foolmo's top 25 games cuz **** you coffee I'm not doing 40 So I am being forced to do one of these for Not Dave's WWYD challenge. The trouble with this is that I 1) hate writing, and 2) have extreme difficulty ranking games in a list form. Therefore, this list is not actually ranked. I made 25 spots on a piece of paper, thought of 25 games that I really like, and put them in random spots until the list was full. I will reveal them in the order on the paper, in sets of 5, until all 25 are revealed. Hopefully I will have reached the 2500 word limit by then.
Anyways, the way I made the list, there will only be one game from each series unless they are of completely different styles, otherwise the list would've just been full of MGS and PoP games, which would be ****ing dumb. I also put the console on which I played the game, which might matter for some explanations... or not, whatever. I wonder if I'm explaining all of this right now because I think you guys are too inept to understand yourselves, or because I just need to pad this thing with words to meet the word count. Definitely a bit of both.
Also, I am writing this on notepad because my netbook doesn't have MS Office and OpenOffice sucks hard, so if there are typos and other mistakes then you can
I hope ranting counts as a writeup... I have 5 writeups but only one of them will fit within the 4096 characters >__>
THERE WILL BE SPOILERS FOR ALL GAMES ON THIS LIST MAYBE
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's MaskN64 Let's start off the list with something obvious: the best Zelda game. Now, instead of simply listing off what this game does well, or how it is superior to OoT, I will first preface the writeup with my personal experience leading up to my completion of the game, so as to differentiate this list from other similar lists that may or may not be literring the front page. I'll probably do this with all the games as well, who knows?
So I had an unorthodox Zelda experience (ib4 LMS). My first Zelda was LTTP on the SNES when I was like 4, but I was too dumb to even get inside the castle when it was raining. Like 12 years later, I borrow OoT from one of my friends at school. I enjoyed it and everything, I was surprised at how well it had aged. Soon after I acquired a genuine gold cart Majora's Mask, and went into it expecting a sequel to ooT. What I got blew my mind.
Because I'm not an idiot, I didn't first look at the time system and go "waaaah I hate time limits," instead I instantly recognized the awesome potential the system had to the gameplay. But this is one of the few games that you have to play to understand. One of the most powerful moments in gaming for me is when I first had to save after saving Romani Ranch. It took me like 5 tries, but I had finally succeeded, and the girls were so happy. But then it hit me -- when I save, everything I had done would be erased. It didn't matter what I did or who I helped, I couldn't really change anything. Pretty great stuff considering the game doesn't at all try to force these feelings on you.
Of course, the gameplay was great as well. Same graphics/sound as OoT, which aged well. But the gameplay not only aged better than OoT, it was better than most modern stuff. MM is the reason I don't understand the current state of the Zelda series. They had the formula right there, 11 years ago. An incredibly interesting overworld, a bunch of items that are used all throughout all the dungeons and the overworld, multiple ways to take on an obstacle. All of this on top of one of the most unique and well-executed gimmicks in the time system makes this an easy top 25 for me.
Just Cause 2PC This is one of those games that came out of nowhere. Apparently there was a prequel on the PS2 or something, but no one cared. For some reason, this game was different.
It all started when I saw that this game had a free demo on Steam... so I tried it out. What I got was easily the worst voice acting I have ever encountered in any game EVER (yes, worse than CD-I Link). I'm sitting there kind of confused, as a plane drops me off on this desert cliff. So it's the typical 3rd person shooter deal, move around, shoot at stuff, oh cool there's a grappling hook, nice, hey look there's this platform that I can jump off. Woah, this freefalling is awesome, and this parachute stuff is awesome too! I float down to the nearby town and start shooting people up and stole some cars, solid stuff so far, but nothing amazing. My 30 minute demo is approaching its end when I see something off to the horizon... some big red cranes... with health bars? I pull out my C4 and set them to blow up the cranes... WOAH, awesome destruction. And then I look over at where I came from. I can see the little town slightly blurred over there, and the cliff I was at in the beginning looks really far away. But wait, does that mean... Woah, WHAT? Can I actually reach those mountains all the way over there? HOLY **** THIS PLACE IS MASSIVE. And then my 30 minutes ended... played it 4 more times and then bought the full version.
That's pretty much all this game is. Just WOAH after WOAH. What is especially unique about it is the dedication to fun... the dedication to this abstract concept of a "video game" that so few games nowadays actually embrace. It's always "photorealism" this and "authentic" that... they forget about the FUN. Most notable example: GTA IV. That game was great, but it was so limited by the "realistic" elements. Soon after GTA IV I first played Just Cause 2 and it was so jarring. JC2 ignores ANY and EVERY semblance of realism that gets in the way of fun. What? Pulling out hundreds of parachutes out of nowhere isn't realistic? Jumping out of a 747 mid-flight and surfing it isn't realistic? The game is like a slap in the face that shows you how fun video games can be. It's so refreshing, and it single-handedly renewed my faith in gaming.
And whenever someone says that graphics don't matter in games, I'll point them to this game. God damn this game is beautiful, and god damn does it greatly improve the experience. It's obviously got cartoony graphics, but everything is just so beautiful. The sunset over the ocean with all the mountains in the background... it's kinda sad to say that it looks better than real life... especially when you happen to be surfing on a plane during all of it. My favorite thing is how the background blurs out as you distance yourself. You see this large city or huge blimp waaaaay at the horizon, all blurred out, and you assume that it's just a background image... but then you realize you can actually reach it. It's a very mind-blowing experience. I recently got a new computer that can max this game and holy **** the water when you turn on GPU Water Simulation is so magnificent... I watched it for like 15 minutes once.
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (and trilogy)PS2 This game innovated so much. I think it's the quintessential representative of the PS2 era (other than San Andreas, maybe). You have this regular old platforming game, but instead of it being just a series of platforms and rooms that you go through, every element was fully fleshed out and executed perfectly.
What I mean by this is the graphics, the animation, the music, the characters, the story, it was all so perfect (well, except the combat...). Graphics were masterful -- low polygon models were offset by the dusty particles and lighting that made every scene looks soft and smooth, even by today's standards. Animation is ****ing perfect. I swear every time I play this game (at least once a year) I will just have the Prince swinging on a bar for 5 minutes just watching every framy of his animations because it's so perfect. Voice acting is amazing, and dialogue is so well executed. You have the Prince yelling across these large rooms and gaps at Farah, it really sets the mood perfectly for these two survivors going through the castle. The echoing makes large rooms feel large, and tight corridors feel constricting. The best part is that the dialogue is all intermittent with gameplay. You're just climbing along, or fighting, and there is talking here and there. Makes the characters feel so real.
Everything just comes together like no other platformer. I'm not even talking about the gameplay, since I figure that's obvious. You're running across walls and doing flips and climbing and you can REWIND TIME, man, what's not to love?
And no matter what anyone says, the sequels are also amazing. Warrior Within's whole dark theme was pretty dumb, but the level design was still top-notch, and the combat was greatly improved. The Two Thrones was literally the best parts from the previous two games, I really loved that game. It also has one of the best ending sequences ever, I think. That final boss was awesome... that epic platforming segment going up to stab him in the face, so good. And the whole "internal struggle" thing at the end was an awesome way to end it all.
OkamiPS2 I think you all know how much I love this game already since I invade any topic mentioning it and/or Zelda with my praise, so yeah, best game on PS2.
Art style is great and all, but that's not really the focus imo. This game definitely is art, but it's because of the gameplay, not only the visuals. It takes the Zelda formula and does it better. Basically this game is all about shattering your expectations. You go in expecting a decently-lengthed game... after 10 hours you're like "yeah, alright, that was a pretty awesome game... hey wait, why do I only have 4 brush powers when the box says 13?... oh **** the game's not over yet." And it just keeps getting better and better for 40 hours. About the brush powers, too... the box says 13, but really that's just 13 "sets" of brush powers... there's actually like 25 or 30. That blew my mind too.
Really, it's just a wholly satisfying experience. At 40 hours long, it's definitely an epic journey, but it somehow manages to make every second of that time awesome and valuable to the experience, which most games can't hope to claim. I've replayed it 3 times for that very reason... I have no qualms dumping that much time into this game because it's just that good.
Assassin's Creed 2 (and sequels)360 So I picked up AC1 a while after it was released... around the time AC2 was released, actually. I beat the ENTIRE THING (holy ****, I know) and good god was that a drag. I still enjoyed the first 5 hours or so though. Fast forward to like 2 years later after I stopped caring about AC2. I've heard a lot about it, though, about Ezio and stuff, yeah yeah, how much better can it be? So I move in with my new roommate who has this game and a 360, so I decide to play it, why not?
Never... never had I seen a game like this... never had I even hoped for a game like this. It made no sense. How can this game exist? This game, from the same studio that made AC1? No. Way. It's like they entered my brain and took everything I disliked in AC1 and not only fixed it, but added on so much extra awesome stuff that I didn't even ask for! This game was the start of the "sequel that obliterates the original" trend that has been going on recently in gaming, which is what makes this gen so great. Still, no matter how much Mass Effect 2, Dead Space 2, Uncharted 2, Witcher 2, etc. improved, AC2 is still the king in that regard. It saved a series that monetarily did not need to be saved -- they could've gone on making mediocre sequels forever, the games were selling so well, but no, they built this masterpiece instead.
I would've had Brotherhood on here since I like it better than AC2, but it didn't blow AC2 out of the water. It's still quite impressive how much it improved on some things though -- mission system, with the restarting and replaying missions, 100% synch bonus objectives, much more interesting climbing design for towers and regular buildings, upgrading system, and more. All of that after only one year of development? Such a thing was unheard of before, and I was definitely one of those skeptics that thought it wouldn't be that great because it came so soon, but once again I was proven wrong.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (and series)PS2 Probably my favorite series of games ever, and MGS3 is my clear favorite.
I love this one especially because it represents the unique arcade/cinematic experience that I've only found in MGS. The first time you play the game, it's this huge arduous task, going through all these forests and mountains and bases, fighting bosses, all culminating in the best ending in all of video gaming. But then on replay, you start to discover all the crazy fun stuff you can do with the game. MGS3 is like a linear, cinematic experience when you want it to be... and a fun arcadey sandbox when you want it to be.
It's the same with all the other MGS games. Everyone complains that MGS4 is just a big movie... well, yeah, the first time. If you play skipping movies it's an awesome action experience. People complain about all the menus and pausing in MGS3, but that's only for the first time as well. Once you learn how the camo works, how all the different mechanics in the game work, you really only need to change camo ike 3-4 times in the whole game. MGS3 really rewards you for learning the game and becoming good at it. You can just blast through in a few hours, and it feels like you have really mastered the game.
Donkey Kong Country 2 (and series)SNES The best 2D platformer ever. One of my first games I ever played, my entire family would just sit around the SNES and play this to death. DKC1 was great and all, but DKC2 took it all to a whole new level. Amazing graphics and art style, pretty much the BEST music in any platformer, so many great gameplay mechanics, awesome humor.
Battlefield 2PC This was my premier online game to play back in high school... I started out playing BF1942 single player, and then moved onto Vietnam and started doing online games a lot. Great fun those two games were, but BF2 just obliterated them when it first came out.
Command rose, persistent stats system, upgrading rank and unlocking weapons, squads. It was so much more advanced than any other FPS I had ever played. It was definitely one of those games that was more a lifestyle than just a game. So many awesome memories. The Special Forces expansion was incredible, also. Ziplines and grappling hooks in an FPS like Battlefield? It was mind blowind. The loading times were atrocious, but it was great because the loading screen music was so good. Asian/middle eastern remixes of the classic BF theme? Hell yes.
Crash Team Racing PS1 The best cart racer ever. I am baffled at how no other cart racer since has even come close to matching this game. I feel like it shouldn't be that hard to make a good cart racer, but whatever.
The key to this game's quality is the powerslide, and to a lesser extent, the item balance. The slide makes the game always interesting. You're not just steering left/right, you're constantly deciding whether it's worth it to slide and go for the triple boost, or whether to just take the regular route or go for a boost pad or something. The level design caters to this magnificently.
The game masterfully emphasizes skill while maintaining the semi-random fun element of any good cart racer. You have your typical items, the bananas and explosives you leave behind, homing missiles, straight rolling bombs (like shells), etc., but the way the game handles them is unmatched. The interaction between items is the key. Sure you have homing missiles, but unlike in Mario Kart, there are so many ways to dodge or block them if you're good that they don't seem unfair. Even if you DO get hit, your cart keeps its forward momentum when tumbling so you don't get cheaped out right before the finish line or anything like that. Everything in the game just feels so fair on top of fun, it's just a really blissful experience and it's really a testament to how genius the game designers at Naughty Dog are.
Sonic Adventure 2 DC One of my guilty pleasures from my childhood. My friend had a Dreamcast and I would always go over and play this piece of **** with him. It's one of those games that has so much raw charm that you have to love it no matter how technically broken it is. Any game with Knuckles raps is an A+ game for me.
