Chapter 1: 99-89

Rallisport Challenge
[Microsoft - Xbox - 2002]

Starting the countdown is the very gorgeous Rallisport Challenge, which not only turns out to be one of the true showpieces for the Xbox, but also a very good rally racer. It's not as technical as the Colin McRae series, but that's part of the fun of RSC. It's realistic without being too technical. Out of many rally racers I've played (and even suffered through), this one emerges as the best.

Super Mario Sunshine
[Nintendo - Gamecube - 2002]

Although Sunshine has done pretty well critically, gamers themselves have had mixed feelings about this game. Yes, it's a lot like Super Mario 64, and you would even be right in making the assesment that this is Mario 64 with a water cannon. But the gameplay and even location consistency is what made this game appear on the list. When I first played this game, it felt like the good old Mario 64 days, and it was great to relive that feeling again. Then Nintendo really goes old school on our asses with the secret stages, which is good enough to be a game on their own.

You Don't Know Jack Mock 2
[Sierra - PlayStation - 2000]

Hands down, this is the funniest video game series, period. Be it on the PC or the PS1, the You Don't Know Jack games have always shown a strength in it's writing, acting and irrevrence. While much credit needs to be given to the PC series, this paticular installment (which I found market down at Target a few years back) was what got me hooked on the series. Sure, there's not much too look at, and after some time the questions will repeat, but it makes a hell of a multiplayer game and a great way to entertain yourself, friends and family.

Um Jammer Lammy
[Sony Computer Entertainment - PlayStation - 1999]

Although PaRappa The Rapper came first from the developers of Lammy, this game is actually better due in part that you try to synch yourself to a guitar rather than words. Insane and well, insane describes the look and presentation of this game entirely. Each song is stranger than the next, and the characters you come across are even stranger. A vomiting catepillar? A bi-polar pilot? You'll find that here. Although the game isn't that long, it's a challenging one that will test your reflexes and brain capacity.

HyperZone
[HAL Labratory - Super NES - 1991]

Why is HyperZone on the list, you may ask? While it's not a technically brilliant piece of entertainment, it is a pretty fun and solid shooter. Before HAL Labratory was absorbed by Nintendo to make Kirby games and the Smash Bros. franchise, they HyperZone, a game that looks like F-Zero, except with a mirrored track on the celing, and you shoot crap instead of race. It's a personal classic to me, and that's why it's on the list.

Faceball 2000
[Bullet Proof Software - Game Boy/Super NES - 1991/1992]

Many people credit GoldenEye, or even Doom for pioneering the current day first-person shooters, but not many people credit Faceball 2000, practically the first console and handheld deathmatch shooter. While primitive by today's standards, FB2000 still has the trappings of a great deathmatch shooter: plenty of maps, plenty of places to run, plenty of things to kill. The Gameboy version is even more of a marvel, seeing how this was the first and only real FPS to appear on the system, and it wouldn't be another 10 years until we would see a FPS on the GBA.

Kirby's Dream Course
[Nintendo - Super NES - 1995]

Perhaps one of the strangest marriages between a license and a concept, Kirby's Dream Course is set in Kirby's world, in which to complete a course, you would need to clear the enemies minature-golf style. Okay, I made it sound complicated, but this is a fun, inventive and challenging game. If you ever come across this title, give it a shot, it's a unique and interesting game.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance
[Konami - Xbox and PlayStation 2 - 2002]

MGS2: Substance managed to capture my attention a lot more than the previous MGS, due in part to better gameplay mechanics and a complex story full of twists, lies, deception and tragedy. MGS 2 refuses the concept of easy resolutions and happy endings, and replaces them with "why did they do that?" scenarios. The only other game that rivals this complex and twisted storyline is Konami's own Silent Hill series. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, here.

Forsaken 64
[Acclaim - Nintendo 64 - 1998]

Acclaim actually produced some great games for the N64, including the Turok series, Extreme G and this, Forsaken 64. This version of Forsaken stands out a little better than the PS1 version, due in part of it's progressive and selectable level paths, tighter controls, better multiplayer support and the abillity to save (the PS1 version had a password function). Sure, it may seem like a Descent clone, but a very well crafted one at that. Too bad Acclaim never pursued a sequel.

Blazing Star
[Yumekobo - Neo Geo - 1998]

Blazing Star is the best side-scrolling shooter I've played on the Neo Geo platform, and one of the best shooters I've played. It also pushes the NG hardware pretty hard with some cool 3-D backgrounds, and a great use of 3-D rendered sprites. This may be a tough game to find, though, in cartridge form or in arcades. Of course, there's other means of playing this game, but I ain't telling, I think you may already know what I'm getting at. At any cost, Blazing Star is worth checking out, and it would be a great game to see ported on the GBA (if it can handle it).

Mega Man X3
[Capcom - Super NES - 1996]

While this entry in the Mega Man series doesn't revolutionize the genre or even change what's been done in the series, it's still a solid and challenging game. This would be the last Mega Man game to not only appear on the Super NES, but on any Nintendo platform until Mega Man 64 five years later.

Take Me To Chapter 2, #88-78

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