A Top 10 For All To See - Part II

Damn Straight!

I'm thinking of redecorating this place, you know? Maybe put a nice new wallpaper up, switch the color scheme up some. Generally just make things look more presentable. That will be an ongoing project until NHL 11 and Reach come out. And if you drop by and everything looks like shit, Don't Worry! It's just me.

So last week I posted my top 10 video games of all time. Well, sort of. I cut it off halfway through. (Here, if you missed it.)  Otherwise, it would have been an extremely verbose post that I seriously doubt anyone would have finished. Plus, I had other stuff to write. And also people came over. And by people I mean relatives. Time was at a premium.



Here is the final 5 of the top 10 after the jump.

#5

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

This game was the first one that I saw on the Xbox 360. That was in late 2006. I didn't finally play it until 2010. I was worried about getting sucked into the game like I saw happen to my friends and eventual roommates. Those fears were well-founded it seems. Though I did not get fully enveloped by the game, I did sink a good amount of time into it (Got all the achievements!) and tried to go through and complete every quest that I could. I played the "Knights of the Nine" expansion, which was lackluster, and the "Shivering Isles" expansion, which was really crazy and a hell of a lot of fun.

             Looks pretty, doesn't it?           What other game has glass weapons?

The game is extremely immersive and so grand. You are presented with a variety of options. Some are subtle while others are blatantly obvious. For instance, I could go around and be a humongous jerk and steal from everyone in the game or even assassinate them. Somehow the story would still play out and it would be different in some respects to other possible endings. I must admit, that the first time I played, I got lost. Had no clue if I was going in the right direction. I travelled for almost a half hour till I finally arrived at the quest location. This showed my that this game was different. There was no linear path to an objective or some boring path I was forced to follow. This world was open and quite ripe for adventure. The combat is also a new one for me. I tended to stay away from the hack-and-slash genre since I never really found them to be enjoyable. This game was really the exception for me. Blocking, breaking blocks, countering, dodging, all of these play an important role in Oblivion combat. As well, the bow and arrow system was a lot of fun. It is awesome to snipe someone from about 100 feet away with a bow and arrow. Never got old.

#4

Call of Duty 2 / Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

I was extremely hesitant to put Call of Duty 4: MW on here with Call of Duty 2. In my opinion, Call of Duty 2, produced by Infinity Ward, is the best of the series and nothing has trumped it yet. From fighting in the sands of Libya, to running through Stalingrad, to storming the beaches of Normandy, to crossing the Rhine river, this game was packed with action and awesome gameplay. The only gripe I have with it is the ending, so anti-climactic. And if you want a real challenge, beat the game on Veteran. It takes a lot of patience and time.

The American Solder in WWII.                                 And now.                   

 After an aggravating Call of Duty 3 by developer Treyarch, Infinity Ward decides to move away from single shot rifles and dab green uniforms to the world of guided missiles, full camouflage, and guided missiles. The single player was such an amazing experience. The most memorable part of the entire game is "All Ghillied Up" and the follow-up mission "One Shot, One Kill." The mission combines speed, secrecy, accuracy and all out brutal force into an amazing two mission flashback focused on assassination and survival. Another stalwart feature of Modern Warfare is it's multiplayer. I don't need to say much about this, but I will say the online MP really drove home the importance of a good connection.

#3

The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time

What top 10 gaming list would dare snub Zelda? Not this one, it seems. I already told everyone that the first game I got for the N64 was StarFox. The second one I picked up was this little gem, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time. This was my first true brush with RPG gaming and it was a blast. Seriously now, what other game could make a gigantic talking tree with a phony mustache seem legit? This game was one of the first free-roam RPGs to make a big impact on the gaming community, though it did have many linear spaces. In a great many circles it is regarded as simply the best game ever made.

       The Gates of Hyrule.                          The Green One: Ganondorf  

 The story starts with a young boy, Link, being woken up by an annoying fairy. (Hold up. I mean an actual fairy. No lawsuits people!) But anyway, he lives in a village where everyone is a child and they never grow up, except for him. Once you get out of the forest you make your way to Hyrule and the journey really kicks off. Level design in this game, while interesting and entertaining, could have used a little bit more thought. Seriously, I don't know of anyone who didn't spend hours in the Water Temple trying to figure out where the hell to go. The Forest Temple was also extremely confusing, but I will leave that one alone.

Young Link.                              Adult Link.

And this game is subtitled "The Ocarina of Time." This is the first Zelda game were Link actually ages. Once you go through and get the three Spiritual Stones, get the Ocarina of Time, and unlock the Sacred Realm, you can posses the Master Sword to go forward in time. This becomes necessary for some levels and also allows you to unlock certain items. Using the Ocarina was always interesting too, even if it came off a little fruity. And no one even get me started on that Wind Waker crap for the GameCube. Twilight Princess was a step in the right direction but I am hoping for an "Ocarina"-like experience from Skyward Sword. You heard me Miyamoto! Cut out the cartoony crap! I want more polish and better gameplay!

#2

X-Wing, X-Wing Vs. Tie Fighter, X-Wing Alliance

Now this is a real classic. First launched on the PC in 1993 the X-Wing series dominated the 90's for me. I played this series constantly. There was no other flight-sim like it. Wing Commander and Descent definitely get some props but when you want to talk about space combat simulation, X-Wing is the first name that should be mentioned. Four games were eventually developed and released for the series but, since 1999, not a single game. (Get on it LucasArts!!!)

   X-Wing.                                                 Tie Fighter

The X-Wing games always attempted a realistic take on what is, ultimately, a fictional universe. The key features of the series are the ability to put power to shields or engines, limited secondary weapon ammunition, wing-mate commands, attacking ship points, hostile/friendly ship AI, and, in later versions, travel to engagements through hyperspace, turrets in larger vessels, and landing on capital ships during battles. With today's technology, these features would be the tip of the iceberg.

X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter.                             X-Wing Alliance.   

Let's also not forget the graphics. They were always decent for a game with extremely large areas of combat (Duh, it's space!) and large models (i.e. Super Star Destroyer). Just think what this could look like running Direct-X 10 and some GeForce 9800 GTX2s. And with multi-core processing and faster RAM it would be entirely possible to have large scale multiplayer battles where planets and star systems are actually distinct entities. I would love to have a dog-fight in the stars and then take it down to the atmosphere of some random planet and dodge through canyons and such. Also, the ability to fly and do armament for capital ships would be welcome as well.

#1

Halo: Combat Evolved - Halo: Reach

I worked at a Boy Scout camp one summer, back in 2002, as a camp counselor. The tents we stayed in were large, had decent beds, but, best of all, had power outlets. A few of the counselors, brothers I think, brought along a TV, an Xbox, and this new game called Halo. Their tent was the place to be when we weren't working. Free-For-Alls, 2v2s, objective, slayer; we played it a lot. That was where I got my first taste of console first-person-shooter madness and my introduction to John-117, a.k.a. Master Chief (Master Chief Petty Officer to be exact. He is Navy.). Well, then Halo 2 came along and got everyone hooked on Online Multiplayer matches. I am included in the "everyone" group.

Halo: CE Master Chief.                                                                           Halo 2 Master Chief.

Halo 3 was the primary reason I purchased a Xbox 360, although I obviously enjoyed other games on it too. The Halo 3 Multiplayer, with a filling, though short, campaign, took up a lot of my gaming time during my junior year of college. Two years later, it was ODST, arriving on my b-day. For most Halo fanatics, this game changed what Halo could be. With the earlier incarnations, it was all about brute force and just wiping out the enemy. Being an ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper) forced players to survive rather than annihilate. You can't always take out everything in your way, like the Chief. ODST also introduced the Firefight mode (Think Horde mode, Nazi Zombies, or just a survival mode in general.) This is endless and aggravating fun.

        Halo 3 Master Chief.                                                              ODST Protagonist, the, uh ODST.

The final addition to this franchise by Bungie, the developer for every Halo game except Halo Wars, will be Halo: Reach. Lots of new bells and whistles but also a lot of sleek refinements to stuff like Forge Mode and Firefight. The campaign also looks to be one of the most fun since it will finally introduce squad based combat to the Halo universe. There is also another thing that has always drawn me to the Halo series; the audio. Thank you, Marty O'Donnell. Who knew the power of some monks chanting and some beautiful chords in the mode of E Dorian?

The new protagonist for Reach, Noble 6.

                                                                                                               

Well, that is my top 10, but you always need to have an honorable mention section. The only order these are in is alphabetical, because I'm not gonna think about rating all these as well dammit!

• Age of Empire I, II, and III: Great games, but something always felt just short of perfection. Now that Ensemble Studios is gone, I doubt we will ever see an Age of Empires IV, but I always hope they would get back to Greco-Roman times, but who knows what we might see in the future.
• Assassin's Creed I and II: Truly a groundbreaking series, but repetitive tasks and such kept it off my list. To be truthful, the second game had some vast improvements over the first, but I miss my fully open world that was lost in the second.
• Bubble Bobble: Just a truly classic game and experience. I don't think every got past, like, the first then levels though. If you have never played Bubble Bobble, you are probably shit out of luck unless you can find a port somewhere.
• Dark Forces-Jedi Academy: Dark Forces was the first FPS I ever played. It was essentially a Star Wars Version of Doom but it had better graphics and a better story line (Let's face it, Doom didn't really have a storyline). The series then evolved to Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight because everyone has to be a Jedi. Well, then Jedi Outcast came. This was probably one of the best games that people didn't really play. Jedi Academy was a revamped version that played a little smoother.
• Gears of War: Another stalwart of the Xbox platform, Gears of War added grittiness back to the console FPS genre. It was disgusting, revolting, sometime scary, and it was a hell of a lot of fun. Gears 3 should be interesting, but I hope the campaign is better than Gears 2.
• Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfigther 2: Normally just called GRAW, this game was the first I picked up for the Xbox 360. The single player was great but the multiplayer was just a port of GRAW 1. We aren't stupid Ubisoft. Everyone knew it and was disgusted by it.
• Guitar Hero/Rock Band: I know that some of you are gasping in disgust as I put these two games together. Whatever, they are basically the same damn game made by pretty much the same people. Guitar Hero was the first and it is still better in terms of quality. Rock Band brought forth vocals, drums (though they are more fun on GH), and soon keys. The introduction of the Pro mode should also change this generation of rhythm video games. We shall see how it goes.
• Rainbow Six Vegas: What is more fun that going and having a great time in Vegas? Apparently, it is going to Vegas and shooting the shit out of everything. The multiplayer was decent but Co-Op campaign and terrorist hunt were the real reason to get this game.
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: One of the best RPGs I ever played. This game paved the way for Mass Effect, since they are both by Bioware. The only reason this didn't make my top 10 was because I never really had the urge to play it again once I beat it. Maybe that was because KOTOR II royally sucked. The Old Republic MMORPG that will be coming out in 2011 better answer some freaking questions.
• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed: I had so hoped when I saw this, that is was basically going to be a continuation of the Dark Forces series with different characters. It wasn't, but it was still an excellent game. The story is amazing, and the characters, graphics, physics engine, and effects are superb, but it felt too much like a button mashing arcade game to make my top 10. I will definitely be getting TFU II since it looks like some key issues have been corrected from the first game.



Fin.