The Top Ten Party Game Series

I'm going to briefly go through them according to what I think at least. You can all give your top 10 as well and why. These party games are perfect for the holidays so don't hesitate, pick up the phone and invite your friends if you have one of these or have access to any one of them.

#10: Soul Calibur

Soul Calibur is one of the many fighting games that everyone will be crowding around calling next turn. With the different games having different characters and even special appearances like Link, Darth Vader and Yoda, a lot of people will be drawn in. The movesets are not hard to learn so picking this up for a party game is a definite yes.

#9: Mortal Kombat

Everyone around my age remembers playing as a kid. "GET OVER HERE!" Or Sub Zero's freeze move would be spammed like crazy. But who cared back then? No one. This game is fun for everyone, especially for you sadists out there. With a big name like Mortal Kombat, there are few objections to this as a party game.

#8: Madden

American football is very popular whether you like it or not. Madden is a very popular game and so popular that it gets its own day commemorating it! Madden can do four players and is great fun for those who can't even play football in real life. It's also very spirit lifting with some good soundtracks on each game. I highly recommend playing it if you haven't.

#7: Tekken

Tekken has been a worldwide favorite for years. This goes above Madden simply because Madden is not as popular in Europe or Asia. The movesets of this game are very simple at first look and so everyone can play. Once you go more in depth, things get even more interesting. Tekken has a large set of memorable characters and many different play styles. An easy party game to have fun with.

#6: Unreal Tournament/Street Fighter

The two of these are interchangeable. Unreal Tournament is a shooter, which automatically makes it very popular with people, and there are many versions. If we go to the Dreamcast one, you can have up to four players and have some great fun with this game. Street Fighter is the epitome of fighting games. The most popular by far. You'll have everyone crowding around this game eager to learn the buttons and once everyone gets the hang of things, you'll all be having a blast!

#5: Power Stone/Marvel vs Capcom

Power Stone may not be as popular as the ones you see below this, but trust me, you WILL have everyone begging for more playing this game. This game is not hard to learn and the fighting is smooth and incredible. The second one is my personal favorite fighting game of all time. The games accommodate you with an excellent music score which sets the mood for a party game. If you have a dreamcast, this is a must have (Only downside is that it's too expensive these days).

Marvel vs Capcom is widely played and loved like crazy. You can have up to six players in Marvel vs Capcom 2 if you play switch out with your friends. It is loads of fun learning combos and hyper combos. You could be playing this for hours with your friends getting your favorite characters down. The only downside is that it isn't exactly easy to get the combos right quickly. This goes with Power Stone because you'll have more people willing to play this game from the get go. Characters like Spider-Man, the Hulk, Ryu, Ken, Akuma, and other big names will be easily recognized and will be picked immediately. The mere mention of them will get people eager to play.

#4: Mario Party

This franchise is widely popular for its...well party game value. This game WAS CREATED for the sole purpose of having friends over and playing a party game. The Mario Party games are great fun for everyone and are diverse so you don't get bored quickly. Now you might wonder why I didn't put this at #1 and that's because the games can be dragged out to the point of it being almost tedious. This is not good to have with more than four interested gamers. Other than that, this game is a must have with 2-4 people.

#3: Mario Kart

Mario Kart are games that everyone will play save shooter fanboys. When I was in school, I remember seeing teachers play Mario Kart 64 on a projector screen during our lunch break. Boys and girls alike, they will be playing these games. Whether you have the DS version and play on a bus, the N64 version, the GC version or the Wii version, you will have friends who want to play. These games are not hard to learn and you'll all be having a great time.

#2: Halo

Yes, you can give me all the heat you want for this, but there is absolutely NO denying the incredible party value of these games. At the mere mention of Halo, you can get people drooling for it. The Halo games are fun, overrated or not, and its insanely large fan base will get people over your house in an instant. If you have an Xbox or 360, this is the one franchise that you are expected to have (at least one of these games). One of the great things about this franchise is its LAN compatibility. You can play from different rooms with each other, meaning you can have 8+ players at the same time in one house! I don't care if you think this game is overrated (I do too), but you can never deny the value of its party game play.

#1: Super Smash Bros.

If you saw this coming, well you're a smart person, because this deserves every bit of its number 1 spot. Sure, Halo has it's amazing LAN capabilities. But these three games have been carefully designed for it's outright kickass gameplay. You have been brought characters from all over Nintendo to fight against each other. When you were a kid, how many of you wished that you could play a crossover game of your favorite Nintendo characters? Or how about pitting Mario against Luigi to see who would be the victor? What if you could actually control your Pokemon? Well guess what? You got it! Super Smash Bros. has combined the 80's and early 90's kids' dreams with their own kickass action spin of it and made one insanely popular franchise.

The controls are so easy to learn, a caveman could do it. As you get more competent with the game, the more fun the game gets. Super Smash Bros. 64 is for a very simple fighting game person who needs fast control learning. It's fast paced, but it's simple to catch on and fun for hours. Super Smash Bros. Melee has some of the fastest gameplay we've ever seen in a fighting game. Originally, this was just a great party game that everyone could jump into, but we've gone even beyond that. The advanced meta game has made things that much more fun with L canceling, wavedashing, SHDL (Short hop double lazer), etc. If you get a bunch of friends to come over frequently, you can all learn the meta game and get better together.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl's gameplay isn't quite the same as Melee, but its value is practically unchanged. It's more fun to the casual gamer and still has some form of meta game. We've been given very very popular third party characters as well (Namely Sonic and Snake).

So overall, this series unquestionably deserves the #1 spot.


Comments on this would be cool or your own top 10 list. Some honorable mentions are Call of Duty (earlier games), Mario Strikers, Twisted Metal, NBA 2K games, NBA street, NHL Hitz, Star Wars Battlefront, the music games like Guitar Hero, Rock Band, etc and the Dragon Ball Z Budokais and Tenkaichis.

No call of duty or left 4 dead?

I agree with 1-4 for sure. Ask anyone and they're down to play those. Unless they're some anti gaming freak or somthing.

I'd make my own list but it would practically be the same.

Call of Duty is more of an online game these days and aren't usually played in person. I think the same with left 4 dead. CoD is on my honorable mentions.

Where's Guitar Hero/Rock Band and Singstar? Those should be top of every list.

Madden isn't popular anywhere outside of North America, FIFA and Pro Evo are far more prominent.

I agree with Tekken, Soul Calibur, Mortal Kombat, Halo (but it should be nowhere near that high), Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros and Marvel vs Capcom.

I think Timsesplitters should be on there, same as CoD. It's still mad fun playing splitscreen.

Guitar Hero and the music games do make it into honorable mention. They don't contend with the top 10 and neither does Timesplitters. But like I said with Madden, there's a day officially dubbed Madden day, so even if it is only prominent in one country, it is insanely popular in it and definitely needs to be there. CoD is not often played splitscreen and is a two player long mission game.

Most of these games that you suggest take way too long per game and get dragged out to the point where everyone gets bored or people get left out. Not to mention they're two player games.

Not at all. The only two player game I mentioned that you didn't is Singstar.

And I'd hardly think it's hard to pass the controller mid-game.

Where's Goldeneye for 64? I was playing this with my family today and yesterday and we all really enjoyed it.

Goldeneye is one game. This is a series we're talking about. Anyway, I stick with the top 10 I posted. Anyone else is welcome to post their own.

1. Rock Band/Guitar Hero

There really isn't a game to play at parties which is more fun than those two. It's fun for everyone regardless of skills. Really is the definition of party game.

2. Singstar.

Because who doesn't love karaoki?

3. Timesplitters 2

Arguable the most fun FPS on the PS2. Even more fun 4 player split screen with friends.

4. Call of Duty

Playing 4 player split screen with your friends is crazy fun and always hectic. Especially with a fast paced game like CoD.

5. Mario Kart

Kart games are generally good for parties as they don't have a high learning curve, so everyone can get involved.

6. FIFA/Pro Evo

Probably not for everyone, but you don't have to be a football nut to get into them. 2 on 2 matches are always interesting. And nothing like an awesome combination play with a bro resulting in an awesome goal.

7. Mortal Kombat

This gets ahead of the other fighters for the gore factor. People can really appreciate it even if they aren't currently playing.

8. Soul Calibur

Like Zero said, the combinations aren't difficult to learn, so it's not a hard game just to pick up and play. You can pretty much play by feel.

9. Tekken

Personally my favourite fighter, it's a bit more complex than Soul Calibur, but it's still a great game for a party

10. Halo

Can be a lot of fun played with friends, but doesn't compare with CoD due to CoD being available on both the PS3 and the 360, and neither can compare to Timesplitters.

Nobody I know offline or online knows about singstar but you raz.

WAT

It's mad popular here. Has been since the original on the PS2. Everyone and their dogs knows Singstar.

Rockband/ guitar hero own the kareoke thing here.

Yeah, most people in my area don't know about or don't play singstar. Not that many people play Guitar Hero/Rock Band either.

Madness!

Madness? This is Halo territory!