Favourite commercial games of the 00s

Fri, 01/08/2010 - 18:28

Yikes! This is well overdue.

While I admit some of the games on the list certainly have not reached 90% on Metacritic, none the less they are the ten games released this decade that, for whatever reason, I have the fondest memories of.

10. Conker's Bad Fur Day (Platformer, N64)

The Nintendo 64's Swan Song is a hilariously deranged platformer. A story about a cuddly squirrel that is filled to the brim with sex, bad language and hardcore violence. Probably the closest we will ever get to a video game adaptation of 'Meet the Feebles'. The single player mode is excellent, but the various multiplayer modes provided many hours of carnage. Remade as "Conker: Live and reloaded" on XBox.

9. Mirror's Edge (First Person Shooter, PC/PS3/X360)

I picked this up for a bargain $5 US recently on Steam recently, and I was instantly hooked. Outstanding graphics, innovative gameplay and an incredible "Action movie" type feel instantly made this one of my favourite First Person Shooters.

8. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Action/Adventure, Wii)

While I felt it lacked the epic feel of the N64's Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess was still a very worthy follow up. A brilliant fantasy adventure set in a vast world, with a huge variety of monsters, dungeons, bosses, environments, puzzles, characters and items. Horseback combat was a great addition to the series. I also think it is one of the few Wii titles out there that make decent use of the motion controllers.

7. Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People (Adventure, PC/Wii)

I have been a die hard fan of Homestar Runner since not long after Trogdor was introduced to the world. So when it was announced Telltale were producing a series of adventure games based on the franchise, I flipped. The games themselves are great examples of the Adventure game genre, and feature enough obscure Homestar Runner and Pop Culture references to make them vital purchases for any Homestar Runner fan. Good on Telltale for keeping the Adventure game genre alive.

6. House of the Dead: Overkill (Action, Wii)

Horrifically offensive light gun game, with artistic inspiration from a certain Robert Rodriguez zombie flick. Holds the Guinness World Record for the number of F-Bombs dropped in a single video game. While the common criticism that the game is too easy is certainly accurate, it does not detract much from the fact that the game is downright hilarious to play with a mate in Multiplayer mode.

5. Oni (Action, PC/Mac/PS2)

A sadly underrated and ignored cyberpunk Action Adventure that seamlessly blends gunplay and martial arts. While the game certainly feels unpolished in many areas, even for 2001, it is an outstanding game if you can look past those faults.

4. Crimson Skies (Action/Flight Sim, PC)

A 'lite-sim' set in an alternative 1930's where Air Pirates rule the skies over a shattered America. Features intense aerial combat in customizable, "Hot Rod" type planes. Followed up several years later by an XBox sequel that unfortunately dumbed down the simplified flight model to the point of ridiculousness.

3. Super Smash Bros: Brawl (Fighting, Wii)

In the tradition of "Mario Kart" comes a fighting game based on characters from Nintendo, Sega and Konami games. As with every other entry in the series, the four player mode is made an incredibly chaotic experience by the huge variety of characters, weapons, items and stages. This is the ultimate incarnation of the franchise, not only offering the most content to date, but a level builder and the ability to play online.

2. Ace Attorney (Phoenix Wright) series (Adventure, GBA/DS)

A series of Japanese adventure games about a rookie Lawyer who fights to save his innocent clients from ruthless Prosecutors. Features compelling plots with unexpected twists, hilarity, tragedy, heart warming scenes, intense moments, bizarre situations and pop culture references. Four games are in the series, with a fifth due to be released in the West sometime soon.

1. Perfect Dark (First Person Shooter, N64)

While Perfect Dark is certainly an inferior game to it's predecessor Goldeneye, it is still a great first person shooter in single player, and an excellent one in multiplayer. The huge variety of multiplayer modes, from standard Co-Operative, innovative Counter-Operative (Player two controls the guards in the level) and a surprisingly flexible Death Match mode meant that me and my mates burned up many hours playing it during our High School years.

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Comments

Fri, 01/08/2010 - 22:13

arran4

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Joined: 05/05/2009

Only familiar with 8 and 9.

Fri, 01/08/2010 - 23:06

Earok

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Joined: 02/06/2009

I think you'd like Oni, for the very fact that it is...

A game set in a Dystopic future staring an Asian woman highly skilled in acrobatics, martial arts and weaponry, who is betrayed by people she trusts and on the run from the city's Police force, part of which involves a chase across building tops. We find out about the tragedy surrounding the woman's parents through flashbacks, her father's life changed forever after his wife died tragically. An old man betrays the Police in order to protect the woman, and ends up being shot for it. The game eventually leads to a brutal fight involving her only sibling.

Sound familiar?

Fri, 01/08/2010 - 23:12

arran4

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Joined: 05/05/2009

Very.. Adding it to my list of things to get in the future.

Sun, 01/10/2010 - 07:22

Sam (not verified)

Well, I've only played two of these, though I own two of them.

Suffice to say: Mirror's Edge - Woohoo! One of my favourite games of 2009.

And I have a copy of Oni. Will play it... one day.

Sun, 01/10/2010 - 07:23

Sam (not verified)

(meant to say: I've only played *one* of these. Obviously ;))

Btw, it's worth mentioning that Mirror's Edge isn't really a FPS - as you can play the entire game without shooting anyone :)

Sun, 01/10/2010 - 09:06

Earok

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Joined: 02/06/2009

Excluding final bosses, you could argue that most First Person Shooters are the same ;)

And yeah, Oni's brilliant. I'm thinking about playing it again from the start soon actually.

Mon, 01/11/2010 - 10:34

arran4

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Joined: 05/05/2009

Well. I think it's a bit more about orientation of the game, I mean if you put any game into first person perspective does it become a shooter? Zelda?

Mon, 01/11/2010 - 16:23

Earok

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Joined: 02/06/2009

Well, no not really. Mirror's Edge is a game where you have to navigate a maze like environment to get from start to finish in a series of levels, avoiding or killing enemies with modern weapons along the way, discovering secrets if you explore, while viewing the environment from the first person perspective. The core game matches the FPS paradigm as much as say, Wolfenstein 3D. Don't let the fact that the game emphasizes Flight over Fight, as opposed to vice versa, fool you.

The Zelda suggestion doesn't really hold water, even if Zelda 64 was first person (as originally planned) it has no level structure, non-linear quests, conversation with NPCs, bartering, and many other traits that distinctly separate it from the FPS genre.

Certainly, there are quite a few games that involve exploration on foot from a first person perspective that definitely aren't part of the FPS genre - such as the Elder Scrolls series, or Normality - but in my opinion, Mirrors Edge is definitely one.

Tue, 01/12/2010 - 13:04

arran4

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Joined: 05/05/2009

Well the Zelda thing was more to do with classifications. Just how much would you classify a FPS. Rather than something like a FP-RPG? :P Your perspective of looking at the actual goals and challenges in the game probably is the way to go, but does that make Quake more of a Key searching game, but I wouldn't call killing optional in most situations.

Anyway, how about Borderlands? ;P