Well now, I think I spy the final stretch. Six years in, and there are just 100 games to go on this 1001 list. Then what will I do? I've got some ideas. Some relate to the list, others don't. I'll have to see what sort of mood I'm in.
What I do know is that the latest batch of fifty video games are hoping I was in a good mood when playing them. From Midnight Club: Los Angeles to Bayonetta, we've seen more games that I'm familiar with, but still many more that I'm not, making for an interesting looking Top Ten in this, The 901/1001 Milestone Awards.
The format hasn't changed. Waffle to fill some space, get the 'meh' games out of the way, moan for a bit, then list some games that objectively don't belong on the same list, but as of this afternoon and according to this guy, find themselves sharing one.
Let's get cracking.
What games were there, good or bad, doing their thing, but not in any particularly special way? That's what The Indifferent Five list represents, and this time out it was a little bit tricky. Usually, several games jump out for their mediocrity, but they weren't jumping so high today, so it's a little more of a list of games that I wasn't too fussed one way or the other. I think. I don't read back what I wrote about them.
Fieldrunners, Subatomic Studios
Reset Generation, RedLynx
Resistance 2, Insomniac Games
SoulCalibur IV, Project Soul
Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Sora Ltd.
Even I didn't think I'd see some of those kinds of games in this part of the post.
There were a couple of games that caused some strong negative reactions this time around, but the answer to the question What Was That 1 Even Put On The List For? came in the form of a game that was supposed to celebrate and enhance a classic, but delivered an experience nobody really wanted - certainly not one I wanted.
What Was Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix Even Put On The List For?
Just wrong, wasn't it?
But what takes its place on the 1001 list? What omission do we have a chance to correct? What glaring oversight must the selection committee be held accountable for? You Forgot What?!
We can have 2D motorcycle physics platform puzzler Elasto Mania, but there's no room for an extra half a dimension for Trials HD? I didn't even have an Xbox back then to see what all the fuss was about, but even I know there is plenty of fun and frustration to be found in Trials HD.
Madness. But not as mad as The Top Ten, a list so skewed towards my personal tastes that it serves next to no use for anybody else. Sorry, not sorry. A varied selection this time out. Probably just as varied as last time out, but as I say, I don't read things I've written. Makes you wonder just why I decided to blog about 1001 video games, really...
10: Edge, Mobigame
I didn't think it'd cling onto the tenth spot, but it looks so dang cool and is simply baffling.
9: Rez HD, United Game Artists
Sure, I played an even better version, but Rez is Rez and Rez is something you ought to play, if only once. Won't take you long, either.
8: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, Atlus
Even better than P3? One day I might have enough time in the day to find out.
7: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, Ubisoft Montréal
Surprise entry, perhaps, but that's exactly what you'll be doing plenty of in this game, and with controls that won't tear your hair out either.
6: Batman: Arkham Asylum, Rocksteady Studios
Played it, was alright. Played it some more, got better. Played it to the end, had a good time. 'Nuff said, eh?
5: Wipeout HD, Studio Liverpool
Zone mode, custom soundtrack, have fun.
4: Race Driver: Grid, Codemasters
Came out of nowhere, consumed as much as it had to offer because it felt so rewarding. It's just a racer, but I was in the mood for exactly this kind of racer.
3: Drop7, Area/Code Entertainment
Addicting, even through an app that loves to crash.
2: Valkyria Chronicles, Sega
What a good thing it was that I actually got around to play this. Tricky, yes, but absolutely lovely to look at.
And so that leaves only one space for only one game, and there can be only one. You might say that this is the nostalgia talking, and it probably is, because the PC controls for the number 1 game, Assassin's Creed II, are pretty awful. The game, thankfully, is not. Is the series as good as it was yet?
Before I even think of finding out, I've got to wrap up this Milestone Awards post with The Topper Than That 10 and see where the games above rank amongst the stalwarts that have been locked into place for a long time now. Can they even make it onto the list, or am I so stubborn about moving anything with MGS or GTA in the title out of the way?
10: Company of Heroes, Relic Entertainment
Finished all the DLC, brilliant. Better even than the main game, though shorter, too. I hope the sequel gives me just as much entertainment.
9: Portal, Valve
Speaking of short, here's Portal, proving that you don't need to have more DLC than your base game to have a good game.
8: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Naughty Dog
Oh, he's made a fool of himself and is slipping down the rankings. At least he made a pun about it, though. Dunno what it was, but it's something Nate would do.
7: Assassin's Creed II, Ubisoft Montréal
And here we find it, an excellent game only managing to make it to the 7th spot because there are even more excellent games that are slightly more excellent than it. The more I think about the series, though, the more I want to remind myself of it all over again.
6: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan
Weird, definitely. Ambitious. Unmatched. Bettered, obviously, but unmatched for what it was.
5: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Rockstar North
News of a reverse-engineered source code sent a few folks into a flutter, only for the project to stomped upon by lawyers. We could have had an even better Vice City.
4: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Rockstar North
No source code for this one, though, but YouTube has been suggesting videos telling me how Big Smoke was always going to betray CJ. If only I saw the signs.
3: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Nintendo EAD
Another Breath of the Wind? Nah, Nintendo, wrong direction. Less is more, and pixel art is perfect.
2: Front Mission 3, Square
All is silent on the Front Mission front, and I don't like that. Left Alive doesn't count, obviously, but can you imagine if it did? Front Mission by Yoji Shinkawa? Hell fucking yes.
1: Metal Gear Solid, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan
Guess we'll just have to get our Yoji fix from this one. Sad news, though: The board game is no more, or more accurately the publisher no longer has the license. Curse you, Covid. We could have had fun. Fun, I tell you.
And that's that. Only 100 games left to try and kick these games off the list and cement their place in my version of history. As I say, I can finally see the end in sight. I'm looking forward to it if I'm honest, but I'm looking forward even more to see what I've missed. The 1001 list continues to surprise and continues to inspire me to try new series - even if they're now very old.
We keep on rolling with Half-Minute Hero, which by the sounds of it shouldn't take too long at all...
Game on.