DAY 66 / GAME 66 James Pond 2

DAY 66 / GAME 66

James Pond 2

           What on earth compelled me to buy this game I will never know.  I remember trading this game in at one point, (Something I never did again, ever.) and even the guy at behind the counter was stunned by it.  I guess it was just this period where I wanted basically any game that looked like Mario, because I didn't have a Nintendo, so I tried to fill that void.

         As ridiculous as the cover looks on this though, it was a pretty good title.  Even though it felt like the designers threw every sprite in the history of 16-bit gaming at you over the course of the fifty levels..
       The game was a typical side-scrolling platformer with Mario style item blocks and the ability to jump on your enemy's head.  This was your only attack.  The big thing that made this game a bit different from other games was this bizarre mechanic where you could stretch your torso to an almost infinite height.  The idea was that you could reach the ceiling in a level, allowing you to cross gaps or reach otherwise inaccessible areas.  

             I didn't realize, but I guess this game was released on way more platforms than just the Genesis.  Apparently it was available on Atari, Amiga, Master System, Game Gear,  SNES, PC, C64, GBA, DS and now PS3.  I have no idea how such an awkwardly quirky title got so much backing from publishers.  
               Like I said though, in the end it was still a pretty fun game.  It wasn't super easy and I definitely never beat the whole thing.  With 50 levels, it took a long time to go through.  In fact, I'm pretty sure it didn't have the option to save, so getting anywhere in this game would have been quite a feat.  

              With 50 levels there was quite a variety.  Each level had some different theme.  There was anything the developers could come up with really.  Pirates, candy, jello, circus, teddy bears, bubble baths..  Just the weirdest stuff.  There's even a level where you can fly inside of a bathtub, for some reason.  

             It's hard to sell this one.  I think if you never played it, you'd never understand why it was so great.  Heck, I'm having a hard time remembering why it was so great.  I just remember I had a ton of fun playing it, even if it felt like a big mish-mash of content.  And even if the best part was holding the button that extended your torso in the level select screen until you reached the very top, which took a very long time. 

DAY 65 / GAME 65 Metal Gear Solid

DAY 65 / GAME 65

Metal Gear Solid

           In 1998 Konami released an action-adventure stealth game that was quite unlike anything before it.  Metal Gear Solid, a 3D sequel to an NES title from a decade earlier; Was unique, innovative and made great use overall of the new 3D tech of the Playstation.  

          Yet another title that I basically watched more than I played.  Like Resident Evil 2 and FF7 this was a game my brother bought and so I mainly watched him play the majority of it all the way through.  It was fantastic.  It possibly the first game I'd ever seen that really strived to maintain a real cinematic look as often as possible.  The entire introduction did this so well; overlaying the credit sequence as you infiltrated the enemy base.  Credits including the director and voice actors, which were still titles typically overlooked at this point in gaming.
  

          Metal Gear was great.  It had a fantastic score like you'd expect out of a big budget Hollywood film.  Half decent voice acting at the time, although, still pretty corny.  And this really solid design to the gameplay.  Steath was totally doable and didn't feel cheap or reliant on the player knowing what the computer predicts.  There were all these neat elements to the AI that were supposed to make them seem smart.  They would track your footprints in the snow, or catch on to things like a trail of blood you left behind.  You could distract them, hunt them and capture them without killing anyone only to hide the bodies in lockers or dark corners and continue to make your way through the complex.  

       Metal Gear always had these ridiculously complex stories that always went way over my head.  I can't remember what on earth was actually going on in MGS1 or any of the other titles for that matter.  But it still seemed pretty cool.  It was full of intense characters that ended up being quite memorable.  I may not remember much about the plot, but I still remember Sniper Wolf, Psycho Mantis, Revolver Ocelot, Meryl, Hal and uh, the Ninja.  

           One of the best parts about Metal Gear Solid however was it's decision not to take itself too seriously.  It was a game after all.  And even though it was a serious stealth action with a serious plot, you still found yourself carrying a box which you could hide in at any point.  Approaching enemy soldiers may remark that it's 'just a box'.  There were part of the game that required you to break the fourth wall when it asks for a codec code from the back of the game case, a boss fight that reads the contents of your memory card and moves your controller using psychokinesis. 

         As much as I enjoyed the later games in the series.  This one was still my favorite.  There's a part in MGS4 for the PS3 where you revisit Shadow Moses and a rebuild of the first level from part 1.  You get an idea of how beautiful the could make Metal Gear Solid if they were to rebuild it in HD for the PS3, especially with the cleaned up controls.  Though I get a feeling that if they haven't done it yet, they don't ever plan to.

DAY 64 / GAME 64 Bioshock

DAY 64 / GAME 64

Bioshock

           Back when the Xbox 360 was first released there were a lot of new games coming out that really showcased a lot of new tech.  Bioshock published all these great trailers showing off their crazy engine and all it's fantastic water effects and I was super pumped by the time the game was finally released.

           I remember Bioshock had this really fantastic intro.  It was one of a few games where the introductory cinematic blends perfectly into the first bit of gameplay.  You find yourself bobbing up and down in the water, waiting for something to happen and then you realize that you're actually in control now.  The ability to render great looking water in a game never fails to impress me.  I remember the stock method for rendering water in the first generation of Unreal Engine was used quite a lot and I really enjoyed it each time.  Bioshock really took this to the next level and properly so being a game about living underwater.  They multilayered the textures perfectly so that there was a real appearance of variety in the flow of the water.

          But no matter how amazing this game looked.  How gorgeous the underwater city appeared when you looked out of the glass windows and how the real time lighting played on the structures within; all of that was just a shell to encompass this fantastic story and unique FPS design.  The whole plasmid+weapon design was fantastic.  Being able to combine an elemental attack with a gun meant more creative solutions to your usual FPS combat.  Firing electricity into a pool of water could mean shocking all within and using fire near oil or gas could start a blaze.  

       Just like it's sequels, Bioshock really struck a chord with me in a way only a few games do.  In Bioshock one key component to the story is what suck with me, this is where you find yourself rescuing or harvesting the 'little sisters'.  And of course, there was no way I could consider killing these little children; even if they were evil-ish.  Bioshock 2 may have focused on this whole story aspect even more, but it certainly started with this one.  The Little Sisters and their attachment to the hulking Big Daddies tossed a whole bunch of humanity to empathize with.  If you're careful, you notice the Big Daddies carefully helping the sisters out of vents and crawlspaces to roam the city and if in danger, they protect them and run them back to a vent to escape into.  The conflict emotionally of course is that the Daddies are a real obstacle in the game, but the moment you kill one and a little sister begins to morn over her friend and protector you realize it's not as black and white as you'd hoped.

           I'm going to stop here before I rant way too long about this game.  It's gorgeous, well written, well scored and well built.  And any game that works in that parent-child bond goes far with me.

 "A man chooses, a slave obeys.."

DAY 63 / GAME 63 Afterlife

DAY 63 / GAME 63

Afterlife

           Back in the prime of LucasArts you could pretty much just buy any title they offered and be guaranteed a quality game.  One of the many games I did purchase was this very unique title; Afterlife.  I had always liked the idea of Sim City, but never did get into it.  This however, had that extra little something that pushed me over the edge to go buy it.  

     Afterlife was a somewhat controversial game, which you'd think would mean more people have heard of it.  But I guess controversy over videogames was still small potatoes back in the mid-nineties.  I absolutely loved the concept.  Basically, it was Sim City, only instead of a city you were overlooking the creation of Heaven and Hell.  Of course, in order to avoid trouble with religious types, the people who were being sent to the afterlife weren't human, but instead called EMBOs; Ethically Mature Biological Organisms.

         The game was great though.  Not taking a serious tone, all the different 'punishments' and 'rewards' were pretty silly and disasters were even more ridiculous.  A Disco Inferno, where a giant demon dances on your structures destroying them.  Along with a Heaven Nose, Hell in a Handbasket, Hell Freezing Over and so on.  

         I was always terrible at sim games.  This was really no exception.  So the truth is, that I never really got to enjoy this game to it's full extent.  The whole thing was pretty complex, which is great when you're good at that kind of thing.  But for me, I had no idea what the heck I was doing.  There was all kinds of stats on how well you were doing either rewarding the SOULs of Heaven, or punishing the SOULs of Hell.  How well you do affects the tennants of the world below and what they decide to believe in.  Ten different theisms, of which believing the the actual system at work was the goal.  You had two helpers, which were two great personalities.  A helper for Heaven, the cheery Aria and a helper for Hell, the cruel but appropriately so Jasper.  They were nicely animated (if I remember correctly) and really made the game for me.  

Jasper and Aria

          This really was the kind of game that I wanted to enjoy a lot more than I did.  I love the idea behind it all and all the work that went into it.  The writing and art were both fantastic, if only it wasn't a sim game.  I'd almost like to see this game remade for current PC's, just to enjoy the art.  But the truth of the matter is that I still probably wouldn't be able to get any further in it now than I did almost 20 years ago.  Maybe they can just make a cartoon about Jasper and Aria.  I'd like that.

DAY 62 / GAME 62 Resident Evil 2

DAY 62 / GAME 62

Resident Evil 2

           This is another title that I didn't notice until they had made it to a sequel already. The PS1 had started to take off at this point and quite a few successful launch titles had already made sequels by the time we actually got a hold of a PS1 a year or two into it's release.  

            Resident Evil 2 was something special.  It was my introduction into a horror/sci-fi series that is still going strong (in my opinion) and truly brings a real sense of nostalgia.  The game just always felt like it was getting deeper as the mystery unraveled itself, as in most all RE titles.  Part 2 was one of my favorite resident evil games, next to RE:4 and yet, I've never completed this game on my own.  In fact, most of this game I've experienced just from watching my brother play through it.  I've seen pretty much the entire game, since my brother played this game multiple times in order to unlock all the special items.

              Resident Evil 2 featured great music, pre-rendered backgrounds which made for the appearance of fairly detailed levels at the time and two playable characters (not including the unlockable ones) which made for a great deal of replayability.  I remember spending a lot of time in the police station where you start and being amazed that the game kept going once you left that building.  Although it may actually have been a short section of the game, at the time it sure seemed like it took a while to solve all the puzzles and eventually discover access to the mystery below.  I was always happy when the other games took similar paths.  Most other games in the series started you in a small area like a mansion, a small outpost, a remote village and then revealed to you a giant evil laboratory, mysterious ruins, or well, most always a giant evil laboratory.

       Resident Evil 2 featured some of the classic characters we continue to see in the later games and movies and one of my favorite storylines.  It was great to see a remake of Resident Evil 1 along with the release of RE:0 for Gamecube, but deep down I've always just wanted a re-release of this title.  I know it's tough to port to HD and it's nice that they've done the same for Code Veronice and 4, but maybe one day the Capcom well will dry up and they'll put a team together to rebuild 0, 1 and 2.  Because I'm a sucker for HD re-releases.

DAY 61 / GAME 61 Assassin's Creed

DAY 61 / GAME 61

Assassin's Creed

           Assassin's Creed was another one of those few games that had sold me on the trailer alone.  What looked like some incredibly unique gameplay paired with music by UNKLE.  There was stuff in this trailer I'd never seen before.  Actually exciting medieval combat, rooftop parkour, horseriding and of course, hidden wrist blades.

          Assassin's Creed ended up being absolutely fantastic.  It made a smart move introducing you to the character in the beginning fully levelled up so you got a taste of what was to come if you made your way through the game.  This game was full of exciting discoveries.  The first time I realised I could really scale the tallest of buildings, the first time I tackled someone with the hidden blade and the first time I dove off a perch into a bale of hay.  

           There was so much about Assassin's Creed 1 that I found didn't quite carry over into the second game.  There was so much verticality that was lost when they went from the holy land to Italy.  (Not that it didn't feature some amazing architecture on it's own.)  The cities of AC1 had this terrific sense of layering; the bottom most levels, in the streets housed the merchants, peddlers, beggars and poor.  As you made your way up everything got clearer until eventually you found yourself above it all, looking down at your objective and across the land with near limitless draw distance.  One of those great things you saw so much of on the new generation of consoles which were fairly new at the time.  Still one of my all time favorite things to do in any game is to get as high as you can to see as far as you can.  

           Back when Splinter Cell Conviction was first announced, they released a video and some stills of Sam Fisher blending into a crowd and basically doing his thing in plain sight.  This title was eventually shelved and reworked shortly after they were about to release Assassin's Creed.  Funny enough, Altair's whole 'blending' and daylight crowd assassination mechanic felt very familiar.  I've always wondered if Ubisoft felt they were too similar to release so close to one another, or while shelving SC:C they wanted to salvage that mechanic and use it in another game.  Either way both games ended up great.  

           Assassin's Creed was another one of these open-world games that was super enjoyable for more than just it's core gameplay.  The whole travel and discovery component was almost as much fun, if not more, than the primary goal of the storyline.  Discovering all the highest points in the cities and finding all the hidden bits and pieces was a whole game in and of itself.  Almost a modernization of Prince of Persia and Thief, this game really stood on it's own.  It's no wonder they've managed to pull it into 4 primary games with more than 2 side games.  It's only a wonder that I've only played the first two.

DAY 60 / GAME 60 Star Wars: Rebel Assault

DAY 60 / GAME 60

Star Wars:  Rebel Assault

           I'm not sure I've ever so eagerly awaited a game as much as this one.  I can't remember where I first saw it.  It may have been my uncle's copy on the Sega CD, but either way I had seen so much as the Beggar's Canyon run and my mind was blown.  I remember as a present from my now late grandmother I got some money to purchase a cd-rom for my PC.  This was super exciting, but I really only wanted one for a single purpose; Rebel Assault.

               Rebel Assault was a unique game, using a variety of still and video captures from the Star Wars movies as well as a ton of new pre-rendered video.  It was essentially an on-rails shooter where you navigated pre-rendered paths.  The levels pulled some of the best sequences from A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back, including levels on Tatooine, Hoth and the Death Star.  I remember as a kid, being stuck as summer camp after having just bought this game.  Every crevice and crack in the ground I pictured as Beggar's Canyon and imagined myself in a T-16 flying through over and over.

             It's unfortunate that unlike most games I've talked about so far this one does not age well.  The full motion video was highly compressed and although some of the sequences seemed innovative at the time they seem somewhat silly now.  There's a cutscene or two where an Imperial Officer is talking to Darth Vader; the whole thing is just a still with video for just the lips.  And if you're playing on PC, the video plays back based on clock speed.  So when I went pack to play this after a few upgrades the game played back so fast you died almost immediately.  

          It was great at the time though.  This was one of the first games where I felt like I was flying some of the great ships of Star Wars and taking part in the fantastic battles of the films.  It had a ton of music from the movies and all the sound effects of course.  I remember I needed to upgrade my computer to play it.  More than just the cd-rom, I need to go from 512k to 4mb of ram or else it wouldn't play with sound.  A whole 4mb!