All Time Favorite Video Games 65-61

Part three of our list, and we're still rocking on the outer fringes here. I'm serving up another five for your feasting pleasure. It occurs to me that I still can't seem to get the commenting working, but I'm having blogger look at it as we speak. More on that soon hopefully. Today features the first appearance of a famous mustachioed plumber--but not in the role you might guess... On to the games!

65. Contra (NES)
This is STILL a great shooter. The fact that it was also one of the greatest two player games ever made is an added bonus. Konami code for 30 lives? Helpful. The plot wasn't too clear (hey, it was early NES, okay?), but it involved aliens coming to earth and two soldiers (shirtless for the ladies--John Rambo style) kicking all sorts of alien ass. The level variety was great, and has spawned a semi-successful franchise in the Contra brand.

64. F-Zero (SNES)
Want to hear a sick fact? I received my copy of F-Zero by drinking Kool-Aid and redeeming Kool-Aid points. Yeah, being a kid ruled back then. Intense tracks, a variety of drivers (including my favorite, Samurai Goroh), and kickass soundtrack made F-Zero a prominent racer back in the day. The franchise still carries on, though it has lost a bit of steam over the years. Trying to not blow your ship up was a challenge on some of those early tracks. Still a great game if you play it today--not many have aged this well.

63. Marvel Ultimate Alliance (WII)
I'm still not exactly what you call this sort of game. Part RPG (with the complex leveling system), mostly action (kicking legions of baddies as they come towards you), and a bit of puzzles, these games rock. What Gauntlet started, these games and the X-Men Legends perfected. The fact that it is rooted in the legendary Marvel Universe mythology makes it even more enjoyable. Another amazing aspect of the game? Well, if you remember my entry at 74, The Avengers, where you could pick between four playable characters, this game features over 20! A great blend of heavy hitters like Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Captain America blended with obscure personalities such as Black Panther, Deadpool, and Ms. Marvel. A sequel is in the works.

62. Skies of Arcadia (GC)
Skies of Arcadia is a port from Sega's systems. Not to take away from that fact, but I only played the game on the 'Cube. As story goes, its pretty generic--evil empire, ancient power, heroes of destiny, that whole spiel. This game has a few things going for it though. For one, the overall experience is fairly lengthy, which is usually a good thing. The combat is fairly straight forward, yet sometimes unbalanced. A small cast of playable characters hurts a bit here. However, this game features not only hand to hand combat, but also airship battles, which are pretty darn fun. Blasting huge cannons in a elaborate combat system plays more like a game of chess. Quality game.

61. Mario Party (GC)
Mario Party has spawned like 48959 sequels since this first game. While they are still fun to play, I'd have to say they've saturated their own market. I love the variety, love the gameplay, love that the focus is mostly skill--but luck also plays a part. The franchise has expanded to include microphone use, numerous playable characters, and more options than you could ever try in on sitting. For my money, I can remember the early days of Mario Party, with great games such as "Bumper Balls" pictured here, or the game that I affectionately called "Grab Ass," where you had to sneak up behind and steal someones money from their pocket. Take some time off, Mario Party. You need it.

UP NEXT: An evil scientist, evil zombies, a evil clown, evil pirates...and a boy and his monkey?!