I was playing SWTOR with a group of guildies when I brought up Dragon Age. Everyone in the group had played the game, or at least heard of it except for one person who promptly declared, “I don’t play ‘nerd’ games.” *blink blink* You do realize that you are in Star Wars right now?
After a few seconds of silence before calling him a name, I began to wonder: What are some of the titles that any true gamer should have played?
Here’s a short listing that I think I’d use as required gaming in Video Games 101. Pick at least seven from each list. For those games with sequels, the later titles are included, but only the original title is listed.
Old School
Duck Hunt
Demons to Diamonds
Space Invaders
Centipede
Super Mario Bros.
Killer Instinct
Mortal Combat
Pacman
The Legend of Zelda
Galaga
Tetris
Shinobi
Ninja Gaiden
Goldeneye 007
Pit Fighter
Double Dragon
Newer School
Final Fantasy
Prince of Persia
Madden NFL
Civilization
Half Life
Counter Strike
Soul Calibur
Tekken
Halo
Call of Duty
Sonic the Hedgehog
Dragon Ball Z
StarCraft
Samurai Warriors
Knights of the Old Republic
EverQuest
Tomb Raider
Rift
Rock Band
Guitar Hero
Metal Gear
World of Warcraft
Street Fighter
FIFA
Grand Theft Auto
Fallout
Mario Kart
Modern School
Red Dead Redemption
Borderlands
Left 4 Dead
Dragon Age
Mass Effect
Elder Scrolls
Gears of War
Witcher 2
Forza
Burnout
Portal
Batman Arkham Asylum
God of War
Lego Star Wars
Uncharted
NBA 2K series
Angry Birds
Those are my short lists. Which games would you include? How many of these have you played?
Fly Girl Gamers 
Feb 17, 2012 @ 09:59:07
old school ftw!! must acknowledge my gamer roots…and possibly show my age lol
Feb 17, 2012 @ 12:31:17
Old school, and about a third of the newer school. My imagination is much too wild and easily influenced so I can’t play most of the new stuff….I just get to hung up in it. LOL
Feb 17, 2012 @ 13:37:40
Soul Calibur on the Dreamcast was the shiznite! In fact the Dreamcast itself was the shiznite! Atari 2600’s Combat was also the shiznite!
Feb 17, 2012 @ 16:45:31
Miss the vintage days of the CRT with my SNES hooked up. Super Mario was pretty good. I think all of those games should be played before you did, there’s even a book about it.
Grand Theft Auto, play the first one then play the newest one; it’s mind blowing.
Feb 21, 2012 @ 16:50:44
Wow I must be behind the times… are you sure those are old school games because I played like half of those last week!
Feb 28, 2012 @ 04:44:08
The adage “computers come and go every five years”, if it refers graphics cards then anyone 22 and older are prehistoric.