A few weeks ago I discovered that some original Xbox games were available for download via Xbox live. I immediately found one of my all time favorite games and have been playing it as much as possible since. So, I've decided to compile a list of my top ten favorites ala Rob Gordon (John Cusack, in High Fidelity).
10.
Contra (1988) - The game is simple, shoot people/aliens/robots. But there was something beautiful in the simplicity of this game that allowed me and my former roommate, Scott, to play it for hours at a time. In fact, he once beat it three times in a row without dying a single time. I myself only beat it once, thanks in large part to Scott's awesome play. Truly great multiplayer games on the 8-bit Nintendo are hard to find, and this was simply the best one. Several sequels followed on other platforms, but the original NES version can never be topped.
9.
Sims City 4 (2003) - Not many games lead you to learn more about an actual career (unless you plan on shooting aliens, travel through time, or play professional sports), but the Sim City series did just that. My love for city planning came from playing this series, but there is no denying that Sim City 4 is the pinnacle of greatness. The graphics finally did the game play justice and the idea of having a huge region with multiple interconnecting cities was a genius stroke. It was hard, but not impossible, providing the perfect challenge for the average gamer. And when you saw your little cities grow into a giant metropolis you felt an overwhelming sense of pride that no other game can give you.
8.
The Sims (2000) - I know, two Sim games in a row. But, hear me out. These games couldn't be more different. One allowed you to build a complex city while the other allowed you to create hilarious scenarios like "What would happen if Jesus, a laid back messy hippie, and Satan, an uptight clean cut businessman, lived together?" I'll tell you what happened, gaming magic! I don't think I ever played this game the way it was meant to be played. I never really cared about advancing my characters careers or proving them with a lifetime of balance and happiness. Instead my friend Mark and I discovered a way for one character to kill off the entire neighborhood by luring them into a pool with no exit. Or seeing how long you could ignore a baby before it would be taken away by child welfare. Sure, I think back on it now and realize I probably needed some serious physiological help, but the game allowed complete freedom. My friends and I spent hours designing houses, creating disgusting looking characters and coming up with ridiculous premises ("What if Einstein lived with Nat King Cole"). Such a great game certainly deserves a spot on my favorites list.
7.
Blade Runner (1997) - Far too often when a company makes a game based off of a movie they end up ruining it. They try to follow the storyline of the movie exactly or end up adding pieces to make it more exciting. Neither method works. I've already seen the movie; I don't need to see it again. And no, I don't remember the part in Batman where everyone on the street had a gun for some reason. Blade Runner on the other hand got it right. Set in the same awesome environment as the movie you take control of another detective, not Harrison Ford himself. You are even working a different case. While your case occasionally crosses paths with Decker’s, you spend most of your time tracking down your own renegade replicants. As a point and click game you don't have as much control, but that doesn't hinder the game play. Based on how you interact with characters and the choices you make there are 13 different endings, making it one of the best games to play over and over again. Are you a replicant? Are you human? Let your actions decide. Just like the movie, I can play this game and catch something new every time. Not a lot of games can boast that kind of experience. Plus it doesn't hurt that one of the lines of dialogue is "Your breath stinks, did you wipe your ass with your teeth?"
6.
Mortal Kombat (1992) - I vividly remember when this game came out because my mom and dad both said that me and my brother couldn't play it. About a week later my brother bought it for the Sega Genesis on the condition that we could only play it with no blood. Back then you had to put in a special code in order to see any graphic events (yes, hitting people is fine as long as long as they don't bleed). That constraint lasted all of four days and suddenly my once outraged father was there beside us taking part in the severe beating of 16 bit characters. While the game was nothing more than a basic fighter, it ended up bringing my family together. Barriers were broken and my parents discovered that just because we saw imaginary violence, we weren't going to become serial killers. Oh, and knocking people into a pit of spikes is one of the coolest things in the world, not going to lie.
5.
Rise of Nations (2003) - Have you ever drafted a formal declaration of war for an RTS video game? Sadly, I have. While I'm not proud of it, it certainly shows how intense my friends and I played this game. That same night, half of the fifth floor of Hayes-Healy on the USF campus was doing battle against one another. After two and half hours of hard fought game play I destroyed the world by launching yet another nuclear weapon. If I wasn’t going to win, no one was. For any history nerd, this game was like pure cocaine. Once you were hooked you couldn't stop. This game combined concepts from the Civilization series with the game play of Star Craft. You not only built massive armies, but advance your civilization through government, technology and world wonders; and you didn't have to do it turn by turn.
4.
GoldenEye (1997) - Nothing solidified my friendships in junior high quite like GoldenEye. Every day after school I could count at least two people coming over to play it with me. Sure, it may have led to my obesity at the time, but damn it, that game was awesome. It became the easiest way to solve problems with one another and bond as friends (no pun intended). "Slappers only" became an acceptable way to vent ones aggression and as pubescent boys we had a lot of aggression. Not only was the game play fun, but at the time it was the most graphically rich game I had ever seen. I remember thinking to myself, "It will never get more realistic than this." While I may have been wrong about that, I wasn't wrong in thinking that this was one of the best games ever made...as long as no one plays as Oddjob, that's cheating!
3.
Left 4 Dead (2008) - Zombies. What, that's not enough of an explanation for you? Okay, how about this, ZOMBIES! Seriously though, this game took my favorite genre of horror movie and finally did it justice. There was no garbage plot like "Resident Evil" and no time limit like with "Dead Rising". When you have zombies, you really don't need that much. This game is simply amazing. It adapts to how well your team is doing and has several different kinds of zombies; all terrifying. The best part, however, is the emphasis on team work. If you ditch out on your fellow survivors (or Zombies) it's not just likely that you'll get trounced, it's a certainty. You are rewarded for working together. And, as I've already alluded to, you can play as the ferocious undead. While I enjoy a plot driven game as much as the next guy when it comes to zombies all I need to know is where they are and how fast I need to run.
2.
Half-Life/ Team Fortress (1998) - In my opinion this is the ultimate first-person shooter. The train ride at the beginning sets you up for an almost cinematic experience. This is the first game where I actually felt like I was playing a movie. Granted, its plot is a little thin and doesn't make much sense, but somehow you are immersed in its universe. The game play is great, with puzzles thrown in-between fire fights and alien attacks. It's gory, funny, and action packed, with a surprisingly cool soundtrack. But perhaps the best part is that it came packaged with an online game called Team Fortress which to this day is the best multiplayer game. I'm not talking about the new version. Yeah, that one is good and all, but the original? Forget about it. It was a pioneer. It definitely had the best multiplayer maps of all time, including "The Rock" based off of Alcatraz and the once popular Nicholas Cage movie. Now every time I play an online multiplayer game I immediately compare it to Team Fortress and I have yet to see one measure up. These games revolutionized the gaming industry.
1.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) - This may surprise most people, but I stand by number one pick. It's far superior to the Grand Theft Auto Three and as much as I enjoy the 80's campyness that is Vice City, I have special love of the early 90's. This game captures that era perfectly, right down to the curly mullet. It also has a great soundtrack and the best plot of the series. As well as the finest voice acting of any game. Samuel L. Jackson as a crooked cop -yes please. Unlike GTA IV, it doesn't take itself too seriously and allows for a much more imaginative experience. You can take Carl to the gym to get him ripped or to a burger joint to get him fat. Want him to have a stupid haircut? Sure, why not. You can take him to the courts for a little basketball, or just ride around the hood committing burglaries and drive-bys. You aren't restricted to just one city either, instead you can take your mischief out of LA and into San Francisco and Las Vegas with each city having its own unique landscape, missions, and culture. You can use cars, motorcycles, boats, helicopters, jets, or even jetpacks to get around while the hilarious gangsta' dialogue keeps you in stitches. Yes, it's offensive and over the top, but I like games where I can escape reality while still poking fun at it. San Andreas has given me and my friends hours and hours of entertainment and leaves me with sense of nostalgia for both the early 90's as well as when I first bought the game nearly five years ago.
10. Contra (1988) - The game is simple, shoot people/aliens/robots. But there was something beautiful in the simplicity of this game that allowed me and my former roommate, Scott, to play it for hours at a time. In fact, he once beat it three times in a row without dying a single time. I myself only beat it once, thanks in large part to Scott's awesome play. Truly great multiplayer games on the 8-bit Nintendo are hard to find, and this was simply the best one. Several sequels followed on other platforms, but the original NES version can never be topped.
7. Blade Runner (1997) - Far too often when a company makes a game based off of a movie they end up ruining it. They try to follow the storyline of the movie exactly or end up adding pieces to make it more exciting. Neither method works. I've already seen the movie; I don't need to see it again. And no, I don't remember the part in Batman where everyone on the street had a gun for some reason. Blade Runner on the other hand got it right. Set in the same awesome environment as the movie you take control of another detective, not Harrison Ford himself. You are even working a different case. While your case occasionally crosses paths with Decker’s, you spend most of your time tracking down your own renegade replicants. As a point and click game you don't have as much control, but that doesn't hinder the game play. Based on how you interact with characters and the choices you make there are 13 different endings, making it one of the best games to play over and over again. Are you a replicant? Are you human? Let your actions decide. Just like the movie, I can play this game and catch something new every time. Not a lot of games can boast that kind of experience. Plus it doesn't hurt that one of the lines of dialogue is "Your breath stinks, did you wipe your ass with your teeth?"
6. Mortal Kombat (1992) - I vividly remember when this game came out because my mom and dad both said that me and my brother couldn't play it. About a week later my brother bought it for the Sega Genesis on the condition that we could only play it with no blood. Back then you had to put in a special code in order to see any graphic events (yes, hitting people is fine as long as long as they don't bleed). That constraint lasted all of four days and suddenly my once outraged father was there beside us taking part in the severe beating of 16 bit characters. While the game was nothing more than a basic fighter, it ended up bringing my family together. Barriers were broken and my parents discovered that just because we saw imaginary violence, we weren't going to become serial killers. Oh, and knocking people into a pit of spikes is one of the coolest things in the world, not going to lie.
5. Rise of Nations (2003) - Have you ever drafted a formal declaration of war for an RTS video game? Sadly, I have. While I'm not proud of it, it certainly shows how intense my friends and I played this game. That same night, half of the fifth floor of Hayes-Healy on the USF campus was doing battle against one another. After two and half hours of hard fought game play I destroyed the world by launching yet another nuclear weapon. If I wasn’t going to win, no one was. For any history nerd, this game was like pure cocaine. Once you were hooked you couldn't stop. This game combined concepts from the Civilization series with the game play of Star Craft. You not only built massive armies, but advance your civilization through government, technology and world wonders; and you didn't have to do it turn by turn.
4. GoldenEye (1997) - Nothing solidified my friendships in junior high quite like GoldenEye. Every day after school I could count at least two people coming over to play it with me. Sure, it may have led to my obesity at the time, but damn it, that game was awesome. It became the easiest way to solve problems with one another and bond as friends (no pun intended). "Slappers only" became an acceptable way to vent ones aggression and as pubescent boys we had a lot of aggression. Not only was the game play fun, but at the time it was the most graphically rich game I had ever seen. I remember thinking to myself, "It will never get more realistic than this." While I may have been wrong about that, I wasn't wrong in thinking that this was one of the best games ever made...as long as no one plays as Oddjob, that's cheating!
3. Left 4 Dead (2008) - Zombies. What, that's not enough of an explanation for you? Okay, how about this, ZOMBIES! Seriously though, this game took my favorite genre of horror movie and finally did it justice. There was no garbage plot like "Resident Evil" and no time limit like with "Dead Rising". When you have zombies, you really don't need that much. This game is simply amazing. It adapts to how well your team is doing and has several different kinds of zombies; all terrifying. The best part, however, is the emphasis on team work. If you ditch out on your fellow survivors (or Zombies) it's not just likely that you'll get trounced, it's a certainty. You are rewarded for working together. And, as I've already alluded to, you can play as the ferocious undead. While I enjoy a plot driven game as much as the next guy when it comes to zombies all I need to know is where they are and how fast I need to run.
2. Half-Life/ Team Fortress (1998) - In my opinion this is the ultimate first-person shooter. The train ride at the beginning sets you up for an almost cinematic experience. This is the first game where I actually felt like I was playing a movie. Granted, its plot is a little thin and doesn't make much sense, but somehow you are immersed in its universe. The game play is great, with puzzles thrown in-between fire fights and alien attacks. It's gory, funny, and action packed, with a surprisingly cool soundtrack. But perhaps the best part is that it came packaged with an online game called Team Fortress which to this day is the best multiplayer game. I'm not talking about the new version. Yeah, that one is good and all, but the original? Forget about it. It was a pioneer. It definitely had the best multiplayer maps of all time, including "The Rock" based off of Alcatraz and the once popular Nicholas Cage movie. Now every time I play an online multiplayer game I immediately compare it to Team Fortress and I have yet to see one measure up. These games revolutionized the gaming industry.
1. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) - This may surprise most people, but I stand by number one pick. It's far superior to the Grand Theft Auto Three and as much as I enjoy the 80's campyness that is Vice City, I have special love of the early 90's. This game captures that era perfectly, right down to the curly mullet. It also has a great soundtrack and the best plot of the series. As well as the finest voice acting of any game. Samuel L. Jackson as a crooked cop -yes please. Unlike GTA IV, it doesn't take itself too seriously and allows for a much more imaginative experience. You can take Carl to the gym to get him ripped or to a burger joint to get him fat. Want him to have a stupid haircut? Sure, why not. You can take him to the courts for a little basketball, or just ride around the hood committing burglaries and drive-bys. You aren't restricted to just one city either, instead you can take your mischief out of LA and into San Francisco and Las Vegas with each city having its own unique landscape, missions, and culture. You can use cars, motorcycles, boats, helicopters, jets, or even jetpacks to get around while the hilarious gangsta' dialogue keeps you in stitches. Yes, it's offensive and over the top, but I like games where I can escape reality while still poking fun at it. San Andreas has given me and my friends hours and hours of entertainment and leaves me with sense of nostalgia for both the early 90's as well as when I first bought the game nearly five years ago.
2 comments:
I definitely agree with several of these picks. I can't believe, though, that you played 'Blade Runner'. I had heard good things, but I'd never actually heard of anyone actually playing it. I demand you tell me more about it.
Dude, what about "Spycraft?"
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