I came into this article thinking that Blow wasn't pretentious, that he was sincere about what he was doing and was just helping to expand the medium. And then he definitely just compared himself to Pynchon, when Braid is clumsy in comparison. I still respect Blow and all, but come, Braid isn't anywhere near there. Braid isn't pretentious, but that sure was.
Diddy Kong Racing 64 was an amazing game, or at least to a five-year-old. You could fly backwards, you could have (actually pretty lame, thinking back on it) pick-ups, which were pretty cool at the time, and I think you could play as Banjo in the game, which is of course awesome.
Half Life 2 Mother 3 James Bond: Nightfire Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker Pokemon Crystal
I'm probably forgetting some game that I cherished, but I still love these games anyways. I know Nightfire is just your average FPS, but me and my friends played its multiplayer so much it HAS to be in top 5.
More of a repeated geeky action, but in Metroid Prime, whenever I beat a boss, I would do this weird anime fist of victory thing. It didn't matter who was in my room at the time.