15. House of the Dead II
Type: Shooter
Platform(s): Arcade, Dreamcast
The first of 15 games chosen will no doubt recall many fond memories for the members of the Revolution. Indeed, we spent countless hours (and subsequent quarters) doing our best to blast waves upon waves of droning zombies and hideous monsters to our hearts content. When the title was ported to the Dreamcast our dreams of finally owning an adequate shooting game on a home gaming system seemed to have been fulfilled. There was only one problem though. The guns made for the Dreamcast were of incredibly low quality. Even those registered by Sega were ripe with design flaws. So our elation only lasted as long as the inadequately thin piece of plastic within the trigger sustained itself. Which, by any standards, was not long at all. At best, you could only hope for the gun to have a life of a couple months. I don't know why, but not since the days of the NES has there been a gun peripheral of any decent caliber. This entry isn't really so much about the need of a remake of House of the Dead II (although re-release on PS3 with beefed up graphics would be great), but more of a cry to the manufacturers for a harking to the old days. With the next generation of systems having the power to allow for 4+ gamers at once, a desirable shooting game should be a prerequisite.
14. Age of Empires IIType: Strategy
Platform(s): PC, PS2
I've never been much of a strategy game fan. Games like WarCraft, StarCraft, ----Craft, etc. never really interested me. In fact, the only true strategy game that I was very fond of was the original Red Alert. Age of Empires II was the other exception to this rule. The game allowed you to play as 18 different civilizations ranging from the Aztecs and Mayans of the Americas, the Koreans and Japanese of the East, the Celts and Teutons of Europe, and the Saracens and Turks of the Mid-East just to name a few. The game had the perfect level of involvement. It didn't require years of playing just to become competent in the structure like many of the more popular titles. And with the diversity of nations it was easy to identify a favorite rather quickly. The only problem was that the game had a severe lack of balance with countries like the Spanish and Japanese having obvious advantages over pretty much everyone else. Sadly, Empires II never received any patches to balance it out. Age of Empires III is only months away from being released. The develepors have boasted incredible graphics and deep gameplay for the sequel. However, there are reportedly only 8 countries to play as and all from the area of Europe. It is my fear that the new addition to the series will drown in its mundane choices and overcomplicated interface. I still occasionally play AOE II and find the style incredibly enjoyable even years after its release. Though I long for days when I could find a balanced opponent readily available.
I'll be adding just two games at a time to conserve space on the page.
-RaiNny
The_Consultant said...
I never realized what a staple the internet is. Since I am moving, I will be without internet for probably at least a week. Also, at work, they have blog's blocked as 'personal' with the filter. Bah. Luckily I have wireless, I am leaching off some stranger right now. :) This is unethical, so I would advise against it. Bitches. On topic, nice post rainny.
RaiNny said...
The_Consultant said...
What was that game with 3 guns, evil night or something like that? Anyways, we all know rainny has been dying for the sequal to Magic Night Rayearth.
RaiNny said...
"Anyways, we all know rainny has been dying for the sequal to Magic Night Rayearth."
My heart will always hold a small pocket of contempt for you for buying that game.
hk_newbie said...
"Anyways, we all know rainny has been dying for the sequal to Magic Night Rayearth."
I remember watching you beat that one night. Didn't it just take about 15 minutes? A 15 minute RPG, WTF?!