System: Wii
Developer: Capcom
Release date: October 23, 2007
In an industry dominated by fast-paced action games, adventure titles like Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure are rare indeed. In Zack & Wiki, players control Zack, a young boy whose aspirations stop at nothing short of being the greatest pirate in history, and his magical sidekick Wiki, a golden floating monkey capable of magically transforming living items into objects useful for solving puzzles. Early in the game, Zack and Wiki discover the talking skull of the famous pirate Barbaros, who promises guidance to Treasure Island should the would-be pirates collect the rest of his scattered bones. The puzzles in Zack & Wiki, which require cleverly using the Wii remote, become progressively more difficult as the game moves on; the penultimate level is insanely tough.
System: Playstation
Developer: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release date: May 12, 1998
Racing games can be neatly divided between arcade titles with exaggerated physics and simulation titles that feature vehicles that perform like their real-world counterparts. Gran Turismo is the grandfather of the latter category: rich in detail, exhaustive in its customization and second-to-none in terms of car selection. While Gran Turismo features an arcade mode, the core of the game is simulation mode, in which players earn driver’s licenses to qualify for events, earn trophies (and credits), and unlock cars. Credits earned by winning championships can be used to purchase cars and replaceable parts. Gran Turismo features eleven tracks and 178 cars, all of which are modeled on authentic high-performance vehicles.
System: SNES
Developer: Square
Release date: November 23, 1991
The real Final Fantasy II never made the journey from the Super Famicom to the Super Nintendo; what is called Final Fantasy II on the SNES is really the fourth Final Fantasy game. Set in a fantasy world on the brink of chaos, Final Fantasy II unites heroes from different backgrounds who fight against an evil sorcerer trying to destroy the world. Although it’s not as masterful as its younger brother Final Fantasy III (Final Fantasy VI in Japan), Final Fantasy II is one of the most important RPGs of its or any generation. It largely introduced the idea of dramatic storytelling in an RPG, which has since become one of the genre’s defining characteristics. Final Fantasy II also features an incredible musical score and an Active Time Battle (ATB) system in which players input commands in real time.
System: Playstation
Developer: Neversoft
Release date: August 31, 1999
The Tony Hawk series of skateboarding games have now become a video game empire, but the franchise began rather humbly in 1999 on the Sony Playstation. Players skate through several single-player and multiplayer modes as one of ten celebrity skaters, including Bob Burnquist, Chad Muska and, of course, Tony Hawk. The single-player career mode includes nine open-ended environments in which players perform stunts, tricks, jumps and all manner of daredevil maneuvers. In six of the nine stages, skaters are asked to collect five tapes, some of which are unlocked by achieving high scores, some of which are hidden somewhere in the environment. The physics engine in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater is really something of a miracle, allowing players to do everything a real skater can do.
System: Playstation 2
Developer: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release date: March 22, 2005
Greek mythology gets a bit of a facelift in Sony’s God of War, a dark and bloody tale of war, revenge and betrayal. Players control Kratos, a Spartan warrior who once swore allegiance to Ares, the Greek god of war, but who now seeks to destroy his former patron. Aided by other Olympians, Kratos embarks on an odyssey that brings him into contact with mythological beasts, deadly traps, and horrible memories from his past. Although players must use Kratos’ formidable fighting skills to defeat hordes of nasty enemies, God of War is not merely an action game; it features adventure elements, like puzzle-solving, and platform elements, like scaling vertical cliffs and swinging between ropes hanging over the burning ruins of Athens.
System: PC
Developer: id Software
Release date: August 3, 2004
The Doom franchise has a strong legacy to uphold, considering the first installment is largely responsible for the popularity of the first-person shooter. Doom 3 builds on the foundation built by Doom and Doom II, surpassing both in terms of atmosphere, graphics, gameplay, and pure horror. Not necessarily a continuation of the storylines of the first two Doom games, Doom 3 is more a retelling of the events of Doom, in which hell literally breaks loose in a human research facility on Mars. Apart from its graphics and sound effects, which are superb, Doom 3 is a truly scary game, featuring lots of chills, thrills and spills. Adding to the sense of apprehension in the game is a weapon system which allows the hero to carry either a firearm or a flashlight, never both simultaneously.
System: Xbox 360, Playstation 3
Developer: Gearbox Software
Release date: October 20, 2009
Gearbox calls Borderlands a "role-playing shooter,"and it's a rather apt description. The game has the look, feel, and mechanics of a high-octane first-person shooter, but the structure and progression of Borderlands resembles a role-playing game. Players choose from four playable characters at the beginning of the game, and go on to complete quests and side-quests on the planet Pandora, rumored to conceal a mysterious vault filled with alien technology. Although players can choose only one "vault-hunter," up to four friends can play the game cooperatively. Borderlands features a "procedural content creation system" that creates weapons and items with randomly-generated statistics and attributes, resulting in over 3 million variations so far.
System: Playstation 2
Developer: Naughty Dog
Release date: December 3, 2001
From the creator of the best-selling franchise Crash Bandicoot comes one of the best platformers on the Playstation 2, Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. Following in the footsteps of some of the greatest platform games ever made, Jak and Daxter opens up for players large, diverse environments littered with nasty enemies and tons of collectable items: power cells, “Precursor orbs,” etc. The story is representative of its genre and thus not especially deep; best friends Jak and Daxter trespass on Misty Island, run afoul of an angry “Lurker,” and Daxter is thrown into a pool of “Dark Eco,” transforming him into a furry “Ottsel” (think otter meets weasel). Soon after the dynamic duo are searching for a cure, exploring richly detailed environments, and gradually becoming real heroes.
System: Xbox 360
Developer: BioWare
Release date: November 20, 2007
Mass Effect, the first episode of BioWare's three-part space saga, is one of the best RPGs on the Xbox 360 and another gem from BioWare which has produced some of the finest role-playing games on the computer and for console systems in the last two decades. With its engaging plot line, deep mythology and focus on interactive storytelling, Mass Effect follows in the tradition of earlier BioWare projects Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire. Like previous BioWare games, players throughout Mass Effect must make minor and major decisions which affect gameplay and which alter two morality scales: "paragon" and "renegade." Past choices will affect how new characters interact with the hero Commander Shepard.
System: Saturn
Developer: Sonic Team
Release date: August 31, 1996
Sega may not design their games for everybody, but they know their audience and produce games accordingly. One of their sleeper hits (forgive the pun) is NiGHTS into Dreams, a magical journey into the dreams of a young girl and boy, whose real-world insecurities are affecting the fabric of the dream world. In the many stages of the game, Claris and Elliot become NiGHTS, a genderless aeriel acrobat who seems to be the personification of courage. As NiGHTS, the youngsters fly through the dream world, avoiding enemies, collecting blue orbs, and rescuing “Ideyas” from “Ideya captures.” At the end of each stage is a dream boss. Players can play through NiGHTS into Dreams as both Claris and Elliot; finishing the game with both characters unlocks a very moving ending.
Yes good old Doom 3! I have just reloaded this onto my laptop - great gamne for distraction :)
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