28/02/2010

00. 100 Games - Epilogue


That's that.
100 videogames presented for your consideration, picked and arranged at random and written on the fly with no prior drafting.

I'm not the happiest person in the world, far from it, but I find much escapism and excitement in gaming and the worlds, characters and stories they introduce us to. I am an unashamed gamer and someone who would much rather play games than fight on Internet forums about them.

Videogames are a huge part of my life and have been since that very first game of Horace Goes Ski-ing. As long as I'm breathing, I will be playing games. Videogames have brought me happiness, tears, rage and elation, they have helped me to reflect and learn about myself and through gaming I have met many like-minded friends and associates.

Despite videogames current mainstream acceptance. Gamers are still frowned upon as being nihilistic loners with nothing better to do. It is likely that stigma will never go away, but any gamer worth his salt doesn't care.
Because we have PASSION for games, we CARE about the worlds and characters that hours upon hours of hard work goes into creating for our pleasure. We LOVE videogames because we LOVE to have fun, to be entertained and enthralled, whether in a one man challenge or friendly (and not so friendly) competition with friends or total strangers.

Videogames play on the very best of human emotion and Ill be fucking damned if I'm going to allow myself to feel any such guilt or embarrassment at the behest of a society that thinks it is entertainment to watch z-list celebrities going about their generic daily routines.

Videogames are an art form, they can produce vibrant images and sounds, incredible music and effects and beautifully written storylines and universes. Like all art, some of it is terrible, but for every hundred generic daubings, there's a Michaelangelo.
Games are changing now more than ever, they are becoming very corporate and buzz-word and many fine studios have sadly had to close their doors in the wake of identikit shooters and "designed in a week" shovelware.
The business has crashed before and it may do again, but like a phoenix it will rise from the ashes, the suits will have gone elsewhere to hunt for the almighty dollar and a new generation of studios will have the freedom to express the creativity, originality and interactivity you only get from our most beloved pastime.

The videogame is dead, long live the videogame.
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Thanks to everybody who tuned into this list, whether a follower from the beginning or a late joiner, it's irrelevant as I'm indebted to you all.
Thanks to those who added comments which are always great to read and to good buddy Swabbleflange, not only for his Syndicate entry but for much inspiration and good gaming times, you push me when apathy starts to kick in.

It has been an absolute pleasure to write a few passages about what these games are to your humble host. My only regrets were the many games that didn't make the cut that I would have loved to spin a yarn about.
You can read a professional review of any game anywhere, I wanted to to put a more personal spin on what each game means to me and, possibly, to you.
The next list starts in a few days, I hope I will see you all back here for it. My original plans went technologically awry and it appears that I'm gong to have to try something a bit bigger in scope. I hope this is merely the end of the beginning.

Until then, all the best and keep on pressing that "Start" button, because they can't keep implementing quicktime events forever...can they?

Johnny Beatdown.

"The only legitimate use of a computer is to play games" - Defender creator Eugene Jarvis

01. Maniac Mansion


(Various Home, Lucasfilm Games, 1987)
Point-and-click adventures are timeless. One of the very few genres that appear ageless and remain fairly unchanged from their original inception to this day are story based adventures games controlled via a small arrow and a series of verbs. Whilst it is very hard to go back to earlier versions of other genres as they can often seem dated or old-fashioned, point-and-clicks appear to be futureproof with Cruise For A Corpse, Sam And Max, Full Throttle, The Monkey Island series and many others all still as enjoyable today as they were on release.

Maniac Mansion set a precedent for this type of game. Released at the end of the 80's, Mansion saw the player take a choice of three super cool teenagers, each with their own awesome theme music, then trespass into a mysterious house in search for a friend of theirs who has vanished into the night. Before long, a bizarre, dangerous and witty story unfolds involving the twisted residents of the house and the mysterious meteor crash site nearby.

The player switches between the three characters of choice and must use each teen's specific skill in order to unlock doors, avoid traps and stay one step ahead of the clutches of the mysterious Edison family residing within the many rooms and corridors of this death trap of a house. By performing a series of tasks ranging from the logical to the downright insane, our heroes can hopefully find their damsel in distress and flee the house before events reach cataclysmic proportions.

Maniac Mansion was the debut of the SCUMM engine (Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion) which was an arrow and verb based interface which would go on to be used in a variety of fantastic adventure games, all following the same basic principles of problem solving and and witty, well scripted humour, practically each and every one of these games is immensely playable and mind-bendingly challenging.
Maniac Mansion was released on various formats, each having their own pro's and con's, but however you choose to play it, MM is a clever, funny and hard-working title, providing many hours of amusement and brain scratching. MM is another game I could boot up and play through right now, still finding it as enjoyable as I did when I first encountered it nearly two decades ago.

Maniac Mansion is forever. The game has cool characters, cute visuals, great sounds, brain teasing challenges and long term appeal, with multiple endings and various different paths to get there, depending on the characters you took into the foreboding Victorian estate.

Above all, it's simply a fun way to escape your troubles and while away the hours in an unreal world of fantasy and adventure..
That's avoidance? distraction? irresponsibility?
Nah, That's enjoyment, excitement and satisfaction..

..That's videogames.

26/02/2010

02. Max Payne


(PC/PS2/XBOX/GBA, Remedy, 2001)
If you were Mr or Mrs Payne, don't even pretend you wouldn't name your son Max.
Vengeance is my all time favourite theme in films, games and comics, Justice is a close second, Vigilantism brings up the rear.
Anybody want to take a guess what I think of Max Payne?
Released in 2001, Max Payne rocked my world, probably the last game my age old PC could run at full spec. I bought the game from the shop I was working in at the time and spent all my time every evening for weeks playing through the game again and again and AGAIN AND AGAIN AND....

Anyway, for those not so inclined, Max Payne was a third person shooter by Remedy Interactive. Max is a homicide detective who one day returns home from work and wanders straight into a home invasion. The resultant tragedy leaves his beautiful wife Michelle and his baby daughter dead and leaves Max a broken, ice-cold man. Tranferring to the DEA, Max goes deep undercover in an attempt to bring down a underworld boss, but a mysterious leak causes Max to become trapped in a situation where he has lost his identity and is now a wanted felon. Max has no choice but to go totally rogue. Without his badge, Max chooses to bring down the underworld the only way he can, in slo-mo and spraying masses of hot lead in harm's way.

The player takes Max through a noir style story, the narrative played out through a gravelly voice-over and comic-book style cut-scenes, word bubbles and all. The big gimmick that sold the game was the introduction of Matrix style "Bullet Time" Max can slow the scene down whilst simultaeniously moving in real time, allowing for brilliantly cinematic, John Woo style gun battles and twin gun diving mayhem. This effect has been milked to death now and is as commonplace in gaming as having a "Jump" button, but at the time was an groundbreaking and very, very cool feature, setting the game apart from the plague of generic shooters on the market at the time.
Max makes his way through the story, racking up a huge bodycount of wacky and not so wacky gangsters in a tale of betrayl, revenge and Norse mythology. There is an army of untrustworthy and sick characters to gun through and even a femme fatale who is the closest thing Max may have to an ally. The voice acting is over the top and the scripting often needlessly over-wrought, but it still feels right for the game's clear comic-book influences. Satisfying sound effects, bleak music and dark lighting all help add to the classic "Noir" look and theme.

A very so-so sequel disappointed me a few years later, and a film released in 2008 was decidedly meh. A third game has been in development hell for a while now and repeated changes in production team, character design and storyline leaves me feeling that it is probably going to be really horrible, should it ever ACTUALLY get finished. Clearly, many other Payne fans feel the same way:
The original game is nearly ten years old now, that makes me feel REALLY ancient. Despite the fact that so much of Max Payne has been copied and over-produced by many lesser games, the game has a very special place in my heart and easily saunters its way into my top ten of all time. Max Payne is a game I will go back to again and again, even if it's graphics, themes and effects are now quite passe. As long as Max cries for retribution, I'll be there to guide him to it..

Because vengeance is timeless.

03. Fallout 3


(PS3/Xbox360/PC, Bethesda Studios, 2008)
In recent years, something has become commonplace in adventure gaming, the concept of creating a character of your physical design and then building a moral code of your choosing for them. Many recent RPGs feature this model, with Mass Effect, Oblivion, Fable II and many others all allowing much leeway in your choices to make a man or woman of your choosing, then sending them out into a fully inhabited world to act as noble or despicable as you see fit. Truly, we are in an age where we have some say in how a game plays out, even if, at the end of the day, we don't really have control over the story's events.

Fallout 3 is a great example of this. A sequel to a franchise that had lost its way, Fallout 3 returned the series to its hardcore post-apocalyptic RPG roots. Fallout 3 tells the story of an individual who escapes the "comfort" of their totalitarian bunkered vault to venture into post-war Washington D.C, now just a smouldering mess of rubble, despair and broken buildings. Once out of the statistic building vault section, The player is free to explore the world, following the game's plotline or performing the very many side quests that litter that bleak and terrifying landscape. A cast of hundreds inhabit the world, each with a story to tell and their own attitude towards the socio-political climate that they find themselves in.

Essentially, Fallout 3 is as good as YOU make it, you choices, actions and decisions will decide whether the game is a hundred hour journey of discovery or a twenty hour action movie. By giving the player carte blanche to search, help, loot or kill as they see fit, Fallout provides a stage for the player to become the wasteland hero or scourge they choose to be. People can be befriended or killed, robbed or saved, teamed with or turned against. A side quest can end in bloodshed, resolution or revelation. All of this builds and builds to a climax that sees the shape for civilisation's future forming.

Fallout's story, dialogue and missions are well written and do well to provide solid immersion. The game's faults (if any) are mostly technical. Using the almost archaic-by-today's-standards Oblivion engine, the game suffers from terrible glitching, vanishing skies, ghosting characters and awkward textures and animation. Whilst conversations can go in a wide variety of directions, the character models are very flat and unemotional, lacking the body language and facial features of say, Mass Effect's characters.

For me however, these issues can be easily suffered. Fallout 3 provides me with an exciting, deep and frightening universe, populated with interesting characters that I respect or despise in equal measure. A great selection of missions ranging from the political to the downright crazy await all who wish to explore the capital wasteland and the various expansion packs. Fallout 3 is a game that I can load up and literally spend three hours playing without achieving much more than discovering new places and making the world a better (or worse) place. There's nothing I enjoy more than scouring the lands for Slaving rings and putting those guys out of business at the barrel of a 12-gauge. I'm the Captial Wastelands answer to Frank Castle.

I've done pretty well to summarise Fallout 3 in this entry as I can truly discuss this game for hours (as my long suffering friends can attest to) I havnt even gone into all of the perks, weapons, armours or far reaching moral dilemmas the player will encounter. But hopefully, I've done enough in this short space to sell that Fallout 3, despite its technical shortcomings, is a game that is as addictive and as enjoyable as you choose to make it. Fallout 3 rewards exploration, dedication and deliberation, as opposed to just pulling the trigger on anything that moves. It is very apt that this game should have the fortune to appear so late into this project, as it is a great example of everything that is divine about videogames.
Fallout 3 is not a perfect game, it may not be the best game ever..
But it's dangerously close.

See you in the wastelands brother.

24/02/2010

04. Sunset Riders


(Arcade/Various Home, Konami, 1991)
Howdy stranger.
Cowboys will always have a place in videogames. From FMV shooters to Grand Theft Auto style sandbox games, the wicky-wicky-wild wild west is an setting often re-visited as much action, danger and excitement abounds. Anyone who has watched one of those live shows where people get shot off rooftops and flip into perfectly positioned hay bales can attest to the excitement of watching hat wearing grizzled guys murdering each other for our children's entertainment.
Personally, I believe the ACTUAL wild west was less like The Lone Ranger and far more like Unforgiven.

Sunset Riders takes place in the most colourful West you've ever encountered, where bulls are red, horses are pink with green hair and bandits all have palette swapped clothing. Into this incredibly fruity rendition of deathsville stride four equally colourful bounty hunters, each running and gunning their way through the game's fast-paced levels, blasting off glowing neon lead at all and sundry, stopping only to drink beer, receive kisses from showgirls and rescue damsels in distress.
"You are listing my broken dreams."


After taking down a series of wanted criminals, enjoying some horse rides and suffering the dullest bonus rounds known to man, our intrepid gunslingers come up against the aristocratic Richard Rose in a battle to free the land from, well.. crime I guess.

Sunset Riders is a classic and well-known arcade and has been experienced by many, many people. Basic in style and design, it is still fun and incredibly chaotic to play with friends as an old fashioned dose of straight, no-brainer entertainment. Konami obviously realised they were onto something good, as they blatantly ripped off their own game for Mystic Warriors sometime later.
Sunset Riders isn't anything astounding to write home about, but it has fun, cartoony graphics and very cool music and sound. There's something about the games basic appeal and retro style that brings to mind a great era where arcades were being churned out ten a week and as long as the quality was at least reasonable, then it was good enough to warrant your loose change.

So lets "Saddle up" and "Round up the wagons" and erm.. "Westwood Ho" or something. By completely ignoring the fact that the West was a nasty, violent, disease-ridden, back-stabbing and bloodthirsty place. Sunset Riders puts the "Fun" into "Fundamental anachronism"

And I got through this entry without a single tired Brokeback Mountain joke.

23/02/2010

05. Myth: History In The Making


(Various Home, System 3, 1989)
I loved history class, I was never a fan of school in general, but I always enjoyed learning about the past. Especially when our teacher got in trouble for showing us Full Metal Jacket when we were all about thirteen. We can all learn a lot from "The way things were" and whilst the mass media loves to claim how human beings have "never been worse" a mere glance at any book recalling events from any time period often shows that life has always been tough and for every villain, there is usually at least three more heroes.

Myth: History In The Making is an old-school game about a very different kind of history. A young man is chosen by the Gods and pulled through time and space in order to defeat Dameron, a demon who has risen to tear the universe asunder with the help of many mythological creatures.
An action-platformer with puzzle elements, Myth sees the player control the letterman jacket wearing jock as he fights his way through the various time zones, battling an army of Ray Harryhausen style minions using the weapons and magical items bestowed on him or found along his journey.

Many classic characters from Mythos are all present and correct, Achilles, Medusa, Skeletons, Harpies, Norse Vikings, Odin, The Hydra and many other creatures you remember from your favourite stop-motion movies. The young hero must vanquish these beasts using knowledge learnt from their respective legends (Attacking Achilles on the heel, using the Gorgon head against the Hydra etc) As a result it helps the player to be well versed in mythology, though hints are given in the game's instruction manual for the ignorant.

Myth was a very ambitious game and British developers System 3 did an excellent job of squeezing the very best out of 8-bit computers like the Spectrum and Commodore64 to great a colourful, fast moving and visually impressive adventure. It is a great testament to the team that they created such a well animated and attractive looking game on formats that many thought had already peaked in terms of their technological capabilities.
The various timezones are nicely realised and a very imaginative series of puzzles and boss battles await the player who is able to make his way through the constantly re-spawning enemies and avoid the many deadly traps, pits and gaping chasms.

As a kid I really loved the concepts in this game, Myth appeals to that classic childhood adventure idea of being "sucked into" a universe. Kind of like that Captain N: The Games Master show but without the hot princess or the raping of Simon Belmont's dignity.
Myth should be readily available to those versed in emulation, I would strongly suggest giving it a go and logging it into your gaming CV. Relatively unknown, Myth is an absolute classic that deserves to be experienced by all.
It is a reminder of how a format's technology never truly peaks and there is always "one more game" to be squeezed out.

06. Prince Of Persia


**CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS AND BITTERNESS**
(PS3/Xbox360/PC/Mac, Ubisoft, 2008)
Has a videogame ever broken your heart?

Prince Of Persia was the 2008 incarnation of the long running series of fine games originally designed by Jordan Mechnar. The 2008 title saw a re-launch of the series with a new Prince and a new approach to the series art, music and storyline. A handsome, down-on-his-luck rogue, the Prince stumbles upon a beautiful young Princess named Elika, who is attempting to seal away an evil power that is slowly destroying her land, turning all the lush scenery into a murky blackness, known as "The Corrupted"
Our reluctant hero decides to help her and together the acrobatic duo must make their way through the broken down kingdom, learning from each other about life whilst slowly restoring the land to its former finery using the powers of Elika's god "Ormazd" Eventually hoping to seal the evil "Ahriman" and his souless creatures away in a temple in the centre of Elika's kingdom.
The player controls the Prince as he and Elika make their way through the land, performing all sorts of high flying maneuvers and relying on speed, timing and teamwork to get through their quest. The game is short and overly easy, but the pleasure comes more from the flow of traversing the dizzying landscape and the enjoyment of the story rather than the challenge of the game itself.

PoP's new art style is wonderful, reminiscent of fine watercolour paintings and is a welcome change from the grimy, industrial look of the previous games (Which are good games in their own right) The Prince is a good hearted and likeable hero and Elika a beautiful and strong-willed girl with just the right amount of vulnerability to make her completely captivating. I found much enjoyment and satisfaction in seeing these two heroes bust themselves hard to right the wrongs and save the kingdom...

Until the end... Boy, I gotta cram a lot of words here.
At the conclusion of the game, Elika sacrifices herself to imprison Ahriman. The Prince, going against all he has learnt on his journey, then re-releases the evil to bring her back to life. The corruption takes over the whole land and Elika is distraught at the Prince's selfish actions. The game ends with Elika's kingdom crumbling to the ground whilst the heroes blindly walk off into the desert.
Now, a game doesn't have to have a happy ending, nor do I mind a story having tragic elements, BUT, what PoP does is a cardinal sin in gaming, It says to the player "EVERYTHING you have done since you picked up the controller wasn't worth a shit"
By allowing evil to triumph and Elika's kingdom to collapse, all prior events are null and void. No matter how well you play, no matter how the chemistry builds between our heroes and no matter how much you achieve. Evil triumphs and the kingdom is destroyed.
Fuck your effort kid, here's an "edgy" ending.
The character development is betrayed, the Prince's selfish act proving that the adventure taught him nothing, Elika and her father sacrificing their lives was for nothing, the player's time and effort was for nothing. Evil won.

The general rumor is that this was to be the first chapter in a new series, fair enough, but Ubisoft have now abandoned this series, choosing to return to its "Sand of Time" storyline to fit in with the upcoming Disney movies. As a final face-stomp to the fans, Ubisoft banged out a forty minute "Epilogue" level. Better than nothing, right? Wrong.
The "Epilogue" still doesn't finish the story, with Elika admitting defeat and flying off, leaving the Prince to battle an approaching demi-god on his lonesome.
Thanks for that Ubisoft, now I only think you're fucking cunts.

Prince of Persia is a beautiful game, it isn't perfect by any means, it is very short and repetitive, but like Mirror's Edge, it provides the player with an almost zen-like, parkour-esque experience. PoP has brilliant, well voiced protagonists, an absolutely gorgeous visual style and a determined "Against all odds" storyline that pushed me to complete the game and see our heroes receive the kingdom they deserved.
I will AGAIN re-iterate, so there is no confusion, my problem isnt that the game had an unhappy ending, it is that the ending meant the player shouldnt have bothered trying. PoP is a game that should you 100% complete it, the conclusion essentially takes you back to 0%
I can think of about ten better ways to finish the story, both happy and sad, all of them better than the one Ubisoft gave us. But hey, I'm just some internet hack, right?

Whether they intended to complete this story over a trilogy or whatever remains to be seen. The deal of cosying up to Uncle Walt is one I don't see Ubisoft driftng from anytime soon,
This could well be the end of the road for the enthralling art style and wonderful characters PoP's 2008 entry gave us, all cut short well before their time. All we are left with is betrayed protagonists, an unfinished story and players cheated out of their hard work. Now I know how Shenmue fans feel.

I've broken my own rules, I've written beyond the length I promised myself for each entry and I've been reduced to spitting venom at games that I love.
Passion for gaming, movies, music or anything is no different from any other type of love:
When it's good, there's nothing better.
When it's bad, it's heartbreaking.

20/02/2010

07. Cruise For A Corpse


(Amiga/AtariST/PC, Delphine, 1991)
Remember when murder was classy and dignified?
As opposed to today's "knifed in the street by a nobody for looking a bit funny" I'm led to believe that in the 1940's murder was incredibly clean and stylish, always performed for the most dignified of reasons by a beautiful young girl who, upon being discovered, would light a cigarette and take the arm of the detective as they walked to his Bentley.
Of course, that's all bull, murder has always been a tragic and grisly occasion, yet a lifetime of Cluedo and Christie has given me a romanticism about the act of homicide should it occur to rich aristocrats anytime before 1950.

Delphine's Cruise For A Corpse is just such a romanticised murder mystery. As Hercule Poirot rip-off Insp. Raoul Dusentier, the player must solve the murder of a wealthy and disliked business, killed during a yacht journey with all of his enemies invited (Another great cliche "Hey, all you guys who hate me, come and stay for a few days")
Inspector Raoul doesn't mess around with this kind of matter, just look at his shoes and moustache, he's clearly a man of superior intellect and cunning skill. The player takes our snooping hero around the ship using a point and click interface. Searching for clues, interrogating suspects, finding logic holes and hypocrisies, Inspector Raoul aims to bring the perpetrator to justice before the journey ends and our killer escapes scot-free.
Cruise For A Corpse is considered a fine, if very difficult, early entry in the point and click genre. Corpse features lavish backgrounds, polygonal characters, atmospheric cut-scenes and an in-depth and complex plot to work the little grey cells of even the most hardened murder mystery fan. A click-item-then-select-verb based interface was debuted in the game and worked extremely well at the time, allowing for easy manipulation of items, furniture and people. Against the clock, the player must decipher the clues, who's, why's and where's before gathering the suspects together and pointing the accusing finger (Literally dude, that part is in first person)
Women put their hands to their head and faint, men stand and shout accusingly, justice is served and our Inspector smugly walks off the boat. Another well dressed, knife wielding psychopath is behind bars.

Cruise For A Corpse is a classic adventure game that reviewed brilliantly and sold successfully. Whilst Cruise (like many point and clicks) has aged a little roughly today, it is a fine murder mystery game and still one of the toughest adventure games developed.
Wax your moustache and polish those spats because wherever cigar smoking businessmen, gorgeous, fan waving dames, jealousy and cold hard cash are involved, you can always expect one thing..
..Merde!

17/02/2010

08. Super Castlevania IV


(SNES/Virtual Console, Konami, 1991)
I recently wrote that the Super Nintendo was one of the very best videogame consoles ever made. It's an easy statement to make as, upon its release, Nintendo's new baby blew much competition out of the water with its colourful graphics, visual effects, superb sound quality and innovative control pad, which is still the basis for almost all controllers to this day.
Of course, backing all this up was an incredible selection of games, many of which were simply better than their Sega counterparts. Let's not argue, Whilst the Sega console was very good and released much earlier, thus denying them the "later technology" advantage, the simple fact is in almost every single case, the SNES port of a game would hammer the Genesis/MD version.

Super Castlevania IV is a typical release that defines the formula for many of the earlier SNES games, take a successful genre, keep its classic gameplay style but push the graphics, sound and design to "the next level"
Super Castlevania IV, arguably a remake of the NES game, saw our hero Simon Belmont traverse the deadly, hazardous and terrifying grounds of Dracula's homestead, before making his way through the many halls and rooms of the castle itself, all the time edging one step nearer to a battle with the prince of darkness himself.

With an unashamed simple concept, SCIV is an arcade platformer as they are meant to be. It is a great challenge with scores of enemies, well-timed jumps, pixel perfect landings and a supply of weapons and power-ups to get our boy Simon down the path his family is forever cursed to wander. Armed with his faithful whip and a selection of throwing items, Simon must battle past zombies, Medusa heads, skeletons and a who's who of traditional horror bosses while simultaneously avoiding the many pitfalls, weak floors, spikes, flames and other hazards that Dracula somehow felt the need to install in his house. I bet you can't get that shit at Ikea.

SCIV uses all of the SNES's graphical capabilities including the much vaunted Mode 7, sprite scaling and parallax scrolling effects to create an exciting but foreboding atmosphere. The game is backed with a typically brilliant Castlevania score featuring the badass "Theme of Simon" one of my favourite pieces of VGM of all time. Against this backdrop the player puts his gaming skills to the test, pushing Simon on through insurmountable odds to the final confrontation so he can once again return Dracula to his slumber. Until next time...

I will play Super Castlevania IV forever. It is one of those old games that I can consistently load up and enjoy, the gameplay never dating and the visuals and sound never failing to immerse me. SCIV also brings me waves of nostalgia, as it was one of the games that essentially sold the console to me. By this point, the Super Nintendo had Mario World, Super Ghouls and Ghosts, Final Fight, Pilotwings, F-Zero and Actraiser, the following twelve months would see Super Aleste, Mario Kart, Contra III, Street Fighter II and Zelda: Link To The Past.

I don't remember doing anything much other than gaming in the early 90's
Who'd blame me?

09. Alien vs Predator


(Atari Jaguar, Rebellion, 1994)
I have purchased many computers and consoles in my years. I even paid small fortunes for a Panasonic 3DO, an Atari Jaguar and the Neo-Geo. I feel, because of the money I have spent and the trauma suffered as a result I have a given right to make the following exclamation:

The Jaguar was fucking awful.

It looked terrible, it felt terrible, the control pad was an abortion, too light, uncomfortable and lumbered with an appalling keypad. The cartridges were tacky and the games soldered into them sucked balls.
Yes, the 3DO was also bad, but at least on rare occasions when the moon and stars align correctly, I will boot that console up for retro laughs. There is nothing funny about the Atari Jaguar. It is the only console that gives me a stomach ache to use, like all the acids in my body are collaborating to kill me lest I play five minutes of Club Drive or Kasumi Ninja.
I wouldn't find it hard to find people who would agree with me on those feelings, but I'd probably find it harder to find people who think that Rebellion's Alien vs Predator game was terrible, unless I look in the mirror I guess..

You see, there's this cliche that the Jaguar was awful "but Alien vs Predator was AMAZING" Now, I may have over-exaggerated for the sake of terrible comedy, but I need to make it clear that AVP was most certainly NOT amazing. Rebellion made an incredibly brave effort to meld the world of AVP with the First-Person Shooter and it just wasn't the right time yet. I thought the game was terrible, with messy graphics, clunky combat, an obstrusive HUD and boring gameplay. The player's character walks endlessly down corridors before coming upon a lone enemy or two, you kill him then continue wandering for a bit longer. Repeat. What was also a sure fire bet to be a pant-wettingly scary game isn't, as the sound effects and blocky sprites doing nothing to encourage any feeling of fear.

People will argue that I'm being unfair to an old game and there is truth to that, but when I bought AVP home in a desperate attempt to enjoy something, ANYTHING on my Jaguar, I was just left bored and uninspired. I still think Doom is a smoother, more satisfying and far better designed game. I'm sure I won't convince many gamers that this game is overrated, but if you can find some enjoyment on the Jaguar, you're a better, or possibly more determined man than I am.

Rebellion's second attempt at the AVP franchise was on the PC in 2000, where they produced a brilliant, atmospheric and terrifying game which delivered upon all the ideas one would expect from a FPS based Alien vs Predator game. As of this writing, a THIRD Rebellion AVP game is released in only a matter of days. It will be interesting to see if they can pull it off again as they've raised their own standard pretty high.
It is never my intention to ragebait, only to be true to myself. So, if you disagree, don't cry at me for this entry. Have a think about what this game may have seemed like to people who paid a fortune to play it in 1994, not just to people who retro-actively experienced it for free on an emulator in 2010.

The Alien vs Predator FPS was released way too early, when the technology couldn't have possibly hoped to deliver the ambitious plans that Rebellion conceived.
I can taste the fanboy RAGE already. Let's move on, I'm nearly home.

15/02/2010

10. Night Driver

(Arcade/Various Home, Atari, 1976)
Night Driver is the original first person racing game.
Take a look at the screenshot above, now imagine that scrolling toward you for about ninety seconds, then dumping you back into the demo again, the lack of sound being the only clue that the game is over.

That, fellow gamers, is Night Driver completely summarised.

The player inserts a coin, hits the gas and turns a wheel to control the car as it "speeds" through the night. A very conveniently dark night at that, obscuring both the front of the car, any roadside buildings or, for that matter, other cars. It truly is the blackest night you've ever seen, can't the guy hit the headlights or something?
Unfunny cynicism aside, Night Driver is essentially the first real attempt to create the cockpit driving simulator we take for granted today, everything from Pole Position to Gran Turismo has roots in Atari's classic which rocked the arcades at the same time as other bare bones genre starters such as Outlaw, Pong and Stunt Cycle, all of which were very popular amongst the many gamers who themselves paved the way for you and I today.

It's very easy to take videogames for granted today. We cannot be blamed for being so quick to rubbish 90% of releases for the most pathetic of reasons when such an incredible abundance of software has been thrust upon us week after week since the 1970's. It is quite bizarre to imagine a time when less than a hundred games were even in existence. A lot of people are quick to complain about how gaming "Used to be better" but in actuality it isn't all that different, there will always be good games, exceptional games and terrible games, it is more a case of whether gaming remains true to itself and its dedicated fans.

Atari paved the way for a lot of the games you see today, to think that driving games have gone from Night Driver to Forza 3 in a little over thirty years is incredible and humbling. Night Driver is one of the few 70's games I have had the pleasure of playing in its original, dedicated cabinet form.
Today, the game has little to keep interest for more than a few seconds, but do not despair Night Driver, for you are one of the most trail-blazing games ever invented. You also have a damn cool cabinet.

I choose to believe that this dude is behind the wheel.

11. Super Mario World


(SNES/GB Advance/Virtual Console, Nintendo, 1990)
As we approach the end of this list it is notable that few Nintendo games made the cut. The list is completely random so there is no big conspiracy here. Also, I am a huge fan of the majority of Nintendo's first party software, or at least I was, looking at my Wii as it gathers dust underneath my PS2, I think my fandom waned a long time ago.
Nintendo, in a strong and very successful attempt to lead the mainstream videogame charge into the new decade, have basically turned their backs on their faithful audience. Nintendo have let their unblemished track record slip and have resorted to slapping together easy sale games and marketing them with tacky, classless and sometimes arguably false advertising. Throughout this, their die-hard fans remain true and faithful to the big N, despite being slapped in the face then kicked in the balls.
The reason is that these fans know what Nintendo are truly capable of when not shilling awful brain and body trainers to people who like being fashionable but hate videogames. Back when no-one could give a damn or even conceive the idea of a Wii heart-rate sensor, Nintendo were busy making games like Super Mario World.

A launch game for the Super Nintendo, one of the finest videogame consoles EVER produced, Mario World saw the faithful plumber mascot transported to a typically cutesy prehistoric world, featuring all the classic Mario styles, enemies, platform jumping, power-up and coin collecting action one would expect from this never fail series. The player guides the iconic hero across the map and through a possible ninety-six exits leading to the far reaches of the map and beyond. The new power-up this time around was a feather which granted Mario a cape for fast gliding fun. Yoshi was the Scrappy Doo sidekick this installment, but manages not to be too annoying and is actually of genuine use.

Every inch of Super Mario World screams class, effort and professionalism, from the crisp and colourful graphics to the fantastic music and sounds. The game features many visual and audio effects that show off the capabilities that the SNES brought to home gaming, not only is Mario World an incredible game, it showcases the new console at its finest like all launch games should. There is immense replay value to be had trawling through the various locations. I have played through the game repeatedly and will continue to do so for the rest of my days. Even upon unlocking all the levels the temptation to wipe your save file and start again is a strong one, you almost can't get "too much" of Mario World. I truly believe that.

I also truly believe Nintendo have lost their focus, their flip-flop attitude toward third parties, shallow advertising tactics and terrible gimmicks (such as games where you score yourself and games which play themselves if you get stuck) have turned them from honorable videogame giants to Fisher Price-esque toymakers.
That is an essay in itself, I can explain my points better elsewhere and I'm sure Nintendo fans would disagree with me anyway, which is fair enough.

Please do not read this as a negative entry. I rage against Nintendo only because of their fall from a commitment to absolute excellence. The better you are, the easier your standards can slip and as Mario Bros/Kart, Zelda, Starfox, Metroid, Punch-out etc prove, Nintendo were the very, very best.
I think Super Mario World is a perfect game, it is one of the best games ever made on one of the best consoles ever produced. Super Mario World is a symbol of everything Nintendo was capable of achieving when five star gaming everytime was their top priority, not selling gimmicky consoles to bored soccer moms.

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Please visit: http://swabbleflange.blogspot.com/2007/08/8-super-mario-world-super-nintendo.html for a far less cynical and more deserving write up on this fine game.

14/02/2010

12. Weird Dreams


(Amiga/ST/C64/PC, Rainbird, 1989)
"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today"
That's all well and good James Dean but what happens if your dreams are trying to KILL YOU. The concept in Rainbird's Weird Dreams is just that, but that is only the tip of the iceberg.

Weird Dreams is one of those games from the late 80's/early 90's that played with a whole manner of completely experimental ideas just to see how things would work out as a result. The game came with a sixty four page novel featuring the game's backstory, the novel ends at the point where the player begins the game.
Essentially, a young man named Steve falls in love with a girl called Emily who, unbeknownest to him, is possessed by a demon. The demon within Emily tricks Steve into taking some medication, ostensibly to cure his mild illness. Instead, these pills allow the demon into Steve's mind, forcing him to undergo terrifying lucid nightmares. Steve has brain surgery to try and control his restless nights and the player controls Steve as he is under anaesthetic on the operating table, walking him through his nightmares and hopefully keeping his heart rate steady to avoid our hero being literally scared to death.

Pretty heavy stuff, huh?

Weird Dreams is a sideways scrolling arcade adventure and arguably an early example of survival horror. Steve makes his way through a series of bizarre and frightening sequences, fighting and dodging all manner of surreal and mysterious creatures. As the levels take place within the human mind, all bets are off and absolutely anything can (and will) materialise to either help or hinder Steve in his quest to survive his surgery and clear his head of his demons.
Weird Dreams is, as it title suggests, an incredibly surreal experience, like real-life dreams, there is no rhyme or reason to the enemies, weapons or locations. Events change by the second and this perfectly captures the unpredictable and sometimes very scary imagery that dreams can evoke. A suitably eerie soundtrack by veteran David Whittaker punctuates the story with both original tunes and twisted classical music.
It is worth noting that a special version of Weird Dreams was made for children's Saturday morning UK TV show Motormouth, viewers would call in and control Steve via their telephones. Back then and still today I think it was a very odd choice of game.

Weird Dreams is far from fantastic. Questionably balanced difficulty and typically horrible Amiga load times can ruin the momentum. Steve is quite clunky and slow to respond to the player's controls which can lead to some frustrating deaths. I'm sure you're aware by now that I'm a huge advocate of experimentation and any attempts to try something "a bit different" from more mainstream games. In that regard, Weird Dreams rates highly, with a bizarre and dark plot, a novel for an instruction manual and a very eerie approach to visualizing the subject matter of nightmares, demons and major surgery. Weird Dreams is an unsettling and unforgettable experience with a healthy dose of twisted Python-esque humour stirred in. I would recommend any gamer to give it a try. Don't expect anything fantastic, just let yourself soak in the surreality of game which sees you trapped in a wasp infested candy floss machine and also features attacks from killer footballs and giant piano keys.

Just don't let the bed bugs bite. Literally.

11/02/2010

14. Rolling Thunder


(Arcade/Various Home, Namco, 1986)
I'll tell you what was big in the 80's, lanky, well animated secret agents storming complexes to stop evil men from destroying the Earth. In this case, sadly, the hero found that the name "Agent 4125" had been taken and was only left with the codename "Albatross" Yeah, this guy was definitely last in line at WCPO headquarters.
Agent Leila Blitz has failed to return from her assignment investigating a mysterious society known only as Geldra. Interpol, rather than disavowing any knowledge of her actions, has decided to send another agent after her. So Albatross dons his roll-neck and drainpipe trousers and heads into the danger zone armed with a pistol and the ability to leap stories in a single vertical jump.

I just wish he'd brought a bulletproof vest and a gumshield.

Rolling Thunder is a classic Namco arcade from the mid-80s in which the player controls Albatross as he makes his way through Geldra's cavernous base, gunning down an army of men who look like KKK members who were involved in an explosion at a paint factory. As Albatross ventures deeper into the stronghold, strange mutants and other creatures will also attempt to halt his progress. If he is to face Geldra's Ming lookalike leader Maboo and rescue his fellow agent, Albatross and the player are going to need fast reactions and some very skilfull game playing.

Rolling Thunder is cooler than ice. A James Bond-esque action game that plays very similar to Sega's later Shinobi series. Albatross scrolls through each stage, traversing the two floors while constantly fighting off Geldra's soldiers attacking from all directions, some armed with guns and grenades. I don't know how Interpol trains it's agents, but Albatross, despite his ultra classy attire, is a bit glassjawed. Our hero will drop if he receives a single bullet or just two punches to the face. I don't blame Albatross as such, but it does make me believe anyone could join the WCPO.

"So, Albatross, You're going in and getting Agent Blitz back."
"Awesome, can you tool me up?"
"Here's a pistol and a handful of bullets"
"Ah.. Ok..Umm what about a machine gun or maybe some extra ammo?"
"On-site procurement."
"Ok... a Flak jacket?"
"Here's a roll-neck sweater, It's 100% wool"
"Um. Thanks, what if I'm attacked by mutants?"
"Hide behind a door until they walk past you. Get going."

Rolling Thunder ticks all the boxes on my "Classic arcade" list. It's fast paced, simple in concept and exceptionally difficult. It relies on lightning quick reactions and hardcore perseverance. It looks and sounds great and is still a lot of fun today. It was followed by a great sequel and a so-so Megadrive only third iteration.
Rescuing the red-headed Leila and dropping Geldra is no easy task, especially in those trousers, but as you should have learned about me by now, if there's a damsel in distress, she might as well chill back and and read a magazine. I'll be there. Eventually...

I have a red-headed girlfriend called Leila, of course it isn't a coincidence.

10/02/2010

15. Twisted Metal: Black


(PS2, Incog Inc. 2001)
Speed kills. So do clowns with their heads on fire.
I mentioned somewhere in this project how I'm not really a fan of driving games, more specifically, racing games. I don't think they're bad games, I'm just terrible at them and I don't believe in using the brake button. For me, a game involving vehicles has to have some kind of gimmick, if that gimmick involves driving dangerously and without the hope of self-preservation, sign me up.

Twisted Metal: Black was a return to form for the franchise. Debuting on the Playstation around the consoles release, the Twisted Metal games document a series of tournaments in which crazed characters battle to the death in various modified vehicles laden with tricks and weapons. The winner of the tournament is granted a wish by its host Calypso, a man left scarred and burnt from his own lack of using the brake button.

After 989 Studios spectacularly failed with the abysmal third and fourth incarnations of the franchise, Sony handed the series to Incog Inc with hopes they could revitalise what had become a complete joke of a game. Incog went to work and produced a new, mysterious and dark vision of the TM universe, incidentally, they also produced an outstanding game.
TM:B is fantastic, the player chooses from one of a selection of seriously messed up drivers and their respective vehicle and goes headlong into war over a series of battlegrounds, along the way we learn of the chosen characters backstory and future plans should they win the tournament, after defeating the boss, the player is treated to an ending depicting the victor receiving their heart's desire.
Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

TM:B jams along at breakneck speed, with crisp graphics, brilliantly designed interactive arenas, slick weapon effects, vicious difficulty and a cataclysmic music score. The game truly captures the feeling that this tournament could bring about Armageddon with its constant destruction and an absolute disregard for both the environment or human life. The only thing these characters are speeding toward is oblivion.
The oppressive atmosphere is bleak and dirty. Black clouds, fog and thunderstorms permeate the skies, whilst buildings topple, factories explode and Ferris wheels come lose from their hinges and storm through sleepy suburbs, all this takes place while the vehicular homicidals speed around launching missiles, oil drums, freeze rays, landmines and a variety of trademark weapons against all and sundry.

The story mode's cut-scenes are brutal and grim, but tend to come off as very nu-metal cheesy and sometimes unintentionally funny when the game is trying way too hard to shock. Still, the backstories are curious and provide real intrigue for the character's fate.
I love Twisted Metal, but for anyone who has gotten over themselves, it is very hard to find fellow fans who aren't massively obnoxious. Y'see TM fans tend to take the storylines incredibly seriously and have a God-like reverence for killer clown mascot Sweetooth, despite the fact he is clearly the most un-original character in the history of horror. Wacky designer David Jaffe has gone on record claiming that "he is" Sweetooth. Many TM fans are die-hard to the point you wonder just how far their love for the games will take them. Imagine hardcore Nintendo fanboys but with added Slipknot and self-harm and you're getting there.

I may be being a bit judgemental but the majority of TM fans I've spoken to online have been unlikeable, rude and angry. I'm sure they're not ALL like that, but it seems that feeling sorry for yourself, hating life and Twisted Metal go hand in hand.
I imported an American PS2 just so I could play the uncensored version as the PAL release removed all the cut-scenes, all the written backstory and even some of the arena interactions, leaving the game butchered. So yes, I love TM:B enough that I imported a console solely to play it as it's one of my absolute favourite games, but fortunately I know where the line is between loving something and treating it as a reflection or a guide to your own life.

Twisted Metal: Black is total mayhem, it's annihilation in videogame form.
Jaffe has metioned that a PS3 sequel is coming but to date Sony have yet to confirm this. In these "Everybody's online" times it would be a perfect multiplayer.
Gentlemen, start your engines.

16. Fear Effect


(Playstation, Kronos, 2000)
Remember when EVERYTHING was like The Matrix? There was this awful period of time where all games, films, TV shows, adverts and music videos used effects and styles blatantly stolen from the acclaimed Wachowski movies. As part of this trend, a slew of futuristic techno adventures hit the home consoles. Try to remember three of them... see, that's how great they were.

Fear Effect was one of these hip games. Three mercenaries are hired by a wealthy but crooked Hong Kong businessman to look for his daughter who has been kidnapped by a bizarre doomsday cult. Our anti-heroes venture into a grimy steampunk-esque version of Hong Kong armed with an array of automatic weaponry and some highly dubious moral standings. The player alternates between the three characters (two grizzled dudes and a sexy girl) as they search for the missing girl, fast becoming trapped in a nightmarish world of Chinese folklore and demonology.

Fear Effect was similar to many survival horror games of the time, all fixed cameras, rotating tank controls and logic puzzles. The kick here was in the game's visual style, Fear Effect uses sprites made of shaded polygons to create a very angular, comic book look. These sprites are overlayed onto animated FMV backgrounds. This approach has mixed results, while very stylistic and cool, the sprites can look horribly "stuck on" and on occasion you can clearly spot the moment where the background animation loops, which really takes you out of the atmosphere. Overall though, it's a pretty groovy concept.

The player guides the characters through various locations over the game's four discs. Death results in the game cutting to some often incredibly violent cut-scenes depicting the character's demise followed by a varied and classy Game Over screen. These scenes further emphasise the cinematic feel Kronos were working toward. The game features frequent puzzles, but as a twist, the answers to many of them of hidden amongst the game's decor. For example, the solution to a colour coded door lock may also be the colour pattern of a neon billboard in a previous screen. This can make for some backtracking and physical note-taking, but is at least a novel approach and a welcome change from "Find gem, place gem"

Fear Effect is not an excellent game, the visuals are very stylish but do not always blend well. The combat is awkward and the characters have awful leg animation that makes them look like they have no knees. The game also suffers from some nasty load times after death. It is a game of great intentions though, with atmospheric sound, impressive cut scenes and a creepy storyline. I often think that Fear Effect may have been a little ahead of its time and had it debuted on the PS2, all the ingredients would have worked together a little better. A sequel was released which improved upon many issues but also tacked on a cringe inducing bisexual sub-text that was both immature and embarrassing, setting back the "Adult gamers are adults act" by about fifty years. I like gorgeous pretend women as much as the next freak, but sometimes it can go so very wrong.
Seriously. Grow the fuck up.

Fear Effect was a legitimately good game, I just think it was born a few years too soon. Work began on a PS2 sequel, but was scrapped for budget reasons. Maybe it's time for a new adventure for Hana and friends, their morally dubious lifestyle would fit today's plethora of videogame scumbags perfectly.

Kane and Lynch vs Hitman vs Fear Effect. Make it happen Eidos. Oh, right.

09/02/2010

17. Final Fight


(Arcade/Various Home, Capcom, 1989)
My favourite comic book characters are The Punisher and Batman. I love Death Wish 3. I love scrolling brawlers. What do these all have in common?
No, not leather pants, Vigilantes.
I loathe street crime. The idea that as human beings we do not have the right to walk the streets in comfort without being aware of the people around us, the places we shouldn't go and the areas we should avoid at night is unfair and wrong. I have no problem with the police, but as I have said before, their hands are tied. Without being too Daily Mail about it, the police have all sorts of procedures and paperwork they have to follow as well as worrying about the "human rights" of those that choose not to respect the rights of others.

Better put, the thought of a rapist having his face blown off with a Magnum makes me FUCKING LAUGH.

Final Fight is the grandfather of the "Take back the city" genre that was hugely popular in the late 80's/early 90's. Other games had already used similar concepts, but Final Fight took it to another level. With huge sprites, grimy music and a series of stereotypical "gang locations" Final Fight presented the basic premise of walking from left to right whilst hitting a button and made Capcom a small fortune in the process.

Metro City is in serious trouble, not only are they overrun with "Mad Gear" the most colourful gang ever formed, but the good people of the city have decided to put a pro-wrestler in office. When Mayor Mike Hagger's beautiful daughter Jessica is kidnapped, rather than sort out the fiscal year's budget cuts, Mayor Hagger dons some green trousers and hits the streets. Hagger also enlists the help of Jessica's boyfriend Cody and some golden ninja warrior called Guy who likes to be a third wheel. Seriously, It couldn't be more "on" if it tried.

Our heroes hit Metro City and paint the town red, with blood probably. The players can utilise either Cody's boxing and tight jeans skills, Guy's supreme ninja empire skills, or Hagger's skill of pretending to fight in order to massacre their way through hordes of gang members on the way to meet gang boss Belger, residing in an uptown penthouse office. Along the way a variety of weapons can be put to good use and never forget that in the world of scrolling brawlers, an oil drum can contain anything from a fully cooked roast chicken to a steaming cup of coffee or a nice watch. The game also has an amusing history of censorship, with a host of back and forth changes made to various releases of the game too numerous to list here.

Final Fight is timeless. While the game's concept and presentation may have dated, it seems impossible not to still have lots of fun playing through the game with a friend. It's simply mindless mayhem, with an array of cartoonish badguys, great bonus rounds, over-dressed bosses, a grindhouse synth soundtrack and a ridiculous approach to crime-fighting. If these games are to be believed, you can clear crime out of your city by leaving the house and literally walking through each district while kicking the tar out of everyone who looks like they may get a bit rapey.

Capcom are clearly very proud of Final Fight as various characters, backgrounds, cameos and references have since been made in their other games. They are right to have this pride, as Final Fight spawned a slew of imitators through the early 90's and is still finding itself ported to new formats today (An Xbox360 HD version is just around the corner)
I don't believe Final Fight should be "remade", it had a place in time where it was king and that time is not today (See entry #55) But that doesn't mean it can't still be enjoyed for what it is today by gamers both old and new, whether re-visiting their own past or just learning about Capcom's.

I keep my fists constantly taped. No matter how many times Hagger's office phone starts ringing, I'll always be ready to rumble.

08/02/2010

18. The King Of Fighters


(Arcade/Various Home, SNK, 1994 Onwards)
I'm a fighter, not a lover.
The family of fighting games is an extended one with a deep history and unlikeable relatives. Since Capcom's roaring success, many contenders have thrown down the gauntlet with their own series. Usually a one-on-one fighting game with a new gimmick thrown in, be it more gore, more weapons or every fighter being a PITIFUL ROBOT. For every fighting game fan their is that one franchise that for them stands supreme, a "home territory" if you will. Whilst any fan worth his salt will gladly play various games and accept challenges from all comers, each and every one has a franchise that is "their world"

Welcome to my world.

The King Of Fighters series began in 1994 on the brutally expensive Neo-Geo console. Mixing characters from Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting and other games, SNK put together a three-on-three fighter which had brilliantly detailed visuals, loud, anime-esque sound effects and difficult, fast-paced gameplay. From this 1994 incarnation SNK went on to make an update each year, adding and subtracting characters, moves, backgrounds, teams, system features and bosses, all played out against an incredibly labyrinthine plot (Seriously, there really is a storyline for each character as well as a general arc that goes through the entire franchise. It is skull crushingly deep and wacky)

With each new game the player was encouraged to work on their dream team of three fighters, dissecting each characters strengths and weaknesses and working on combos, super moves and even the psychology of order picking. The roster had soon grown to over fifty characters, leaving the character select screen looking incredibly daunting to new players. There is someone for everyone though, with an enormous selection of "cool" dudes, emo whiners, sexy tough girls, moody ninjas and nauseating kids. KOF manages to keep the game fairly well balanced despite the huge roster size and most of the characters follow the command/charge style that almost all fighting games have adopted since Street Fighter II.


The characters have incredibly hip designs (the later game's protagonists looking more like Japanese fashion models than anything else) and colourful, detailed backgrounds. The Neo-Geo synth busts hard and creates a mostly hit and miss soundtrack for each game, with many teams having their own themes. Everyone is also quick to spout out fantastic engrish cries, move names and win quotes.

For sixteen years I have played each and every one of these games since the franchise began. I have never stopped enjoying the pace, action, characters, competition and even the crazy story that KOF has thrown my way. The latest installment was sadly a little lacklustre, being hot on graphics but cold on content. There is also a HORRIBLE looking live-action movie nearing completion. These and some bizarre ideas (a schmup and online RPG) are among the reasons that lead many to believe that the series may have finally reached its end.
That remains to be seen, the same year (2009) also saw the Japan release of KOF 2002 Unlimited Match, which is an incredible collaboration of everything that makes the series glorious, this alone provides me with the hope that future can get brighter.

(Leona Heidern. My one and only)

Whatever time and fate holds for the KOF franchise, the previous games are indelibly etched into my heart. The King Of Fighters is my favourite videogame franchise of all time.

I think they are the greatest fighting games ever made.

19. Impossible Mission


(Various Home, Dennis Caswell, 1984)
"Another visitor... stay awhile... STAY FOREVER!"
The evil Professor Elvin Atombender has hacked his way into the world's defense systems and is planning on creating missile-firing mayhem in six hours. Once this occurs, World war III will surely follow. Prof. Atombender is in deep though because one man is determined to stop his plan. A man in a black jumpsuit, a man who apparently didn't feel the need to bring a gun with him, a man who has mastered the art of the forward somersault...

..He has no name, you can call him Agent 4125.

Impossible Mission is one of my earliest gaming memories, I remember sitting in my friends living room and spending hours on the Commodore 64 with this game, playing on a huge TV that didn't have a remote and was surrounded in faux leather video cases and pirate copies of films like The Exorcist and Clockwork Orange. It was a joyous summer indeed.
As the incredibly well animated Agent 4125, the player must make their way through a series of single screen rooms, linked together by elevator shafts. Each room features a selection of items that must be searched for puzzle pieces and passwords, all whilst avoiding the patrolling robots and pits of doom. Unarmed, Agent 4125's only "weapon" is a ten out of ten somersault that he can perform over the robot's heads, he can also temporarily disable the robots should he collect a "Snooze" to do so. In the elevator, 4125 must put all the puzzle pieces together in order to open the main door to Atombender's control room so he can deadly somersault his ass back to the stone age and save the planet.

Impossible Mission is what retro games are all about. The game has basic but stylish graphics and cool sound with some iconic speech samples. Impossible Mission is simple in concept and easy to play but incredibly difficult to complete. There are thirty-six puzzle pieces to collect and re-form, these sequences are especially mind-numbing and are a far cry from the pixel perfect jumping fun that is had in the robot rooms. There's also a terrifying globe that slowly chases you ala The Prisoner and a "Simon says" style bonus game where you can gain extra "Snoozes".

I never completed Impossible Mission, I usually gave up after spending so much time rotating and re-colouring those damn puzzle pieces. Despite this, it is one of my favourite games of all time. I spent many hours playing it with friends and think its look, feel and sound effects are so very cool (especially the never-ending scream should our intrepid hero mis-judge a pit jump) I cannot emphasise enough how succesfully this game transports me back to my youth, it is one of those glorious games that actually conjures up images of long forgotten sights, sounds and memories.

Impossible Mission is easy to find today, it was on a slew of home formats (C64 being the definitive version) and was also re-released on PS2 and Wii Virtual Console. If you haven't played it before, track it down and give it a razz, it's an absolute classic.

Here's to Agent 4125, he was flipping over robots before Snake had even sparked up his first cigarette.

03/02/2010

20. Rez


(Dreamcast/PS2/Xbox360, United Game Artists, 2001)
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand." - Albert Einstein.

Occasionally, someone uses the medium of videogames to try something that they see more as a vision than anything else. I'm not referring to experiments such as Laserdisc games or motion sensor controls, I mean examples of games where the player's interactivity is secondary to the overall audio/visual result of the player's reactions.
There have been various games, for example Vib-Ribbon, that use the idea of music and vectored imagery to create a playing experience like none other, where game playing goes beyond a hand-to-eye coordination challenge and more of an attempt to create a flowing dynamic of sound and art.

Rez is an excellent example of this. In Rez, The player controls a pulsing avatar as it travels along a linear path. This avatar represents a hacker attempting to infiltrate an all encompassing supercomputer named EDEN. EDEN's incredible A.I level has caused it to become self-aware and it is entering into a status of shutdown that will have far reaching consequences should it be completed. The hacker must reach the very base level of EDEN's program and re-boot the system whilst analysing any extra data to facilitate the task.

The avatar flies through an incredibly detailed, vibrant and colourful world, "painting" enemies with a lock on target to destroy them. As the player makes their way through EDEN's network, they will come across various viruses, firewalls and boss battles that attempt to impede their progress.
Rez is incredibly simple in concept, but that concept is only the base for the game's real vision. Playing along to a futuristic electronica soundtrack, drum fills, sound effects and various synthesised samples are added by the player's actions, such as locking on to enemies, firing weapons, collecting power-ups or activating special attacks. The key to Rez is to play the game with a style and grace that allows the music to mix with these user generated effects to create a beautifully flowing soundtrack. Whilst there most certainly is a "game" there, with levels, boss battles and an ending, the idea isn't so much about finishing levels as it is to get there while creating wonderful musical compositions that match the artistic visual action.

It is a game that is best played than described and played it was, building a huge cult fanbase and making many people's "Best games ever" list. Nearly ten years later, very few games have matched Rez's vision and accomplishments in the field of interactive sound and music.
Rez is not my type of game, but that does not mean it has no importance to me. If you have read this far into this project, you must be aware of my love of any attempt to experiment with videogames from a different angle, but whereas most of those attempts are "Nice try, but no" from many gamers, Rez truly locked on, fired and hit the mark with style and class.
The HD format was made for Rez and the Xbox360 version is awesome.

Rez is imagination in videogame form, whilst these kinds of games will never set the charts blazing, it is integral to us as gamers that they get made at all.

21. Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts


(SNES/Various Home, Capcom, 1991)
Videogames are too easy. It's a hoary old cliche that is rolled out time and again by anyone who has played games for over fifteen years and it is tiring to hear.
Do you know why these things become cliche? It's because they are usually the truth.
When videogames mainly consisted of arcades, the key for developers was to kick the player off the machine as quickly as possible so the next person standing in line could have their change pockets emptied in a matter of minutes, then the next and so on.

In the 90's, arcades were slowly on the way out and home gaming was assuredly the future of the business. There were no queues of eager players with handfuls of quarters, just one player, who had already shelled out their hard earned cash for the product. Thus, the tradition changed, as games got easier and easier in an attempt to get that game finished and on the shelf so that (it was assumed) the player would rush straight out and buy another. It's worse than ever now than it was in the late 90's, with many games story modes lasting sparse hours and some Wii games having the option to PLAY THEMSELVES if you find them to difficult.
The majority (but not all) of gaming today is just about perseverance, you WILL complete the game you attempt if you just bear with it, in our overly-wanting society, we DEMAND the right to finish a game we payed for.

What does all this have to do with this entry? Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts was a game that FUCKED. YOU. UP. It wasn't a case of "Ah, you'll get there" or "Keep trying son" It was a case of "Are you good enough? if not, get lost" You complete Super GnG because you are a good gamer, not because you are just a persistent one.
Essentially a remake of the arcade classic, Super GnG saw the player attempt to control our hero Arthur on a classic quest to save a princess, the gameplay was anything but fairytale though. A huge myriad of creatures and monsters swarmed Arthur at every step and attacked him from all angles. Arthur would lose his armour at the first hit and be killed on the second. Not only that, but a deadly landscape of pits, fires, spikes and other obstacles had to be overcome, often while under a consistent onslaught of enemies. A variety of weapons and power-ups were offered as aid, but even these treasure chests could contain a wizard who would temporarily turn Arthur into a seal, peasant girl or harmless baby. Super Ghouls 'n Babies.

Super GnG required expert timing, pixel perfect jumping, fast reflexes and an iron will, as much death and frustration awaited the less zen (or just crapper) players. It should be pointed out that Super GnG wasn't "unfair" it was just very difficult. On the visual/audio side, Super GnG also has fantastic, colourful graphics and an absolutely awesome music score which really showcased the stereo sound power of Nintendo's new console. Super GnG was the game that sold the console to me.

So the next time you see a gamer whining over the difficulty of the latest third-person adventure game. Give them a helpful face punch, because gamers have never had it so easy, a whole slew of games from the 80's and 90's can attest to that. Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts is one of the absolute leaders of that charge.

And should you defeat Super GnG's "last level", then prepare yourself for a joyful surprise, the battle has only just begun.

01/02/2010

22. Final Fantasy VII


(Playstation/PC, Square, 1997)
As of this writing, I'm not feeling very good at all. I'm miserable beyond sin and full to bursting with a horrible sense of despair and melancholy. That isn't important to this blog. What is however, is the next game on the list is Final Fantasy VII and in my present state of mind my ability to discuss this game without overwhelming levels of intolerable emo cannot be guaranteed.
Oh, and this, like all my entries, may contain major spoilers.
What can be said about FFVII that hasn't be documented in the thirteen years since it was thrust upon Playstation as one of the absolute must-haves for the console? Nothing. Its all been said before, so all I can do is add my voice to the lifestream and record what this game means to me.

Final Fantasy VII is a breath-taking masterpiece. An epic RPG telling the story of a young man and an adventure that begins with an act of terrorism and ends with a cataclysmic event that could end life itself. Along the way, Cloud Strife will meet many friends and adversaries and the player will be called upon to use their very best skills to help our heroes reach the destinies awaiting them some fifty or so hours later.
In doing research for this entry I was reminded of the incredible size of the FFVII universe and timeline, with a cast of hundreds and a history spanning back far enough to warrant a prequel (FFVII: Crisis Core) FFVII truly went above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to providing players with a fully inhabited world of colourful and unique individuals with deep backstories given to as many of these characters as possible.

The beautiful, lavish FFVII soundtrack is in the safe hands of the celebrated Nobuo Uematsu, a man of amazing talent who can bring any required emotion he pleases out of his audience. From excitement and fear to reflection and overwhelming sadness, Uematsu's soundtrack reigns as one of the finest VGMs ever created.
I won't spend any time discussing how the game plays, that is documented everywhere else, I'll just say that I hadn't played an RPG in a very long time before FFVII but found the system easy to pick up while still being reasonably deep. The same applies to the combat which is friendly to new players but still has underlying levels of depth and strategy for RPG veterans.

The story is the heart of FFVII and it's one of the most emotional stories written for the medium. Whilst suffering from FF's trademark self-indulgence, it is a deep, complex (occasionally confusing) intelligent and touching series of epic events. FFVII truly drew me in to its world and did what any story-based videogame HAS to do to even warrant my attention: It made me care about the characters as if they were real people.
The death of Aerith Gainsborough was a sudden and brave move by the writers, a move that also broke me. I am completely cool with admitting to the incredible sense of loss and tragedy I felt at the fate of a fictional character. In fact, I'm glad I was so upset by it, it's one of the signs that no matter how long I have played or will continue to play videogames for, there has been no desensitising of my feelings toward good storytelling.

The remake rumour mill has churned for years now, with a new release of the game seeming more likely by the year. I'm not on that bandwagon. To me, re-making FFVII would mean remaking every important game in history. While you're at it, why not remake Resident Evil 2? and Secret of Mana? and Fable? and Metal Gear: Solid? and FFVIII?
No. Leave FFVII in 1997, without speech, without sultry-anime CGI and without Leona Lewis songs. If you truly love this game, you won't want to play it any other way than the way it was originally intended.
I'm aware it is cliched and seemingly taboo to praise FFVII as a masterpiece, I have to feel pity for all those "holier than thou" gamers who take much delight in loudly proclaiming to anyone who will listen about how the game is "overrated" Whilst I believe everyone's argument is valid, some critics are trying way too hard to be cool and different.

This is a game beyond my writing capabilities, so I'll leave it at this:
Final Fantasy VII has a indelible mark in history and in the hearts of many gamers forever, it is undeniably one of the best videogames ever made...

..quite possibly THE best.