Best Game Series Ever Countdown

[Oaf]

Ah, Dragon Age. I could never really get into the first game, never even tried the second, but gave the third one a real chance. In fact, I have like 60 hours on it, so it can't be all bad. But fuck me is it dull. Side quest after side quest full of shit I can't be assed to read and there are so fucking many of them.

Granted, when dragons show up it's cool as fuck, and I guess the main story has been good enough. Cluttered with so much shit though. Give me a 10 hour game of constant quality over a 90 hour game padded with dull, repetitive side quests any fucking day. I guess if you're into the lore and stuff it's probably fine, but fuck it. It's just not for me.

And the combat absolutely sucks as well.

 

[Smudge]

Give the first one another chance, its brilliant. Seems to get the balance right between story and sidequests. I might play it again actually, I have so many hours racked up on that game, its obscene. The second one is apalling. A few good elements, still some good characters and dialogue like Isabella, Merrill and Varric, but overall, too much action that isnt even all that exciting, and not enough focus on the storyline.

 

[Oaf]

Eh. The problem now is that I've tried so many times and failed, and now Inquisition doesn't exactly have me yearning for more of the series. It's weird, I love Mass Effect... can't get into DA at all though

 

[Smudge]

21st: Mario Kart (3 lists)

Games in series to date: 8 (1992-2014)
Genre: Racing
Platforms: 8 (SNES, Nintendo 64, Gameboy Advance, Gamecube, Nintendo DS, Wii, 3DS, Wii U)
Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Mario Kart: Double Dash, Mario Kart DS, Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart 8

If I said before that the success of Super Smash Bros is down to the relateable timelessness of Nintendo characters and giving every generation someone they remember, well thats probably also the success of Mario Kart. Mario has become timeless, but Mario Kart just as much in its own right, with all the characters from the series. Again, its the simplicity and fun that makes it so successful. Memorable courses (some infamous like Rainbow Road!) the weapons, all making it still one of the more fun multiplayer experiences there is. Friends have been lost over blue shelling someone right before they're about to cross the finish line though...

 

[Smudge]

Eh. The problem now is that I've tried so many times and failed, and now Inquisition doesn't exactly have me yearning for more of the series. It's weird, I love Mass Effect... can't get into DA at all though

Out of interest, how far did you get? With the Origin stories, I think either of the two dwarf ones or the mage one give you the most interesting experience.

 

[Oaf]

I played as a human and did the whole starting bit with the castle being stormed and escaping... the furthest I got was like, 2 or 3 quests after you join up with the Grey Wardens or something. There was something about going into a bog or something with Alister (?) and two nobodies and then something about a witch... I was a quest or two after that.

 

[Smudge]

Yeah you need to try again! Once you pass Lothering and get Redcliffe as the main quest, it kicks off

 

[Oaf]

Yeah, I don't doubt that it's probably the best of the series by a fair bit from what I've heard. But I just can't bring myself to do it. I have all these other RPG's that I want to play, and as it stands Inquisition is blocking me from them all. I just don't want to end up in that same boat again

 

[SUTSS]

I'm the opposite to you Oaf. Loved Dragon Age but just couldn't get into Mass Effect.

 

[Smally]

Absolutely love Mario Kart 64. I played the one on the Wii which was decent too, I'm surprised that Mario Kart isn't a but higher

 

[Jockney]

Never understood the love for kart and super smash bros over party. Not that I don't like the former two, but they get repetitive fast.

 

[SUTSS]

When I moved into my house for the 2nd year of Uni for the first two weeks we had no internet and the tv aerial was broken. But we did have a wii with Mario Kart. The amount of hours I spent playing it in those two weeks was incredible. We were playing 32 race competitions from pretty much the moment we woke up to the moment we went to bed. I had a three day winning streak at one stage which was amazing.

 

[Smudge]

Ive only ever actually played the original and the Wii one for any length of time. Was a games night a few weeks back and they were doing Mario Kart time trials. Unfortunately for me, it was on the Wii U, so having never even held a Wii U controller, I spent the first 2 laps figuring out the controls and blew my 3 mushrooms on the first straight!

 

[Oaf]

Yeah, Mario Kart is an awesome series. I'm definitely a late comer to the series, Double Dash was the first one I ever played and the Wii one was the first I ever owned (on console at least, I also had that incredible DS Mario Kart game as well) but I can appreciate that they're fantastic. Still though, I'm pretty sure in saying that Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U may well be the best one ever made. Some of the courses are just sheer brilliance and it helps that the game looks absolutely stunning as well. It's actually one of my favourite looking games out there.

 

[Smudge]

Next up on 38 points...
20th: Devil May Cry (2 lists)

Games in series to date: 5 (2001-2013)
Genre: Acton, adventure
Platforms: 5 (Playstation 2, PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Playstation 4, Xbox One)
Devil May Cry, Devil May Cry 2, Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening, Devil May Cry 4, DmC

Not one I played unfortunately. It only made 2 lists, but made the top 3 in both, so one that is pretty popular if you've actually played it! The main character of the series is Dante, son of a legendary dark knight who is hunting the demons who killed his mother and his brother.

 

[Megaclyde]

You put up a pic of DMC4! Whyyyy?

 

[Oaf]

DMC is fine, but it's not a series I'm all that into anymore. The first one came out and was cool as fuck, stylish, fast paced and a great game early into the PS2 generation. I didn't mind the 2nd one as much as some seemed too, and the third was great... but DMC 4 just seemed to be the tipping point for me. It was fine, but I just lost my real love of the series... and only ever played like half of the recent DMC, even though I actually thought it brought the series back to its best.

I reckon I can pinpoint the moment that I lost my love of the series as well... Toward the end of DMC4 where they just ran out of ideas, so made you fight all of the bosses again. Fuck off, do something new.

 

[Megaclyde]

I reckon I can pinpoint the moment that I lost my love of the series as well... Toward the end of DMC4 where they just ran out of ideas, so made you fight all of the bosses again. Fuck off, do something new.

But with Dante, in reverse order!!!
Joking aside, when I played 4 i was in the 'Nero sucks, we want Dante' crowd, but then got to his section and non of the other weapons you unlock were any fun which kind of killed it a bit for me, that was one of the best bits of DMC3, cool and unique weapons.

 

[Oaf]

Was DMC 3 the one with that briefcase that could take the form of like 9999 different weapons or something? That was... creative

Oh, and the guitar that shoots electricity and bats. Gotta have one of those.

 

[Megaclyde]

The briefcase was 4, pandoras box, I wasn't a fan of it tbh
3 had 'Nevan' the lightning bat guitar, which naturally you get from beating the succubus lightning witch Nevan

 

[Cas]

Devil May Cry was third on my list, I fooking love it. I remember buying Resident Evil Code Veronica X which came with a demo disc for the original Devil May Cry. For the first week of owning the game I think I actually played the DMC demo more than Resident Evil!

The third is my favourite of the series. Best weapons (fucking love Agni and Rudra), best story and far the best bosses.

DMC4 is ace, don't care about the back tracking with Dante. I bought DMC4 SE when it came out a few week ago and it's a blast. Finished the game with Dante and Nero and now working through my Lady and Trish game. Lady is probably my favourite new character so far, although I haven't played around with Vergil yet. She does insane amounts of damage and can wreck bosses easily. Gonna finish their story, do Vergils, S rank Bloody Palace and then S rank DMD I think.

 

[Megaclyde]

I need to get DMC4:SE, but I still haven't finished Bloodbourne or Witcher yet
Might just get it anyway

 

[Cas]

The new characters are really fun, Clyde. I'm looking forward to LDK mode

 

[daviejones]

Sorry I wasnt around at all yesterday, so will put on two today, one now and one later. Works out quite nicely that way anyway, as we have a tie on points, but not on lists! So first up on 36 points...

22nd: Dragon Age (2 lists)

Games in series to date: 3 (2009-2014)
Genre: Adventure, action, fantasy RPG
Platforms: 5 (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Playstation 4, Xbox One)
Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition

I considered voting for this on my list, but then I would only have been doing it on the strength of the first game, which is in my top 3 of all time. Inspired by Bioware's previous series Baldur's Gate, Dragon Age is set in the medieval fantasy world of Thedas. Rather than providing a linear storyline throughout the three games though, each is a take on a different story and area of the kingdom. In the first, you control a character from a choice of backgrounds in becoming a Grey Warden in Ferelden's last epic battle to destroy the Archdemon and Darkspawn horde after they have taken down the King's army and seen the Wardens blamed for it. The second takes on the story of the once rich Hawke family, who are forced to flee Lothering, a town destroyed early on in the storyline of the first game, to poverty in the city of Kirkwall across the sea. In the third, you are a mysterious stranger with unknown links to a natural disaster which has infested the world with demons and destroyed the Chantry and all form of order in the realm.

Like previous Bioware offerings, Mass Effect and Baldur's Gate, the universe created in Dragon Age is epic, with thousands of years of history crammed into a rich group of characters. And in the first games, and at times in the second and third, it absolutely drags you in with a brilliant, tangling deep emotional storyline, and fanstastically written characters. By far the best aspect is the choice in the first game of which origin story you choose, as it affects the entire game completely. From the human noble who's family is murdered, the dwarf in poverty forced to work your way up, the mage exiled from the circle, your class and origin story infect everything in the game. On the downside, while your choices have wide reaching consequences in the first game, it does not translate into the second and third games, which is a real shame, as having seen what Bioware did with Mass Effect, the potential here was so great, but wasted. Outstanding first game I would recommend to anybody, vastly disappointing second, slightly better third.

I can't remember exactly but I'm pretty sure this made my list, similair to you I played the first one and was completely obsessed. The storyline was engaging and you could see you were making progress all the time - this was the main problem with 2 and 3 for me, it seems like not a lot really happens when you do each of the main quests which meant it dragged on a lot and became pretty boring. The combat and graphics in Origins were both horrifically bad but it was such a novelty that it almost became fun, and the storyline more than made up for it anyway. 2 and 3 were both overhyped pre-release and both failed to meet expectations but for the first one alone it made my list (I think!).

 

[Smudge]

Sorry for the delays, Ive not been home much since Friday. Im off work for 3 days now though, so will try and squeeze in 2 entires a day to make up for it.
First up, level with Devil May Cry on 38 points, but making 3 lists...
19th: Halo (3 lists)

Games in series to date: 9 (2001-2015) Not including remakes or re-releases
Genre: Shooter, Strategy
Platforms: 4 (Xbox, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo Wars, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, Halo 4, Halo Spartan Assault, Halo Spartan Strike

Widely regarded as the best first person shooter available today, Halo focuses on Master Chief and the Spartans' war against an alien race called the Covenant. Probably as popular for its multiplayer, with its multiple game modes catering to both hardcore shooter fans, as well as those who just want a bit of fun, the chance to use various vehicles and a wide range of creative weaponry adds to it being a bit different to most other shooters. Then there are the spin offs, some following the same pattern as the original 4 but adding to the storyline, others providing real time strategy games within the Halo universe. It is easily one of Microsoft's most successful franchises, and played a big part in getting them into serious competition with Playstation. Halo 5 is set to be released later this year too, so it is seemingly still as popular as ever.

 

[Oaf]

Think Halo was my number 2. That or number 1. It should have been, at least.

God I love's me some Halo. The campaigns are pretty fun (though nothing special) but that fucking multiplayer. It's god a hold on me. Not only does Halo multiplayer fill me with nostalgia and bring me back to my days of growing up, it's also my top FPS to play today.
The days of playing Halo 4 player split screen on the xbox... and then the sheer excitement of Halo 2 coming out, bringing with it an online experience that you'd simply never even been close to on consoles before. Halo 1 felt like a massive jump forward for console gaming, but Halo 2 was where Halo really exploded for me. I was doing my GCSE's at the time and my life for that year was pretty much 100% dedicated to revision and Halo, with no room for anything else. Every single lunch time at school would be spent at my house with about 7 or 8 of us taking it in turns playing online. And the SYSTEM LINKS! My god those were magical evenings. Any chance we could, we'd fit as many of us into a house as possible, get as many Xboxes as we could and spend hours fighting room against room, insults flying all through the house for the glory of "UPSTAIRS TEEEEAAAM!" or where ever you'd end up. And this continued right through Halo 3 and Reach, but then everybody got jobs and shit so it's too hard to do anymore. I still say though that those days of system link Halo are the very best experiences I've ever had with video games, and I don't see anything coming close.

But even today, while the system links don't tend to happen, Halo 4 is still my go to game for online. A solid core of us will go through phases where every day for like a month we'll be online shooting people up. And Halo 5 will be no different and I can't fucking wait. Every year they manage to bring enough variation and innovation to make each game feel like the best Halo there's ever been.

I get that a lot of people seem to hate Halo and find it to be a massively over rated series, and fair play, you're entitled to think that way. I doubt that anybodies mind can be changed on that matter, but for me all of the history of the series, as well the fact that it's still probably my most played game today, mean that few games out there can come close to Halo. And this is without even getting into things like the perfect balance, the superb gameplay system of guns/melee/grenades, the awesome controls, the brilliant map design and what not. I could probably gush all day.

 

[Smudge]

I actually find the campaign on Halo really dull. But like you say, its great fun on multiplayer. I have a core group of mates I play online with, as we all live quite far apart now. Went down to visit one of them a couple of summers ago, and her boyfriends best mate was also visiting. Too good to be true, we set up 2 Xboxs and 2 TVs in her living room for some proper 4 player stuff! Great few days that.

 

[Oaf]

Yeah, I always feel like they think that people think that the Halo story is fucking awesome and people want more of it, but even as a huge fan of Halo games I probably couldn't actually tell you the story of it all beyond a few bullet points. All these books, TV shows, comics and whatever... eh. It's got a massive mythology and everything about it, but if I'm honest it just doesn't appeal to me. I did actually quite like the story of Halo 3, ODST and Reach, but I couldn't even say what the fuck happened in Halo 4. Something about the word "Didact", but I don't know what the fuck I didact is or what it does.

But they're fun enough. Well, actually, Halo 1 is pretty awful now. Superb AI and whatever, but some of the level design is criminally awful.

 

[Smudge]

Pipping Halo on 39 points...
18th: The Elder Scrolls (3 lists)

Games in series to date: 8 (1994-2014)
Genre: Action, RPG, Open World, MMORPG
Platforms: 4 (PC, Xbox, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Playstation 4, Xbox One)
The Elder Scrolls: Arena, The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire, The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The Elder Scrolls Online

The epic social life sucking meme spawning Elder Scrolls draws its popularity from its massive open world. Set in the land of Tamriel, the storylines between the games themselves are very loose, sometimes totally unrelated, and likewise the questlines, as players are free to progress and play any way they want to. And of course on PC, endless fun with mods!

 

[Oaf]

Whoa, TES probably deserved better than 18th. It's only really had three great games in Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim, but they were so fucking good.