We pulled the top 100 highest rated games from review aggregation website GameRankings.com and broke them down by primary motivation - the driving force behind the heroes, anti-heroes, competitors, and god-like beings inhabiting those acclaimed titles.
Are we the world's last bastion of defense against total destruction, or are we just trying to win the big race? Has the princess been kidnapped again, or are we just trying to make it through a zombie attack in one piece? These questions and more are answered in the inforgraphic below.
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Note that in gathering the top 100 highest rated games, we skipped over titles that were compilations of previous games. In cases where there were more than one motivation, we chose to include the primary driving force for data comparison. It also bears in mind that gaming can be a personal experience, so what you wind up striving to achieve might not be the same as others.