[Phalanx]

*Donkey Kong (gameboy)
Started with those three "classic" levels of donkeykong that we've all
probably played through before...not too impressive, but what was to
follow was great. Very good mix of action & puzzles. Quite challenging.
The boss fights were pretty creative too.
I'm not really sure what was so brilliant about this game...maybe
just that I had a great time playing it, and still find it as replayable as ever.
"Mario vs donkeykong" on the GBA was a ncie follow-up, but my personal
preference lies with the first.

*Half-life (pc)
Another standard setting game IMO...Added a depth in storyline to an FPS that hadn't been seen all that much before. Great action. Excellent music. NPC's that were fun to use and/or toy with. Very intense and atmospheric, with some nice twists thrown in, and a variety of interesting, fun to play levels, and a pretty good range of enemies.
As pretty as the sequel was, I think that the first one was a little bit more groundbreaking...both decent games, but the first one was just so refreshing for the FPS genre.

*God of War (ps2)
When I first played this...My initial thought was that it was a LOTR clone...not that I've played those all that much, but the battle scenes seemed a little similar, chaotic, if you will. By the time I got to the battle with the hydra, I knew it was something more...what a fucking crazy-intense battle scene to throw into the first level, it really let you know that you were in for a "big" game, and "how" you kill the creature, great bit of innovation there.
Graphically spectacular. Your character, and the back-story that was revealed throughout the various FMVs during the game...I don't want to spoil anything, but, how cool. The combat system of this game REALLY stands up on it's own...from the fighting, to the magic (you learn some truly awesome spells) to the combo-finishers... all looks damn near flawless, and is a pleasure to throw yourself into. The enemies...holy fuck, that's all I can say.
Another one that feels like you're playing through a movie (No doubt someone will pick it up eventually)
This is one beefy motherfucker of a game - in short, it's probably the best action game I have ever played, and I think that anyone that's able to ought to pick up this game to experience what would be one of the ps2s greatest titles, I don't think there's a way in hell anyone could find this game remotely dissapointing.

So there you go, there's my 10.
Honourable mentions (see, even 10 made it hard)
*Quake 1 & 2
*HL2 & Max Payne 2
*Star Trek: Elite Force 2
*Zombies ate my neighbours
*Zelda: Ocarina of time
*Unreal 2: The awakening
*Undying
*Wild Arms
*Earthbound
*IronStorm
*Call of Duty

So...if you guys/girls really had to narrow it down to 10 games...what would they be, and why?
Of course, feel free to throw around some honourable mentions too, after all, might give everyone else some ideas of some good games to check out, hm?