With being trapped in my house 24/7 now thanks to COVID-19, I have found myself playing a substantial amount of video games. I honestly feel like a teenager again with how much I am playing them so I thought it was only right to go on a rant of what are my top 5 video games of all time.
5. Far Cry 3
Far Cry 3 is obviously the third installment of the Far Cry franchise. I first played this game when I was around fourteen when it came out in 2012, and is still cemented in my top 5 of all time. In Far Cry 3 you play in first person as Jason Brody, a boy in his late teens who went on a tropical vacation with his two brothers, girlfriend, and other friends. One night when they are out clubbing, a man offers them a skydiving excursion the next day. Of course, they all agree and before you know it, you are parachuting down into an unknown island referred to as the Rook Islands and are captured by a pirate lord, Vaas Montengegro. As Jason, you must fight your way through this open-world island to find each one of your friends and escape to safety.
I believe that the concept of this game is really what stuck with me through all these years. I loved the story of being a teenage kid fighting for your life on a pirate infested island while also helping the island natives take back their home. Along with being constantly drugged and forcing crazy hallucinations, you slowly become the king of this island and people look up and respect you. The island itself is beautiful, with various wildlife roaming that you can poach and skin to craft new materials to help you survive.
Throughout the story the main antagonist, Vaas, is always capturing and hunting you down, constantly asking you the question, “Have I ever told you the definition of insanity?”, which is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, hence why he always asks you. The point of the question is throughout the game you slowly do go insane, forgetting who you are and thinking you are the king of the island. In the end you are forced to choose between the friends that you worked so hard to save, or the island that now seems to be your home.
4. Marvel’s Spider-Man
I mean come on, what kid didn’t grow up absolutely love Spider-Man and his video games. If you played this 2018 game just to swing along the skyscrapers of NYC, no one would blame you. There were countless Spider-Man games that came before this one, but this one takes the cake for sure. Everyone knows the story of Peter Parker, a kid from NYC who got bit from a radioactive spider and gained extraordinary abilities. The great aspect of this game is that you don’t only play as Spider-Man but also as Peter Parker, trying to balance out being the city’s superhero and trying to live a college graduate’s life. One minute you may be defeating thugs robbing a jewelry store, and the next you are awkwardly trying to reconcile your relationship with Mary-Jane Watson.
The story puts you behind the web slinger himself in third person and puts you in the middle of chaos right off the bat. With kingpin Wilson Fisk in prison, another large gang, the demons, are on the rise, planning to release something called Devil’s Breath, a biochemical weapon, on NYC. As Peter Parker, you work in a lab with Doctor Octavius, better known as the villain Doctor Octopus, but you don’t know that yet. Slowly the situation worsens and you learn that the Sinister Six, a villain team of Mister Negative, Vulture, Electro, Rhino, Scorpion, and Doctor Octopus are all out to get you in make the city theirs. Long story short, of course you defeat them all, but can’t save everyone, losing someone dear to you in the end.
The game is on my top 5 for many reasons. The story itself, like I said balancing the life of Peter Parker and Spider-Man is a great narrative that could have been a movie if not a video game. Regardless of the main story, there are countless side missions that will keep you busy for hours that include other iconic villains from the Spider-Man Universe. Along with the web swinging, there are many other gadgets that you unlock and upgrade as the story progresses that are very fun to use and help you along on your journey. Other cool aspects of the game are NYC itself and many different suits from decades of comics that you can unlock. The story sets up perfect for a sequel and I can’t wait till that day comes.
3. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Resident Evil is a staple franchise, with countless games and hit movies, it is definitely a force to be reckoned with. Like other games on this list, I never played any Resident Evil games before this one (that has changed with 2 and 3 now being remastered). There is something about horror games that I just love, but not just ones where you are constantly running away from scary creatures chasing you, being completely defenseless, we call those walking simulators. The thing with Resident Evil (RE) is that not all the games are connected, this one especially. RE7 is more of a stand alone game that has nothing to do with the others so I didn’t mind going into this game in 2017 not play any other RE before hand.
Since the release of the first RE game in 1996, every single one has been in third person, but with RE7 they finally made a huge change, making your character playable only in first person. In RE7 you play as Ethan Winters, a man who finds himself in Dulvey, Louisiana to after getting a strange message from his wife, Mia, who had missing for 3 years and presumed dead. After finding her in what seemed like an abandoned house, she attacks Ethan in a manic state, obviously under some sort of sickness. After being forced to kill Mia, Ethan is captured by the Bakers, the residents of the abandoned house who seem to be infected just like Mia, they are able to mutate and even come back from the dead, like Mia does. throughout the story you must fight for your life in this horror survival game to save you and your wife from the horrible Baker family and the monsters that reside in their home.
This game is just as perfect as it is scary, the story itself will constantly have you feel like you are going insane but then will make your jaw drop the next second from its revelations. It is one of the few games where I was scared during each room I would walk into because I had no idea the things that were on the other side. This game forced me to check out and play other ones in the series, and while they are very good, none of them will ever compare to this one and that is why it makes number 3 on my list. I anxiously wait for the next installment in the franchise which is also rumored to be first person.
2. God of War (2018)
God of War, like Resident Evil, is another staple franchise that began in 2005. The series was based off of the main character, Kratos, becoming the God of War in Greek mythology, taking over the throne from Ares. It is a bit hard to explain the whole series but I will try. The first three games showed Kratos journey of betrayal from the Gods atop Mount Olympus, eventually it ended with him killing every single last one of them, yes that includes Poseidon, Hades, and even Zeus. Now God of War (2018), the one on this list is somewhat of a soft reboot but not entirely. What that means is that it is still connected somewhat to the first three games, but takes on a whole new world and story, now shifting from Greek mythology, to Norse mythology.
After destroying all the Greek Gods along with Mount Olympus, Kratos now finds himself living in ancient Norway with his son, Atreus. The game begins with the death of Faye, who is Kratos’ wife and Atreus’ mother, whose last wish was for her ashes to be spread from the highest point in the nine realms. This is the main journey of the whole game, but of course there are various challenges and foes who will get in your way from the Norse realms such as Gods Magni, Modi, and Baldur. In the end, Faye’s wishes are granted and your spread her ashes at the highest point, while also it being revealed who Atreus really is in Norse mythology. In the games very end, it is revealed that that actions caused during this game will cause Ragnarok, the end of the world as many know it in Norse mythology, and Kratos and Atreus are visited by none other than the God of Thunder himself, Thor.
Besides the amazing and breathtaking story of the game itself, there are many other aspects that place this game right below number 1 on my list. Kratos’ weapon in the game, the Leviathan Axe is very similar to Thor’s hammer, mjolnir, for when you throw it, it always comes back to you, and it just feels so damn good when that happens. The world of the nine realms in Norse mythology is presented beautifully in this game, although you only get to travel through a few of the nine, they are all more amazing as the last one and we will surely see the rest when the games inevitable sequel comes out. The addition of Kratos’ son, Atreus, gives another layer to the game that we never saw in previous games and shows another side of the tough, jagged character we have gotten to known all these years. I patiently (yeah, right) wait for the sequel knowing it will be just as amazing, if not better, than this game.
1. Bioshock Infinite
I honestly cannot tell you how many times I have played this game. I can go on about it for hours and I don’t think there will ever be another game that knocks this game from my number 1 spot. Bioshock is yet another video game franchise that is known for it’s amazing worlds. Bioshock Infinite is the third installment in this series, following Bioshock and Bioshock 2, but is a whole new game compared to the first two. The first two games take place in Rapture, an underwater utopia that is very similar to that of Atlantis. Bioshock Infinite is the complete opposite, taking place in 1912 in Columbia, a city above the clouds, governed by Zachary Comstock.
The story begins by two strangers paddling you out to a lighthouse, simply telling you, “bring us the girl, and wipe away the debt,”. You take the lighthouse, which is also a rocket to the city of Columbia, above the clouds, and are amazed at what you find. Eventually it is revealed that a “False Prophet” whose destiny is to being down Columbia is marked with an “AD” on his hand, which you, Booker Dewitt, have. After fighting off the police of the city, you find yourself looking for a girl named Elizabeth, who is referred to as the “lamb” of Columbia. Once you find her, it is revealed she has extraordinary abilities called “tears” that allow her to open up rips in the space time continuum. You continue to work with Elizabeth to escape Columbia as she thinks you are helping her but you are really just using her to wipe away your unknown debt. It is extremely hard to explain this game in its entirety, it is a huge mindfuck that took me more than one time playing through to fully understand the whole game and ending. It tackles the concept of infinite universes, hence the name, and how one person can be infinite different people in infinite different universes.
This game will always be my number one simply because of the story, as I said it will take you a couple playthroughs and even more Googling answers after beating it to understand the whole concept and story of the game but it is the biggest payoff I have ever seen from a narrative whether it be a movie, book, television show, or video game. Regardless of the story, the gameplay is light yet fun and the weapons and abilities your character has throughout the game will never have you feeling bored. I am still shocked every day that they have never made this into a movie because I truly believe more people need to experience this story. This game was released in 2013 and I wait every day for them to announce the next installment in this glorious franchise, especially since it has recently been reported that the game is in development, and with next-gen consoles coming out later this year, I have my fingers crossed very tightly.
Honorable Mentions: Last of Us, Uncharted series, Wolfenstien series, Doom series.
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