Achievement Unlocked 06.06.08: Choosing 50

Posted by Rod Oracheski on 06.06.2008

With too many side projects going on, this week is LIST MANIA!



OK, so here's the deal - I've been way too busy this week with a plethora of side projects to get into the column I wanted to do this week. That one gets shelved for another week, and I'll instead dive into the NEW BIG THING here at 411mania - listing our favourite 50 games.

Let's be clear here, just like Curry Man's list, this is my list of my favourite games. You may like them, you may not, but this is the 50 that came to mind as I thought it over. I'm sure there will be at least 10 that I'll think of as soon as this goes live that I'd rather have on there, but such is life.

Again - MY list of MY favourite games. If you're retarded and think that just because it's in list form, this is somehow supposed to be YOUR list of YOUR favourite games, close your browser now.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to hear your favourite games so go ahead and list away. Or if you want to know why I put [X] game on there and not [Y], go ahead and ask. Maybe I overlooked that one, or it's one of the ones that ran through my mind just that second...too...late. Don't bother telling me my list is "wrong" because it doesn't have your favourite game on it, though. Just assume I forgot it, if that calms your nerd rage.

I thought the number of people who attacked Curry over his list was ridiculous, but he does draw his readership from the shallow end of the gene pool... Ahh, I'll give the guy a break, he had some kind of wicked masturbating accident and wound up with a busted hand. Let's all feel sorry for him.



I decided not to separate games from a series for my list. It helps keep it from having four or five Mario games and promotes diversity. If there were games in the series that I didn't like, or a cutoff point beyond which I felt the series just didn't do it for me anymore, I make mention of that.

I also didn't put them in any particular order. It was hard enough trying to come up with a list of my favourite games, then narrowing it down to 50. If you want to put them in order, go ahead - but then it's your fault if it's wrong.

So...here's the list. Last chance to close your browser, mouthbreathers:

• Pac-Man (series) - Whether you're talking about the arcade machine, console port, or tabletop game, everyone knows Pac-Man. It nails the basics of gameplay - keep it simple, keep it challenging, and keep it fun. I was surprised to see Championship Edition on XBLA give the series new life - definitely check that one out.


• Goldeneye - We actually built a 'Bond screen' in the house I shared with three other guys, a simple piece of cardboard fastened across the middle of the TV so the person sitting on the floor couldn't see the top screen, while the guy sitting on the back of a chair couldn't see the bottom.


• Halo (series) - Goldeneye showed that consoles could handle a FPS, but Halo showed what kind of polish they could display. This was the game that brought FPS to the consoles in a big way, with a control scheme that everyone's imitating because they can't figure out how to make it better. The day it came out, this one turned LAN gaming on its ear.


• Knights of the Old Republic - I don't know if there's anyone who does an RPG better than BioWare at this point. Who would have thought this would have a better story than any of the new Star Wars movies?


• NHL (series) - This is mainly two games - NHL 94 and NHL 08. NHL 94 was the ultimate in 16-bit sports, and ruled my TV for at least two years. NHL 08 is (thus far) the ultimate version for next-gen systems, complete with next-gen controls. Once you 'click' on how the sticks work, you just can't go back - even for NHL 94's gameplay.





• Fallout (series) - It's a testament to the brilliance of this series that I still have Fallout 2 kicking around, ready to be installed again whenever I switch computers. I can't wait for the third - I just hope it turns out to be a great continuation of the series.


• Psi-Ops - I had to kill a game from my list after seeing someone, probably Toddo, mention it in Curry's column comments. This game lived or died on the controls of your psychic powers, and they did a fantastic job of keeping it simple to control while offering up a wild variety of things you could do.


• Dragon Warrior (series) - The first console RPG that I played, from what I can remember. I was hooked from the first day.


• SimCity (series) - I never thought I'd consider that first one "simple" when I first played it and encountered the nuances of city planning for the first time, but the latest versions of this city building sim have really upped the ante. Great way to kill an afternoon.


• The Bard's Tale (series) - One of the first introductions I had to the RPG genre on the computer. It's probably the reason I still appreciate a sense of humour in the games I play.


• The Monkey Island trilogy - I never played Curse of Monkey Island, but the first three games in the series, much like The Bard's Tale, really appealed to my sense of humour. The adventures of Guybrush Threepwood deserve to be experienced, even today.





• Bomberman (series...minus Act Zero) - The premise is dead simple, but the game - especially in multiplayer - is amazingly fun and addicting.


• Street Fighter (series) - I lost track of this one sometime after the millionth version of Street Fighter 3 hit arcades. After enduring (albeit gladly) the slew of Street Fighter 2 upgrades, I just had enough I suppose. Looking forward to the HD remix, as well as the new release.


• AKI wrestling games (No Mercy, Wrestlemania 2000, etc...) - How in the world did these guys get dropped from Def Jam so the guys from the now defunct EA Chicago studio could ruin it? Get these guys back working on wrestling titles - hell, even a cheapy XBLA/PSN title!


• Final Fantasy (series, well most of them) - I'm more of a fan of RPG games that let you build your character, not watch cutscenes, so the Final Fantasy series kind of lost me right around VII or so. I still love those early games though.


• Ultima (series - until VIII) - Talk about taking a great series and dumping it down the crapper! Early Ultima games were amazing. I just don't know what happened...


• Tetris - The premise sounds simplistic and boring, but in execution becomes something totally different. I don't know how many times I sat down to play for 20 minutes and spent an hour lining up blocks.


• Sonic the Hedgehog - Stellar first game, offering up speed unlike anything we'd seen on consoles to that point. It was more than just running to the right really fast though, as playing it again on the Wii's VC has shown. There were a lot of platforming parts in there, something I think most people overlook in favour of remembering those blazing-fast moments.


• Mortal Kombat (series, minus offshoots) - I remember the arcade getting Mortal Kombat in, and people being somewhat interested but it wasn't the hot machine. A week later we found out about fatalities and BOOM - that was THE machine. Since those early days, the series has successfully gone 3D - something other games have failed to do (HI, SONIC!) and continues to improve.


• NBA JAM (series) - You can tell the real arcade rats - they're the ones that still know when Mark Turmell's birthday is, years after NBA JAM hit arcades. This one was almost tailor-made for the console ports that followed.





• Crackdown - I wish I could put (series) behind this one, but maybe some day. Enormously fun to just roam the city, gaining power as you go. Could have used better boss encounters, but it was a great first effort.


• Planescape: Torment - One of the best storylines in gaming, and several standout characters - including the immortal protagonist.


• Call of Duty 4 - I was tempted to just say "series" on this one, but the latest - and greatest - in the series is so far above the others that it just wouldn't seem right. This one nails everything you need for a great FPS.


• Star Control 2 - This was one of the few games I owned for my 3DO. Amazing game and I hope we see it remade for XBLA/PSN at some point.


• Pirates! - This is THE GAME that got me hooked on gaming, and I didn't even have a computer at the time. A friend and I would crowd into his parent's little office after school just about every day, working our way through the pirate life.


• ESPN NFL 2K5 - It's downright sad that this game still compares favourably to TODAY's Madden offerings.


• Super Mario (series - main games, no offshoots) - My Wii gets most of its workload from playing through Sonic or Super Mario 1-3. Wonderful platformers, though I'm not really fond of the way Mario's been whored out into every other genre under the sun.


• Half-Life (series) - Just as Halo revitalized the FPS genre on consoles, Half-Life gave it a boot in the ass on the PC. It's hard to believe that FPS games were ever in poor shape on the PC, but that's exactly where they found themselves before Half-Life.


• Doom (series) - Was the start of FPS gaming for a great number of people. Still a blast to play, though the series has become more tech demo than actual game.


• Wizardry (series) - Man did I waste a lot of time on this series. Wasted a lot of paper printing out spell notes and keeping track of my notes as well...


• System Shock - You think Bioshock is badass? Try this one. I've heard gamers have updated the graphics considerably, though I haven't touched this one in years. Worth tracking down.


• X-Wing (series) - This is one of those series that died off and I can't think, for the life of me, why. X-Wing vs TIE Fighter remains one of the best space combat games...another one that should see a remake, whether or PC or the consoles.





• Warcraft (series, including World of...) - Great art, great story, stellar controls - it's just a series that has it all. I've kicked my addiction to WoW, but still appreciate the polish that Blizzard put into everything they did for it.


• Starcraft (series) - Read the above one more time.


• Diablo (series) - And once more. Last time, I swear.


• Castlevania (series) - Great platforming and action in every game in this series.


• Grand Theft Auto (series) - Standout series that really came to life when they switched to 3D. There are very few games that are better for killing time with random goofing around.


• Marvel: Ultimate Alliance - I have absolutely no clue why I felt so pressured into including this one, but I found it just a blast to play. Just a fantastic game for comic fans.


• Guitar Hero (1&2...not so much 3) - Back before the note charts went all mental, you could really get the feeling of 'playing' the song. Took Guitar Freaks-style gameplay and made it work, and made it cool.


• Rock Band - Hey, the guitar parts make sense! What a surprise! Taking the solid guitar charts and tacking on drums and vocals was enough - the continuing stream of DLC support makes this one a no-brainer.


• Resident Evil (series) - It was a series in dire need of a reboot, and got it with RE4. Now it looks like Capcom is going to keep pushing things forward with RE5, if they can just slip those ridiculous 'racism' comments.


• Age of Empires (series) - What SimCity did for city building, Age of Empires did for city destroying. One of my favourite online games.





• Mass Effect - Just an incredibly powerful storyline. It's a pity they couldn't iron out the UE3 technical issues, but they don't really hurt the narrative at all.


• Imperium Galactica II - I lucked into this one, having it sent to me out of the blue to review. One of the few games I read the instructions for, multiple times.


• La Pucelle - Nippon Ichi games are always a bit on the odd side, but this one was way out there. Still, there was something in the battle system that kept me coming back.


• Samurai Shodown (series) - One of the best Street Fighter competitors, at least in my eyes. Great artwork and animation.


• Bushido Blade - Instant kills were never so much fun. We'd actually organize dueling tournaments with this one. Nothing beats running after your opponent, chopping down bamboo with every stroke as you shout "GET BACK HERE, YOU COWARD!"


• Populous - While city building, and even city destroying, have their place - only one game really gave you that option to be a GOD. So many


• Ikari Warriors - I shudder to think how much money I spent in the arcades on this one. Fortunately the machine developed a glitch after a while, racking up unlimited credits for no good reason. I once played it all the way through thanks to that glitch, and walked out of there still hearing the explosions and gunfire.


• Super Mario Kart - I didn't include the offshoots with Super Mario (series) as most of them are crap. This one, on the other hand, not so crappy. It would be nice if Nintendo would get off their asses and offer real online play with voice and everything, but it's still nice to zip along in these ridiculous karts.

That's the list...at least so far. I'm pretty sure I'll think of some other game that should be on there any minute now... Wizard of Wor? Crysis? Wow...I just realized I left Grand Theft Auto off my list somehow. I guess Tekken gets the bump!



As I said, I've got a bunch of side projects on the go. Tops among them is finishing up the computer room and home theater room in my basement. Picked up the flooring for the computer room today, and I plan to finish painting the walls and get the flooring in this weekend. Wiring everything through to the home theater room will probably be next week's chore, but it's all shaping up nicely.

By this time next week I'll be fully set up to record high-def footage from games, which should offer some new things for the site. Still working out the best place to host those videos, so if you have any suggestions feel free to give me a shout. Hell, if you have suggestions for what you'd like to see from the video offerings - send those in too.

EDIT: I've put up a snippet from the first video I captured, fooling around in NHL 08's shootout mode. You can find the high-quality version of the video here, or check out the embedded low-res version.


411mania 720p video test from Rod Oracheski on Vimeo.

Picked up the new Hulk game this week, and I'm having a blast with it already. If you were a fan of Ultimate Destruction, definitely give this one a look. Expect the review in the next few days.

Until next week, I'm out.