10. Ultima VII: The Black Gate
Release Date: 1992
Last year: 24
For the creatively sadistic roleplayer, look no further. Most people will think of the global Apocalypse spell or the many ways to kill Lord British, but I prefer the start of Ultima VII, where you find a man butchered, his blood everywhere. It’s possible to gather the blood and put it in a bucket safe keeping it for later, when you recruit this deceased man’s 14 year old son and can then have him haul his father’s blood around. Oh, it’s not over yet. The game also features baking for which you need a bucket of water and flour to make bread, but, the game doesn’t differentiate between liquids in buckets. So it’s then possible to bake bread with the bucket of blood and then feed it to the 14 year old. It’s the little evils that get you by, really.
9. StarCraft 2
Release Date: 2010
Last year: New entry
It’s one of the few games here that you can be a fan of without playing much of. My Starcraft II time isn’t usually spent playing the game, it’s watching the commented Korean tournament matches that reach us via GomTV. When I play, I dabble. When I watch, I am consumed.