EL33TONLINE: News tag archive: time

TIME have released their list of games that they thought were worthy of being named in a top ten list. What’s on there?

Well, unsurprising for a ‘mainstream’ publication, Grand Theft Auto IV tops the list, as Lev Grossman, the writer of the article, waxes lyrical about the game’s achievements:

“It’s ironic that GTA became a football in the debate over sex and violence in video games, because where it belongs is in the debate over whether video games count as art… It’s a grade-A shoot-‘em-up that doubles as an interactive novel and triples as a sly critique of American consumer culture.”

Ok, thanks Lev, but where’s Fallout 3 and Metal Gear Solid 4 on the list? Instead, space is made for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Fieldrunners (an iPhone game). You can check out Time’s full top ten list over here, and nod in agreement or scoff in dismay as you please.

“It’s blasphemy, brilliance or both to take the entire evolution of a species — from a single-celled animalcule in a drop of water to a space-faring, galaxy-exploring sentient being — and turn it into a video game.”

So says Time, who have bestowed upon Spore, the game/toy about evolution from the mind of Will Wright, with the honour of being called 2008’s greatest invention. They continue the praise:

“But that’s exactly what Will Wright has done. Wright is the man who created The Sims, a game about everyday life in suburbia, but apparently he found the vast panorama of human experience too confining, because he then spent seven years creating Spore, in which players design their own life-form and then manage every aspect of its progress through the centuries, from savagery to civilization.”

You can check out the rest of the greatest invention list over here.