The latest update at the Retroremakes Indie games website has a list of the best games ever as voted by its readers, various members of the independent game developers community (Indies), and a few commercial game developers.
The Top 100 games puts commercial, Indie, freeware and legacy titles in the same field. I think it shows a lot more appreciation for creativity that way. To quote its goal: “Take this list as what it is – a list of 100 fantastic games where the order isn’t that important. If you can discover something you’ve not played before and fancy giving a go – then its been a success.” — The list:
100: Typhoon 2001 (PC, 2006, Kufisoft)
99: Jet Set Willy (Various Formats, 1983, Software Projects)
98: Secret Of Monkey Island II: LeChucks Revenge (Amiga/DOS/Mac, 1991, Lucasfilm Games)
97: Soul Calibur (Dreamcast, 1999, Namco)
96: Wip3out (Playstation, 1999, SCEA)
95. Fallout (PC / Mac, 1997, Interplay)
94: Killer 7 (Gamecube, 2005, Capcom)
93: Seiklus (Windows, 2003, clysm)
92: Alpha Centauri (Windows/Mac/Linux, 1999, Electronic Arts)
91: Galaxian (Arcade, 1979, Namco)
90: Exile (BBC B, 1988, Superior Software)
89: Mario Kart 64 (N64, 1996, Nintendo)
88: Warcraft 2 (PC, 1995, Blizzard)
87: Pokemon Red/Blue (Gameboy, 1996, Nintendo)
86: Shenmue (Dreamcast, 1999, Sega)
85: Quake 3 (Windows, 1999, Activision)
84: Sonic The Hedgehog (Megadrive/Genesis, 1991, Sega)
83: Kick Off 2 (Various Formats, 1990, Anco)
82: Ikaruga (Dreamcast/Gamecube, 2001/2002, ESP/Atari)
81: Skool Daze (Spectrum, 1985, Microsphere)
80: Katamari Damacy (PS2, 2005, Namco)
79: The Sentinel (Various Formats, 1986, Firebird)
78: Goldeneye (N64, 1997, Nintendo)
77: Iridis Alpha (Commodore64, 1986, Hewson/Llamasoft)
76: Star Wars – X Wing (DOS, 1993, Lucasarts)
75: Wizball (Various Formats, 1987, Ocean)
74. Boulder Dash (Various Formats, 1984, First Star)
73: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Various Formats, 2004, Rockstar)
72: N (PC, 2004, Metanet Software)
71: The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past (SNES, 1991, Nintendo)
70: Oids (Atari ST/Mac, 1987, FTL)
69: Wipeout 2097 (Various Formats, 1997, Psygnosis)
68: Sensible World Of Soccer (Amiga, 1994, Sensible Software)
67: Tomb Raider (Various Formats, 1996, Eidos)
66: Shadow Of The Colossus (PS2, 2005, Sony)
65: Wii Sports (Wii, 2006, Nintendo)
64: Super Metroid (SNES, 1994, Nintendo)
63: Populous (Various Formats, 1989, Bullfrog Productions)
62: Star Wars Arcade (Various Formats, 1993, Sega)
61: Okami (PS2, 2006, Capcom)
60: Advance Wars (GBA, 2001, Nintendo)
59: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2/PC, 2002, Rockstar)
58: Super Mario Bros (NES, 1985, Nintendo)
57: The Legend Of Zelda (NES, 1987, Nintendo)
56: Another World / Out Of This World (Various Formats, 1985, Delphine Software)
55: Gauntlet (Various Formats, 1985, Atari)
54: Impossible Mission (Various Formats, 1985, Epyx)
53: The Legend Of Zelda: The Windwaker (GameCube, 2003, Nintendo)
52: CHAOS (?, ?, Gollops)
51: Llamatron (PC, 1992, Llamasoft)
50: Asteroids (Various Formats, 1981, Atari)
49: Civilization 2
48: Resident Evil 4
47: Elite II: Frontier
46: Star Wars: TIE Fighter
45: Fallout 2
44: Manic Miner
43: Planescape: Torment
42: M.U.L.E.
41: Super Mario Bros 3
40: Laser Squad
39: Syndicate
38: Worms
37: Chuckie Egg
36: Lords Of Midnight
35: Grand Theft Auto III
34: Bubble Bobble
33: Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night
32: Halo
31: Nethack
30: Civilization
29: Speedball 2
28: Lemmings
27: Paradroid
26: System Shock 2
25: Day Of The Tentacle
24: Super Mario Kart
23: Robotron
22: Sensible Soccer
21: The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
20: Tempest 2000
19: The Secret Of Monkey Island
18: Super Mario 64
17: Street Fighter II (Various Iterations)
16: Quake
15: Ico
14: Rez
13: Dungeon Master
12: UFO: Enemy Unknown (X-COM)
11: Deus Ex
10: Starcraft
9: Half-Life 2
8: Final Fantasy VII
7: Super Mario World
6: R-Type
5: Cave Story
4: Tetris
3: Half-Life
2: Doom
1: Elite