I've been playing video games for at lest 28 years. Each year there were games that seem to capture me for the whole year. This list is a collection of memories. This is not a list of best and worst games that were RELEASED that year. Like most people, I rarely buy the latest and greatest game the day it hits the shelf. The hardware is simply a list of hardware that I bought that year. This is revision 2.
Pre 1977
Hardware: Odyssey and a Coleco pong unit
1977-79
Hardware: Atari 2600 (VCS), several hand held LED games
1980
Computer Best: Wumpus on a friend's TRS-80
Computer Worst: ANY education game they tried to get me to play on the TRS-80
Video Best: Space Invaders - Atari 2600
Video Worst: Maze Craze - Atari 2600
1981
Hardware: Commodore Vic 20
Computer Best: Radar Rat Race - Vic 20
Computer Worst: 3D Poker - Vic 20
Video Best: Asteroids - Atari 2600
Video Worst: Street Racer - Atari 2600
1982
Computer Best: Omega Race - Vic 20
Computer Worst: A boat game from Thorn - Vic 20
Video Best: Defender - Atari 2600
Video Worst: Pac Man - Atari 2600
1983
Hardware: Colecovision
Computer Best: Scott Adam's Pirate Adventure - Vic 20
Computer Worst: Almost any game typed from a computer magazine - Vic 20
Video Best: Donkey Kong - Colecovision
Video Worst: Donkey Kong - Atari 2600
1984
Hardware: Intellivision, ColecoAdam
Computer Best: Wizardry on the Apple II at school
Computer Worst: Just about everything on my Vic 20 after playing the school's
Apple 2
Video Best: Bump -n- Jump - Intellivision
Video Worst: Space Hawk - Intellivision
1985
Hardware: Tandy 1000 ex (Basically a Turbo XT IBM PC clone)
Computer Best: Empire - PC
Computer Honorable Mention: King and Camel - PC
Computer Worst: Bouncing Babies - PC
Video Best: AD&D Treasures of Tarin - Intellvision
Video Worst: Dukes of Hazard - Colecovision
1986
Hardware: NES and SMS
Computer Best: King's Quest - PC
Computer Worst: Scott Adam's Spiderman - PC
Video Best: SMB - NES
Video Worst: Castlevaina - NES
1987
Computer Best: Swords of Glass - PC
Computer Worst: Bionic Commando - PC
Video Best: Alien Syndrome - SMS
Video Worst: Double Dragon - SMS
1988
Computer Best: Wasteland - PC
Computer Worst: Fountain of Dreams - PC
Video Best: Shinobi - SMS
Video Worst: Bayou Billy - NES
1989
Hardware: 386 sx 16 PC clone,Sega Genesis
Computer Best: Might and Magic II - PC
Computer Worst: Space Ace - PC
Video Best: Space Harrier II - Genesis
Video Worst: Last Battle - Genesis
1990
Computer Best: Wing Commander - PC
Computer Worst: Battle Chess II - PC
Video Best: Herzog Zwei - Genesis
Video Worst: Mystic Defender - Genesis
1991
Computer Best: Wolf 3D - PC
Computer Worst: Sim Earth - PC
Video Best: Sonic the Hedgehog - Genesis
Video Worst: Thunder Force II - Genesis
1992
Hardware: 486 dx 33 PC clone
Computer Best: Epic Pinball - PC
Computer Worst: F15 Strike Eagle II - PC
Video Best: Smash TV - Genesis
Video Worst: MoonWalker - Genesis
1993
Hardware: SNES
Computer Best: Doom - PC
Computer Worst: Sim Ant - PC
Video Best: Star Fox - SNES
Video Worst: Fzero - SNES
1994
Computer Best: Xcom - PC
Computer Worst: Masters of Magic - PC
Video Best: Super Metroid
Video Worst: Wolf 3D - SNES
1995
Hardware: 486 DX4 120 PC clone, Atari Jaguar
Computer Best: Full Throttle - PC
Computer Worst: Sim Tower - PC
My Computer Worst: Timmy The Turtle Goes to Hell - PC
Video Best: Tempest 2000 - Jaguar
Video Worst: Raiden - Jaguar
1996 so far
Hardware: 3DO, Playstation, Pentium 100 PC clone
Computer Best: Hero's of Might and Magic - PC
Computer Worst: Quake (the Test) - PC
Video Best: Crash Bandicoot
Video Worst: Wicket 18