Games that changed how I think about games

Making nonsense make sense. Somehow this game managed to combine italian plumbers, smashable bricks, walking mushrooms, killer plants sticking out of bright green pipes, and other crazy things.

It made you think about play space and boundary. What was a table leg in your way quickly became an object you could grab.

Epic in feeling and small in scope. A perfect model for ecomonically-sound game development.

A masterpiece of marketing. Everyone loves to pretend they are an awesome guitar wailer - this game lets you do it.

Everything you loved about cheesy kung fu movies, with good production value and a novel gameplay mechanic. The cutscenes set a perfect context for the game; they're a staple of the YouTube generation. Overall, a well-rounded game. Besides, without this game, you wouldn't have Little Big Planet. And we don't want that now do we?

A great way to put a light-hearted and endearing spin on a story that has been run into the ground. Not to mention great execution for co-op play; every time I think of how to design good co-op, this game comes to mind.

Mixing 2D and 3D platforming - WIN.