About Tych80

I just wanted to send out a quick post to introduce myself.  I along with BluePai will be posting about opinions on new games, along with posting blogs about some of our favorites.  They could be a few months old, or 25 years!  We will encourage any discussions on many different games spanning many different systems. 

A little bit about myself.  I am engaged to a wonderful woman and we are expecting our first child.  Even with all this on my plate I still find time to game.  My main types of games that I play are: First Person Shooters, MMO's, RPG's, Sports, and Classic games.  I am not a big fan of Fighting Games.  Do not know why, but could never get into them.  That would be more of BluePai's expertise.

As we move forward with this blog please feel free to suggest topics for discussion along with commenting on existing topics.  I look forward to working on The Orion Project!

Tych80

#48: God of War

It's a heralded game for a reason.  God of War was a major reason behind PS2's longevity.  Its graphics were excellent for its time.  Its action was brutal and unrelenting.  Its platforming was... ok.  The poor jumping mechanics were my only true problem with the game.

Don't forget, while Resident Evil 4 used quick-time elements here and there, God of War was the first mainstream game that fully embraced quick-time button presses as a major part of its gameplay.  It was a very intelligent design implementation.  The most powerful moments in Kratos's adventure weren't solved by blind button mashing.  It was done by watching the screen the entire time waiting for specific button prompts.  In doing so, you got to watch some great cinematics while focusing on the screen.  It was the first game to do it great, and it paved the way for many other games to mimic it.  For example, I recently beat Bulletstorm, whose plot cutscenes were peppered with quick-time moments.  Thank you God of War.

A special note has to be given to the plot.  For a game that's generally only known for its action.  God of War made a very intriguing alternate universe of mythology.

Keep on raging, Kratos.

Homefront Impressions

I'll say it upfront.  I still haven't even played the singleplayer of Homefront.  I don't think I will.  However, I've put around 10 hours into the multiplayer, and I still don't know what I think about it.

#49: Monster Rancher

Tecmo's Monster Rancher won't get talked about much in RPG circles.  However, its mechanics were strong and it could become an addictive force... especially if you were in my house during the late-90's.  Your "monster" could be generated from any CD.  Surprisingly, this gimmick wasn't used with any other mainstream games.  When you received your monster, you could train, battle, and explore with it.

The heart-breaking nature of this game happened when your monsters would eventually die.  This wasn't Pokemon.  After a few in-game years, your monster would die and there was little you could do to stop it.  It made the breeding step that the game encouraged all the more important.  Sure, your Suezo might die soon.  But if you breed it with another monster, part of your original monster could live on.

If you ignore the peculiar cross-species breeding, Monster Rancher was an endearing classic.

#50: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time

After a few very difficult TMNT games, we were given this gift.  Turtles in Time was a quick, solid brawler.  Its 4-player coop was one of many reasons to own a Multitap for your Super Nintendo.  The time warp gameplay made sure that you never got stuck on a level design for too long.  The other perk was the length of the game.  It could be crushed in under half an hour.  So, you could pop in a quick game while waiting for a meal, before bedtime, or when you're just plain bored.

This creators cast aside any attempts at an epic game and focused on making a short brawler with perfect controls.  Congrats, Konami.  You succeeded and many gamers remember the joy of 4-player coop because of you.

Runners Up to the Top 50

After I had made the list of my favorite games, I had to trim it to 50.  Here's the list of those that didn't make the cut.  If you want justification as to why these didn't make it, please ask.

My 50 Favorite Video Games

This whole blog is starting because of a recommendation from a fellow gamer that my top 50 games list belongs not only on Facebook, but also on the web.  

So first off, thank you AB.

 I was sitting during a 5 hour session of guard duty at work, yesterday.  It was miserable.  I was painfully bored.  After throwing a pen off of a door and catching it 100 times, I decided that I should finally figure out what my favorite games are.