Mr Durand Pierre
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It's difficult to write an all-time best of list for videogames, because videogames just plain age more than any other medium. Old movies, books, and music can stay good for hundreds or more years. For example, Hemmingway is every bit as relevant now as ever. But videogames are constantly improving in terms of technology, so I'm going to try and bear that in mind and mix my list up a bit between best for its time, and best if played now in 2004. And also I'm only reviewing the genres I like the most. I'm not going to pretend to be well-rounded with my tastes. And if anyone can think of other games I might like based on this sample of my tastes I'm all ears.
FAVORITE ADVENTURE GAME:
Grim Fandango. I wrote a full review of this before. Though it's 6 years old it remains unsurpased in great writing, which is important in a very dialogue heavy game. Plus the visuals, characters, music, and puzzles are about as good as they get.
Runner-up: Myst/Riven. I can't decide which one I like better. Myst was deffinitely more revolutionary and had better pacing, but Riven otherwise took everything that was great about Myst to a new level. I've always sort of considered Myst to be the "Titanic" of vidoegames. Like that movie it was met with unanimous acclaim and they both set the record for most money made in their respective mediums, only to recieve a ton of backlash after a year or so. (The only difference being that I still like Myst, and don't care for "Titanic.") Myst was once the top selling game of all-time, and while there is still a market for its sequels, it is a niche market for sure. A lot of hardcore oldschool adventure gamers blame it on the decline of graphic adventure games, something that I just don't get. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but for those who liked it it set a standard never to be reached again by any of its many clones.
Honorary mentions: Monkey Island series, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Myst 3, Day of the Tentacle.
FAVORITE 3D SHOOTER
Half-life. For a game created over 5 years ago it has sure aged pretty darn well. The level desing was pure genius nad really made you feel you were inside this military complex, and the AI was outstanding. The weapons were all balanced, and there was always some interesting surprise awaiting you.
Runner-up: Quake. I've put more hours into Quake than any other videogame ever. When I got my first "good" computer in the 8th grade Quake was the new big game out that I could actually run. The game ran smoothly, controlled like a dream, and had ingenious levle desing. But the real kicker was that it was so easy to get ahold of a level editor, and while I never did this, many did and there were always sites dedicated to well desinged maps. Many of which were even better than the ones that came with the game. Thank God for nerds! In this respect it was like a never ending game. Sure the graphics are a bit dated, and the AI poor, but levels could be designed around that. Plus I really dug the midievel H.P. Lovecraftesque atmosphere of the game. Something that was missing in the dissapointing Quake 2. Quake is just about as much fun now as it ever was.
Honorable mentions: Descent series, Rogue Leader.
BEST SIDE-SCROLLER:
Viewtiful Joe. I wrote a review of this too, but basically I just said that Viewtiful Joe was a stroke of genius by taking an otherwise outdated genre and just making a few minor tweaks to it to give the genre new life. Not everything has to be 3D, and Viewtiful Joe proves just how great oldschool side-scrollers were, and then adds to it. Pure genius.
Runner-Up: Super Castlevania. Super Castlevania was just too much fun. Like many good SNES side-scrollers it was diabolical. Near impossible to beat. But unlike Contra III this at least inculdes a continue system, so you don't have to start form square one after you run out of continues, though it is still very difficult. Kudos for the game's artists for creating a well detailed horror universe with such pixelated technology. And the creature design was well thought out too. That dancing couple boss you have to fight is just plain creepy.
BEST PLATFORMER:
Yoshi's Island. This game should also win the award for easiest and yet most fun game. Everything about this game is a piece of cake, and yet... it rules! There's no better way to describe it.
Runner up: Mario 3. Still pretty easy, but more difficult by Mario standards. And it seemed to have more creative innovations than even Super Mario World. Like getting the hammer brother's costume was so rare and very rewarding to get a chance to play. While I liked Mario Sunshine it's just not a Mario game to me. 2D Mario is the way to go and no platformers have had so many secrets and replay value.
BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE GAME
Zelda: A Link to the Past. The game is admittedly a bit dated, and too easy, but it's the most well designed of the Zelda series. It's linear enough that you clearly know where to go next, but there's so much secret stuff to find too (including that one secret that is a curse to find where your magic meter gets lowered by half for the rest of the game). It also has more dungeons than the rest of the series. The fact that 2D Zeldas are still coming out in gameboy form shows just how timeless the formula is.
Runner up: Metroid series. I can't decide upon a favorite. The original was most revolutionary, but Super Metroid improved upoin it in every way with better technology creating better graphics, bigger environments and more secrets. I feel the same way about Metroid Prime, but the 2D metroids are still great, and that's why they're still coming out for the GBA. It's a great formula and I'm very cautiosly optimistic about the new changes coming to Metroid Prime 2.
Honorable mention: Beyond Good & Evil, and Prince of Persia. Both too short and too easy, but did just about everything right while they lasted.
OVERALL FAVORITE GAME OF ALL-TIME
Starcraft. Quite possibly the most timeless video-game ever created. Even when it came out its graphics weren't the best, but it was so exceptionally designed that it didn't matter. I've never played a game that has so well combined strategy, action, and so much replay value. Blizzard is amazing for creating this (among other games) that ship with battle.net, Blizzard's free online service, so you can play it in mutliplayer online as much as you want with no monthly fee. And for a 6 year old game it is still played constantly, and never gets old. I'm constantly discovering new strategies. Starcraft is the closest a videogame has gotten to chess, and without a doubt it'll be played by a huge fallowing for years to come.
FAVORITE ADVENTURE GAME:
Grim Fandango. I wrote a full review of this before. Though it's 6 years old it remains unsurpased in great writing, which is important in a very dialogue heavy game. Plus the visuals, characters, music, and puzzles are about as good as they get.
Runner-up: Myst/Riven. I can't decide which one I like better. Myst was deffinitely more revolutionary and had better pacing, but Riven otherwise took everything that was great about Myst to a new level. I've always sort of considered Myst to be the "Titanic" of vidoegames. Like that movie it was met with unanimous acclaim and they both set the record for most money made in their respective mediums, only to recieve a ton of backlash after a year or so. (The only difference being that I still like Myst, and don't care for "Titanic.") Myst was once the top selling game of all-time, and while there is still a market for its sequels, it is a niche market for sure. A lot of hardcore oldschool adventure gamers blame it on the decline of graphic adventure games, something that I just don't get. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but for those who liked it it set a standard never to be reached again by any of its many clones.
Honorary mentions: Monkey Island series, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Myst 3, Day of the Tentacle.
FAVORITE 3D SHOOTER
Half-life. For a game created over 5 years ago it has sure aged pretty darn well. The level desing was pure genius nad really made you feel you were inside this military complex, and the AI was outstanding. The weapons were all balanced, and there was always some interesting surprise awaiting you.
Runner-up: Quake. I've put more hours into Quake than any other videogame ever. When I got my first "good" computer in the 8th grade Quake was the new big game out that I could actually run. The game ran smoothly, controlled like a dream, and had ingenious levle desing. But the real kicker was that it was so easy to get ahold of a level editor, and while I never did this, many did and there were always sites dedicated to well desinged maps. Many of which were even better than the ones that came with the game. Thank God for nerds! In this respect it was like a never ending game. Sure the graphics are a bit dated, and the AI poor, but levels could be designed around that. Plus I really dug the midievel H.P. Lovecraftesque atmosphere of the game. Something that was missing in the dissapointing Quake 2. Quake is just about as much fun now as it ever was.
Honorable mentions: Descent series, Rogue Leader.
BEST SIDE-SCROLLER:
Viewtiful Joe. I wrote a review of this too, but basically I just said that Viewtiful Joe was a stroke of genius by taking an otherwise outdated genre and just making a few minor tweaks to it to give the genre new life. Not everything has to be 3D, and Viewtiful Joe proves just how great oldschool side-scrollers were, and then adds to it. Pure genius.
Runner-Up: Super Castlevania. Super Castlevania was just too much fun. Like many good SNES side-scrollers it was diabolical. Near impossible to beat. But unlike Contra III this at least inculdes a continue system, so you don't have to start form square one after you run out of continues, though it is still very difficult. Kudos for the game's artists for creating a well detailed horror universe with such pixelated technology. And the creature design was well thought out too. That dancing couple boss you have to fight is just plain creepy.
BEST PLATFORMER:
Yoshi's Island. This game should also win the award for easiest and yet most fun game. Everything about this game is a piece of cake, and yet... it rules! There's no better way to describe it.
Runner up: Mario 3. Still pretty easy, but more difficult by Mario standards. And it seemed to have more creative innovations than even Super Mario World. Like getting the hammer brother's costume was so rare and very rewarding to get a chance to play. While I liked Mario Sunshine it's just not a Mario game to me. 2D Mario is the way to go and no platformers have had so many secrets and replay value.
BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE GAME
Zelda: A Link to the Past. The game is admittedly a bit dated, and too easy, but it's the most well designed of the Zelda series. It's linear enough that you clearly know where to go next, but there's so much secret stuff to find too (including that one secret that is a curse to find where your magic meter gets lowered by half for the rest of the game). It also has more dungeons than the rest of the series. The fact that 2D Zeldas are still coming out in gameboy form shows just how timeless the formula is.
Runner up: Metroid series. I can't decide upon a favorite. The original was most revolutionary, but Super Metroid improved upoin it in every way with better technology creating better graphics, bigger environments and more secrets. I feel the same way about Metroid Prime, but the 2D metroids are still great, and that's why they're still coming out for the GBA. It's a great formula and I'm very cautiosly optimistic about the new changes coming to Metroid Prime 2.
Honorable mention: Beyond Good & Evil, and Prince of Persia. Both too short and too easy, but did just about everything right while they lasted.
OVERALL FAVORITE GAME OF ALL-TIME
Starcraft. Quite possibly the most timeless video-game ever created. Even when it came out its graphics weren't the best, but it was so exceptionally designed that it didn't matter. I've never played a game that has so well combined strategy, action, and so much replay value. Blizzard is amazing for creating this (among other games) that ship with battle.net, Blizzard's free online service, so you can play it in mutliplayer online as much as you want with no monthly fee. And for a 6 year old game it is still played constantly, and never gets old. I'm constantly discovering new strategies. Starcraft is the closest a videogame has gotten to chess, and without a doubt it'll be played by a huge fallowing for years to come.
