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Video game top 5: retry
14 years ago
I'm dug up my old text file I had made for this meme. Instead of my traditional TD;DR, I'm going to summarize my entries as much as possible to fit all five on here and in readable sizes :P So my top five favorite video games, in ascending order, starting with #5...
#5: Zelda: Twilight Princess. My overall score on this game: 95%
Zelda games are always a solid hit, because Nintendo won't accept anything but the best from one of its flagship franchises. The quality shows through, as Twilight brought more emotion and interesting elements into the story. As always, it's a Hyrule full of adventure, quirky characters, fun mini-games, fun accessories, and strange enemies (and sometimes stranger allies!).
There were moments of joy, sadness, and nostalgia. The puzzles were interesting and fun, even if sometimes frustrating. The graphics were great, the world was beautiful and expansive, the horse-riding was fun, horseback combat was FINALLY fully realized, and the story was quite solid, save for a sub-plot and item (horse whistle) that was only made available to the player after it became absolutely useless.
But there were points to be lost. This isn't a game that really has anything in the way of replay value. It's incredible for the first time, and even as you go collecting every heart piece and all the other optional junk. But there is never any real point to start a new game, since the biggest draw, the puzzles, you've already solved. Maybe after a few years you can go back, but most of them will still come back to you when you see them.
#4: Total Annihilation. My overall score on this game: 88%
This game is OLD, but for the time period, it hit all the high marks it needed to. Spectacular reply value (essential for any RTS), graphics that pushed the envelope at the time, and it revolutionized most parts of the RTS game you probably don't think about. Most things that are standard nowadays weren't done until TA did it and did it fucking awesome.
The game was fun, had decent music, good graphics, lots of fun units that all had their use, and plenty of maps to play. The game was even made with an open engine that allowed people with certain programs to create all-new units to use in the game! The more popular ones would then be circulated around the HUGE community that this game garnered. And although not the largest game community out there, it is definitely very enduring, with dedicated players, unit creators, and servers still out there.
It loses points though for numerous (although never game-breaking) AI script bugs. Also, pitiful amount of second-tier units, and third-tier units (which were never imagined when the game was first made and balanced) nearly ruined the game because of how imbalanced they are.
#3: Final Fantasy X-2 My overall score on this game: 94%
People bash on this game for a lot of stupid reasons. Personally, I found the main characters Yuna and Rikku to be quite charming (Pain was still cliché, however). And putting aside the male ego and expectation that the lead character should be male, I found this game to be utterly amazing. While I realize the game takes place in the same setting as its predecessor, the world is still colorful and spectacular, there are plenty of quests to do, lots of interesting monsters, lots of tactics to destroy said monsters, and lots of "jobs" or "classes" to level up your proficiency in. Plus there's lots of incentive to replay the game since you can carry over items and gil once you beat the game.
And there's no monthly fee. :P MMO's can suck my dick.
This game gets lots of points for touching plot that certainly a lot of people can relate to in this day and age. Plus incredible music, intricate sub-plots that go far into telling how deep the culture and people of the game are, great voice acting, visually interesting areas, and incredible music. But the game loses points for a certain glitch that freezes the game sometimes. I've sunk hundreds of very happy hours into this game, and would probably still keep playing it if I had my PS2 hooked up.
#2: Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies. My overall score on this game: 100%
This is the only game I'd ever define as perfect within its own category. The graphics were top-notch for the time period. The gameplay is fun and there was a decent enough replay value. The controls worked well. The music was phenomenal, epic, and on my Zune :P. And the story was rather well executed.
(I define it as "perfect" because it went to the max with the resources available at the time, in terms of graphical capability and disk storage limits, and within that, did everything they set out to do, and pulled it off flawlessly. They didn't do anything half-assed that I could find)
#1: My favorite video game of all time...Metal Gear Solid 2 - Sons of Liberty. My overall score on this game: 95%
There's a lot I can say in favor of this game. But the main reason it is my absolute favorite game is the story. I enjoy stories, I even want to write a few in my lifetime. And this game didn't just raise the par for video game stories, it fucking NUKED the par.
Video games rarely make much of an effort to tell a story. And when they do, it is usually your basic "kill the big bad emperor who is trying to dominate the world", or "kill all these people who are trying to destroy the world". This game didn't go that route. Instead, it focused almost exclusively on the private goals and ambitions of...depending on how you consider it, anywhere between four to six groups of people.
The story was as close as you get to novel-quality plot. It started off slow enough to allow the player to get familiar with the basics of what he thought was going on, but still enough of a pace to keep the player interested. But as time and plot progressed, we find that the characters are very complex (except for the trademark Snake. He has some depth, but not as much as everyone else). All of the main characters have pasts that effect who they are, what they say, and the choices they make. They are incredibly deep by any measure, and especially for that of a video game.
And the further you progress into the game, the more interesting it gets. The characters have tragedies befall them, or reveal great hardships that they've been through. You start to get an idea of why they're all there; what brings them all to this special event in the first place. Before the big plot reveal, you even pity them a bit. These people had been through so much and you're pushed into a battle to the death with them. I found myself asking...who is the protagonist? Who is the antagonist? Because all these people have personal ambitions yes, but they are all trying to save humanity from a perceived problem. After the big "reveal" shows the "true" enemy, I still had to sit back and look at what had been said and done. Nobody I had fought in the game was a bad guy. Not even the final boss! They were all good people, trying to do good things, but all in their different ways that they saw as the only way it could be done due to their background.
The ending is what really clinches it though. Complex yet incredible social commentary, a bit bitter but also a bit upbeat, really drives home a point that every other video game would be terrified to attempt. MGS2 simply has the best story of any video game I've ever known. The characters that are just so alive, so deep, so emotional. The story is full of twists that just keep you on the edge of your seat, eagerly waiting the next incredible part. The moral of the story is simply amazing, redefining the rulebook on what topics videogames can approach, and how well it can tell that story.
However, getting past the story, there are a few issues I have with the game. If there's any background music, I can't even recall. It either wasn't there, or was simply that forgettable. The controls were a bit sluggish sometimes. It also loses a lot of points for doing cheap cut-scenes involving characters talking on their little ear-phones rather than having face-to-face conversations, despite the fact that they are right next to each other, and despite the fact that they are keenly aware that people are even eavesdropping on their electronic communications. It was a cop-out instead of doing real cut-scenes with full-moving characters, and it was one very annoying point to have to deal with.
#5: Zelda: Twilight Princess. My overall score on this game: 95%
Zelda games are always a solid hit, because Nintendo won't accept anything but the best from one of its flagship franchises. The quality shows through, as Twilight brought more emotion and interesting elements into the story. As always, it's a Hyrule full of adventure, quirky characters, fun mini-games, fun accessories, and strange enemies (and sometimes stranger allies!).
There were moments of joy, sadness, and nostalgia. The puzzles were interesting and fun, even if sometimes frustrating. The graphics were great, the world was beautiful and expansive, the horse-riding was fun, horseback combat was FINALLY fully realized, and the story was quite solid, save for a sub-plot and item (horse whistle) that was only made available to the player after it became absolutely useless.
But there were points to be lost. This isn't a game that really has anything in the way of replay value. It's incredible for the first time, and even as you go collecting every heart piece and all the other optional junk. But there is never any real point to start a new game, since the biggest draw, the puzzles, you've already solved. Maybe after a few years you can go back, but most of them will still come back to you when you see them.
#4: Total Annihilation. My overall score on this game: 88%
This game is OLD, but for the time period, it hit all the high marks it needed to. Spectacular reply value (essential for any RTS), graphics that pushed the envelope at the time, and it revolutionized most parts of the RTS game you probably don't think about. Most things that are standard nowadays weren't done until TA did it and did it fucking awesome.
The game was fun, had decent music, good graphics, lots of fun units that all had their use, and plenty of maps to play. The game was even made with an open engine that allowed people with certain programs to create all-new units to use in the game! The more popular ones would then be circulated around the HUGE community that this game garnered. And although not the largest game community out there, it is definitely very enduring, with dedicated players, unit creators, and servers still out there.
It loses points though for numerous (although never game-breaking) AI script bugs. Also, pitiful amount of second-tier units, and third-tier units (which were never imagined when the game was first made and balanced) nearly ruined the game because of how imbalanced they are.
#3: Final Fantasy X-2 My overall score on this game: 94%
People bash on this game for a lot of stupid reasons. Personally, I found the main characters Yuna and Rikku to be quite charming (Pain was still cliché, however). And putting aside the male ego and expectation that the lead character should be male, I found this game to be utterly amazing. While I realize the game takes place in the same setting as its predecessor, the world is still colorful and spectacular, there are plenty of quests to do, lots of interesting monsters, lots of tactics to destroy said monsters, and lots of "jobs" or "classes" to level up your proficiency in. Plus there's lots of incentive to replay the game since you can carry over items and gil once you beat the game.
And there's no monthly fee. :P MMO's can suck my dick.
This game gets lots of points for touching plot that certainly a lot of people can relate to in this day and age. Plus incredible music, intricate sub-plots that go far into telling how deep the culture and people of the game are, great voice acting, visually interesting areas, and incredible music. But the game loses points for a certain glitch that freezes the game sometimes. I've sunk hundreds of very happy hours into this game, and would probably still keep playing it if I had my PS2 hooked up.
#2: Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies. My overall score on this game: 100%
This is the only game I'd ever define as perfect within its own category. The graphics were top-notch for the time period. The gameplay is fun and there was a decent enough replay value. The controls worked well. The music was phenomenal, epic, and on my Zune :P. And the story was rather well executed.
(I define it as "perfect" because it went to the max with the resources available at the time, in terms of graphical capability and disk storage limits, and within that, did everything they set out to do, and pulled it off flawlessly. They didn't do anything half-assed that I could find)
#1: My favorite video game of all time...Metal Gear Solid 2 - Sons of Liberty. My overall score on this game: 95%
There's a lot I can say in favor of this game. But the main reason it is my absolute favorite game is the story. I enjoy stories, I even want to write a few in my lifetime. And this game didn't just raise the par for video game stories, it fucking NUKED the par.
Video games rarely make much of an effort to tell a story. And when they do, it is usually your basic "kill the big bad emperor who is trying to dominate the world", or "kill all these people who are trying to destroy the world". This game didn't go that route. Instead, it focused almost exclusively on the private goals and ambitions of...depending on how you consider it, anywhere between four to six groups of people.
The story was as close as you get to novel-quality plot. It started off slow enough to allow the player to get familiar with the basics of what he thought was going on, but still enough of a pace to keep the player interested. But as time and plot progressed, we find that the characters are very complex (except for the trademark Snake. He has some depth, but not as much as everyone else). All of the main characters have pasts that effect who they are, what they say, and the choices they make. They are incredibly deep by any measure, and especially for that of a video game.
And the further you progress into the game, the more interesting it gets. The characters have tragedies befall them, or reveal great hardships that they've been through. You start to get an idea of why they're all there; what brings them all to this special event in the first place. Before the big plot reveal, you even pity them a bit. These people had been through so much and you're pushed into a battle to the death with them. I found myself asking...who is the protagonist? Who is the antagonist? Because all these people have personal ambitions yes, but they are all trying to save humanity from a perceived problem. After the big "reveal" shows the "true" enemy, I still had to sit back and look at what had been said and done. Nobody I had fought in the game was a bad guy. Not even the final boss! They were all good people, trying to do good things, but all in their different ways that they saw as the only way it could be done due to their background.
The ending is what really clinches it though. Complex yet incredible social commentary, a bit bitter but also a bit upbeat, really drives home a point that every other video game would be terrified to attempt. MGS2 simply has the best story of any video game I've ever known. The characters that are just so alive, so deep, so emotional. The story is full of twists that just keep you on the edge of your seat, eagerly waiting the next incredible part. The moral of the story is simply amazing, redefining the rulebook on what topics videogames can approach, and how well it can tell that story.
However, getting past the story, there are a few issues I have with the game. If there's any background music, I can't even recall. It either wasn't there, or was simply that forgettable. The controls were a bit sluggish sometimes. It also loses a lot of points for doing cheap cut-scenes involving characters talking on their little ear-phones rather than having face-to-face conversations, despite the fact that they are right next to each other, and despite the fact that they are keenly aware that people are even eavesdropping on their electronic communications. It was a cop-out instead of doing real cut-scenes with full-moving characters, and it was one very annoying point to have to deal with.
Anyway, Ace Combat 5 had a better all-around story and a more interesting war, better plot twists, but the last mission wasn't quite as dramatic. As for Zero, I like the last mission music, but the story wasn't as stellar in my opinion. The last mission was sorta dramatic, but not like 4 or 5.