The List: Introduction Version 2

Last List Update:
 7.18.2010

The first major list update is now complete. In total, roughly 65 new lists were added, including, most importantly, a litany of end-of-decade lists. These new lists have altered the landscape of the 200 Most Acclaimed Video Games in some significant ways. 17 games have exited the list (including titles in such stalwart series as Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda), giving way to 17 new entries. Of these debuts, 11 are from the past decade, no doubt benefiting from the aforementioned EOD lists. However, retro-classics like Elite and M.U.L.E. have also, somewhat belatedly, found their way into the top 200. Still, it appears that the more recent titles have gained the most from the update, with three games entering the top 10 for the first time, all of which were released in the 2000s. Likewise, this version's biggest gainer is Portal, which climbed over 100 positions to enter the top 50. Even so, 9 of the 17 games that dropped out of the top 200 were also from the 2000s, showing that the end-of-decade lists were not universally beneficial to recent games. So just how kind were the critics to your favorite game in List Version 2? Click below to find out.

The new 200 Greatest Video Games Ever Made:

Expanded: Starting with #200

Expanded: Starting with #1

Basic: Complete list [text only]
Platform: The top 200 ranked by platform.

Notes: Certain entries represent an entire series of games rather than just individual installments. Series entries have a 'recommended games' section at the bottom of their page, which lists all of the games in that series that have received votes. The game's year is in accordance with either its North American or its European release dates. To reiterate for those who have not read the 'about' page, the list is not indicative of my own opinion. Instead, it represents the general critical consensus.