all time favorite video games 21-19

Well I'm feeling a little better today, let's hope it was a one day bug and not me getting sick with something worse. My parents will be here in 48 hours for good times. Can you believe after this we only have one more entry of three games before we're at the top 15? Seems like I just started this list, and already we're coming to the end. Have you figured out what number one is yet? Any guesses on which two non-Nintendo games have survived this far? We won't reveal them today...

21. Ice Hockey (NES)
Ice Hockey should be a fairly straightforward game, but I've seen many a newbie try to pick this up and be utterly befuddled by the operation of the goalie. Its simple, you move up or you move down. Where people get confused is that they actually control the goalie at all times, even if they are moving another skater about the rink. When someone gets ready to shoot on you, you have to ignore the rest of your team and concentrate on what the goalie is doing. It sounds simple, but I haven't seen anyone yet who would beat me at the game. Between periods, you are treated to the Zamboni machine's resurfacing the ice. Players can get into fights and end up in the penalty box. That's it. No lace here, just a great straightforward game.

20. Perfect Dark (N64)
It seemed impossible when Rare announced that they were doing a "pseudo-sequel" to Goldeneye 64. The main protagonist is a girl? Aliens? What is going on here? Then you realize they included several of the levels from James Bond (Facility, anyone?), and you begin to give the game a shot. The one player mode is pretty damn good. Whoa! Cooperative and Counter-Operative modes? The multiplayer was again the strength of this game. Loads of options (King of the Hill, Data Uplink, Deathmatch, etc.), tons of characters (now those aliens are sounding pretty cool, eh?), and the ability to include AI in multiplayer gave a whole new meaning to human versus computer. As much as we played this game back in the day, it was these human vs. computer matchups that were so darn fun. Put a really deadly bot in the game and prepare to be frustrated!

19. Super Street Fighter II (SNES)
You had to know Street Fighter wouldn't be done that easily, didn't you? Super Street Fighter II for the Super Nintendo was about the 24,039,024 version of the game they released and for my money it was the best. You were now able to pick 16 characters (including my favorites, Ryu, Vega, Bison, Balrog, and Fei Long) and do battle the world over. This was essentially the same game as its predecessors, but it was the definitive collection. Matt Hudson and I started a tournament to see who was better. We made a large grid that included every possible combination of matches and played them off and on for years. We still have not finished that tournament and may never finish it, but last I checked I was up by quite a few... :) Street Fighter is, was, and always will be the greatest fighting game of all time.

UP NEXT: Mario and Link combine for two of their remaining seven spots. And a game that revolutionized the entire industry. What could it be!?