shelves, we still had a 386 PC with no sound card or CD-ROM drive, and I had not played almost any of the games in this list at that point. We had SimCity and SimCity 2000, and I had maybe played Civilization but I don’t think so, I don’t think I played that one until we had the newer PC. Of these games that’s about it at that time. I would play more of them later on after we got our first computer with a CD drive sometime in 1995. What would my list have been? I’m really not sure but here is my guess. I’m not going to rank the games because I’m but sure what order they’d go in, but of what I know I had, I’ll go with Commander Keen: Invasion of the Vorticons; SimCity; SimCity 2000; The Lost Vikings; and Quest for Glory: So You Want To Be A Hero. If I expanded it to ten, my guesses at the titles to add would be Castles: The Northern Campaign; Lemmings; Commander Keen: Goodbye, Galaxy; Dark Ages; and… I’m not sure, maybe Castle Adventure.<\/p>\n ——— Outside of that readers’ poll published in ’95, it would be several years until PCG did a second official editors’ Best Games Ever list. There were no new editor’s lists in ’95 or ’96.<\/p>\n ————<\/span><\/strong> In 1997, PC Gamer did their second Best Game Ever list.\u00a0 This time they expanded the list to 50 games, which makes sense given how many amazing PC games had released in the years in between the two lists.\u00a0 I cannot find scans of this issue online, so I bought a copy of the magazine.\u00a0 What a fantastic issue!\u00a0 PCG was at its thickest in terms of page count in ’97.\u00a0 The article has 14 pages of text and graphics, with 16 pages of advertising interspersed in between those pages. The issue is 216 pages.\u00a0 It’s thinner than you might think because the magazine always got thicker around the holidays, thinner in midyear.<\/p>\n Here is the list.<\/p>\n 50. The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall (Bethesda Softworks) Civilization (Microprose) —————-<\/strong> As with 1997, I cannot find scans of this issue online, so I bought the magazine.\u00a0 That sure contains some good old memories.\u00a0 Well, here is the list!\u00a0 It’s funny, before going back to repurchase these issues I remembered the number one games from 1997 and 1999, but forgot this one even though it is one of my favorite games ever… it was a nice surprise to see it here!\u00a0 This time the article has 16 pages of text and graphics, with a full 27 pages of advertising in between those pages.\u00a0 This is another thick magazine issue — 368 pages!\u00a0 There is a lot of advertising for games releasing that holiday.<\/p>\n 50. The Operational Art of War (Talonsoft) —————<\/span><\/strong> Once again, I cannot find a full scan of this issue, so I repurchased the magazine.\u00a0 It’s great to have.\u00a0\u00a0This time, the Best Games Ever list doesn’t have top billing on the cover, unlike the previous lists.\u00a0 Instead their Warcraft III reveal, of the original more RPG-like version of the game, does.\u00a0 That is understandable.\u00a0 The list was as follows; it is again 50 games.\u00a0 This issue is 288 pages, substantial but a significant decline from the November issues of the previous two years.\u00a0 You can see in that number the beginning of the PC gaming market’s decline.\u00a0 The Best Games Ever list itself has 18 pages of text and 18 pages of advertising between those pages.<\/p>\n Note: I like that PCG added release years to the article, but they mess up a surprising number of them.\u00a0 \u00a0Entries with a * are ones where for some reason they got the year of release wrong.\u00a0 I corrected them here, these are the correct years.<\/p>\n 50. The Operational Art of War, Vol. 1 (Talonsoft, 1998) Statistics: After the list, there was a nice new page with some stats about the list.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Who publishes the best games? Where do the best games come from? What year were the best games made? (please note this includes their ones listed in the wrong years with the wrong years but oh well, I’m not redoing the stats sorry) ———<\/strong><\/span> Some years they have an editors’ list of the best games, some years they don’t. They didn’t in 2000. However, in the April 2000 issue they do have the results of a readers’ poll they had at the time of the previous list in late ’99. Readers could respond with their top 5s, and PCG combined those into a top 50. I am not including this list in the my data section below but I will list the results here. It is a 5 page article with two pages of ads. And yes, they list it the opposite of their editor’s lists, with number one at the beginning instead of at the end. I order it as they do.<\/p>\n You can find a full scan of the issue here: https:\/\/library.gamehistory.org\/repositories\/2\/archival_objects\/5675<\/p>\n 1- Half-Life; 2 – StarCraft; 3 – Diablo; 4 – WarCraft II; 5 – Civlization II; 6 – Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six; 7 – Star Wars: Jedi Knight – Dark Forces II; 8 – Quake II; 9 – Baldur’s Gate; 10 – Command & Conquer: Red Alert; 11 – Civilization; 12 – Doom; 13 – Duke Nukem 3D; 14 – Quake; 15 – X-COM: UFO Defense; 16 – Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri; 17 – Total Annihilation; 18 – Fallout; 19 – Heroes of Might & Magic II; 20 – SimCity 2000; 21 – Age of Empires; 22 – System Shock 2; 23 – Star Wars: TIE Fighter; 24 – Command & Conquer; 25 – Worms 2; 26 – Unreal; 27 (Tie) – Starsiege: Tribes and Thief: The Dark Project; 28 – EverQuest; 29 – Command & Conquer: Tiberan Sun; 30 – Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger; 31 – RollerCoaster Tycoon; 32 – Battlezone (1998); 33 – Tomb Raider; 34 – Need for Speed; 35 – Heroes of Might & Magic III; 36 – Final Fanvasy VII; 37 – Master of Orion; 38 – Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear; 39 (Tie) – The Curse of Monkey Island and Might and Magic VI; 40 – MechWarrior II; 41 – Grim Fandango; 42 – Myst; 43 – System Shock; 44 – Panzer General 2; 45 – Descent; 46 – Star Wars: Dark Forces; 47 – Dungeon Keeper; 48 – StarCraft: Brood War; 49 – Myth; 50 (Tie): Caesar III and Grand Theft Auto.<\/p>\n Yeah, that’s a decent list, and it’s interesting how it is both different and similar to the editor’s list. I do not remember if I mailed in a response myself, but if I had my guess is that I would have said: 1. StarCraft: Brood War; 2. Civilization II; 3. Star Wars: TIE Fighter; 4. Grim Fandango; 5. WarCraft II or Star Wars: Jedi Knight, not sure which. If continuing to ten, my guesses at 6 to 10 would be, in some order: the other of those two fifth place games; Quest for Glory: So You Want To Be A Hero; Commander Keen: Invasion of the Vorticons; Baldur’s Gate; and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. Who knows though, I could have put other things in my list at the time instead.<\/p>\n ———<\/strong><\/span> You can find a full magazine scan here: https:\/\/archive.gamehistory.org\/item\/010ea1bd-37d6-4cb5-ac38-ac956c03142f<\/a><\/p>\n With this issue, PCG changes the wording of the series’ name from The 50 Best Games Ever — the name the previous lists had used, other than the first one saying 40 instead of course — to The 50 Best Games of All Time.\u00a0 Okay.\u00a0 The list article returns to being the main cover page image.\u00a0 This time, the article has 16 pages of text, which is good, but there are only 11 full pages of advertising… and two of those pages of text have something you did not see in PCG in the previous lists, one-third page sidebar ads.\u00a0 So that’s 15 1\/3rd pages of actual articles and graphics, and 11 2\/3rds pages of ads.\u00a0 Also, the next thing in the magazine after this article is a long advertising supplement for Official Xbox Magazine.\u00a0 Sign of the times indeed.\u00a0 The magazine is a mere 148 pages, in an October issue, also.<\/p>\n 50. Combat Mission (Big Time Software\/Battlefront.com, 2000) Around the Office: Personal favorites that didn’t make the list:<\/strong> ————–<\/strong> Yet again several years passed without an update to the list. This is the longest wait so far for a new list.\u00a0 I don’t see anything relating to a best games list in these years.\u00a0 Oh well.<\/p>\n ———-<\/span><\/strong> https:\/\/archive.gamehistory.org\/item\/0b35ee1a-ce5b-4f37-beb9-b4ed2632e6cf<\/a> This issue is a thin 106 pages.\u00a0 Compare that to the length of the midyear 1997 issue and you see what happened to PC gaming.\u00a0 The main cover image is of Call of Duty II, with the Best Games list mentioned at the bottom.\u00a0 The article is 7 pages long, with one page of advertising between those pages.\u00a0 Yeah, that’s all you get here.\u00a0 This list keeps the same name as the previous one, The 50 Best Games Of All Time.\u00a0 You can really, REALLY tell that budget cuts this time — not all games have screenshots, the amount of text per game is cut significantly for lower-ranked titles down to just a single sentence for each game, and the whole article is only seven pages long… but at least it exists. The decline of magazines and advertising hadn’t, and somehow still hasn’t, killed the magazine. I hate that the screenshots they do have are all grouped together, in random order, making it hard to tie each one to the game it represents.\u00a0 However, they do go back to picking one game for each listing this time, instead of combining series into a single entry.\u00a0 Brave.<\/p>\n 50. Freedom Force (Irrational Games\/EA, 2002) [Previously: New] They say that Half-Life 2 is a better game than the first Half-Life, but give #1 to the original because it is more historically important.<\/p>\n Our Personal All-Time Favorites:<\/strong> [I only list the years for games not on the main list] ————– So, that is all six of PC Gamer US’s best games lists that they made with just the US staff. I do not believe they did another list until after the US and UK magazines started merging in 2010.\u00a0 Of these US staff-only lists, which games show up the most?\u00a0 Note: I am including the 41-50 section of the 1994 list here, but not Editor’s Picks.\u00a0 The two readers’ lists are not included here.\u00a0 For listings where they say multiple games or ‘Series’ I count all titles they give the name and release year here.<\/p>\n 6: Games which show up somewhere on the list all six times:<\/strong><\/p>\n Doom Civilization Series – Civilization (’94), Civilization II (’97-’05).\u00a0 The one that appears is always in the top four.<\/p>\n 5: Games which show up in five of the six lists:<\/strong><\/p>\n SimCity 2000 (’94, ’97, ’99-’05; ’01 is listed in its Series) NHL Series – NHL Hockey (’94), NHL ’97 (’97), NHL ’98 (’98, ’99), NHL 2001 (’01) 4: Games which show up on four lists:<\/strong><\/p>\n Front Page Sports: Football Pro (’94-’99) Monkey Island Series – The Curse of Monkey Island (’98, ’99), The Secret of Monkey Island (’05), Monkey Island Series (’01). 3: Games which show up on three lists:<\/strong><\/p>\n Betrayal at Krondor (’94, ’97, ’99) High Heat Baseball Series – High Heat 2000 (’99), High Heat Series (’01), High Heat 2002 (’05)<\/p>\n 2: Games which show up on two lists:<\/strong><\/p>\n V for Victory: Utah Beach (’94, ’97) Close Combat Series (’97 for the first game, ’98 for A Bridge Too Far) 1: One-Hit Wonders – Games on only One of these Six Lists:<\/strong><\/p>\n From 1994: Sid Meier’s Civilization (replaced by its sequel…), Beat the House, Pirates! Gold, Harpoon, Empire Deluxe, Leisure Suit Larry III, Wolfpack, Pinball Fantasies, LHX Attack Chopper, Quest for Glory III: Wages of War, Return to Zork, Stunts, IndyCar Racing, Arena: The Elder Scrolls, Falcon 3.0, NHL Hockey, Aces of the Pacific, Goblins Quest 3, Pools of Radiance, Star Trek: Judgment Rites, Mortal Kombat, 4D Boxing, King’s Quest VI, Dune II, M1 Abrams Battle Tank, Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle<\/p>\n From 1997: The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall, Pro Pinball: The Web, Tony LaRussa Baseball 3, Star Trail: Realms of Arkania, Close Combat, Silent Hunter, Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge, Harpoon II, NHL ’97, Virtual Pool, Descent, Jane’s AH-64D Longbow<\/p>\n From 1998: Pro Pinball: Timeshock, Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far, Starflight, Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven, Worms 2, Interstate ’76<\/p>\n From 1999: Prince of Persia, Motocross Madness, Railroad Tycoon II, Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri, Thief: The Dark Project, Falcon 4.0 [Of these, Thief and Alpha Centauri return in the 2025 list.\u00a0 Not sure about in between.]<\/p>\n From 2001: Tribes 2 (listed in its series), Unreal Tournament (listed in its series),Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord, Tribes 2 (in Series), WarCraft: Orcs and Humans (in Series), Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 (in Series), Wing Commander IV (in Series), Black & White, X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, X-Wing Alliance (both in Series), Doom II (in Series), Baldur’s Gate II (in Series), Deus Ex, Rainbow Six Series, Diablo Series, Dark Forces (in Series), NHL 2001, No One Lives Forever, Lords of the Realm II, Bard’s Tale Series, Roller Coaster Tycoon, Age of Empires II, Unreal Tournament (in Series), From 2005: Freedom Force, Max Payne, IL-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles, Rise of Nations, Neverwinter Nights, Unreal Tournament 2004, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Far Cry, Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto III, Battlefield 1942, Half-Life 2<\/p>\n ———- After 2005, it would be a while until PC Gamer did another full-on Best Games Ever list, and when it finally happened it was different from the above lists. I have spent a while looking at the covers and some interiors of these issues, and ’06 through ’09 do not have any full lists.\u00a0 I see nothing that looks like one at all in ’06 or ’07.\u00a0 After that, the closest things they have are:<\/p>\n February 2008<\/strong> – Best 50 games for under $20 – This isn’t a ranked list, just an article about some cheap games they think are good that you could play or buy digitally from various places. This issue is scanned and available on gamehistory.org.<\/p>\n September 2008<\/strong> – The cover claims there is a “365 Free Games” article in the magazine. It’s obviously not a best ever list but I’d be interested in seeing it, but I can’t find any scans or copies of the issue for sale. I might try to buy this issue.<\/p>\n April 2009<\/strong> – This issue has a “The 49 Greatest Developers” article mentioned on the cover. Interesting. Again I can’t find any scans or copies for sale. I’ll try to get a copy of this issue.<\/p>\n February 2010<\/strong> – This is when the next full list finally released, and it came with a lot of changes, which is why it is below the My Data section of this article. In 2010 the list doubles to 100 games, and is a list written by both the US and UK PC Gamer staffs together, instead of only the US staff. This results in a quite different list.\u00a0 That list will be posted in the next section, but I have one other article to mention first.<\/p>\n May 2010<\/strong> – The 200th Issue – 200 Reasons to Love PC Gaming and 50 Games to Play at Work<\/p>\n https:\/\/archive.gamehistory.org\/item\/907059e2-f2d3-452b-88f3-c094d7ca1623<\/p>\n A few months after the previous list, PCG did something adjacent to it but that isn’t a full-on ranked list in their 200th issue celebration. It’s a fun article which mentions a lot of games, hardware, moments, and more, read it. It mentions their favorite multiplayer games, some notable simulators, the best heroes and villains of PC gaming, amusing moments, a few then-recent remakes of note, their picks for PC gaming’s top six developers, noteworthy free games, and more.<\/p>\n And that is how far I have gotten so far in looking at old PCG US covers and some interiors and articles and reminding myself of when they published these lists.<\/p>\n —————<\/strong><\/span> So, of the 2006 to 2010 timeframe, there really is only one real list, the one from February 2010. A scan of the issue can be found here: https:\/\/archive.gamehistory.org\/item\/ee0eb027-d607-4473-b910-bb6e8a91e626<\/p>\n Regardless, in early 2010 the list returns. This time, things are very different — the article says that this list was made by both the US and UK staffs’ input, as opposed to the US-only lists we had from ’94 to ’05. This will change the results significantly, as you will see, versus the older PCG US lists. Also, this is when the list doubles in length, from 50 games to 100. The article is 13 pages long, with 4 pages of advertising between those pages. Yeah, the print is smaller and it uses more columns to fit in all those games. The date in parenthesis is the year they list as the year of release of the game.<\/p>\n 100 – IL-2 Sturmovik (2001) <\/p>\n These lists are interesting, aren’t they. They are a good picture of what the PC gaming press, and also hardcore PC gamers as you see from the two users’ lists, were playing and thought the most highly of, and of which genres were held in the highest regard — first-person shooters, adventure games, simulators of either the building or vehicular varieties, other kinds of strategy games, and role-playing games.\u00a0 Other genres are clearly more looked down upon.\u00a0 For instance, strategy games are my favorite genre, but a close second is platformers.\u00a0 The PC has many great platformers, but unless you count Tomb Raider not one makes any of the lists from ’94 to ’05, because PC gamers either looked down on the genre or thought of them as console stuff they didn’t have much interest in on the PC.\u00a0 I think that is an unfortunate blind spot, the PC has plenty of great platformers!\u00a0 You do finally see some platformers on the list in the 2010 list, such as Cave Story.\u00a0 I wonder if that is because of the growth of indie games at that point or because of the influence of the UK staff also working on that list… could be either one.<\/p>\n Beyond that, another thing I find particularly interesting on these lists is when an old game that hadn’t made the previous lists suddenly appears, such as when MechWarrior 2 makes its first appearance in the 2001 list, despite having released before the ’97, ’98, and ’99 lists and being a beloved classic.\u00a0 My guess would be that some new staff member was a fan of the game, propelling it up into the list.\u00a0 As for some other thoughts, I get why the 2001 list combines games into a single listing for a whole series, but personally I do not like this solution.\u00a0 Not every game in a series is equally great, after all!\u00a0 If you want to cover more games, I think a better way is to make the list longer.\u00a0 PCG would eventually do this, as the 2025 list is a top 100.\u00a0 I like that the 2005 list, while lacking in detail, did go back to listing games separately and not all combined.\u00a0 I understand why they did all those combined listings, sometimes, such as with Ultima Underworld, two games are very similar and release close together in time, but other times, when the games release years apart, such as System Shock, it really doesn’t make sense to just toss them in a single listing together.\u00a0 Pick your favorite, as they do in ’05.<\/p>\n Overall, these lists are a good picture of PC gaming of the time… kind of.\u00a0 Really, they are a good picture of what teenage or adult hardcore PC gamers thought the most highly of.\u00a0 Kids’ games, educational games, platformers, shmups, those kinds of games were popular also, but don’t make lists like these because of genre or target audience.\u00a0 Even so, they are high quality lists worth remembering and putting on the internet all together here.\u00a0 I hope some people find this interesting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" PC Gamer (US) did Best Games Ever lists in 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, and 2005.\u00a0 After that, there weren’t full lists for a few years.\u00a0 The next list is from 2010, but that is done with the US & … Continue reading \n
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\n1994 – in the August issue<\/strong><\/span>
\n————<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\n39. Pirates! Gold (MicroProse)
\n38. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis CD-ROM (LucasArts)
\n37. Leisure Suit Larry III (Sierra On-Line)
\n36. Empire Deluxe (New World Computing)
\n35. Harpoon (360 Pacific)
\n34. Wolfpack CD-ROM (NovaLogic)
\nA Dev’s Favorite Game: Brent Iverson (Electronic Arts, designer of Chuck Yeager’s Air Combat) – Doom, Odyssey (for the Apple II), Red Baron, F-19 Stealth Fighter.
\n33. Pinball Fantasies (21st Century Entertaimnent)
\n32. Betrayal at Krondor (Dynamix)
\n31. D\/Generation (The Software Toolworks)
\n30. Lemmings (Psygnosis)
\nA Dev’s Favorite Game: Sean Clarke (LucasArts, Co-Project leader of Sam & Max Hit the Road) – M.U.L.E.
\n29. LHX Attack Chopper (Electronic Arts)
\n28. Ultima Underworld II (Origin)
\n27. Quest for Glory III: Wages of War (Sierra On-Line)
\n26. Return to Zork (Activision)
\nA Dev’s Favorite Game: Sid Meier (MicroProse, creator of Civilization and Railroad Tycoon): Civilization. Someone elses’ game: Empire. Also mentions Star Raiders (for Atari 800), Air Traffic Controller (for Apple II), Flight Simulator (for Apple II).
\n25. Might & Magic III: Isles of Terra (New World Computing)
\n24. Wing Commander CD-ROM (Origin)
\n23. Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe (Konami)
\n22. Stunts (Broderbund)
\nA Dev’s Favorite Game: Peter Molyneux (Bullfrog, Creator of Populous, Syndicate, Theme Park) – Battle Isle. Also mentions Civilization.
\n21. Star Control II (Accolade)
\n20. Front Page Sports: Football Pro (Dynamix)
\n19. IndyCar Racing (Papyrus)
\n18. Arena: The Elder Scrolls (Activision)
\nA Dev’s Favorite Game: Paul Reiche (Toys for Bob (Crystal Dynamics) Creator of Star Control I and II) – M.U.L.E. (for Atari 800), Ali Baba, Return of Hercules, Empire, Star Control, Dune 2.
\n17. Red Baron (Dynamix)
\n16. Falcon 3.0 (Spectrum HoloByte)
\n15. Syndicate (Electronic Arts)
\n14. V for Victory: Utah Beach (360 Pacific)
\nA Dev’s Favorite Game: Chris Roberts (Origin, Creator of Wing Commander) – Elite (for BBC Micro). Also mentions Monkey Island 1 & 2, Battlehawks, Red Baron, Commanche: Maximum Overkill, F-19.
\n13. Ultima VII Part Two (Origin)
\n12. NHL Hockey (Electronic Arts)
\n11. Aces of the Pacific (Dynamix)
\n10. Alone in the Dark (I-Motion)
\nA Dev’s Favorite Game: Dave Grossman (LucasArts, Co-Project Leader of Day of the Tentacle) – Lode Runner.
\n9. Chuck Yeager’s Air Combat (Electronic Arts)
\n8. SimCity 2000 (Maxis)
\n7. Sam and Max Hit the Road CD-ROM (LucasArts)
\n6. Links 386 Pro (Access)
\nA Dev’s Favorite Game: Richard Garriott (Origin, Lord British and creator of Ultima series) – Monkey Island 2.
\n5. X-Wing (LucasArts)
\n4. Populous (Electronic Arts)
\n3. Sid Meier’s Railroad Tycoon (MicroProse)
\n2. Sid Meier’s Civilization (MicroProse)
\n1. Doom (id Software)<\/p>\n
\n41. 1942: Pacific Air War (MicroProse)
\n42. Goblins Quest 3 (Sierra)
\n43. Pool of Radiance (SSI)
\n44. Star Trek: Judgment Rites (Interplay)
\n45. Mortal Kombat (Ultra Tech)
\n46. Day of the Tentacle (LucasArts)
\n47. 4D Boxing (Electronic Arts)
\n48. King’s Quest VI (Sierra)
\n49. Dune II (Virgin)
\n50. M1 Abrams Battletank (Electronic Arts)<\/p>\n
\nTIE Fighter (LucasArts), Under a Killing Moon (Access), MetalTech: Earth Siege (Dynamix), Phantasmagoria (Sierra On-Line), Wing Commander 3 (Origin), Across the Rhine (MicroProse), Cannon Fodder (Virgin), Star Crusader (Take Two), Creation (Bullfrog).<\/p>\n
\nZork (Infocom)
\nTetris (Spectrum HoloByte)
\nThe Bard’s Tale (Electronic Arts)
\nThe 7th Guest (Virgin Interactive)
\nWolfenstein 3D (id Software)
\nManiac Mansion (LucasArts)
\nMicrosoft Flight Simulator (Microsoft)
\nThe Secret of Monkey Island (LucasArts)<\/p>\n
\n1995 – No Editor’s List, but there is a Reader’s List<\/strong>
\n———<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n1995-1996 – No New List<\/span><\/strong>
\n———<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
\n1997 – in the May issue<\/span><\/strong>
\n————<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
\n49. Pro Pinball: The Web (Empire\/Interplay)
\n48. Tony LaRussa Baseball 3 (Storm Front Studios)
\n47. Star Trail: Realms of Arkania (Sir-Tech)
\nEditor’s Choice: Gary Whitta (Editor-in-Chief) – Doom.
\n46. Close Combat (Microsoft)
\n45. V for Victory (Three-Sixty Pacific)
\n44. Silent Hunter (SSI)
\n43. Might and Magic III: The Isles of Terra (New World Computing\/SSI)
\nEditor’s Choice: Dan Bennett (Editor) – System Shock.
\n42. Front Page Sports: Football Pro (Sierra)
\n41. Diablo (Blizzard Entertainment)
\n40. Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe (The Bitmap Brothers)
\n39. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (Lucasarts)
\nEditor’s Choice: Todd Vaughn (Deputy Editor) – Ultima Underworld.
\n38. SimCity 2000 (Maxis)
\n37. D\/Generation (Mindscape)
\n36. Triple Play 97 (Electronic Arts)
\n35. Monkey Island II: LeChuck’s Revenge (Lucasarts)
\nEditor’s Choice: Joe Novicki (Disc Editor) – Heroes of Might & Magic II, D\/Generation, Beat the House.
\n34. Master of Orion (Microprose)
\n33. Star Control II (Accolade)
\n32. Wing Commander: The Kilrathi Saga (Origin)
\n31. Harpoon II (Three-Sixty Pacific)
\nEditor’s Choice: Lisa Renninger (Managing Editor) – WarCraft II.
\n30. Lemmings (Psygnosis)
\n29. Sid Meier’s Railroad Tycoon (Microprose)
\n28. The Complete Ultima VII (Origin)
\n27. NHL ’97 (Electronic Arts)
\nEditor’s Choice: Dean Renninger (Art Director) – Command & Conquer, Command & Conquer: Red Alert.
\n26. Chuck Yeager’s Air Combat (Electronic Arts)
\n25. Syndicate (Bullfrog)
\n24. Beavis & Butt-Head in Virtual Stupidity (Viacom New Media)
\n23. Virtual Pool (Interplay)
\nEditor’s Choice: Jason Bates (Online\/News Editor) – Sid Meier’s Civilization. Also mentions Civilization II, Doom, X-COM, WarCraft II, and TIE Fighter.
\n22. Alone in the Dark (I-Motion)
\n21. Populous (Electronic Arts)
\n20. Ultima Underworld I & II (Origin Systems)
\n19. Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (Sierra)
\nEditor’s Choice: Michael Wolf (Asst. Disc Editor) – Tomb Raider.
\n18. Descent (Interplay)
\n17. Eurofighter 2000 [EF2000] (Ocean of America)
\n16. Duke Nukem 3D (3D Realms)
\n15. Quake (id Software)
\nEditor’s Choice: Quintin Doroquez (Assoc. Art Dir.) – Earl Weaver Baseball II, Triple Play 97.
\n14. Tomb Raider (Eidos Interactive)
\n13. Panzer General (SSI)
\n12. Red Baron (Sierra\/Dynamix)
\n11. Sam & Max Hit the Road (Lucasarts)
\nEditor’s Choice: Coconut Monkey (Mascot) – The Beverly Hillbillies (Capstone).
\n10. AH-64D Longbow (Jane’s Combat Simulations\/EA)
\n9. Links LS (Access)
\n8. Command & Conquer: Red Alert (Virgin\/Westwood Studios)
\n7. X-COM: UFO Defense (Microprose)
\n6. Heroes of Might & Magic II (New World Computing\/3DO)
\n5. System Shock (Origin)
\n4. Sid Meier’s Civilization II (Microprose)
\n3. WarCraft II (Blizzard Entertainment)
\n2. Doom (id Software)
\n1. TIE Fighter Collector’s CD-ROM (Lucasarts)<\/p>\n
\nThe 15 Most Significant Games Of All Time [as of April 1997, for PC, not ranked]<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\nDune II (Westwood)
\nElite (Microprose)
\nEmpire (Interstel)
\nGunship (Microprose)
\nIndianapolis 500 (Papyrus)
\nLinks (Access)
\nManiac Mansion (Lucasarts)
\nSimCIty (Maxis)
\nTetris (Spectrum HoloByte)
\nWing Commander (Origin Systems)
\nWizardry (Sir-Tech)
\nWolfenstein 3D (id Software)
\nZork (Infocom)
\nUltima Underworld (Origin)<\/p>\n
\n1998 – in the October issue<\/strong><\/span>
\n—————-<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\n49. Pro Pinball: Timeshock (Empire Interactive)
\n48. You Don’t Know Jack Huge (Berkeley Systems)
\nEditor’s Choice: Dan Bennett (Editor) – System Shock.
\n47. Tomb Raider (Eidos Interactive)
\n46. Front Page Sports: Football Pro (Sierra)
\n45. Master of Orion (Microprose)
\n44. Betrayal at Krondor (Sierra)
\n43. Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far (Microprose)
\n42. Diablo (Blizzard)
\n41. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (Sierra)
\nEditor’s Choice: Jay Vidheecharoen (Assistant Art Director) – Ultima V.
\n40. Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe (Renegade)
\n39. Triple Play 97 (EA Sports)
\n38. D\/Generation (Mindscape)
\nEditor’s Choice: Greg Vederman (Technical Editor) – Diablo.
\n37. Ultima VII (Origin Systems)
\n36. Starflight (Electronic Arts)
\n35. Sim City 2000 (Maxis)
\n34. Doom (id Software)
\nEditor’s Choice: Lisa Renninger (Managing Editor) – WarCraft II.
\n33. The Curse of Monkey Island (Lucasarts)
\n32. Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven (3DO)
\n31. Eurofighter 2000 2.0 (DID)
\nEditor’s Choice: William Harms (Multimedia Editor) – Civlization II.
\n30. Worms 2 (Microprose)
\n29. Duke Nukem 3D (3D Realms)
\n28. Quake (id Software)
\n27. Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within (Sierra)
\nEditor’s Choice: William R. Trotter (Senior Writer) – Empire Deluxe, Sword of Aragon.
\n26. Interstate ’76 (Activision)
\n25. Sid Meier’s Railroad Tycoon (Microprose)
\n24. Beavis and Butt-head in Virtual Stupidity (Viacom)
\nEditor’s Choice: Michael Lutton (Webmaster) – Dark Forces.
\n23. Chuck Yeager’s Air Combat (Electronic Arts)
\n22. Alone in the Dark (I-Motion)
\n21. Lemmings (Psygnosis)
\n20. Red Baron (Sierra)
\nEditor’s Choice: Rob Smolka (Assistant Editor) – Sid Meier’s Railroad Tycoon.
\n19. Myth (Bungie Ent.)
\n18. Ultima Underworld I, II (Origin Systems, Looking Glass]
\n17. NHL 98 (EA Sports)
\nEditor’s Choice: Dean Renninger (Art Director) – WarCraft II.
\n16. Battlezone [1998] (Activision)
\n15. Panzer General II (SSI)
\n14. Command & Conquer: Red Alert (Westwood Studios\/EA)
\n13. Unreal (Epic Megagames)
\n12. Jane’s Longbow II (Jane’s Combat Simulations\/EA)
\nEditor’s Choice: Michael Wolf (Disc Editor) – Realms of the Haunting.
\n11. Links LS ’98 (Access Software)
\n10. Sam & Max Hit the Road (Lucasarts)
\n9. WarCraft II (Blizzard Entertainment)
\n8. X-COM: UFO Defense (Microprose)
\n7. Heroes of Might & Magic II (New World Computing\/3DO)
\n6. System Shock (Origin)
\n5. StarCraft (Blizzard Entertainment)
\n4. TIE Fighter Collector’s CD-ROM (Lucasarts) [1997’s #1]
\nEditor’s Choice: Todd Vaughn (Deputy Editor) – Ultima Underworld
\n3. Quake II (id Software)
\n2. Sid Meier’s Civilization II (Microprose)
\nEditor’s Choice: Gary Whitta (Editor in Chief) – Wolfenstein 3D.
\n1. Star Wars: Jedi Knight – Dark Forces II (Lucasarts)<\/p>\n
\n1999 – in the November issue<\/span><\/strong>
\n—————<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
\n49. You Don’t Know Jack Huge (Berkeley Systems, 1998)
\n48. Tomb Raider (Eidos Interactive, 1996)
\nEditor’s Choice: Gary Whitta (Editor-in-Chief): StarCraft.
\n47. Front Page Sports: Football Pro (Sierra, 1995)
\n46. Thief: The Dark Project (Eidos Interactive, 1998)
\n45. Master of Orion (Microprose, 1993)
\nEditor’s Choice: Rob Smolka (Senior Editor): High Heat Baseball 2000.
\n44. Betrayal at Krondor (Sierra, 1993)
\n43. Prince of Persia (Broderbund, 1989)
\n42. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (Lucasarts, 1992)
\n41. Unreal (GT Interactive, 1998)
\n40. Ultima VII (Origin Systems, 1992)
\n39. High Heat Baseball 2000 (3DO, 1999)
\n38. The Curse of Monkey Island (Lucasarts, 1997*)
\nEditor’s Choice: Dan Morris (Deputy Editor): X-COM: UFO Defense.
\n37. Falcon 4.0 (Microprose, 1998*)
\n36. Fallout 1, 2 (Interplay, 1997, 1998)
\n35. Diablo (Blizzard Entertainment, 1996)
\nEditor’s Choice: Lisa Renninger (Managing Editor): WarCraft II.
\n34. Doom (id Software, 1993) [1994’s #1]
\n33. Motocross Madness (Microsoft, 1998)
\n32. SimCity 2000 (Maxis, 1994)
\n31. Worms: Armageddon (Microprose, 1999)
\n30. Duke Nukem 3D (3D Realms, 1996)
\n29. Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within (Sierra, 1996)
\n28. Chuck Yeager’s Air Combat (Electronic Arts, 1993)
\nEditor’s Choice: Greg Vederman (Technical Editor): Total Annihilation.
\n27. Alone in the Dark (Infogrames, 1993)
\n26. Battlezone (1998) (Activision, 1998)
\n25. Lemmings (Psygnosis, 1991)
\nEditor’s Choice: Michael Wolf (Disc Editor): EverQuest.
\n24. Red Baron (Sierra, 1991)
\n23. Railroad Tycoon II (Gathering of Developers, 1998)
\n22. Panzer General II (SSI, 1997)
\n21. NHL 98 (EA Sports, 1997)
\n20. Ultima Underworld I, II (1992, 1993*)
\n19. Myth I, II (1997, 1998*)
\n18. Sam and Max Hit the Road (Lucasarts, 1994)
\nEditor’s Choice: Jay Vidheecharoen (Assistant Art Director): Rainbow Six.
\n17. Jane’s Longbow II (Electronic Arts\/Jane’s Combat Simulations, 1997)
\n16. Links LS 1998 Edition (Access Software, 1997)
\n15. Starsiege: Tribes (Sierra, 1998)
\n14. Command & Conquer: Red Alert (Westwood Studios\/Electronic Arts, 1996)
\n13. Baldur’s Gate (Interplay, 1998)
\n12. WarCraft II (Blizzard Entertainment, 1995)
\n11. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six (Red Storm Entertainment, 1998)
\nEditor’s Choice: Dean Renninger (Art Director): Heroes of Might & Magic II.
\n10. Heroes of Might & Magic II (New World Computing\/3DO, 1996)
\n9. X-COM: UFO Defense (Microprose, 1994)
\n8. TIE Fighter Collector’s CD-ROM (Lucasarts, 1995) [1997’s #1]
\n7. Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (Lucasarts, 1997) [1998’s #1]
\n6. Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri (Firaxis Games, 1999*)
\n5. System Shock 1, 2 (Electronic Arts, 1994, 1999)
\n4. StarCraft (Blizzard Entertainment, 1998)
\n3. Quake I, II (id Software, 1996, 1997*)
\n2. Civilization II (Microprose, 1996)
\n1. Half-Life (Sierra, 1998)<\/p>\n
\nEA: 14%; Sierra: 12%; MicroProse: 10%; LucasArts: 10%; id Software: 6%; Blizzard: 6%; The Rest: 45%.<\/p>\n
\nUSA: 90%; UK: 6%; France: 2%; Canada: 2%.<\/p>\n
\n1998: 26%; 1996: 20%; 1997: 14%; 1993: 10%; 1999: 8%; 1994 & 1992: 6% each; 1991 and 1995: 4% each; 1989: 2%.<\/p>\n
\n2000 – No Editor’s List but there is a second Reader’s List<\/strong><\/span>
\n———<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\n2001 – in the October issue<\/strong><\/span>
\n———-<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\n49. Tribes, Tribes 2 (Dynamix\/Sierra, 1998, 2001)
\n48. Beavis and Butt-Head in Virtual Stupidity (Viacom, 1995)
\n47. Sam & Max Hit the Road (Lucasarts, 1993)
\n46. Homeworld (Relic\/Sierra, 1999) [PCG’s 1999 Game of the Year]
\n45. Worms Series (Team 17\/Ocean (1994-1995), Microprose (1997-1999), Titus (2001))
\n44. No One Lives Forever (Monolith\/Fox Interactive, 2000)
\n43. High Heat Baseball Series (3DO, 1999, 2000, 2001)
\n42. Bard’s Tale [Series] (Interplay\/Electronic Arts, 1987-1991)
\n41. Populous (Bullfrog\/Electronic Arts, 1989)
\n40. Roller Coaster Tycoon (Chris Sawyer\/Hasbro Interactive, 1999)
\n39. Total Annihilation (Cavedog\/GT Interative, 1997)
\n38. Lords of the Realm II (Impressions\/Sierra, 1996)
\n37. Unreal Series (Epic MegaGames\/GT Interactive (1998), Infogrames (1999))
\n36. Monkey Island Series (Lucasarts, 1990, 1991, 1997, 2000)
\n35. 1942: Pacific Air War (Microprose, 1994)
\n34. Star Control 2 (Accolade, 1992)
\n33. Need for Speed Series (Electronic Arts, 1995-2000) [it says Series, but this is mainly here for Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed.]
\n32. Gabriel Knight Series (Sierra, 1993, 1995, 1999)
\n31. Master of Orion (Simtex\/Microprose, 1992)
\n30. Ultima Underworld Series (Looking Glass Studios\/Origin, 1992, 1993)
\n29. Heroes of Might And Magic Series (New World Computing, New World\/3DO, 1995, 1996, 1999)
\n28. Panzer General (SSI, 1992)
\n27. NHL 2001 (EA Sports\/Electronic Arts, 2000)
\n26. Tomb Raider (Core Design\/Eidos, 1996)
\n25. The SimCity Series (Maxis\/Electronic Arts, 1989, 1993, 1998*)
\n24. Age of Empires II (Ensemble Studios\/Microsoft, 1999)
\n23. System Shock Series (Looking Glass Studios\/Electronic Arts, 1994, 1999)
\n22. Warcraft Series (Blizzard, 1994, 1995)
\n21. Ultima – Ultima VII (Origin, 1987-1992)
\n20. Everquest (Verant\/SOE, 1999)
\n19. Wing Commander Series (Origin\/Electronic Arts, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995)
\n18. Black & White (Lionhead Studios\/Electronic Arts, 2001)
\n17. Quake Series (id Software\/Activision, 1996, 1997, 1999)
\n16. X-Wing Series (Totally Games\/Lucasarts, 1992-1999)
\n15. Doom, Doom II (id Software\/GT Interactive, 1993, 1994)
\n14. C&C: Red Alert Series (Westwood\/Virgin (1996), Westwood\/EA (2000))
\n13. Baldur’s Gate Series (Bioware\/Interplay, 1998, 2000)
\n12. Duke Nukem 3D (3D Realms, GT Interactive, 1996)
\n11. The Sims (Maxis\/Electronic Arts, 2000)
\n10. Deus Ex (Ion Storm\/Eidos, 2000)
\n9. Rainbow Six Series (Red Storm, 1998, 1999)
\n8. MechWarrior 2 (Activision, 1995)
\n7. Diablo Series (Blizzard, 1996*, 2000)
\n6. Starcraft (Blizzard, 1998)
\n5. Dark Forces Series (Lucasarts, 1994, 1997)
\n4. Fallout, Fallout 2 (Interplay, 1997, 1998)
\n3. X-COM: UFO Defense (Mythos Games\/Microprose, 1994)
\n2. Sid Meier’s Civilization II (Microprose, 1996)
\n1. Half-Life (Valve Software\/Sierra, 1998)<\/p>\n
\nChiaki [Hachisu, Assistant Art Director] – Tony Hawk Pro Skaer 2, American McGee’s Alice
\nRob [Smith, Editor-in-Chief] – Championship Manager
\nLi [C. Kuo, Associate Editor] – Jane’s F\/A-18, USAF, Longbow 2, World War II Fighters
\nCorey [Cohen, Managing Editor] – Earthworm Jim: The Whole Can o’ Worms
\nChuck [Osborn, Features Editor] – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Zork, Star Trek: 25th Anniversary, Star Trek: Judgment Rites
\nJeremy Williams, Previews Editor] – Out of this World
\nGreg [Vederman, Tech Editor] – Age of Wonders
\nDan [Morris, Executive Editor] – Hockey League Simulator II
\nJoe [Mitch, Art Director] – AD&D: Pool of Radiance<\/p>\n
\n2002-2003-2004 – No Lists<\/strong>
\n————–<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n2005 – in the April issue<\/span><\/strong>
\n———-<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThe table of contents page mentions that it is the first such list since 2001, confirming that this is the next list.<\/p>\n
\n49. The Secret of Monkey Island (Lucasarts, 1990) [Previously #36]
\n48. Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger (Origin\/EA, 1994) [Previously #19]
\n47. Worms Armageddon (Team 17\/Microprose, 1999) [Previously #45]
\n46. Homeworld (Relic\/Sierra, 1999) [Previously #46]
\n45. Sam & Max Hit the Road (Lucasarts, 1993) [Previously #47]
\n44. Master of Orion (Simtex\/Microprose, 1994) [Previously #31]
\n43. High Heat Major League Baseball 2002 (3DO, 2001) [Previously #43]
\n42. Panzer General (SSI, 1994) [Previously #28]
\n41. Max Payne (Remedy\/G.O.D., 2001) [Previously: New]
\n40. IL-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles (1C: Maddox\/Ubisoft, 2003) [Previously: New]
\n39. System Shock 2 (Looking Glass\/EA, 1999) [Previously: New] [shouldn’t that be #23, PCG?]
\n38. Beavis & Butt-Head in Virtual Stupidity (Viacom, 1995) [Previously #48]
\n37. Tomb Raider (Core Design\/Eidos, 1996) [Previously #26]
\n36. Rise of Nations (Big Huge Games\/Microsoft, 2003) [Previously: New]
\n35. Neverwinter Nights (Bioware\/Atari, 2002) [Previously: New]
\n34. Total Annihilation (Cavedog\/GT Interactive, 1997) [Previously #39]
\n33. The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery (Sierra, 1995) [Previously #32]
\n32. Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (Origin, 1985) [Previously #21]
\n31. Mechwarrior 2 (Activision, 1995) [Previously #8]
\n30. Unreal Tournament 2004 (Epic\/Atari, 2004) [Previously #37 (for the series)]
\n29. SimCity 2000 (Maxis, 1993) [Previously #25]
\n28. Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed (EA, 2000) [Previously #33]
\n27. Deus Ex (Ion Storm\/Eidos, 2000) [Previously #10] [PCG 2000 GOTY]
\n26. Quake (id\/Activision, 1996) [Previously #17]
\n25. Heroes of Might And Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia (New World Computing\/3DO, 1999) [Previously #29]
\n24. Everquest (Verant\/SOE, 1999) [Previously #20]
\n23. The Sims (Maxis\/EA, 1999) [Previously #11]
\n22. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six (Red Storm, 1998) [Previously #9]
\n21. Star Wars: Jedi Knight – Dark Forces II (Lucasarts, 1997) [Previously #5]
\n20. Call of Duty (Infinity Ward\/Activision, 2003) [Previously: New)
\n19. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Bioware\/Lucasarts, 2003) [Previously: New]
\n18. Far Cry (Crytek\/Ubisoft, 2004) [Previously: New]
\n17. Command & Conquer: Red Alert (Westwood\/Virgin, 1996) [Previously #14]
\n16. Diablo II (Blizard, 2000) [Previously #7]
\n15. Duke Nukem 3D (3D Realms\/GT Interactive, 1996) [Previously #12]
\n14. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon (Red Storm\/Ubisoft, 2001) [Previously: New]
\n13. Star Wars: TIE Fighter (Lucasarts, 1994) [Previously: #16]
\n12. Grand Theft Auto III (Rockstar\/Take-Two Interactive, 2002) [Previously: New]
\n11. Baldur’s Gate (Bioware\/Interplay, 1998) [Previously #13]
\n10. Fallout (Interplay, 1997) [Previously #4]
\n9. Battlefield 1942 (DICE\/EA, 2002) [Previously: New]
\n8. X-COM: UFO Defense (Mythos Games\/Microprose, 1994) [Previously #2]
\n7. Starcraft (Blizzard, 1998) [Previously #6]
\n6. Diablo (Blizzard, 1996) [Previously #7]
\n5. Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (Blizzard, 1995) [Previously #22]
\n4. Half-Life 2 (Valve\/Sierra, 2004) [Previously: New] [PCG 2004 GOTY]
\n3. Sid Meier’s Civilization II (Microprose, 1996) [Previously: #2] [PCG 1996 GOTY]
\n2. Doom (id, 1993) [Previously: #15]
\n1. Half-Life (Valve\/Sierra, 1998) [Previously #1]<\/p>\n
\nD.J. Stapleton – 1. X-COM: UFO Defense 2. Fallout 3. Civilization II 4. Homeworld 5. Half-Life
\nCorey Cohen – 1. Duke Nukem 3D 2. TIE Fighter 3. Worms Armageddon 4. Freedom Force 5. Dark Earth
\nGreg Vederman – 1. Diablo series 2. Age of Wonders series (1999, 2002) 3. Total Annihilation 4. Arcanum (2001) 5. Divine Divinity (2002)
\nChuck Osborn – 1. Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (1993) 2. Quake III: Arena (1999) 3. Freedom Force 4. The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall (1996) 5. Beavis & Butt-Head in Virtual Stupidity
\nCoconut Monkey – 1. Gravy Trader 2. Championship Manager: Extra Boring Edition 3. Panzer Korporal 4. High Heat Baseball 1919: Go Black Sox! 5. Teen Digital Diva II (2000) [Remember, Coconut Monkey is the magazine’s silly mascot, not a person. Gravy Trader is his “long-in-development game” that somehow never got finished.]
\nChiaki Hachisu – 1. City of Heroes (2004) 2. Diablo 3. Warcraft III (2002) 4. The Sims 5. Richie (her husband, married April 13, 2003)
\nDan Morris – 1. X-COM: UFO Defense 2. Half-Life 3. Duke Nukem 3D 4. Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord (2000) 5. Civilization II
\nJoe Mitch – 1. Planescape Torment (1999) 2. Arcanum (2001) 3. Half-Life 4. Neverwinter Nights 5. (tie) NHL Eastside Hockey Manager (2004) and NHL 2001 (2000)<\/p>\n
\nMy Data on the PCG US Lists: Title Frequency
\n————-<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\nSam & Max Hit the Road<\/p>\n
\nSid Meier’s Civilization II (’97-’05, all lists after its release, always in the top 4)
\nUltima VII Part Two or Ultima VII Complete (I’m combining these) (’94-’01)
\nUltima Underworld II (’94 alone, and ’97-01 always in its Series)
\nMaster of Orion [1] (’97-’05) [The game released before the first list, but wasn’t on it, only to appear on the next five. Huh.]
\nX-COM: UFO Defense \u00a0(’97-’05) [This game released just before the first list in ’94, and the review is in the same issue as the first list (88%), but it didn’t make the list in ’94, only to be on all 5 subsequent lists.]
\nCommand & Conquer: Red Alert (’97-’05, of those ’01 in its Series)
\nStar Wars: TIE Fighter Collector’s CD-ROM (’97-’05, of those ’01 in its Series, all lists after its release)
\nQuake (’97, ’98, ’99 in its Series, ’01 in its Series, ’05, all lists after its release)
\nDuke Nukem 3D (’97-’05, all lists after its release)
\nWarCraft II (’97-’05, all lists after its release; ’01 is listed in its Series but it is mainly for this one.)
\nDiablo (’97-’05, in ’01 in its Series intending it for both games, all lists after its release)
\nDuke Nukem 3D (’97-’05, all lists after its release)
\nTomb Raider (’97-’05, all lists after its release)<\/p>\n
\nPanzer General Series – Panzer General (’94, ’01, ’05), Panzer General II (’98, ’99)<\/p>\n
\nIndiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (’94-’99)
\nChuck Yeager’s Air Combat (’94-’99)
\nRed Baron (’94-’99)
\nAlone in the Dark (’94-’99)
\nLemmings (’94-’99)
\nUltima Underworld (’97-’01 always in its Series)
\nGabriel Knight: The Beast Within (’98, ’99, ’01 in its Series, ’05)
\nBeavis and Butt-Head in Virtual Stupidity (’97, ’98, ’01, ’05)
\nSystem Shock (’97, ’98, ’99 in its Series, ’01 in its Series)
\nHeroes of Might & Magic II (’97, ’98, ’99, ’01 in its Series)
\nJedi Knight: Dark Forces II (’98-’05, all four lists after its release; ’01 is in its Series)
\nStarcraft (’98-’05, all four lists after its release)<\/p>\n
\nWing Commander Series – Wing Commander (’94), Wing Commander: The Kilrathi Saga (’97) (that’s 1, 2, and their expansions), Wing Commander Series (’01) (with the dates for only 1-4 listed, so excluding 5 maybe), Wing Commander III (’05).\u00a0 If we separate this into 1 and 3, the two games mentioned individually, 1 shows up on three lists and 3 on two.
\nLinks Series – Links 386 Pro (’94), Links LS (’97), Links LS ’98 (’99, ’01).<\/p>\n
\nSid Meier’s Railroad Tycoon (’94-’98, then replaced by its sequel in ’99)
\nD\/Generation (’94, ’97, ’98)
\nSpeedball 2: Brutal Deluxe (’94, ’97, ’98)
\nStar Control II (’94, ’97, ’01)
\nPopulous (’94, ’97, ’01)
\nHalf-Life (’99-’05, every list after its release, in first place all 3 times)
\nThe Curse of Monkey Island (’98, ’99, ’01 in its Series)
\nQuake II (’98, ’99 in its Series, ’01 in its Series)
\nPanzer General (’97, ’01, ’05)
\nBaldur’s Gate (’99, ’01 in its Series, ’05)
\nFallout (’99 in its Series, ’01 in its Series, ’05)
\nWorms Armageddon (’99, ’01 in its Series, ’05)
\nSystem Shock 2 (’99 in its Series, ’01 in its Series, ’05)
\nWing Commander (’94, ’97 with 2 in Kilrathi Saga, ’01 in Series)<\/p>\n
\nMight & Magic III: Isles of Terra (’94, ’97)
\nLinks LS ’98 (’98, ’99; earlier Links games also show up in ’94 and ’97.)
\nEurofighter 2000: EF2000 (’97, ’98)
\nTriple Play 97 (’97, ’98)
\nYou Don’t Know Jack Huge (’98, ’99)
\nThe Operational Art of War (’98, ’99)
\n1942: Pacific Air War (’94, ’01)
\nGabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (’97, ’01 in its Series)
\nX-Wing (’94, ’01 if we include the Series listing from ’01)
\nBattlezone [1998] (’98, ’99)
\nPanzer General II (’98, ’99)
\nJane’s Longbow II (’98, ’99)
\nNHL ’98 (’98, ’99)
\nMyth (’98, ’99 in its Series)
\nWorms 2 (’98, ’01 in its Series)
\nWing Commander II (’97 in Kilrathi Saga, ’01 in Series)
\nStarsiege: Tribes (’99, ’01 in its Series)
\nFallout 2 (’99 in its Series, ’01 in its Series)
\nUnreal (’99, ’01 in its Series)
\nThe Secret of Monkey Island (’01 in its Series, ’05)
\nDiablo II (’01 in its Series, ’05)
\nHeroes of Might & Magic III (’01 in its Series, ’05)
\nWing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger (’01 in Series, ’05)
\nUltima IV: Quest of the Avatar (’01 in Series, ’05)
\nThe Sims (’01, ’05)
\nEverQuest (’01, ’05)
\nNeed for Speed: Porsche Unleashed (’01 in Series, ’05)
\nTotal Annihilation (’01, ’05)
\nMechWarrior II (’01, ’05)
\nHomeworld (’01, ’05)<\/p>\n
\nPro Pinball Series (’97 for The Web, ’98 for Timeshock)<\/p>\n
\nNeed for Speed Series (other than Porsche Unleashed), SimCity 1 and 3000 (in Series), Heroes of Might & Magic 1 (in Series), Monkey Island 4 (in Series), Worms 1 and World Party (in Series), Wing Commander IV (in Series), Ultimas 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 (in Series)<\/p>\n
\nThe Next Years: What was the Next Such List?
\n———-<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\nFebruary 2010 – Top 100 Games of All Time (US & UK collaboration)<\/strong><\/span>
\n—————<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\n99 – Call of Duty 4 (2007)
\n98 – Anchorhead (1998)
\n97 – Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (2005)
\n96 – Jagged Alliance 2 (1999)
\n95 – Far Cry 2 (2008)
\n94 – Warhammer: Dawn of War II (2009)
\n93 – Audiosurf (2008)
\n92 – Uplink (2008)
\n91 – Ultima Underworld 2 (1992)
\n90 – Rainbow Islands (1987)
\n89 – Outcast (1999)
\n88 – King’s Bounty: The Legend (2008)
\n87 – Grand Theft Auto (1997)
\n86 – ZangbandTK (1989)
\n85 – Tomb Raider II (1997)
\n84 – Supreme Commander (2007)
\n83 – Solitaire (2001)
\n82 – SimCIty 2000 (1993)
\n81 – Gothic 2 (2002)
\n80 – Another World HD (1991)
\n79 – Tetris Friends (2008)
\n78 – Star Trek: A Final Unity (1995)
\n77 – Crysis (2007)
\n76 – Burnout Paradise (2009)
\n75 – Star Wars: TIE Fighter (1994)
\n74 – Galactic Civilizations 2 (2008)
\n73 – Freespace 2 (1999)
\n72 – Cave Story (2004)
\n71 – Battle of Britain 2 (1999)
\n70 – Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory (2003)
\n69 – Starsiege: Tribes (1998)
\n68 – No One Lives Forever (2000)
\n67 – MechCommander (1998)
\n66 – Colonization (1994)
\n65 – Carmageddon (1997)
\n64 – Braid (2008)
\n63 – Beyond Good and Evil (2003)
\n62 – Anachronox (2001)
\n61 – Street Fighter IV (2009)
\n60 – Planetside (2003)
\n59 – Space Giraffe (2008)
\n58 – Flight Simulator X (2006)
\n57 – EVE Online (2003)
\n56 – Dungeon Keeper (1997)
\n55 – Star Control 2 (1990)
\n54 – Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (2000)
\n53 – Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord (2000)
\n52 – Spelunky (2009)
\n51 – Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge (1991)
\n50 – Dragon Age: Origins (2007)
\n49 – Alien Vs. Predator (1999)
\n48 – The Longest Journey (2000)
\n47 – Left 4 Dead (2008)
\n46 – STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl (2007)
\n45 – Operation Flashpoint (2001)
\n44 – Diablo II (2000)
\n43 – Sims 3 (2009)
\n42 – Peggle (2007)
\n41 – Grim Fandango (1998)
\n40 – Spacrifice (2000)
\n39 – Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle (1993)
\n38 – Darwinia (2005)
\n37 – Battlefield 2 (2005)
\n36 – Football Manager (2009)
\n35 – Company of Heroes (2006)
\n34 – Unreal Tournament (1999)
\n33 – Mass Effect (2008)
\n32 – Mafia (2002)
\n31 – Frontier: Elite 2 (1993)
\n30 – Homeworld (1999)
\n29 – Max Payne 2 (2003)
\n28 – Bioshock (2007)
\n27 – Doom II (1994)
\n26 – Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003)
\n25 – Baldur’s Gate (1998)
\n24 – Ultima VII – The Black Gate (1992)
\n23 – StarCraft (1998)
\n22 – Quake III: Arena (1999)
\n21 – ArmA II (2009)
\n20 – World of Goo (2009)
\n19 – Hitman: Blood Money (2006)
\n18 – Unreal Tournament 2004 (2004)
\n17 – Portal (2007)
\n16 – System Shock 2 (1999)
\n15 – Grand Theft Auto IV (2008)
\n14 – World of Warcraft (2005)
\n13 – Counter-Streike (2004)
\n12 – Civilization IV (2006)
\n11 – X-COM: UFO Defense (1994)
\n10 – Fallout 3 (2008)
\n9 – Thief II (2000)
\n8 – Planescape: Torment (1999)
\n7 – Falllout (1997)
\n6 – The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion (2006)
\n5 – Rome: Total War (2004)
\n4 – Half-Life (1998)
\n3 – Team Fortress 2 (2007)
\n2 – Half-Life 2 (2004)
\n1 – Deus Ex (2000)<\/p>\n
\n—————
\nConcluding Thoughts
\n—————<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n