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Like every other form of electronic media, most video games are popular for a time and then fade away into disuse. The exact reason this occurs is different for every video game, but is usually a combination of new competing video games, advances in graphics, and low replay value. While quality video games will often spur the creation of a sequel, many times with few differences from its predecessor, few games actually last the test of time. For a very small number of games, despite improvements in video game technology, the quality of the game and more importantly, the replay value of the game, is so great that the game continues to flourish years and even decades after it is first published. The following games are the best ten games ever with high replay value.

For video game purists, more advanced technology does not necessarily mean a better game or a better gaming experience. Sometimes, the older games are still the best. The reason so many new games fail is because they lose sight of what a video game should be. Realistic 3D graphics are great, but if there is no decent story to back them up, if game play is too convoluted, or if failing one task sets you back 3 screens and 30 minutes, we won't want to play and we won't recommend the game to our friends. When we are looking for a video game, for the most part, what we want more than graphics is fun. It is, at heart, a game, right? With that in mind, here is a list of games that got it right.

Launching in the US on August 1989, the Nintendo Game Boy has been around for 18 years. The original Game Boy set the standard to portable gaming. All the Nintendo DSes and Sony PSPs you see everyone playing today wouldn't be possible if it weren't for the overwhelming success of the Game Boy. It was the quality of the games that kept the Game Boy around for more than ten years until its successor, the Game Boy Advance, was launched. The games that sold well were repackaged with the "Player's Choice" label and sold at a budget price. Here are the top 5 best Player's Choice games for the Game Boy.

The 2000s was a massive decade for the video game business. Over that span video games overtook movies as an entertainment medium, with some of the most powerful game franchises earning hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. The past ten years has seen PC software giant Microsoft throw their hat in the video game ring with the successful launch of their Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles. Nintendo faded in the early part of the decade, but game back stronger than ever following the reason of their handheld touch-screen DS and DSi, and their massively popular, ground-breaking Wii console. The decade also saw the release of the best video games of all time, and many of those games will be long remembered in video game history for their innovative gameplay. Trying to pick the greatest of these games was a daunting challenge, and I'm sure the fanboys will be out in full force to defend their consoles of choice. Here are my picks for the best video games of the 2000s...

Ah, the Ninentdo-64. A relic of my childhood, of a life once lived. Well, actually, it would be a relic, if I didn't still own it and play my games from time to time. The N64 was at its best in multiplayer "party" games, where 2-4 people could gather around and play for hours. However, it was 2 single player games that came out on the N64 that forever revolutionized gaming. N64 was the third generation of home entertainment gaming systems produced by Nintendo, its predecessor being the Super Nintendo. N64's main competition came from the original Playstation. While many will argue that Playstation was superior in every aspect, I disagree. While Playstation had a much larger base of game titles to choose from; it was the N64 that had the "can't miss", unbelievable games of their generation. Much was said about how the CD games of the Playstation outperformed the outdated cartridge system of the N64, however, I never experienced any issues with that. I was a proud owner of the N64, and still am today! So, without further ado, and with apologies to games like Star Fox 64 and 1080 Snowboarding, I present the top 5 games ever made for the Nintendo 64!

On September 30, 2006, I unveiled my pet project to the world: A list of the 100 best NES games ever. The list wasn't perfect - lists never are - but the reception was generally warm. At the very least, it was warm enough to warrant a sequel. So now here we are, fourteen months later. It has now been three full years since the launch of SydLexia.com, and I figured there's no better way to celebrate than with a list of 100 best SNES games ever. Real fucking creative, I know. I had wanted to do a list of the best Game Boy titles ever, but the preliminary meetings didn't go well. There was this whole huge argument about whether or not the list should be just original Game Boy games or if Game Boy Color games counted as well. Then one guy kept saying we should include Game Boy Advance games because he was born in 1991 and he had no idea what this "Super Mario Land" thing that everyone kept bringing up was. Then someone pointed out to him that he could have looked it up on Wikipedia instead of whining that he didn't know what it was. Punches were thrown, blood was spilled, and everyone accused at least one other person of being gay. So then I did what any self-respecting American would do in my situation: I gave up on my dream and decided to attempting something significantly easier. Thus, the SNES list was born.

Video games have made incredible strides over the past decade. Improvements were made in game play, controls, story telling, graphics, and of course multiplayer modes. While the Internet has changed video games, mostly for the better, the big three home consoles, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, and X Box 360 offer some horsepower for video gamers of all ages. The two biggest handhelds on the market namely the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS offer convenience and portability as well as power that easily equals last generations home consoles. But video games are not strictly a console-based commodity any more. The home computer has seen its share of video games as well, and just might be the gaming machine of the future. While looking ahead is fine and necessary, taking a step back to grade the top ten video games of the decade is difficult for many gamers. Of course, the decade was driven by many franchises; so many franchise games make appearances on the top ten video games of the decade.

These reviews are only my personal opinion. Yours may vary depending on taste, expectations, and other criteria. Mine is not the absolute, only what I like. These reviews are here for your enjoyment and to help give you an idea of what games are good and what games to avoid (again based on my personal opinion, worth about two cents, give or take a penny). All games are rated with the simple school grading method (with an "A+" being the best and an "F" being the worst). All games are rated in comparison to other games of the same era. In other words, a game on the 2600 may get a great rating compared to other 2600 games and comparable systems (Odyssey II, Emerson Arcadia, etc..) and may not be as highly rated if compared to a Nintendo game. So keep this in mind. Look for more reviews to be added in the future. Please e-mail your favorite games, reviews you agree or disagree with, or reviews of your own. Thanks and enjoy!

The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was the dominant video game console of the early and mid 1980s. Released in 1985, the NES single handedly rejuvenated the console video game industry after the video game crash of 1983. The games released on the NES have becomes classics and many defined the genres they represented and continue to influence design philosophy in modern games. There are so many excellent games from the NES that any list will inevitably leave off games deserving of honor. The list below comprises games that were both classics and have a lasting legacy.

If you've played all the blockbuster games on the Game Boy already and need to dig into the lesser-known-but-equally-exciting games, this is the guide for you.   I know a lot of people have been waiting a while for this guide, but we wanted to take the time to find some real gems for you.  I've had many discussions with many experienced Game Boy fans in order to determine a list of all the best Gameboy  games that most people haven't played (or possibly even heard of). Much like previous entries in the Hidden Gems series, this guide is divided up by genre to help you find games that suit your tastes.

In the early days of video games beat 'em ups were very popular. From the beat 'em up genre came another sub-genre called hack and slash games. Hack and slash games are similar to beat 'em ups in that the game is mainly just a bunch of button mashing as you fight a myriad of enemies at once. The difference between a hack and slash game and a beat 'em up is that typically beat 'em up games require using your fists and feet and hack and slash requires using a sword or knife for most of the game. These are the ten best hack and slash video games of all-time.

Game Editor is the open source game design software that gives you the power to create the games of your dreams, and, unlike other game creation tools, gives you the chance to get and change the source code of the game creator and design and develop 2D games for personal computers as well as mobile devices.

The seventh-generation video game consoles have standardized a number of new video game features, including downloadable content, online play, wireless controllers and motion control. In addition, all three of the seventh-generation consoles have introduced ways to download retro video games from previous systems. Of the three current systems, the Nintendo Wii has the widest variety and library of downloadable retro games. These games, downloadable from the Wii Virtual Console, range from as old as Commodore 64 games to as modern as N64 games and include some of the best video games ever published. The following are some of the best available on the Virtual Console that are nearly as good today as when they were first released.

Up until 1978 video games were still in their salad days. Since the first coin-op video games launched in 1971 popularity was continually growing as mechanical games were slowly being phased out and replaced with the likes of Pong. By the end of '78 video games exploded into pop culture madness, mainly thanks to the number one pick on our list, Space Invaders. This was also the year that introduced the world to the first trac-ball game, the first continuously scrolling game and the first POV driving game. These are the most popular, innovative and groundbreaking titles from one of the grooviest year at the arcade.

The Legend of Zelda game series may very well be the single most venerated series in all of gaming. The original NES classic was recently seen in the number one spot of GameInformer Magazine's 200 Greatest Games of All Time. Every time a new entry is announced the gaming community seems to lose it's mind. The games appeal to all gamers of all skill level and all ages. Many say that there never truly been a bad game in the series. And yet not all the impact from these games has been positive. Unfortunately there are a few areas in which The Legend of Zelda pioneered some very regrettable trends that gamers are still forced to deal with.

Video game fans love to tell each other about great video games they've played. Some times it's obvious which games are the most popular based on how much they are talked about but there are some exceptions. A lot of video game fans might be surprised by some video game sales facts. Some of the video games that are loved by your peers don't actually sell that well and some video games that are hardly ever talked about have sold great.

There have been many amazing game titles of many different varieties, so it'd be near impossible to really get a perfect list of top video games of all time. This, however, is my attempt. These are what I consider my top ten video games of all time, keeping in mind two things. First, I tried to include only one game for each series. I could easily make a top ten list that was half Legend of Zelda games, but what's the point of that? Second, there are popular games and series of games that I've just never gotten into, like Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, or Halo, so they won't be included.

It's great how video games have progressed over the past twenty years but every once in a while its nice to sit back and relax with an old school beat 'em up video game. Beat 'em up video games are games where the player controls a character that basically runs around beating up everybody on screen. The game is mostly made up of punches and kicks (and occasionally a weapon) but no complicated moves to execute like in fighting games. These are the ten best beat 'em video games of all-time.

Earlier this year MSNBC.com listed the five video games that they thought were the most addictive video games of all-time. There were a couple of video games on their list that I thought were good choices and a few that I didn't agree with. I thought I would make my own list of what I think are the ten (technically twelve) most addictive video games of all-time. These aren't necessarily just the games that I personally found most addictive because then the list would have to include games like Monster Rancher, Suikoden, Double Dragon, Pirates! and others. These are games that I think are generally addictive to everybody. I'm sure some of you will have different opinions though.