Chapter 2: 88-78

Road Blasters
[Atari Games - Arcade - 1987]

There really hasn't been a decent home version of this game until Midway's Arcade Treasures, so for the sake of arguement, I'm sticking with the arcade version. The best way to describe this game is Spy Hunter with a new prespective, and set in the future. It's not a complex game, but then again, what arcade game is. Fun in it's own right, and a definite arcade classic.

Tetris Attack
[Nintendo - Super NES - 1996]

Lord, I had an unhealthy addiction to this game when I bought it in the summer of 96 (of course, on the day I bought it, there was a HUGE blackout in southern California). Tetris Attack was a puzzle game that got better with each play, as you figured out how to create better combos and chains. The Endless mode was pretty much the heart of the game, where you just keep playing until you crap out. Of course, that could take damn-near a half-hour. Then there's the stage, puzzle and VS. mode. It was a fully-loaded puzzler. They part that sucks though, is that there was no battery backup to save scores or progress. Hopefully, Nintendo will release the Puzzle Collection in the states, which includes this game, but in the name of Panel De Pon.

Ikaruga
[Atari - Nintendo Gamecube - 2003]

We should thank Atari (Infogrames) for even bringing this title to the US. What started out as a cult arcade hit in Japan, ended up being ported to the Dreamcast in Japan, and then later to the Gamecube. While this may be the only scrolling arcade shooter the Gamecube will see, thank god it's a good one. Ikaruga is a game that requires the skills to pay the bills, you need to know when to switch from black to white to keep the chain going. Ikaruga is also a very tough shooter. While it's not long, it's the hardest 5 stages anyone will ever go through, with showers of bullets and lasers ready to split your ship in two. Ikaruga is also an imprtant release, because it tells the industry that arcade shooters are far from dead.

Burnout
[Acclaim - PS2/Cube/Xbox - 2001/2002]

With the simulation-like racers on the rise, pure arcade racers seem to be a dying breed. But Criterion Games changed that with one car wreck after another with Burnout. While not the most original game, Burnout's big draw was the excessive glorification of automobile accidents. It's physics and controls were tight, as well, providing nothing but pure racing satisfaction. While the game did come up a little short on longevity, I sure did squeeze every drop the game had to offer.

Halo
[Microsoft - Xbox - 2001]

While Halo doesn't really change the whole concept of FPS games, it does refine the genre. The title that made the Xbox, literally, Halo is a well crafted FPS that offers some strategy with it' mindless gunplay. Not since GoldenEye have we seen a FPS this good or this praised. I wish the vehicle controls were better implemented, but this is still great for one player or a group of four.

Excitebike
[Nintendo - NES - 1986]

While this game is very archaic today, when copared to such entries as Freekstyle and MTX Mototrax, there's still a fun charm about the game. It's fun to take on those jumps against opponents, and create your own dirt courses, but there was also that bit of strategy of not pushing your dirtbike to overheating.

Super Monkey Ball
[Sega - Nintendo Gamecube - 2001]

As one of the launch titles for the Gamecube system, Monkey Ball may have emerged as one of those games you never knew you wanted. With over 60 insanely difficult stages to play through, and a great multiplayer mode to boot, this game really knew how to show it's longevity.

Tony Hawk's Underground
[Activision - PS2/Cube/Xbox - 2003]

While this game is still relatively new, this entry can really apply to the entire THPS series, as it was hard to pick just one. Underground does stand out as the best, though, as it provides a very rich and in-depth experience to what is usually a pretty shallow genre in some cases. For the series, it's hard not to give recognition to it, as for not this game, we wouldn't have other extreme sports entries, such as BMX, inline skating, surfing and so forth. The THPS series really established the extreme sports genre.

Mortal Kombat II
[Acclaim - Super NES - 1994]

What a difference a year makes. After seeing how many more copies of the original MK sold on the Genesis due to the inclusion of blood and gore, this really made Nintendo re-examine it's stance on what content should be allowed in games. By some sort of miracle, the Super NES port of MK II had all of the glorious blood and gore the arcade version had. Not only that, the Super NES version of MK II turned out to be the best and most faithful version of the arcade game. After MKII, we really have yet to see a great MK game, up until Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance in 2002. If it weren't for the inclusion of the graphic violence in the Super NES version of MKII, Nintendo would have lost the console race long ago.

Soul Calibur II
[Namco - Nintendo Gamecube - 2003]

Going from one fighting game to another, we now are at SCII. But why the GC version? Weren't all versions of SCII the same? Not really, as each version of SCII had a special character. The GC version had the best one, by having Link as one of the fighters. But despite the special character, SCII is one of the most polished and elegant games there are. While it doesn't share the same complex designs of other fighting games, the level of class this game has makes up for it. Plus, it has a pretty good story mode.

Sonic The Hedgehog
[Sega - Genesis - 1991]

Sonic was Sega's answer to Nintendo's own Mario franchise, and it paid off for them pretty well. Sonic The Hedgehog really made me want to own a Genesis back in the day, but it was really one of the only Genesis games I liked out of the whole lineup. Sonic was a different type of platformer from the Mario series. Each stage had at least one extra path, so each time you play, you can try a new route. Plus, there were some skills in that game that were different from the Mario games, such as rolling in a ball to break through walls at a high speed. The only thing I don't like about this game is it's soundtrack, I just don't think it's as memorable as Sonic 2's.

Take Me To Chapter 3, #77-67

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