I like the off topic.
Can't think of it in designer/studio terms. Have to be just an all time top games list...

1. Rez : the Carrera of video games. Classic old school vector style graphics. Cool music (ok, no carrera reference there). Simple and understated, and because of that a lot of new game fans find it too boring and shallow, too easy, not enough bling.

2. Halo : the Speedmaster of FPS. Was not necessarily the earliest FPS, but defined the genre. Still cool after all these years.

3. Rockband : the 1158 CHN of video games.. why you ask? Well, you may not be a F1 driver / Rock God but the 1158 / Rockband lets you pretend you are. And it's less dangerous.

4. Portal2 : I was thinking Calculator or maybe one of those complex timing machines. Makes you think. Endless puzzles to solve. Funny.

5. Ico : Just a very subtle, beautifully designed game. Can't really think of a watch analogy, but the characters are sort of white Montreal vs PVD Monaco.

Oh yeah, I LOVED River Raid. Top retro games include that, Defender, Missile Command and a pinball sim on the Apple II (can't remember the name).