Colin asked me a question the other day that spurred more speculation on my part than he probably intended. He originally asked me to list my top ten games of all time, but quickly retracted that and switched it to a desert isle scenario. I’m sure he just did this to give the question some flair and be silly; desert scenarios make everything better after all. Surviving a blizzard by eating your friends? Lame. Surviving a blizzard by eating your friends on a desert isle? Awesome. This change greatly affects the list that I would produce. There’s just so much to take into consideration. Colin specified a bit more by declaring that online modes would be disabled, a very large factor considering the isolation of the desert isle scenario.

So I went from searching my feelings for my top ten games, an already seemingly insurmountable task with my indecisive mind, to something that requires even more thought, but this kind of reasonable thinking makes it easier for me to narrow my choices down. The situation of living on a desert isle had different important factors. Assuming that I would have little else to do outside of maintaining my shelter and my body, I would need these games to satisfy my mind for a great deal of time. I wouldn’t want something I could finish in a day, but rather something epic that could keep me occupied and a bit farther from insanity. On the same token, I would need something with a big, well rounded story that I could think about during the times I am not playing.

I will have time to perfect my art, as it were, so I would also want some titles that are greatly challenging. Brutal upper levels of difficulty that I would need an immense amount of time to master. Similarly, games that offer high scores would be welcome so that I could always challenge myself to do better.

With online multiplayer an impossibility, I would think that a game with local multiplayer that supports bots would be a welcome inclusion. It could provide a sense, false as it may be, of social interaction. I could give the computer controlled characters names and personalities, back stories and current situations to entertain me. Oh, don’t worry about Malcom dear, he only fragged you because he likes you and doesn’t know how to tell you.

A game with customizable maps and such would allow endless variations to keep things fresh and also give me a creative outlet. A music and rythem game would make another great addition. Something with as many songs as possible; I will certainly hear each one hundreds if not thousands of times.

I would also take into consideration setting. On a desert isle I will surely tire of the same view day in and day out. I’d pick some games varying in locale. Something in space, snow, jungle, city, etc. Keeping things as fresh and non monotonous as possible is important.

One thing I didn’t cover was machine breakdown, electricity, screen, etc. I am assuming these are somehow matters I need not worry about, otherwise, I would probably pick games from multiple consoles in case one broke down, but let’s forget about those things. So, here’s my tentative list of ten desert isle games from the top of my head:

1. Final Fantasy IX
2. Unreal Tournament
3. Amped 3
4. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4
5. Rock Band
6. Final Fantasy III
7. Warcraft II
8. Super Mario 64
9. BioShock
10. Super Mario RPG

Take a stand!

1. If I had to be in a blizzard without any food on a desert island and could only have one person there with me I would want it to be you

   — B · May 9, 02:08 PM · #

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