A digital dolls house? What would I want to play a digital dolls house for? Because it's The Sims? That's not a good enough reason to play a digital dolls house. Because The Sims is one of the biggest selling PC video games of all time? You're going to need more than that. Because you can delete the ladder from a swimming pool and the idiots are too stupid to think of a way to climb out and will drown and die and return as a ghost to haunt the place thereafter.
The Nintendo 64 was home to a great many greats, both single titles and full series, and I've basically played none of them until tracking them down for this 1001 list. I have seen many of them, however, and I often know enough about them to know what's going on in a general sense at least, but The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is a game that I don't know an awful lot about.
I know that it's got something to do with time, and probably a lot to do with a mask, but beyond that, I don't have much of a picture. It's another 3D Zelda game on the N64 that passed me by as I was off playing umpteen PlayStation games in its stead.
We've not seen a shoot 'em up for some time now, and while you could argue that Sin and Punishment isn't strictly speaking a shoot 'em up, I'm going to ignore that, because it's an on-rails shooter developed by Treasure, who have shoot 'em ups running through their very veins.
You are... uhm... hang on a second, I'm going to need to read up on this...
"If you lose sight of one dream, replace it with another."
RPGs are very hit or miss with me. Even if you break it down into which sub-genres I like, one game will be great and the next will be awful. An RPG either has 'it', or it doesn't.
The Skies of Arcadia are full of air pirates and floating islands, with colourful, anime-styled characters swashbuckling their way through a two-disc monster of an RPG. In that sentence alone, there are things I like the sound of, and things I'm pretty sure I don't. But does Skies of Arcadia have this elusive 'it' that I seek?
I have written and rewritten this introduction five or six times now, always failing to get it onto the page in the same way that it has fallen out of my head. Each time I thought of a solution to the problem I was facing, I just ended up making another problem that needed to be dealt with. My journey took me from emulation to censorship, to the state of the Internet, to the availability of games, and ultimately to the fact that this whole Evergrowing Backlog thing is just a string of 0s and 1s on some Google servers that will stick around for purposes unknown for some time to come.
I'm not doing this for an audience. I'm not doing this to make my name as a reviewer or a critic or anything like that. I'm not even good at it. If you wanted a definition of time wasting, this could be it. But I say 'could' because I'm actually enjoying some of it.
I have been stunned by some of the games that make their way ontoThe 451/1001 Milestone Awards list and will never forget them. I would never have known about these games had I not picked up this book and challenged myself to go through them all, and some four years since starting, I'm still not halfway through. In this world where everything is consumed and discarded in no time at all, I'm enjoying my time in the slow lane, living twenty years behind everyone else, finally getting around to those games that defined other peoples childhoods.
Here we are once more then, going back over the previous 50 games, from Grand Theft Auto 2 to Silent Scope 2: Dark Silhouette. The Millennium has finally arrived and video games are pulling off all kinds of things. Which gimmicks got my attention the most?
Ugh, that's enough of that nonsense. Wasn't even funny.
The first to be acknowledged are always those that are barely worth acknowledging in any situation that isn't a Milestone Awards post, and they are The Indifferent 5. Games that are games and that is neither a good nor a bad thing. In no particular order, they are:
I wish everyone could pause from their busy lives to remember that these titles exist, if just for a moment, before moaning about something on Twitter.
With all this censorship lark, you'd be forgiven for thinking that I want the next winner of the What Was That 1 Even Put On The List For? award to be blacked out for all eternity, locked in a vault and to never be played again, but no. Instead, I just want you to all ask yourselves:
What Was Threads of Fate Even Put On The List For?
I shudder thinking about it.
So what would I put in its place? I try to find games that were released around the same time as the current batch of games, but I'm heading just a little way into the future for this next one. It occurred to me while playing Banjo Tooie that there's an omission from this 1001 list that needs to be rectified, not because it's a fantastic game, but just because it's better than Banjo Tooie.
You Forgot What?!
Conker's Bad Fur Day is exactly what you need when you're fed up of games that look a tad childish for what is a rapidly growing demographic of teenage boys. It may not set the highest of bars for comedy entertainment, but it's certainly creative in its approach. I'd have much rather played it than another Banjo, that's for sure.
And now for the meaty bits. There have been a good few titles in this batch. If there hasn't been something for everyone, then there has at least been something for me, coming in many different forms. What has made The Top Ten on this occasion?
10:The Typing of the Dead, WOW Entertainment, Smilebit
It's amazing. I've written this entire blog post up until this point without moaning about my keyboard, but as soon as I remember that The Typing of the Dead made my list, I hate each and every key that I've pressed in the last twenty seconds. Especially this squeaky bloody space bar...
9: Homeworld, Relic Entertainment
It's a bit chaotic, but the fact that there's a remastered version to enjoy really does drive this 3D Sci-Fi RTS into my mind.
8:FreeSpace 2, Volition
And sticking with space, a surprise space shooter. My flight stick is gathering dust, and this should be the game to get it in use again.
7:Final Fantasy VIII, Square
I still don't want to see Junction used as a verb ever again, but can't deny that I admire this entry in the series.
6:Final Fantasy IX, Square
Speaking of admiring, I really want to see more of this entry. Still need to decide on how best to play it, though, but after that, bring it on.
5: Paper Mario, Intelligent Systems
Three RPGs in the middle of my Top Ten list? How will I find the time to get through them all? And why does this one work for me when so many others don't?
4:Quake III Arena, id Software
I might have hit the wall early on, but can't deny its slick gameplay. What a shooter.
3:Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Neversoft
Technically speaking, not as good as I remember, but it is still absolutely fantastic.
2:Faselei!, Sacnoth
How do giant mechs even manage to sneak up on me? This little turn-based puzzler kicked my arse and yet still I want to play more.
There could well have been another five games that would have taken my number 11 spot in this list, but I simply don't rank them high enough, and thus they're not worth worrying about. But I can't ignore the number 1 spot. What good is a top ten list without a number 1? You might well have already guessed the number 1 this time around. It was practically written down on the top ten list as soon as I'd played the game. The number 1 is none other than Front Mission 3.
Gah. What is it about mechs?!
The final task for us, before the censor's black marker pen descends upon this page once more, is to work out The Topper Than That Top Ten list. The ten best titles from the previous four hundred and fifty-one we've looked at in some capacity over the last four years.
Times and tastes change, but the latest of the greatest are...
10: Half-Life, Valve
Dropping down the list like a facehugger drops from the ceiling, Half-Life still clings to what little life it has left. It's a phenomenal game, but will it last long in this list?
9:Quake III Arena, id Software
Well established rules, simple to grasp controls, utter carnage unleashed by the hands of skilled opposition. I'm no good, but it's still a blast to play.
8:Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Neversoft
Can't get the soundtrack out of my head. Arguably wouldn't want to, either.
6:Faselei!, Sacnoth
Unexpected surprises, when good, are really good. This one is really good. Sixth best game of all time (so far)? You probably think I've gone mad.
5:Super Mario Kart, Nintendo EAD
Oh no. Now I've got this soundtrack competing for brain space with Tony Hawk.
4:Tekken 3, Namco
I must remember that I now own Tekken 7 and still haven't played it. Right. That's this afternoon sorted then. Let's hope it plays like the series always has.
2:Front Mission 3, Square
Straight in at number 1 for this last batch, straight to number 2 for the topper top ten, the number 3 Front Mission can do no wrong. It's just not as good as a certain other Mechy game.
1:Metal Gear Solid, Konami
I don't know what is going to be able to budge this one off the top spot. I might lose my marbles if it ever happens.
There we go, another Milestone Awards are done and dusted. So much to see, and quite a few titles that didn't make my list but would certainly make some of yours. The list continues to climb, and we'll get back into the action with Skies of Arcadia, before it and another 49 games take us all the way to the halfway point. Amazing, for many a reason.
Enjoy the games, folks. Always take the time to enjoy the games.
A long time ago, I bought an unofficial PlayStation magazine because it came with a VHS hype-reel for the soon to be released PlayStation 2. From memory (because I sadly no longer have it, nor any way of playing it, and YouTube only has similar videos, not the one I'm thinking of), it had footage of TimeSplitters, Unreal Tournament, Metal Gear Solid 2 and Silent Scope, among other games - I would hope.
The fact that I still have mental images of an arcade shooter set behind the scope of a sniper rifle floating in my head must mean that seeing this game had an impact on me. Perhaps I wanted to play it, like, a lot. I don't remember wanting to play it a lot. I remember damn near everything else on that video being more interesting, in fact.
Fast forward to right now, and Silent Scope 2: Dark Silhouette comes up on the 1001 list. Huh. It can't be that good a game, can it?
It has to start somewhere. It has to start sometime. What better place than here? What better time than now?
Ok, so the Tony Hawk series didn't actually start with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, but such was its impact at the time, you might as well say the series at its best, as you know it, started right here. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was interesting and fun. THPS2 was genre defining and time-consuming and rage inducing and mind-blowing and all kinds of other descriptors.
I've owned and played a lot of the Tony Hawk games, starting with the original, and THPS2 is always referred to as the best of the bunch. It's also the one THPS title I never actually owned, until now...
Online titles are a tricky one for me and this blog. Trying to play versions as close to the original release as possible is one thing, but to try and play online titles in a world where twenty years has since past, the servers are long gone and only the most dedicated of players have set up some kind of alternative to keep their memories alive is another thing entirely.
I read that Phantasy Star Online is still, depending on where and how hard you look, online. That should be what I aim for, but I want instead to fire up that Dreamcast original, which has an offline mode, because its the Dreamcast that this game was built for.
Online games existed. MMORPGs existed. But they didn't exist in a manner that console players could get to grips with on an actual console, and this is where action RPG Phantasy Star Online comes in.
Hidden Gems. Games that come out of nowhere to blow me away for one reason or another. I didn't think there'd be too many on this list, but I've been shown to be quite wrong before and will continue to be shown quite wrong in the future. This time around, arcade multiplayer mayhem comes to the home consoles, allowing you to smash your mates with mallets and magic in Power Stone 2.
I had actually seen Power Stone 2 on YouTube a few years ago but must have had it fall out of my mind for one reason or another. I probably cast it aside as 'fun for the moment, but there are better things to be seen', and it wasn't until coming across and looking into this unknown name on the 1001 list that I really knew what it was that I had seen.
So, join me as we get pulled onto a floating island castle to fight for some reason or another.
"I can't sit around knowing a girl's in trouble. Goes against my nature."
For the past few entries in its rather lengthy list of games, Final Fantasy has, one might argue, moved a little too far away from the fantasy. Steampunk futures and sci-fi military schools... they're interesting settings, no doubt, but ought we go back to a more fantastical setting?
Final Fantasy IX takes players back to a setting more akin to the brand name, as we follow the inevitably epic adventures of Zidane, Vivi and whoever else will come along for the ride through the skies on sailing ships that fly.
Couldn't agree more, ol' man, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's see what Final Fantasy IX is all about.
"Don't think you can count on me in the future. Now get out of here!"
I can barely see what's going on too
Looking back, briefly, over my posts on Resident Evil and Resident Evil 2, I am reminded of two things: how awfully these games have aged in terms of controls, but how well they hold up in terms of their concept. I absolutely sucked trying to play them but wanted to see more in both cases, and with remakes for both, there was probably a version out there for me that'd just fit my wants and needs and allow me to enjoy these games.
Enter Resident Evil - Code: Veronica, a game that is a spin-off and a true sequel, depending on who you ask, that takes Resident Evil into the third dimension properly this time. Gone are the pre-rendered backgrounds of yesteryear, replaced by the very best in muddy, depressing concrete-coloured areas that the systems of the day could manage.
Will the new looks mean better gameplay? Will the story be as bonkers as ever? Will the voice acting be poor? It's time to pick a version of Code: Veronica and find out.
There was only one racing series I was concerned with back in the day, exclusively appearing on the PlayStation consoles. Other racing titles were always second best. Other consoles weren't worth thinking about.
Metropolis Street Racer came out before Gran Turismo 3. It plonked players into fully three-dimensional cities before Grand Theft Auto III. It's got a damn near photorealistic London to drive through two years earlier than The Getaway - and, criminally if you ask me, The Getaway hasn't made it onto this 1001 list.
I am simply stunned by MSR, and I've not played it for a single second yet. I don't need a hype video for this one, but we're going to get one...
