An A to Z of my favourite games – Reader’s Feature

A reader names the best games he’s played for each letter of the alphabet, from Arkham Knight to Zelda – but not including Yakuza.

After having a think about my favourite games recently I thought I would be good to compile an A to Z of my favourites. Remember, these are my favourite games, not a definitive list of what people may consider the best of all time. Also, there can be only one game for each letter of the alphabet. Here we go.

A is for Arkham Knight For myself this was an easy one. I’ve always been a fan of the Batman: Arkham games and feel that Arkham Knight just edges out Arkham City. Sure, the tank sections were a drag but the combat was the best of the three games along with a larger map, better graphics and better traversal.

B is for Bioshock Infinite Again not a difficult choice. I’m struggling to think of many games I’ve played beginning with a B. I did enjoy Bioshock Infinite. I’ve heard the other games are better but will have to reserve judgement for now.

C is for Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 At times I did need to consider Crazy Taxi. The cult Sega classic which I still occasionally play on the iPad. I also considered the other Sega game Chu Chu Rocket, however you can’t go wrong with Call of Duty. I know it’s lost its way a bit these days but there is no denying the effect the series has had on modern gaming (for better or worse). I didn’t get around to playing Call Of Duty until Modern Warfare 2. I would have to say that Modern Warfare 2 or perhaps Black Ops 2 are the best in the series, in my opinion.

D is for Devil May Cry 5 I struggled a bit here to be honest. I’ve got Dishonored 2 on my backlog but not played the first and can’t recall many games beginning with D. However, I have recently bought Devil May Cry 5, having never played any of the previous instalments. I’m really enjoying it so far. My favourite character to play with is V. However, I’m not far enough in yet to try out Dante. I managed a SSS combo the other day and got a trophy and felt well impressed with myself for all of two seconds, until I found out 57% of players all achieved the same trophy.

E is for Ecco the Dolphin I vaguely remember playing this game years ago. However, since Enter The Matrix (which I recall was dreadful) is the only other game I can think of playing that begins with the letter E then Ecco is the winner. Kudos Mr Dolphin. If only I had played Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture, I’ve heard that’s much better.

F is for FIFA 19 I know I know EA are the devil and Pro Evo is the better game but I’m a sucker for FIFA. My love affair with FIFA started with FIFA 98. I did consider choosing FIFA 98 out of nostalgia but let’s face it FIFA 19 is better. The 14-year-old me would wet his pants if he could see how much FIFA has progressed in that time. I also have to give mention to Far Cry 5 and Forza Horizon 4, which have been two of the games of last year for me.

G is for Grand Theft Auto V This was another tricky one. I mean, look at the other contenders: GoldenEye 007 and God Of War. Both great games. However, GTA V won in the end. I just loved how varied the map was. A lot of open world games have large maps but nothing interesting to see or do. GTA V had so much to occupy your time. Swimming, cycling, sightseeing, racing, darts, tennis, and good old-fashioned crime.

H is for Halo 2 I haven’t played Half-Life. I also haven’t played Halo 1, 3, or 4. I also haven’t played any of the Hitman games. Therefore, by default Halo 2, which I played for ohh about one hour is by default the winner. Yay for Halo!

I is for Injustice: Gods Among Us Doing this list made me think how really there are so few games that start with the letter I. I played this game on the PlayStation 3 and had a reasonable time playing it. I might check the sequel out at some point.

J is for Jet Set Radio I loved the Dreamcast, it was such a shame it failed. This was a great game. Really quirky and different. I still don’t think I’ve played anything quite like it.

K is for Killzone: Mercenary Again I was struggling here. This was a decent first person shooter for the PS vita. Probably the best first person shooter in handheld form. Though to be fair it doesn’t have much competition.

L is for The Last Of Us There were a few contenders for this one. Lego Star Wars and L.A. Noire were in the running but I’ve got to give it to The Last Of Us. One of the most beautiful games of all time and in my opinion the best narrative of any game. I have mixed feeling about the sequel. I look forward to seeing what they do next but fear they might ruin the brutal ending of the first game.

M is for Mario Kart 64 I don’t think there can be any argument. Mario Kart is the winner all day long. The only question is which one? The latest Mario Kart 8 is probably the best the series has to offer but I have so many memories of playing with my friends as a teenager that from a nostalgia point of view Mario Kart 64 is the one I have picked.

N is for NBA Jam I never owned a SNES but think I must have played this at a friend’s house. I remember that I think if you scored enough points the ball would set on fire and become supercharged or something.

O is for Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee I found this game both frustrating and rewarding at the time. I think I played it on the PC I shared with my brother and parents. I always feel like I should revisit it again at some point.

P is for Pro Evolution Soccer These days I prefer FIFA to PES. But during around the time of the PlayStation 2 most of the people I went to school with favoured PES and I was no exception. Even though I don’t play it anymore I have fond memories of PES tournaments. I remember one that lasted till four in the morning. I think I ended half delirious that night.

Q is for Q*bert I never played Quake and haven’t tried Quantum Break on Xbox. Therefore Q*bert wins by default. Video game developers need more games to start with the letter Q.

R is Resident Evil 2 This was between Resident Evil 2 and Red Dead Redemption II. As good as Red Dead Redemption II is it’s just too damn long. I’ve resigned myself to the fact I may never finish it. Resident Evil 2 is also a brilliant game. The remake is excellent but for nostalgia’s sake I’ll choose the original version.

S is for Super Mario Odyssey This was one of the harder letters. So many Choices. Spider-Man! SoulCalibur! Streets Of Rage! Street Fighter! Sonic The Hedgehog! Sensible Soccer! And probably a million more I’m forgetting. The winner for me was Super Mario Odyssey. After getting the Switch I knew I had to get Super Mario on release. Having never really got into Mario games before I was hyped after watching previews online and wasn’t disappointed. The game was a joy to play and so imaginative. I loved the capture system by throwing the hats at objects.

T is for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 The letter T was another difficult choice. Time Crisis was a potential winner but in the end I had to go for Tony Hawk’s. Me and my friends used to play the second one to death. The format of two minutes per go meant you could keep swapping and see who got the best score. I think they released a remaster of the first game a few years back and it still holds up today.

U is for Uncharted 4 I never played an Uncharted game until fairly recently, when the hype surrounding the fourth game was just starting to build. I thought then that I had probably best see was the fuss was about and worked my way through the remasters before the newest edition was released. I can see why people hold the second game in such high esteem. However, I think the fourth just edges it. It looks amazing, the story is better, and the it has the best exploration and climbing mechanics.

V is for Virtua Striker I must apologise for the number of football games on this list. However, again, I’ve played next to no games beginning with the letter V. I remember playing this game loads at the arcade and getting absolutely destroyed. So I was massively excited when it came to the Dreamcast. If I remember the players had ridiculous names bordering on offensive stereotypical names of the country they played for.

W is for Wii Sports This was a great game, especially for being free and getting bundled in with the Wii. It was a phenomenon at the time and introduced gaming to a wider audience.

X is for XCOM Literally the only game I’ve played beginning with the letter X. I didn’t really like it. I just don’t think this kind of strategy game is for me. I played Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle recently and didn’t like that either.

Y is for ? I have no answer. I cannot think of a single game I have played beginning with the letter Y.

Z is for Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Thank god the final letter. I never thought I’d struggle so much. I kinda bought the Switch after the rave reviews for this game and was a little disappointed. I liked it at first but after a while I hated how it took an age to get anywhere. As soon as you reached an incline the horse would scarper and you would be on your lonesome again. Also, maybe it was me but it seemed ridiculously hard, both the combat and the puzzles. Either way Zelda is the winner until more Z games are released.

So there you have it. I’m sure there are loads of games I’ve forgotten. The definitive (well maybe not quite) A to Z of gaming.

By reader Matc7884

The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.