Happy 4th of July, everyone! On this special day, many get together for barbecued hot dogs and burgers before setting up chairs on the lawn to watch the fireworks. However, if you’re like some of us here at Ripten, it’s simply another day to play videogames. So, keeping the holiday spirit in mind, hit the jump to check out the top five patriotic games of all time.

Number Five – Independence Day

Adapted from the blockbuster film of the same name, Independence Day tells the story of how America saved the world from evil aliens. In the game, you get to pilot several types of aircraft as you kicked extra terrestrial ass all over the best country on the planet. To get even more pumped, watch the film before you play the game. Watch Bill Pullman give his tearjerker of a speech to a ragtag group of fighter pilots that includes a drunken Randy Quaid. And then Jeff Goldblum and the Fresh Prince shoot a virus into the alien mothership and save the human race. Your welcome, Earth.

Number Four – America’s Army

I really couldn’t write this list without including this one. Although there are plenty of games (better ones, in fact) that allow you to go to war, but only one is owned by the United States Government and used as a U.S. Army recruitment tool. Sure, Call of Duty 4 is awesome, but is it endorsed by Uncle Sam?

Number Three – Grand Theft Auto IV

Grand Theft Auto IV, the latest game in the popular series, is about a lot of things. The main character, a Croatian immigrant named Niko Bellic, has to kill, kill, and kill some more to keep him and his cousin Roman out of harm’s way, but that’s not the life he wants. He came to America to get away from such violence and find the one thing so many of us are after – the American Dream.

Number Two – Oregon Trail

Oregon Trail challenged you to make it from Independence, Missouri all the way to Willamette Valley in Oregon. Along the way, you could stop and shoot wild animals for food. You could only hold so much meat at a time, but that didn’t stop you from wasting every creature that entered your line of sight. And as it turns out, it was all for nothing. Everyone got dysentery and died.

Number One – Bad Dudes

The year is 1988. Two complete badasses – Striker and Blade – are approached by a man who looks like Ice from Top Gun. With two simple sentences, the world is changed forever.

“The President has been kidnapped by ninjas. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the President?”

Nevermind the fact that he referred to both men as one dude, Bad Dudes is the epitome of patriotic videogames. With terrorism now a very real threat, who would have known that this old school brawler would be so relevant in current times?

Happy Birthday, America.

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Tags: 4th of July, patriotic, top 5

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