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Smithsonian 'Art of Video Games' winners announced

Justin McElroy
Updated ·2 min read

We get a little nervous when a mainstream group decides to make a best-of-gaming list -- "mainstream," of course, in this context being defined as "anyone that's not us." But damned if the Smithsonian and voters like you didn't turn in a dynamite list for the museum's "Art of Video Games" exhibit.

... OK, so Brutal Legend and Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II are kind of out of left field, and where the hell is Yo! Noid? But how do you not love a list that snatches Zack and Wiki from the brink of obscurity and places it right next to Shadow of the Colossus? Read the whole list after the break or peruse it with pictures along a timeline in this PDF.



Art of Video Games winners:

  • 1943: The Battle of Midway

  • Advanced Dungeons and Dragons

  • After Burner

  • Attack of the Mutant Camels

  • Bioshock

  • Boom Blox

  • Brütal Legend

  • ChuChu Rocket!

  • Combat

  • Desert Commander

  • Diablo II

  • Donkey Kong

  • DOOM II

  • Dune II: Battle for Arrakis

  • Earthworm Jim

  • Einhander

  • Fable

  • Fallout

  • Fallout 3

  • Final Fantasy Tactics

  • Final Fantasy VII

  • flOw

  • Flower

  • Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2

  • Goldeneye 007

  • Gradius V

  • Gunstar Heroes

  • Halo 2

  • Heavy Rain

  • Jumpman

  • Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II

  • Marble Madness

  • MassEffect 2

  • Metal Gear Solid

  • Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

  • Metroid Prime 2: Echos

  • Minecraft

  • Okami

  • Pac-Man

  • Panzer Dragoon II: Zwei

  • Panzer Dragoon Orta

  • Panzer Dragoon Saga

  • Phantasy Star

  • Phantasy Star IV

  • Pikmin 2

  • Pitfall II: Lost Caverns

  • Pitfall!

  • Portal

  • Rez

  • Shadow of Colossus

  • Shenmue

  • Sid Meier's Pirates!

  • SimCity

  • SimCity 2000

  • Sonic Adventure

  • Space Invaders

  • Spy vs Spy

  • Star Fox

  • Star Fox: Assault

  • Star Strike

  • Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator

  • StarCraft

  • Super Mario 64

  • Super Mario Brothers 3

  • Super Mario Galaxy 2

  • Super Mario World

  • The Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate

  • The Legend of Zelda

  • The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past

  • The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

  • The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Walker

  • The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

  • Tomb Raider

  • TRON: Maze-Atron

  • Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

  • Utopia

  • Worms Armageddon

  • Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure

  • Zaxxon