[M-A-G]

Woo-hoo! Another milestone reached! Not that long ago, I reached 20,000 posts (and I hope you enjoyed that little celebration) and now we're at the 150th edition of Rate the Game! Remember when this was supposed to be just 50 games? Pepperidge Farm remembers. I also remember that last week we dealt with Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire on the Nintendo 64. It's time to see if it falls into the Dark Side of our illustrious leaderboard. How does it stack up?

Rate the Game Results

1. Super Mario World (4.81)
2. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (4.8)
3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (4.8)
4. Hitman: Codename 47 (4.75)
5. Mass Effect (4.75)
6. Goldeneye 007 (4.72)
7. Super Mario Bros. 3 (4.7)
8. Silent Hill 2 (4.66)
9. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (4.61)
10. Super Mario Bros. 2 (4.5)
11. Portal (4.5)
12. Red Dead Redemption (4.5)
13. Chrono Trigger (4.5)
14. Final Fantasy 3 (4.5)
15. Silent Hill 3 (4.5)
16. Mega Man 2 (4.44)
17. Donkey Kong Country (4.44)
18. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (4.44)
19. Super Mario Bros. (4.41)
20. God of War (4.4)
21. Mega Man X (4.36)
22. Metal Gear Solid (4.33)
23. BioShock (4.33)
24. Ōkami (4.33)
25. Perfect Dark (4.3)
26. Shadow of the Colossus (4.28)
27. The Last of Us (4.28)
28. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (4.16)
29. Super Street Fighter 2 (4.15)
30. Sonic the Hedgehog (4.14)
31. Resident Evil 2 (4.14)
32. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (4.125)
33. Super Mario 64 (4.07)
34. Grand Theft Auto 3 (4.06)
35. The Legend of Zelda (4.06)
36. NBA Jam (4.05)
37. Super Mario Kart (4.0)
38. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (4.0)
39. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (4.0)
40. Super Smash Bros. (4.0)
41. Super Metroid (4.0)
42. Star Fox 64 (4.0)
43. The Simpsons (4.0)
44. Resident Evil 4 (4.0)
45. EarthBound (4.0)
46. Fallout 3 (4.0)
47. Mirror's Edge (4.0)
48. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (4.0)
49. Donkey Kong Country 2 (4.0)
50. X-Men Legends (4.0)
51. Banjo-Kazooie (4.0)
52. Dishonored (4.0)
53. Final Fantasy 7 (3.94)
54. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (3.92)
55. Mega Man (3.89)
56. Castlevania (3.86)
57. Contra (3.86)
58. Devil May Cry (3.86)
59. Half-Life 2 (3.85)
60. Half-Life (3.83)
61. Final Fantasy 8 (3.83)
62. Infamous (3.83)
63. SimCity 2000 (3.8)
64. Final Fight (3.8)
65. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (3.77)
66. Batman: Arkham Asylum (3.76)
67. Double Dragon (3.75)
68. Tomb Raider (2013) (3.75)
69. Max Payne (3.75)
70. Fallout 4 (3.75)
71. Tetris (3.69)
72. Mortal Kombat 2 (3.67)
73. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (3.66)
74. Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (3.66)
75. Alan Wake (3.66)
76. Diablo (3.66)
77. Xenoblade Chronicles (3.66)
78. F.E.A.R. (3.66)
79. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (3.66)
80. Mortal Kombat (3.65)
81. Doom (3.625)
82. StarFox (3.61)
83. X-Men (3.6)
84. Resident Evil (3.58)
85. Kirby's Adventure (3.57)
86. Daytona USA (3.5)
87. Ninja Gaiden (3.5)
88. Burnout Paradise (3.5)
89. Thief: The Dark Project (3.5)
90. Dark Souls (3.5)
91. Shinobi (3.5)
92. Dead Space (3.4)
93. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (3.39)
94. Resident Evil: Nemesis (3.38)
95. Crash Bandicoot (3.33)
96. Mortal Kombat (2011) (3.33)
97. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (3.33)
98. Wolfenstein 3D (3.33)
99. Dead Island (3.33)
100. Left 4 Dead (3.33)
101. Nights Into Dreams (3.33)
102. Condemned: Criminal Origins (3.33)
103. Gauntlet Legends (3.28)
104. Gears of War (3.27)
105. Borderlands (3.22)
106. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (3.22)
107. Duke Nukem 3D (3.2)
108. Darkstalkers (3.2)
109. Quake (3.2)
110. SoulCalibur (3.16)
111. Pac-Man (3.125)
112. Killer Instinct (3.11)
113. Virtua Fighter (3.09)
114. Rock Band (3.09)
115. Earthworm Jim (3.0)
116. Metroid (3.0)
117. Time Crisis (3.0)
118. Tekken (3.0)
119. Halo 2 (3.0)
120. Syphon Filter (3.0)
121. Gex (3.0)
122. Destiny (3.0)
123. The Secret of Monkey Island (3.0)
124. Army of Two (3.0)
125. Sonic Adventure (3.0)
126. Shenmue (3.0)
127. Guitar Hero (2.875)
128. Ecco the Dolphin (2.85)
129. Streets of Rage (2.84)
130. Altered Beast (2.8)
131. Bayonetta (2.75)
132. Command & Conquer (2.75)
133. ToeJam & Earl (2.75)
134. Assassin's Creed (2.71)
135. Gauntlet (2.71)
136. Dead Rising (2.71)
137. Bionic Commando (2.66)
138. Saints Row (2.66)
139. The Sims (2.6)
140. Killer Instinct 2 (2.6)
141. Silent Hill (2.6)
142. Tomb Raider (2.55)
143. Halo: Combat Evolved (2.5)
144. Twisted Metal (2.42) 145. Crackdown (2.42)
146. Golden Axe (2.33)
147. Gran Turismo (2.3)
148. The Secret of Mana (2.2)
149. Ghosts n' Goblins (2.14)


A 3.66 overall score puts Shadows of the Empire in pretty good company at the number 74 spot, but we do not bestow the rank of Master upon it. Maybe it needs a Special Edition with some dressed up effects with Lucas behind the project. Or...or not...

Well, with that idea no doubt making your head spin, let's move on to hopefully bigger and better things. It's time for our 150th game! How about it, bowl? How are we commemorating this milestone?




Alright, that's a good bowl. This week, it's time to go exploring the darkest recesses of gaming one more time as we head back to one of Konami's flagship franchises. The Belmont legacy makes its first foray into the 16-bit arena with this week's game: it's Super Castlevania 4! With the original game and Symphony of the Night already part of our list, how well does this one do in comparison? It's time to crack that whip and get rating as we look forward to the next 50 games. Until next week!