Ridge Racer Type 4

Better luck next time.

This looks a lot different from the original Ridge Racer, doesn't it? That classic kicked off the PlayStation generation, and to my mind, would be left in the dust by Gran Turismo and it's sequel. In fact, my memory of racing games on the PlayStation is so dominated by Gran Turismo that I could not for the life of me have told you that there were three sequels to Ridge Racer before the PlayStation 2 would come along.

Four Ridge Racer titles and the second one of those worthy enough of an entry on the 1001 list was R4: Ridge Racer Type 4.

It's said to be quite the looker, which is blasphemy to the ears of a GT fan, but we'll rev our engines and see how much rubber we can melt to the track to find out.

Space Station Silicon Valley

Oh, Roger indeed...

I'm finding it hard to write an introduction to Space Station Silicon Valley. My reactions to it have been mixed, bordering on the negative, yet I'm intrigued enough about it to stop and question myself. Am I judging it too harshly, like the consumers did back in the late 1990s by not buying it?

It is the future, and you are a microchip taking over robotic animal host bodies in an attempt to navigate three-dimensional levels full of objectives to complete and points to score. If that doesn't sound gripping enough, its sense of humour and style of plot delivery might sway you, but I should really explain what I mean by that with some images.

Star Wars: Rogue Squadron

"I don't know where this ship came from but it is definitely not within legal specifications."

When I grew up with the PlayStation consoles, I thought I had it all. If I wanted to play an aerial combat game set in the Star Wars universe, I'd just fire up something like Jedi Starfighter and get blasting. I completed it a couple of times, I think; it was that good.

It didn't make the 1001 list, though. Instead, along with the two games we've already seen in the form of TIE Fighter and X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter on the PC, we've got two more for Nintendo systems. I've been injured, insulted, and am about to be kicked while I'm down.

Think you've played good Star Wars games? Bah! Fire up Star Wars: Rogue Squadron.

Wetrix

score: 0

Isometric puzzle games. The words don't fill me with hope, but Wetrix is a complete unknown to me and finds itself on the 1001 list despite being an isometric puzzle game, and so we should give it the time to shine and show itself off.

Get your engineering skills all ship shape because you're about to hold some water. I think.

Sonic Adventure

"No way! I can't believe this!"

Skim reading my own backlog blog, I've reminded myself that Sonic the Hedgehog was pretty good and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was more of the same but not as interesting. They're short posts, considering some of the other entries here, which either means that I'm so bad at a game that I couldn't contribute much towards it, or I'm so bored with the game that I don't care enough to write anything lengthy about it.

Sonic was at risk of heading in that direction, but in this new wide world of three dimensions, a new Sonic title might just be the kick I need to get stuck in. But why have a Sonic title when you can have a Sonic Adventure?

Resident Evil 2

What have we got here?

Horror isn't my thing. I've seen some stuff, don't get me wrong, but it's a genre that I can happily let others play around in. It's surprising that I got through more of Resident Evil than I thought I was going to, but I was still nowhere near close to knowing what it means to survive all this horror.

Enter the sequel then, Resident Evil 2. The Zombies return. The day is to be saved once again. This time, we're not confined to a mansion, but a city. Probably a small one, I don't know yet.

Before we find out, know that the warnings are out again:

Good to go?

Street Fighter Alpha 3

"What a terrible fighter!"

A good while ago now, I played Street Fighter II' Turbo: Hyper Fighting, which was a mouthful and an education in how severely lacking I am in the skills department when it comes to 2D fighters. But, piss-poor as I was, I found it as fun as I thought I would, and could see why it became the juggernaut that it is today.

Fast forward however many years and the next title of the series to make the 1001 list is Street Fighter Alpha 3, which is a sequel of a spin-off, if I'm not mistaken, and I probably am because I haven't looked that up. I think I'm mistaken. Assume I'm mistaken.

Mistaken or not, this game is apparently glossed over by those who take Street Fighter tournaments very seriously, but I wouldn't know that either. I am absolutely clueless here, really. There's only one thing that I can do - fight.

Metal Gear Solid

Metal Gear?!

Source // Metal Gear Wiki

Going through this rather long list of games, there have been times where I've been excited to get a game of something going. It might be because I hadn't played it before, or that I knew nothing about it and wondered how it was good enough to make it into the 1001 list. In this case, the more I got back into Metal Gear Solid for the first time in a looong time, the more I wanted to not write anything about it and keep playing instead.

I used to watch much more TV than I do nowadays, and when browsing channels to pass the time there would often be a film on, and I - like many others, I'm sure - have a list of films that just make you stop and watch them. Take Con Air for example. You can't not watch it. It's a masterpiece. Face/Off. Speed. Die Hard with a Vengeance. True Lies. The list goes on and on, come to think about it.

They're all movies that took over the evening, usually each and every time I found out that they were on. They all happen to be action movies, but the likes of Grosse Pointe Blank and The Devils Advocate also have their place in the (apparently growing) handful of movies that I attribute with 'must watch, right here, right now'.

That's my long-winded way of saying that Metal Gear Solid found itself on the 'must play, right here, right now' list, despite having completed it many a time before, so you can probably guess how this post will turn out...

Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus

Hello. Follow me.

Some platformers are not like the others, are they? Some platformers are just unusual. Odd, you might say. Some of these odd platformers star an equally odd character in the form of a Mudokon called Abe, and one of those games is Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus.

The original game, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, sticks out in my mind for its visual style. It and its sequel here are odd. They are platform puzzlers staring alien creatures whose mouths or eyes have been sewn shut by their captors, who are using them as slaves to mine their own ancestors' bones for use in an energy drink, SoulStorm Brew.

In order to free our fellow Mudokons, we must navigate them towards portals made of birds, while obviously trying not to be caught or killed by the Glukkon guards. The plot, like the game, is odd, so let's find out where the sequel takes us.