|
| | OK, so I ve been talking with Greg a lot lately. Invariably our conversations lead to reminiscing about our fond college days. Special emphasis is always placed on the countless hours we wasted playing various video games. While on the topic Greg shared with me his top 25 video games of all time list. Impressed with his list I set about to compiling my own. And of course I need to share this list with my loyal readers.
I ll warn all that this is a very bampf-centric list and reflects much on my personal tastes... and obviously console games I owned will receive preferential treatment over those I didn t. There is also a bit of historical relativism here. The games of the 80s pale in comparison to modern games but at the time held an inexorable grip over every quarter I could get my grubby little hands on to. So here they are, with accompanying commentary:
25. Rush'n Attack (Arcade) A great side scrolling game that endorsed the wholesale slaughter of anyone even remotely associated with our arch nemesis, the Soviet Union. Flame thrower + Godless heathen pinko commie = flaming skeleton of American hegemony!
24. Tiger-Heli (Arcade) Along with 1942, the king of the vertical scrolling air warfare genre. The great thing about this game is you could not only destroy the non-descript enemy s airforce and navy, but also do irreparable infrastructure damage by bombing ship yards, train stations and other civil targets.
23. FIFA Soccer (PS2) When you consider my heavily documented hatred of soccer, you know this game s gotta be good. Probably the best multiplayer (as in 3, 4 or more people) sports game available.
22. Pirates! Gold (Sega Genesis) This game was way ahead of its time. Extremely open-ended. You could make your fortune by sacking and pillaging, selling merchandise, serving government officials, or rescuing maidens. You could be as altruistic or nefarious as you liked... although regardless you were still guaranteed a mutinous crew every couple of months... damn sailors and their insatiable blood lust... or maybe it was the onset of scurvy that was droving them into a crazed hysteria.
21. Rastan (Arcade) OK, this wasn t even a very good game. But it was a side scrolling action game where your charcter bore more than a passing resemblance to Conan. And therefore I was hooked...
20. Rainbow Six (PC) A pioneer in the FPS genre. A nice change of pace from the frenetic gore-fest pace of Quake-esque games.
19. Warlords (Atari 2600) This was one of the best Atari paddle games, a derivation of Pong where you could direct the little omnipresent white pixel at your oponent s defenses until you destroyed their king hidden within. The first game I ever played where more than 2 people could play at once. Historic!
18. Operation Wolf (Arcade) Remember this game? God it rocked! It had a pretty life-like UZI mounted on a swivel and you got to blast the hell out of everything with it! Yeah.
17. Kaboom! (Atari 2600) This was the best Atari paddle game ever. With some escaped convict mad bomber guy dropping bombs on you at some ludicrously fast pace. This was the true test of manual dexterity.
16. NeverWinter Nights (PC) This is an incredibly well thought out game, gaining this spot as much on technical merit as playability. I can t imagine a better approximation of the D&D experience brought to digital life.
15. Madden 2002 (PS2) The pinnacle of sports simulation. Just an all around great game... with the exception of the abhorrent Madden commentary.
14. NHL Hockey 97 (Sega Genesis) I think this was the pinnacle of hockey games. The newer ones with ever changing camera angles and such have lost the consistent feel of the older games like this classic.
13. Centipede (Arcade) Classic. Forget Palo Alto... Atari pioneered the mouse/track ball!
12. Time Crisis II (Arcade) The shooter genre doesn t get much better than this. The duck/reload pedal thing is pure genius.
11. Super StreetFighter II (Arcade) Greg and I poured countless quarters into this machine from our extremely slight college coffers. I guess that s the money most college kids would spend on beer. I m convinced Fei Long and T. Hawk were much more deserving of our hard earned coin!
10. Warlords (PC) "Warlord, the size of your genitals is astounding." Need I say more? Whatta great game!
9. Genghis Khan (Sega Genesis) Turn based strategy at its finest. Global conquest at it s most addictive!
8. Tecmo Bowl (NES) This game was incredibly popular. During my freshman year, ownership of this game could vault your social standing like you wouldn t believe amongst the freshman quad scene.
7. Space Invaders (Atari 2600) The true classic that would beget all others. I played this on my Atari 2600 tirelessly.
6. John Elway's Quarterback (Arcade) This was the monstrous arcade game that had the little spring loaded targeting thingy for passing. A great arcade football game. This was the only arcade game I ever played for almost a two year period!
5. Super Mario Bros. (NES) Another classic. So simple in today s terms, yet so rich and complex. I was the bane of Goombas everywhere.
4. Quake III Arena (PC) Undisputed heavyweight king of the FPS. It really doesn t get any better than this. Screw the mods, screw Team Arena... give me mystery Bones shotgun attacks and a leaping Hunter any day over that other pablum.
3. Pool of Radiance (PC) I swear I raced to my Apple IIe from the school bus every day for years to play this game. And I m talking about the original not the crappy recent remake... why must they always try to remake the greats?
2. StreetFighter II (Sega Genesis) I preferred the Sega version of this game to all the other numerous incarnations. It was still pure and nearly perfect. The ultimate fighting game. Blanka would kick the shit out of any of those Mortal Kombat pansies. This game emphasized skill and timing, not glitz and gore like the other imitators.
1. Doom (PC) The mother of the FPS (yeah, I know Wolfenstein came first, but it couldn t hold a candle to Doom). My entire sophomore year revolved around this game. Day and night. We even dreamt about Doom. We would tie our phones to our heads with socks so we could communicate cross-campus while playing co-operatively. We completely immersed ourselves in this game.
God we were lame.
Well, that s my list. I m sure I m forgetting a few... and there s one or two whose name I can t remember. Take it for what you will. I m sure I ll get plenty of responses pointing out omissions, but these are the twenty five that I remember having the most profound effect on my poor arrested development.
-bampf |
| 10/28/2002 8:44:22 PM Sweet List | I am admit I am suprised Contra didn't make it. I always took you for a contra kind of guy. Silent Debuggers is another one missing but if you didn't have a turbo Graphic 16 then you missed one great title. Maybe the only great title for that system. Also I am surprised Fifa made the list. Speaking of Fifa I just got Fifa 2003 for the PC. Let me know if you want it.
Later
Jason | | 10/29/2002 7:18:18 AM Friggin Contra | Yeah, I forgot Contra. It shoulda made the list. I played the hell outta that game on the NES. Still remember the cheat code to get 50 lives... up up down down left right left right AB Start. Wow.
Hmmm... FIFA 2003. Wouldn t mind having it.
-b | | 11/3/2003 9:24:28 AM I'll throw my list in there... | 25) MicroLeague Baseball (PC)
The first purely stats driven baseball game that I played. My friends an I used to create teams in the game based on packs of baseball cards we would buy that day, and then play all night in tournaments with them. No hand-eye coordination required, as the outcome was purely based on stats.
24) Turbo (Arcade)
I used to love climbing into the Turbo seat and driving around the course. Hated the night portion of the course, but still loved the game.
23) Madden 2001 (PS2)
The Madden set keeps getting better, but I am choosing this one as it was the first PS2 game I got, and it was a quantum leap in look and feel over the previous versions. It had it's limitations (long load times, only 10 season franchise), but I still go back and play it every once in a while.
22) Karate Champ (Arcade)
There was no greater thrill for me as a youngster than getting onto the Karate Champ machine, with it's 2 joysticks and no button, and excuting the Jumping Side Kick for a Full Point. That and punching the bull in the head...
21) Dune (PC)
Not to be confused with the RTS, this was the original game that was remade as Dune 2000. Very good strategy game that stuck with the film version pretty well.
20) Wing Commander (PC)
A great game with a greater story. A wonderfully created sci-fi world, with villians you can hate, and subtle social messages...
19) Tetris (GameBoy)
The game the made the GameBoy. I don't want to think about how many hours I sat with my GameBoy playing this addictive puzzler.
18) Tie Fighter (PC)
The Empire isn't all bad, is it? Another great Space simulation tells the story from the other side. Somehow, I used to manage to get lucky while playing this game (but that's another story -- at least it's not Rock Me Amadeus!).
17) Final Fantasy X (PS2)
I've heard many people say that they want to play their games, not watch them, when discussing FFX. Well, they obviously didn't play through the whole game. A wonderful story with a great side game (Blitzball, a role playing underwater polo game). Sadness, shock, betryal -- it had it all.
16) Aliens (Commodore 64)
The game followed the movie exactly, and what made it so great was the varying styles of play and the great use of sound effects for the time. You actually thought you were a part of the Colonial Marines exploring the colony of LV-426.
15) Mutant League Football (Sega)
How many games did Jeremy and I play of this? I lost count. Hated it when Ice got all blow'd up, but Joe Magician would always see me through.
14) NHL 97 (Sega)
Agreed, it didn't get any better than this.
13) Commando (Arcade)
My first foray into button mashing -- if I can just keep shooting, nothing could hurt me. Hated the rocket guys in levels 2 and above. Always a thrill to beat level 3 and see the ending...
12) Track and Field (Arcade)
Speaking of button mashing, I hated that version of Track and Field. Instead, I preferred the track ball one. I developed a blister on the side of my hand from it catching in the track ball. Hated the the hammer, as it was the only event I would ever fail on, and that's saying something after finsihing all events 6 times over and seeing the times to beat better than the best times when you started your game.
11) Kaboom! (Atari)
I also agree that it was the best paddle game ever made.
10) Gran Turismo III (PS2)
What makes this game so great is the amount of cars/tracks, the visual style, and the customization options. I still sit down for 2+ hours to drive my Pewter 2000 Camaro SS around Laguna Seca 90 times, or 100 laps of Monaco in my F1 dream car.
9) Command and Conquer (PC)
I am a huge fan of the RTS genre, and this game is what started it all.
8) Decathlon (Atari)
The best Atari game ever made. It actually gave you a workout during the 1600 meters, moving the damn joystick back and forth the whole time. Had many blisters on my hand from it, and it's the first game I started to keep notes on how well I was doing.
7) Legend of Zelda (NES)
It was so different from anything else I was playing at the time.
6) Burgertime (Intellivision)
Playing through the levels hoping to have the chance to Pepper the Pickle (and turn it grey). Just thinking about the game makes me start humming the addictive theme song.
5) Choplifter (Arcade)
Help me! Help me! Take it! Take it! What a thrill to reach the ocean level and landing on the carrier.
4) Doom (PC)
I wasn't a big Wolfenstein person, so the first real FPS that I put time into. Paxton was never so alive.
3) Wing Commander III: The Heart of the Tiger (PC)
Continuing the story of the Confederation vs the Kilrathi, this game brought in cinematic graphics and Hollywood talent (Mark Hamill, Malcolm McDowell, John Rhys-Davies, porn star Ginger Lynn). But what made the game was the story. Killing your girlfriend via dis-embowelment in the opening credits didn't hurt to bring you in either...
2) X-Wing (PC)
A large part of the summer of 93 spent on this game. Also missed a lot of classes in the beginning of Sophmore year at Gburg to finish. The first game to really bring you into the Star Wars universe.
1) Final Fantasy VII (PS)
The pinnacle. Enough said.
|
|