Best Classic Games

The best classic games survive the test of time to keep teaching us life lessons year after year. Also, they're fun to play and stuff.

1. Pac-Man Many of the best classic games have an iconic visual associated with them in the public consciousness. Pac-Man is probably the most iconic visual of all. He's basically a sideways view of a smiley face, which for one of those unknown reasons resonated with the general public in a BIG way. And he eats a lot, which is kind of funny. It's like, how much is he gonna eat, you know? Enough already. Doesn't he ever get full? It's like, wow. Packing it in. Oh hey!
2. Dig Dug Anyone who's ever inflated a tire has wondered if it would be possible to dispose of a bad guy through overinflating them. In Dig Dig, you get to live out this and many other impossible fantasies, like pursuing bad guys by burrowing into the ground. Also, the bad guys can turn into ghosts. This is a recipe for one of the best classic games!
3. Robotron: 2084 Enough, with the kiddie cartoon crap, this is a classic video game with balls. You're in a dystopian future (2084, we guess) trying to kill robots and rescue humans, who are at war with the robots. How awesome is that? Killing robots of course! One of the best classic games that inexplicably hasn't been turned into a blockbuster film directed by Ridley Scott.
4. Pitfall When watching an Indiana Jones movie, it's common to think to yourself "Ugh, this has too many visual dimensions. I'm sick of looking at things that have width AND depth. ENOUGH." But this doesn't necessarily mean you're sick of watching someone narrowly escape 30s-pulp-fiction-and-adventure-serial-inspired jungle traps. So why not curl up with the pixely goodness of Pitfall, and appreciate the fact that since this is one of the best classic games, you get to control the two-dimensional Indiana Jones-figure.
5. Joust Joust goes beyond just being one of the best classic games, and is actually one of the best things ever. Scratch that, THE best thing. It's difficult to describe, since it doesn't fit into any preconceived genre. Basically, you ride around on an ostrich and get into "duels" with other characters. The rest is up for you to look up for yourself. Be warned: It's great, and it might make you give up all other forms of activity.
6. Sinistar Many of the best classic games are famous for breaking ground in the world of video games. In the case of Sinistar, the ground being broken was synthesized speech. Now, as anyone who's a fan of Roger Ebert knows, robots aren't quite as good at the whole speech thing as humans. So when Sinistar says "run, coward!" it kind of sounds like he's saying "Ron Howard." Which is amusing, granted, but not very threatening.
7. Super Mario Bros. There's an argument to be made that Super Mario Bros. isn't one of the best classic games because it's not in the "classic" era, since it ushered in the modern era of video games. But it's old and awesome, so it stays. We've all played it, so there's no point in trying to describe it. If you haven't played it...God, that would be horrible.
8. Defender The best classic games go beyond the screen and transport you to another time and place. In the case of Defender, that time and place is space, and it is awesome. You are a space pilot, and you have to shoot lasers at aliens or something. There's a sequel that is also good.
9. Tetris This one is one of the only games on this list that is still played regularly today. It's hard to describe, except to say it involves falling blocks that are controlled by the player with the aim of interlocking them and forming unbroken horizontal lines. Does that make sense? It will when you play it. And it will continue to "make sense" until it's permanently burned into your brain.
10. Shark! Shark! Not all of the best classic games are household names. This obscure gem is set in the treacherous world of underwater wildlife. The goal? Eat or be eaten.