Top 10 Video Game Worlds

Number 10: Mass Effect (Milky Way Galaxy)

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On the surface it may not seem too special in an endless line of sci-fi settings. But look a little closer and you’ll see that the enormous amount of lore built into the Mass Effect galaxy is what makes the series truly special and allows players to deal with surprisingly deep themes: What constitutes life? Do the needs of the many justify cruelty to a certain few? Should you bang that blue chick?

Number 9: Planet Zebes (Metroid Series)

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What list would be complete without alien planets made up of underground caverns and labyrinths? Zebes is the home of bounty hunter Samus Aran, and is a vast subterranean landscape filled with creepy crawly life forms. It’s too bad that Samus’ conflict with the Space Pirates and Mother Brain caused the planet to go boom! Al Gore was right!

Number 8: Halo Ring (Halo)

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These installations have floated through space for thousands of years. They were designed as containment and research facilities for a parasitic alien race called The Flood, and feature planet-like geography and weather systems. They were also designed to destroy all sentient life in the galaxy, but are so pretty that a Covenant of alien races, as well as countless fanboys, have decided to worship them as religious artifacts…

This planet is an allegory for the crisis soon to befall Earth if we don’t get off our oil dependence….namely….war, famine and bug-like creatures that come up from the ground prompting us to fight back with chainsaw guns and satellite laser cannons! Okay, maybe that last part won’t happen…or maybe it will…either way…Sera is a stunning example of the beauty and gameplay possibilities that emerge from the apocalypse.

The Final Fantasy series has produced many fantastical worlds, but none scores higher with us than the one from the best game in the series (ya we said it, deal with it). We’re talking of course about Gaia, a planet made up of three major landmasses. Its locations include an industrial metropolis, military base, ranch, farming town, mines and fort, amusement park and a seaside resort. Yes, these are the places that beckon brave adventurers with massive swords.

Number 5: The Continent of Tamriel (Elder Scroll Series)

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Vast, unrestricted, beautiful. Fans of the Elder scrolls series will gladly tell you how to walk to best navigate the Canton’s in Vivec, where the best places to look for Nernroots are, how it’s best not to travel in a dust storm. While every other world restricts you with invisible walls and narrow corridors, Bethesda’s games give you the keys to a continent. Hope you didn’t have anything to do this month.

Okay here’s the dilemma: You want to create the successor to a franchise that’s previously been set in space, but you want to set your new game in past…How do you get space when there was no space travel? Go under water. Deep on the ocean floor, you find yourself in a gorgeous Art Deco utopia. But the walls are leaking, there’s blood on the floor, and angry voices echo down the hallway. Welcome to Rapture.

Back in the 90’s, Blizzard took a variation of the Lord of the Rings fantasy setting and ran with it. All the way to the bank. Seriously though, joking aside, Azeroth has truly become a beast of it’s own. Players who stop to look will find that every location has a story to tell, every what and where has a why and a when. Blizzard really goes the extra mile to make sure their world is full to the brim with equal parts beauty and backstory.

Number 2: The Mushroom Kingdom (Mario Bros.)

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No world of make believe is more fanciful or colorful than The Mushroom Kingdom! Made up of eight kingdoms, its landscapes are filled with such notable features as warp pipes, pits, floating bricks, castles and flying war ships. Its vistas are so diverse that it even plays host to countless sporting events. Does you world have a memorable theme song, I didn’t think so.

Number 1: Hyrule (The Legend of Zelda)

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Taking the top spot on our list is the world that has been reinvented time and time again, captivating us since it was presented in simple, yet intoxicating 8-bit graphics! That’s right, we’re talking about the gorgeous realm of the Triforce and the home of Link and Zelda. Hyrule has everything an adventurer could hope for, and has been depicted in various animation styles, while likewise being covered in such things as water and train tracks. My question is, why are there so many rupees hidden everywhere you turn…does money really grow on trees? Like our list? Have one of your own? Feel free to share it in the comments section, you know, after the obligatory “1st” and “2nd” posts.