System: NES
Developer: Nintendo R&D3
Release date: October, 1987
Anyone who has ever played Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out (also known as Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream or simply Punch-Out!!) will never forget it. Punch-Out is one of those rare games thats triggers almost immediate nostalgia; it belongs in the conversation with Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda not only because it’s a great NES game but because it acts as a miniature time machine. In Punch-Out players control Little Mac, an amateur boxer who rises in the professional boxing circuit as he tackles tougher and tougher fighters. His opponents, who sadly appear in hindsight as unapologetically stereotyped, are perhaps the most memorable part of the game: who can forget Piston Honda, Von Kaiser, and King Hippo?
System: SNES
Developer: Square
Release date: May 13, 1996
One of the most unique games on the SNES is Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, an RPG developed by Square with direct guidance from Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto. Super Mario RPG begins like most Mario games: Princess Toadstool is captured by local tyrant Bowser and mustachioed Mario flies to her rescue. The rescue attempt is interrupted, however, when a giant sword crashes through Bowser’s keep. As the story progresses, players learn that much more sinister forces than Bowser are attempting to overrun the Mushroom Kingdom. Although developed by Square, Super Mario RPG is a much simpler RPG than any of the games in Square’s Final Fantasy series. The battle sequences are less complicated, the inventory less robust, the playing time significantly reduced.
System: Xbox 360, PS3
Developer: GRIN
Release date: August 13, 2008
It's not an easy thing to re-imagine a well-known NES classic, but the developers at GRIN made it look easy with Bionic Commando Rearmed, an enhanced remake of the 1988 game Bionic Commando. Featuring improved graphics and sound, re-engineered boss battles, and never-before-seen challenge rooms, Rearmed is a significant improvement over the original. GRIN also scrapped the old health and continue system, making Rearmed more approachable and less frustrating. Co-op, competitive multiplayer, and the aforementioned challenge rooms provide plenty of replay value. It's one of the very best games available on Xbox Live Arcade -- if not THE best.
System: N64
Developer: Ubisoft
Release date: October 31, 1999
The first three-dimensional outing for the limbless hero Rayman is an excellent platform game with terrific graphics, sound, and play control, one that ranks among the very best Nintendo 64 games. Rayman 2 is the story of an evil invading army of robotic pirates who are enslaving the population of Rayman’s home world. Equipped with powerful fists, which can fire charged projectiles, and aided by a group of friends, Rayman jumps, runs, and floats through gorgeously-designed environments (aided by the expansion pack), defeating the minions of Razorbeard. Although Rayman 2 embraces traditional platform elements, the developers at Ubisoft added several unusual features, including waterskiing and riding “shells,” mule-headed missiles that can gallop or fly through the air.
System: Arcade
Developer: Capcom
Release date: February 23, 1994
The Street Fighter II franchise, which is largely credited with popularizing the fighting game genre, came to a close in North America in 1994 with the release of Super Street Fighter II Turbo (Super Turbo), an updated version of Super Street Fighter II. Although the SNES port of Super Street Fighter II is a better overall package than Super Turbo, the latter tops the former in terms of graphics, sophistication, and balance. Super Turbo is the first arcade Street Fighter to feature adjustable game speed, special moves called “Super Combos” and a hidden player named Akuma. Considered by many hardcore fighting fans to be the series’ ultimate accomplishment, Super Turbo is still played in worldwide competitive tournaments.
System: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Developer: Infinity Ward
Release date: November 5, 2007
The Call of Duty games have long dominated the pool of World War II shooters, but in 2007 developer Infinity Ward fast-forwarded to the not-too-distant future when American marines and British Special Forces are pitched in a global battle against Russian ultranationalists and Middle Eastern radicals. Because of its emphasis on the rules of modern warfare, Call of Duty 4 introduces weapons and technology which never before appeared in previous installments: soldiers can fire high-powered sniper rifles, use night-vision goggles and call in air strikes on unsuspecting targets. The multiplayer modes in CoD 4 are especially good, rivaling Halo 3 in terms of replay value and intensity. In each match, players can select one of several classes of soldier, each with its own weapons and “perks.”
System: Xbox 360
Developer: Epic Games
Release date: November 7, 2008
Although not quite as good as the first game in the series, Gears of War 2 stands as an extraordinary third-person shooter, a thrilling experience from beginning to end, and one of the best games available on the Xbox 360. The game picks up where the original left off: humans are in a desperate fight for survival against an army of subterranean monsters. Gears of War 2 covers all its bases: it provides an epic single-player campaign that can be played alone or cooperatively with a friend, plus several multiplayer modes, including the addictive Horde mode, which asks players to survive wave after wave of enemy forces. Gears of War 2 is a must-play for action fans. It's probably the second-best third-person shooter ever made, after the original Gears of War.
System: Arcade
Developer: Capcom
Release date: March 6, 1996
Although it bears the number two, Street Fighter Alpha 2 is essentially a remake of Street Fighter Alpha, which had been rushed to market prematurely in 1995. Alpha 2 is, in every way, an improvement over its predecessor -- more characters, more moves, more options, and more detailed stages. Super Combos, Alpha Counters, and mid-air blocking all return from Alpha, along with all-new custom combos, which allow players to create their own combination maneuvers using the super combo gauge. It's the fighting stage backgrounds, though, that set Alpha 2 above and beyond the first game. Richly-drawn, deeply-layered, and dynamic, they rank among the very best ever produced.
92. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's IslandSystem: SNES
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Release date: October 4, 1995
It may share a name with Super Mario World, but Yoshi’s Island has little to do with the premiere game on the SNES. Set years before Super Mario World and all other Super Mario games, Yoshi’s Island follows a clan of noble, friendly dinosaur-like animals called Yoshis who help the infant Mario find and rescue his kidnapped twin brother. Yoshi’s Island represents a high watermark in the platform genre, containing what one would expect from a well-designed platform game along with several unanticipated features, including mini-games, an innovative scoring system, and stages that require as much foresight and strategic thinking as good timing and quick reflexes. In some stages Yoshis gain the ability to transform into a number of vehicles, including a helicopter and submarine.
System: Playstation 2
Developer: Insomniac Games
Release date: November 3, 2004
Whereas its cousin series on the PS2, Jak and Daxter, seemed to decline in quality over its run, Ratchet & Clank only got better. The third and final PS2 Ratchet & Clank game (excluding the port of the PSP game Size Matters) is the very best. Aside from several new weapons and gadgets, Up Your Arsenal features refined mechanics, a deeper weapons upgrade system, more varied missions, and a brand-new multiplayer mode, the first of its kind in the Ratchet & Clank franchise. Add to that some fantastic graphics, physics, voice acting, and a new addictive mini-game with 2D sidescrolling action, and you've got one of the true gems of the Playstation 2 library.
No comments:
Post a Comment