#34: Borderlands

First, I have to pay tribute to the cover art.  This is my favorite cover art for any video game.  It's unique and describes the insanity of the world before you've even put the game into your system.

This is dangerous for me.  If I talk about Borderlands to someone, I want to play it.  Even right now, looking at the cover of the game, I'm feeling the need to start my character back up and search for some epic weapons.  There's only one game that's more addictive/dangerous to me and that's further up the list.

Borderlands is what happens when you allow a psychopath to create the story and world of a Diablo FPS.  The gameplay moves quick and crisp.  Most shooter fans love the variety of weapons, hit detection, and epic battles.  Most RPG fans love the skill trees, level ups, damage text, and the MMO-like class based team combat.  Either way you look at it, Borderlands rams a couple genres together and somehow succeeds.

I don't care about graphic capabilities in a game.  The quality of the graphics have never been important to me.  However, the art style can add some major brownie points to my impressions of a game.  Borderlands' cell shaded style wasn't the prettiest thing, but it added character to the universe.

I devoted a large amount of time to this game.  After awhile, I finally managed to quit.  Then, I had a boring day, popped it back in, and played for another month.  This game hooks me.

Please don't ask me to play it again.

New Poll!

Winner!



I would just like to start off by thanking everyone (yes all 13 of you) for voting on your favorite current video game system.  It looks like the Xbox 360 won in a land slide.  There is a new poll up.  Please take a few seconds to vote for your favorite video game series. 

Also, once we have a good sample of weapons, we will be starting the Tournament of weapons.  Once we do start it, we will have a poll for people to vote on.  There will only be one vote per person, per round.  Any feedback is always welcome to help improve the site.

#35: Ninja Gaiden Black

Holy freaking crud.  This game was difficult.  While playing Ninja Gaiden Black, I threw controllers 3 times (a rarity for me) and tried a new move where I attempted to squeeze the controller so hard that it would break.  Fortunately, I'm not the Hulk, so that didn't work.

Ninja Gaiden Black and its predecessor, Ninja Gaiden, are in my opinion, the perfect action games.  They're difficult, but beatable.  They rely on timing, not button mashing.  And they feature so many "holy crud" moments that you keep coming back for more.  You can also use the environment as a weapon, pulling off impressive wall runs before raining blades on your foes.  Off the top of my head, I can't think of another game that uses its background better for fighting.

The basic enemies in NGB aren't cannon fodder.  They're cannons.  You'll face off against standard ninjas consistently, and at any time, they can rip off a combo that'll halve your health bar.  You always have to be vigilant because no enemy's a pushover.

This game loses points for having a very odd plot.  At some points it's a cliche, while at others, it's unintelligible. You'll fight in the normal settings, against the normal terrifying enemies.  During any of the heart-pounding fight scene, you won't care about the setting.  However, once the fighting stops and you explore the environment, you notice that you've been there in thousands of games before.

Beating Ninja Gaiden is an achievement and while I can't recommend it for all gamers, I do recommend it to anyone that's taken out a God of War.  GOW got many elements perfect, but the action in Ninja Gaiden is just plain better.

#36: DDR Max

Oh DDR, how I loved you.

This was rhythm games before plastic instruments were in everyone's closets.  Dance Dance Revolution was a compilation of techno songs and Japanese pop tunes that you had to tap your foot to.  Well, let's not oversimplify.  It was tapping anywhere between 2-27 feet every second.  It was an excellent calorie burner, a decent party game, and an addictive force until you finally couldn't stand the songs.

Before DDR Max, the Dance Dance Revolution series wasn't big in the United States.  It was secluded to arcades and fanatical Japanese game importers.  For DDR Max, Konami went all-in and actually provided games and accessories to retailers in America.  The game wasn't massive, but its saturation was impressive for a niche market.

DDR players generally resembled a skill tree in a RPG cliche.  People had about 3 key skills that they had to take, and then could take a specialization.  The skills tree went:

1. Able to beat a few songs on Easy mode
2. Able to beat a few songs on Medium mode
3. Able to beat a few songs on Hard mode
4. Choose your specialization!
1. Learn every single song on Expert mode and showcase insane rhythms while looking like you can't dance at all.
2. Memorize every single song on Easy backwards.  Turn around, face the crowd, and act like you're really dancing.

The latter received a lot of media and tournament attention.

If only performing DDR was a little more cool.

#37: Warcraft 3

This is the one strategy game on my list.  That's because I play strategy games differently than many people.  I play strategy games strictly for the single player.  I rarely like jumping into competitive multiplayer, and if I did, I'm sure that Starcraft would be on the list.

However, Warcraft was the first RTS that I played that incorporated a heavy level of RPG systems into the campaign.  Your protagonists (or antagonists that you controlled) leveled up throughout their personal campaigns.  Realizing that the character was yours to control and improve gave the player a larger attachment to the hero's plight.

The level up system wasn't the only attachment I had to the game.  The story was an excellent look at the political and social issues of the fictional universe.  I loved the real emotions shown between the fake characters.  It led me to beat the game multiple times over the years just to get back into the lore of Azeroth.

Many people would have the Command and Conquer games on this list.  For me though, there's one key difference between Warcraft 3 and the C&C games.  Unlike Command and Conquer games, the separate playable armies actually play differently in Warcraft.  They aren't just color schemes and paint jobs.

Either way you look at it, for a single player RTS'er, Warcraft 3 offered a grand experience.

Mass Effect Cont.

The Citadel!



Last night I was able to explore The Citadel and get a bunch of side quests in.  I wanted to kind of stay on the main quest path, but it is so easy to get side tracked into other things.  Mass effect does a good job of having the side quests come to you.  This being part of the reason I got so side tracked.  It seemed to me that whenever you found a new area to explore, there was a new character asking for your help.  Knowing that I could use the exp. and the credits, how could I say no?

The combat in Mass Effect is something that I am not completely on board with yet.  The controls seem to be a bit shaky at times, but I have been told that they get better as your character builds up his skill.  One of the aspects that I am happy with is the cover system.  In the early stages of your character development it seems to be very important that you find cover when in a fight.  A few times I decided to go all out and just attack.  That ended very quickly with my entire party dead in the matter of seconds.

So, after a good three hours, and a couple of beers, I finally got back onto the main quest path (even though I had the proof I needed to move forward about 45 into playing last night).  Had I not been so tired I easily could have kept playing.  The more I play Mass Effect the harder it is for me to put it down. 

#38: Halo Reach

It's the least important non-expansion Halo game.  So, it's not that high on my list.  However, I believe that it's the most balanced.  Halo Reach at number 38 seems about right.

Reach didn't introduce anything major, but it applied some spit-shine to everything in the universe.

• Get rid of Halo 3's equipment and replace it with something constantly available, but not overpowering?  Check (armor abilities)
• Make the map editor easy to work with including a number of snap-to options?  Check
• Add an original matchtype? Check (Invasion)
• Add some squad based play to the game?  Check (Invasion again)
• Learn from Halo ODST and add some real storytelling to the game?  Check, great campaign
• Prove that it can be more than a sci-fi shooter?  Check (the excellent flight mission)

The thing that always brings me back to the Halo franchise is the "Halo Moments" (patent pending, BluePai).  It normally happens once to twice a match.  It's the point in every match when you go "Holy monkey bubbles!  Did you guys see that?!?  That was amazing!  We have to watch that in the theater!"

I picked the game up again 2 hours ago to play with my normal gaming crew.  I hadn't played in weeks, but a Halo Moment happened in the very first match.  It was excellent, and I'm going to share it with you here.

(Please click the link to the actual video, I don't know how to make it larger yet.)

We had a warthog full of people cheering as this happened.  I Love Halo Moments.

Halo Reach is not the best game in the world.  It's not the most complex.  It's not the most innovative.  But Bungie has made a game where absolutely everything that they've put into Halo Reach is tuned to perfection.  It's why Halo's been the most played tournament shooter, but also enjoyed by newbies.  And it's why I can't stop playing this game.

What Is Your Favorite Video Game Weapon!?

We need your help!!!

In honor of the March Madness, also known as the NCAA Basketball Tournament, BluePai and myself are going to have a NCAA style bracket for the best weapons in video games!  Any and all weapon ideas are welcome.  Maybe a Light Saber from your favorite Star Wars game?  How about the Battle Rifle from Halo 3?

We will take suggestions for a week or two and come up with a bracket featuring YOUR favorite weapons!  Once we have the weapons chosen, we will put up a post with a poll for you to vote on what you think is the better weapon.  You can vote however you like.

The more input that we are able to get, the bigger and better the Tournament of Weapons will be.  So please leave your comments, and tell your friends to check us out!

(Please note that no vehicles will be taken into consideration as a weapon.) 

#39: NBA Jam: Tournament Edition

Before the late 90's, realistic sports games weren't achievable.  It was impossible to create a realistic sports world with the limited computing power that the systems had available.  The answer to that?  Completely off the wall arcade-style sports games like NBA Jam T.E.

Everyone who's played a few games of NBA Jam knows what it's about.

The stories.

NBA Jam wants to make you have something to talk about later on - a reason to keep coming back.  It wants every game to be epic, competitive, off the wall, and fun.  It succeeded on every level.

Many hardcore sports gamers have complained about the rubber band system.  (Where the worse you're losing, the better stats your players get.)  I personally loved it.  I loved that matches rarely got so out of hand that it ended up being forgettable.  It was always close, there was always a chance.

Tournament Edition introduced a couple features to make gameplay even more insane. 

• Powerups - When collected, takes a single attribute (such as strength, dunking, 3 pointers, or speed) and makes it great.
• Hot Spots - A 3 foot circle randomly placed on each side of the court.  A basket made from a hot spot is worth 4-9 points instead of 2-3.

Originally, I thought that I would hate the new cartoony features.  One game changed all that.

I was down by 6 points and my opponent had the ball with 10 seconds left.  Then, something amazing happened.  I grabbed a strength powerup as my opponent went up for a dunk.  As he was coming down, I shoved him so hard that, while dropping the ball, he flew to the half-court line.  When I picked up the ball, a 7 point hot spot appeared.  I shot a 3-quarters of the 7-point buzzer beater to win the game.

After jumping up and down and cheering, I excitedly played around 5 more games straight.

I was hooked.  I still am.

First Impression of Mass Effect

I have to start off by saying I am surprised that I have not played this game before.  Mostly because it has been out for three and a half years!  I know BluePai had probably told me to play this in the past.  Usually I listen to his suggestions, but for some reason this time I didn't.  Either way, I was only able to get about an hour into the game last night.  After all, I do have a real job that I have to get up in the morning for. 

Because I was quite eager to start playing the game itself, I really did not take much time in the character creation in the very beginning.  I was however quite surprised to hear a familiar voice once I started.  Seth Green lends his voice as Flight Lieutenant Jeff 'Joker' Moreau. 

As the game starts you find yourself on a ship called "Normandy".  After a few conversations with different crew members, you come to find out that you are traveling to a destination called "Eden Prime".  Once you have gone through the conversations with different crew members you are ready to explore Eden Prime and search for the Beacon. 

I could continue on the story line, but like I have mentioned in a previous post I may be the last person who even comes to this blog who has played this game.  Even though I was only able to play Mass Effect for about an hour, I was quite impressed.  The graphics, in my opinion, are very good.  Along with a couple cut scenes that are fantastic graphic wise. The one that sticks out in my mind is the scene where your character wakes up on Normandy after exploring Eden Prime. 

One thing I really liked was the interaction in the game. You can choose your own answer when asked a question.  I am assuming that your answers will effect the way you are viewed in the game.  In that regard it reminds me very much of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.  I can only hope that the story will be half as good as KOTOR. 

Overall I am impressed so far with what I have played.  I know it is barely scratching the surface in what I have seen out of this game, but I do look forward to diving in a little deeper and seeing what Mass Effect really has to offer.  I know for a fact that this game will be played quite a bit over the weekend!

#40: World of Warcraft

This being here won't appease anyone.  I understand that.  I will be told that it shouldn't be on this list.  I will be told that it should be higher.  So, I'll go through both sets of reasons.

Why It Should Be On This List

It's the most played multiplayer game ever.  It swung the MMO genre to one of the most popular genres.  It's still the most popular MMO even though its been out for 347 years (an estimate).  The game is polished.  It works.  It works well enough that anyone of any age group can try it and enjoy it.

It's an incredible feat that the world Blizzard has created is still balanced.  Azeroth still runs very well, years after it was created.  Any experienced MMO player can tell you how rare that is.  I'm a math nerd, so this next part may not be that important to others.  The economy still works!  That's amazing.

The combat is good.  It's simple.  Its functional enough that anyone can like it, but not so challenging that people would be turned away

Also, Blizzard does a good job of making sure that the World of Warcraft doesn't take itself too seriously.  Its sense of humor kept me playing a bit longer than I would have otherwise.

Why It's Not Any Higher

Because it's so freaking easy that there's no penalty for screwing up.  Enemies drop items like its nothing.  It makes it so that skills in the game don't matter.  Why do your best to succeed when failure isn't a punishment?

I've also been told constantly that "the game really doesn't start til you reach the level cap".  Well, then why have any levels before the level cap?

I dunno, I still love the game.  Its excellent and deserves all of the praise it gets.  It probably deserves a bit of the grief, too.  But more than likely, we've all played this game.  If you haven't, give it a shot.  You owe it to yourself.

Next game.... MASS EFFECT

So after my previous post about what game I should play next, I have decided on Mass Effect.  I know this is a game that I probably should have played when it came out, but I didn't and will now start on it tonight.

A few things went into deciding which game to choose.  The input was very important, and although not everyone seemed to pick Mass Effect as their first choice, everyone did seem to have mentioned it.  Also the fact that it was $40 cheaper than Crysis 2 did not hurt.

I plan on keeping a blog dedicated to this game in the pages tabs under Currently Playing.  I will post about things that come up in the game and situations I may encounter.  Along with that I will post my progress and how the game is coming along.  I have not completely decided if I will post a review of this game seeing as most of you have already played it, but I do welcome any tips or suggestions that may help.  After all, it does seem like I am the last person to play this game.

#41: Zombies Ate My Neighbors

Zombies Ate My Neighbors is the only game on my list that I haven't beaten.  It's extremely unforgiving.  You'll die.  You'll die a lot.  If we accept that now, we can move on.

ZAMN was a 1-2 player action game that reminded you of something you'd see in the arcades.  The general idea was that zombies have been set loose in your town, and you have to use everyday homemade weapons to save the townspeople.  In fact, imagine Dead Rising if it were a coop arcade game.  That's a good way to look at this one.

You'd run around town with your trusty squirt gun facing all kinds of scary situations.  Enemies over a wall?  Use your trusty 6-pack of soda (grenade) to bomb over that wall.  Multiple enemies in a row?  Throw a china plate straight through them all.  Up against a gigantic maniacal baby?  Well, then its time to abandon that whole "homemade everyday weapon" thing and pull out the rocket launcher you've been saving.

 My normal routine was:

• Play It
• Die around level 20-25
• Vent about how frustrating it was
• Go back for more punishment

I'm assuming it was the same for all of you.

#42: Super Mario Bros 3

Super Mario Bros 3.  Woo Boy.  Everyone on the freaking planet has tried this game.  I don't have to tell you what this game meant to gaming.  I don't have to tell you how fun it was.  So, I'll try to focus on some other points.

This was Nintendo's first game that featured truly intuitive level design.  How do you teach someone how to fly?  Give them their first leaf and then lay down a track.  After the track, lay down a gap.  Above the gap, lay down a line of coins that make the player realize that there's a way to get those.  Genius.  We don't think about that sort of thing today, but back then, your first encounter with something new had to be explained in a way that people would understand by just looking.

Going back to the flying thing.  Here's the constantly raised question.  How the heck does a raccoon fly?

Anyways.

The world map was also a new feature for Nintendo.  However, it wasn't that big of an improvement.  Creating a World Map when there's generally one path to go on kind of defeats the purpose of a World Map.  But, it was an admirable try.  Later, Super Mario World took the World Map idea and made it great.

Mario Brothers 3 was and still is an excellent game that jumped 2D platformers to a new echelon.

(Seriously, raccoons?)

Next game?!

So in light of BluePai's list of his top 50 games, I have decided to do my own list of my top 50 games.  All the games that will be on my list will have been played by me at some point in my life.  It could have been a few months ago, or something that I played when I was 10.  This list will begin once BluePai has finished his list of games.

While looking into the games that I have played in my past, I realized that there are recent games that I should have played that I never got around to.  It could have been because I didn't have the money to get the game, or maybe I never got around to playing it.  What I want to do is get some people's opinions on a recent game that I will list. 

I will choose a few games that I have heard are good.  From this point I would like YOUR input on the listed games.  Who knows maybe when it is all said and done it may even crack my top 50!

The games to choose from are as follows:

Crysis 2
Homefront
Dragon Age
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Mass Effect
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Splinter Cell: Conviction

Along with playing one of these games, I will post a blog after I finish it.  There may be a possibility that I will post mid game as well.  So let the debate begin!

Tych80

#43: Left 4 Dead

We're just going to ignore the single player for Left 4 Dead.  No one bought this game for the single player.  If they did, they were extremely disappointed.  Let's move on from there.

The multiplayer in Left 4 Dead was an extremely addicitve beast.  If you were playing on your own, without a group of friends, the game was unique.  If you were playing with a group.  Well, you played til 4 AM like Tych and I did on countless occasions.

It features my 2nd favorite squad based combat (first place will be seen further up the list).  You played as survivors or infected.  If you were a human, you HAD to stay with your group or you would die.  No questions asked.  The survivors moved from station to station murdering countless zombies, but always staying vigilant for a lost teammate.

Playing as the infected was a completely different experience.  You would stalk after the survivors, waiting for a good location or time to strike.

Then... bedlam.

1 infected type was excellent at creating a massive diversion (the boomer).  The other 2 types were excellent at destroying isolated survivors.  After either side won, rinse and repeat.  1 multiplayer game of Left 4 Dead featured numerous stories of awesome moments, whether they were beneficial or hilariously suicidal.  If only it had featured a matchmaking system.

#44: Kingdom Hearts

When Kingdom Hearts was first announced and previewed, gamers took one of two sides.  They either loved the idea that their childhood movies could infiltrate their teenage games or they hated it.  But, when the game was finally released, the praise was universal.

The setting of Kingdom Hearts is its most talked about feature.  The idea that you could have a conversation with King Triton and Aeris turned the game into something you originally could only read in fanfiction.  Squaresoft was also very accommodating to Disney, realizing that most people were coming to the game for Disney's characters, not Final Fantasy's.

The gameplay of Kingdom Hearts was also loved.  It was an action RPG that featured an impressive level of customization while still targeting all crowds.  The separate magic spells, equipment, collectibles, and stat boosts drew in the hardcore crowd.  The platforming and exploration drew in the casual gamers.  The simple but fun combat made sure that both sides were appeased.

This is the only Kingdom Hearts on this list (for now) and there's one major reason why.  Kingdom Hearts 2 and the numerous handheld spinoffs all had convoluted plots that required you to own all of the franchise's games to barely have a grasp of what was going on.  Kingdom Hearts 1 featured a plot line that was actually followable and that's the final reason that its on this list.

#45: Dynasty Warriors 4

The Dynasty Warriors series always seems to catch a lot of flak in gaming circles.  I understand the general reasons:

• They're very monotonous
• The AI is abysmal
• The game is cheesy

All of those things are very true.  However, to those points I say:

• They're monotonous because they're trying to make a system where 40+ people are playable and relatively balanced.  And if Dynasty Warriors' combat is repetitive, then so is God of War's
• The AI is abysmal because dozen's of enemies are eligible to fight you at any given time.  Also, like many games, if you play on hard, the AI takes a pretty big jump up in intelligence.
• The game is cheesy because... Fine.  The game is extremely cheesy.  Point conceded.

Behind the gameplay, Dynasty Warriors 4 features an unlock system that could keep you playing for months.  No really, I did, it took months.  Despite unlocking basically everything for every character, I never found myself getting bored.

Dynasty Warriors 4 never claims to be inspirational or emotional.  It's a game where if you flex your ancient Chinese muscles, more than likely, 10 people will die (or get K.O.'ed).  The game may have faults, but it is fun.

#46: Dead Space

This game is one of the few recent titles on my list.  But, the second I beat it, I knew I had beaten a classic.  Dead Space is an action horror game that's very big on both parts action and horror.

Dead Space featured one of the most lonely adventures I've ever experienced.  While a little conversation is provided by a couple survivors, the only other dialogue is provided by your girlfriend.  However, through a large portion of the game, you have no clue if your girlfriend is dead, alive, or none of the above.  That bit of insanity makes you feel even more isolated.

The lack of a HUD always keeps you on edge.  The lack of a pause menu keeps you agitated during the slow moments.  There was definitely a moment when I screamed, loudly, while playing the game.  I had opened up my inventory to use a health pack.  Unfortunately, accessing the inventory (or map) doesn't pause the game.  I thought I was alone.  Then, I got slashed from behind by an enemy.  In real life, I screamed so loud that my dog jumped up and thought I was being attacked.  Good dog.

The action is great, but that's not what separates this game from the pack.  Play through Dead Space in a dark room alone and you'll feel the protagonist's isolation.

#47: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest

Its near the top of the 2D platformer charts.  If you ignore the Mario games, this franchise would be at the top.  Did you own a Super Nintendo?  Then there was a good chance that you owned this game.

Why was it great?  It seemed to have one of the best blends of noobie-friendly/hardcore-challenging gameplay in its generation.  The game was a difficult yet surmountable achievement for inexperienced gamers.  But, if you were a dedicated gamer, then you could shoot for the elusive +100% mark.  There was some controller throwing, but when you were done... you got to go bananas!  (I promise that will be the only monkey related pun on this list.)

The game seems to be remembered most for 2 things.

• Dixie's helicopter spinning which added an important variety to the jumping mechanics.
• The barrel to barrel shooting sections where split second timing was the only input.

Both quirks elevated the game from its predecessor and competitors.