System: Playstation 2
Developer: Konami
Release date: March 16, 2006
It’s getting harder and harder to reconcile Hideo Kojima’s reluctance to identify his own games as art with the cold, hard fact that his games, especially Metal Gear Solid 3, are some of the most captivating, seamlessly constructed, and emotionally powerful video games ever made. In MGS3, Kojima traveled backward in time to give fans an origin story for the Metal Gear franchise and, in the process, gave the world a terrific game with diverse, deeply layered, perfect gameplay. Players control "Naked Snake" as he infiltrates the Russian jungle at the height of the Cold War to rescue a captured Russian scientist. He must elude patrols, raid supply depots, and survive by any means necessary. MGS3 features a great story, amazing voice acting, production design second-to-none, and the best collection of boss battles in any video game, ever.
System: Nintendo 64
Developer: Rare
Release date: May 22, 2000
Although it has absolutely nothing to do with James Bond or MI6, Perfect Dark is considered a spiritual sequel to GoldenEye 007, in large part because both were developed by Rare and both use the same engine. Like GoldenEye, Perfect Dark is a mission-based first-person shooter with an in-depth one-player campaign and an addictive multiplayer mode. Perfect Dark sets itself apart from its spiritual predecessor, however, with a terrific sci-fi narrative, graphical enhancements (with the help of the expansion pack), and a multiplayer mode that features increased customization and “simulants,” computer-controlled bots that can fight against or with a human player. Perfect Dark was followed five years later by a prequel, Perfect Dark Zero.
System: Sony Playstation
Developer: Konami
Release date: October 21, 1998
Before the blurring of the line between video games and movies was a fait accompli, Metal Gear Solid arrived on the scene and revolutionized the industry by presenting itself in an unparalleled cinematic way. Metal Gear Solid unfolds like a billion dollar blockbuster, with first-rate voice acting and masterful camera work. Set in a remote nuclear facility in Alaska, Metal Gear Solid follows the adventures of elite soldier Solid Snake, lured out of retirement and asked to liberate the facility from members of his former squad. Apart from its ground-breaking cinematography, Metal Gear Solid effectively invented the modern stealth action game, which has become a popular sub-genre. Its descendents include Splinter Cell and Hitman.
System: Nintendo 64
Developer: Nintendo
Release date: October 26, 2000
Perhaps forever destined to be overshadowed by its N64 counterpart, Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask is a masterwork in its own right, one that actually improves upon its predecessor in several ways. Majora’s Mask is set in Termina, a region threatened with destruction by a giant foreboding moon. Link has 72 game hours to search dungeons, find artifacts and recover masks before the moon destroys Termina; when the 72 hours near completion, Link can play the Song of Time and return to 6 AM on the first day. Players repeat this three-day cycle until all the game’s objectives are complete. Where masks were largely secondary in Ocarina of Time, they are essential to progress in Majora’s Mask. Using masks, Link can transform into a Deku Scrub, a Goron, and a Zora.
System: SNES
Developer: Nintendo
Release date: August 13, 1991
Bundled with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991, Super Mario World was proof of the advanced processing power of the newest Nintendo console system and an important check to the growing power and influence of Sega’s 16-bit project. Like its immediate predecessors on the NES, Super Mario World is a platform game that demands its players jump, run, duck, and swim to survive hazards and enemies in each level. It retains the overland map of Super Mario Bros. 3, but makes the game world and the levels within that world much larger, more graphically detailed, and more diverse: ghost houses, fortresses, and castles dot the landscape. Super Mario World marks the first appearance of Yoshi, who would become one of Nintendo’s most famous mascots.
System: Nintendo Gamecube
Developer: Retro Studios
Release date: November 17, 2002
Of the big three Nintendo franchises, Metroid was the last to receive a three-dimensional treatment. Unlike Mario and Zelda however, which retained their tradition third-person perspective in the leap to three dimensions, Metroid adopted an entirely new first-person perspective in its remarkably smooth transition from 2D to 3D. The result: Metroid Prime, a game which featured the elements which made its predecessors so popular but which gave players new glimpses into the Metroid mythology. Crucial to success in Metroid Prime are its heads-up display (HUD), which features information vital to Samus, and a system of exchangeable visors though which she can pick up heat signatures, use x-rays, and scan objects and enemies, collecting useful information from both.
System: Playstation 2
Developer: Team Ico
Release date: September 24, 2001
This Playstation 2 game is a real gem, an action-adventure game stripped down to the basics. Players take control of Ico, a young boy born with horns. The customs of Ico's village dictate that every child born with horns is a bad omen and must be escorted to an isolated castle and imprisoned there. Ico is fortunate enough to escape his cell and afterward wanders through the immense fortress, where he meets Yorda, a young girl also trapped in the castle. For the rest of the game, Ico explores the castle, solving its puzzles and protecting Yorda from enemy spirits who ceaselessly try to reclaim the young girl. Ico was designed and directed by Fumito Ueda, who created in his game a minimalist yet immersive experience, short on story, text and music, but long on emotion and ambiance.
System: Nintendo 64
Developer: Rare
Release date: June 30, 1998
The impressive library of Nintendo 64 games would seem much less substantial without all the contributions from Rare (then Rareware), Nintendo’s second-party game developer. Microsoft bought the company in 2002, but Rare’s best game, Banjo-Kazooie, can still be booted up on Nintendo’s 64-bit system. Players control the bear-bird duo of Banjo and Kazooie as they explore Spiral Mountain in an effort to rescue Banjo’s kid sister from the evil clutches of the witch Gruntilda. Like most Rare games, Banjo-Kazooie excels in graphics, sound, and a uniquely British sense of humor. Gameplay is largely derivative of Super Mario 64, but features notable stylistic and thematic differences. Banjo-Kazooie was followed two years later by Banjo-Tooie.
System: NES
Developer: Nintendo
Release date: February 12, 1990
It would be difficult to find a person, young or old, male or female, diehard gamer or novice, who has played Super Mario Bros. 3 and didn’t enjoy it. Among the thousands of video games released over the past thirty years, it might be the single most popular. Although the Super Mario franchise had veered slightly off the road with Super Mario Bros. 2, it returned to form with Super Mario Bros. 3, the best NES game ever made. Designed with the same platform elements typical of its predecessors, Super Mario Bros. 3 introduced several additions, including mini-games, many new power-ups (e.g. Tanooki Suit) and an overland map that allows players to select which levels to play and which to bypass.
System: PC
Developer: Blizzard
Release date: March 31, 1998
Real-time strategy (RTS) games owe a lot to StarCraft, a pioneering game in the genre. By introducing three unique, dramatically-different, and balanced races into the equation instead of two more-or-less equal sides with similar units, Blizzard changed RTS games forever. Base-building, unit growth, and unit limits were dictated by each race -- Terran, Zerg, and Protoss -- so the mechanics of the game shifted each time a player chose his or her side. StarCraft was also one of the first RTS games to feature a compelling story that was woven into the gameplay. Apart from its stellar single-player campaign, StarCraft features several multiplayer modes available through Blizzard's Battle.net internet service; it remains one of the most popular online games in the world.
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