The top 20 Home Computer Games of all Time
...accroding to me

Last night, Philos, Feng and I got into a converstaion about our favorite PC games of all time. And so, I present the results. For purposes of brevity, I've lumped games that improve the technology but dont' significantly change the gameplay (such as Domm I/II) in one entry. I've also refrained from listing games that are of the same genre and technological era (such as Starcraft and Age of Empires), choosing instead the one I think is best.

1. Apeiron - It's kind of weird for me to put an arcade game as my all-time favorite (and a Mac game at that), but Apeiron epitomizes everything that Ambrosia Software stands for, because Apeiron has the most sought after and rarest quality in a game developer: they know what is fun. They've made a living re-tooling arcade favorites with stunning sprites, sound, and gamplay (like the centipede-inspired Apeiron).
   
2. Civilization I/II/II - I once convinced my brother-in-law to let me install Civ I on his 8086 so his kids could play it as an educational experience. It took about 45 minutes to set up the world, but it ran. When I went to grad school, a copy of Civ I spanned across floppies was one of my prized possessions. I still play this game today.
   
3. Doom I/II - I still hear doors opening and closing in my dreams... I played Doom II with Simpsons sprites because I was still creeped out by Doom I.
   
4. Thief I/II - A truly unique game that still has not been duplicated. Thief II didn't really hold a candle to I, but it was still a fun game.
   
5. Counterstrike - Real men use a deagle.
   
6. Zork I/II/III
   
7. Starcraft
   
8. Asylum I/II - Asylum was a first-person view puzzle/rpg that was written for the TRS-80 model 1. The pixels were as big as my fist. Nevertheless, my next door neighbor and I spent over a year finishing Asylum I. It is truly a forgotten gem of gaming.
   
9. SimCity I/II/2000 - many, many lost hours.
   
10. Jedi: Outcast - MHO, the first real addition to FPS gameplay since Doom. Sure Oni and a host of other titles advertised seamless fun hand-to-hand combat, but Jedi delivered.
    
11. Realmz - I almost put Pool of Radiance here, but then I remembered Realmz. Realmz beats Pool because Realmz has the best sprites and terrain of any game of the era, better sound, and you can build scenarios for it. Unfortunatlye, the scenarios are buggy in the poor PC port of this Mac game.
    
12. Wing Commander
    
13. Ultima Underworld - UA was released somewhere between Ultima 4 and 7 as a sort of spinoff game. It is still my favorite first-person view RPG.
    
14. Nethack - if this is all that open source gives the world, it shall have been worth it.
    
15. Hearts of Iron / Europa Universalis I/II - I'm counting HOI as a sequel to EU and EU II. These games broke the preconception that a world-conquest strategy game had to be built on a grid... you know, the way the real world is build on a grid.
    
16. Air Flight Simulator
    
17. Ultima 4 - I knew I was a gamer when I saw this game.
    
18. Half-Life
    
19. One on One: Bird vs. Jordan - This isn't so much a game as it is an archetype of personal combat.
    
20. Escape Velocity - Another game by Ambrosia and the only member of the top-down real time combat and trading space rpg genre of which I am aware. EV also allows you to build your own scenarios. Best of all, there's a PC port in progress!
    
21. Stars! - Stars! is a perfect example of what happens when a team of capable developers decide to design the game they've always wanted to play and then carry it out in close dialog with their players. It may not be your cup of tea, but in the genre (turn-based space strategy and resource management), it is the best there is.
    
    

Yes, I know that's 21.

Honorable Mentions:

• Dark Forces - Dark Forces was the first FPS to have levels where you could go over and under, laser turrets, dual-mode weapons, and tossable grenades. I didn't list it in here because I think of it as a sort of "Half-Life I".
  
• Lode Runner - Here you have everything you need to know about platform games. Duke Nukem 2 was fun too.
  
• Age of Empires - Starcraft gots its spot because Starcraft has flame throwers and flying buildsing. Sorry, AOE.
  
• Pod Racer - I really hate racing games. I really like Pod Racer, though.