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Here’s some news that near and dear to my heart, Super Mario Bros has been voted the greatest computer game…evar! (in one poll at least) “The classic platform game was first released in 1985 and has since become one of the biggest selling ever with more than 40 million copies flying off the shelves worldwide. In the game brothers Mario and Luigi - now recognized the world over - try to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom in a bid to save Princess Peach. Super Mario Bros 2 was released in 1988, and Super Mario Bros 3 in 1990. The third version was considered by many as the best, and has sold 18 million to date. The poll of 2,000 gamers, conducted by www.onepoll.com, revealed ‘old skool’ games are still firm favorites with Britain’s army of gamers.” A few weeks ago I played Super Mario Bros. on the Wii, yeah, the original one from 1985, while the rest of the family watched. I was flying through worlds jumping at nothing when a coin would appear. My wife asked, “How do you remember that that invisiable spot became a coin?”, to which I couldn’t answer, it’s just that ingrained into my mind - the simple game means/meant that much! What I like about this, and the other 19 in the list, is that it shows what really matters to make a game immortal as it were; it has to be creative and fun. Damn to the graphics, the 5.1 sound, the online play, if the game isn’t fun, forget it. “This shows that classic games will live on forever in the hearts of computer game fans. The gaming industry is getting more and more competitive, releasing more and more innovative games by the minute - but this survey proves that sometimes the most simple formats work well to keep game players hooked.“
The rest of the top 20 seem to adhere to the same pattern too:
- Super Mario Bros.
- Pac-Man
- Tetris
- The Sims
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Space Invaders
- Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas
- Donkey Kong
- Mario Kart 64
- Grand Theft Auto - Vice City
- Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
- Wii Sports
- Final Fantasy
- Gran Turismo
- Lemmings
- Frogger
- Pokemon, Red, Blue and Green
- Street Fighter II
- Wii Play
- Guitar Hero
While I would argue a few of those, and pipe in some from my own choosing (Robotron:2084, Time Pilot, Castle Wolfenstien, Quake II) that’s just personal experience. Damn, I want to go buy all of the old skool Wii games now!