I love video games. I think it's safe to say anyone on Destructoid shares this passion. Hopefully this short list of five games I consider great will inspire you to try something new, remind you of a joy you once experienced, or at the very least, entertain you for a few minutes.



In the past two years, no title has provided me with as much fun or as many laughs as Saints Row 2. As resident Destructoider Togail can attest to, this game is fantastic. The art style suites the game, the customizability is deep, the level design is excellent, and the story manages to provide the right level of humor and over the top action. When I say that this is my 2008 game of the year, I say it with confidence. If you haven't tried out Saints Row 2 yet, I suggest giving it a rental. If you're feeling adventurous and trust the word of a random guy on the internet, go out and buy it right now. You shouldn't be disappointed.



This game and I have a history. Back when I was not but a wee lad, about eight years ago, I was allowed to rent one game every Friday so long as I kept my grades up. For those not informed, I'm only sixteen. Moving on, the game I chose to rent nearly every Friday for a month was Banjo Kazooie. The strange setting and premise of this game promised adventure, and the worlds encouraged pick up and play game play. It was essentially a Super Mario 64 copycat that managed to do the one thing Super Mario 64 couldn't quite achieve. It had a very distinct personality. That personality and I developed a friendship over the past eight years, and Banjo Kazooie remains a close video game friend.



What's this? Why is the original Mario Brothers here instead of the masterpiece of 2D platformers, Super Mario Brothers 3. Why isn't Super Mario World, with its varied environments and enemies, holding this spot? For me, Super Mario Brothers does something that those games can't. My love of Super Mario Brothers lies in its simplicity. It has been a go to game for me for the past ten years, and it will likely remain one for years to come. No other game allows me to pick it up, play it for twenty minutes, and feel like I've accomplished something. If you're a younger gamer like myself and you've never taken the time to complete this classic, I implore you, please do.



My love for the Kingdom Hearts video game series stems not from an obsession with spiky haired androgynous anime characters, but instead from my love of Disney. As a child, I spent many nights laying in bed watching various Disney classics and Pixar films. Taking control of a young boy and exploring the depths of the worlds I always dreamed of visiting is an experience no other video game can give me. Interacting with the heroes of these different movies on a more personal level was enough to send a younger me into tantric joy. I found the focus on the Tetsuya Nomura stereotypes in Kingdom Hearts II and the supposed complete abandonment of Disney worlds in Kingdom Hearts III dealt deadly blows to my inner child. In slowly removing Disney from Kingdom Hearts, the series greatest strength has been lost.



I'd kick myself if I didn't include Starcraft on this list. My Father was always up to date on his PC's, which meant I was able to enjoy the hand me down PC to my hearts content. One of the things I regularly did on my hand me down PC was play Starcraft. For hours and hours I would sit and play campaigns against the AI, usually being bested by superior strategies. It wouldn't be until nearly a decade later that I would get into the online scene, where I would usually be bested by superior strategies. Despite my apparent suck at the RTS genre, Starcraft remains a staple of my child hood, something that I'll cherish and enjoy until the day I die.