VW's Top 1000 Games

[Garfield And Friends]

#510: RACING SIMULATION 3

Genre: 3D racing
Format: GameCube / PS2 / Windows
Developer: Ubisoft Paris
Year: 2002
Publisher: Ubisoft



Some people are fixated on team rosters and licences being up-to-date and accurate in terms of liveries (hey, it's a fair part of why mature series like Madden and FIFA get bought in droves annually despite babystep changes in core gameplay), but not me. The first Racing Simulation game had an official FIA formula one licence, but the sequel and the third (the focus here) dispensed with (and it looks like your driver-of-choice is one of the game's programmers) that and isn't much worse off because the mechanics of the carplay here is spiffy.

I played the first game (F1 Racing Simulation) on Windows, and while it was great fun, the artificial intelligence was poor - the computer opponents rarely made mistakes, challenged for alternate lines, and indeed it only took a short while before your mastery led to all the enjoyment coming from utterly dominating the competition - so much so that you could lap the runner-up twice over on longer race settings. Racing Simulation 3 fixes all this - the thrill comes from where it should - crafty AI, pleasing car physics (a bit Codemaster-y, i.e. simulation-with-arcade-leanings) with weight, and a long learning curve such that a track (or weather condition etc) that you thought was impossible to master a few hours ago, reveals itself to be doable after all - simply that the earlier greener you had not yet developed a feathering touch of the accelerator nor a more subtle flick of the directions at the correct moment.

You'll occasionally come across on-track mess-ups from your opponents that are very well done - it adds to the realism when you see one of your rivals wobble after rounding a corner incorrectly, fighting to keep his car on-track, only to spin and narrowly missing you as you claim another rung up the proverbial ladder. Such moments never feel contrived, but part of the overall race narrative - just like one of your own off-track fuck ups!

While I like it lots, it's not perfect of course - the final track of the "driving school" segment is a bitch to beat in the rain - it took me 3 hours of retrying when I first got the game, and its a requirement to unlock the championship mode (at least on PS2).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygS-F_Dpb-4

[garbed_attic]

#509: DARK SUN ~ SHATTERED LANDS

Genre: RPG
Format: PC/ DOS
Developer: Strategic Simulations, Inc
Year: 1993
Publisher: Strategic Simulations, Inc

Do you lack real-life friends with which to play D&D while simultaneously having grown bored of trying to complete the borderline impossible Fighting Fantasy #10 'House of Hell' game-book? Well, if so, you're in luck since 'Dark Sun - Shattered Lands' is a genuinely decent official Advanced Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying game that, despite a certain clunkiness, holds up pretty well even today!

'Dark Sun' is set in the dystopian desert land of Athas, which is like a post-apocalyptic Holy Roman Empire with an Orientalist twist! This is a mean, nasty world, similar to the United States of the Fallout game series (which if it hasn't been covered here, needs to be). This is the ideal setting for skin-of-your-teeth survival and arduous collection quests so the game's combat and puzzles always been organically intertwined with the setting. The people inhabitant Athas are often deceitful, desperate or unhinged. As such, while the ruling dynasty is quite clearly utterly corrupt, its citizens are often convincing shades of grey. The game presents many scenarios with the kind of moral ambiguity far more common in today's RPG releases. Pleasingly, you are often required to side with the most abject and visually repellent of the world's inhabitants - sewer rats and spiders - while taking on emperors and sorcerer-kings, meaning that this is a game that firmly champions the underdog.


_{It is really satisfying when you get to kill this announcer prick later in the game.}

The world of Athas is filled with grotesque, often reptilian monsters, who pose a genuine threat to the player ('Dammit - I haven't saved in half an hour!!!') The graphics are top-down, making for some very odd angles and perspectives, but the character and monster sprites are convincingly grubby, while cartoony enough to prevent the game from becoming overbearingly gritty. Similarly, there is a lot of droll humour in the game, which while never being laugh-out-loud funny, lets you know that the developers aren't taking proceedings *too* seriously.


_{OK ~ so it's not a very pretty game. You will be seeing a lot of sand and scorched earth.}

The dialogue is pretty decent and generally avoids being hokey. Characters (apart from anonymous villagers ~ ahem) each have their own distinct personality - I'm especially fond of a couple of lizard people who worship a tornado and a surprisingly inept Faustian magician. Again, this is not great writing, but it is good enough to allow the player to enter into the game's world.

It may seem like my praise is very restrained... admittedly the game is a little buggy and it has some of the worst, most lurching walk animation I've ever encountered *but* it is remarkably ambitious for a game from 1993 and genuinely feels like a D&D campaign one might play through with friends. All the regular classes of fighting/ healer/ thief are present and correct and each one has their own abilities. Likely, the game is filled with fantastically-named magical objects and weapons, which you have to fight to acquire. That said, I still only really understand how about 1/3rd of the magical spells work. Just remember, the 'entangle' spell is your friend.


_{At least it's not just the female warriors used for eye candy in this game! Everyone is scantily clad!}

In short, I think 'Dark Sun' deserves its entry here because of how fully-realised its game world. As with 'Half-Life 2' (obviously a far superior game and one that is such an obvious choice no-one has written about it yet) the opening of the game limits your entry into the world and it takes a short while before you acquire much in the way of agency or weaponry. 'Dark Sun' thrusts you into its world as a gladiator-slave and your first task is to escape the slave pens into the sewers. Admirably, there are about 4 or 5 different ways for you to accomplish this task and several characters with whom you may wish to ally yourself. From this point on, you feel like the underdog who has been chosen to topple an evil regime. And if you hate the Roman Empire as much as I do then righteousness is on your side!

[syntaxerror]

The Commodore 64 covered Dizzy in green crap, so fuck that.

I'm pretty sure that's not the C64 version

[KLG-7DD]

That's the Amstrad CPC version. All C64 games are brown.

[Consignia]

That's the Amstrad CPC version. All C64 games are brown.

In some ways, the Commodore was generations ahead of the rest of them.

[garbed_attic]

#508: SUPER SMASH BROS.

Genre: Fighting game
Format: N64
Developer: HAL Laboratory
Year: 1999
Publisher: Nintendo



The cornerstone of the relationship between my brother and I, 'Super Smash Bros.' is a little different to your regular fighting game ('Street Fighter'; 'Tekken'; 'Dead or Alive' etc.) since the characters are often dwarfed by their environments, meaning that game-play is as much about platforming and long-range weapons as it is close-quarter fighting. That said, this is a fighting game, but it's deceptively simple. Keeping track of frame data and memorising long button combinations won't be of much help here since you're mostly reliant on the A and B buttons, a joystick direction, a throw, a jump and a shield - plus any extra items or weapons that you manage to acquire. As such, the game play is mainly about learning your opponent's fighting style as well as the strengths and weaknesses of your own and other characters. In one-on-one games this means there is a lot of wary distance keeping, although with 4 players in the mix things tend to turn into an all out brawl. In the later instalments in the series overly complex levels and general business means the screen becomes easily cluttered making play confusing and chaotic; however, in the N64 original, things are kept fairly sparse and it is easy to keep track of what is going on. My brother was mainly Samus (or Link) and I was mainly Yoshi (or Kirby) since my brother liked fast-play, darting back and forth, while I preferred to lurk about on the tops of trees and platforms and attempt aerial attacks. This must have been agonising for any friends who came over who didn't own a copy of the game (and it was always more fun as a multiplayer - playing alone felt sad and mechanical) since they'd just be unfairly pummelled, but I genuinely believe that my relationship with my brother wouldn't be half as fond if it weren't for 'Smash Bros.'

Of course, all the characters are from Nintendo games (mostly obvious choices but to an English gamer Ness and 'Earthbound' were completely unfamiliar to me) so a certain fondness for the company probably helps enjoyment. There was a certain thrill to seeing beloved characters beat the stuffing out of each other, especially when they were meant to be allies, brothers or generally amicable. There was lots of fun to be had pausing the game at particularly pugilistic moments. The graphics were vectory, but the art was colourful and appealing. The music - often stemming from previous Nintendo classics - was uniformly excellent and added greatly to the concept of a holistic Nintendo universe. The latter games are pretty shameless about this branded self-mythologising, but it didn't appear offensive in the original.

Finally, while the game is perfect to pick-up-and-play it has a surprising amount of depth, lending itself to tournament play. Since the game is so airy and bright, it doesn't feel like a slog to practise with and it's unlikely to turn you into a homicidal maniac ('Mortal Kombat'), a stats geek ('Tekken') or a pervert ('Dead or Alive').

[Shade]

#507: Velvet Assassin

Genre: Stealth
Format: PC
Developer: Replay Studios
Year: 2009
Publisher: South Peak Games




Are we still doing this? I remember hearing about this game a few years ago and thought it sounded interesting at the time but quickly forgot about it. Then recently I saw it advertised on steam.

I'm not really war games of any kind, but a WW2 stealth game with a female protagonist, at £5 I thought it deserved a look in despite the lukewarm reaction it received when it was released.

The story follows Violette Summer an English spy working behind enemy lines doing her best to throw a spanner into the works of the Nazi war machine. Violette is loosely based on real life spy Violette Szabo.

The game starts off with Violette lying comatose in a hospital bed in France surrounded by empty morphine syringes, and the story leading up to this point unfolds through a series of flashbacks to previous missions narrated by Violette. The first impressions I got was that this was a sort of watered down Hitman game(like one of the earlier ones.. that aren't Blood Money) with a bit of Thief thrown in. It's not as interactive as the Hitman games sadly, and the levels are all linear. You do get a varying number of options as to how traverse each section, but the missions do start to feel a bit repetitive at times. The only other thing I don't like about it is the combat is quite clunky, mainly the aiming system, you have to switch to your crosshairs before you can fire your weapon, or use the knife, and enemies are sponges unless you get a headshot. With this in mind I can see why it rates so badly.

There are a few things I like about this however, it's got a good tense atmosphere, the game is gritty at times and at others it has a dreamlike feel to it. You sneak around sewers, bunkers, churches, and other industrial type places dodging guards, or listening in on conversations for useful info. You use the shadows for cover, but certain levels allow you to switch to an SS uniform to hide in plain sight. You can use the usual array of environmental hazards (fire water gas) to take down enemies or distract them. Or you can sneak up on them and assassinate them. When you do this, as you approach the target the screen becomes rose tinted, getting thicker and thicker until you get close enough to trigger the kill. There's about 50 different animations for this, ranging from a quick throat slit, to a stab in the balls, to the Pet Semetary style Achilles slice followed up with a stab to the jugular. I think the sequence from beginning to end is a nice touch. You can also sneak up to some guards carrying grenades, and pull the pin turning them into walking bombs.
I'm about halfway through this game, and haven't learned a great deal about Violette thus far, apart from that she's a spy in a coma, is being guarded by some guys in gas masks, she has a bit of a vicious streak, and she loves England. And morphine. She really likes morphine. The standout feature of this game is the morphine mode. You can use one syringe at a time to get out of sticky situations. You shoot up and time freezes temporarily, the area fills up with red and white mist and Violette strips down to a blood stained nighty allowing you to either escape or take down that one guard. I say one because once you kill someone time unfreezes and your fucked if anyone else is around.
Every mission also has a series of collectables you can use to boost duration of the morphine mode, increase speed and strength, and occasionally you can find letters from soldiers to there wives. Usually after you have stabbed him to death. There is also secret missions on each level, so look out for them.

It's not a great game, but I like what they tried to do, it's got some interesting ideas, it just gets a but repetitive at times and lacks the freedom of better stealth games, so it's best enjoyed in small doses. It's probably going for less than a fiver now so if you like stealth games it's worth a look.

[Consignia]

#506: Danganronpa

Genre: Adventure
Format: PSP/Vita
Developer: Spike Chunsoft
Year: 2010
Publisher: Spike Chunsoft



Bit of an odd ball game this, difficult to put into a genre. You could say it's a visual novel, but it's a bit more interactive than that. You could say it's an adventure, but again, it's more than linear than one of those. The closet game to it, is Phoenix Wright, but even that doesn't feel right.



The setting is 15 youngsters placed into an inescapable school, with no memory how they got there. They then forced into a Battle Royale situation where a bizarre robot bear challenges them to kill each other and get away with the murder in a courtroom style situation. If they can do that, they are free. Cue mistrust, conspiracies and cruel unnecessary deaths. You must get to the truth before everyone end's at the end of the leash and killing each other.



The gameplay is remarkably like Phoenix Wright, with an investigation phase to each incident followed by a trial. The trials are where the game comes alive, with logic battles and arguments over whodunnit. These segments are spiced up with minigames to keep you on your toes, and the game rewards solutions being found fast and accurately.



The game features a lovely visual aesthetic, that adds to the charm. The characters have deep backgrounds you investigate, which allows you to be more invested in them. It's all well presented, which drags you further into the world.

There's a sequel, which is harder but overall a bit less satisfying, and a 3d person shoot'em up puzzler, which is good but less unique that it's forebears[nb]pun intended[/nb].If you have a Vita, you owe it to your self to give this little charmer a go.

[Consignia]

There, I've bumped the thread. Keep the ball rolling, with your contributions, whores. Or I'll be forced to go through my Vita collection. And I'll warn you, I have all 6 Neptune games, and I'll put them in this thread if the demands are not met.

[Thursday]

I'm guessing someone's done Dark Souls by now?

If not, Dark Souls.

Okay and Demon's Souls and Dark Souls 2

[The Boston Crab]

No, no. No. That doesn't count. No. Give them a proper write-up for the future generations who will treat this as their Bible. I'll bagsy Demon's.

[Thursday]

Yeah it's fine, I might give it a go but we'll see. I won't stop anyone else though.

[Phil_A]

#519: Floor 13
Publisher: Virgin Games
Developer: PSI Software
Genre: CLASSIFIED
Released: 1992

Lots of games have rightly or wrongly been called "unique", but Floor 13 certainly fits that category. Essentially, it's a political simulation of sorts, dealing with governmental abuses of power. Although it has undercurrents of dark humour, the subject matter is subtly disturbing, and delves into the kind of morally dubious territory that very few games have dared to go, before or since.



As the game begins, you've just been assigned the role of Director General to a top secret government department, after your predecessor accidentally and tragically threw himself out of his own window while tying his shoelaces. What this basically entails is being in charge of all the rather less than savoury activities that most allegedly democratic governments would like to pretend they know nothing about - surveillance, torture, assassinations, etc. The PM has charged you with the task of making sure his party increase their lead in the polls, and you are to use any means at your disposal to make this happen.

Succeed, and you'll be rewarded with titles to your name and invitations to certain "special" members only clubs. Fail, and you might find your career taking a sudden nosedive. Literally.



Everything that happens in Floor 13 is controlled by a deceptively simple checklist interface. The game takes places entirely within the confines of your office and the eight departments under your jurisdiction. Each morning you arrive, check the poll ratings, read any new reports that have come in, and makes decisions on what actions to take. You might have to, say, slander the reputation of a political opponent, have their home searched for incriminating evidence, or in extreme cases, give the order to have them "removed". Naturally, you never get your hands dirty by involving yourself in the actual execution of any of these operations - the game is realistic in that respect at least. But it does mean the gameplay can get somewhat repetitive, as you move back and forth between the same few screens. The scenarios are all randomly generated, so sometimes it can feel like you're just repeating the same tasks with the names changed. I never played far enough to discover if the game can actually be "finished", or whether, as I suspect, it's entirely open-ended.

In a way, it's a shame there was never a sequel, as it seems like there's a lot of room for expansion in this concept. Imagine, for example, if you had the option to secretly work against the government under the instruction of their opponents, or could progress to new departments depending on how well you do your job.

Anyway, that's Floor 13. It's a fascinating oddity, quite daring in a way, and the kind of game it's hard to imagine any publisher taking a punt on now. Really, it's worth playing just for it's sheer unusualness.

That's all. I'd love to talk about more about it, but the Black Helicopters are outside my window and I have to go. Bye!

Oops, as shoulders so kindly pointed out, this was already done on the very first page. Bugger me.

Ah well, scratch the numbers off and we'll pretend this never happened.

[Consignia]

You've ruined this thread, you cunt.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

It was a lovely writeup though. You deserve karma just for quoting it once again. Terrific game.

[biggytitbo]

Instead of the meaningless number we should have votes on the most popular suggestions.

[Consignia]

Nah, this is a list of verbwhore's favourite games. Some are quite personal, some are universally accepted classics. The numbers are meaningless in terms of quality as the list is unordered, but it does keep track how far into the 1000 we are. The meat of each entry is the personal testament to it. What would be amazing if we actually made it 1000. It looked possible at beginning. I doubt we have the momentum to get there, but if we do, I swear I'll collate them and create a book a la the Christmas annual.

[Gurke and Hare]

#505: NetHack

Genre: Roguelike
Format: Everything
Developer: The NetHack DevTeam
Year: 1987

Dungeons and Dragons inspired Rogue. Rogue inspired Hack. And ultimately, Hack inspired NetHack, which was developed collaboratively by Usenet users, and is one of the oldest, if not the oldest game still being developed.



It doesn't have amazing graphics. It doesn't actually have any graphics (there are graphics tilesets available, but nobody needs those. It doesn't have sound. It has a little '@' which represents you (and some human class npcs), various characters to represent objects(scrolls, potions, wands etc) creatures, and hours and hours of playablity. When I was at university, I used to stay up until dawn playing this on my Amiga. I never got anywhere near finishing it, mostly because I'm the sort of fool who'll quaff a poition just to see what it does (it blinds you. and then a load of kobolds turn up and kill you.) It's probably the ultimate in substance over style.

[garbed_attic]

Because of the replication of Floor 13 do we actually have to repeat / jump back a number?

Since it's just silly by this stage that we haven't done it...

#504 Half-Life 2
Genre: FPS
Publisher: Valve / Sierra
Developer: Valve
Year: 2004
Format: PC



I do not enjoy first-person shooters. I don't like killing people and I find the mechanic dull and repetitive. So, it's something of a small miracle that Half-Life 2 is my favourite game of all time. Simply, it is a masterpiece of design. Everything is so carefully considered and plotted. As gun-totin' scientist Gordon Freeman, I kept wanting to keep pushing the story forward. The world had been over-run with a cruel alien intelligence and I knew that as a Black Mesa employee I was partly to blame. As Freeman you spend months (maybe years) underground, given weapons and help by a hidden stream of shadowy, fatigued comrades, only to emerge overground in glimpses to catch fragments of the devastation to the planet and the human resistance fighting back.

The game doesn't play like a macho fantasy though. There are long reflective passages and periods of experimenting quietly with gravity and levers. The action is violent and intense, but not mindless. The fascistic cruelty of the aliens is firmly established. Valve don't just reply upon an a-priori hatred of Nazis or the Vietcong or Iraqis to justify the bloodshed. You start the game disempowered. Without a weapon. You are subject to bullying, beating and tedious queuing. When you finally find a crowbar, you feel convincingly justified in fighting back. You are put in the position of the oppressed, rather than the oppressors.

Indeed, Valve are brilliant at gratifying power reversal. Making the player feel disempowered, only to reverse the situation at the optimum moment. For a while, the enemies' pulse rifles and grenade launchers are the bane of your life... then you get your hands on them. Likewise, in a level in which you traverse great stretches of beach, laying down planks of driftwood to carefully walk across to avoid touching the sand, the creatures that live beneath – antlions – are your mortal enemy. They are skittish and terrifying. Then you get a bulbous seed-pod and can control an army of antlions. The tides have turned.



In short, it is a wonderfully well-balanced game. The story is simple, tight but compelling. The action is engaging. The characters convincing. It is a very polished game and, personally speaking, I can think of no way I would improve it. My experience with the game was flawless.

Here is my friend Hamish talking very eloquently about part of the design of Half Life / Half Life 2:

http://www.destructoid.com/untold-riches-the-brilliance-of-half-life-s-barnacles-233589.phtml

[Thursday]

#503 Dark Souls
Genre: Action RPG
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: From Software
Year: 2011
Format: PS3, XBOX360, PC



Dark Souls largely gained its reputation for being difficult. It's what the games media focused on, it's what the PR focused on, and now here I am commenting on its difficulty. Its difficulty overshadows what actually makes it good yet remains an inseparable part of it. There is a contrarian line that goes "Dark Souls isn't hard, it's just different." Which isn't quite true, it is still a hard game but there is truth to that statement.

Ultimately what has to click into gear is that you don't see death as failure. In terms of gameplay mechanics of course, there's still the chance to recover your lost souls, but it's also about attitude. Within the game's world you haven't actually lost progress, you're not restarting from the checkpoint. Dying in other games means you just have to pretend it didn't happen. Imagine it took place in a parallel universe or something. It can still be frustrating to do the same section over and over yes, but everything that happens in the game is a part of your characters story.

As a sidebar – playing Far Cry 4's instant-fail stealth sections with its weird mid-mission checkpoint but not auto save system recently is far more unforgiving than Dark Souls, constantly auto-saving system.

That being said the frustration and having to persist is a part of it. The hardest bosses in the game can leave you absolutely stumped at first.  It must be very odd to hear someone in the next room playing Dark Souls if you've no familiarity with it. Screams of "I dodged that." "I pressed roll." and "Just fucking drink it you cunt." But there's a turning point in the toughest fights where you realize "I can do this." You've learnt the enemies attack patterns and how you should deal with them and now it's just a matter of your own reflexes and patience.

For all the bluster about the oblique details and depth to Dark Souls combat. It does still feel very immediate. Each weapon has unique animations and feels so weighty to use. Just as the best shooting games nail the feel of the guns and make each one feel weighty and different. (Even though you're just tapping the buttons on a controller.) Dark souls makes you actually feel like you're swinging a sword and raising your shield. Ostensibly, Skyrim works in a similar way. You've got stamina management to deal with. Buttons tend to be mapped in the same place, but the feel is off and there's no real difference tactically no matter what weapon you wield.



All this is before we can get into the world and story of Dark Souls, which it manages to tell you without you ever being aware you're being told a story. It is perfectly possible to get through it without delving into or thinking about it. Even if you ignored the item descriptions and minimal dialogue it seeps in subliminally through the environments and enemy designs. Even when you get to the point when you're watching lore videos it still just opens up even more tantalising mysteries about the world. So many characters we've only heard about but have left an unmistakable impression on the world.

Speaking of characters, the land of Lordran, where Dark Souls is set, is like another character in the game! There's an interconnected design and verticality that's unlike any other. It makes backtracking not a chore but an exhilarating part of the game. For the most part, anything you see in the background in Dark Souls is a place you'll be going to later, and it's an amazing feeling when you're in Darkroot garden and looking up and suddenly realizing you're underneath the bridge where you fought the Taurus Demon or seeing Izalith in the distance when you're in the Tomb of the Giants.

It's a dark uninviting world with many barriers to entry; the game really could have just taken a couple of seconds to explain a couple of its more important basic mechanics. With persistence and patience however, you can break over the wall and other games start to pale in comparison.

Oh shit I forgot to mention invasions! And jolly cooperation! Fuck.

[biggytitbo]

It's the atmosphere and sense of place that makes HL2 so great. The pacing, design and characters are stellar too but I don't think any game has nailed its world so convincingly as it did.

[Frazer]

Half Life 2 is over 10 years old?! Fuuuuuuckinhell.

[Shay Chaise]

What was the purpose of this thread, now? Hahaha...Yes, yes...Nearly halfway...

#503 Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin
Genre: Action RPG
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: From Software
Year: 2015
Format: PS4, XBOne, PC

The game so broken, they fixed it twice.



When director Tanimura took on the ailing Dark Souls 2 project, there were echoes of a mission once undertaken by a legendary master, now lost in another realm between dreams and reality. Just as Miyazaki had grabbed Demon's Souls by the Bladestones and remoulded it into a viable, if unlikely, commercial product, so too did Tanimura inherit a patchwork of environmental assets, muddled lore and incongruous boss models. And yet, by this precise quirk of circumstance, these false starts, forgotten intentions and incoherent fragments only add to the rich sehnsucht of the game's dilapidated, timeless lands.

The common narrative is that Dark Souls 2 not only failed to match its predecessor, it fell laughably short in some areas. Compared to Dark Souls, it lacks the elegant cohesion of mechanics, gameplay and fourth-wall-breaking narrative - although arguably nothing has ever come close. Its attempt to engage with the discerning player in the intro sequence is heavy-handed and leans on the cheaper aspects of Bandai Namco's 'git gud' marketing. It mocks us, explaining that we will die, over and over and over again, and that we won't know why we're pressing on. Sure enough, for much of the game our direction and intention is confusing and ambiguously articulated and some enemy mob placements are so at odds with the pacing of the core combat that they seem designed only to frustrate. And yet, I played it and played it and played it, gripped at every turn.

And then they made it better. The Scholar of the First Sin release cranked up the framerate, polished up the textures and added a tonne of item descriptions and of course the quite legendary DLC areas. It also added the character of Aldia to tie up so much of the lore and give the game a stronger thematic framework. At times, it was even too explicit for me but it gave a more concrete focus to the quest and explained many of the unusual enemy placements and seemingly jarring elements. Honestly, it seemed an unnecessary retcon when I first played it but now, on my most recent replay, I feel it adds a lot of pathos to certain key NPC storylines and strengthens the narrative in the latter stages of the game. It's undoubtedly the version to play.

While I'm always wary of trite statements such as 'Dark Souls is a game about depression' or 'Double Dragon is about split personality disorder', I happily stand by the statement that 'Dark Souls 2: SOTFS is about dementia, and about what it is to be human, and Existentialism, and how we lie to ourselves to maintain a narrative that we find comforting'. It's also, like Bloodborne after it, about man's curiosity and desire for something more than himself, bigger than the limitations of human existence, and the ineffable horror that this can bring about. And yet, it's also about hope, companionship and Sisyphean integrity. Every single NPC, for all their chirpy Stoicism, has lost their way, they've been abandoned, they're so near yet impossibly far and there's nothing left but fading memories. You can stand on the plinth in Majula, casting your eye over the lost souls you have brought to this makeshift home from home, and you imagine Aeneas in the underworld, standing near the river Lethe, observing these heroes and tragic innocents in limbo, biding their time, waiting to be reborn into the lifestream. The Majula theme says all of that with a single flickering, cyclical melody.

Dark Souls 2 captures a specific, complex feeling I've never had from another game. It's sad, truthful, celebratory, frightening, reflective and disorientating. It's a glimpse of the twilight years of my life. It's a love of getting lost and finding my way home. It's about staring death in the face, not realising how it's come so quickly, celebrating the life you've had and whatever you've got left. That it gives you all this, while allowing you to power stance two Ultra Greatswords and welly a piglet is much more entertainment than I can ever tire of. It's probably the third best Soulsborne game but I'm almost certain that it's the one I'll remember, for as long as I can.

[Custard]

This thread is supoib. LIKE WELL GOOD

[Shay Chaise]

I didn't realise it's nearly seven years old! Well, there are a lot of new nerds these days so hopefully we can push it on again. When the compendium book is eventually released, it will be in every Christmas stocking in the country.

[Thursday]

If anyone wants to start contributing again, I scrolled back a few pages to find the last time someone posted a list of everything that had been done so far. So there's about another 50 that need to be added to update the list.

NO. NAME ____________ PUBLISHER, DATE

#1000: Cannon Fodder ____________ Sensible Software, 1993
#999: Theme Hospital ____________ Electronic Arts, 1997
#998: Spider-Man 2 ____________ Activision, 2004
#997: Net Yaroze Mah Jongg ____________ Sony, 1998
#996: Thrust ____________ Superior Software, 1986
#995: Floor 13 ____________ Virgin Interactive, 1992
#994: Conker's Bad Fur Day ____________ THQ, 2001
#993: WWF Superstars ____________ Technos Japan Corp, 1989
#992: SWIV ____________ The Sales Curve, 1991
#991: The Punisher ____________ THQ, 2005
#990: Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse ____________ Sega, 1990
#989: Blagger ____________ Alligata, 1983
#988: Trashman ____________ New Generation Software, 1984
#987: Mike Tyson's Punch Out ____________ Nintendo, 1987
#986: Chaos The Battle of Wizards ____________ Games Workshop, 1985
#985: Shinobi ____________ Sega, 1987
#984: Mashed Fully Loaded ____________ Empire Interactive, 2005
#983: Shadow of the Colossus ____________ Sony, 2005
#982: Alter Ego ____________ Activision, 1986
#981: The Elder Scrolls 2 Daggerfall ____________ Bethesda Softworks, 1996
#980: Dizzy Prince of the Yolkfolk ____________ Codemasters, 1991
#979: Little Big Adventure 2 ____________ Electronic Arts, 1997
#978: Panorama Cotton ____________ Sunsoft, 1994
#977: Pushover ____________ Ocean, 1992
#976: Hard Drivin' ____________ Atari, 1988
#975: Chuckie Egg ____________ A&F Software, 1983
#974: Aerobiz Supersonic ____________ Koei, 1994
#973: Super Mario Bros ____________ Nintendo, 1985
#972: Stunt Car Racer ____________ MicroProse, 1989
#971: Night Driver ____________ Atari, 1976
#970: Portal ____________ Valve, 2007
#969: Formula One ____________ CRL Group, 1985
#968: Grand Theft Auto San Andreas ____________ Rockstar, 2004
#967: Bill's Tomato Game ____________ Psygnosis, 1992
#966: Arnie ____________ Zeppelin, 1992
#965: Exile ____________ Superior Software, 1988
#964: Toonstruck ____________ Virgin Interactive, 1996
#963: Kissin' Kousins ____________ English Software, 1985
#962: Krusty's Super Fun House ____________ Acclaim, 1992
#961: Planescape Torment ____________ Interplay, 1999
#960: Lemmings ____________ Psygnosis, 1991
#959: Mirror's Edge ____________ Electronic Arts, 2008
#958: Deflektor ____________ Gremlin Graphics, 1987
#957: Bird Strike ____________ Firebird, 1985
#956: Gitaroo Man ____________ Koei, 2001
#955: Tetris ____________ Elorg, 1985
#954: Jungle Hunt ____________ Taito, 1982
#953: Paratrooper ____________ Orion Software, 1982
#952: Crazy Taxi ____________ Sega, 1999
#951: Rainbow Islands ____________ Taito, 1987
#950: Demon's Souls ____________ Sony, 2009
#949: Caverns of Khafka ____________ Cosmi, 1984
#948: The Sentinel ____________ Firebird, 1986
#947: Chiller ____________ Exidy, 1986
#946: The Incredible Machine ____________ Sierra, 1992
#945: Turok 2 Seeds of Evil ____________ Acclaim, 1998
#944: Emperor of the Fading Suns ____________ SegaSoft, 1997
#943: It Came from the Desert ____________ Mirrorsoft, 1989
#942: North & South ____________ Infogrames, 1989
#941: The Nomad Soul ____________ Eidos, 1999
#940: Supreme Commander ____________ THQ, 2007
#939: Juno First ____________ Konami, 1983
#938: Head Over Heels ____________ Ocean, 1987
#937: Street Fighter 2 Champion Edition ____________ Capcom, 1992
#936: Personal Nightmare ____________ Horrorsoft, 1989
#935: Nosferatu ____________ Seta Corporation, 1995
#934: Commandos Behind Enemy Lines ____________ Eidos, 1998
#933: Qwak ____________ Superior Software, 1989
#932: Raiden Fighters ____________ Fabtek, 1996
#931: WWF Wrestlefest ____________ Technos Japan Corp, 1991
#930: Timesplitters Future Perfect ____________ Electronic Arts, 2005
#929: FIFA Road to World Cup 98 ____________ Electronic Arts, 1997
#928: Syndicate ____________ Electronic Arts, 1993
#927: Silent Hill 2 ____________ Konami, 2001
#926: Klax ____________ Atari, 1989
#925: By Fair Means or Foul ____________ Superior Software, 1988
#924: Persian Gulf Inferno ____________ Magic Bytes, 1989
#923: High Noon ____________ Ocean, 1984
#922: UFC 2009 Undisputed ____________ THQ, 2009
#921: Thief The Dark Project ____________ Eidos, 1998
#920: Ninja ____________ Mastertronic, 1986
#919: Outlaws ____________ LucasArts, 1997
#918: Die Hard Arcade ____________ Sega, 1996
#917: Jet Set Radio Future ____________ Sega, 2002
#916: Prince of Persia ____________ Broderbund, 1989
#915: LittleBigPlanet ____________ Sony, 2008
#914: Riven ____________ Broderbund, 1997
#913: Defcon ____________ Introversion Software, 2006
#912: Pitfall 2 Lost Caverns ____________ Activision, 1984
#911: Mortal Kombat ____________ Midway, 1992
#910: Broken Sword ____________ Virgin Interactive, 1996
#909: Final Fantasy 7 ____________ Square, 1997
#908: Sniper Elite ____________ MC2 France, 2005
#907: The Longest Journey ____________ Funcom, 2000
#906: Osu Tatakae Ouendan ____________ Nintendo, 2005
#905: Karate Combat ____________ Superior Software, 1986
#904: Perplexity ____________ Superior Software, 1989
#903: NBA Jam ____________ Midway, 1993
#902: Dead Space ____________ Electronic Arts, 2008
#901: The Elder Scrolls 3 Morrowind ____________ Bethesda Softworks, 2002
#900: Mega Lo Mania ____________ Image Works, 1991
#899: Psychonauts ____________ THQ, 2005
#898: Double Dragon ____________ Taito, 1987
#897: WarioWare Inc Minigame Mania ____________ Nintendo, 2003
#896: Hunter ____________ Activision, 1991
#895: Benefactor ____________ Psygnosis, 1994
#894: The Karate Tournament ____________ Mitchell Corporation, 1992
#893: Turn and Burn No-Fly Zone ____________ Absolute Entertainment, 1994
#892: Cameltry ____________ Taito, 1989
#891: Covert Action ____________ MicroProse, 1990
#890: Toy Bizarre ____________ Activision, 1984
#889: Judge Dredd I Am The Law ____________ Virgin Games, 1990
#888: Showdown ____________ Exidy, 1988
#887: Out Run ____________ Sega, 1986
#886: Kamikaze ____________ Codemasters, 1990
#885: Interstate 76 ____________ Activision, 1997
#884: Beyond Good & Evil ____________ Ubisoft, 2003
#883: Photopia ____________ Adam Cadre, 1998
#882: Vib-Ribbon ____________ Sony, 1999
#881: Marvel vs Capcom 2 ____________ Capcom, 2000
#880: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ____________ Infocom, 1984
#879: Streets of Rage 2 ____________ Sega, 1992
#878: Power Stone 2 ____________ Capcom, 2000
#877: Master of Orion 2 Battle at Antares ____________ MicroProse, 1996
#876: Rescue on Fractalus ____________ Atari, 1984
#875: Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders ____________ Lucasfilm Games, 1988
#874: Haunting Ground ____________ Capcom, 2005
#873: Stryker's Run ____________ Superior Software, 1986
#872: Exploding Fist + ____________ Firebird, 1988
#871: Okami ____________ Capcom, 2006
#870: Thin Ice ____________ INTV Corporation, 1986
#869: HERO ____________ Activision, 1984
#868: Space Taxi ____________ Muse Software, 1984
#867: Midtown Madness ____________ Microsoft, 1999
#866: Galaxian ____________ Namco, 1979
#865: Chocks Away ____________ The Fourth Dimension, 1990
#864: Deus Ex Machina ____________ Automata UK, 1984
#863: F-Zero X ____________ Nintendo, 1998
#862: The Colonel's Bequest ____________ Sierra On-Line, 1989
#861: Citadel ____________ Superior Software, 1985
#860: Shenmue 2 ____________ Sega, 2001
#859: Fantastic Night Dreams Cotton ____________ Sega, 1991
#858: The Firemen ____________ Human Entertainment, 1994
#857: Nemesis the Warlock ____________ Martech, 1987
#856: Sylphia ____________ Tonkin House, 1993
#855: Terraforming ____________ Right Stuff, 1992
#854: Pocahontas ____________ Sega, 1996
#853: Coryoon ____________ Naxat Soft, 1991
#852: Tomcat The F-14 Fighter Simulator ____________ Absolute Entertainment, 1988
#851: World Class Rugby ____________ Audiogenic, 1991
#850: Oids ____________ FTL Games, 1987
#849: Gomola Speed ____________ UPL, 1990
#848: Assassin's Creed ____________ Ubisoft, 2007
#847: Quark ____________ Oregan Software Developments, 1993
#846: Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri ____________ Electronic Arts, 1998
#845: Star Fox ____________ Nintendo, 1993
#844: Resident Evil 4 ____________ Capcom, 2005
#843: God Hand ____________ Capcom, 2006
#842: I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream ____________ Cyberdreams, 1995
#841: Super Pang ____________ Mitchell Corporation, 1990
#840: Frak ____________ Aardvark, 1984
#839: Densha de Go Professional 2 ____________ Taito, 2003
#838: XIII ____________ Ubisoft, 2003
#837: Rad Racer ____________ Nintendo, 1987
#836: Psychic World ____________ Sega, 1991
#835: Satan's Hollow ____________ Bally Midway, 1982
#834: Budokan The Martial Spirit ____________ Electronic Arts, 1989
#833: Caveman Ugh-Lympics ____________ Electronic Arts, 1988
#832: World Games ____________ Epyx, 1986
#831: Beach Spikers ____________ Sega, 2001
#830: Jet Boot Jack ____________ English Software, 1983
#829: Grand Theft Auto Vice City ____________ Rockstar Games, 2002
#828: Body Harvest ____________ Gremlin Interactive, 1998
#827: Flashback ____________ U.S. Gold, 1992
#826: Hitman Blood Money ____________ Eidos, 2006
#825: Blood Money ____________ Psygnosis, 1989
#824: TX-1 ____________ Atari, 1983
#823: Shark Shark ____________ Mattel Electronics, 1982
#822: Gold Rush ____________ Sierra On-Line, 1988
#821: Burnout Revenge ____________ Electronic Arts, 2005
#820: Urban Chaos Riot Response ____________ Eidos Interactive, 2006
#819: Comix Zone ____________ Sega, 1995
#818: Bangkok Knights ____________ System 3, 1987
#817: World Championship Squash ____________ Zeppelin, 1993
#816: Batman the Movie ____________ Ocean, 1989
#815: Wetrix ____________ Ocean, 1998
#814: Oriental Games ____________ MicroProse, 1990
#813: Alisia Dragoon ____________ Sega, 1992
#812: General Chaos ____________ Electronic Arts, 1994
#811: Arachnophobia ____________ Titus, 1991
#810: Half-Life ____________ Sierra, 1998
#809: The Detective Game ____________ Argus Press Software, 1986
#808: Evander Holyfield's Real Deal Boxing ____________ Sega, 1992
#807: Repton ____________ Superior Software, 1985
#806: Robotron 2084 ____________ Williams Electronics, 1982
#805: Gynoug ____________ Sega, 1991
#804: Ninja Spirit ____________ Irem, 1988
#803: Nobby the Aardvark ____________ Thalamus, 1993
#802: Evil Genius ____________ Sierra, 2004
#801: Sega Rally Championship ____________ Sega, 1995
#800: N+ ____________ Atari, 2008
#799: Lunar Jetman ____________ Ultimate, 1983
#798: Deus Ex ____________ Eidos Interactive, 2000
#797: Tail To Nose Great Championship ____________ Video System, 1989
#796: Hatsune Miku Project DIVA ____________ Sega, 2009
#795: The Glob ____________ Epos, 1983
#794: Timber ____________ Bally Midway, 1984
#793: Check Man ____________ Zilec-Zenitone, 1982
#792: Body Slam Super Pro Wrestling ____________ INTV Corporation, 1988
#791: Batman Returns ____________ Konami, 1993
#790: Syvalion ____________ Taito, 1988
#789: Chicken Shift ____________ Bally Sente, 1984
#788: Tropical Angel ____________ Irem, 1983
#787: Freeze ____________ Cinematronics, 1984
#786: The Simpsons Game ____________ Electronic Arts, 2007
#785: Bubbles ____________ Williams Electronics, 1982
#784: The Way of the Exploding Fist ____________ Melbourne House, 1985
#783: Zoo Keeper ____________ Taito, 1982
#782: Rollergames ____________ Konami, 1991
#781: Domino Man ____________ Bally Midway, 1983
#780: APB ____________ Atari, 1987
#779: X Multiply ____________ Irem, 1989
#778: Stratovox ____________ Taito, 1980
#777: Flicky ____________ Sega, 1984
#776: Super Monkey Ball ____________ Sega, 2001
#775: Zwackery ____________ Bally Midway, 1984
#774: Mikie ____________ Konami, 1984
#773: Donkey Kong ____________ Nintendo, 1981
#772: Diablo 2 ____________  Blizzard Entertainment, 2000
#771: Pokemon Gold/Silver ____________ Nintendo, 2000
#770: Boktai The Sun Is In Your Hand ____________ Konami, 2003
#769: STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl ____________ THQ, 2007
#768: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 ____________ Sega, 1994
#767: Halls of the Things ____________ Crystal Computing, 1983
#766: Super Punch-Out ____________ Nintendo, 1994
#765: Sensible World of Soccer ____________ Renegade, 1994
#764: Grim Fandango ____________ LucasArts, 1998
#763: Formula One Grand Prix ____________ MicroProse, 1992
#762: Frontier Elite 2 ____________ Konami, 1993
#761: Tapper ____________ Bally Midway, 1983
#760: Ratchet & Clank 3 ____________ Sony, 2004
#759: Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis ____________ LucasArts, 1992
#758: Simon the Sorcerer ____________ Adventure Soft, 1993
#757: Gravity Bone ____________ Blendo Games, 2008
#756: Grand Theft Auto 3 ____________ Rockstar Games, 2001
#755: Ico ____________ Sony, 2001
#754: Oddworld Abe's Oddysee ____________ GT Interactive, 1997
#753: Snake Pit ____________ Bally Sente, 1984
#752: Microbe ____________ Virgin Games, 1983
#751: Downhill Domination ____________ Sony, 2003
#750: Valkyria Chronicles ____________ Sega, 2008
#749: Star Ocean Till the End of Time ____________ Square Enix, 2004
#748: Zarch ____________ Superior Software, 1987
#747: Defender ____________ Williams Electronics, 1980
#746: Death Wish 3 ____________ Gremlin Graphics, 1987
#745: Boot Hill ____________ Midway, 1977
#744: Golden Axe The Duel ____________ Sega, 1994
#743: Clock Tower ____________ Human Entertainment, 1995
#742: Tac Scan ____________ Sega, 1982
#741: Loom ____________ Lucasfilm Games, 1990
#740: Asteroids ____________ Atari, 1979
#739: F-Zero ____________ Nintendo, 1990
#738: Accolade's Comics ____________ Accolade, 1987
#737: WipEout HD Fury ____________ Sony, 2009
#736: Time Commando ____________ Electronic Arts, 1996
#735: Arctic Shipwreck ____________ Commodore, 1983
#734: Warrior Blade ____________ Taito, 1991
#733: Bozo's Night Out ____________ Taskset, 1984
#732: Ghettoblaster ____________ Virgin Games, 1985
#731: War of the Monsters ____________ Sony, 2003
#730: Mad Doctor ____________ Creative Sparks, 1985
#729: Bird Mother ____________ Creative Sparks, 1984
#728: SSX 3 ____________ Electronic Arts, 2003
#727: Fox Fights Back ____________ Image Works, 1988
#726: Castlevania ____________ Konami, 1986
#725: Microsurgeon ____________ Imagic, 1982
#724: Mega Apocalypse ____________ Martech, 1987
#723: Bigfoot ____________ Milton Bradley, 1983
#722: Action Force ____________ Virgin Games, 1987
#721: Law of the West ____________ Accolade, 1985
#720: Tomb Raider Legend ____________ Eidos Interactive, 2006
#719: Tooth Invaders ____________ Commodore, 1982
#718: Killed Until Dead ____________ Accolade, 1986
#717: Sanxion ____________ Thalamus, 1986
#716: Catastrophes ____________ Mirrorsoft, 1984
#715: Emlyn Hughes International Soccer ____________ Audiogenic, 1988
#714: Pressure Cooker ____________ Activision, 1983
#713: Pro Tennis Tour ____________ Ubi Soft, 1989
#712: Cliff Hanger ____________ New Generation Software, 1984
#711: Ant Attack ____________ Quicksilva, 1983
#710: Incredible Crisis ____________ Titus, 2000
#709: Taiko no Tatsujin ____________ Namco, 2001
#708: Mata Hari ____________ Loriciels, 1988
#707: Ninja Golf ____________ Atari, 1990
#706: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell ____________ Ubisoft, 2002
#705: Escape from Colditz ____________ Digital Magic Software, 1991
#704: Doctor Who and the Mines of Terror ____________ Micro Power, 1985
#703: Wolfenstein 3D ____________ Apogee, 1992
#702: Capcom Vs SNK Millenium Fight 2000 Pro ____________ Capcom, 2001
#701: Project Firestart ____________ Electronic Arts, 1989
#700: Fist 2 The Legend Continues ____________ Melbourne House, 1986
#699: F1 Racing Simulation ____________ Ubi Soft, 1997
#698: Altered Beast ____________ Sega, 1988
#697: Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? ____________ Broderbund, 1985
#696: Micro Machines ____________ Camerica, 1991
#695: Nightmare in the Dark ____________ Gavaking, 2000
#694: Rags to Riches ____________ Melody Hall Publishing Corp, 1985
#693: Yie Ar Kung-Fu ____________ Konami, 1985
#692: Hamsters ____________ Gamesware, 1994
#691: Castlevania Rondo of Blood ____________ Konami, 1993
#690: Space Invaders ____________ Taito, 1978
#689: Within a Deep Forest ____________ Nifflas, 2006
#688: Bank Panic ____________ Sega, 1983
#687: Major Havoc ____________ Atari, 1983
#686: Galaga ____________ Midway, 1981
#685: Elevator Action ____________ Taito, 1983
#684: Boing ____________ First Star Software, 1983
#683: Pole Position ____________ Atari, 1982
#682: Innocent Until Caught ____________ Psygnosis, 1993
#681: Sinistar ____________ Williams Electronics, 1982
#680: Heavy Metal FAKK2 ____________ Ritual Entertainment, 2000
#679: Chop Suey ____________ English Software, 1985
#678: Dodge-It ____________  Fairchild, 1978
#677: Malibu Bikini Volleyball ____________ Atari, 1993
#676: Qix ____________ Taito, 1981
#675: Death Race ____________ Exidy, 1976
#674: The Outfoxies ____________ Namco, 1994
#673: Hampstead ____________ Melbourne House, 1984
#672: Leather Goddesses of Phobos ____________ Infocom, 1986
#671: Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons ____________ Apogee, 1990
#670: Roc 'N Rope ____________ Konami, 1983
#669: Congo Bongo ____________ Sega, 1983
#668: Skeleton Krew ____________ Core Design, 1995
#667: Super Robot Pinball ____________ Media Factory, 2001
#666: Master of Darkness ____________ Sega, 1992
#665: Engacho ____________ Nihon Application, 1999
#664: The Typing of the Dead ____________ Sega, 2000
#663: VVVVVV ____________ Valve, 2010
#662: Bamboozle ____________ Channel 4, 1993
#661: Come On Picot ____________ Pony Canyon, 1986
#660: Robot Unicorn Attack ____________ Adult Swim Games, 2010
#659: Dream Club ____________ D3 Publisher, 2009
#658: Neo Geo Cup '98 Plus Color ____________ SNK, 1999
#657: Countermeasure ____________ Atari, 1982
#656: Batman Arkham Asylum ____________ Eidos, 2009
#655: Livingstone I Presume ____________ Alligata, 1987
#654: Age of Empires ____________ Microsoft, 1997
#653: Smash TV ____________ Williams, 1990
#652: Reactor ____________ Gottlieb, 1982
#651: Mancopter ____________ Datasoft, 1984
#650: Repton 2 ____________ Superior Software, 1985
#649: Holy Diver ____________ Irem, 1989
#648: Amidar ____________ Stern, 1981
#647: Spy Hunter ____________ Bally Midway, 1983
#646: Driller ____________ Incentive Software, 1987
#645: Fiendish Freddy's Big Top O' Fun ____________ Mindscape, 1989
#644: The Secret of Monkey Island ____________ Lucasfilm Games, 1990
#643: Jack the Ripper ____________ CRL, 1987
#642: Doom ____________ id Software, 1993
#641: Tecmo Bowl ____________ Tecmo, 1987
#640: Eternal Darkness Sanity's Requiem ____________ Nintendo, 2002
#639: Metal Gear ____________ Konami, 1987
#638: Worms ____________ Ocean, 1995
#637: The 7th Guest ____________ Virgin Interactive, 1993
#636: Carmageddon ____________ Sales Curve Interactive, 1997
#635: Blood ____________ GT Interactive, 1997
#634: Rex Nebular and the Cosmic Gender Bender ____________ MicroProse, 1992
#633: Dante's Inferno ____________ Beyond, 1986
#632: Millenium Warriors ____________ First Star Software, 1989
#631: Renegade ____________ Taito, 1986
#630: Dylan Dog The Murderers ____________ Simulmondo, 1992
#629: Quake ____________ GT Interactive, 1996
#628: Pleiads ____________ Tehkan, 1981
#627: Streets of Rage ____________ Sega, 1991
#626: Change Lanes ____________ Taito, 1983
#625: Game Boy Camera ____________ Nintendo, 1998
#624: Scarabaeus ____________ Ariolasoft, 1985
#623: Frogger ____________ Sega, 1981
#622: Geograph Seal ____________ Exact, 1994
#621: Battle Valley ____________ Hewson, 1988
#620: Girl's Garden ____________ Sega, 1984
#619: Weird Dreams ____________ Rainbird, 1988
#618: God of War ____________ Sony, 2005
#617: Food Fight ____________ Atari, 1983
#616: Sky Raider ____________ Atari, 1978
#615: Mortal Kombat 2 ____________ Midway, 1993
#614: Red Faction Guerilla ____________ THQ, 2009
#613: Burnout 3 Takedown ____________ EA Games, 2004
#612: Football Manager ____________ Addictive Games, 1982
#611: Neutron Star ____________ Philips, 1983
#610: Midwinter ____________ Rainbird, 1989
#609: Turbo Out Run ____________ Sega, 1989
#608: Space Dungeon ____________ Taito, 1981
#607: Contra ____________ Konami, 1987
#606: Arkanoid ____________ Romstar, 1986
#605: Lucky & Wild ____________ Namco, 1992
#604: Karate Champ Player Vs Player ____________ Data East, 1984
#603: Dragon Warrior ____________ Nintendo, 1989
#602: X-Men Children of the Atom ____________ Capcom, 1994
#601: Condemned Criminal Origins ____________ Sega, 2005
#600: Fight Night Round 3 ____________ EA Sports, 2006
#599: Higurashi Daybreak Portable Mega Edition ____________ Alchemist, 2009
#598: Fahrenheit ____________ Atari, 2005
#597: Pitfall ____________ Activision, 1982
#596: Bump 'N' Jump ____________ Bally Midway, 1982
#595: Time Crisis ____________ Namco, 1995
#594: International Karate + ____________ System 3, 1987
#593: RollerCoaster Tycoon ____________ Hasbro Interactive, 1999
#592: The Simpsons Hit & Run ____________ Sierra, 2003
#591: Sly Spy ____________ Data East, 1989
#590: Paperboy ____________ Atari, 1984
#589: Pharaoh ____________ Sierra, 1999
#588: Return of the Invaders ____________ Taito, 1985
#587: Discs of Tron ____________ Bally Midway, 1983
#586: Beach Life ____________ Eidos Interactive, 2002
#585: The Bard's Tale ____________ Vivendi Universal Games, 2004
#584: A-10 Attack ____________ Parsoft Interactive, 1995
#583: Dragonfire ____________ Imagic, 1982
#582: Sheep ____________ Empire Interactive, 2000
#581: Prince of Persia The Sands of Time ____________ Ubisoft, 2003
#580: Strike Fleet ____________ Electronic Arts, 1987
#579: Gulkave ____________ Sega, 1986
#578: 3D Pool ____________ Firebird, 1989
#577: Express Raider ____________ Data East, 1986
#576: Uninvited ____________ Mindscape, 1986
#575: Basketbrawl ____________ Atari, 1990
#574: Crazy Chase ____________ Philips, 1982
#573: Police Quest In Pursuit of the Death Angel ____________ Sierra On-Line, 1987
#572: Crush ____________ Sega, 2007
#571: Manhunt ____________ Rockstar Games, 2003
#570: Zillion 2 Tri Formation ____________ Sega, 1987
#569: Eternal Champions Challenge from the Dark Side ____________ Sega, 1995
#568: Warbirds ____________ Atari, 1991
#567: FireTrap ____________ Data East, 1986
#566: Daze Before Christmas ____________ Sunsoft, 1994
#565: FIFA 11 ____________ EA Sports, 2010
#564: Quake 3 Arena ____________ Activision, 1999
#563: Green Beret ____________ Konami, 1985
#562: Wave Race 64 ____________ Nintendo, 1996
#561: Sunset Riders ____________ Konami, 1991
#560: Crime and Punishment ____________ Mindscape, 1984
#559: Scorpius ____________ Shinseisha, 1991
#558: Mega Bomberman ____________ Sega, 1994
#557: Twinkle Tale ____________ Toyo, 1992
#556: Painkiller ____________ DreamCatcher, 2004
#555: iD ____________ CRL, 1986
#554: Ooze ____________ Dragonware, 1989
#553: Raiden ____________ Fabtek, 1990
#552: Ougon Musou Kyoku ____________ 07th Expansion, 2010
#551: SOS ____________ Vic Tokai, 1994

[Thursday]

Cringing at my old posts as if I'm a better writer now.

[biggytitbo]

Im going to have Black as #550, a terrific late era PS2/Xbox shooter that's tons of fun. Probably all old hat these days but the fact everything was destructible made for some great gameplay elements (take out a bunch of enemies at once by shooting a vehicle until it explodes) and the fact enemies will dangle onto railings and balconies after your shoot them with their legs waggling, allowing you to shoot them again. Like th best FPS games, it's the shooting 'feel' that make it and this nails the mechanics perfectly.

[Shay Chaise]

Mate, we're up to 502 now, I think.

[biggytitbo]

Not anymore.