all time favorite video games 46-43

The march continues! 46-43 are presented today, featuring games that I truthfully haven't played in years. For their time period though, they made such an impression on me that I still think fondly of them all these years later.

46. Civilization II (PC)
Ah, Civ II. Where to start? In a world of increasingly "fast" games, Civilization II continued on at a snail's pace where Civ I left off. Providing the player with a richly detailed world of options, the world conquest/race to the moon concept really hit its stride here. Whereas most games had one way to achieve victory, Civ continued to give players options. Want to wage a world war? Go for it. Want to be peace loving, appease the other countries and attempt to build a spaceship? It's yours. You could even play scenarios such as the American Civil War and other historic battles from around the world. And if that wasn't enough, you could even design your own units. I once had a continent full of Cartman soldiers. One time we played a five person game of this during finals week (since it took around 20 minutes to get to your turn) while we all wrote papers. This is not the last entry from this series on our list.

45. Shadowman (N64)
This one should appeal solely to Katie. I wish I could tell everyone the bizarre story of how I became infatuated with this game, but the truth is I can't. Possibly a bargain bin purchase from a mall game store, Shadowman was well worth whatever price it was I paid for it. Katie and Puffy, another friend of ours, would meet and watch me play this game. It was dark. It swore. It dealt with Satan. It dealt with sex. In short, it dealt with everything the N64 was not known for. The actual formula to the game wasn't much different than a Zelda game--find new powers, new paths that were previously inaccessible are opened to you--but the look and feel of the game were very atmospheric. We had so much fun following the exploits of this game--and I have never looked at it since. I wonder how it would hold up today?

44. Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
For its time and age, Donkey Kong Country was a visual feast for the eyes. The jaw-dropping graphics of the time were perfected by Donkey Kong Country in much the same way Super Mario Bros changed the "look" of games years before. Multiple paths, tons of collectibles, animals you could ride, and YES(!), a two player mode, made this game kick ass. Donkey Kong was relatively forgotten in the game world until this hit debuted. An overworld map, a la Super Mario World also allowed the players to choose different paths and find shops and challenges as they went. I played this about three years ago, and in case you were wondering, yes, it is still fun.

43. Super Monkey Ball 2 (GC)
If you haven't played the Super Monkey Ball games because you thought they were too "cute" I'll pause while you find a hammer and repeatedly strike yourself over the head. The Monkey Ball series should almost be sued by Father Time himself for the hours one can spend playing each of the series games. Monkey Ball 2 will always be the pinnacle to me. This game rocks for one reason--there are basically two games on each disc. On the one hand you have the Mario Party-esque compilation of mini-games such as baseball, bowling, tennis, golf, billiards, and other gems. These game were fun--really fun. On the other hand you have the insanely hard challenge game which required you to skillfully move the monkey ball through a maze or course of great difficulty. The glorious death you suffered in doing so frustrated you to no end. This is really where the game laid for the hardcore gamers. As a famous movie tag line goes "To know Llyod Dobler is to love Llyod Dobler. Diane Court is about to know Llyod Dobler." Same thing applies to Monkey Ball. Try it if you haven't. You'll find your own Llyod Dobler.

UP NEXT: Could it be!? The next four games feature only one entry from a Nintendo console?! Egads! What is happening here? The humanity!