411 Games Top 5 12.17.09: Week 42 - Top Icy Games

Posted by Todd Vote on 12.17.2009

This week the games staff breaks out our favorite icy memories. From Cool Cool Mountain, to Cliffhanger, come in to see our favorite snowy levels and games.

Let's kick the week off with some feedback.


Comment Time with Toddo!

The hate against RPG's here is blasphemous! I love them! Forget Modern Warfare, I want my typical anime characters fighting side by side waiting for attack.
Posted By: Guest#3985 (Guest) on December 10, 2009 at 01:34 AM

Thank you... Thank you for being the only person not to let my feelings on RPG's effect you. Your comment had me laughing, thanks for that.

All else aside,you guys left alot of top quality sidekicks out namely Slippy from Starfox(bubba wing damage)
Interceptor from FF6(dude be blocks attacks for you)
Prinnies from any of the disgia games.

I could keep going but i think you guys get it,i did want to make one more address though.

To everyone that continued to rate FFX as anything other then the worst pile of shit to come from square/enix(and i played mystic quest through 4 times and FF8 once)
Fuck you!
you are directly the reason all main chars are emo homo's and all of 15 years old,and the pedo/furrie tendancy's remain today,you should all feel greatly shamed by pushing lower quality garbage as shining diamonds.
Posted By: Showster (Guest) on December 10, 2009 at 03:20 AM

Whoa... You fuckers hear that? You are the reason for the main characters in FF being all emo and stuff. Damn youse!!!

If Luigi or Yoshi isn't #1 then the list is useless :D
Posted By: Brad (Guest) on December 10, 2009 at 06:33 AM

I can see your point for Luigi... But as I explained in my list last week, Luigi has never really been a sidekick, more like a partner in crime.

"As long as I am the moderator of the Top 5, Katamari Dumbassy will get even less love than RPG's get. What is the point of rolling around a ball of junk? What is the appeal? Anybody?"

Well, maybe that just shows that you shouldn't BE the moderator for a column highlighting the opinions of others. Just because you don't see the appeal in something doesn't mean that it doesn't have any. I hate most RPGs but that doesn't mean I can't see why others do like them. At least I've played plenty of RPGs in my time with an open mind, whereas I bet you've never once played Katamari Damacy or, if you did, you went in knowing you were going to hate it and gave up after less than five minutes.
Posted By: Bimmy (Guest) on December 10, 2009 at 07:15 AM

Where did you ever get the idea that I never play RPG's? I've said millions of times that I do not like the genre, and that I am always willing to try a new one. It just doesn't appeal to me. Aside from the Robbin's brothers, and a few quips here and there, have I ever said I don't see why others like them? No, I've stated several times that I do in fact understand the appeal of RPG's, but I am just not one of the folks they appeal to. As far as Katamari goes, you are absolutely right... I love trying games that I know I will hate so much that I make it a point to try them all. I played the Katamari demo back when the game first came out. I didn't like it. I never claimed to have played the full game. It's a very simplistic game that did not appeal to me in the least. Again I can just lie to you guys and say "Oh man, Katamari, I can't believe I forgot to include that one it is one of my favorite games." But I'm not going to do that. I will continue to be honest about what I like, and what I have and have not played.

Read back to past issues. I've never had a problem admitting when I haven't played a game, or when I haven't played enough of something to form an opinion. Hell, I let Mark Salmela moderate the Sega CD edition because I never owned one and would not have been able to participate if I wanted to.

The last thing I want to say here is that I will never stifle the views or opinions of any other writers or readers in this column. I may flip a little shit now and then about RPG's, and I may poke fun at certain choices, but I am a firm believer of "to each their own". Aside from that katamari getting no love from me has nothing to do with the other contributors to this column. So why don't we ask them why they did not include Katamari in the PS2 list. Adam, Mark, and Lee Price.. Why was Katamari not on your list? And according to Bimmy, it better not be just because you didn't like the game.


This column is approved by Christina Hendricks


This week, because it is cold as hell outside, the Games staff takes a look at our favorite icy games. Or rather, our favorite icy encounters from games. Has anyone ever noticed the added difficulty for snow levels? I have and I think it is a giant conspiracy to make gamers crazy. Eh, let's get on with it.

First up is the returning Drew Robbins, Drew I appreciate you taking the time to participate, and we look forward to having you as a regular contributor in the Top 5. Thanks.

Drew RobbinsHONORABLE MENTIONS

Any Level in SSX Tricky - Oh SSX, my favorite of the now seemingly dead last-generation franchises. Though I'm not of the opinion that SSX Tricky is the best in the series (more on that later), but overall it did have the most interestingly designed courses of all.

5. Northrend (Warcraft Franchise) - I'm not a huge Warcraft nerd, ignoring the years I wasted in Azeroth as a Blood Elf Paladin, but even I have to admit that Northrend is quite the piece of work. Whenever Warcraft takes you to Northrend, you know crap is about to go down. In Warcraft III you were hunting for the Frostmourne, and just recently, WoW players have been given the ability to take a shot at the Lich King…in Northrend, of course.

4. The Mountain (SSX 3) - Back to SSX, particularly the third one. How do you follow up a game that lets you guide a 70's Disco stud that can do the worm on a snowboard? You take the same basic racing formula and put it all on a massive, free-roaming, snowy peak. Many of the race tracks weren't quite up to snuff in comparison to Tricky, but gliding down the mountain between races was a load of fun.

3. Icecap Zone (Sonic 3) - Sonic 3 is a special little game. Saving capabilities? Check. Actually taking use of the misshapen Sonic & Knuckles cartridge? Check. A level that starts out with Sonic bursting out of the left side of the screen on a snowboard. Oh hell yes. Not only that, the music was great, but what can you expect when the King of Pop had a helping hand in the process?

2. Hailfire Peaks (Banjo-Tooie) - Some of you may remember a level in Mario Galaxy in which Mario glides around a level which mixes the classical elements of fire and ice. Great level, but it sure does remind me of something else, in fact, it reminds me of something quite a bit better. Banjo-Tooie knocked the level design of Banjo-Kazooie up a notch, making room for enormous levels, such as Hailfire Peaks . It, too, mixed fire and ice, but it kicks Mario Galaxy to the curb. Nothing beats climbing up a frozen peak to best an ice dragon…which I realize sounds ridiculous.



1. Tibet (Uncharted 2) - Popular belief has it that you shouldn't place a game which recently came out this high on a list. Well, I'm not one for this popular belief. I've had two months to mull over the events of Uncharted 2, and came to the decision that the snowy mountains of Tibet are easily the greatest snow levels in the history of gaming. You start out climbing from the wreckage of a train, and then proceed to explore icy caves, and wrap up with the best car chase in any game. Man I love Uncharted…

Up next this week is Adam Larck. Adam has been posting plenty o news for the site lately giving you plenty to check out on a daily basis.

Adam LarckHONORABLE MENTIONS

Ski Free -It may have been a simple computer game, but I spent a lot of time seeing how long I could survive without being eaten by a yeti.

5.Lost Planet - Where would this list be without a game based entirely on a cold planet. Lost Planet had a whole world that looked good being cold, and even forced you to find heat from enemies to stay alive. While I lost interest in the first one, the second one is already shaping up to be more promising.



4.Modern Warfare 2 - I know it's still really new, but the ice level in single player looked great. Whether it was starting out by climbing the cliff face, or riding down the cliff on the snowmobile, the level had a lot of memorable experiences. Even the multiplayer snow level isn't bad, if a bit camper-heavy.

3.SSX Tricky - This list wouldn't be complete without at least one snowboarding game on it. SSX Tricky had the kind of over-the-top fun I liked. It didn't take itself series. It wanted you to do the biggest tricks you could any time you could. Definitely great fun with groups to show off what you could do.

2.Super Mario 64 - The penguins added some memorable parts to this game. Whether it was riding one down the level or rescuing a baby penguin for the mom, the snow level was a lot of fun to play. Out of such a great game, the snow world was one of the better parts in it.

1.Christmas NiGHTS - Even though it was only a few levels, I always had a lot of fun with Christmas NiGHTS. I was a big NiGHTS fan on the Saturn, and being able to fly around in Christmas-themed levels was a nice change from the normal game. It would be great to see other big titles take more cues from this game and design some small winter themed levels as a holiday demo.

Up next is Lee Price. Be sure to check out the latest Retronomicon for a juicy look back at Earthworm Jim.

Lee PriceHONORABLE MENTIONS

Sonic 3 - Ice Cap Zone - One of the first examples of Sonic showing off his snowboarding abilities and a damned fine level to boot.

5.1080 Snowboarding - I'm going to include the whole game here as this was one of the very first "extreme" sports games that I got in to. Perfectly designed tracks and competitive AI backed up a very well put together game. The trick system was better than Cool Boarders too.

4.Christmas NiGHTS - I remember getting what really amounted to a demo of NiGHTS from an old SEGA Saturn magazine way back in the day and I loved it to pieces. I especially loved the present system that the game had, plus the title has a hell of a lot of collector's value these days. Not bad for a freebie.



3.Super Mario 64 - Cool Cool Mountain - How can you have a list of winter levels without giving this one a mention. Granted the ice made the mountain pretty damned lethal at times, but there was a hell of a lot of fun to be squeezed out of this level. Racing penguins on your stomach is always fun. Always.

2.Tales of Symphonia - Flanoir - Not a level per see, rather an RPG village that is in a permanent state of winter. Flanoir is a gorgeous little village, probably my favorite in the Tales of Symphonia universe. Plus there's an ice sculpture of Pac-Man.

1.Banjo Kazooie - Freezeazy Peak - I absolutely adore Banjo Kazooie and for my money this is one of the best levels of the entire game. A slight Christmas feel runs throughout, and there's plenty of level to explore. I especially love scaling my way to the top of the giant snow man at t he center of the level. On top of that you had the mysterious key that was later revealed as having been intended to be used with the sequel, but for a long time mystery surrounded that little floating key. I love Freezeazy Peak.

Todd Vote

5.Elf Bowling - Alright, it may only be a simple flash game, but I'll be damned if it doesn't get a chuckle out of me every year. Try it out, it's hilarious. You can find it with a simple google search.

4.Mario on Ice - One constant from Mario games is a level, or series of levels where you have to deal with the ice and snow. Slippin and a slidin all over the place, Mario's snow levels are usually where the majority of my lives are lost.



3.Hoth - Hoth from Star Wars games had to make the list.

2.Cliffhanger (MW2) - Cliffhanger features a blizzard, climbing mountainsides with ice picks, snowmobiles and heartbeat sensors. I loved the snowmobile escape at the end of the level.

1.SSX Tricky - It's tricky to rock a rhyme to rock a rhyme. SSX Tricky still stands out as my favorite snowboarding game of all time. Therefore easily tops the snow list.


Bonus Video:
The snow level in Modern Warfare 2



Alright kids that brings us to a close on another week of the Top 5. Next week The games staff Will be bringing you our Top 5 games related gift memories. Like the time you got that Sega Genesis for Christmas... Or maybe you finally talked your parents into buying you that PS2 you always wanted. Take care, and we will see you back here on Christmas Eve. In the meantime, what did we miss? Alaska from Metal Gear? Maybe Glacier Mountain from Donkey Kong Country? Let us know your favorites in the comments section.

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