Nerd³'s Greatest Games Of All Time

Nerd³'s Greatest Games Of All Time was a video series where Daniel Hardcastle lists his top 100 games and the reasons why. The videos were a 10 day series uploaded from 8th December to 17th December 2016.

Planning[]

The list was chosen from a shortlist of 350 games and was 6 months in the making. The criteria used for judging was as follows:

First feeling - i.e. 'annoyance' would go down, 'a moment' would be in the middle, 'a feeling' would go up
How much the game has held up - for older games
Ambition - How ambitious the game is and how well it's pulled off
No recent games - has to be at least 6 months old

The following is a load of quotations (some slightly edited) by the man himself and links to the timestamps and videos featuring the mentioned games:

(Thanks to Stripe103 for giving me the idea and not just write out the whole bloody video)

The Complete List[]

Games 100 - 91[]

	Game	Gameplay
100	Evil Genius
My first memories of this game were just cackling menacingly when a secret agent stumbled into one of my Rube Goldberg-style traps... ...and when a spy got through, I thought "How did he get through that?" but then I'd realised I'd become the villain of any James Bond film ever.
99	World of Goo
My main feeling I took away from this game was that knot tightening in your stomach as you watch a tower you spent the last ten minutes perfectly building... just start to collapse and you frantically start flinging goo at it to no avail.
98	Super Monkey Ball Deluxe	Dad³ Plays
Any time I've got people over, I always bust out Super Monkey Ball because Monkey Bowling and Monkey Target are two of the finest party games ever made... ...It's absolute hysterics. It's a wonderful, wonderful thing and incredibly simple. It's an analogue stick and a single button so anyone can play.
97	Pokemon Red/Blue (and probably Yellow)
Having a game of [512kb] and going 'I want to have 151 of these fucking things, a million moves and this entire adventure and a whole place to explore and we're gonna fit it on something that's smaller than the fucking Excel spreadsheet that was used to make this list of games.'
96	Fuel	A Nerd³ Road Trip
For me, Fuel is a game that you boot up, point your car in a direction and you fuck off for a couple of hours.
95	Armadillo Run	Nerd³ Plays
It's a OK Go video playset.
94	DmC: Devil May Cry	Nerd³ Plays
Dante was a cocky little dickhole but Dante was always a cocky little dickhole and I like that this was the story of him becoming less of a cocky little dickhole.
93	Burnout: Paradise	Nerd³'s Father and Son-days
♫ Take me down to the paradise city where the cars are crashing and the girls are pretty! ♫
92	Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force	Nerd³ Completes
Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force is literally the best Voyager ever got.
91	Pixeljunk Shooter Ultimate	Nerd³'s Father and Son-days
I have a perversion for water physics in games.

Games 90 - 81[]

	Game	Gameplay
90	Thomas Was Alone	Nerd³ Plays
There's a saying, in wrestling, which is that a good wrestler can put on a good match against a broom. You don't need an opponent to put on a match because it's about doing moves but also about selling injuries that the opponent's moves do to you. You can make the broom look good...
89	Resident Evil 4	Nerd³ 101
Resident Evil 4 perfectly times its poos.
88	Gunpoint	Nerd³ Plays
Gunpoint is a game about the importance of mechanical trousers in espionage.
87	Far Cry 3	Nerd³ Plays
It's the "being-eaten-by-things game". I quite like it.
86	Just Cause 2	Nerd³ Plays
Well, stomp on my fingers and call me Tina! Why is Just Cause 2 so far down on this list?
85	Broforce	Nerd³ The Alpha Detective
Broforce is one of those games where you have to wait for an explosion to stop exploding until the screen clears and you can see if you've survived or not.
84	Spelunky	Nerd³ Plays
Lunch ends when you die.
83	Euro Truck Simulator 2	Nerd³ The Road Trip!
You tell someone 'It's a game about trucking across Europe.' and they'll go, 'Tell me more.'
82	Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
That was like crack cocaine plus.
81	Beyond Good and Evil	Dad³ Plays
It's very French. But good. But French.

Games 80 - 71[]

	Game	Gameplay
80	Batman: Arkham Asylum	Dad³ Plays
That game's combat system has fucking revolutionised combat systems. How many games have you seen referred to as Batman-like combat or Arkham-like combat... ...and that's a huge legacy that game has left on the environment of gaming. And giant scarecrows.
79	Star Wars: Battlefront II [PC Version]	Nerd³ Plays
Battlefront II went 'It's completely white and we put hundreds on people on each side. Enjoy' and I fucking enjoyed.
78	Tomb Raider III	Nerd³ Plays
Hey, I'm a millionaire and I fucking hate being a millionaire and I'm going to go to fucking Peru and nick some artefacts 'cause fuck it. And fight dinosaurs 'cause fuck it.'
77	N++	Nerd³ FW
It's a million billion levels of incredible difficulty... ...and when you finish all the levels, it goes 'Oh, you think you've done all the levels? Have more levels!' and you go, 'Oh shit.'
76	Re-Volt	Nerd³ Plays
Punny title. 1000 points. Fantastic graphics for the time that hold up now. It's toys. Fuckin' love toys. Interesting level design. Fun weapons. I played it a load. Got a good soundtrack. I didn't think of 8 things.
75	Driver	Nerd³ Challenges! The First Level
Ambition-wise, the first ever open-world 3D game.
74	Far Cry 2
It's just a game about dust and grime and corrosive rust and it's orange and I love it.
73	Soulcalibur II	Nerd³ Plays
During a tournament at my school, one of the people I played against cheated and put their health onto infinite and I still kicked their fucking ass because I made them ring out twice. Fuck you, whatever the fuck your name was!
72	Grow Home	Nerd³ FW
If it was going wrong, that's because you decided to hold to a cactus made of ducks.
71	Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game	Nerd³'s Father and Son-Days
I lesbians it.

Games 70 - 61[]

	Game	Gameplay
70	Age of Empires II	Nerd³ 101
Or as I like to know it, 'Build a Big Fucking Wall as Fast as Possible: The Game'.
69	Plants vs. Zombies
On Metacritic, every review for it is green. Apart from one and that's from GamingXP and I've never heard of them either.
68	Terraria	Nerd³ Plays
I still boot it up every now and then and I'm like 'I'm gonna build a little house. I'm gonna dig down, WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS? WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? WHAT'S HAPPENING? WHY HAVE I SUMMONED A BOSS? OH GOD, I'VE DIED!' It's great, it's really good.
67	Stacking	Nerd³ Plays
It's Russian stacking dolls. Imagine if they all had different abilities and you could clump them together in different combinations to solve puzzles. It sounds like a ZX Spectrum game and the front cover would be a kangaroo with a boot on its face or something. It sounds insane and it plays pretty insane. But it's beautiful.
66	Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3	Nerd³ Plays
As a silly fun fighting game, top notch stuff.
65	Hitman: Blood Money	Nerd³ Plays
You can feed people to sharks in that game and I love feeding people to sharks.
64	WWE 2K16/17	Nerd³ Completes
It's a very rich, detailed, busy, full, kind of game and mmm... it's like a Christmas pudding filled with another Christmas pudding that gets thrown through a table.
63	Animal Crossing: New Leaf	Nerd³'s Year in...
It's nice to get away from the chaos and madness of the world. And throw coins at a badger.
62	Dishonored	Nerd³ Plays, Nerd³ Plays
It's such a cold world they built. Nothing works and everyone's miserable but I want to spend time there. It's kind of like England.
61	Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear
It's a really tricky wank that pays off.

Games 60 - 51[]

	Game	Gameplay
60	Ratchet and Clank 3
For a lot of people, Ratchet and Clank 3 was where the Ratchet and Clank series went from being just another 3D platformer to something very special in its own right.
59	Rocket League	Nerd³ FW
It's the Top Gear challenge where they play football with cars... ...it’s still got 55,323 people playing it on Steam alone. That’s a huge tail off… it’s going to be around for so many years.
58	Wario Land 3
Wario Land 3 is the best Mario game.
57	Left 4 Dead 2	Nerd³ Plays
When I first though about [Left 4 Dead 2], it hit me with some really strong feelings. I'll tell you the main three ones, they were 'Oh shit', 'OH SHIT!' and 'OH SHIT!'.
56	Black	Nerd³ Plays
Black is the Jeremy Clarkson of shooters. It's very good at what it does and very loud at what it does. It's also a bit stupid.
55	Spore	Nerd³'s Month of...
That creature editor is a thing of magic.
54	Liero	Nerd³ Plays
It takes Worms, which is one of my favourite games ever, and... ...god damn, it's fun to be missile god.
53	Tearaway [PS Vita]	Nerd³ Plays
It went 'This is what the PS Vita is good for', and then, no-one else cared.
52	Metroid: Zero Mission
It's such a good remake that it's only technically a remake.
51	Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
I remember finishing it and going, 'Oh yeah, that was really good' and then looking it up to see what people thought about it online and going '...What's the inverse castle?'

Games 50 - 41[]

	Game	Gameplay
50	Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
If only it was a bit less emolinous.
49	Psychonauts	Nerd³ Completes
Psychonauts is when [Double Fine] hit the super interesting world, the super good character writing, the super fun stuff and it was a great game as well.
48	The World Ends With You
It's a JPRG on a list of my favourite/best games.
47	Sonic the Hedgehog 3	Nerd³ Completes
Best Sonic game.
46	Cities: Skylines	Nerd³ Completes
Cities: Skylines is possibly the biggest 'Fuck you' I've ever seen to a triple-A company.
45	Antichamber	Nerd³ Plays
It's a headfuck and a half.
44	Theme Hospital	Nerd³ Plays
'Theme Hospital should be number 1. You're wrong. You're wrong. I hate you. You're wrong. P.S. please make dinner.' -Mr Rebecca
43	Metal Gear Solid 3
Metal Gear Solid 3 was the last good Metal Gear Solid game.
42	Devil May Cry	Nerd³ Plays
It's Die Hard in a fantasy castle.
41	Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3	Nerd³ Plays
When revert was in, that's it. Combos hit billions.

Games 40 - 31[]

	Game	Gameplay
40	Just Cause 3	Nerd³ Plays
Just pure bat-shit bananas, wearing-a-monkey-on-your-forehead fun.
39	The Stanley Parable	Nerd³ Plays
The Stanley Parable is a game about a man called Stanley.
38	TimeSplitters: Future Perfect	Nerd³'s Father and Son-Days
TimeSplitters: Future Perfect is almost a Doctor Who video game. Possibly with a little bit more shooting.
37	Crush [Playstation Portable]
Crush is a video game where you play as someone called Danny who usually wonders around in his dressing gown and he's having problems sleeping. So I've never related to a character in a video game more.
36	Elite Beat Agents
This is the reason I don't remember a single thing I learnt in geography.
35	Job Simulator	Nerd³ Plays
That game is as fun to watch other people play it as it is to play myself.
34	Worms: Armageddon	Nerd³ Plays
Every day, when I came home from school, I would play Worms: Armageddon... ...I would always have an absolute ball.
33	LittleBigPlanet 2	Nerd³'s Father and Son-Days
One of the best ever game-making games of all time.
32	Kerbal Space Program	Nerd³ Plays
That joy of building a stupid rocket and getting it to another planet is just unparalleled.
31	Minecraft	Nerd³'s Minecraft Buildy Thing
You know it's a great game. You've spent hours playing Minecraft and you probably like it very much, even if you don't like it, you still like it a bit. There's nobody that hates Minecraft. Everyone likes it enough.

Games 30 - 21[]

	Game	Gameplay
30	Spec Ops: The Line	Nerd³ Plays
If you are, somehow, unspoiled as to why Spec Ops: The Line is a fantastic game, just go get it now. Don't read anything... ...The less you know, the better it is.
29	The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Link's Awakening felt like the most adventure-gamey adventure game [Nintendo]'d ever made.
28	Red Faction: Guerrilla	Nerd³ Plays
If you've never smashed a building up with a sledgehammer in that game, I will recommend it because that is one of those top gaming experiences.
27	Fable III	Nerd³ Plays
The narrator of 'Come Dine with Me' is a voice in [Fable III].
26	Yu-Gi-Oh! Tag Force 5
"Yu-Gi-Oh! Tag Force 5 is how to do a card game adaptation properly: Just put all the fuckin' cards in. Don't change the rules or piss around with it or anything like that. Make it really fuckin'... perfect. Let me open packs of cards." [Editor's note: This list is really long.]
25	Burnout 3: Takedown	Nerd³ FW
The best Burnout gameplay, which is the best arcade racing gameplay so therefore, the best racing gameplay.
24	Sins of a Solar Empire	Nerd³ 101
I once played a 3-fucking-day-long game, non-stop using nothing but pizza and 24: The Energy Drink to get me through it.
23	Spider-Man 2 (Consoles)	Nerd³ Plays
[Spider-Man 2] is the game that understood Spider-Man. It went, 'What's the fun thing about Spider-Man?' 'He web-swings.' 'Alright, build the game around that.'
22	Prison Architect	Nerd³ Completes
It's like Theme Hospital 2.
21	Mirror's Edge	Nerd³ Plays
A fast, frantic, beautiful game.

Games 20 - 11[]

	Game	Gameplay
20	Red Dead Redemption	Nerd³ Plays
Red Dead Redemption is just a game filled with incredible, brilliant, wonderful ideas and I'm very excited from the second one.
19	Papers, Please	Nerd³ Plays
It's a very dark game that takes you to a very dark place. But you'll have a lot of fun.
18	Metal Gear Solid 2	Nerd³ Completes
Kojima's finest.
17	Bastion	Nerd³ Loves
When I finally finished it and put the controller down, I thought, 'I'm glad I did that' and I've never been glad to finish a game twice in a row like that.
16	Saints Row 2	Nerd³ Completes
A lot of games that go for a wacky tone but want to tell a serious story veer uncomfortably between them whereas Saints Row 2, when it's at its wackiest, it still feels in the same universe as its darkest.
15	The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	Nerd³ Plays
I wish I could commit more of my life to The Witcher 3.
14	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	Nerd³ Plays
When I went to pick [my copy] up, the guy behind the counter had a look in his eyes of 'Could you all just fuck off so I can go home and play GTA: San Andreas?'
13	The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth	Nerd³ FW
I have it on 5 different systems. It's the same game but I have to have it everywhere.
12	Fallout 4	Nerd³ Completes
I don't know what I was expected to get out of Fallout 4, I was kind of excited 'cause it looked fun but I got out way more than I was expecting.
11	FTL: Faster Than Light	Nerd³ Permadeath
If you're like me and haven't played FTL for a little while, go back to it. Go back it and just fall back in love with that game.

Games 10 - 1[]

	Game	Gameplay
10	The Sims	Nerd³ and Emma Blackery Play
It felt like nothing else. The Sims changed the world of gaming because it brought in a whole new audience.
9	Grand Theft Auto V	A Nerd³ Machinima
'Why did I move here? I guess it was the weather.' That little bit of trailer voice there gives me the fuckin' tingles. That is my brain remembering the most successful hype train I've ever riden. I went all in, believing that Rockstar was going to actually look beyond the money with GTA V... and they nailed it.
8	RollerCoaster Tycoon 2	Nerd³ Plays
'Yeah, I made a flawless game. Let's add more bits.'
7	Dungeon Keeper (PC)	Nerd³ Plays
The best thing about Dungeon Keeper, the reason why it's so high, is that even in the days of MS-DOS, when this came out, you could possess your minions... ...and I saw the world that I had built in a first-person.
6	SSX 3	Nerd³'s SSXMAS!
To speedrun this game to 100% would take you... 46 hours. Which is a lot for a speedrun.
5	Grand Theft Auto: Vice City	Nerd³ Plays
Nothing will ever beat that feeling when I completed this game 100% for the first time and I remember I nicked a helicopter and was flying it back to the mansion that sits in the middle and the song 'Gold' by Spandau Ballet came on... ...It just felt so right.
4	RollerCoaster Tycoon 3	Nerd³ Completes
God, I love building swimming pools.
3	Portal	Nerd³ Completes
So that's the game I consistently call 'the perfect video game' coming in 3rd.
2	Shadow of the Colossus	Nerd³ Completes
'Hey! You know how the PS2 is hardware... that's pathetic and could barely make Parappa the Rapper? Let's make giant fucking monsters in it. In fact; let's make giant fucking monsters that are very accurately collision detected and move and have fur and you have to climb up them and stab them and all of this is happening in a giant open world and we're gonna have really interesting art design throughout the entire thing and the colour palette is going to be spot on and perfect, the soundtrack is going to be made by God herself, everything in this game is going to be perfect and you have to go and stab 16 giant monsters all of which are completely different.'
1	Bully	Nerd³ Completes
Bully is the best game ever made.