Counter-Strike: Source

Counter-Terrorists win when?

This 1001 list is quite the rollercoaster recently, isn't it? We've just had Half-Life 2, the shooter that was the very definition of a solid first-person shooter (understatement, perhaps), and now, with a swanky new Source engine update, comes Counter-Strike: Source, the shooter that is the very definition of a solid multiplayer first-person shooter.

There is no way you've not heard of Counter-Strike. Originally a mod for Half-Life, the team-based multiplayer game took off like a rocket. Remade and rereleased, the rocket went ballistic, but I've only played all of 3 hours of Counter-Strike: Source.

I've watched a lot more. Quite a lot more. I know my skill ceiling, put it that way. Let me show you how low it is...

City of Heroes

Here we are to save the day?

Source // Moby Games

Superheroes are everywhere these days. No longer confined to pages of a comic book, they've spread to television, cinema, tabletop gaming and, of course, video games. You can't turn around without seeing another film poster or game release.

Back in 2004, however, superheroes weren't so prevalent... except in one city. The City of Heroes.

An MMO set in a metropolis absolutely stuffed full of superheroes - and, later on, supervillains and rogues - City of Heroes was the destination for fans who wanted to play out their dreams of becoming the next Superman.

What would a city overpopulated with cape-wearing characters be like to live in, though? Anything like 2019, with all these Marvel movies?

Cave Story

Flap off, bats.

Not long after the supposed greatest game ever comes the alleged greatest free game ever, in the form of Cave Story, a Metroidvania style platformer through some caves, I'd imagine.

I've come across the title before on my RetroPie, of all things, but never gave it a look. I knew it was pixel-y in appearance and probably involved a cave and a story, and that was about it. I don't know anything about this one.

Nothing new there, then...

Bejeweled 2

Bedazzling?

Another smash mobile hit? So soon? Apparently so. After tearing ourselves away from Zuma, we're put in front of tile matcher Bejeweled 2.

Swap two bits and bobs around to create three or more in a row, go for the high score... it's not really gameplay that needs a full sequel, is it?

Half-Life 2

"Pick up that can."

Here we are then. The 1001 list has peaked. It's all downhill from here if all the greatest ever games of all time lists are to be believed. There is simply no better title than Half-Life 2.

I, as you'll soon find out, am not the best person to analyse or perhaps even describe this game. My words won't be able to do it justice. I don't even know where best to start.

Let's just revisit this gaming giant and see what we've been missing out on all these years.

Pool Paradise

Snookering me tonight.

What's your idea of paradise? Sun, sea, sand... disembodied hands playing pool by the pool in Pool Paradise?

If you're a fan of all things billiards, apparently Pool Paradise is a title you need to play. With a robust simulation of the sport set on a vibrant island paradise, it should appeal to both fans and newcomers alike.

But does it? Chalk me cue up and let's find out.

Zuma

Ribbit.

Mobile gaming is addictive. We all know that. YouTube suggested some Sudoku videos to me a few weeks back, and it's already one of the most-used apps on my phone. Spending 10 minutes on a Sudoku puzzle to pass the time often turns into spending another 10 minutes trying to do it faster than the last one. It's a problem. I have problems.

To remedy that, I haven't played Sudoku at all today. I got up, got ready, opened the 1001 book to see what the next game was and fired up Zuma, a game I don't think I've ever played (maybe I've played a version or knock-off of it).

Two hours later...

Gregory Horror Show

I'd make a good what now? Sacrifice? I see...

There are complete unknowns in this 1001 list, and then there is Gregory Horror Show, a PlayStation 2 game with cube-y looking rats running a creepy hotel. I read that it is based on a CGI anime series, which still gives me no clues as to what might go on in this game, though I suspect it's scary. Or maybe funny. Perhaps both.

So, with absolutely no idea what to expect, let's dive in.

R-Type Final

"The drifting specks of light soothe the darkness in my heart..."

You just can't keep the space shooter genre down, can you? There's not a console in the world without an entry, it seems. It must have its fans, as it keeps cropping up on this 1001 list time and again. But how does it fare on the PlayStation 2, in the form of R-Type Final?

This isn't the first R-Type game I've played, thanks to an earlier entry on the list, R-Type Delta. What has another generation of consoles allowed the developers to achieve? Where can you push the genre without compromising on the gameplay? Will this waffle end and the gaming begin already?

Yes. Yes, it will.

F-Zero GX

Go, Speed Racer, Go!

199 games ago on this 1001 list, I played F-Zero X for the first time. I liked it but would have liked to see some firepower coming out of these futuristic racers. With the chaos of 30 drivers on track at once, however, weaponry would probably have been a bad idea...

That was back on the N64. How does the GameCube up the stakes for the anti-gravity racers amongst us in F-Zero GX? Are there even more racers on track? Do we finally have some offensive capabilities? Is it more of the same, but better? What does the 'G' even mean?

I've absolutely no idea, but I'm ready to rev up my engines and find out.

Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory

Reinforcements deploy in 1 second.

Multiplayer first-person shooters aren't new, of course, but many of the familiar features of modern shooters can be found back in what began as a mod for Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory.

Chief amongst those features are systems of levelling up your skills, driving players towards strategies more useful to their character growth, if you will, rather than just attempting to win the match and move on. Even if you lose, you've hopefully still made some progress towards your goal.

But what are those goals? What is Enemy Territory? Is it just a Second World War multiplayer FPS?

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

"Everything had started out as black and white. Somewhere down the road, the line went blurry."

Max, you're back. You look a little different. Are you alright?

Video game sequels can bring on several changes, often improvements on the original titles, and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne argues the case for not using your own development team as the stars of a gritty film noir.

Gone is the smirk - if you could call it that - of the original incarnation of our troubled cop, replaced with a face more befitting of a big sequel to a popular game. The graphics have gotten better, but what else is going on here that we've just got to play?