Writer's Block: Top Five Video Games
Ok - this is my third try at posting this - hopefully it'll work!
#5 Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time (PS2) - Probably the first adventure game I played all the way through twice. Visually stunning, extremely playable, challenging but not impossible (PoP2 and 3 I gave up on because they were just too damn hard), and just plain fun to play. I think the key to a successful game is to make it robust and deep but to not overwhelm you with button combinations and confusing commands. This game accomplished that big time.
#4 Contra (NES) - Oh man, my cousins had this game back in the golden age of the NES. I can still remember the day we learned of the epic, mythical Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, (Select, Start) code that changed us forever. We'd play this games for hours on end with the goal rarely being to beat the darn thing but rather to kill each other while racing through levels. We'd play ditch 'em or King of the Mountain. Oh man, good times. Waiting on Wii to release this for download!
#3 Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp (coin-op) - The first Dragon's Lair game was insanely hard. I can remember trying to play it and failing miserably as a kid. My Uncle secured his title of Insanely Cool by 1) working in an arcade and 2) beating the game while I watched on. Fast forward to my college years and DL II is release while I'm working in the very same arcade and attending SDSU. I have to confess, I never did beat the coin-op version. I got to the very end and missed it by one move. Later on I did beat it on my PC though. The Don Bluth animation here in exceptional and I love his sense of humor. My favorite scenes have got to be the Alice in Wonderland and Beethoven ones. I encourage you to watch the vid below as it has the entire game (sword and directional flashes included so you can see all the joystick/button taps required to finish without killing poor Dirk the Daring. LOVE this GAME!
# 2 Guitar Hero III (Wii) (entire series really, minus 80s edition) - This won't really surprise any of y'all who read my journal. Back in the day when jdtdco came for a visit we randomly walked into Best Buy and I walked out with a Guitar Hero and one guitar. We played that game for about five hours straight that day. I now have three PS2 guitars, GH1, GH2, GH80s, and GH3 for the Wii with a Wii guitar. I'm a man obsessed. I love the combination of hand/eye coordination, excellent musical choices, and daunting skill levels that are VERY challenging. Keep 'em coming!!!
#1 Street Fighter II/Alpha (coin-op) - In the Fall of '91 I headed to San Diego, to SDSU, and to my job as a cashier at Aztec Amusement Center (oh wow, now there are some photos that need to be scanned!). SF II was released shortly there after and thus began my affair of love. The six button game confused and frustrated me but soon I was doing three hit combos and r-u-kens with the best of 'em. And don't get me started on Guile's Handcuffs, Touch of Death, and Reset glitch moves. I F'ing adored this game! Alpha gets an honorable mention because it too was insanely playable, had great bonus modes (ken and ryu vs. byson and playable akuma), and allowed for the stringing of combos into super moves. So, so, so fun. Thank you Capcom for a decade of SF ass kicking!
#5 Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time (PS2) - Probably the first adventure game I played all the way through twice. Visually stunning, extremely playable, challenging but not impossible (PoP2 and 3 I gave up on because they were just too damn hard), and just plain fun to play. I think the key to a successful game is to make it robust and deep but to not overwhelm you with button combinations and confusing commands. This game accomplished that big time.
Click to view#4 Contra (NES) - Oh man, my cousins had this game back in the golden age of the NES. I can still remember the day we learned of the epic, mythical Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, (Select, Start) code that changed us forever. We'd play this games for hours on end with the goal rarely being to beat the darn thing but rather to kill each other while racing through levels. We'd play ditch 'em or King of the Mountain. Oh man, good times. Waiting on Wii to release this for download!
#3 Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp (coin-op) - The first Dragon's Lair game was insanely hard. I can remember trying to play it and failing miserably as a kid. My Uncle secured his title of Insanely Cool by 1) working in an arcade and 2) beating the game while I watched on. Fast forward to my college years and DL II is release while I'm working in the very same arcade and attending SDSU. I have to confess, I never did beat the coin-op version. I got to the very end and missed it by one move. Later on I did beat it on my PC though. The Don Bluth animation here in exceptional and I love his sense of humor. My favorite scenes have got to be the Alice in Wonderland and Beethoven ones. I encourage you to watch the vid below as it has the entire game (sword and directional flashes included so you can see all the joystick/button taps required to finish without killing poor Dirk the Daring. LOVE this GAME!
# 2 Guitar Hero III (Wii) (entire series really, minus 80s edition) - This won't really surprise any of y'all who read my journal. Back in the day when jdtdco came for a visit we randomly walked into Best Buy and I walked out with a Guitar Hero and one guitar. We played that game for about five hours straight that day. I now have three PS2 guitars, GH1, GH2, GH80s, and GH3 for the Wii with a Wii guitar. I'm a man obsessed. I love the combination of hand/eye coordination, excellent musical choices, and daunting skill levels that are VERY challenging. Keep 'em coming!!!
#1 Street Fighter II/Alpha (coin-op) - In the Fall of '91 I headed to San Diego, to SDSU, and to my job as a cashier at Aztec Amusement Center (oh wow, now there are some photos that need to be scanned!). SF II was released shortly there after and thus began my affair of love. The six button game confused and frustrated me but soon I was doing three hit combos and r-u-kens with the best of 'em. And don't get me started on Guile's Handcuffs, Touch of Death, and Reset glitch moves. I F'ing adored this game! Alpha gets an honorable mention because it too was insanely playable, had great bonus modes (ken and ryu vs. byson and playable akuma), and allowed for the stringing of combos into super moves. So, so, so fun. Thank you Capcom for a decade of SF ass kicking!