June 20, 2008 -- Portly plumber Mario can lay claim to being the greatest gaming icon of all time, beating off stiff competition from the likes of Master Chief, Solid Snake, Lara Croft and Sonic the Hedgehog in GAME.co.uk's Greatest Games of All Time vote and securing an impressive 11% of the overall top 100.

His 1995 Super Mario 64 at number 5 is his highest ranked title, while other Mario games in the top 25 include Mario Kart Wii at number 13, the beloved NES (and later SNES) platformer Super Mario Bros. 3 at 16 and the stunning Nintedo Wii game (http://www.game.co.uk/Wii/ ) Super Mario Galaxy at 21.

In comparison, arch-rival Sonic the Hedgehog's best entry is at number 19, while only three Sonic titles made the cut, one of which, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, also stars the moustachioed, squeaky-voiced Nintendo mascot.

"The Third Place" Takes First Place
PlayStation 2 Wins Console Crown

Sony's PlayStation 2 has been crowned the Greatest Console of All Time by almost 100,000 voters, with 10% of all PS2 games in the top 100 being PS2 Exclusives and many more titles appearing on PS2 alongside other formats.

The highest-rated PS2 game (http://www.game.co.uk/PS2/ ) is Resident Evil 4 (also released for Wii, GameCube and PC) while the best performer among titles released only on PS2 is the superb Final Fantasy X, which pits a group of adventurers against a horrific, monstrous force known as Sin.

Bond. Games Bond.
007 and Star Wars top list of film tie-ins.

The classic Rare-developed GoldenEye 007 for the N64 is the greatest game ever based on a film property, according to voters who placed it at number 6 in GAME.co.uk's Greatest Games of All Time (http://www.game.co.uk/greatestgames/ ).

Not to be confused with EA's lacklustre GoldenEye: Rogue Agent, GoldenEye 007 is an FPS which is notable for being vastly innovative as well as having one of the greatest multiplayer modes in history.

After Bond, Star Wars is the most popular non-gaming property in games, with two titles, LEGO Star Wars: The Original Saga at 58 and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic at 68.

Notably, James Bond and Star Wars are the only two examples of non-gaming entertainment properties in the entire Top 100.

The LEGO Star Wars team return this June with LEGO Indiana Jones (http://www.game.co.uk/PSP/Action/Adventure/~r335251/LEGO-Indiana-Jones---The-Original-Adventures/ ), which gives the same hilarious platforming-adventure treatment to the first three Harrison Ford-starring classics.

Final Fantasy's Big Five
Gamers glad the "Final" is a lie.

Final Fantasy has been voted the greatest gaming series of all time by the public, with five titles appearing in GAME.co.uk's Greatest Games of All Time list.

Predictably, the PSone title Final Fantasy VII - which had grown men everywhere weeping uncontrollably back in 1998 - performed best, nabbing 3rd place in the Top 100, with the sequels Final Fantasy VIII (PSone), Final Fantasy IX (PSone) and Final Fantasy X (PS2) also performing well. Online-only title Final Fantasy XI failed to crack the Top 100 but the list is completed by the incredible Final Fantasy XII on PS2, which just made it in at number 91.

The cast and setting of Final Fantasy VII are set to return in June 2008, in the PSP-only prequel Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core.

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