Another one, whey! It feels like these recaps come around much more quickly, the older you get. Seeing as these are The 751/1001 Milestone Awards, we're three-quarters of the way through this undertaking, and still discovering new old things. Did you know the Telescore 751 was a video game thing? I bet you didn't.
Fifty more video games going head to head in ways they never would have expected, for a prize that definitely isn't worth slapping all over the box art, Batman-style. From Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis to Free Running, these titles have been quite different from the previous couple of batches. I wonder what stood out the most.
But before that, we get to find out what merely stood. The Indifferent 5 are games that are. That's all. On a good day, they're alright, on a bad day they're there if you've got nothing else. They can elicit a strong reaction, but not often. In the order I wrote them down in, they are:
Mercury Meltdown, Ignition Banbury
Naked War, Zee-3
Slitherlink, Nikoli
Virtua Fighter 5, Sega AM2
Better luck next time, eh?
The next award is always a favourite, and to cut straight to the point, it asks What Was That 1 Even Put On The List For? There were two or three in the running for this one. One was I game I liked, two were games I definitely didn't, but one of those two had such a poor showing that it may forever dominate my opinion of it and anything that comes from the same series.
What Was Rayman Raving Rabbids Even Put On The List For?
Ugh, just appalling. If it had a half-way decent PC port instead of an utterly garbage one, then Gunpey or Lumines Live! was up for this award: Gunpey for not being able to see it, and Lumines Live! for already having seen it, a.k.a the unwritten 'Pikmin 2 rule' about identical entries.
Right, enough of exposing how the panel voted for these awards, let's find a replacement to answer the question You Forgot What?!
I had a quick skim through some notable games from 2006 for this, and a few made it to the shortlist. There's no Dynasty Warriors, what's that about? Overlooking Killzone: Liberation? Shame. But one title rocketed above all the others.
Video games cover many genres and portray many characters overcoming difficult circumstances. They have stories that resonnate and lead to memories that last a lifetime. But not all memories are good. Not all video games care about their story, or characters, or social issues, or depictions of women... What I'm trying to get at here is that, for some context about what video games actually do, you should all play Dead or Alive Xtreme 2.
No, I mean it. This 1001 list is about learning, is it not? And there's much that can be learned from the DoA Xtreme series. If you want to champion how great video games are, you need to be prepared to explain stuff like this (which is far, far better than Rayman Raving Rabbids).
Moving on. The Top Ten. The best of the rest. As I said, it's a strange batch this time out. Not so many titles that I'm familiar with, and a fair few surprises. Sitting back and looking at this list, it looks like it makes little sense. There's no logic to it at all, and how I arrived at the final form I don't really know, but here they are:
10: Microsoft Flight Simulator X, Aces Game Studio, Dovetail Games
Have I been swayed by the 2020 release? Has 2020 itself made me desperate to get back on a plane for some sense of normalcy, even though I only ever travelled by plane once (well, twice, there and back) a year anyway? Do I just like looking out the window, regardless of what I see? No idea.
9: Gottlieb Pinball Classics, FarSight Studios
What on Earth have I got a pinball simulator on this list for? Have I gone mad, or do I just appreciate the dedication in bringing these tables to new players?
8: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, Atlus
Took an age to get going, but persistance paid off for Persona.
7: GTR2 - FIA GT Racing Game, Blimey! Games, SimBin
Get closer! Get real! Get these Ferrari's and Porsches out and mod something decent in there instead. Still no good at it, of course, but this isn't a top ten of what games I'm good at, it's what games I enjoy.
6: Final Fantasy XII, Square Enix
Still unsure why I'm interested in this one, but I am, and that's what matters. The forgotten game it may be, but it's still a solid entry.
5: Virtua Tennis 3, Sega AM3
In what world is Virtua Tennis better than Final Fantasy? This one. My world. And no, I cannot tell you why. This list is nonsense, even to me.
4: BioShock, 2K Boston, 2K Australia
If you'd have said the magic words, you might have been higher up on this list, boyo.
3: OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast, Sumo Digital
Sim racing, arcade racing... I don't really care what form it comes in, racing games are appealing, and OutRun 2006 is simply a joy.
2: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Infinity Ward
As crazy as this list is, it would be certifiably stupid to not have this feature on it somewhere.
Because I only bothered with the single player side of CoD4, I can only rank it at number 2. The number 1 title of this batch has to go to a game I spent tens of hours with, if not more. You will never emerge from the sewers for the very first time again in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. But you can still have a good time, all these years later.
Is it a good enough time to crack into The Topper Than That Top Ten though? It's getting harder and harder to do so. Of all the 751 games we've looked at so far, what are the best of the best?
10: Counter-Strike: Source, Valve, Turtle Rock Studios
I feel a victory slipping away. Gonna blame it on the rest of the team, though...
9: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Bethesda Game Studios
It'll always have a place in my memory for what it introduced me to all those years ago.
8: Yakuza 2, Sega NE R&D
Current Yakuza status: Zero finished, Judgment finished, Kiwami begun, fifth chapter, I believe.
7: Company of Heroes, Relic Entertainment
The DLC is on the wishlist. If there wasn't all this backlog, I'd be right there.
6: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan
I've just been reminded of that really high def video of the final fight, teasing an insane remaster, only to instead be the promotion for a pachinko machine. Well done, Konami...
5: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Rockstar North
When are Love Fist going to tour again?
4: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Rockstar North
What's the fastest way down Mount Chiliad on a BMX?
3: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Nintendo EAD
You know what doesn't need a 35th anniversary to spruce it up? This guy.
2: Front Mission 3, Square
No big stompy robots in this recent batch? Nothing to threaten this position, then.
1: Metal Gear Solid, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan
Board game status: Delayed playtesting, pending difficulty adjustment. Video game status: Absolute classic, cannot be bettered.
There you have it. Very little chance, but then a very unusual top ten this time out. The 1001 list is getting smaller and smaller. What 'modern' classics are going to muscle in on the golden oldies? We'll begin looking at the next lot of contenders with FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage. It probably won't get into the topper ten, but will it entertain at all? We'll find out soon enough.
Would you kindly game on?