Terrence Atkins's Top 10 Favorite Video Games
Springfield, AR

10. Unreal Tournament 2003 (PC) - I've played (and mastered) every first person shooter game there is, and I can say from my vast experience that this one is clearly the best. What with the wide selection of weapons and next to perfect framerate, how can you go wrong?

9. Earthworm Jim (SG) - This is the funniest game I have ever played in all of my masterful years of playing videogames! The framerate is simply hilarious! and I can never get enough laughter out of the fact that he is a worm... in a suit! I mean, in all my vast experience playing videogames, I have never seen such a thing! On top of the funny factor, this game has excellent gameplay. You'll be spending hours every day playing it, I know I do!

8. Tomba! 2 (PSX) - This game will supply you with hours of fun and enjoyment with its fantastic framerate, easy to master controls (although to me, all games are easy to master), and amazing levels and characters that will keep you company through those tough times when you find yourself cold and alone in your basement.. because all of your friends went out to the movies and didn't call you.. they claim that you smell, but just because I don't shower everyday doesn't mean I'm dirty! Why can't I just use excessive amounts of perfume and deodorant instead of wasting half my day showering?! French people do it...

7. Donkey Kong (NES) - This is the game that inspired the creator of King Kong. It stars a queen who gets kidnapped by a large monkey, and has to be saved by a Mexican construction worker. I don't really understand the characters either.. I mean, I do have quite a lot of experience playing videogames, and I would consider myself a master of all I have played (and could easily master any other game), but I still don't get how a construction worker, a queen, and a monkey fit together.. Regardless of how much sense it makes, the excellent gameplay (jumping over giant kegs is always fun, and in this game, easy), and the wonderful framerate make this worthy of being #4 on my top 10 list.

6. Donkey Kong Country (SNES) - This game is much like Donkey Kong, but it focuses on the monkeys path, rather than the queens, and has more RPG elements added to it. The basic plot is the same, though. Rescue the bananas from the evil dinosaurs, same old stuff. What sets this game apart from the rest is its amazing framerate and excellent gameplay. Once you pick it up you can't put it down.

5. Pong (A26) - The story behind this game is pretty simple. You are defending your fortress from an evil empire bent on destroying it, and must repel all of their attacks by means of your shield. The only problem is, the empire has a shield, too, and they are trying just as hard to deflect them back at you again. The framerate of this game is second to none, and the gameplay is astounding. The storyline is a bit.. imaginative, but I guess its better than having just two random blocks hitting a circle back and fourth. Man would that be dumb!

4. Sonic the Hedgehog (SG) - This is one of the greatest games Sega has ever seen (and that's saying a lot for the greatest system ever, I know from experience). It stars a spikey blue rodent named Sonic who runs around at warp speed collecting rings to buy powerups and defeat the evil Mr. Robot. Robot sends many of his minions out to destroy sonic, and you will spend hours of fun jumping and spinning your way past them, all while enjoying the excellent framerate and amazing gameplay of this fantastic game.

3. Tetris (GBO) - The greatest thing to hit the Game Boy since my sister threw it at me! That's my joke tee hee! Seriously though, a gaming master like myself has seen a lot of games, and this one is by far one of the best. The object is to line up falling blue, yellow, green, and red blocks so that they will disappear. It may seem a little simple, but it's addictive. The framerate of this game is astounding, and the gameplay is, as well. All together, I give it a 6.

2. Grand Theft Auto (PSX) - This is where I truly get to show off my phat leet skills and get to try my hand at stealing some mad vehicles, yo. Being the amazing gamer that I am I, of course, mastered this game rather quickly. The gameplay was so great that I nearly lost it, and the framerate makes me drool buckets, yo. My favorite thing about it is getting to go on a killing spree with a flame thrower! Who's a loser now?!! You can't laugh at me anymore now that you're on fire!

1. Ecco the Dolphin (SG) - In my expert gamer's opinion, this is the greatest game of all time. It combines the joy of swimming around with the joys of being a dolphin. If you are anything like me, you've wanted nothing more all your life than to be a dolphin. Well, friends, here is our chance. You can do anything a dolphin can do, such as swim, jump, and swim really fast, and so much more. In all my one and a half years of playing videogames at my grandparents house on holidays, I have never played anything that was so much fun, had such an amazing framerate, and had such wonderful gameplay. This game gets a 12!

 -- Terrence Atkins {12-2002}