Call of Duty Black Ops Guinness Best Video Game Ending

The Guinness World Records has been in publication since 1955, and has been awarding its famous, sometimes dubious, honors to the uniquely talented ever since. Got fingernails longer than an SUV? There's a record for that. Can you bicycle backwards for 60 kilometers while playing the violin? There's a record for that as well. Now it seems that the Call of Duty series has received a distinction as well, and it actually has nothing to do with sales.

It's makes perfect sense that the London-based record publisher would delve into the world of interactive entertainment, honing in on gamers' competitive desires for records and leaderboards. Civilization has finally received answers to its burning questions such as who can hold the longest Dance Dance Revolution marathon (or, similarly, LittleBigPlanet 2).

Recently, however, Guinness has decided to eschew personal achievement for personal opinion - and the results promise to be nothing short of controversial. Similar to their fan polling of the best video game series of all time, Guinness World Records surveyed 13,519 gamers as to which video games featured the greatest ending. To no one's surprise, almost every single game was a product of the 21st Century, and #1 on the list was Activision and Treyarch's Call of Duty: Black Ops with its star-spangled ending and unique twist on the Kennedy assassination.

Here are the top 50 winners in full:

  1. Call of Duty: Black Ops
  2. Halo: Reach
  3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
  4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
  5. God of War
  6. Red Dead Redemption
  7. Portal
  8. Metal Gear Solid 4
  9. Final Fantasy VII
  10. Heavy Rain
  11. Super Mario Bros.
  12. Pokemon Black and White
  13. Halo 3
  14. Halo: Combat Evolved
  15. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
  16. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
  17. Portal 2
  18. Grand Theft Auto IV
  19. Mass Effect 2
  20. Super Mario Galaxy 2
  21. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
  22. Kingdom Hearts
  23. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
  24. Shadow of the Colossus
  25. Assassin's Creed
  26. Assassin's Creed II
  27. Metal Gear Solid
  28. Sonic the Hedgehog
  29. Super Mario Galaxy
  30. Mass Effect
  31. Kingdom Hearts II
  32. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
  33. Sonic Adventure 2
  34. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
  35. BioShock
  36. Gears of War 2
  37. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
  38. Fallout 3
  39. inFamous
  40. New Super Mario Bros. Wii
  41. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
  42. Super Metroid
  43. Half-Life 2: Episode Two
  44. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
  45. Call of Duty: World at War
  46. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
  47. Crysis 2
  48. Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time
  49. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
  50. Resident Evil 4

Now, interestingly enough, Guinness did fully acknowledge that the list would "cause heated debate among passionate gamers," and we can't help but think of that as the sole reason for this blatant popularity contest even existing.

Games, as an art form - you heard us right Roger Ebert - allow for the player to interpret them as they see fit, so we won't lash out at anyone for saying that their favorite ending was that of Call of Duty: Black Ops or even Duke Nukem: Forever. But much the same way chart-topping music or blockbuster movies aren't always the best indicator of quality, a fan vote will always cloud the issue more than it will clarify it. To try to create a "definitive" list placing Black Ops above stellar narratives like Red Dead Redemption, Halo, or Resident Evil 4... well, that's just vain.

Just in case you wanted to relieve it in all it's splendor, though, or don't care to be spoiled, here it is - the greatest video game ending in the history of the homo-sapiens species [SPOILERS]:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsWjsHgY0Tc

Ranters, what is your favorite video game ending of all time? Did Guinness make a pretty accurate list with Call of Duty: Black Ops as its #1, or would you toss that list into the shredder as soon as you got your hands on it?

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Follow me on Twitter @Brian_Sipple

Source: Guinness World Records [via Destructoid]