Great Games (cont.)

Oh man, Super Mario Bros. (NES, 1985) kicked ass like Chuck Norris, 80's style.  Secret warp zones that let you jump ahead in the game, crazy mushrooms and spiky turtles trying to kill Mario, side-scrolling, high-jumping, fireball-shooting, Super Mario Bros.!  Yeah, baby!  Classic.

Tecmo Bowl (NES, 1988) marked the end of my arcade days.  Once hooked on Tecmo Bowl there was just no point in going anymore.  And if you sucked at this game, there was no reason to hang out with me, unless your agenda for the day included being ridiculed and handed a beat-down of 84-0.  It's all about calling the other guy's play or getting the interception.  The "unstoppable plays" were a problem, we played with the rule that you were not allowed to use them.

My freshman year in college we had dorm-wide league play of Baseball Stars (NES, 1989).  As you can imagine, I rocked the house and won game after game.  Homeruns were not a problem, pitching perfect games was not a problem.  Anyway, the game was cool because you could increase your players stats after earning money for winning.  Even the girl players held their own in this game.  Most funnest baseball game ever.

The ultimate of addictive video games: Tetris (GB, 1989).  You can't play just one game of Tetris, it's impossible.  It's timeless and classic, a simple game you can play for hours.  Hey, I've always wanted to know ... which is more important: high score or number of lines?

I'd been out of gaming for a couple years (didn't own a console or a PC) when I rented an SNES and played Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES, 1992).  I stayed up two nights in a row playing it.  That was all the time I had to play, as it was a rental, but I recently replayed and finished it on the GBA.  It's an excellent game, then and now.

Sorry Madden fans, the greatest video football game ever is Tecmo Super Bowl (Genesis, 1993).  Yeah, that's right.  There's one word to describe the Madden franchise, it begins with "s" and ends with "ucks".  Look, Madden is a football simulation, which is fine if that's what you want.  I don't want that.  What I want is to play a fun game.  Tecmo Super Bowl is fun, Madden is not.  Madden is bogged down in accurate technical simulation, it rips the fun right out of the game.

NBA Jam (Genesis, 1994) was fun in the arcade, and just as fun at home.  "He's on fire!"  The hallmark of the game is getting on fire and dunking from half-court or shooting non-stop 3-pointers.  Similar to Tecmo, this game is way more fun to play than the basketball simulation games produced today.

Doom (PC, 1994) is another game that I didn't understand the first time I saw it.  A friend was playing it and I was watching over his shoulder.  Ok, so you run around shooting demons and stuff, big deal.  Then a couple years later, after hearing constantly about what a great game it was, I decided to play it myself.  It's a decent game.  What!?  Are you shitting me?  This game rules!  'Nuff said.

There has never been a greater ass-kicking, blood-letting, spine-ripping game than Mortal Kombat (Genesis, 1993).  "I think Mortal Kombat on the Sega Genesis is the best video game ever."  "Mortal Kombat is a very good game, but I think Donkey Kong is the best game ever."  "Donkey Kong sucks!"  "You know what, YOU suck!!"  If you don't know what movie that's from, then I just feel sorry for you.

If you want to talk about the single best video game ever made, the most fun, the most balanced, the best, period.  Then you want to talk about Super Mario 64 (N64, 1996).  I can't speak enough about how much fun this game is to play, and how addicting certain aspects are (I probably raced that damn penguin down the ice slide a hundred times).  This game really put me right into the action, I'd sweat when walking Mario across a skinny beam or ledge, and feel happy when rewarded a star for completing a challenge.  At the time, there was no other game that had such clean graphics, deep draw-distance, and non-linear, wide-open gameplay.  This is the first and only game that I ever felt compelled to complete 100%, all 120 stars.  Now, about the camera system.  Why can't games today get the damn camera situation under control?  Mario 64 gave me some (but not much) trouble with maneuvering the camera, but games like Super Mario Sunshine are hell to play because before every jump you have to line up the stupid camera.  In a platforming game, it's difficult enough to jump around and fight baddies without having to worry about where the camera is every second.

The launch of the Nintendo 64 sytem was a lesson on how to launch a console.  Mario 64, WaveRace 64 (N64, 1996), and PilotWings 64 (N64, 1996) were all the games you needed for about two months of straight video game playing.  Granted, WaveRace was a better game than PilotWings, but the three of these games together made one hell of an offering, and that offering was a big "fuck you" to the Sony Playstation folks.

Goldeneye 007 (N64, 1997) was coolness not just because they got the James Bond license accurate and had a great story with great gameplay, but because it utilized the first scope mechanism that I'd played in a game.  Zooming in to shoot some sap in the hand was always good for a laugh, and headshots were sweet.

I think every gamer has that first game that scares them, for me it was Resident Evil 2 (PS1, 1998).  I happened to rent it on Halloween and played it all night between watching monster movies on television.  Very interesting control scheme on this one, at the same time unique and frustrating.  The strange movements of the character seemed to make the game more frantic.  Out of ammo?  Trying to elude zombies?  Be sure to remember that up is ALWAYS forward.  Crazy.

There's a little guy named Link who has had a few adventures.  Maybe you've heard of him.  His greatest adventure was in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64, 1998).  The Zelda series of adventure games are the best of the genre, and Ocarina is the best game of the Zelda series.  I rule at video games, and the Zelda games are no exception.  I own these games!  And I own you!

What is there to say about Half-Life (PC, 1998) other than it's the most fantastic PC game ever made?  Oh, what's that?  You disagree?  Well, rest assured that I'm right on this one, and you are wrong (as usual).  The game is so immersive, you are drawn into the world and feel like a part of it.  It seems so real, not because of the graphics, but because of the gameplay and the story and the atmosphere, it's quite impressive to play.  A not-to-be-missed, one-of-a-kind gaming experience with a to-be-missed, one-of-a-kind game ending.

With Red Faction (PC, 2001), the plot and story are engaging, the gameplay is fun, the physics and destructible environments are cool, and the weapons are great (love that railgun).  I came to appreciate this game more as I thought about it AFTER playing it.  While playing, it was great fun, but after playing, I found that I wanted to play it more, and wished it had gone on longer.  Also, this game beats Halo for the addition of vehicles to an FPS.

It uses a simple design, but the gameplay is deep.  Advance Wars (GBA, 2001) was a game I couldn't put down.  The challenge level is just right, the graphics are just right, and it's addicting, it's damn near a perfect game.

I played the original Grand Theft Auto on PlayStation, which was a cute little novelty, and played Grand Theft Auto III on PS2, which did not blow me away at all.  Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PC, 2003) on the PC is a whole other matter.  This is a great game.  Endless and open, it's just flat-out fun to play.  Maybe I prefer the controls on a PC more than on PS2, but GTA3 on PS2 was not much fun IMO, FYI.

Knights of the Old Republic (XBOX, 2003) is immersive and engaging.  The combat is fun, the storyline is great, and plus, it's Star Wars!  It's able to tap into the built-in connection you feel with the Star Wars universe.  The side quests are implemented so well, you can rarely tell if it is actually just a side quest, or if it will have larger impact on the game later.  It's like a giant "Choose Your Own Adventure" book.  And finally, it's just fun.  It's fun and addicting.  It's not all dry and fuddy-duddy like a lot of RPG's, it's full of energy.