Nuu’s Top 100 Greatest Games of All-Time
#30-21
30| No More Heroes
Released: January 22nd, 2008
Definitive Version: Wii; Also on: PS3, Xbox 360
Music and film are filled with art that strives to be avant-garde. Songs and motion pictures that are born and bread to be rebellious and strive to be different. In gaming this isn’t as common. Even in the age of independent developers, there are few studios that really try and break the mold. Even those that do break it tend to fall into the same indie clichè traps. Most “out there” indie games often feel different for the sake of being different rather than actually having a coherent vision in mind. Back in 2008, the game industry was even more homogenous. It seems that games fell into two camps, the devoid of color military steroid shooter side and the happy Walt Disney party game side. Sure there were tons of games that weren’t in either extreme, but most games at that time did feel as if they were in general range of those two groups. It was at this time that studio Grasshopper Manufacture, headed by the strange Suda 51, released a game titled “No More Heroes” on the Nintendo Wii. The system was the hottest thing around at the time, and while most consumers were satisfied with their purchase, many hardcore gamers were becoming disappointed in Nintendo’s new console due to the lack of titles focused on their demographic. Unlike most games on the system, No More Heroes promised to be a hardcore gaming experience through and through. When players got their hands on it, they found it to be a very unique, extreme, weird, and highly enjoyable experience.
The gameplay of No More Heroes is nothing special. It is a typical action game where the player travels a world map as they do random missions and enter levels to defeat bosses. The action isn’t all that deep either, it isn’t exactly Devil May Cry. However, the combat is very fun and enjoyable. On top of that it puts very good use to the Wii’s motion controls. The combat works by the player wielding a lightsaber. They press the “A” button to perform a slashing attack. Hitting the button repeatedly results in a string of slashes. Pointing the Wii remote up results in the protagonists executing high attacks, while pointing the Wii remote down results in low attacks. This is important as enemies will block either high or low. When the lightsaber is out of juice the player waggles the Wii remote in anyway direction as the main character chargers their lightsaber by…
yeah…After a combo is completed the player can then finish an enemy off by doing wrestling moves as they use both the Wii remote and nunchuck to suplex enemies and slam them onto the ground. It seems like a gimmick at first but it is very satisfying. Alternatively, the player can continue doing a string of slashes where they can then either decapitate an enemy or slice them in half. Again it isn’t the deepest combat system out there, but it is very fun and enjoyable. This is probably just me, but personally I referred to the game as the Wii’s “Zone of the Enders” due to its satisfying, though a bit simplistic, combat.
Combat isn’t the only thing the game has to offer though. Throughout the world there are random mini-games to discover such as playing with cats, washing cars, and catching scorpions. Yes this is typical for a Wii game, however, these mini-games aren’t half bad. I even found myself replaying them several times throughout my multiple playthroughs.
Now while the gameplay in No More Heroes is solid, what really makes the game standout is its style. It would be best to explain the premise of the game first. Travis Touchdown, a Johnny Knoxville look-a-like, is hired to be an assassin. Each assassin is ranked by how deadly they are. To make things simple, an assassin attains their rank by killing the previous title holder. So if one wanted to be the 7th best assassin in the world, they would have to defeat, or in more accurate terms kill, the assassin who is 7th in rank. Travis Touchdown is on a mission to become the number 1 ranked assassin. The reason? Because the female recruiter who got him the job stated that if he became the best ranked assassin, she would have sex with him.
The game takes the player on a wild ride as they encounter tons of memorable characters and events. Being honest though, where the game really stands out is the bosses. Each boss has a very specific personality and design that just makes them very appealing. The closest game series I can relate this to is Metal Gear Solid. The bosses do not feel throw away, but rather intricately designed and crafted to mesh with the world as well as possible. From superheroes with laser beams to a sexy woman in pink with a baseball bat and a S&M fetish, No More Heroes’s bosses deliver.
One piece of constructive criticism is that the game becomes a little too non-sensical sometimes, specifically with the plot. I realize that this is very much part of the game’s appeal, but toward the end of the game the plot gets way too ridiculous and dare I say, stupid. It clearly isn’t enough to damper the overall experience, but how things wrap up leave a lot to be desired.
Presentation wise No More Heroes is second to none in what its trying to achieve. The game has a very interesting and appealing art-style as much of the world is cel-shaded. On top of that many cool and unique graphics pop-up throughout the game, especially during loading screens. The UI is all over the place with an 8-bit styled map and health and even has a fucking tiger as a rage meter. There are also other ingenious additions such as saving being done by going to the nearest toilet and taking a shit. These little touches are present in almost every corner of the title, and personally I can’t get enough of them. There is also the unique “so bad it’s good” aspect of the game. The over-world looks terrible with ’90s esque graphics and stiff animations and a chuggy framerate to accompany them. The game can look like absolute shit sometimes, but in strange way that’s the appeal of it. It sounds weird, but I even prefer it this way.
The music of the game is pretty memorable. There are some really well done and standout tracks in the title. The music does very well to complement the game’s strange and rebellious style, and also really show off the bosses characteristics.
Suda 51 prided himself in making “punk games”, meaning games that deviated from the norm to the point of making a statement. I feel that No More Heroes comfortably accomplished that. Unfortunately Suda 51 hasn’t directed a game since, and really it shows. The sequel, No More Heroes 2, was pretty poor overall outside of some highlight levels and bosses. The story was ridiculously terrible and the final boss was almost impossible to stomach. Killer is Dead and Lollipop Chainsaw followed, and they seemed to have No More Heroes “crazy” touch, but they felt too “safe”. In a way Grasshopper’s “punk” style has now become the norm for them, to the point where if they made a normal game than it would be seen as deviating more from the norm than their usual affair. No matter how one looks at it, No More Heroes is arguably the high mark in Grasshopper’s and Suda 51’s career. After years of waiting, Suda finally announced that the third game is in development for Nintendo’s new console, the Nintendo Switch. Here’s hoping it lives up to expectations.
29| M.U.S.H.A. Aleste
Released: 1990 (Exact release date unknown)
Definitive Version: Sega Mega Drive; Also on: Virtual Console for Wii
You boot the game up, start the first level, then this music immediately begins playing. It is at this time that you realize the title you are playing is very special. Coming out at the time when the shoot-em-up genre was red hot, Compile’s M.U.S.H.A. Aleste came out swinging. Most would say the pinnacle of the genre occurred later with titles such as Dodonpachi, Radiant Silvergun, and Ikaruga. While I agree that those are all solid games, personally I think that the genre peaked twenty-six years ago with the Mega Drive entry of the Aleste games.
In all honesty, there isn’t much that makes M.U.S.H.A. Aleste unique. It plays like any other shoot-em-up on the planet, and even the graphics aren’t much to speak of. Sure it uses giant robots rather than space jets, but that was the trend during the early nineties. In reality, what made M.U.S.H.A. stand out from the dozens of other shooters being released every year was its killer soundtrack and its very refined gameplay.
The game starts off with a unit of mechs being deployed to wipe out an onslaught of enemies. In just a few seconds all of them are wiped out…but one. The lone surviving mech is the convieniantly the one the player controls over. The screen scrolls over vertically as tons of enemies popup that need to be eradicated. The player has two attack buttons. The main attack button simply shoots bullets straight ahead, while there is also a special attack button where the mech uses its more power and specific secondary attack. These secondary attacks include a green charge laser and multi-directional satellite shots. At the end of each stage is a boss battle, most of these tend to be quite large as they take up the entire screen. Once the boss is defeated the mech exits the screen and a new stage appears. The process continues to rinse and repeat.
I realize that this is a very short write-up, but that is because there isn’t much to say about M.U.S.H.A. Aleste. It’s simply a shoot-em-up that is completely run-of-the-mill on paper, but is near flawlessly executed. The biggest flaw in the game is its availability. The cartridge is a bit pricey. Luckily it is available on the Wii’s Virtual Console, however with even the successor system soon to be replaced, one wonders just how much longer the title will be up for sale. Either way if you have even such as a faint interest in the game, it is best to purchase it now as it will likely be far more difficult to do so in the future.
28| Sin & Punishment
Released: November 21st, 2000
Definitive Version: Virtual Console on Wii; Also on: N64, Virtual Console on Wii U
As one would realize from reading this list, it once wasn’t uncommon for Japanese games not to be released in the West. Quality localization wasn’t cheap, and at times the game sales wouldn’t cover the cost. With “Sin & Punishment” however, things seem complicated. It isn’t too shocking that a Japanese styled arcade game for the Nintendo 64 wasn’t released outside of Asia. But what is shocking is that it wasn’t released in the West, despite the game having a full English localization. Not only was most of the text already translated into English, but the game even had English voice acting. If the developers merely translated the menu screen, then the game would have had a 100% completed localization. However, the title never left the Pacific. The game was released in Japan and, oddly enough, in China, but it was never released elsewhere.
Being that it was a Treasure title, and the game having phenomenal import impressions, it quickly became one of the most desired games of its time. The urge was elevated due to the fact that the title was released at the twilight of the Nintendo 64, when games were very sparse. A glimmer of a hope occurred with Nintendo’s Wii console as it supported emulation of previous consoles, including the Nintendo 64. Nintendo soon gave the okay for previously unreleased titles to appear on their service. Sin & Punishment was an obvious candidate due to the localization process already being completed. Many fans had hope that it would be among the titles Nintendo selected as all they would have to do is simply upload the game’s ROM to their database and be done with it. It turns out that is exactly what Nintendo did. On October 1st, 2007, almost seven years after its initial release, Sin & Punishment made it stateside. The game was met with critical and commercial success.
So what exactly made this game so great? For starters, the game is pretty unique. It is an on-rails third person shooter, but it is in no way a shooting gallery. While the camera and the stage moves to the developer’s will, the main character can walk around in a 360 degree space as they can move left, right, forward, or backward. They can even hop over on-coming objects. Their is a reticule on the screen as the protagonist is armed with a gun, so much of the game plays like a third person shooter similar to Jet Force Gemini. Waves of enemies appear on screen as the player launches bullets toward them. There is also a secondary sword attack to take out enemies at close range. This attack can also be used to destroy debris or even send fired missiles back to enemies or toward specific objects. All of this may seem very simple, but it works out very well.
Like most Treasure games, the true beauty is in its design. The game is played at a very fast pace as wave after wave of enemies come across the screen. The environment changes as does the situation the player finds themselves in. One minute they will be jogging down the highway taking out stationary enemies and the next they will be flying over the ocean going head to head with fighter jets. This is a Treasure game, so you can expect lots of explosions, ambitious bosses, and chaos. Taking into account that this was Treasure’s first 3D game, it makes things all the more impressive.
Besides the gameplay, Sin & Punishment is also a beautiful game. It has arguably the best graphics of any game on its respected platform with detailed models and textures, as well as impressive lighting effects. The game’s cutscenes coupled with the voice acting really achieves the signature “Playstation cinematic feel” that other games such as Metal Gear Solid were known for. The Wii version is upscaled to 480p, so the game looks much more detailed and smooth. Unfortunately the Wii U version suffers from poor emulation as it has darkened colors.
There is really only one “complaint” one can make about the game. It is very short, as it takes only two hours or so to complete. The thing is, that could arguably be said to be a positive. It is clearly an arcade game made for a console, so it is made to be beaten in one sitting, as well as having strong replayability. It really is one of those “depends on how you look at it” things, hence why complaint was in quotations.
Treasure is known for releasing quality games late in a system’s life. Ikaruga was one of the last game’s released for the Dreamcast, while Gunstar Super Heroes came out well after the Nintendo DS craze had started. It shouldn’t be too surprising that Treasure gave the Nintendo 64 the same treatment as Sin & Punishment was released at the end of its timeline. A worthy end for a quality system.
27| Pulseman
Released: July 22nd,1994
Definitive Version: Sega Mega Drive; Also on: Virtual Console on Wii
Game Freak is a rockstar developer. The creator of the widely successful Poke’mon series that dominates all forms of mobile gaming, are only rivaled in their mainstream cultural success by Blizzard. For the longest time Game Freak was stuck in the “Kojima Dilemma”, as they would exclusively make games for only one specific franchise. It wasn’t until over the past few years that they began branching off to create other titles such as Harmoknight and Tembo the Badass Elephant. While these games were praised for being “good” they weren’t exactly “great”. This led to even some gamers claiming that Game Freak is a one trick pony, as they can only dish out quality Poke’mon type games. In reality, this couldn’t be further from the truth, as arguably their best game was released prior to Poke’mon in 1994.
The game titled “Pulseman” played very much like most games of its era. It was an action/platformer side-scroller with a unique gimmick. That gimmick was the ability to turn into an electric ball as the title character can fly in the air and bounce off walls. It’s actually a bit shocking just how accurate Game Freak got the feel and speed of this “electric mode”. The game is designed like a typical 2D action/platformer. The player runs to the right side of the screen as they hop over obstacles, jump on platforms, and defeat various enemies. Like most games toward the end of this list, what makes Pulseman stand out isn’t due to its innovation, but how well it executes already existing mechanics.
To be fair however, the game clearly does do a lot of unique things. For starters levels are extremely varied. The first level is very horizontal and doesn’t have much vertical scaling, other levels really take advantage of Pulseman’s electric ball as he bounces around the screen like a pinball, and some have disappearing floors and hidden rooms scattered about. Sure the game may not have a high level count, but it makes the few levels it does have count. On top of that, the levels can be selected in any order, which is very friendly from a replayability perspective.
While Game Freak isn’t exactly Treasure when it comes to boss battles, the bosses Pulseman does have to offer are very enjoyable. From a giant hand that punches through platforms and attempts to squash the player, to a doppelganger who challenges Pulseman’s abilities, many of the bosses are very well throughout and enjoyable to fight. There are eight bosses in total, though to be fair three of them or so are toward the end of the game.
Besides the gameplay, where the game really stands out are the graphics and art. Graphically the game is arguably the best looking Mega Drive game. It’s a technical marvel with large sprites, smooth animation, colorful pallet, and little to no pixelation. The technical wizardry isn’t just limited to the visuals though, as the game also has brief instances of English voice acting. The sprites are primarily made with Game Freak’s clean and simplistic style, in which they continued on with the Poke’mon series. In fact many characters in the game are said to have inspired later Poke’mon characters. While the sprites are very “safe” in this regard, the environments are anything but. The background is often a mishmash of abstract art and objects. I believe this is due to much of the game taking place “in the internet” or something similar. There are a lot of odd shapes and transparent colors about and it all looks fantastic. The soundtrack complements these areas very well with a unique techno-like beat.
Unfortunately, this game didn’t get its due. While it was technically available in America, it was only through Sega’s “Sega Channel” which was a very obscure direct download game service. It allowed Genesis owners to rent and download games over the internet. In a way it was like a pre-historic version of Steam. As a result, for the longest time the only way to own the game was through importing the Japanese version which was extremely rare and expensive. Luckily in 2009, Pulseman was released on Nintendo’s Virtual Console for the Nintendo Wii. Like all the other Mega Drive games, it was great port and was well suited with the Classic Controller.
In a way Pulseman is sort of like a Treasure game. Sure it doesn’t have the same chaos and fast paced gameplay. However, it is a solid title that incorporates a unique gimmick. On top of that it is technical showcase that was released toward the end of its respected console’s life. Pulseman showed that Game Freak was capable of developing creative high quality games, and the studio only managed to prove so as it moved into the future.
26| The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
Released: May 17th, 2011
Definitive Version: PC (All major OSes); Also on: Xbox 360
The original “The Witcher” was a breath of fresh air for many RPG gamers. After the genre had been plagued by “casualization” from Bethesda and Bioware’s works, rookie developer CD Projekt unleashed a beast that was unthinkable at the time. A big production traditional WRPG aimed at hardcore PC gamers. Despite the title being so niche it was met with both critical and commercial success. Like any new developer whose first title was a run away hit, CD Projekt decided to start work on a sequel immediately. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is a sequel that manages to improve on its predecessor on all fronts.
Some improvements of the game are seen outright. For starters the combat has been much more refined. It still isn’t quite Devil May Cry, however one does feel like a badass slashing and dicing through enemies. The game also has impressive boss battles and higher quality writing. However, what is most notable is that the actual role playing of the game has been improved as well. The choices the game gives the player drastically change the game. One even enough to result in two completely different experiences for the player.
Saying that, The Witcher 2 doesn’t rest on its laurels. It does enough to truly differ from its predecessor. For starters, the game feels much more personal. Rather than having most of the tough choices through various small encounters, many of the choices the game presents the player are directly part of the main storyline. As a result, Geralt feels much more as a central figure in the politics and chaos he encounters, rather than just being someone from the outside looking in as he was in the first title.
Storywise, the game is good, but it isn’t the best. It isn’t exactly “insert obligatory highly acclaimed narrative based RPG game” caliber. While some characters do stand out and are relatable, they aren’t exactly the type that will stay with you after the credits roll. Even Geralt isn’t that memorable. That said, he and most of the other characters in the game do get the job done. And to also be fair, Western role playing games aren’t really known for their bombastic plots or appealing characters. A plus in the game’s story however, is that its plot does include many relevant themes. This includes radicalism, racism, and sexism. These topics are handled surprisingly well in the game, and the multiple choices in the game results in multiple perspectives being put forth.
Presentation wise, the game is stunning. Graphically it still holds up today. At the time it was comfortably the best graphical game at the time, which is impressive considering the game has wide open spaces rather than small corridors. It just isn’t the textures that make the game look great, the game also has gorgeous art style with a unique pallet and well placed lighting effects. This is very welcomed being that most RPGs in general are either in shades of brown and gray or filled with porcelain characters and objects. The soundtrack is also great. My only complaint is that many of the songs sound very similar to each other. But that isn’t such a bad thing when they all sound good.
Overall, The Witcher 2 is a fantastic title. While it certainly got its due praised during its heyday, it has since seemed to be forgotten in a way. The problem is that due to being the second in the trilogy, it finds itself sandwiched between the latest installment and title that started it all. As such it is mostly remembered as merely being part of the excellent The Witcher series, rather than the entry itself. Nevertheless it is a incredible game that deserves a playthrough for any RPG fan.
25| Rolling Thunder 3
Released: May 19th, 1993
Available On: Sega Genesis
The third installment of the Rolling Thunder series is often seen as the black sheep of the franchise for multiple reasons. The first is that it is a console game first and foremost. Unlike the first two games, Rolling Thunder 3 was made exclusively for the Sega Genesis. The second is that the game has never been re-released. You can’t even find the game on any modern digital distribution service, including the Wii Virtual Console. The third and most bizarre reason is that the game didn’t have a world-wide release. In an opposite world type fashion, the game was never released in Japan, as it never left American shores. However, the deal breaker for most was that the game is only single player, as it doesn’t allow the classic cooperative gameplay that Rolling Thunder is known for. Due to these reasons the game has widely been shunned by fans of the series. This is displayed even today as despite it having so many marks for it to be a collector’s item, the game sells for modest prices on second hand sites.
Personally, I felt that the criticism the game gets is undeserved. Sure if you enjoy coop mode then I can see how the title would be a disappointment. But if you are like me and play most of these types of games alone, the entry is a huge improvement over the previous titles in the series. For starters, the player doesn’t die after getting hit only once, they now have three life marks to deplete. There is also a checkpoint system, so when the player does die, they don’t have to start from the beginning of the level. These are both welcomed changes as the previous games were a little too punishing all things considered.
However, the core gameplay has also been altered. The famed timer is completely absent, and instead the game has a sniper that pops up and starts shooting at the player if they take too long. There is also an additional button that switches between the character’s primary weapon and secondary weapon. The primary weapon obviously being the trusty pistol while the secondary weapon being something with a bit more firepower with a bit less ammo. At the beginning of each level the player is able to select any weapon they want, ranging from automatic rifles to shotguns to rocket launchers. This leads for some nice experimentation during combat. Finally, the protagonist is not only able to jump and shoot, but also is able to shoot diagonally. In short, the combat has received a complete overhaul.
All of these changes aren’t without some drawbacks. The most obvious one is that the game is significantly easier than its predecessors. While the game isn’t exactly a walk in the park, it is still easier than it should be. It seems that Namco had a difficult time trying to balance the difficulty in these games, with the predecessors being too arduous, while this title being too manageable. That said, I would say that the third entry gets closer to the “sweet spot” when it comes to difficulty, even if it still manages to land quite off the mark.
It is very apparent that this game was crafted to be a single player experience from the get go. Not only due to the obvious gameplay changes, but the presentation as well. The story plays a much bigger part in this game, meaning that instead of being a single shot still prior each level there are cutscenes. The cutscenes are very well done with big characters covering the entire screen, zoomed in objects, neat lighting effects, and even actual animation. It’s clear that Namco didn’t skimp on the presentation. Even in-game this technical wizardry is apparent. Most notably are the brief instances of voice acting, such as the sniper announcement, amongst other things. Unfortunately, all of this effort does feel a bit wasted as the story is pretty generic and dull, but to be fair it is an early ’90s style arcade game.
Design wise, the game is traditional Rolling Thunder for the most part. It does take a lot more liberties in level design. Rather than most levels being vertical, they are instead mostly horizontal so the landscape is a bit more Mario-like rather than being reminiscent of Elevator Action. There are also more vehicle stages that involve the player dodging obstacles and taking out enemies. The most iconic of these is the motorcycle stage in the desert. It’s even the art for the front cover.
One thing to add is that unlike the previous titles, the game actually manages to pull of the techno-noir soundtrack. The music fits the game’s style and tone perfectly as it rarely diverts from it. It took Namco three tries, but they finally accomplished their futuristic noir atmosphere. It helps that the music is also pretty catchy as well.
There are two types of black sheep. The first are those that are ostracized because they legitimately lack quality and due to this turn off on lookers. The second type are those that are merely misunderstood. They have just as much, if not more, quality than their sisters, but are just too unique or different to attract on lookers who were expecting something else. The latter type is the situation I feel Rolling Thunder 3 is in. Fans of the series were expecting another arcade style coop game. What they got was a crafted single player experience merged with arcade gameplay. And while the end result may be similar, it was just different enough for some players to be disappointed by their expectations. That said, when looking at Rolling Thunder 3 in a different light, it arguably the best game in the series, and a must have for the Sega Genesis.
24| CounterStrike: Global Offensive
Released: August 21st, 2012
Definitive Version: PC (All major OSes); Also on: Xbox 360, PS3
There are very few game franchises that have the legacy of CounterStrike. While most gamers today will think of Call of Duty being the undisputed king of first person shooters, the reality is that not only is CounterStrike tethering with that mantle, but has been so for years. It may seem like an odd comparison to make, but I have always seen CounterStrike as the “King of Fighters of First Person Shooters.” I realize this statement will make a few people raise their eyebrows, but bare with me here. What I mean by that comparison is that while CounterStrike is reasonably popular in the major mass market countries, much (if not most) of its popularity comes from players in “non-traditional” countries. While Call of Duty lights up the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom, CounterStrike is on fire in Russia, Poland, Brazil, and various other nations. The global player base really helps put the “Global” in “CounterStrike: Global Offensive.”
Now there have been multiple CounterStrike titles since its debut. But for the longest time the players were divided into two camps. CounterStrike v1.6 or “Classic CounterStrike” and CounterStrike: Source. CounterStrike v1.6 was the final version of the original CounterStrike game while CounterStrike: Source was the newest entry made for Valve’s then hot and sexy Source engine. That said, few 1.6 players jumped the boat to Source. Most complained about the game’s funky hitboxes, lack of recoil on the weapons, and the butchering classic of maps. In contrast, Source players stayed away from 1.6 due to the game’s primitive physics (“watermelon grenades”), ’90s era graphics, and relative lacking mod support. For almost a decade these two groups were in some sort of Super Smash Bros. esque rivalry with one another. With the players of the older game decrying the newer version as a “casualized” and “watered-down” version of their favorite classic game. While the players of the newer game kept telling the older players to “get with the times” as they believed that there wasn’t much difference between the older version and the newer one. Technically there was also a third game titled CounterStrike: Condition Zero, but few people played it as most agreed that it was the “worst of both worlds” in terms of comparing it to the other games in the series.
Valve recognized the rivalry and split player base between the two games. As a result they attempted to create a new version of the game that would appeal to the Source players with modern physics, graphics, and mod community, as well as appeal to players of the old game with tight hitboxes, strong recoil, and competitively designed maps. This usually seems to be a common story for developers and almost always ends in two ways. It either ends with the players of the new game jumping onto the newer game, while players of the old game stick with their tried and true. Or at even worse, players of both the new game and the old game stick with their respected games while the newer game just dies off after a year or two. Either way, Valve decided to release CounterStrike: Global Offensive on August 21st, 2012. Miraculously, Valve did the impossible. They managed to get both the new and old CounterStrike players on board with the game, connecting the two communities together, as well as bringing in a bunch of blood. The game was and is wildly successful.
As someone who used to play all the games in the series frequently, except Condition Zero, there are a few reasons that explain Global Offensive’s success. But before explaining that, I think it would be best to describe the kind of game CounterStrike is. CounterStrike is a relatively simple game. Players are divided into two teams as they are split across the map. One team plays as the terrorists while the other plays as the counter-terrorists. The game has a few modes, but really only two are played. The most popular mode is the bomb defusal in which terrorists plant the bomb in either of two specific places in the map. It is counter-terrorists team’s job to kill off all the terrorists before they plant the bomb and it detonates. The other mode is the hostage rescue in which terrorists guard hostages while the counter-terrorists have to break through their formation and lead the hostages to safety. Again, these modes are simple but very addicting.
What leads to CounterStrike’s addiction is how it successfully marries its punishing deaths, corridor map design, and tactical team work all in one perfect formula. Unlike in other first person shooters, when you die in a round of CounterStrike, you die. No respawns, no continues, no nothing. You sit and watch the remaining players until the end of the match. This may seem morbid at first, but it makes the players time on the maps that much more intense. To add to the intensity is that maps are designed with a lot of corners and side rooms. Meaning that players rarely know what is going to be ahead of them beyond a few yards. This leads to a lot of tension approaching rooms and corners and often leads to standoffs. The final piece of the formula is team work. Obviously in a game with few opaque spots and punishing deaths no one is going to charge in alone. You need team work not just to win, but to even take down the opponents in the first place. As a result players will constantly find themselves on chat and coordinating with their team. All of this adds up to a very addicting formula and lots of “one more game” nights that turn into play sessions until the sun is up.
Obviously all of these things make CounterStrike into a very peculiar game, which makes few people acceptant toward change. This makes Valve’s success in creating a game that branched the two camps together all the more impressive. The reason why both groups jumped in on Global Offensive is simply because it is the best game in the series. It took everything good about the previous games and discarded everything bad. Global Offensive improved on 1.6’s hitboxes, recoil, and maps, while also updating Source’s physics engine, graphics, as well as lowering the barrier of entry for modding. It truly is a best of both worlds type game. Sure there were some changes, but most were for the better. Classic maps got updated in a big way and are much more enjoyable. This is very apparent as servers are no longer only populated by just two maps (de_dust 2 and cs_office). There are also a few new modes for players to sink their teeth into such as arsenal and demolition (though admittedly many of these new modes are based on existing mods).
That said, Global Offensive isn’t without its faults. The biggest is that it contains a microtransaction economy that has poisoned so many similar titles in the genre. Admittedly it doesn’t seem to affect Global Offensive’s quality much, but there are occasional snipits of it here and there. There is also the game’s artstyle which while works in its favor a lot, there are times where the color tones of certain maps are way off. Particularly in any map located in the desert. Everything has a washed out, bluish grayish tone to it, much like Metal Gear Solid 4. It is very distracting at times, especially when certain characters wear clothing that matches the tint. I am sure there are mods out there that fixes this problem, but still.
All in all, CounterStrike: Global Offensive had huge shoes to fill. Not only was Valve dealing with a legacy franchise, but they were dealing with a legacy franchise that was divided. Not only did Valve manage to fill in the shoes and bring the player base together, but they also managed to recruit tons of new players along the way. It has been close to twenty years since the original CounterStrike debuted and the series has never been more popular. There are always around at least half a million players playing the game at any given time and it constantly fights its way in being the most popular game on Twitch. It is arguably the most successful first person shooter of all-time in terms of player base size and consistency, as well as global popularity. And being completely honest, it deserves all of it.
23| Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
Released: December 22nd, 2005
Definitive Version: Playstation 3; Also on: Xbox 360, PSV, 3DS, PS2
Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence is undisputedly the best Metal Gear game. In my mind no other Metal Gear game comes close to it. The reason for this is because it perfectly encases everything a Metal Gear game is supposed to be. It has very well designed levels that are made exclusively for sneaking around enemies and leaves a lot in the way for experimentation. It contains a string of unique and exhilarating boss fights. And it has an engaging story that just reeks of 1980s B-Movie action. It is the definitive Metal Gear experience.
Unfortunately, I did not feel this way the first time I played it. This was solely due to the fact that the initial version of the game, Snake Eater, had one humongous problem with it. You couldn’t see anything. The entire game was played via overhead. Now this doesn’t sound too bad as this was how Metal Gear had been traditionally played since the series inception. However, being that Metal Gear Solid 3 takes place in the outdoors, it meant that the player had too transverse through a lot of open spaces and few corridors. This meant that it was very difficult to pinpoint or even see enemies. To add insult to injury the traditional radar screen was gone in favor of more obscure methods. This certainly makes sense in the context of the setting, as of course the 1960s would lack the technology that would be available in the 1990s and 2000s. However, it didn’t change the fact that the gameplay didn’t accommodate the new changes in level design.
In 2005, the game was re-released as Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence which added multiplayer, the two original Metal Gear games, and a slew of other modes. However, the most exciting addition to most was the fact that the game now had a third person perspective for the camera. Now I was hesitant toward this at first, as the game wasn’t designed with that perspective in mind. Things rarely work out when things are shoed in after the game is complete. After playing the game a second time with the new camera, I simply fell in love. One simple change managed to completely fix virtually everything wrong with the title. Enemies can now be seen, as well as the layout of the area. What’s interesting about this change is that it didn’t make the game too easy. This is due to the ways the maps are designed led to few times where the player can get a clear shot of where everything is. Luckily this is when Metal Gear becomes Metal Gear as the player can then just huddle along a wall and use the tools they have to scan the area. It just wasn’t the gameplay though, the graphics of the game seemed much better as they could now be appreciated as the textures became much more visible. In short, I went from disliking the game to loving it.
Metal Gear Solid 3 was an abrupt change from what fans were used to in the series. For starters the game took place during the 1960s. Keep in mind that up until that point the series had always taken place in the not so distant future. So technology was always a bit ahead of the curve from what we were used to. From remote controlled missiles to nanomachines, Metal Gear’s futuristic setting was part of its appeal, and it was part of the gameplay. However, this game took players forty years into the past. Not only did this change the setting astronomically, but it also changed the gameplay as well. All the high tech gadgets the series used since the first entry were gone. All that was given to the player are simply guns, bullets, and not much more. To make up for this, Kojima Productions managed to really fine tune gunplay in the game and give the player a wide variety of guns to choose from. Not only that, but they also created the close quarters combat system, abbreviated as “CQC” in the game. Basically the CQC system relies on the player doing brief takedown attacks on their enemies, knocking them down and dizzying them in just a few moves. The game also gives the player a knife to wield which often results in a lot of slit throats.
It just wasn’t the time period that led the game to be unique, but the location as well. The game takes place in the exotic jungles of the Soviet Union! As a result, there be tons of trees, swamps, and wildlife scattered about. Survival in the wild is a big part of the game, the protagonist often becomes hungry and needs to eat. As a result, the player needs to hunt for food. This includes animals like crabs, snakes, alligators, and pretty much anything you can see walking around. However, the player needs to be careful as some creatures are poisonous. Camouflage also plays a huge part in the game. Being that the jungle has so many different textures, it leads to a lot of different camo outfits to use depending on the situation. Wearing the right outfit is the difference between being able to walk right past enemies, and not even being able to crawl toward them dozens of feet away.
Despite all of these changes, the game is still Metal Gear through and through. As stated before, the maps are wonderfully designed and lead themselves to a lot of experimentation. Whether your playstyle consists of sneaking past enemies, or taking them head on, Metal Gear Solid 3 satisfies. The jungle is a perfect setting that leads to experimentation with all of the different cover options, camos to choose from, and wildlife to exploit. The facilities in the game are just as well designed with tons of rooms and floors to play with. This is the type of game where you will be screwing around with the map for hours before you even want to progress to the next cutscene.
At the end of the day however, a Metal Gear game isn’t a Metal Gear game without the batshit story. And boy does Metal Gear Solid 3 have one. It starts off with the player playing as a spy who is codenamed “Snake”, or “Naked Snake” to be more precise. His job is to retrieve a scientist who has been kidnapped by the Soviets. Soon everything goes haywire as one of the Soviet agents does a false flag attack triggering a Cuban Missile Crisis style situation with the United States. What’s worse is that apparently the Soviet’s are constructing a super high tech weapon capable of mass destruction. As a result, Naked Snake is sent out to do a secret covert mission. Admittedly it isn’t the best story in the series, but it is still very entertaining and has the perfect balance of batshit and grounded storytelling. The story also introduces a lot of unique characters who often translate to fascinating boss fights such as a rocket man with a flame thrower, a centenarian sniper, and an electrified body builder to name a few. But the character that I feel really steals the show is a young Ocelot. It was a bit strange seeing him so young in the game as in the previous two games he was an old man. Yet in this game is nothing but a kid with a huge ego. Nevertheless, he is very entertaining to watch.
I can’t close this entry without mentioning the game’s online multiplayer mode. Perhaps it could be because it was one of my first multiplayer online games ever, but the original Metal Gear Online was fantastic. Sure it was riddled with bugs and cheaters, but when it was played correctly it was a blast. It was very interesting in playing an online shooter that wasn’t quite in first or third person perspective. There were a multitude of modes but most people stuck with team deathmatch with occasionally spy vs soldiers on the side. Yes, spy vs soldiers was pretty much one player playing as Snake whose goal was to sneak around while it was everyone else’s job to find him. It was pretty enjoyable, but I mostly stuck with team deathmatch. Apparently it has been revitalized for online private server play, but it is only for the emulated version.
No matter how you slice it, Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence is a fantastic game. It certainly isn’t perfect as constantly changing the camo can get annoying and the frequently changing maps breaks immersion. However, all in all it is still a high quality game and represents the peak of the series. I feel that after this game the franchise began to fall off. Metal Gear Solid 4 was a huge disappointment as it couldn’t decide what it wanted to be. The PSP games were just awful. And Metal Gear Solid V was literally unfinished and took the approach of playing a TV show rather than a movie (if that makes sense). Metal Gear Solid 3 was the last “traditional” Metal Gear in my eyes, and it really shows. I just wish Kojima the best on his recent endeavor.
22| Sid Meier’s Civilization V
Released: September 21st, 2010
Available On: PC (All major OSes)
Out of any video game I have ever played, the game that I have clocked the most hours in, is Civilization V. 360 hours on the dot I have put into this game. Just by the fact alone, no matter how you slice it, this game has made a significant impact on me. There have been countless playthroughs where I ended up clocking well over four, five, or even six hours at a time. At best, Civilization could be described as gaming bliss, at worst it could be described as an addiction. Looking at the hour logs of my peers, it definitely seems that I am not alone.
To explain just what makes Civilization such an addicting game, one has to explain just what Civilization is. Civilization is the father of the “4X” genre. The “4X” is an abbreviation for explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate. The basis of Civilization is that the player chooses a legendary leader from history to play as. This includes anyone as respected as Gandhi to as infamous as Genghis Khan. When the game begins the player has nothing but one pack of settlers and a single military unit to command. The entire location around them, but the immediate area is invisible. As time passes by the player will have settled cities, explored the area around them, and met other civilizations as they bond as friends or brawl as enemies. Playing Civilization is basically playing through an alternate history. You get to see just how the world will unfold as you and multiple A.I. controlled players fight to become the most powerful civilization. This is what makes the game so addicting, to live out a pseudo-history fantasy where it was the Native Americans who colonized Europe and not vice versa. To have Africa rise as the most wealthy and powerful continent in the world. To have Communism tower over Capitalism. To turn the world into a blatant theocracy. For the average person this may not sound very exciting, but for history buffs it is captivating.
It’s also interesting to see just what the A.I. will do in the game. Seeing skirmishes between Otto van Bismark and Attila the Hun is always fascinating to see play out. Both to see which nation will conquer over the other, but also to determine which one will be the bigger threat. To shake things up even more, the game allows player gather multiple “points” in different attributes. These attributes include faith, culture, and science. Faith allows players to create religious prophets and spread their faith across the territory for influence. Culture is used to influence other populations and have one’s nation stand out from the rest. Science allows the country to research technology and become more powerful. All these things start off small, but gradually snowball to matter much more later on in the game. The power of religion can make or break allies, and even be the final straw that has cities rebel against their government. Culture can not only boost tourism, but have a nation’s populace feel much warmer toward one’s country, lowering the chances of war and more accepting of one’s ideology. Science quickens the time to discover new technologies, which can give the player a significant edge in population growth, logistics, exploration, and war. While it is recommended to focus on one attribute more than others, rarely is it wise to ignore one outright.
Focusing on these attributes also contributes to which types of victory a player can achieve. The game features four types of victories: culture, technology, domination, and diplomacy. Culture is won by adopting the most social tenants. Technology won by winning the space race. Domination is achieved by having the most capitals in one’s possession. While diplomacy is won by having the most allies in the UN. It’s common for players to say that one or two of these are relatively easy to achieve, while the others are almost impossible. I myself fall into this group as to me, technology and diplomacy are very easy to achieve, but culture and domination are victories I can’t grasp.
The game also features a very popular online multiplayer mode where players compete against one another on a map. It plays just like the single player game, only instead of A.I.s controlling the rival civilizations, it is other actual players. This sounds cool at first, and it is, unfortunately games take way too long to complete. It is common for matches to go on for several hours. I always eventually quit early.
Beside that, there isn’t much to say about Civilization V. It is very awesome and addicting game. Sure it has its faults like questionable and predictable A.I., uneven difficulty modes, and turns taking far too long at times. However, it is still a fantastic game. Even after putting in almost as many hours into at as days in a year, I still occasionally have an itch to jump back in.
21| Ranger-X
Released: 1993 (Exact date unknown)
Available On: Sega Mega Drive
There is no denying that the Sega Mega Drive was a fantastic game system. It may be a popular theme today that despite the console war at the time being red hot, it was really the Super Nintendo that had the obvious edge of the two platforms, but personally I don’t believe that. Many of the Super Nintendo’s games were much rougher around the edges than most seem to remember. Super Mario World may look like a classic, but it is a very boring Mario game with some of the least exciting level design in the 2D series. Secret of Mana’s concept sounds incredible in theory, but it suffers from terrible pacing issues. A lot of the “big classic” arcade ports are very poorly done with tons of missing frames, slowdown, and key missing features. And even the games that were pretty good at the time, have aged pretty badly. JRPGs and platformers have had 20 years of continuous work built on their respected genres since the system bid its farewell. So many of Squaresoft’s and Nintendo’s “legendary” offerings just fall flat in the present day. Sure, there are still many awesome games for the system that hold up such as Donkey Kong Country 2, Chrono Trigger, Super Castlevania IV, Shin Megami Tensei II, and Yoshi’s Island. However, at the end of the day a lot of the games just don’t hold up as well as they once did.
In contrast to this, the Sega Mega Drive focused on arcade type experiences. These genres the games fell into were already very developed and since haven’t really “evolved” all that much. So a title like, M.U.S.H.A. Aleste won’t seem too dated compared to say Crimzon Clover. But despite that, I feel that the games on the Mega Drive have also aged better due to two more reasons. The first is that the system was actually up to the task to play these games. Sure the hardware may have lacked the flashy graphics of the Super Nintendo, but its speedy CPU meant that it could run these titles with minimal to no slowdown. There is also the fact that the Sega Mega Drive had a lot of titles that really experimented with their set genres. While most fighting games at the time were copying Street Fighter II, Yuyu Hashinko attempted to be its own thing by being a four player brawler. At a time when most platformers were Mario clones, Sonic the Hedgehog focused on vertical level designed and had the layout less like a traditional “hilly” platformer and more like a rollercoaster. There are plenty of examples of this, but one of my favorite ones is Ranger-X.
Ranger-X can be described as another side-scrolling shooter for a 16-bit system. In it the player controls a giant robot that is protecting residents from an enemy invasion. This sounds very typical right? Well it does, until one realizes that Ranger-X does a few things that changes up the system a bit. First off, there are a few different “formations” the mech can transform into. The default mode is a flying humanoid robot that is most typically seen from most Japanese anime. It is accompanied by a unicycle which in a way acts like the humanoid’s “dog”. In this mode the player can control both mechs as they fire upon waves of enemies. There are also however two more modes. The simpler one is that the player can have the humanoid mech jump onto the unicycle and attach to it. This results in creating a wall that blasts away enemies and can travel quick distances while remaining on the ground. The third mode is having the humanoid mech fully integrate with the unicycle, and turn into a full fledged motorcycle with increase speed, firepower, and jumping abilities. What’s interesting about this is that the humanoid mode and motorcycle mode both have their own health bars, giving the player two chances in a way. These multiple modes result in the player having multiple ways to approach each stage.
Admittedly, the first level of the game is as typical as one can get. The player simply has to move to the right side of the screen and shoot down all the enemies. Very simple. However, as the game progresses, it appears that each level is a different. Once the first area is cleared, the next takes a complete alternative approach. Rather than start off in an open desert, the mech transverses through a maze like cave. It revolves around the player traveling around finding various locks to destroy in order to find their way out of underground labyrinth. Other levels involve vertically scaling a massive tower or balancing combating enemies both high up in the sky and on the ground. The game never really has a point where it rests on its laurels.
It just isn’t the gameplay that is impressive about the game. The title is also technical masterpiece for the system. Not only does it have a high color count, detailed pixel art, and impressive scaling, but it also features some nice parallax scrolling, pseudo 3D effects, and various other visual wonders.
This is the type of wizardry one would expect from Treasure or a major developer like Konami or Sega themselves. Not some fresh of the presses rookie developer.
GAU Entertainment, the developer of this game, performed a slam dunk right at the start. But unfortunately seemed to lose their footing not long after. They were eventually brought by Sega and were merged into Nex Entertainment, a studio most known for the Time Crisis games…the later bad Time Crisis games. It is always unfortunate to see these talented developers either go to waste or the wayside.
Ranger-X isn’t the perfect game. For starters the game is far too short, even considering the genre it is in. It is also way too easy as well. There is also the music which leaves a lot to be desired as it is pretty much your standard Mega Drive fare. But at the end of the day, I really enjoyed this game and in my opinion it is the best game made exclusively for Sega’s 16-bit system.
As I say farewell to Sega’s little machine that could, I can’t get over the fact of how overlooked I feel the console is. It featured dozens of high quality games that support the statement of “they don’t make them like they used to”. Despite that, it constantly gets over shadowed by its rival. Maybe its because the genres the Mega Drive specialized in have fallen out of popularity since the 1990s, or possibly it is because Nintendo is still around to promote their franchise, play style, and philosophy, while Sega has kicked the bucket as a console maker and is a shadow of their former selves. It is hard to tell for certain, but either way the Mega Drive was a fantastic system and I feel that there is no better game to bow down as the curtain’s close on it for this list than Ranger-X.