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The technology and... whatever regarding videogames is changing all the time. I mean, it seems like only yesterday that I recieved my Mega Drive and played on it almost non-stop... whereas "nowadays" (HA!) it's all "Gamecube this!" and "PS2 that!". I've got nothing against new games and new consoles, far from it in fact. But don't you agree that there are some games that stay amongst your firm favourites, no matter how old or how outdated that they get to look compared to new technology? That's certainly the case as far as I'm concerned.
Another point to make is that these games can become classics even if they're below par on the graphics side of things, or they bare (or is it bear?) dodgy controls or crappy music. And if a game can really shine and hold your interest for years despite it lacking in a certain area, then you know that it's definately a work of art, so to speak.
So below is a list of games that will ALWAYS be set like stone into my list of all time favourite games.
--------------------
"Tetris" (Game Boy) - Nintendo
Strangely, the origins of this game are a complete mystery to me. All I know is that some Russian guy came up with Tetris and so far no one has managed to better it. Countless developers have tried to come up with a Tetris clone that would set the world on fire... and countless developers have failed. The KING of puzzle games, and one that I still play over and over again.
--------------------
"Castle Wolfenstein 3D" (PC) - id Software
Looks crap.
Sounds crap.
Plays crap.
Still, this was the game that started off the whole first person shooter craze that refuses to go away. It's this game that we've got to thank for the likes of Doom, Quake, GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, Turok, Unreal and countless other FPS's appearing and filling our gaming lives with violent joy. A game to worship if not to play... though every so often I can't resist taking it for a Nazi-killin' spin, so it can't be that bad. (Not available in Germany! HA!)
--------------------
"Sonic & Knuckles" (SEGA Mega Drive) - SEGA, Sonic Team
This was (as far as I know) a first in the gaming world: a game that could be connected to previous titles in the series. Connecting S&K to SOnic 2 saw you playing through Sonic 2 as Knuckles, allowing you discover new hidden secrets and offering a whole new batch of gameplay due to Knuckles' unique abilities. Connecting S&K to Sonic 3 saw the two games combine to create a "34-meg epic" (as it claimed on the box), where the players were able to play through the "Death Egg" storyline in one go, and collect the Super Emeralds and unlock new super versions of the Sonic cast (Hyper Sonic, Super Tails and Hyper Knuckles). And on top of the innovitive "lock-on" feature of the S&K cartridge, the game was also an excellent experience on its' own, due to it including that familiar Sonic gameplay and the best graphics ever seen in any of Sonic's 2D games. Amazing.
--------------------
"Turok 2: Seeds of Evil" (Nintendo 64) - Acclaim, Iguana Entertainment (now Acclaim Studios Austin)
The second in the series is, and probably always will be, my fave first person shooters. No matter how many Turok or Perfect Dark sequels that might be in the works, or however many new ideas might be squeezing between the cogs as we speak might emerge... Turok 2 just keeps me coming back for more. Maybe it's the huge arsenal of over-the-top, village flatterning guns? Maybe it's the immense size of the game and the challenge that it presents? Maybe it's the incredibly tense atmosphere (of the boss battles, in particular)? Or maybe I just like seeing that Cerebral Bore in action just one more time? Whatever it is... Turok 2, despite its' inept multiplayer mode and sometimes questionable framerate, is the one FPS that has kept me hooked the longest. Definately the Turok game that stands out the most.
--------------------
"Sonic Adventure" (SEGA Dreamcast) - SEGA, Sonic Team
Mario beat him to it, but Sonic didn't let that stop him. This was THE launch game to own on the Dreamcast and was a major milestone in Sonic's history, as it saw Sonic's first ever proper 3D outing. While compared to today's standard of games (as far as graphics and gameplay are concerned) it seems lacking, it's still fun to play after all this time. 7 characters each with their own unique gameplay and each characters' storyline merged with the others to make way for a final showdown at with Perfect Chaos at the end of the game make it a real treat. Admittedly it's not that hard to complete and Big the Cat's game was utter tosh, but as SEGA's first proper attempt to take Sonic into the 3D age (minus "Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island" on the Mega Drive), things could have been a LOT worse and not a lot better.
--------------------
"Donkey Kong 64" (Nintendo 64) - Nintendo, Rareware
N64 owners waited YEARS for this, and it didn't disappoint. Rare took everything that was utterly amazing from the 2D Donkey Kong games on the SNES and injected them with the 3D treatment, and the result was an absolutely immense game that gave the likes of Super Mario 64 a damn good run for its' money. The game's most enjoyable and imaginative feature was the way that it required you to use all 5 characters throughout the entire game, and frequent puzzle solving and character specific levers, doors etc required you to use your brain instead of simply letting you spend a few days pressing a jump button and hopping between platforms. Unique abilities for each character, a more-than-decent multiplayer game (which is extremely rare for a platformer) AND a DK Rap? You couldn't really ask for more could you? Nevertheless, we still got it. Ingenius level design made the game more enjoyable than the rubbish that third-party developers churn out. Graphically the game excelled, and Rare made an effort to make the game appeal to fans of the SNES games while at the same time adding a wealth of additional features that made DK64 stand out from the previous games. Rare at their best.
--------------------
"Jet Set Radio" (SEGA Dreamcast) - SEGA, Smilebit
Quite simply one of the most innovitive and original games ever devised, and definately a game that SEGA should be VERY proud of as far as I'm concerned. Jet Set Radio is unlike any game released before it. Some could argue that it contains elements from the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series (as was the case when I first played it), but to be honest, these "similarities" are minute (you can grind and.... um, that's it!). Before JSR (and possibly Wacky Races, but you'll have to research that yourselves), the "cel-shaded" style was heavily frowned upon by gamers and developers alike... but in reality, it started a trend that probably won't die down for a while. Hell, even Nintendo have subjected the new "Legend of Zelda" game to the cel-shaded treatment. And if Nintendo feel it's right to change the look of the Zelda series after all this time, then cel-shading must be something pretty special. Whatever the case may be, Jet Set Radio's unique blend of spraying grafitti, a "kickin'!" soundtrack and having to avoidi the likes of the police, the army and even a band of psychopath assassins make it a real gaming gem. SEGA did Dreamcast owners proud, and my only gripe is that the sequel didn't make it to SEGA's own console. Shame.
--------------------
"Bomberman Tournament" (Nintendo Game Boy Advance) - Activision, Hudson
After the absolutely excellent Bomberman games on the SNES and Mega Drive, Hudson made a habit of repeatedly ballsing up any Bomberman games that it developed. The Game Boy Color got a dodgy platformer(?!), while the less said about the N64's "Bomberman 64" and "Bomberman Hero" the better. However, they did something right when it really counted. The GBA version of Bomberman promised to stay faithful to the Bomberman formula of gameplay seen on the SNES and Mega Drive, so if Hudson managed to muck this up then what hope would there be for old B-Man? Luckilly, Hudson came up trumps because Bomberman Tournament is, quite simply, the best version since "Mega Bomberman". The multiplayer games really made the game stand out above most of the early GBA games released before it, while the single player RPG Pokémon-esque game gave the player something to do when / if they were short on friends. Put simply, Bomberman Tournament offered exactly what the N64 B-Man games should have: a decent single player game along with the fantastic multiplayer games that Bomberman fans have grown accustomed to.
--------------------
There ya go. Opinions and.... stuff(?!) welcome.
Another point to make is that these games can become classics even if they're below par on the graphics side of things, or they bare (or is it bear?) dodgy controls or crappy music. And if a game can really shine and hold your interest for years despite it lacking in a certain area, then you know that it's definately a work of art, so to speak.
So below is a list of games that will ALWAYS be set like stone into my list of all time favourite games.
--------------------
"Tetris" (Game Boy) - Nintendo
Strangely, the origins of this game are a complete mystery to me. All I know is that some Russian guy came up with Tetris and so far no one has managed to better it. Countless developers have tried to come up with a Tetris clone that would set the world on fire... and countless developers have failed. The KING of puzzle games, and one that I still play over and over again.
--------------------
"Castle Wolfenstein 3D" (PC) - id Software
Looks crap.
Sounds crap.
Plays crap.
Still, this was the game that started off the whole first person shooter craze that refuses to go away. It's this game that we've got to thank for the likes of Doom, Quake, GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, Turok, Unreal and countless other FPS's appearing and filling our gaming lives with violent joy. A game to worship if not to play... though every so often I can't resist taking it for a Nazi-killin' spin, so it can't be that bad. (Not available in Germany! HA!)
--------------------
"Sonic & Knuckles" (SEGA Mega Drive) - SEGA, Sonic Team
This was (as far as I know) a first in the gaming world: a game that could be connected to previous titles in the series. Connecting S&K to SOnic 2 saw you playing through Sonic 2 as Knuckles, allowing you discover new hidden secrets and offering a whole new batch of gameplay due to Knuckles' unique abilities. Connecting S&K to Sonic 3 saw the two games combine to create a "34-meg epic" (as it claimed on the box), where the players were able to play through the "Death Egg" storyline in one go, and collect the Super Emeralds and unlock new super versions of the Sonic cast (Hyper Sonic, Super Tails and Hyper Knuckles). And on top of the innovitive "lock-on" feature of the S&K cartridge, the game was also an excellent experience on its' own, due to it including that familiar Sonic gameplay and the best graphics ever seen in any of Sonic's 2D games. Amazing.
--------------------
"Turok 2: Seeds of Evil" (Nintendo 64) - Acclaim, Iguana Entertainment (now Acclaim Studios Austin)
The second in the series is, and probably always will be, my fave first person shooters. No matter how many Turok or Perfect Dark sequels that might be in the works, or however many new ideas might be squeezing between the cogs as we speak might emerge... Turok 2 just keeps me coming back for more. Maybe it's the huge arsenal of over-the-top, village flatterning guns? Maybe it's the immense size of the game and the challenge that it presents? Maybe it's the incredibly tense atmosphere (of the boss battles, in particular)? Or maybe I just like seeing that Cerebral Bore in action just one more time? Whatever it is... Turok 2, despite its' inept multiplayer mode and sometimes questionable framerate, is the one FPS that has kept me hooked the longest. Definately the Turok game that stands out the most.
--------------------
"Sonic Adventure" (SEGA Dreamcast) - SEGA, Sonic Team
Mario beat him to it, but Sonic didn't let that stop him. This was THE launch game to own on the Dreamcast and was a major milestone in Sonic's history, as it saw Sonic's first ever proper 3D outing. While compared to today's standard of games (as far as graphics and gameplay are concerned) it seems lacking, it's still fun to play after all this time. 7 characters each with their own unique gameplay and each characters' storyline merged with the others to make way for a final showdown at with Perfect Chaos at the end of the game make it a real treat. Admittedly it's not that hard to complete and Big the Cat's game was utter tosh, but as SEGA's first proper attempt to take Sonic into the 3D age (minus "Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island" on the Mega Drive), things could have been a LOT worse and not a lot better.
--------------------
"Donkey Kong 64" (Nintendo 64) - Nintendo, Rareware
N64 owners waited YEARS for this, and it didn't disappoint. Rare took everything that was utterly amazing from the 2D Donkey Kong games on the SNES and injected them with the 3D treatment, and the result was an absolutely immense game that gave the likes of Super Mario 64 a damn good run for its' money. The game's most enjoyable and imaginative feature was the way that it required you to use all 5 characters throughout the entire game, and frequent puzzle solving and character specific levers, doors etc required you to use your brain instead of simply letting you spend a few days pressing a jump button and hopping between platforms. Unique abilities for each character, a more-than-decent multiplayer game (which is extremely rare for a platformer) AND a DK Rap? You couldn't really ask for more could you? Nevertheless, we still got it. Ingenius level design made the game more enjoyable than the rubbish that third-party developers churn out. Graphically the game excelled, and Rare made an effort to make the game appeal to fans of the SNES games while at the same time adding a wealth of additional features that made DK64 stand out from the previous games. Rare at their best.
--------------------
"Jet Set Radio" (SEGA Dreamcast) - SEGA, Smilebit
Quite simply one of the most innovitive and original games ever devised, and definately a game that SEGA should be VERY proud of as far as I'm concerned. Jet Set Radio is unlike any game released before it. Some could argue that it contains elements from the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series (as was the case when I first played it), but to be honest, these "similarities" are minute (you can grind and.... um, that's it!). Before JSR (and possibly Wacky Races, but you'll have to research that yourselves), the "cel-shaded" style was heavily frowned upon by gamers and developers alike... but in reality, it started a trend that probably won't die down for a while. Hell, even Nintendo have subjected the new "Legend of Zelda" game to the cel-shaded treatment. And if Nintendo feel it's right to change the look of the Zelda series after all this time, then cel-shading must be something pretty special. Whatever the case may be, Jet Set Radio's unique blend of spraying grafitti, a "kickin'!" soundtrack and having to avoidi the likes of the police, the army and even a band of psychopath assassins make it a real gaming gem. SEGA did Dreamcast owners proud, and my only gripe is that the sequel didn't make it to SEGA's own console. Shame.
--------------------
"Bomberman Tournament" (Nintendo Game Boy Advance) - Activision, Hudson
After the absolutely excellent Bomberman games on the SNES and Mega Drive, Hudson made a habit of repeatedly ballsing up any Bomberman games that it developed. The Game Boy Color got a dodgy platformer(?!), while the less said about the N64's "Bomberman 64" and "Bomberman Hero" the better. However, they did something right when it really counted. The GBA version of Bomberman promised to stay faithful to the Bomberman formula of gameplay seen on the SNES and Mega Drive, so if Hudson managed to muck this up then what hope would there be for old B-Man? Luckilly, Hudson came up trumps because Bomberman Tournament is, quite simply, the best version since "Mega Bomberman". The multiplayer games really made the game stand out above most of the early GBA games released before it, while the single player RPG Pokémon-esque game gave the player something to do when / if they were short on friends. Put simply, Bomberman Tournament offered exactly what the N64 B-Man games should have: a decent single player game along with the fantastic multiplayer games that Bomberman fans have grown accustomed to.
--------------------
There ya go. Opinions and.... stuff(?!) welcome.
Everyone I've spoken to seemed to find Donkey Kong 64 boring, I loved it. Okay some of the mini games like that Beaver hurding one got a bit repetetive but it had some of my favourite N64 gaming moments. Fungi Forest was a God like level, along with Freezeazy Peak on Banjo Kazooie they where 2 of Rares finest moments.
Oh and Jet Set Radio rules all!
Oh and Jet Set Radio rules all!
The technology and... whatever regarding videogames is changing all the time. I mean, it seems like only yesterday that I recieved my Mega Drive and played on it almost non-stop... whereas "nowadays" (HA!) it's all "Gamecube this!" and "PS2 that!". I've got nothing against new games and new consoles, far from it in fact. But don't you agree that there are some games that stay amongst your firm favourites, no matter how old or how outdated that they get to look compared to new technology? That's certainly the case as far as I'm concerned.
Another point to make is that these games can become classics even if they're below par on the graphics side of things, or they bare (or is it bear?) dodgy controls or crappy music. And if a game can really shine and hold your interest for years despite it lacking in a certain area, then you know that it's definately a work of art, so to speak.
So below is a list of games that will ALWAYS be set like stone into my list of all time favourite games.
--------------------
"Tetris" (Game Boy) - Nintendo
Strangely, the origins of this game are a complete mystery to me. All I know is that some Russian guy came up with Tetris and so far no one has managed to better it. Countless developers have tried to come up with a Tetris clone that would set the world on fire... and countless developers have failed. The KING of puzzle games, and one that I still play over and over again.
--------------------
"Castle Wolfenstein 3D" (PC) - id Software
Looks crap.
Sounds crap.
Plays crap.
Still, this was the game that started off the whole first person shooter craze that refuses to go away. It's this game that we've got to thank for the likes of Doom, Quake, GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, Turok, Unreal and countless other FPS's appearing and filling our gaming lives with violent joy. A game to worship if not to play... though every so often I can't resist taking it for a Nazi-killin' spin, so it can't be that bad. (Not available in Germany! HA!)
--------------------
"Sonic & Knuckles" (SEGA Mega Drive) - SEGA, Sonic Team
This was (as far as I know) a first in the gaming world: a game that could be connected to previous titles in the series. Connecting S&K to SOnic 2 saw you playing through Sonic 2 as Knuckles, allowing you discover new hidden secrets and offering a whole new batch of gameplay due to Knuckles' unique abilities. Connecting S&K to Sonic 3 saw the two games combine to create a "34-meg epic" (as it claimed on the box), where the players were able to play through the "Death Egg" storyline in one go, and collect the Super Emeralds and unlock new super versions of the Sonic cast (Hyper Sonic, Super Tails and Hyper Knuckles). And on top of the innovitive "lock-on" feature of the S&K cartridge, the game was also an excellent experience on its' own, due to it including that familiar Sonic gameplay and the best graphics ever seen in any of Sonic's 2D games. Amazing.
--------------------
"Turok 2: Seeds of Evil" (Nintendo 64) - Acclaim, Iguana Entertainment (now Acclaim Studios Austin)
The second in the series is, and probably always will be, my fave first person shooters. No matter how many Turok or Perfect Dark sequels that might be in the works, or however many new ideas might be squeezing between the cogs as we speak might emerge... Turok 2 just keeps me coming back for more. Maybe it's the huge arsenal of over-the-top, village flatterning guns? Maybe it's the immense size of the game and the challenge that it presents? Maybe it's the incredibly tense atmosphere (of the boss battles, in particular)? Or maybe I just like seeing that Cerebral Bore in action just one more time? Whatever it is... Turok 2, despite its' inept multiplayer mode and sometimes questionable framerate, is the one FPS that has kept me hooked the longest. Definately the Turok game that stands out the most.
--------------------
"Sonic Adventure" (SEGA Dreamcast) - SEGA, Sonic Team
Mario beat him to it, but Sonic didn't let that stop him. This was THE launch game to own on the Dreamcast and was a major milestone in Sonic's history, as it saw Sonic's first ever proper 3D outing. While compared to today's standard of games (as far as graphics and gameplay are concerned) it seems lacking, it's still fun to play after all this time. 7 characters each with their own unique gameplay and each characters' storyline merged with the others to make way for a final showdown at with Perfect Chaos at the end of the game make it a real treat. Admittedly it's not that hard to complete and Big the Cat's game was utter tosh, but as SEGA's first proper attempt to take Sonic into the 3D age (minus "Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island" on the Mega Drive), things could have been a LOT worse and not a lot better.
--------------------
"Donkey Kong 64" (Nintendo 64) - Nintendo, Rareware
N64 owners waited YEARS for this, and it didn't disappoint. Rare took everything that was utterly amazing from the 2D Donkey Kong games on the SNES and injected them with the 3D treatment, and the result was an absolutely immense game that gave the likes of Super Mario 64 a damn good run for its' money. The game's most enjoyable and imaginative feature was the way that it required you to use all 5 characters throughout the entire game, and frequent puzzle solving and character specific levers, doors etc required you to use your brain instead of simply letting you spend a few days pressing a jump button and hopping between platforms. Unique abilities for each character, a more-than-decent multiplayer game (which is extremely rare for a platformer) AND a DK Rap? You couldn't really ask for more could you? Nevertheless, we still got it. Ingenius level design made the game more enjoyable than the rubbish that third-party developers churn out. Graphically the game excelled, and Rare made an effort to make the game appeal to fans of the SNES games while at the same time adding a wealth of additional features that made DK64 stand out from the previous games. Rare at their best.
--------------------
"Jet Set Radio" (SEGA Dreamcast) - SEGA, Smilebit
Quite simply one of the most innovitive and original games ever devised, and definately a game that SEGA should be VERY proud of as far as I'm concerned. Jet Set Radio is unlike any game released before it. Some could argue that it contains elements from the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series (as was the case when I first played it), but to be honest, these "similarities" are minute (you can grind and.... um, that's it!). Before JSR (and possibly Wacky Races, but you'll have to research that yourselves), the "cel-shaded" style was heavily frowned upon by gamers and developers alike... but in reality, it started a trend that probably won't die down for a while. Hell, even Nintendo have subjected the new "Legend of Zelda" game to the cel-shaded treatment. And if Nintendo feel it's right to change the look of the Zelda series after all this time, then cel-shading must be something pretty special. Whatever the case may be, Jet Set Radio's unique blend of spraying grafitti, a "kickin'!" soundtrack and having to avoidi the likes of the police, the army and even a band of psychopath assassins make it a real gaming gem. SEGA did Dreamcast owners proud, and my only gripe is that the sequel didn't make it to SEGA's own console. Shame.
--------------------
"Bomberman Tournament" (Nintendo Game Boy Advance) - Activision, Hudson
After the absolutely excellent Bomberman games on the SNES and Mega Drive, Hudson made a habit of repeatedly ballsing up any Bomberman games that it developed. The Game Boy Color got a dodgy platformer(?!), while the less said about the N64's "Bomberman 64" and "Bomberman Hero" the better. However, they did something right when it really counted. The GBA version of Bomberman promised to stay faithful to the Bomberman formula of gameplay seen on the SNES and Mega Drive, so if Hudson managed to muck this up then what hope would there be for old B-Man? Luckilly, Hudson came up trumps because Bomberman Tournament is, quite simply, the best version since "Mega Bomberman". The multiplayer games really made the game stand out above most of the early GBA games released before it, while the single player RPG Pokémon-esque game gave the player something to do when / if they were short on friends. Put simply, Bomberman Tournament offered exactly what the N64 B-Man games should have: a decent single player game along with the fantastic multiplayer games that Bomberman fans have grown accustomed to.
--------------------
There ya go. Opinions and.... stuff(?!) welcome.
Another point to make is that these games can become classics even if they're below par on the graphics side of things, or they bare (or is it bear?) dodgy controls or crappy music. And if a game can really shine and hold your interest for years despite it lacking in a certain area, then you know that it's definately a work of art, so to speak.
So below is a list of games that will ALWAYS be set like stone into my list of all time favourite games.
--------------------
"Tetris" (Game Boy) - Nintendo
Strangely, the origins of this game are a complete mystery to me. All I know is that some Russian guy came up with Tetris and so far no one has managed to better it. Countless developers have tried to come up with a Tetris clone that would set the world on fire... and countless developers have failed. The KING of puzzle games, and one that I still play over and over again.
--------------------
"Castle Wolfenstein 3D" (PC) - id Software
Looks crap.
Sounds crap.
Plays crap.
Still, this was the game that started off the whole first person shooter craze that refuses to go away. It's this game that we've got to thank for the likes of Doom, Quake, GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, Turok, Unreal and countless other FPS's appearing and filling our gaming lives with violent joy. A game to worship if not to play... though every so often I can't resist taking it for a Nazi-killin' spin, so it can't be that bad. (Not available in Germany! HA!)
--------------------
"Sonic & Knuckles" (SEGA Mega Drive) - SEGA, Sonic Team
This was (as far as I know) a first in the gaming world: a game that could be connected to previous titles in the series. Connecting S&K to SOnic 2 saw you playing through Sonic 2 as Knuckles, allowing you discover new hidden secrets and offering a whole new batch of gameplay due to Knuckles' unique abilities. Connecting S&K to Sonic 3 saw the two games combine to create a "34-meg epic" (as it claimed on the box), where the players were able to play through the "Death Egg" storyline in one go, and collect the Super Emeralds and unlock new super versions of the Sonic cast (Hyper Sonic, Super Tails and Hyper Knuckles). And on top of the innovitive "lock-on" feature of the S&K cartridge, the game was also an excellent experience on its' own, due to it including that familiar Sonic gameplay and the best graphics ever seen in any of Sonic's 2D games. Amazing.
--------------------
"Turok 2: Seeds of Evil" (Nintendo 64) - Acclaim, Iguana Entertainment (now Acclaim Studios Austin)
The second in the series is, and probably always will be, my fave first person shooters. No matter how many Turok or Perfect Dark sequels that might be in the works, or however many new ideas might be squeezing between the cogs as we speak might emerge... Turok 2 just keeps me coming back for more. Maybe it's the huge arsenal of over-the-top, village flatterning guns? Maybe it's the immense size of the game and the challenge that it presents? Maybe it's the incredibly tense atmosphere (of the boss battles, in particular)? Or maybe I just like seeing that Cerebral Bore in action just one more time? Whatever it is... Turok 2, despite its' inept multiplayer mode and sometimes questionable framerate, is the one FPS that has kept me hooked the longest. Definately the Turok game that stands out the most.
--------------------
"Sonic Adventure" (SEGA Dreamcast) - SEGA, Sonic Team
Mario beat him to it, but Sonic didn't let that stop him. This was THE launch game to own on the Dreamcast and was a major milestone in Sonic's history, as it saw Sonic's first ever proper 3D outing. While compared to today's standard of games (as far as graphics and gameplay are concerned) it seems lacking, it's still fun to play after all this time. 7 characters each with their own unique gameplay and each characters' storyline merged with the others to make way for a final showdown at with Perfect Chaos at the end of the game make it a real treat. Admittedly it's not that hard to complete and Big the Cat's game was utter tosh, but as SEGA's first proper attempt to take Sonic into the 3D age (minus "Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island" on the Mega Drive), things could have been a LOT worse and not a lot better.
--------------------
"Donkey Kong 64" (Nintendo 64) - Nintendo, Rareware
N64 owners waited YEARS for this, and it didn't disappoint. Rare took everything that was utterly amazing from the 2D Donkey Kong games on the SNES and injected them with the 3D treatment, and the result was an absolutely immense game that gave the likes of Super Mario 64 a damn good run for its' money. The game's most enjoyable and imaginative feature was the way that it required you to use all 5 characters throughout the entire game, and frequent puzzle solving and character specific levers, doors etc required you to use your brain instead of simply letting you spend a few days pressing a jump button and hopping between platforms. Unique abilities for each character, a more-than-decent multiplayer game (which is extremely rare for a platformer) AND a DK Rap? You couldn't really ask for more could you? Nevertheless, we still got it. Ingenius level design made the game more enjoyable than the rubbish that third-party developers churn out. Graphically the game excelled, and Rare made an effort to make the game appeal to fans of the SNES games while at the same time adding a wealth of additional features that made DK64 stand out from the previous games. Rare at their best.
--------------------
"Jet Set Radio" (SEGA Dreamcast) - SEGA, Smilebit
Quite simply one of the most innovitive and original games ever devised, and definately a game that SEGA should be VERY proud of as far as I'm concerned. Jet Set Radio is unlike any game released before it. Some could argue that it contains elements from the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series (as was the case when I first played it), but to be honest, these "similarities" are minute (you can grind and.... um, that's it!). Before JSR (and possibly Wacky Races, but you'll have to research that yourselves), the "cel-shaded" style was heavily frowned upon by gamers and developers alike... but in reality, it started a trend that probably won't die down for a while. Hell, even Nintendo have subjected the new "Legend of Zelda" game to the cel-shaded treatment. And if Nintendo feel it's right to change the look of the Zelda series after all this time, then cel-shading must be something pretty special. Whatever the case may be, Jet Set Radio's unique blend of spraying grafitti, a "kickin'!" soundtrack and having to avoidi the likes of the police, the army and even a band of psychopath assassins make it a real gaming gem. SEGA did Dreamcast owners proud, and my only gripe is that the sequel didn't make it to SEGA's own console. Shame.
--------------------
"Bomberman Tournament" (Nintendo Game Boy Advance) - Activision, Hudson
After the absolutely excellent Bomberman games on the SNES and Mega Drive, Hudson made a habit of repeatedly ballsing up any Bomberman games that it developed. The Game Boy Color got a dodgy platformer(?!), while the less said about the N64's "Bomberman 64" and "Bomberman Hero" the better. However, they did something right when it really counted. The GBA version of Bomberman promised to stay faithful to the Bomberman formula of gameplay seen on the SNES and Mega Drive, so if Hudson managed to muck this up then what hope would there be for old B-Man? Luckilly, Hudson came up trumps because Bomberman Tournament is, quite simply, the best version since "Mega Bomberman". The multiplayer games really made the game stand out above most of the early GBA games released before it, while the single player RPG Pokémon-esque game gave the player something to do when / if they were short on friends. Put simply, Bomberman Tournament offered exactly what the N64 B-Man games should have: a decent single player game along with the fantastic multiplayer games that Bomberman fans have grown accustomed to.
--------------------
There ya go. Opinions and.... stuff(?!) welcome.