The best games in the world, according to Liron

Some of you who know me (or follow my Twitter feed) know that I’m a big fan of video, computer and board games. My biggest love is the Nintendo DS, but I find myself playing any platform which falls into my hands, which includes my mobile phone, my computer and iPod.

I also like talking about games, and since I don’t get asked as often as I probably should, I figured to compile a short list of my top 5 all-time favorite computer and video games.

5. Peggle

Peggle from Popcap is probably one of the most fun and creative casual games I’ve ever played. What makes this pachinko/pinball oddity so much fun is the combination of light-hearted, random silly humor and a heavy dose of color and sound. This is not an easy combination to pull off with any game for audiences over the age of 8, so Popcap seem to have done a great job and bringing these together to form a great casual game.

4. Animal Crossing: Wild World

If you’d ask me which of the games on today’s market I find most creative, I’d probably answer with Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: Wild World. Set in a small town, Animal Crossing is full of inhabitants, sights and sounds. There’s plenty to do and a lot to see – with the game running through hours of the day, days of the week and seasons of the year in real time. I’ve been playing this game for over a year and have yet to become bored, especially with really enjoyable wi-fi play.

3. Total Distortion

If you haven’t heard of Pop Rocket’s Total Distortion, I don’t blame you – this game was little known and largely absent from the game shelves of the mid 1990s. I was 13 at the time, and this game was HUGE for me. Graphics which completely blew my mind (Myst? pfft.) and since I was just discovering my fascination with everything electric guitar, Total Distortion was a great pastime for misbehaving punk-rock pre-teenagers.

In the game, you’re a music video producer sent to shoot footage and direct videos in an alternate dimension (I swear, it made more sense back then). You need to battle your way through the depths of the “Distortion Dimension” to get the best and most rare footage in order to make enough money to send you back home. This was a great game for after school, until I figured out that I could cheat by running two saved games and passing video footage between them, thus minimizing the chances of me losing. It was fun while it lasted.

2. Mario Kart DS

Mario Kart is the iconic Nintendo racer, and there are almost as many iterations of Mario Kart for various Nintendo platforms then there are of Need for Speed, but Mario Kart DS was the first iteration that let people race each other over the internet. This is one of my favorites because of how much fun it always is, is easy to pick up and play and is one of those games which you can really make an evening out of. I love this game for how social it is, and how much fun it is to play together.

1. Day of the Tentacle (Maniac Mansion II)

The one, the only – Day of the Tentacle. This is my favorite, all-time game, and it is as much fun to play today as it was when it came out in 1993. They don’t make games like this anymore; the creativity that went into the puzzles, the plot, the graphics and the story all made up an absolutely superb title from LucasArts and a game which blew away almost everything else at that time in terms of gameplay and engagement – not to mention imprinting itself in the hearts and minds of gamers everywhere.

What’s your top 5?

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