My Top 5 Games of All time - Part 4

This is basically a list of my top 5 games that I have played in my entire lifetime that I will be presenting in 5 parts with each part containing each game. Obviously they are my own personal choices but I would urge any avid gamer that hasn't played these games before to give them a go, with that said lets continue.

4. Tomb Raider 2 (for PlayStation)

Original Game Case

Now don't get me wrong, I love the whole tomb raider franchise, even when it got a bit wobbly on PS2. But this tomb raider was my favourite, still is, and that includes the most recent prequel that I recently played on my Xbox. It was just something special, some people may argue that the first has to be the classic but not for me, my love for tomb raider never really began till I played this epic game. The first I didn't enjoy that much, only enough to give the second instalment a punt and how glad I am that I made that decision.

 Now of course this game followed on from the first, so to speak, and it also was very similar in game play to the first bar a few new moves and slightly improved graphics. Despite all of that for me it was far superior, it is very hard to explain but let me try and indulge a little bit more although what you read may run very close to the first game if you have played it. Saying that if you have played the first and not the second then do so and you may see were I'm coming from. Anyway.......


The premise of this particular Tomb Raider, in short...... very short, was the hunt for a dagger which if plunged into the heart of its owner would turn them into a dragon. Just your typical mythical/paranormal classic Tomb Raider plot. There were many weapons, enemies and locations for your enjoyment. If you are not familiar with Tomb Raider it basically revolves around Lara Croft ( pointless info alert! who I named my dog after) who is a, well...., tomb raider. This entails going on epic but very dangerous adventures to uncover the truth about mythical tales.

Thats a nice house.

Keep going,  tick tock.

From the get go I was enchanted by the experience I was offered here from the fact you could explore Lara's whole mansion which offered many avenues to explore plus a timed obstacle course to practise your skills on to a pool to have a leisurely dip in if you so pleased plus many more rooms and secrets to uncover and this was all before you even started the main story. Plus a butler who followed you around the whole house with whom I took great pleasure messing with.

Now I don't remember much of the very first tomb raider but I'm pretty sure this game also offered this option but somehow the second game just had something extra to it for me, something that just made me love it straight away and want to keep playing over and over again. That includes the main story not just the sandbox style mansion.

Made it to the top, whats next.

From the moment I started the main story and was dropped into some area at the bottom of the great wall of china by helicopter, had to fight a tiger then make my way to the top where you find a room that moves you through a hallway with a very Indiana Jones theme where you have to get through many traps (one of which did include a rolling boulder in a long narrow corridor) I was hooked. Now I died alot trying to just get pass this first phase of the game but for me it just spurred me on even more to keep going and see what else I could conquer and I wasn't disappointed.

Is it cold or is it just me.

The game itself had many exotic locations to travel to, each one being the next level of the game with secrets to uncover, puzzles to solve and many strange beings to put down which included bog standard 'bad guys' , wild animals and mythical creatures and they were all very exciting additions to the quite obvious puzzle platformer that the game, at its very core, was and still is. Climbing and and solving puzzles was the name of the game and a real sense of achievement was always ready to be had, as all tomb raider games have if you haven't had the pleasure.

Ok im scared.

One of the most memorable and exciting, if on the flip side, intense and at times scary was the undersea level. You dived to the bottom of the ocean with a submersive device to an overturned sunken ship which you had to get into before you were eaten by a scary shark. I failed many times just from the sheer fact that I was so jumpy at the fact I  had this predator chasing me that at times I didn't even see, it was all totally exhilarating and just elevated it from some video game to a great experience I was having with emotions taking over.

Lock and Load.

All the way through the game there were many 'toys' to be had, by toys I am of course referring to the many weapons that could be collected in the game. These ranged from your iconic pistols to an M16 and a Grenade launcher, all used to dispose of imminent threats. On top of that the game added flares which you could pop and hold for extra light if it was so required.

On top of the exotic locations, weapons, enemies and the intense emotion drawn from me as I played, there was also two vehicles to use on particular levels. One of the levels was in Venice and you had to solve a puzzle with the use of a boat to get to the next area to explore. It just added a new depth to the game that I really didn't expect. To be honest I don't remember the exact details of the other jus
t that it was a snowmobile, but I do remember it was very fun to use.





The game, as do all Tomb Raiders, escalated quickly from simple explanations to finally having the serious consideration of maybe calling the ghostbusters as backup at times (I mean you fought a dragon near the end..... yes, a dragon) but that was the beauty of the progression of the story. It was never boring, never linear and always intriguing and engaging. Granted most Tomb Raiders will give you a similar experience but for me this was the best by far and for the story, the locations and game play it still ranks in my top 5 games of all time. So if you like tomb raider but were late to the party or you have never gave it a go I implore you to begin with Tomb Raider 2, it really was the original classic and always will be for me.

Have fun finding that dagger.

My Top 5 Games of All time - Part 3

This is basically a list of my top 5 games that I have played in my entire lifetime that I will be presenting in 5 parts with each part containing each game. Obviously they are my own personal choices but I would urge any avid gamer that hasn't played these games before to give them a go, with that said lets continue.

3. Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee (for PlayStation)

Case cover

Now with this one, like part 2, I must admit it may be an obvious choice again for the fact its a generation classic (in my opinion anyway). At heart it was a simple Puzzle/action side scrolling platformer at first glance, but once you picked it up and saw the many features within the game it became clear it was much more than the simple game it so could have easily been, for me anyway.

I loved this game, although I must admit at times it was hard and I got stuck a good few times, but bearing in mind I was fairly young at the time and I think anyone who has played this game would admit the first time playing through it can be tough at times.

But with that said it never makes the game any less enjoyable, if anything it just made me more determined to get through it and keep going. The game was set in Rupture Farms, a massive meat factory, you are a slave and so are 100 people from your race.

Hello there

The side scrolling was very old school but had an amazing mechanic at times which made it feel like it was flowing to another area rather than loading, but not always. Sometimes you'd move out of the box area and the new area would just pop up with you in the next section but other times, and very nicely done at times, the camera would pan round to a new area or even have you moving into the background from the foregrounding letting you move in the distance.Also enemies would be in the background and you would have to get by them in the foreground, all very cool at the time for a simple side scroller.

Ummmm

The game itself had alot of features to take it away from the humdrum of jump move repeat. For starters puzzles are a massive part of the game but no typical push here open that, they were much more lateral and trial and error was very much a friend of mine here. Also there is an absolutely brilliant and very fun mechanic at the very soul of the game which is chanting. Chanting (or channelling if you prefer) lets you control certain enemies within the areas you come across allowing you to dispose of them or use them to get rid of obstacles or other enemies within that area or another.

You wouldn't always have to destroy or kill to progress, other times sneaking or just running because your life literally did depend on it was called for and when you died that was it, no health bar, no continue from the exact spot you died, you would be set to the start of that area at times having to repeat all over again but this was never a chore for me.

Press what now..

Follow me

The chanting wasn't the only thing you could do either, there were many other button prompts from simple emotions to communicating between enemies you had control of to progress or even talking to other prisoners. Also very cleverly there were interactions with objects in the game such as rocks, bombs, to throw to eliminate obstacles or distract enemies, also panels to give information or clues in the game. Want to fart? go right ahead. As I mentioned briefly at the beginning from the description of the game you and 100 of your people are slaves and this was another huge and consequential part of the game itself. You had to rescue as many of them as you could with the number you save ultimately affecting the very ending sequence of the game.

Boom

The story itself was very intriguing. It took you from being a slave in a meat factory to getting out to temples your very ancestors built, sending you on a soul searching quest to gain power ups to help you progress further in the game and go back to the factory with more knowledge and experience to save your own kind from the very cruel fate that yourself was once a part of. You can even ride mounts at times and with much to figure out it and overcome.


To conclude, for me, the game was just so easy to pick up and forget that I had clearly spent a few hours just getting through a few areas slowly but very fun and gratifyingly sure. It was a brilliant game my very being loved to play, it was hauntingly beautiful and the story with its very good humour just all made up a game that I found very hard to put down. All this without going into to too much detail that they made a second to enjoy just as much as the first called Abe's Exoddus and it was just as epic, more of the same with some new small features.

Not only that but it has been confirmed for an HD remake, as of last year, on Xbox live marketplace but no release date yet. One thing I can say for sure though is that when it is finally released I will happily spend my hard earned money to once again play through an outstanding game that I'm almost certain I will have forgotten how to complete and progress through the difficult parts again, but as I struggle and retry once more I will do it with a massive grin all the while.

Two thumbs up

 

My Top 5 Games of All time - Part 2

This is basically a list of my top 5 games that I have played in my entire lifetime that I will be presenting in 5 parts with each part containing each game. Obviously they are my own personal choices but I would urge any avid gamer that hasn't played these games before to give them a go, with that said lets continue.

2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (for N64)

press start for fun

I guess I should start by saying this is probably a classic for allot of people, almost a really obvious choice for alot of ultimate game countdowns due to how groundbreaking the game really was at the time and just how awesome it was and still is for some people, me included. A great game for a generation of gamers and now widely available on many formats including 3DS but for me it was more than just a game.

For me it was an experience, one that when it ended inevitably at the time I was almost upset.  I remember buying the game as a young boy not knowing anything about it, simply taking the word of the cashier who advised me to buy it and how glad I was I decided to take their advice.

Kokiri village.

Basically you are a young boy named Link who comes to find out he was adopted into a village of people called the Kokiri. Each of the Kokiri have a guardian fairy as such which obviously you do not posses, until the Great Deku Tree sends a fairy called Navi to summon you to speak with him then eventually help you on an epic quest that he sends you on to save the land of Hyrule, which of course is the land the whole game is set in. This is how you require your cool but at times very annoying fairy friend. (In no way does Navi constantly shouting in your ear every five minutes ever make the game any less enjoyable, far from it).


At heart the game is a wonderful action/RPG with collecting items to overcome bosses and obstacles to keep the game rolling forward and opening more of the land as you collect and fight your way through many foes and new and exciting areas. Now at the time, for me anyway, open world games were somewhat linear, single path, smoke and mirrored affairs and when this magical game came to rest in my faithful Nintendo I had never experienced its like before. It was vast, rich, free roaming and so exciting I was sucked in instantly.

Dungeons are the main concept of this game and going through them are a real treat, finding chests with maps, compasses to show more chest locations which then inevitably bring you to a boss key and some new shiny item to defeat the boss for that dungeon and also serve as a new tool to collect items or reach locations that were unreachable before and that's just for starters.

Hyrule castle, lovely.

How many kilos?

There is also many towns and locations to explore all with fun and vibrant characters (some creepy and somewhat scary too I may add) and it doesn't stop there. They also include side missions as such, little things to be done to collect more heart containers (Your health bar, the more you have the more punishment you can take) and there are secret fairy locations to uncover which will give you powerful magic to use and increase your magic bar (obviously the bigger you have the more magic you can shove right in your enemies faces). On top of the side missions there are also some very cool little mini games to collect more heart containers or some extra rupees (the games currency) such as fishing and many game shops like archery practise or treasure hunting to name a few. It all adds to the whole experience creating a massive feeling of a living breathing world that you will come to love.

Fast Travel? Whats that..

Time is also a very cool feature in the game and of course so is your magic ocarina, both tied together beautifully. The ocarina is used as a tool to learn songs which hold power in the game, some simply create rainstorms others open new paths or it is even just used to beckon a mount. The mount is a horse called Epona which is given to you to get across the vast land more quickly, another feature that when the game hints at the very prospect, I personally got a little excited.

Rock Star

With this feature explained it brings me to the time aspect of the game which ties in so well with the latter. You see you start off as a boy but without any spoilers, as such, you inevitably become an adult due to an event in the world and with that you will eventually learn a song that will let you travel back and forth in time from being young to an adult again where the world is very different. With this you can do many cool things like plant seeds, water them with your ocarina with a certain song then go back as an adult to find a bean sprout that will take you to a hidden item you can then collect and that is just one thing you can do with this amazing feature of the game. You will also have to use it at times to progress through the story and for me it was just an amazing aspect.

There are swords, shields, items, many different races and locations all to be found, explored and enjoyed.
Overall it was more than a game, it was a childhood memory and one that I cherish and re-played countless times and why not. With the game being accessible in many formats such as handheld on 3DS or from your Wii marketplace there was no reason not to take a trip down memory lane and even though the game is from an era gone by and some may even say outdated, for me it still surpasses allot of these so called epic next gen titles that, in vain, try so hard to recapture the very essence of what made this game so great.

Epic, classic. Yes.

My Top 5 Games of All time - Part 1

This is basically a list of my top 5 games that I have played in my entire lifetime that I will be presenting in 5 parts with each part containing each game. Obviously they are my own personal choices but I would urge any avid gamer that hasn't played these games before to give them a go, with that said lets begin.

1. Shenmue (for Dreamcast)

Original dreamcast game case cover

Lets go.

For me Shenmue is my ultimate favourite game, the outline of the game was that of a detective/action/role playing one. Your name is Ryo and your dad was murdered before your very eyes and you took it upon yourself to personally find the man who did it and seek revenge. Fairly simple at first but as the game unravels the story goes far deeper than you had ever thought with a secret relic mirror holding some sort of power at the centre of he hows and whys of what happened that day.

 As you begin you will realise as I did that this is no simple game, it was in production for many years and alot of time was spent to pull you straight into this world without hesitation. You have a set amount of time during the day of which you must use to venture forward into this rich world and seek clues and leads which inevitably take you further through the environment and open up a huge playground in which it almost seems impossible, for a game of its time, to the possibilities of just what you can interact with through the game.

Gotta catch em all.

Interaction and exploration are a huge part of the game, vending machines, shops, arcades, all of which with a little pocket money each day from your mother you can spend in all these things and some more and that's not even part of the main story. You can collect toys if you so wish to do so or you could go explore your house or the village it towers above. The possibilities are amazing and the environment can be explored in all its glory. One of the really cool features is that the date and time move fluently as you play the game and as the seasons pass so does the world your in. Christmas time is very cool indeed.

Sit down.

When you do start moving along the storyline, even more rich does the game become, the action side of the game starts to pop in with fight scenarios where you use your kung fu skills your dad kindly passed down to you. The fighting is very satisfying and the role playing element also comes into play with levelling up your fighting skills as you progress so you can get more bad ass than you already clearly are.

That easy huh?

Along the way you will meet characters that have not much to say or have useful information, any of which is logged into your journal for you to use your keen sense to unravel and figure out where you're headed to next and who to speak to. Sometimes you will even encounter special folks who have new
more powerful fighting moves for you to learn, and when you get them down, as some are difficult to master, you just feel like your living this life.

Don't miss.

Another exiting aspect of the game at the time was the use of quick time events, now bear in mind this was at a time when they were very rare, non existent even, not like today were almost every game has them in some form or another. It was really groundbreaking stuff and massively boosted the excitement of the whole experience.



The experience is fantastic, there's so much to keep you coming back time and time again to this engrossing world and the storyline is huge, the game comes with 4 discs its so rich and you are never left wanting.

Working 9 till 5.

There is even a section of the game where you will have to get a job to progress the story and once you have it you have to do it too, it sounds tedious but is far from it and just adds more depth to an already deep game.

Overall it is the single most spectacular gaming experience I have had and I very much doubt i will ever forget it and that is even without mentioning the fact there was a Shenmue 2 just as good, if not better than the first. The only downside being the story does end on a cliffhanger in the second instalment and no shenmue 3 was ever made, (rumours are rife of this happening but nothing solid, also shenmue hd and shenmue 2 hd may be coming to xbox live arcade and the psn network but still no confirmation but i will cover this in another topic soon) despite that its an amazing game and anyone who hasn't had the pleasure, buy an old dreamcast, get a copy of the game and prepare for your mind to be blown.

Enjoy!

So it begins, the reason why.

So I'm sitting in front of my laptop at 3:15am scratching my head hoping to somehow get my fingers into my brain in the desperation that it might help me understand how this whole blogging thing works (never mind the writing - relevance level high later). Now don't get me wrong I am no technophobe, far from it, but somehow this seems past my thinking capacity. So why do it then I may hear you ask, (or its the onset of acute madness, which my girlfriend would tell you is far from acute) well let me briefly explain.

I have only had one constant passion until recently and that was gaming, all types of gaming from a very young age all the way up to my now ripe old age of 28. Its always been a great release no matter what purpose it used for and it can vary wildly from just because its so fun, the competitive nature that is now brought from online gaming to simply just being unwilling to be defeated by those very difficult, non saveable non checkpoint auto save every five minutes culture we now live in I may add, games of old. Recently although I have ignited a new passion, one that I do not know if I either require the skill or patience for which is writing.

Now I suffer from massive illusions of grandeur and great intentions but things don't always keep rolling like the massive steam train I had hoped so when I discovered this passion I prepared myself to write an epic novel, one that would be loved by anyone who even came into the slightest contact of its presence but inevitably I lost patience, gave up and the whole idea came crashing down around me like so many before it.

I recently told my girlfriend of this silly idea I once had and to my credit I do have an idea for a novel and did write the beginning, basic plot and a few other things down at the very start of the flashing light that was my great idea at the time and to my surprise she liked it. Not only that she supports the idea, one that unlike many other ideas or notions I have had always seems to creep up and reignite without any real conviction but my girlfriend had an idea all of her own to somehow stop the niggling that haunts me when it comes knocking.

Her idea was to start blogging, just write on a weekly (daily, fortnightly, monthly...who knows for sure) basis something small to see if I could and also if it would help so I have finally decided to indeed do just that, I mean why not I thought so here I am. So what shall I blog about? With that thought then came the notion, why not blog about another small passion of becoming a writer in a gaming magazine so that's what the premise shall be about, gaming past and present.

Now don't be fooled by the title I am very much still a gamer, I just have other, healthy interests and gaming isn't the all consuming time warp it once was for me but with almost 23 years of gaming experience (and counting) I'm sure I'll have a topic or three to post and the juices will very much be proverbially flowing so please I appeal to your curiosity. If you like gaming, or have some knowledge in writing come back and check my posts from time to time, you may find something good to read or have some constructive ( I use that word very loosely) criticism to give and I would very much appreciate it. Hopefully it will be the start and continues joys of a passion that just seems to want to burst from my very existence