[Cyke]

My favorite games:

05. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (XBOX) - I dislike Star Wars very much. I don't like any of the movies, and I find the franchise to be a complete waste. I believed the Star Wars theme and world had potential, but it wasn't being exploited thanks to the limited mind of George Lucas. However, BioWare's deep, open-ended RPG is so damn good, it made me buy and immensely enjoy something with the Star Wars name on it. That's achievement enough, but the Canadian developer was able to make a game with all its elements so cohesively melt together, that it made better use of a license than even its movie originals have failed to take advantage of. I true gem.

04. Final Fantasy X (PS2) - The best RPG I've ever played. No Chrono Trigger, no Dragon Warrior, no Final Fantasy VI... X is where it's at. With an open-ended, rewarding leveling up system in the form of the "sphere grid," a story tighter than its predecessors carried by realistically-developed characters, a fun battle system that encourages the use of all your party members in every battle, and a truckload of secrets and side quests to keep anyone hooked for endless weeks, this is one game that gets everything right. As of now, I've clocked over 220 hours in the game, and I haven't leveled up everyone to its limit, or gotten through all the side events. A massive quest worth every penny, which explains why it's the first FF game with a true sequel.

03. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (GCN) - While the game had some problems the original version did not have, it did add improved cut scenes to what were already the industry's best. A remake of one of the best games ever made, its own little quirks and everything from the original make it worthy of the third spot.

02. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2) - A sequel that improved on the gameplay and interaction of the original, MGS2 introduced more ways to sneak up and take out enemy guards, a more unpredictable and better-trained A.I., excellent boss battles, and a truckload of Easter eggs that would take several play throughs to see them all. The addition of dog tag collecting and a password to submit your score on KCEJ's website added a competitive edge to the series. The story was less widely accepted, as it took a different approach from the original, but I still had a lot of fun with it.

01. Metal Gear Solid (PS) - The best there is. I didn't know what games were truly capable of until I played MGS on my PlayStation. No other game before or after it has ever grabbed me by the throat and immersed me in such a deep, engaging way. Saying that I am addicted to it would be an understatement. I've played the game nearly every year since its '98 release, and that's not counting Twin Snakes. With the true evolution of stealth gaming, the successful marriage of the magic of movies and video games, accessible yet deep gameplay, a mostly optional sense of humor, an enviable cast of characters, and a replay value so high and long-lasting that would make anyone quit (or forget) smoking, make Metal Gear Solid the best game ever, in my book. Hideo Kojima is a fucking genius.


My most disappointing games (Not in order):

Street Fighter: The Movie (PS) - This is a game based on a crappy movie based on a flawless game. I was too young to care about the ridiculous concept Capcom had cooked up, so I was able to truly enjoy the arcade version. Many people say that it's the bad apple of the SF series, but I really liked it. However, when my dad returned from the US with my highly anticipated home version of the game, my heart was nearly coming out of my mouth. I rushed to my PlayStation, put the disc in, watched the cool opening scenes from the bad movie, picked Guile, and proceeded to stare in terror as the cool life-like sprites of the original were turned into horrible magazine cut-outs, the backgrounds were drastically downgraded, and the action suffered from incredible slowdown, crappy animation and slow-paced fighting. A HUGE disappointment.

Halo (XBOX) - Now... this isn't Bungie's or Microsoft's fault. Bungie made a solid PC FPS with a cool sci-fi theme to it that was later bought my Microsoft and taken to their 'BOX. This game would've become a solid launch title that was a good reason to get the system... but fanboys, reviewers and industry analysts inexplicably pissed their pants and labelled Halo as the end-all-be-all of gaming. I can't believe for the life of me that so many people were so impressed with Halo. While the game is a solid FPS thanks to its then-excellent graphics, solid A.I. and spot-on controls, it offered nothing that an older FPS didn't deliver in a much better package, that is... one lacking the repetitive level design, limited weaponry and childish character and alien design of Bungie's FPS. Cooperative play can be addictive indeed, but multiplayer alone, which wasn't that innovative of a concept even at the time, isn't enough to congratulate and award the game 10/10s and praise reminiscent of religion. My only question is, what were people smoking?

Super Mario Sunshine (GCN) - This is probably the best example of why I recovered from Nintendo's mind control that began at early childhood. Every Mario game, from Super Mario Bros. to Super Mario 64 has been an evolution and revolution of the platform genre. The series, up until that point, guaranteed the best of quality, unequal to any other of the same genre... but then the sun came out. With Super Mario Sunshine, developers tried to capture the magic of Super Mario 64, and while they did improve on the graphics and mobility of the character, Nintendo decided the concept of good and varied level design was just overrated, so Nintendo's janitor, descendant of Jumpman, took over said department... and as a result, we were left with a Mario that couldn't truly exploit his moves in a fun way for such a boring environment. An average platformer at best, a slap in the face to Mario fans at worst. Even Shigeru Miyamoto expressed his disappointment with the game... so hopefully Mario 128, if it ever comes out, will grace us once again with the Mario quality that's been missing since 1996.

Enter the Matrix (Multi) - Ugh! Ouch! Ay! Ow!... playing Atari's awful game was like Mike Tyson kicking my ass in a bar after he saw me groping his girl... now, I haven't been punched in the face by Mike, but I don't think it hurts as bad as playing Enter the Matrix. Excessively repetitive level design to the point of "Did anyone test this game?," to law-defying vehicle physics and incredibly bland graphics, this title was a low blow to us Matrix fans. Not only because it was a crappy game, but because we were all forced to buy it just so we could own the exclusive footage. That's like not eating in ten days, and then an Atari rep gives you a nice cheeseburger, but before you can eat it he takes a shit on it. Luckily, WB is forcing ATARI to get its act together by controlling royalties if ATARI games based on WB franchises don't get a score higher than an average 70% in game review sites. WB, I love you and would have your children if I had a vagina.

The reason old school games aren't included is because they didn't reach the top of greatness or level of disappointment of the above titles.