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VW's Top 1000 Games

Started by The Boston Crab, February 08, 2010, 05:51:21 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Bhazor

502 - Urban Chaos (1999)

A game I feel comfortable copy pasting the wikipage for because I'm the one who wrote most of it.

QuoteGameplay

The game is an action-adventure game from a third-person perspective. It is set in largely free-roaming maps. It also utilized a rather complex fighting system incorporating kicks, punches, throws and sliding tackles as well as two melee weapons; knives and baseball bats. However, the player can also arrest enemies, which will make the populace more friendly towards them. Later on, an additional character is gained who is less agile, due to his age, but whose attacks do more damage. A Jamaican gang banger is also available in bonus missions.

The city maps, although small, do include indoor areas, people to talk to, fights to intervene in and even additional missions and completely different ways to achieve the player's goals that include assaults, hostage rescues, and stopping someone from committing suicide. There are 24 main levels, four bonus levels and a separate demo level which is not included in the full version of game.
Plot

The story begins with D'arci Stern, the protagonist, joining the Union City Police Department. Much of her time is spent dealing with the Wildcats, a gang that is getting increasingly bold in their criminal activity. With the help of a vigilante named Roper, D'arci begins to believe that the Wildcats plan to take over Union City. As the Wildcats grow ever bolder, D'arci discovers that the gang is led by Mack Bane, a candidate for mayor of Union City. Eventually, the Wildcats attempt a hostile takeover of the city, which is finally repelled by D'arci, Roper and the police.

Some time later, D'arci is investigating a particularly brutal murder. She discovers that the murder was committed by Bane's bodyguards, establishing a connection between Bane and the Wildcats. Soon after, he is arrested by D'arci and Roper in his out of town estate. Even from jail, Bane is able to direct the Wildcats, and D'arci and Roper are forced to deal with several more threats to the city. Later, Bane breaks out of jail and claims to be an Ancient Warlock. He uses his powers to summon a fire beast known as a Baalrog, which attempts to destroy the city, but D'arci and Roper defeat it. Bane and the Wildcats flee to a sanctuary tower to fulfill a prophecy; before they can complete their ritual, D'arci and Roper use the tower's ventilation system to destroy Bane and the Wildcats.

Reception


The game was met with positive reviews when it was released on PC, but console ports were met with mixed to negative reception. GameRankings gave it a score of 75.77% for the PC version,[22] 50.74% for the PlayStation version,[23] and 47.86% for the Dreamcast version;[21] Metacritic likewise gave the latter version a score of 52 out of 100.[24]

Not mentioned, the original had no on disk drm and as such spread through my class like crabs. It is a good game.

Shade

#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
#550: Ufouria: The Saga ____________ Sunsoft, 1991
#549: Enter the Matrix ____________ Atari, 2003
#548: Sonic Colours ____________ Sega, 2010
#547: Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demnos ____________ CSG Imagesoft, 1990
#546: Limbo ____________ Playdead, 2010
#545:Catherine ____________ Atlus, 2011
#544:Valkyria Chronicles 3 ____________ Sega, 2011
#543: Advent Rising ____________  Majesco, 2005
#542: Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition ____________  Rockstar Games, 2005
#541: Syberia II ____________  XS Games, 2004
#540: Lumines ____________  Bandai, 2004
#539: ESPN NFL 2K5 ____________  2K Sports, 2004
#538: Metro 2033 ____________  THQ, 2010
#537: Moonwalker ____________  TBC, 1989/90
#536: Mercenary ____________  --,1985
#535: Max Payne 2: The Fall Of Max Payne ____________  Rockstar, 2003
#534: VECTORMAN 2 ____________  Sega, 1996
#533: SPACE MANBOW ____________  Konami, 1989
#532: SOCCER KID ____________  Krisalis Software, 1993
#531 Dare Devil Dennis ____________  Visions, 1984
#530: MIDWINTER 2 FLAMES OF FREEDOM ____________  Publisher, 1991
#529 Killer 7 ____________  Gamecube, 2005
#528: CT SPECIAL FORCES ____________  Light and Shadow Productions, 2002
#527: BLADES OF VENGEANCE ____________  Beam Software, 1993
#526: LURE OF THE TEMPTRESS ____________  Virgin Interactive, 1992
#525: WINTER GAMES ____________  Epyx, 1985
#524: ASSASSIN'S CREED 2 ____________  Ubisoft, 2009
#523: AutoDuel ____________  Origina Systems, 1985
#522: Persona 3 Portable ____________  Atlus, 2009
#521: Rhythm Tengoku Gold ____________  Nintendo, 2008
#520: Front Mission 3 ____________   Square, 1999
#519: Corpse Party ____________   5pb, 2010
#518: Disgaea 3 ____________   NISA, 2008
#517: Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe ____________  Image works, 1990
#516: Jet Set Willy ____________  Software Projects, 1984
#515: Persona 4 The Golden ____________  Atlus, 2012
#514: 'Splosion Man ____________  Microsoft, 2009
#513: WHITE DAY: A LABYRINTH NAMED SCHOOL ____________  Some Korean people, 200?
#512: Pathologic ____________  G2 Games, 2006
#511: RACING SIMULATION 3 ____________  Ubisoft, 2002
#510: DARK SUN ~ SHATTERED LANDS ____________  Strategic Simulatios, Inc, 1993
#509: SUPER SMASH BROS. ____________  Nintendo, 1999
#508: Velvet Assassin ____________  South Peak Games, 2009
#507: Danganronpa ____________  Spike Chunsoft, 2010
#506: NetHack ____________  ?, 1987
#505: Half-Life 2 ____________  Valve, 2004
#504: Dark Souls ____________  Namco Bandai, 2011
#503: Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin ____________  Namco Bandai, 2015
#502: Urban Chaos ____________  ,1999
#501: Killing Floor ____________  Tripwire Interactive, 2009


I agree with #549 the combat in Enter the Matrix was incredible, never seen anything like it since.

#501: Killing Floor

Genre: FPS/Co-op Multiplayer
Publisher: Tripwire Interactive
Developer: Shatterline Productions/Tripwire
Year: 2009
Format: PC


Since I can't find a good multiplayer game online to join I'll just write about one I used to play.

Killing Floor started off as a mod for UT2004, a game I never played. I missed out on KF during the height of its popularity, but got into last year, just as KF2 was announced.
The plot involves some dodgy biotech corporation in London, conducting experiments on people, trying to make super soldiers and stuff, it goes wrong, hordes of monsters break loose.

It's Co-op, 6 players to a team, you have your different specialties. Medic, Melee, Shotgunner, Pyro, Explosives, Sniper, Machine gunner. Each one can be levelled up, giving you increased damage, and some other unique benefits. (eg Melee can run faster)
There's a colourful array of character models to choose from, but a lot need to either be bought, or unlocked with some other game, made by Tripwire. The rest you can unlock through gaining achievements.
There's two types of game play. Killing Floor and Objective.
Killing Floor(sigh) consists of facing wave after wave of specimens which gradually increase in number and difficulty with each round. It's got a good array of enemies, there's the grabby shuffling zombie, machete zombie, spider thing that's drop out of vents, Jason, and so on. All nicely rendered. Then in the final round you get the Big Daddy, with a minigun and rocket launcher arm. As long as 1 player survives you all progress to the next round. At the end of each round you have about a minute to get to the trader and buy ammo, weapons, supplies. Money is earned through kills/assists/surviving . Each player has a medic syringe they can use on themselves or another player. Healing yourself gives a little bit of health back but having a teammate do it gives a bigger boost, reinforcing the need to work as a team. You can also donate spare dosh! to other players too. Players also get a welder to seal doors shut and open stuff.
The maps are nice and varied. There's big open ones and small claustrophobic ones, and everything in between. Office, mountain roads, cabin in the woods, factories, labs, there's even a moon base complete with low gravity, a Santa's grotto, theme parks. Urban or countryside, it's pretty much all there. Plus you have all the custom made maps, which vary in quality.

Playing as a team you tend to either adopt a hit run approach, making a circuit around the map, bumping enemies off as you go. Or hole up somewhere Night of the Living Dead style and hope that one of your team mates doesn't fuck up and let all the monsters pouring in. Which can be fun, as you then become stuck between salvaging a location or trying to make it out alive. Welding can be a blessing and a curse. Personally both approaches can be fun, the team needs the right balance of weapon class to pull either one off on the higher difficulties. Snipers are good at picking off tougher enemies, but struggle against larger crowds of weaker ones. Where as the opposite is true for say pyros or bombers. There's a good choice of weapons plus some DLC weapons packs. Flamethrower, flaregun(dual wield), crossbow, dwarf's axe, steampunk tommy gun, were some of my go to toys. The enemies too have an array of different attacks, some designed to slow you down or wear away your health. Others that can tear through your team.

The other game type is objective mode, which has you fighting your way through a map, unlocking passages, holding points, escort stuff. Great fun where team work is essential, it occasionally captures that horror movie feel, especially when your the one stuck carrying the heavy object down a coridoor followed by an increasing horde. The distance between you and your team ahead of you gradually increasing. The game will drop a bunch of enemies out a vent or something and you're suddenly cut off. It's fucking ace. Sadly there's only three official objective maps. Theres a few custom ones, but they range from crash your PC to decent.

Thats pretty much it. At times it's tense, fast paced, and cheesy. Oh yeah, occasionally you go into bullet time too, when you pull off some sick skills, chopping off limbs, headshots that kind of stuff. (I think) everyone gets a few seconds of bullet time.

Alot of people seem to have moved on to KF2. Which looks good, they've changed the weapons class' a bit, added some new features. Anyone tried it?


Bhazor

Quote from: Rev on February 02, 2013, 02:14:45 AM
Let's get back to it.

#512: Pathologic

Genre: Adventure?  Possibly
Format: PC
Developer: Icepick Lodge
Year: 2006
Publisher: G2 Games


Upcoming remake next year https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1535515364/pathologic

Bhazor

#500 Dwarf Fortress

Genre: Management/World Simulation
Publisher: Bay 12 Productions
Developer: Bay 12 Productions
Year: Ongoing 2006 to the End Times
Format: PC

Its hard to talk about why Dwarf Fortress is good. Plenty has been written about its complexities. And it is certainly complex. Many have talked about its difficulty. And it is certainly difficult. But thats only scraping the surface. People talking about the complexity probably don't even know how insane the depth of simulation. This is a game in which coastal erosion is modelled. Where a thousand years of history is procedurally simulated before you embark on your first fortress. A game where if a pregnant woman sleeps on the floor or is injured she can miscarriage and subsequently go mad with grief. Its also a game in which Dwarves will pick up and wear discarded clothes even if those clothes are on fire. it's a game where it is possible to throw a chipmunk so hard that it will take the head of an adamantium gollem. Its a game so complex that nothing works like it was supposed to and its austere ascii graphics will spiral into ultra violent slap stick. But always with Dwarf Fortress the best way to explain the appeal of the game is to tell a little story about it.

Take my last fortress for example. Made it to the 3 year mark with 30 Dwarves, enough food for 10 years, a burgeoning steel industry and was probably doing better than I ever have before. Unfortunately, one thing I never got the hang of was the military. As such despite having a stock room filled with superior quality weaponry and armour my squads fought unarmed. Fine against goblins, but when the Werecamels arrived it soon became clear this was problem. 1 dead and the rest badly injured and I considered that a damn lucky result. So I went to Dwarf wiki and learnt how to use squads, assign armour, assign weapons and set up a rudimentary triage center. Fast forward an hour and with a couple goblin skirmishes I'm feeling much happier with my little armed to the teeth task force. Then I get a message "The Werecamel Ghornsmit Helgtres has come". Curious that a monster has a second name I follow the announcement to the Werecamel. To discover that there was infact two of them, then a third came down the stairs, then a fourth came round the corner. I brought up the info cursor and examined the nearest one to discover he was my squad leader. Still armed with a hammer "Engraved with cats and cats, the cats are talking to the cats". Long story short my crack team quickly set about their companions, killing 20 and wounding 6. Funnily enough once their curse has run its course they return to normal and will happily return to their day job. Not only that but my massive food stock pile and the open vacancies means I have a constant supply of migrants. Who settle down just long enough for the next full moon. I have in fact created entirely by accident a hammer horror murder hotel. The end finally came when a full moon coincided with a trade caravan and the two caravan guards slaughtered all 13 of my Werecamels.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

#499.



"Kicking ass for justice and for liberty!"

Broforce

Genre: Shoot 'em up
Developer: Free Lives
Year: 2015
Format: PC, Mac, PS4

'Member Rambo? 'Member Chuck Norris? 'Member fun? If you answered yes to any or all of these inane questions, then maybe you should call The A-Team Broforce.

You control the titular organisation - a Team America esque platoon resembling, but legally distinct from, a broad selection of Hollywood's greatest badass action heroes. Starting with the Machine gun wielding Rambro, you unlock more bro's as you progress (those who prize representation over sematics will be delighted to find that several are female). Each bro has their own weapons and abilities, and are randomly assigned to you at the start of each level and when you gain or lose a life. This introduces an element of strategy into the run and gun[nb]or hop and chop, strut and uppercut, take flight and dynamite[/nb] gameplay - do you grab that extra life and adapt your tactics on the fly, or forego the security it provides and stick with the bro you know? Some bro's can be all but useless in certain situations, but it keeps things from getting stale.

In keeping with its influences, the game is unabashedly retro, but it's the kind of retro game that is actually better than 90% of it's forebears. Though it is by no means a walkover, it rarely if ever feels unfair like plenty of 8 and 16-bit games can. Defeat is usually your fault for not paying close enough attention amidst the chaos you wreak. And chaos indeed shall be wrought. The levels are fully deformable, allowing you to blast chunks out of the landscape and dig around. Enemies can be reduced to showers of blood and guts and often shriek in fear at your mere presence. Up to four player co-op is supported, which increases the carnage exponentially. Driving home the total lack of interest in anything remotely approaching subtlety, victory has you leaping onto a helicopter[nb]Yes, your objective is to "get to the choppah!"[/nb] as the level is spontaneously engulfed in explosions and power metal guitar solos.

Levels are numerous, but brief, making it a perfect game for when you've got the odd ten minutes to kill (though it usually keeps me engrossed for at least an hour at a time). It's a bit odd that it isn't available on portable systems, but I guess the tiny sprites are better suited to a larger screen.

Broforce. Fuck Yeah!

ASFTSN

REST IN PEACE, BRO!

Fun game that, a bit like Metal Slug with Worms deformable terrain.  Why is Raiden included on the bro-list though?  Seems a bit out of place.  Ripley fits right in though.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Quote from: ASFTSN on February 28, 2017, 08:49:27 AM
Why is Raiden included on the bro-list though?  Seems a bit out of place.
He was part of an update along with the Highlander, so I guess they wanted another Christopher Lambert character. It does seem a bit odd though, what with him being the only videogame derived character. If they were going to include games characters, then surely Duke Nukem is the most appropriate (or, abropriate).

ASFTSN

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on February 28, 2017, 01:28:36 PM
If they were going to include games characters, then surely Duke Nukem is the most appropriate (or, abropriate).

I don't actually own the game, but played it round someone's house - they clearly got the tone right because until you wrote that I could have sworn I did play as Duke Nukem once or twice.

Shay Chaise

498.

Blazing Star



"Bonus!"

Genre: Shoot 'em up
Developer: SNK
Year: 1998
Format: Neo Geo, Switch, Arcade, Mobile

I just finished this tonight. It probably took me a hundred credits so it certainly doesn't count as a clear in anyone's book but it was fantastic fun nevertheless. It inhabits that biomechanical world popularised by R-Type and imitated by so many others. There's nothing particularly unique about it, aesthetically, but I love the charm of the giant 90s sprites and the parallax backgrounds are quite spectacular at times. Everything pops off the screen, from enemies to glowing projectiles, and the soundtrack is glorious, catchy tunes, memorable sample speech and great weapon sounds and explosions.

Mechanically, it's quite like R-type with a bullet/charge dynamic which allows you to take out waves either by hammering away at fire or by charging up a special which usually has a more destructive effect with greater range. I say 'usually' because one thing that stands out is the choice of ships and the weapon variety which comes with that. Some are genuine charges shots, wide spread and high power, but there are a couple which are more like a laser whip which feels great when you're mowing down waves by simply sweeping across the screen. My personal favourite though is probably the short range, maximum impact blue flame which carves through bosses, if you can get close enough! And what bosses they are. Colossal creations designed surely to eat the pockets money of the many many Japanese boys. Having been mocked as 'poor player' hundreds of times by the game, it feels brilliant every time you take a boss down and you're greeted with 'your skill is great', and for a few moments you do feel that's the case.

A very fine game, truly bonkers by the end, and a challenge like little else I've played. I've no interest in getting much better at it and I can barely imagine how it's possible to clear this game without abusing the credit system but I thoroughly enjoyed the five or so hours I've put into this game on the Switch and would heartily recommend it.

Shay Chaise

497. Forza Horizon 3



Genre: Open World Driving
Developer: Turn 10
Year: 2016
Format: XB1, PC

I got an Xbox One to play Dark Souls on backwards compatibility but I've probably put triple the time into this. Without doubt, it's the most beautiful driving game I've played to date and every vehicle I've spun around the outback simply feels fun to drive.

To explain a little further about what it involves, you have an XP bar and you acquire credits and level up various bonuses and areas of the map and you run festivals and make money from a variety of races and events and stunts and drift zones and all kinds of hidden collectibles and all of that kind of thing which keeps you putting another hour in but frankly, none of that means anything much. It's all about the feel of the driving and the frankly astonishing open world.

GTAV is a fantastic game for me but because I only ever play it now as an open world driving game. Forza absolutely annihilates it, obviously. The flickering light coming through dense forest, the spray of surf as you plough across the beach in a Testarossa, the echoing exhaust in a cave or tunnel, the ludicrous jumps over sand dunes, the miles and miles of stunning open road, carving through the Gold Coast; it's inexplicably beautiful.

It's not just presentation, though, it's the feel and the feeling it gives you. Every car feels noticeably different and every single one is interesting and appealing in its own way. Even driving a VW Golf, it's quite a joyous thing flinging it around the city centre and then taking it off through the countryside. Jump into a Ferrari F40, put some headphones on and you are getting a boner. That feel is also developed further through probably the greatest controller I've used. Every single different texture you drive across gives noticeably different rumble and trigger feedback. It's remarkable and trumps anything on the PS4.

It's a system seller.

asids

#496

Pro Evolution Soccer 4



"Hits one...he's scored!"

Genre: Sports (football)
Developer: Konami
Year: 2004
Format: PS2, Xbox, PC

Ahh, PES 4. A game that harbours a lot of memories, the days when PES was truly king of the football game world, where when you loaded up the game to hear that familiar background music you know you'd be having a great time, whether it was playing against a mate with 2 controllers, or trying to turn your team of Ximelez and Minanda's into heroes in Master League mode. Not sure you can say that about football games now (even though the last couple of PES games have been good).

The genius of PES 4 is in the simplicity. Unlike in modern football games, where we take moving your player in a fluid 360 degree motion as standard, in PES 4 you could still only really move in 8 directions - making galloping runs down the wing followed by a cut across the box a preferred move, although it never really worked. There is nothing that really works, that's really exploitable, and that's what makes PES 4 a fantastic football game. You can get used to the game and score goals, but you'll never really find that one method that works every time - goals can be strange and peculiar but they're always different.

PES 4 is a game that makes you work hard for your goals and your wins. It's truly wonderful when you manage to hit a pinpoint through ball to your pacey striker and then you manage to successfully round the outrunning goalkeeper to put it into an open net, because those moments don't happen often. But when they do, they're absolutely glorious. There's even a beauty in the scrappy goal - a cross from the wing to the far post to a man who heads it down right for your guy who's just popped up in the middle, just about outstretching a leg enough to put it into the net. Or hitting a rocket with plenty of curve from just outside the box to just get it away from the keeper's hands. Or managing to pull off a lovely chip. Or...I could go on.

And the greatest thing about it that it never seems to get old. No matter how many hours you cram in, you can still go back and play a random match and just have fun, actually enjoy what you're playing. Yet the modern FIFA games that sell millions can't seem to do that. There's also a charm to all those fake team and player names, in a strange way. You can shove yer licenses up yer arse, I'll have Peter Brackley telling me it's Old Firm Green vs Old Firm Blue any day of the week.

Shay Chaise

Nice one. Never played it but enjoyed the spirit of the post, and very glad to see that this thread has some life left in it.

garbed_attic

#495: Torin's Passage

Genre: Adventure
Publisher: Sierra On-Line
Developer: Sierra On-Line
Year: 1995
Format: PC

There's a case to be made for Torin's Passage as the best of all of Sierra's adventure games yet because of its cutesy graphics and lighter puzzle design it is all by forgotten by everyone save adventure aficionados. Instead of mining the realms of mythology and fairytales like the King's Quest games, Torin's Passage creates a series of uniquely imaginative nested worlds. You see, the planet in which the game takes place is composed of a series of shell worlds nested one within the other like Matryoshka dolls. Torin is a simple peasant boy who lives in 'The Lands Above' and who must venture downward through the worlds of Escarpa, Pergola, Asthenia, Tenebrous and THE NULL VOID in order to rescue his parents who have been kidnapped by an evil sorceress. Each world is not only aesthetically differentiated from the others, but differentiated in terms of the style of puzzle solutions required. So, Pergola is a forest world of hooded creatures (who dimly recall the denizens of Lucasfilm Games' Loom) which need to be arranged in order as per a sliding tile puzzle but with musical notes of different pitches to be arranged. Asthenia is effectively a giant lava maze.

Pergola



Asthenia



The richest and most memorable world is undoubtedly the second world of Escarpa, which is populated by eccentric cartoon grotesques and solved via traditional adventure game object combination puzzles. Most intriguing of all are the family of Bitternuts who seem to be trapped in a purgatorial sitcom (with laughter track) as they grow more and more bitter and resentful of one another. Their household is the only place in the game rendered in black and white and I found it terribly unsettling as a child.



Torin himself is somewhat bland as a protagonist, but his earnestness and basic decency are appealing. More notable is his shape-shifting pal/pet Boogle, who can be used as an additional inventory item to solve puzzles - an innovation possible nabbed from LucasArt's Sam & Max Hit the Road of two years previous. One little innovation of Torin's Passage own however is the ability to place any inventory item on a holographic viewer to receive is full 3D rendering! At the time this seemed incredibly futuristic!

The game was written by Al Lowe who, of course, forgoes his usual smutty brand of humour familiar from the Leisure Suit Larry games. Torin's Passage is certainly not a laugh out loud funny game, but it never tries too hard to be wacky, sticking instead to gentle character comedy and a smattering of sight gags, often based around Boogle.

Like Sierra's earlier Pepper's Adventures in Time it is a game intended for a young audience, but this works to its strength - at the very least it results in a lack of the needlessly obscure puzzle solutions for which Sierra were notorious.

garbed_attic

I think there's little harm in adding the previous choices from the 'Top 50 Visual Novels / Interactive Fictions' thread here, even while I think a lot of IF and VNs don't quite fit the designation of games.

#494: Howling Dogs
Genre/ format: Hypertext / Twine
Publisher: Porpentine
Author / Developer: Porpentine
Year: 2012
Plaform: PC
Link: http://aliendovecote.com/uploads/twine/howlingdogs/howlingdogs.html#2o

In Howling Dogs you are a prisoner / patient in a metal room, with a lavatory, trash disposal unit and nutrient dispensers. To escape this room you can enter a virtual reality activity room, which will take you to different scenes / experiences that all, in some way, possess aspects of imprisonment or martyrdom.

The prose is minimalist but hyper-real, at once alienating and intimate. Often you feel as though you are occupying hallowed ground. It is a quiet game of noisy, angry ideas. It is game-like as you are put within systems, though the game is one of orientation and self-navigation, rather than victory.

That said, the ending is not as preordained as one might expect and if you engage intuitively and intimately with the game's system you should be able to find another means of escape. It's very much a game about otherness and selfhood and queer identity, but it manages to traverse these themes with a fleet-footed lightness of touch that means it never feels laboured or didactic (unlike the more overtly anger and disgust-fuelled Everything you swallow will one day come up like a stone).

There's a great interview between the author and interactive fiction pioneer Emily Short here:
https://emshort.wordpress.com/2012/11/23/interview-with-porpentine-author-of-howling-dogs/


garbed_attic

As chosen by Bhazor, who writes:

QuoteThe whole game is essentially an art critic examining the latest sculpture. Telling anything else would ruin it.

#493: Galatea
Genre/ Format: Text-only / parser / z-machine
Publisher: Emily Short
Author/ Developer: Emily Short
Year: 2000
Plaform: PC
Link: http://iplayif.com/?story=http://parchment.toolness.com/if-archive/games/zcode/Galatea.zblorb.js

It is worth mentioning that Galatea uses uses verb-noun combinations for the most part. It's one of those parser games that I've tried to introduce others to and they've attempted to interact with sentences like 'Tell me what you think about love'.

It's a well-conceived, sensitive and philosophic game with some neat meta elements about the nature of interactivity. I like Short's writing. It's always neat and balanced, but quietly emotive.

The game had a massive influence upon IF development across the early 2000s, especially in the design of conversation systems.


garbed_attic

As chosen and described by Consignia...

#492: Steins;Gate
Genre/ Format: Visual Novel
Publisher: 5pb
Developer: Nitroplus/5pb
Year: 2009
Platform: PC/Xbox 360/PS4/PSP/Vita/IOS/Android

Quote from: Consignia on February 22, 2015, 08:23:50 PM
Steins;Gate is set in modern Akihabara, revolving around a group of physics students and their accidental experimentation with time travel. The main character and narrator is Rintaro Okabe, who styles in him self as a mad scientist. Working with his classmate and child friend, he creates gadgets in his cheap rented apartment. After a chance encounter with a young genius physicist, he ends up accidentally creating a way of sending data to the past and changing time. It sets off a series of increasingly bizarre events where Rintaro must change time or find ways of reverting the mistakes he has made.

The narrative is fairly linear, and there are few decision points in the game. This allows for a complex branch of actual time lines to be played out to the reader. There are background events that fill out characterisation  via Rintaro's text message conversations. They rarely effect the ending and are largely optional, but they sneak in world building without intruding on the main story.

The tone of the story is split directly in two. The first half is largely comedic, which works well with the strong set of diverse characters, and sets up the second half. After a major turning in the middle, the tone shifts to the dramatic and stakes rise. This works largely because of the good set up, it feels like a believable change, and it pays off in each individual ending.

The art style is provided by huke, and gives a unique stylisation to the characters and world. The voice work is amongst the strongest I've heard in a visual novel, an area I feel is usually to the detriment of the genre.

Overall, Steins;Gate is really well put together package, and great for those not hugely into the medium. It's the right length, it doesn't have a horrible map of paths and endings, it's well presented, it has a compelling narrative, and it's basically a whole of fun. There are a couple of spin-offs, and a pretty decent anime adaptation, but this is the one you should go for.


garbed_attic

As chosen by Studpuppet...

#491: Anchorhead
Genre/ Format: Text-only adventure / parser / z-machine
Publisher: Michael Gentry
Author / Developer: Michael Gentry
Year: 1998
Plaform: PC
Link: http://pr-if.org/play/anchorhead/



Anchorhead is better than Lovecraft. It shares all of Lovecraft's strengths (an intimate and precisely drawn sense of place; genuine unease; an entire mythos confidently gestured at in minimal strokes; squelchiness) and none of his weaknesses (racism; the desire to be seen as scholarly and learned by throwing in random passages in French and Latin; awkward and clunky sentence constructions; fear of women; bouts of turgidity). Indeed, you even play as a woman who has hopes and fears and a character and everything!

You move to your husband's ancestral home in the coastal town of Anchorhead, Maine. You walk around, find curious objects, meet vaguely off-putting people, discover secrets and stop your husband from going mad!

Actually, writing the above, it occurs to me that Anchorhead isn't all that different from Sierra's notorious FMV shocker Phantasmagoria, except better in every respect. There isn't, for instance, an entire level given over to purchasing a bottle of drain cleaner.

It's literary genre fiction and a fine piece of IF. If you like horror then it comes highly recommended, even with the use of a walkthrough (the later puzzles are tricksy time-dependent things). I've never wholly completed the game and I should absolutely revisit it as it's a brilliant example of the medium. To quote Captain Beefheart, Anchorhead is "fast and bulbous".


garbed_attic

#1097
As chosen by Consignia...

#490: When They Cry: Higurashi no Naku koro ni
Genre/ Format: Visual Novel
Publisher: 07th Expansion
Author/ Developer: Ryukishi07
Year: 2002-2006
Platform: PC/PS2/PS3/Vita/DS/IOS/Android



Quote from: Consignia on March 01, 2015, 06:04:20 PM
Higurashi no Naku koro ni, the first in a series collectively known as When They Cry. Higurashi started out as doujin self-published visual novel for the PC. It was split up into 8 episodes, released over 4 years with each new episode coming out at consecutive Comic Market festivals. It sometimes gets described as a Sound Novel, as unlike many visual novels it contains no story branches, and has an emphasis on the soundtrack to tell the story.


Original Doujin Version

The setting is Hinamizawa in the mid 80's, an idyllic village in the middle of nowhere. The main character, Keiichi Maebara, has moved from the big city and transferred into the small local school where he befriends a bunch of interesting characters. As he goes through a life of fun and adventure with his new buddies, strange things start to happen around the time of the villiage's festival for it's guardian deity. Then people start dying. Keiichi starts to get sucked into the strange local rituals, and his new friends seem to be a part of the murders.

Each episode is set in an alternative world were the story plays out differently. The first four episodes, known as the question arcs, set up the mysteries surrounding Hinamizawa. The last four episodes, known as the answer arcs, explain both the mystery to an individual question arc and contribute to the overriding story.


DS Version (same art used in other console ports)

The entire thing is something to behold. It's satisfying horror-mystery that brings all the elements together over it's course. It starts out a bit poorly paced and variably written, but it increasingly gets better as the episodes go on. It ends with some interesting descent into meta-fiction, something which is explored in far more depth in the next When They Cry title.

There have been several different versions, the original doujin product with photograph backgrounds, poorly drawn sprites and no voice work. There is also been a few attempts to make into a more standard visual novel with story branching from a single start, and redone art, music and voice work. These ones don't quite work, as if you go through the original version, it's obvious why the story can't be told in such a way. However, these adaptations also bring extra episodes to the mix, with increasing scenarios giving more on each port. The upcoming PS3/Vita versions shall be the ultimate versions of these, containing fully voiced versions every scenario and a couple of new ones. There's also a version being released on Steam soon which will have updated character art. For my money, though, the original doujin has a charm to it that gives it an edge in atmosphere, and also emphasises the story over frivolities.


Steam Version

There have been several adaptations of the story as well, manga, anime and live action, and a bunch of spin offs. These are of varying quality, some are excellent, some are terrible, but the best way to experience Higurashi at it's core is the visual novel. Just if you do want try it, bare with it's somewhat flaky start.

(G_P: I had to choose different representative pictures since the original dropbox image links no longer worked)

Shay Chaise

Thanks for these additions. I love this thread. We're over halfway, I hope we get there one day. I need to add some more because reading and writing about games is one of my favourite things.

garbed_attic

Quote from: Shay Chaise on January 20, 2018, 01:49:28 PM
Thanks for these additions. I love this thread. We're over halfway, I hope we get there one day. I need to add some more because reading and writing about games is one of my favourite things.

Yeah. It's a thread for the ages! Please do!

garbed_attic

As chosen by Consignia...

#489: Cherry Tree High Comedy Club (Manken!)
Genre/ Format: Adventure RPG/ Visual Novel
Publisher: Capcom
Author/ Developer: 773
Year: 2012
Platform: PC

Quote from: Consignia on March 08, 2015, 08:01:23 PM


Cherry Tree High Comedy Club (or Manken! in it's original Japanese) is a 2012 comedy doujin visual novel / adventure style game. It was released in English heavily localised by the same team that did the Phoenix Wright translation. It has however more recently been slightly less heavily localised recently to preserve more of the original feel.



The story follows the energetic Mairu Hibisu and her latest scheme to start a comedy club. To do so however, she must recruit a bunch of members before the strict deadline. To recruit, she must find befriend and gain the trust of the candidates. To do that she must gain skills in interesting topics, and use them to get closer to her new friends. It plays out a bit like the non monster fighting parts of Persona 3 and 4. You must manage your time to get closer to the characters, or increase abilities to get closer.



While it is a comedy, it's not gag filled and laugh out loud, but it does have a nice sense of fun about it. There's even a little sense of melancholy as you scratch under the surface of the characters. It's not a very long game, but it gets the point and doesn't outstay it's welcome. It's good fun, and I'd recommend it to those who are interested  in the genre but don't have time to commit to the longer ones.

It also has a sequel, which is a straight forward visual novel with no decision points, however I've yet to play that to see if it's any good.

garbed_attic

As chosen by Studpuppet...

#488: Trinity
Genre/ Format: Text-only adventure / parser / ZIL
Publisher: Infocom
Author / Developer: Brian Moriarty
Year: 1986
Plaform: Amiga, Apple II, Atari ST, Commodore 128, MS-DOS, Macintosh
Link: http://www.myabandonware.com/game/trinity-9c



Although known for their darkly comic hack-an'-slash riddle-a-thon Zork games (as expertly parodied in Limmy's 'Adventure Call' sketches) Infocom did not restrict themselves to the fantasy genre in their decade as text-only pioneers. They attempted buccaneering romance with Amy Briggs' 1987 Plundered Hearts, dystopian sci-fi with Steve Meretzky's 1985 A Mind Forever Voyaging and... erm, an Alice in Wonderland inspired nuclear-war allegory for Brian Moriarty's bizarre and wonderful Trinity of 1986.

Trinity begins in London, Kensington Gardens upon the eve of nuclear war. London is presented (mildly, but faintly satirically) as a bustling Mary Poppins style urban idyll. Indeed, as the player character you are viewing London through the rose-tinted spectacles of an American tourist. Still, despite these pleasant surroundings, something is distinctly off. Our journey back to America seems increasingly unlikely as your progress through Kensington Gardens is impeded upon all sides by hordes of pram-wielding nannies and, if you try to skip across the lawns, grass that seems to lash at your feet and drag you backwards. The effect is of claustrophobic confinement, described whimsically, which is a quietly uncanny combination. There is a cheerful malevolence in the air.

As well there might be(!) ... since the first puzzle you have to solve is a complex, interlinking thing that recalls the notorious babel fish puzzle of 1984's fascinating and obtuse text-only adaptation of Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (with the author himself on board with the writing). The puzzle here is to escape Kensington Gardens and, while it involves a degree of magical thinking, it's a pretty elegant and gratifying affair that it easily completable without recourse to a walkthrough.

This is merely a preamble to the game proper however. A magical door takes you to an in-between place (that recalls the 'Wood between the Worlds' in the Narnia books), a large pastoral garden that allows the player access to different times/places in history: Nevada, underground, in 1974; an island in the Pacific Ocean in 1950; Siberia in 1949; Nagasaki in Japan, 1945. There are also a handful of future locations, including a space station orbiting the Earth. All of these locations are real or fictional sites of nuclear testing or nuclear war. One might change the course of history and avert catastrophe!

For such a doom-laden scenario (and the game takes the potential for nuclear threat very seriously - it was released two years after Cook'd and Bomb'd favourite Threads) the atmosphere is often whimsical and absurd. References to classic children's literature abound and the game has the feel of a time-hopping pastoral epic. Indeed, Wikipedia describes Trinity as a 'prose poem'. The writing is accessible, but sometimes deeply evocative. While it might seem obtuse or even offensive for a game about impending (and real, historical) nuclear destruction (that, it might be noted, includes a section set in Nagasaki) to be so downright pretty at times, this forms the emotional core and moral meaning of the work. Trinity is an earnest, slightly manic, quietly angry avocation for the preciousness of life in the face of the absurdity of nuclear war.

Original copies of the game also came packaged with Infocom's legendary 'feelies', in this case including a map, a cardboard sundial equivalent to the one used to navigate the game's world, a parodic "educational" comic book entitled 'The Illustrated Story of the Atom Bomb' and a piece of origami paper used to fold a paper crane - the inclusion of which suggests something of the poetic, reflective and somewhat irrelevant tone of the work.

Trinity is highly recommended if you can get your mitts upon it.



(If you have an iphone you can buy Trinity as part of the 'Lost Treasures of Infocom' collection)

And here is a page with all the pages from 'The Illustrated Story of the Atom Bomb' reproduced, along with the map and compass:
http://infocom.elsewhere.org/gallery/trinity/trinity.html

Thursday

Hang on you've jumped to 439 and 438 from 490?

garbed_attic

#1103
As chosen by Consignia...

#487: Umineko: When the Seagulls Cry
Genre/ Format: Visual Novel
Publisher:    07th Expansion / Alchemist / Taito
Author / Developer: Ryukishi07
Years: 2007-2017
Plaform: Windows, Mobile phone, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable



Quote from: Consignia on July 05, 2015, 08:14:44 PM
Ryukishi07 was at con in the states this week announcing the new Steam release of Umineko. I'm not particularly enthused by this because whilst it's one my totes fave things eves, I've already bought it and gone through it enough times, and I think the new sprites look a bit cack compared to both the original and the PS3 versions. But whatever, more avenues for availability for this is great. However, in the Q+A session afterwards, it was revealed that 90% of people in the original gave up on it after Episode 2, since it was too hard. I can understand why, since it's where the main narrative and meta-narrative start to really entwine, and it probably is the hardest mystery of all the lot. And like many visual novels it's ambitions sometimes outstrip the writer's ability (see anything Nasu). But it is a shame one of the most interesting things to come out of the doujin scene gets sidelined because the difficulty. And to be fair, it's worth sticking with since whilst it doesn't spell everything out like Higurashi (apart from some of the supplementary material), most of it is cleared up by the end. It's just something that rewards those who stick with it and engage with the material.

Umineko is an epic. It is also an epic concerned with the nature of time and memory (and how trauma can twist and fragment both these things). As such, repetition is built into its very structure. As a reader you return to the fateful week in October 1986 in which all the members of the Ushiromiya travelled to the small isle of Rokkenjima for their annual  family conference. This is the setting for a complex, time-bending murder mystery... although to get too caught up in the question of the who and how is to miss the emotional core of the novel.

As the above should imply, you spend a long time with the troubled family inhabitants of the isle of Rokkenjima and their mysterious servants. As such the experience of reading Umineko (as with many visual novels) can drag. However, it has a moral serious to it which far outstrips any other visual novels and most pieces of digital fiction full stop. You spend a long time with the troubled family inhabitants of the isle of Rokkenjima and their mysterious servants. It is a work which rewards patient, deep engagement - a fact which is testified to by the uncharacteristically high quality of fan fiction it has inspired.


garbed_attic

Quote from: Thursday on January 20, 2018, 01:59:06 PM
Hang on you've jumped to 439 and 438 from 490?

Thanks. Well caught. Edited.

Consignia

Thanks for reposting some of those. Whilst I stand by completely what I've said about those I wrote about, I always struggle to put visual novels in the same category as games, since there's very little interaction in them. Higurashi especially so, as there is no options at any point, except one designed to be pointless, and little bit of shuffling of story telling in the last chapter (well the original PC version, console ports have made them a bit more interactive). I guess more Western equivalents such Telltale's games are in a similar vain, but they least  have gamey sections where you push the main character forward, which is absent in most visual novels.

This is a great thread though, and it's long absence should give lots of ground to cover. The Switch itself could probably sustain the next 500.

garbed_attic

Quote from: Consignia on January 20, 2018, 02:30:25 PM
Thanks for reposting some of those. Whilst I stand by completely what I've said about those I wrote about, I always struggle to put visual novels in the same category as games, since there's very little interaction in them.

Yeah - I agree really - but the toss can be argued and the ones listed are so good they deserve honorary inclusion (if only in pursuit of finishing the 1000!)

Consignia

Oh, yeah I've no issue with them plumping this list out, I just wouldn't have thought to have put them in myself. I'm more concerned about what verb you would ___ a visual novel. Neither play nor read feel quite right.