VW's Top 1000 Games

[Still Not George]

Civilization IV does email play. Seems like it'd take ages to get anywhere considering how slowly each game starts off.

Yeah, the game kinda needs to be built for it. The Civ IV PBeM mode definitely seemed tacked on to me. Maybe if they let people take a number of turns at once that diminished as time went by?

Planets4 is still out there somewhere but the developer Tim Wisseman got a real job and a wife and thus it's in limbo.

[Still Not George]

From old-school strategy, to a strategy game that's still new-school despite having been out for a few years:

#940 Supreme Commander
Don't get me wrong, I really did like Total Annihilation. I really did. The cold, impersonal, robotic feel appealed to the HOI/XCOM playing grognard in me as much as it turned a lot of other people off. But ultimately it's just another tactics-level game with some resource management to make it feel "strategic". It's not actually a wargame in any meaningful sense, it's a robotic riot simulator. But we're used to that, right? The only thing that makes the C&C and Red Alert games worth playing is the multiplayer anyway (and Tim Curry).



And then this went and happened.

On the face of it it looks like every other RTS. There's your tanks, your factories, your weirdly floating air units, your control panel for making stuff... so far so every game since Dune 2.
Then you spin your mouse wheel, and you're confronted with something like this:


See those dots? They're units. And that looks like a 10km wide map to me. WTF? What is this game?

Turns out that it's a revolution, albeit one that will proceed to be ignored by everyone else (including the guys who fucked the same mechanic up in Spore). See, SC operates over whole bloody kilometers of map, and allows you to zoom out to the point where you can see everything. EVERYTHING. Radar-spotted units show up as fractionally-different grey blobs. Visually-identified units show up as blobs with a tiny symbol on them to tell you their classification. Put the pointer over something, spin the mouse wheel, and you zoom right towards it. Getting in closer you see the model moving about, doing it's thang, and then suddenly explode after being hit with a giant artillery shell fired from the other side of the map.

Cos that's what this game lets you do. With a map this size (up to 25km square), you can have artillery emplacements and vehicles that actually have, y'know, artillery RANGES. You can implement cruise missiles that can fly 10kms and hit their target square. You can have nukes that are visible from space.
You quickly discover that the usual strategy doesn't work. Tank rushes result in death when your opponent can see them coming from over a minutes' travel away. You could airlift them in (with the welcome return of lifter units, sadly missing from RTSs since Dune 2) but they'd probably get shot down, either by anti-air guns or by fighters. You could nuke them straight-out, but anti-missile defences can be flipping amazing in this game. So you're forced to actually strategise, to use combined forces, massive bombing runs, forward emplacements, artillery strikes and everything you'd expect to find on a battlefield. The naval system is pretty good too (although weirdly lacking in naval transporters for some reason). And at the end of the usual tech system (3 levels, done using builder units) there are Experimental Units:



It's not all sunshine and roses, though. Firstly, the balance is off in places, and the attempts at rebalancing it in the patches made things worse. The Cybran are vastly overpowered in MP during the early and mid-game, while boosts to the Aeon Experimental units (shown above) make them ridiculous during the end game. Secondly, there are unfortunate realities to any kind of war simulation, and one of them is a severe problem in this game - units that do not seek cover are effortlessly destroyed by artillery. Your units are robotic drones with enough intelligence to pathfind and pick targets and not much else, so a large rocket strike can break most units easily. Even your main character (represented by a giant robot, which is pretty awesome) can be taken out by a determined artillery bombardment. OTOH a decent sense of positioning can make up for it, but it's still a bit of a weakness in the game.

All that said, it's an excellent game (especially once patched). The only caveat that's left is that the game is an absolute CPU monster, even now, and it has a nasty habit of failing to take advantage of multi-core CPUs. But any vaguely decent current machine should be able to run it without any hiccups.

[Garfield And Friends]

#939: JUNO FIRST

Genre: 2.5D vertical shoot 'em up
Format: Coin-op Arcade / MSX / Atari 800XL / C64
Publisher: Konami / Gottlieb
Year: 1983
Developer: Konami



Late 'early period' (if that makes sense) arcade vertical shooter from 1983. A bit more advanced graphics compared to the likes of Galaxian and Space Invaders.

Juno First has a nice false three dee effect by means of a 'dot grid' that lights up according to your movements of your ship.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWB-GiSElV4

[biggytitbo]

Head Over Heels
Genre: Isometric platformer
Format: Lots!
Year: 1987
Publisher: Ocean

Isometric platform games were very popular in the mid 80s, games like Knight Lore, Alien 8 and Batman refined the concept and this, by the same authors as the excellent Batman is the apogee of the genre and arguably the best 8 bit game ever made. Unlike many games from that era, this holds up remarkably well even now, the incredibly detailed graphics still look great but its the sheer inventiveness of the gameplay that shines through. You control 2 characters - head has prodigious jumping abilities and can fire donuts at enemies to stun them. Heels is a lightning fast runner and can carry objects. The real innovation is how the game is cleverly split into 2 paths, you start off separated and each of the 5 levels branches of in 2 ways - one that can only be traversed be Heels and one only be Head. At certain key points in the game the two characters will meet and can sit on top of each other to form a character with the abilities of both opening up paths available to neither separately. None of this would work without great level design and this is were it really shines the 100+ rooms are all incredibly well designed, ingenious and fiendish in equal measure. Puzzles vary from stacking objects to build bridges, moving drones to bring unreachable objects closer, and manipulating moving platforms in various ways demonstrating what can only be described as a proto physics engine. Some puzzles even involve you having to jump onto the heads of moving monsters in order to reach high up doors. The game is quite difficult at times, and can be frustrating but you really have to play the game in order to appreciate the achievement of the level design.

An excellent remake is available but it's best to play the original using an emulator to get the flavour of just how well this games holds up today.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSTO4Qtyanc

[madhair60]

Last two choices are excellent.  There's a pub in Cambridge with a multi-game cocktail arcade machine, which includes Juno First!  Had a go the other day, it's sweet.

Head Over Heels remains fabulous.

[Garfield And Friends]

#937: STREET FIGHTER 2 CHAMPION EDITION

Genre: 2D versus fighting
Format: Coin-op Arcade / NEC PC Engine / Mega Drive / SNES
Publisher: Capcom
Year: 1992
Developer: Capcom



Playing arcade videogames on an emulator just does not quite cut it when it comes to recreating the real-world experience.

The imposing coin-op cabinets with large 27" CRT telly monitors, the booming dedicated speakers, the raster lines on-screen, the big robust eight-way joysticks and chunky plastic fire buttons, the attract modes imploring viewers to insert money, decorative marquees and cabinet artwork.

Which brings me to Street Fighter 2: Champion Edition. At one point in 1992 it seemed that every second chipper and bingo hall had an arcade machine of Capcom's revolutionary versus fighter. Crowds gathered in awe, coins were queued up, with good reason.

Those sprites were HUGE! The animations INCREDIBLE! 6 buttons to control this game?! Did that fat sumo character really just start slapping his opponent at a million strikes an hour? Yup!

But it wasn't all style. There was substance to the gameplay too. Strategies could be formed from your chosen characters arsenal of strikes; combinations thereof were another skill level altogether; magic special moves were spectacular game-winners that really separated Street Fighter 2 CE from older style realistic fighting games like 1984's Karate Champ.

The game was a thing of beauty, even just watching from the sidelines as two players battled. The varied design of the characters and stage backgrounds were perfect. Cartoonishly diverse, but just short of outright goofy (a letdown of many of SF2's future imitators and sequels). The music was similarly outstanding. Capcom had struck gold on all fronts.

Specific to the Champion Edition, the elusive final 4 boss characters from the 'World Warrior' arcade machine were now playable. That alone was a jawdropper for those accustomed to the original 1991 release of Street Fighter 2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS11DM8tguA

[gmoney]

Lovely write up there Garfield And Friends.

[Still Not George]

Head Over Heels remains fabulous.

Very true, it's one of those games which just never gets old.

[madhair60]

I've been playing it on SpeccyDS and it's probably the single best Spectrum game - and that's a tall order.  So, so many of the old home computer games don't hold up, but HoH certainly does.

[Rev]

#936: PERSONAL NIGHTMARE

Genre: Adventure
Format: Amiga / ST / PC
Publisher: Horrorsoft
Year: 1989
Developer: Horrorsoft


If you've ever found yourself with me in a pub and the conversation has turned to video games, you'll have told me to shut the fuck up about this one at least once.



And if ever a game has been the victim of unfortunate timing, this is it.

Released by bogus company Horrorsoft right at the point when text adventures ceased to be on the wobble and could confidently be pronounced dead, Personal Nightmare was doomed to failure.  It sold about three copies, and didn't have much of a life in the bargain bins either.

It's an uneasy mix of the traditional text-based and the emerging, uppity point-and-click adventure.  You can play by typing alone, or you can click on a door in the graphical representation instead of typing 'open door'.  The same goes for picking up objects, but not really for anything more complicated than that.

If the execution of the game was a bit muddled, then why am I nominating it?  Because it absolutely pissed ambition and atmosphere.  Set in a small - and, crucially, inhabited - village, it threw all of your horror cliches right at you.  Vampires, ghosts, demons, all of that good stuff, but there was something more important at work.

Normality.  Personal Nightmare featured normality, and it played out with a time system of hours and days.  The spooky stuff happened within the context of a working village, which meant that people had routines and acted as they should.  The things that should, by rights, be scary were never as terrifying as the things you had to do in order to deal with them.

You might well know that the guy who lives at number 37 has some secateurs that you really need, but it's not like you can stroll up and take them.  He's at home at night, so you'll have to wait until he goes to work in the morning, then break into his house.  So you do.  It's entirely possible, though, that he'll return early because of an incident elsewhere in the village, and you'll be caught.  The heart-in-the-mouth terror of being somewhere where you're not supposed to be in Personal Nightmare has yet to be equalled.

I'd say 'in my opinion', but it's a fact.

[Jemble Fred]

I had Personal Nightmare. Why do I remember it as looking about ten times better than that?

[Garfield And Friends]

#935: NOSFERATU

Genre: 2D fighting platformer
Format: SNES
Publisher: Seta Corporation
Year: 1995
Developer: Seta Corporation



A little bit Prince Of Persia, a little bit Castlevania, and a little bit Kung Fu Master. I'm a sucker for games with horror themes and disturbed soundtracks.

Against the clock, you must save your girlfriend (wow, original!) from the clutches of vampire Vlad.

The graphics in Nosferatu are very nice; great little details everywhere.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpOMCSj2dos

[Garfield And Friends]

#934: COMMANDOS BEHIND ENEMY LINES

Genre: 2D isometric real-time strategy
Format: Windows
Publisher: Eidos
Year: 1998
Developer: Pyro Studios



coming.
Coming over!
I'M COMING!


Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines is a real-time strategy god game where you control the actions of up to six WW2 allied soldiers per level. Each character (green beret; driver; marine; sapper; sniper; spy) has a different set of skills, so management and coordination of your troops is essential.

Typically, a level sets you the task of covert theft of an item, destruction of an enemy position, rescue of a prisoner, or assassination of a high-ranking axis enemy. The game is difficult, and timing of your movements around the map is crucial in order to remain undetected.

The level designs are ace, getting desperately hard later on, but it's damn good fun.

Coming right ovah...... sah!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB96_vt_I1o

[Garfield And Friends]

#933: QWAK

Genre: 2D platformer
Format: BBC Micro
Publisher: Superior Software
Year: 1989
Developer: Jamie Woodhouse



"Game over. So sad."

You are a duck, and for some weird reason you've become trapped in 70 levels from which you must escape. Avoid contact with the monsters therein, collect the keys on each level and exit through the door. Simple!

Fun platform game on the BBC Micro with smooth graphics and increasingly taxing levels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R83X9mdkoN0

[Garfield And Friends]

#932: RAIDEN FIGHTERS

Genre: 2D vertical scrolling shooter
Format: Coin-op Arcade
Publisher: Fabtek
Year: 1996
Developer: Seibu Kaihatsu



I find many traditional shoot 'em ups to be offputting due to their steep difficulty, too-fast enemy projectiles and miserly approach to power-ups.

Fortunately, Raiden Fighters is a lot fairer than most, and the graphics are a colourful feast for the eyes. There's some inventive special weapons (depending on which plane you've chosen), with the homing whip plasma beam being a favourite of mine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ5grvOli6Y

[spanky]

Apart from the fact I was dreadful at the game, the thing I hated about Commandos was the guy at about 00:17 in that Youtube clip and the sarcastic way he called me 'sir' as if he thought he should be in charge.

[_Hypnotoad_]

Head Over Heels
Genre: Isometric platformer
Format: Lots!
Year: 1987
Publisher: Oceanp

Yes thank-you Biggy, that was one I wanted to post but could never do it the justice you have.

If any of you fucking nerds handsome, eloquent computer entertainment experts would like to review these, please do;

Clumsy Colin Action Biker, The Last Ninja Part II (special boxset including balaclava and ninja throwing star), solo flight, space shuttle simulator (atari 800xl version), soccer boss, microprose soccer, sensible soccer, river raid, rescue on fractulus, football manager (original version),

[Garfield And Friends]

#931: WWF WRESTLEFEST

Genre: 2D pro wrestling beat 'em up
Format: Coin-op Arcade
Publisher: Technos Japan Corp
Year: 1991
Developer: Technos Japan Corp



Just right before the WWF (WWE) took a mid-nineties nosedive in popularity (1992 to 1997-ish), there was one final hurrah for the golden years of "Hulkamania" in the world of coin-op videogame machines.

That game was WWF Wrestlefest, released to amusement arcades in the summer of 1991.

The roster of professional wrestlers included Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan, Mr Perfect Curt Hennig, Earthquake, Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase, Jake The Snake Roberts, Sergeant Slaughter, Big Boss Man, Demolition (Smash and Crush), and Legion Of Doom (Hawk and Animal).

The game was split into two play styles; you could challenge for the tag team titles on "Saturday Night's Main Event" or could try for solo glory in the "Royal Rumble" match. Both were top laughs, especially if you were playing on the deluxe 4-player arcade machine.

My friend used to always pick Hulk Hogan. I much preferred Earthquake. And I was better at the game, so it was immensely satisfying when time after time my Earthquake eliminated his Hogan from the battle royal by jumping Quake's big blubbery ass onto the Hulkster's sternum!

Happy days!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoEAj64gVhc

[Garfield And Friends]

#930: TIMESPLITTERS FUTURE PERFECT

Genre: 3D first-person shooter
Format: PlayStation 2 / Xbox / Gamecube
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Year: 2005
Developer: Free Radical Design



Fun.

This first person shooter is fun.

The gameplay is sublime, but there are other things that sets Timesplitters Future Perfect apart from other games in the genre. The 3D models are quite unique in their appearance, and when coupled with the great voice acting and characterisation, it's a big thumbs up there. Not only that, but the game has a wonderful deliberate humourous streak right the ways through it. One of the few games where I actually pay attention to the cut scenes.

Even apart from the main story missions, the extras are some of the best included in a modern videogame. The split-screen multiplayer mode is a cracker, the quantity (about 150) and quality of characters to play as is super. Hell, even the computer-controlled bots in deathmatch mode are a good solo challenge too.

Feckin' brilliant game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF4ZLtVIk8o

[ThickAndCreamy]

Oh, you bastard Garfield, that was going to be my next game! I suppose I'll wait and do Timesplitters 2 later on down the line.

Honestly, how can you mention the game and only dedicate a single measly sentence to the multiplayer? Are you ill? I would probably give a paragraph or two on the single player game, campaign, arcade mode etc. and then write five to ten paragraphs on just how absolutely astonishing the multiplayer game is. From the wonderful variation of guns, the speed, the amazing variety of modes, characters, unlockables and ways to play. I'd at least mention the monkey gun and how it shoots 64 bullets in 1 second, the sheer speed of the game and generally how as a party experience it's second to none.

I agree with how brilliant the feel and style of the game is as well, and how you have emphasized how fun it is. It really is the definition of a fun game really, not serious in the slightest, just mindless, endless fun.

Timesplitter's 2 and 3 are for me, the best offline split screen multiplayer games in existence, there's no other game that matches it depth and sheer fun. It is one of the most underrated Playstation 2 games, and between Timesplitters 2 and 3 I've probably played about 500 hours on them both, and I still enjoy it. It's a testament to their multiplayer game, as well as extremely fun single player modes (I've completed the campaign on TS3 about 6 times now).

[Garfield And Friends]

Oh, you bastard Garfield, that was going to be my next game!

Should I slow down T+C?

[confettiinmyhair]

#929: FIFA: Road to World Cup 98
Genre: Sports
Format: Sega Saturn / PC / Gameboy / Playstation / N64
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Year: 1997
Developer: EA Canada



Despite lacking the technical refinements and smooth gameplay of ISS Pro '98. FIFA 98 deserves to be included in the list for what it provides in terms of authenticity, and the beginning of an upward curve for the much maligned FIFA series. Featuring a vast improvement in graphics, and a massive roster of players. You had the chance of leading England to World Cup Glory, or winning the Malaysian M-League with Selangor. The game also had a more efficient engine with the offside rule properly implemented, and set pieces that reflected reality.

A cult classic with most Footballing gamers as it featured the exciting 'Indoor 5-a side Mode'. The game was multiplayer friendly, and fitted in with the popular at the time 4-player get your mates round aspect of offline social gaming.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mJV5UizrCE

[MojoJojo]

Yeah, the game kinda needs to be built for it. The Civ IV PBeM mode definitely seemed tacked on to me. Maybe if they let people take a number of turns at once that diminished as time went by?

Planets4 is still out there somewhere but the developer Tim Wisseman got a real job and a wife and thus it's in limbo.

Naked War and Laser Squad Nemesis are two relatively new ones from indie-devs who are well known 80s game designers. They are both subscription based though - PBEM is a cheap way for an indie dev to run a subscription model. LSN is time based, Naked War invite based.

Thinking about it though, you must have heard of these, and they are probably aren't quite the type of game you want.

[Still Not George]

Thinking about it though, you must have heard of these, and they are probably aren't quite the type of game you want.

LSN's great, I'm not a big fan of Naked War though.

[samadriel]

#934: COMMANDOS BEHIND ENEMY LINES

Genre: 2D isometric real-time strategy
Format: Windows
Publisher: Eidos
Year: 1998
Developer: Pyro Studios



coming.
Coming over!
I'M COMING!


Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines is a real-time strategy god game where you control the actions of up to six WW2 allied soldiers per level. Each character (green beret; driver; marine; sapper; sniper; spy) has a different set of skills, so management and coordination of your troops is essential.

Typically, a level sets you the task of covert theft of an item, destruction of an enemy position, rescue of a prisoner, or assassination of a high-ranking axis enemy. The game is difficult, and timing of your movements around the map is crucial in order to remain undetected.

The level designs are ace, getting desperately hard later on, but it's damn good fun.

Coming right ovah...... sah!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB96_vt_I1o

It's very crooked that they sell this on Steam with absolutely no indication that the game won't run on any computer that would, y'know, have Steam on it (its speed is influenced by processor clock speed, so it runs at impossible, breakneck pace.  Good luck getting any of those supposed MOSLO type things to work...)  Anyway, great game, I was going to nominate Commandos 2 in this thread.

I've recently played Commandos 3, and it is absolute shit compared to its predecessors, I was appalled.  I think C3 was made after the leading light behind Commandos left Pyro; such a damned shame we'll probably never see a new Commandos game; and that if we do, it'll likely be crap, if they managed to get C3 that wrong (for god's sake, all they needed to do was make new maps for C2 and use higher-res assets...)

[chand]

A cult classic with most Footballing gamers as it featured the exciting 'Indoor 5-a side Mode'.

Everyone who played it really enjoyed that mode, I can't understand why it's never appeared since. I would have thought given how intense the FIFA/PES rivalry is now that one of the games would toss in a 5-a-side mode to try and get the edge.

[biggytitbo]

Haa nice...
The IT Crowd - Series 1 DVD Menus

[torz77]

#928: Syndicate



Genre: Real Time Strategy
Format: Amiga, PC, Mac, SNES, MegaDrive, Jaguar, CD32, 3DO
Publisher: Ocean/Electronic Arts
Year: 1993
Developer: Bullfrog

This review is for the Amiga version. I can't vouch for the others, but I would guess the PC version is on a par and the console versions are slightly weaker.

In a dystopian near-future, governments have grown weak and the world is controlled by corporations hell bent on power and global domination. Cyberpunks roam the streets and the shady corporations employ cybernetically enhanced Special Agents to do their evil bidding against rival corporations.

This is where you come in. As leader of a newly formed syndicate, you have a team of 4 special agents who must embark on a series of missions in your quest for global domination. Each mission takes place in a different part of the world, and completing it let's you take over that territory. Once a territory is controlled you can raise or lower taxes in order to raise revenue to buy cybernetic upgrades for your team. Careful though, raise taxes too much and the citizens will rise up, and you'll have to go in to quell the rebellion.

The missions themselves are set within surprisingly satisfying isometric cities. It's a simple point and click movement/attack system and you can control your team as either a complete unit, individually or within subgroups. The cities are relatively gritty and futuristic and the sheer quantity of people wandering around makes them really feel alive. The citizens will leave you alone (and run away if you decide to open fire), but look out for the cops. They don't take too kindly to you mowing people down and will try to take you out. In fairness, they're relatively weak and can be dispatched without too much problem. The real challenge comes when you come across enemy syndicate members. They can creep up on you unexpected, and if you're outgunned you will stand next to no chance. The game is morally blank, so you can go round on a killing spree executing workers, civilians, pedestrians and any other innocent who you decide to not take a liking to. All good fun.

The weapons get progressively better through the game, starting with the pistol, through to the shotgun, uzi, minigun and gauss gun (and probably more, but I struggle to remember). My personal favourite is the Persuad-o-tron. You can use this to 'persuade' people to come round to your way of thinking. Once persuaded they will just follow you everywhere, so it can be quite fun wandering around using the persuad-o-tron on everyone and then have an entire city following you around like you're some kind of modern day Jesus Christ with guns. They also serve a useful function as a human shield. Much like real life in that respect.

The drugs system is also good. You can inject your Agents with various drugs which control their speed, accuracy and ability to act autonomously. Best not to go nuts with them though as the Agents tend to build up a resistance, and the effects will soon wear off.

The game isn't without it's flaws. The isometric view can get a bit fiddly at times, when you walk behind, or into, a building and are effectively blind (no opacity settings here to let you see through walls), controlling the vehicles can be a little fiddly in places and having played through this game again relatively recently the point and click nature of the game is probably a little dated... but then, mowing down innocent bystanders is always fun. Or is that just me?







Syndicate

[j_u_d_a_s]

#927: Silent Hill 2



Genre: Survival Horror
Format: PS2, Xbox, PC
Publisher: Konami
Year: 2001
Developer: Team Silent

When we think of games for "mature" players, our first guesses would usually be the GTA series, Gears of War, Call of Duty or maybe even Manhunt. But really all they are are basic power fantasies propped up with swearwords and blood. Silent Hill 2 is a mature game for mature players and ventured into seriously dark territory. The tortured mind of a man seeking redemption through traversing his own private hell.

One of its greatest strengths was not taking the direct sequel route from Silent Hill 1, instead choosing to expand upon the mythology of Silent Hill itself. You play James Sunderland, an everyman who's received a letter from his dead wife Mary which, as a plot for a videogame, is a welcome departure from the usual "Bad things invade earth" tripe. Along the way you come across other seemingly normal folk who soon reveal their inner demons. But most intriguingly is the sexualised double of James' late wife, Maria. All the while being relentlessly pursued by perhaps the most iconic horror game villain ever, Pyramid Head.

Unlike the schlock cheese of the Resident Evil series, Silent Hill can really get underneath the players skin. Playing as James, you feel utterly alone in this recognisable yet surreal world. Creatures never stalk or pounce at you but walk casually along and you can avoid them with ease out on the street. But when you're inside, confrontations are fraught with tension and claustrophobia as you frantically swing a pipe at an amorphous blob of flesh.

Another rarity for videogames is that SH 2 rewards further analysis and curiosity. Story details aren't spoon fed in cut scenes but teased slowly out. All characters are never what they initially seem and all of them have their reasons for being in Silent Hill at the same time. But there's also hints of further mysteries, some which have even been developed into a full blown title (Silent Hill 4 is entirely based around a story found in a newspaper cutting in SH2). This isn't just a story told in cut scenes, you're expected to put the pieces together yourself. James is looking into the abyss and the abyss is most definitely looking back.

What sets this game apart from all others though is the quite unmatched art direction. The town itself looks decayed yet somehow alive with rust everywhere and an almost impenetable mist. But the monsters who inhabit the town are straight out of Francis Bacons worst nightmares, no surprise seeing as he was a massive influence on one of the artists. The already mentioned Pyramid Head was a masterpice, there had been nothing that was so visually arresting and intimidating before that could have possibly worked just as well. His presence as James' tormentor is one that burns itself indelibly into your experience, the moment you see him you know you're in trouble.

I can't possibly talk about Silent Hill 2 without giving special mention to the sound design either. The inhuman gasps of the scuttling "straightjacket" creatures will cause shivers like nothing else. And the soundtrack is unique among videogames, switching between metallic grinding, gentle melancholic guitar pieces and haunting Massive Attack/Portishead-style melodies.

Silent Hill 2 is a game that pulls you into its twisted fantastical world. You don't play it, you experience it. You go onwards because you're compelled to. This is the game that shows what gaming can do and what storytelling in games can be. It's a unique use of its medium that has been often imitated but will perhaps never be bettered.









Silent Hill 2 intro

[biggytitbo]

Klax
Year: 1991
Format: Arcade, home
Genre: Puzzle
Publisher: Atari

This is probably my favourite puzzle game, but for some reason its not as well known as games such as Tetris, although I think its superior. The concept is very similar, you have to move and flip the oncoming coloured tiles into stacks, rows and diagonals and various lengths in order to score points and clear the rows. Where it scores over games like Tetris is the gameplay seems much more satisfying and tactile and even when it gets hard it never becomes frustrating.

KLAX (Arcade) Gameplay