Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

"Listen up, all you motherf--"

Look at that. Back in 2002, that screen represented the height of console technology. The powerhouse that was the Xbox burst onto the scene to try and steal...

That's all I've been able to recover of version 1.0 of this post for Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell. I was in the process of adding a few new paragraphs based on some developments I had replaying the game, but then something happened, and that something ultimately resulted in a blank blog post, and I don't have backups of whatever I write. I assumed Google did. It does not. 

So all I've got are my screenshots and my memories. I only wrote it a matter of days ago, and last played the game just over an hour ago, so I should be able to cobble something together. Where were we?

... the spotlight from Sony and Nintendo, and several titles sure did turn some heads for one reason or another.

If you weren't after the multiplayer mayhem of Halo, maybe you would welcome the lighting engine and cloth physics in espionage thriller Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell. I say that like it's all the game offers, but that's not the case at all.

No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way

You found abandonware.

I don't recall where I first saw No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way, but on account of its troubled history, it was probably during the early days of researching this 1001 list. Since then, I've been quite interested in finding out about it, because there aren't too many games out there that look like this.

Set in the swinging '60s, cat-burglar turned spy Cate Archer must thwart the evil plans of H.A.R.M. in a globe-trotting, gadget-filled first-person action game. Imagine if Austin Powers was a serious James Bond film, and you're getting closer to what NOLF2 is like.

At least that's my impression based on what I see and read. Playing it is another thing...

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault

"Can one man truly make a difference?"

Video games allow storytellers to directly involve their audiences into the heart of the action and drama. Players can experience first hand how a heroic act can turn the tide of battle, or a noble sacrifice can live long in the memory.

If you're a storyteller like Steven Spielberg, you might be so good at telling stories in film that you walk away armfuls of Oscars and Golden Globes for Saving Private Ryan, and the need to dive into the world of video gaming wouldn't be necessary.

But that's not what he did. Fresh off the success of Saving Private Ryan came the interactive Second World War experience, Medal of Honor, as well as a few sequels, the highlight of which (in the Spielberg-era, at least) being Medal of Honor: Allied Assault.

Lt. Mike Powell takes centre stage here, taking on several missions for the OSS in an attempt to thwart the German army and help secure an Allied victory. Are we up to the challenge?

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

"I couldn't intimidate a child - and believe me, I've tried."

How do you follow up the rather significant amount of success you got with the release of Grand Theft Auto III? Where would you even start? Do you refine what you did so that it plays better? Do you introduce new characters? Do you bring in an even more recognisable voice cast to bring them all to life? Do you transplant the game back in time to the 1980s, where everything was a neon-bright, cocaine-fueled party to the sounds of hundreds of licensed, recognisable songs?

Trick question. You're Rockstar, and you're crazy enough to do it all, and more, to make Grand Theft Auto: Vice City so much better than the great game that allowed it to exist at all.

But, uhh... I've got a slight problem. You see, I took these screenshots a while ago. Years ago, in fact, and I can't quite remember why I saved some of them.

Oh, ok. Cool. Let's just see where we end up.

Disaster Report

"June. 2005."

A list of 1001 must-play video games is not a list of the absolute best video games, but a guide through the highlights and pivotal releases in gaming history. The first of a genre, the next big leap, the game-changer, the definition of what it means to be a first-person shooter, or survival horror, or a multiplayer racer.

After those entries, it's about games that have stories that are best told through interaction, with characters as fleshed out as those you'll find in film and television. It's about games that look unique or have soundtracks that defined a generation.

And then after all of that, when there's still a handful of gaps in the list, it's about putting in Disaster Report because nobody has bothered to take the disaster genre into videogaming.

I wonder why...

Mafia

"Now listen, and listen good."

Were you to be asked to name an open-world game that has you swept up with Mafia business, you'd probably not name Mafia, would you? There's a whole Mafia series, now, but it does tend to get overshadowed by Grand Theft Auto, doesn't it - despite GTA not really focusing on the Mafia. Not in the way Mafia does.

You are Tommy Angelo, in America in the 1930s, and the city of Lost Heaven is ruled from the shady underworld of organised crime - a world you don't really want to be a part of, do you?

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

Clears throat

The Elder Scrolls series is pretty big. Scale, ambition, sales, ports and rereleases of Skyrim... there really is a lot to dive headfirst into, but I didn't really know anything about this vast fantasy world until the fourth numbered release, Oblivion. I liked it quite a bit but was in no position to look backwards to the games that came before it.

All I ever heard about the earlier games was that they were unfathomably big and far too involved - their formula would have to be dumbed down for us console gamers to wrap our little heads around. If that's the case, then The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind serves as a bridge between the earlier and later titles. It is dense and detailed, but manageable and nice to look at. You'll find familiarities in the way it plays, but differences to what you're used to - assuming I can remember what Elder Scrolls games are like, having not played any for a few years now.

Let's see how far we get before becoming Troll food.

Kingdom Hearts

"A scattered memory like a far-off dream. A far-off dream like a scattered memory. I want to line the pieces up, yours and mine."

Back in the days of Final Fantasy in its prime, I wasn't too interested in Final Fantasy. Partial interest in the form of intrigue, perhaps. That interest has grown over the years, but not by much, even with the surprises this 1001 list has given me.

When the PlayStation 2 was going strong, and Square was on top of the RPG world, merging its universe with that of Disney in the form of Kingdom Hearts turned heads. An action RPG with Square characters interacting with Disney characters... it should work, right?

Final Fantasy isn't the only universe I've never had masses of interest in. To name another one that I don't really care about, I think I'll go with Disney.

I wonder how this will go.

SoulCalibur II

Need more souls!

Fighting games are a joy to watch, for the most part, even if you're useless when it comes to the details - like me. I've seen an awful lot more than I've played, but I must admit that I've seen barely anything of SoulCalibur II, and the SoulCalibur series as a whole.

I know of a few of its characters, of course (with measurements like they have, who hasn't?), and I may have once played a demo, but I'm just not sure. This is, effectively, a blind entry into Tekken with swords. Is it even right to call it Tekken with swords? I've no idea.

Jet Set Radio Future

Understand the concept of Love

Source // YouTube

After a lengthy break from the PC and video gaming in general, the first game back can sometimes feel a little weird, so it's a nice coincidence that I'm picking up the 1001 list at a sequel that looks to do exactly the same as its first title did. I should have no trouble at all getting a game of Jet Set Radio Future going.

Yeah...