All-Time Highest Rated Games Tagged 'Pocket, core' on The Great Games Experiment All-Time Highest Rated Games Tagged 'Pocket, core' on The Great Games Experiment http://www.greatgamesexperiment.com/css/logo.jpg All-Time Highest Rated Games Tagged 'Pocket, core' on The Great Games Experiment en-us The Secret of Monkey Island
I cursed my luck again as I slid down the monkey's throat. Have my dreams of guzzling grog and plundering galleons been reduced to this. "Three small trials and you're a pirate like us." Fair enough. If only I could stomach the foul brew these scurvy seadogs swilled, the rest would be easy. How could I have known I'd meet a powerful and beautiful woman with a jealous suitor too stupid to realize he'd been dead for years? And how can I crawl through this great stone monkey to find a man who walks three inches above the ground and sets fire to his beard every morning?

-The Memoirs of Guybrush Threepwood: The Monkey Island Years
]]> 06 Feb 2007 04:24:31 NiGHTS into Dreams NiGHTS into Dreams is a cross between a three-dimensional platform game, a racing game and a circus event. It combines a vivid sense of flying with the sensory assault of lucid dreaming and a constantly evolving soundtrack to create a piece of interactive audiovisual art.
]]> 12 Jan 2007 04:53:55 Tetris (GB) Tetris, tetris, tetris. Nothing beats the original good ol' Nintendo Gameboy Tetris!
]]> 02 Jun 2007 02:41:14 Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
I thought I'd killed the Ghost Pirate LeChuck for good. Wrong. How many times can that bloated old fool die? Other pirates tell me there's no escape. "When LeChuck wants you dead, you're dead", they say. Legend has it that the treasure of Big Whoop holds the key to great power... I must find it before LeChuck finds me.

-The Memoirs of Guybrush Threepwood: The Monkey Island Years
]]> 06 Feb 2007 04:45:44 Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos Developed by classic developer house Westwood Studios, Lands of Lore is a role playing game (RPG) that was originally released for the PC back in 1994! Since then it has won numerous awards and received much acclaim. At the time, it was one of the biggest and most detailed games available. It took full advantage of the new CD-ROM format with full voice digitization including voicing done by Patrick Stewart portraying King Richard.

The game interface is superbly done, by far the easiest and smoothest I have ever played. Many RPGs tend to have complicated interfaces that take hours of learning to master. But not here, simply click on the sword or magic symbol to use it. Other features include a compass, and a very nice auto-mapper which is a necessity in such a huge world.

Unlike some RPGs, Lands of Lore places more emphasis on adventure and less on the complexities of character and party selection. This allows you to be able to get into the game quickly without squabbling over the unnecessary details in some games, like the color of your pants.
]]> 08 Feb 2007 02:06:11 Chrono Trigger The 32-meg Chrono Trigger utilizes time travel, science-fiction, and fantasy adventure to create one of the best role-playing games ever. The game's hero, Crono, is transported into the past and ends up altering the course of history, and with it the future as well.

The integral time travel element of the game enables players to alter the game by changing the past, give players multiple endings and excellent repeat game play value. There are mini-quests, a huge cast of characters, realistic time travel, non-linear game play, and more active and interactive battle scenes than Squaresoft's 1994, highly acclaimed, role-playing game Final Fantasy III.
]]> 06 Dec 2006 11:26:30 Final Fantasy 3 Snes This is another addition to the treasured Final Fantasy RPG series from Square. Released in the US as Final Fantasy III, this SNES title is actually the sixth FF game -- the previous Japanese titles did not make it across the sea, and to keep continuity on the series, the game was renamed to part 3. Whatever you call it, however, this is one of the most engrossing RPGs of its era, Final Fantasy III stands up well to the test of time and still intrigues RPG fans to this day. Known for its intriguing storylines, the Final Fantasy series has always been filled with imaginative plots and twisting storylines. In Final Fantasy III, magical beings called The Espers return from centuries past to destroy the rational and mechanized new world.
]]> 13 Feb 2007 06:52:15 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time After a nightmare involving a certain young princess and the evil thief Ganondorf, series hero Link wakes up in his home village tucked away behind the mysterious Lost Woods. The only Kokiri without a fairy, Link soon meets up with his new traveling companion, the winged Navi, and sets out on the adventure of his life. The quest, which inevitably turns into a rescue mission for Princess Zelda, leads players through dark dungeons, picturesque villages, into the heart of a volcano, to the bottom of a lake, through a haunted desert, deep into a magical forest, into a giant tree, the belly of a beast, and even through time.
]]> 25 Nov 2006 10:02:58 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Arguably the finest example of two dimensional gaming goodness, the Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is the true inspiration behind the masterpieces that are Ocarina of Time, and Twilight Princess. The fine soundtrack is but one of the seminal areas of inspiration;in fact, a majority of the most prominent Zelda themes -such as Zelda's Lullaby and Kakariko Village tunes; even the name entry music-were directly lifted from A link to the past's musical score.

Between the environmentally based dungeons, two distinct realms, hookshot and punt-able chickens, it's clear to see that the original Legend of Zelda merely provided the canvas and a rough sketch of the series whereas A Link to the Past served as a the charcoal and oil paints.

Yes A link to the Past is truly a Bob Ross inspired happy little tree in the corner of the masterwork that is the Legend of Zelda series.
]]> 28 Nov 2006 11:36:44 System Shock 2 A dark and moody cyberpunk RPG that brings back to life SHODAN one of the best realized arch-nemesis in computer gaming.

This time around it is a ship - not a station that has been taken over.

Story telling elements such as voice mail as 'ghost' residue are used to great effect. You can see similar mechanisms being used in F.E.A.R and others.

Uses a modified Thief engine so there is a significant focus on 'sneak'- although the game can be player through in multiple ways.
]]> 06 Dec 2006 06:56:49 The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess When an evil darkness enshrouds the land of Hyrule, an ignorant young Ordonian farm boy named Link must awaken the hero within. When Link and his companions are attacked by a band of Moblins, Link is sucked into the Twilight Realm where he is transformed into a wolf. Link must scour the land in search of his friends and an answer for the ill-fated nation. With the aid of his trusty sword and shield, and a mysterious creature named Midna, only Link has the courage to save Hyrule from the twilight.
]]> 29 Nov 2006 10:30:09 Garry's Mod

What is it?


Garry's Mod is a sandbox mod for the Source Engine. Unlike normal games there aren't any predefined aims or goals. Players are given tools and are left to entertain themselves.

The player is in a world where objects can be created and destroyed on demand. Where people can be created and destroyed with the click of a mouse. A world made for him. A world he made.


So what do you do?


There are a lot of things you can do with Garry's Mod, but here's a few of the more common uses.


Construction


Garry's Mod provides tools to constrain objects together in various ways. Using these tools the player can create working contraptions.

The simplest example is a car. The player spawns an object to be used for the car's body then adds wheels by firing the tool gunat the object. Wheels are then controllable using the numpad on your keyboard.

You don't have to make moving contraptions though - want to build a fort out of wooden crates then set it on fire? Go for it! Want to build a house using fridges for the walls and mattresses for the ceiling then drive a jeep into it all? Go for it!


Posing and Comics


One of the universal appeals of Garry's Mod has been the ability to place and pose ragdolls. This allows you to create your own comic books and share them online. One major comic spawned from this is HLComic - the story of Gordon Frohman's journey in City 17.

Garry's Mod gives you the ability to place ragdolls, manipulate their facial expressions and aim their eyes.


Gamemodes


Garry's Mod gives the ability to program your own gamemodes (Don't worry - you don't need to be a programmer to play them). This allows the community to make new, often wacky, gamemodes such as melon racing, build to the top and so on.

It's often worth taking a look in the server list to see if any of the games prick your attention - there's often something weird there to try out.


User Created Content


Garry's Mod benefits greatly from a thriving community which is constantly churning out new ideas, maps, models, gamemodes, weapons, Lua scripts and skins.

Taken from http://www.garrysmod.com/about/
]]> 25 Jan 2007 09:22:54 Unreal Tournament 3 The Necris invasion has begun, and your clan was one of the first to be slaughtered. Head to the front lines and join this Epic battle to defend humanity while taking your revenge. Unreal Tournament 3 marks the return of the premiere tournament-style first-person shooter. Unreal Tournament 3 unleashes the full power of Unreal Engine 3, taking graphics, gameplay, and challenge to a whole new level. Players engage in intense and hyper-real battles with other human players online or against incredibly realistic Unreal artificial intelligence. Over two dozen weapons and vehicles have been upgraded and enhanced for maximum killing potential. Take on all comers in a variety of game modes including Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, an all-new Warfare mode and more.
]]> 08 Feb 2007 09:08:55 Guitar Hero 2 RedOctane's follow-up to the critically acclaimed rhythm game. Guitar Hero II features a brand-new and expanded track list, more venues and new play modes, and aims to rock longer and harder than its predecessor. RedOctane has once again teamed up with veteran music game developer Harmonix for the sequel, and is using famed recording studio WaveGroup for its music production, who also recorded the covers for the licensed tracks in the original Guitar Hero. The game's all-important track list encompasses all forms of rock and metal music including classic rock, "hair metal", heavy metal, modern rock and alternative rock. In total, Guitar Hero II features more than 55 songs. New modes include a multiplayer co-op mode where players can play not only the lead guitar track, but rhythm or bass as well, allowing players to take on two different sections of the song simultaneously. Supports the Guitar Hero SG controller.
]]> 01 Feb 2007 12:16:44 Okami "Okami is based on the Japanese legend of the sun god, Amaterasu, whom you control throughout the game in the form of a white wolf. A truly epic journey awaits this wolf, who wields divine power quite literally as an artist wields a brush. Despite its unusual premise and other unique qualities, Okami is in many ways a textbook action adventure game. It takes its cues from the Legend of Zelda series in particular and achieves similarly outstanding results. Much like in those games, in Okami you'll traverse a vast countryside filled with intrigue, meet a variety of interesting characters, delve into dungeons chock-full of various traps and fearsome-looking creatures, and become more and more powerful as you go. All the while, Okami's stunning good looks give it the appearance of a cross between a cartoon and a traditional Japanese ink-and-watercolor painting, and perhaps best of all, the game keeps going and going for much longer than most other games like it."
]]> 21 Dec 2006 12:46:08 Shadow of the Colossus Tales speak of an ancient land where creatures the size of mountains, roam the majestic landscape. Bound to the land, these creatures hold a key to a mystical power of revival - a power you must obtain to waken a loved one.

Shadow of the Colossus is a majestic journey through ancient lands to seek out and destroy gigantic mythical beasts. With your trusty horse at your side, explore the spacious lands and unearth each Colossi. Armed with your wits, a sword and a bow, use cunning and strategy to topple each behemoth.
]]> 18 Jan 2007 10:58:36 Team Fortress 2 If you're ready for the challenge of true team-based online action, you'll find it in Team Fortress 2. With TF 2, you'll go into battle as part of a cohesive squad of fellow warriors all bent on the same goal - whether it's storming a beach, demolishing a bridge or escorting a VIP to safety. And you'll do it knowing your teammates are watching your back as carefully as you're watching theirs. Begin by assuming one of twelve roles, each with unique strengths and weaknesses. If you're looking for a straight-up fight, you'll choose Marine or Commando. Prefer the shadows? You'll make a cunning Spy or Sniper. Medics and Engineers support their teammates through bravery and ingenuity. Focus the raw force of your team's talents through communication and strategizing.

Team Fortress 2 and Portal are included with all retail and Steam versions of Episode Two for the PC.
]]> 25 Nov 2006 05:22:16 Tetris Attack What's better than Tetris? Depending on whom you talk to, its distant cousin Tetris Attack (and N64-released Pokémon Puzzle League) might be even more satisfying and addictive. Nintendo designers took what was already a sure-win formula and embellished it to cater to a more-demanding, evolved gamer. Tetris Attack presets colored square blocks in a well and has players swapping them into vertical or horizontal lines. Match three or more and they vanish. Seemingly simple, it is actually one of the most complex puzzlers due to the potential resulting combinations and chains. Played alone or with others, it's extremely addictive. Don't say we didn't warn you.
]]> 08 Feb 2007 07:15:12 Final Fantasy VI Final Fantasy VI was a landmark title in the series, and set the tone for many later console RPGs, both of the Final Fantasy line and elsewhere. Released originally as Final Fantasy III in the U.S., the game has been re-released under its original title for the Playstation. A GBA re-release is scheduled for early 2007.
]]> 09 Dec 2006 07:46:38 Resident Evil 4 Resident Evil 4 marks a new chapter in the Resident Evil series. You'll rejoin Leon S. Kennedy six years after his first mission as a rookie cop from Resident Evil 2. Now a US agent, Leon is on a top secret mission to investigate the disappearance of the president's daughter. As Leon, you must make your way to a mysterious location in Europe, where new enemies await.
]]> 26 Nov 2006 02:29:26 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night The classic Castlevania series returns in top form on your PlayStation and Sega Saturn. Richter Belmont banished Count Dracula five years ago, but has now mysteriously vanished, and Castlevania once again looms on the horizon. Alucard, the son of Dracula, has been awakened from what was meant to be his eternal slumber by the appearance of Castlevania, and now must find out why Castlevania has returned and set things right.

Quite possibly the best 2D action side scroller ever.
]]> 27 Nov 2006 04:01:32 Guitar Hero Published by RedOctane, Guitar Hero from the makers of Karaoke Revolution uses a plastic guitar peripheral so that gamers can show their skills at crunching power chords and nailing a tough solo. The guitar features five buttons on the fretboard and a plastic button that can be tapped up or down where the strings would be strummed. Playing the songs here is simply a matter of holding down the right fret buttons and tapping the strum button in time with the music. This is all done along with the commands that scroll down the screen in an interface that's very similar to that seen in Frequency or Amplitude. Gameplay is simple: there are five lines on the screen for the five different buttons. Markers scroll down the lines and as they hit the bottom of the screen the corresponding "notes" need to be hit. The game features multiple skill levels and about 30 songs.
]]> 01 Feb 2007 12:21:48 Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War Dark Crusade From the Developer's web site:

Deep under the central desert of Kronus, a vast honeycomb of skull-lined tunnels and funereal chambers house the awakening mass of the Necron plague. Eons ago, these were the boulevards and squares of a great necropolis built to house the bones of the races who had fallen to the Necron purge, and ultimately for the Necron themselves to retire to. Over the millions of years, sand and rock had covered it all until ill-fated excavations awoke the deathless again. Play any of seven races, striving for control over Kronus. Take other races' strongholds by winning challenging battles on various maps individually associated with the respective Strongholds.
]]> 29 Jan 2007 09:20:40 Cave Story - Doukutsu Monogatari Cave Story is a freeware sidescrolling action/adventure/platformer title with leanings towards Wonderboy and recent sidescrolling Castlevania titles. You control a little amnesiac who runs around helping out these rabbit-ish creatures called Mimigas while trying to find your way out of the giant cave inside the floating island which makes up the game's setting.

This is a free game made by one man:

Pixel said,
It's been five years since I first thought to myself, "Hey, why not try making a game?" I developed Cave Story at my own pace, taking my time, and while doing so I released a few other smaller games as well.
]]> 26 Nov 2006 01:38:13 Starcraft: Brood War StarCraft: Brood War is an expansion pack released in 1998 for StarCraft — an award winning real-time strategy computer game. It was co-developed by Saffire and Blizzard Entertainment.

The expansion pack introduced new campaigns and two additional units for each race, new tech advancements, new map tilesets, and new music. The campaigns continue the story from where the original StarCraft left off: the Overmind had been destroyed with the sacrifice of Tassadar, the Protoss homeworld of Aiur had been left desolate and rampaged by the Zerg, and Kerrigan was now left alone in her new Zerg form. Full details are in the Brood War introduction.

The first of the new campaigns involves the Protoss, (or rather, the Dark Templars), and mostly takes place on their homeworld of Shakuras. The second campaign features the newly arrived armies of the United Earth Directorate (UED) commanded by Admiral DuGalle, and the last campaign (Zerg) has Kerrigan as the protagonist.
]]> 08 Feb 2007 04:18:51 Psychonauts Embark on a unique third person psychic adventure through the minds of misfits, monsters and madmen....

For years, the Psychonauts have deployed their psychically-armed operatives all over the world, but this time trouble is brewing in their own boot camp. A deranged scientist is abducting camp cadets for their brains. One student, a mysterious and powerful new arrival named Raz, stands alone against the lunatic. Raz must develop and unleash an arsenal of paranormal powers including his most powerful weapon of all: the ability to launch himself telepathically into the minds of others. Ultimately he must enter the psyche of his worst enemy and destroy his dark plans at their source while trying not to lose his sanity in the process.
]]> 25 Nov 2006 11:14:08 Fallout 2 The sequel to the greatest rpg of all time (I think so anyway) This one packs even more humor and gratuitous violence than ever before.

You play as an ancestor to the vault dweller after he founded a tiny village. You must go on a quest to find a G.E.C.K or Garden of Eden Creation Kit.
]]> 08 Nov 2006 07:52:41 Portal Portal is a first-person puzzle game currently under development which will be bundled with Half-life 2: Episode 2.

The game revolves around the so called "Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device" a device that can create portals on almost any surface, allowing instant travel and a visual and physical connection between any two different locations in 3D space.

The game is directly based on Narbacular Drop (and is developed by the same team).
]]> 08 Mar 2007 05:41:58 Descent: Freespace - The Great War As a pilot in the Gallactic Terran Alliance (GTA), you've known the Vasudans as the enemy for a long time. But things are about to change... An unknown menace, with technology beyond both ours and Vasudans, are destroying both sides... And now... Old enemies must unite to fight this common enemy, and the dissenters and traitors on both sides...

Descent: Freespace is a new chapter in space dogfight sims. The graphics are bigger, better, with more weapons and missiles/bombs. The capships in this game are truly HUGE (kilometers long, compared to your puny fighter). It also has true online multiplayer that puts it heads and shoulders above the rest. Take fighters and bombers on attack, recon, escort, and sweep missions against enemy capships and fighters/bombers. Defend your own capships and other assets... Your rating and performance is noted after every mission, with suggestions (if applicable). You can call in reinforcements (if available), and your wingmen actually do fight intelligently, as there can be dozens of fighters flying about.
]]> 01 Jun 2007 02:20:18 Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers This game follows the adventures of Gabriel Knight as he is drawn into the investigation of a series of murders. Set in New Orleans this game has a rich story filled with voodoo and suspense.
]]> 31 Jan 2007 04:03:17 The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Link, after setting sail for new experiences and adventures, finds himself caught in a squall at sea. Helpless in spite of his valiant efforts to last through the storm, he is overwhelmed by vicious waves and lightning...

Some time later, a gentle girl named Marin discovers him washed up on Toronbo Shores.. the beach of Koholint Island. She finds a way to get him home and takes care of him until he finally awakens. Marin and her father, Tarin, explain to him where he is, and after he sets out to reclaim his sword, he encounters a mysterious owl... The owl cryptically warns Link about the perils this island faces should the Wind Fish be disturbed from his slumber, and thus Link decides he must do something to save them.

This owl guides him throughout the rest of his journey, slowly helping him uncover just what exactly is going on. Link learns that, unfortunately, in order to save the islanders he had grown to love, and to set himself free, he must also end a dream, a romance that he might not want to... To save all those people he had come to know and cherish from the Wind Fish's Nightmares, he would also have to end the illusion that caused them to exist in the first place.

It's a heart wrenching choice to confront, one that Link no doubt regrets with every deep ache of his very soul.. but the only alternative was to let the Nightmare take over and destroy everything.. This was the only fate he could offer them...

A tragic, touching tale that is told in the simplest way, Link's Awakening is a dream that I'll always hold dear to my heart...
]]> 08 Feb 2007 11:34:05 Super Mario World Super Mario World is most likely the best 2D adaptation of the Mario universe. Player's will guide Mario across the world map, unlocking secrets, and fighting the evil koopalings to defeat Bowser. Along the way, Mario will be aided by a variety of special power ups like the Cape and colored Yoshi's. This is an incredibly deep and enjoyable game that almost anyone can get into.
]]> 26 Jan 2007 10:31:41 Katamari Damacy With a formula that's simple but addictive, Katamari Damacy has earned a massive following for its quirky and innovative gameplay. You are a tiny prince charged with the task of rebuilding the majority of the solar system, which was recently destroyed by the King of All Cosmos while apparently on a drunken rampage. To accomplish this goal, you must gather enough material on Earth to replace each celestial body in turn. And the best way to gather material is by rolling it up, of course, in a wondrous ball called a "katamari" that happens to adhere to any object smaller than it.

Katamari Damacy runs through a series of time-constrained levels in which you must increase the size of your katamari to a predetermined diameter by rolling up as much as possible, as quickly as possible. Since you can only roll up objects smaller than yourself, the challenge comes in finding progressively larger items to roll up--but that are not too large. Katamari roll control is simple and done using only the analog sticks. The scale of the katamari varies immensely, and so do the areas of the world available to explore in parallel. You may find yourself picking thumbtacks up off the floor, only to later be ripping the very house off its foundation.

In addition to its unique gameplay, the quirky humor and stylized graphics lend themselves nicely towards Katamari Damacy's distinctive flavor. The King of All Cosmos serves the role of jovial narrator as he guides the prince through the game, but is a strict and demanding father, and will quickly turn on you should you fail a level. All the while he refers to himself using the "royal we," and speaks with a record-scratching sound effect. The game world itself features intentionally blocky and Lego-esque graphics, and is filled with a variety of whacky denizens who may attack your katamari or run from it, screaming for their lives. With a style as original as any, Katamari Damacy has rolled up the favor of gamers everywhere.
]]> 09 Feb 2007 01:59:50 System Shock System Shock is one of the classics: a science fiction horror game that set nerves on edge as the player -- a cybernetically-augmented hacker -- tries to rein in a rampant AI on Citadel Station. Constantly taunted and hunted by the AI SHODAN, the player must counter SHODAN's attempts to destroy human life on Earth.

System Shock went on to receive critical acclaim and garnered awards in the adventure genre, despite its mediocre commercial performance. The game's legacy influences game development to this day.

Developer: Looking Glass Studios
Release: 1994

Platform: PC, Macintosh

Producer: Origin Systems
]]> 28 Nov 2006 05:43:10 Star Wars: TIE Fighter Published by: LucasArts
Developed by: Totally Games
Genre: Space simulation
Number of players: 1
Release date: 1994, 1995

It is a time of chaos in the Empire. Rebel factions strike from hidden bases, pirates plunder unsuspecting civilian spacecraft, and traitors plot behind the Emperor's back. You, a rookie pilot in the Imperial Navy, must rise to action for the glory of the Empire and the good of all mankind.

The player's character is unnamed (however, in sources outside the game, name is Maarek Stele), but features such notable Star Wars characters as: Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, and even Admiral Thrawn from the books.

Star Wars: TIE Fighter is somewhat of a sequal to Star Wars: X-Wing, however this time the player is the "bad guy." With various objectives ranging from destroying pirates and Rebels to flying wingman for Darth Vader himself, TIE Fighter offers a great deal of enjoyment for those who love the Star Wars universe.

Gameplay involves managing your weapons/engine/shield (if available) systems while dogfighting enemy spacecraft or attacking larger capital spaceships. Additionally, missiles are limited (if even available), so must be used carefully. Because this is the side of the Empire, the fighters you will be flying initially are very vulnerable to damage. Two or three hits to your TIE Fighter and you're toast, and destroying shielded enemy Rebel fighters in such a craft can be challenging.

Mission objectives are crucial to completing stages of the game, and advancing the storyline. Additionally, there are optional bonus objectives, which influence the secondary advancement in the Emperor's secret order.
]]> 24 Jan 2007 07:45:12 Ultima VII - The Black Gate From the Moby Games description:

You are the Avatar, returning to Britannia after 200 years of absence. Strange ritual murders are committed in the land while an organization known as The Fellowship is gathering a huge following. And there is this being known as The Guardian whose mockery follows you on your travels. Your old companions will join you on your quest through Britannia as you slowly discover the secret behind the Fellowship and the Guardian.

Ultima VII features completely revamped graphics and controls. The traditional Ultima top-down view of the world now fills the entire screen, with other informational windows overlaid on top of it only when necessary. Both world interaction and dialogue are fully mouse-controlled. The tactical combat system of previous Ultimas was replaced with a real-time system where only general strategies can be set and party members fight automatically.

The Britannia of Ultima VII is a large virtual world with lots of details: hundreds of NPCs can be talked to, virtually every object in the game is usable in some way and many side quests await the player.
]]> 05 Dec 2006 02:27:09 James Bond 007 Goldeneye Rare's 3D first-person shooter take on the lucrative James Bond 007 franchise could be described as a game that was truly worth the wait. The often- delayed title was once shrugged off as vaporware, but when it finally arrived in 1997 it delivered console gamers something that only PC owners had enjoyed previously: a remarkably fun, innovative, intuitively controlled shooter complete with pretty graphics and an outstanding multiplayer mode to boot. The title went from sleeper hit to one of Nintendo 64's biggest success stories in no time, and continued to sell throughout the console's entire lifespan. Even today, it remains a benchmark for console first-person shooters and serves as an inspiration for developers.
]]> 01 Feb 2007 03:49:14 Fallout Set in a future apocalypse version of the 50's-60's, Fallout is an RPG made by the now out of business Interplay and Black Isle Studios. It's violent, funny, and it can be played 100 times and never lose its appeal.

You play as a member of a high-tech vault made to protect from the bombs. Now you must find a water chip to save your vault.
]]> 01 Nov 2006 10:22:36 Disgaea: Hour of Darkness Disgaea was the first of NIS's strategy games to hit the US. Relying on the grid based system employed by games such as Final Fantasy Tactics and many Altus titles, Disgaea blended strategy with humor to create a game that literally ate hundreds of hours for many gamers. Disgaea featured an exceptionally complex item leveling system and almost endless gameplay outside the main story.
]]> 07 Feb 2007 07:34:25 SuperMetroid The galaxy once enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity. Trade lines were open, the citizens were happy and the Galactic Federation kept a watchful eye over the planets. Not long ago, that peace was broken by a startling discovery:
The Dawn of the Metroids
]]> 27 Nov 2006 09:34:50 Cortex Command Mine precious gold from the deformable terrain in order to buy better weapons, digging tools, and deployable defenses. Use these assets to defend your disembodied brain and bankrupt your opponent!

Old-school 2D sidescroller pixel graphics coupled with an extremely detailed physics simulation makes for a mix of nostalgia and surprising gameplay.
]]> 12 Nov 2006 03:44:39 X-COM: Ufo Defense Turn-based strategy game that seamlessly combines two different elements- tactical squad battles and resource management.
]]> 22 Nov 2006 04:38:58 Super Mario All Stars Play the original Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 2, Super Mario Bros 3, and the Lost Levels in this all new updated version of each game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
]]> 02 Feb 2007 12:23:04 Super Mario Bros. 3 One of the most respected games in Nintendo's Mario Bros. series, Super Mario Bros. 3 introduced new moves and abilities to the tried-and-true sidescrolling platformer franchise. After the vastly different gameplay of Super Mario Bros. 2 (which was based on the Japanese Doki Doki Panic), the third game in the series gets rid of Mario's turnip-pulling abilities and replaces them with new feats like flying via the raccoon suit, and hammer throwing with the Hammer Bros. suit. The idea is once again to thwart Bowser's evil plans and battle your way across eight different themed worlds to win a kiss from the Princess.
]]> 07 Feb 2007 02:17:39 Ikaruga He is Shinra, the lone survivor of a ravaged people. He must battle fiercely, move swiftly and act rationally in a new war, a space crusade of frighteningly intense firepower and hypnotic beauty. Take control of the ship Ikaruga - alter your energy field, evade epic maelstroms of fire and terminate enemies with a nearly limitless arsenal - all to protect an aging, exiled people. Find calm amid the chaos and reap the rewards, in this perfect combination of beautiful, manga-style storytelling and refined, ultra-challenging arcade heroics.

The gameplay consists of shooting enemies who come in one of two polarities: either black(/red) or white(/blue). The player's ship can be either polarity, and can be switched at will.

It was released in the arcades in 2001 on Sega's NAOMI system and subsequently ported to Dreamcast in Japan and then worldwide to the Nintendo GameCube. It is a spiritual sequel to Radiant Silvergun.
]]> 01 Feb 2007 09:52:02 Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin With this iteration of the long standing Castlevania series, Gamestop/EB Games included an "Anniversary Pack" bonus for pre-orders, which covered the history of the series. The game was critically well received.
]]> 08 Feb 2007 06:22:29 Star Wars: X-Wing From Wikipedia: Star Wars: X-Wing is the first LucasArts DOS computer game set in the Star Wars universe, as well as the lead title in the X-Wing computer game series. It attempts to "realistically" simulate the experience of combat in the A-wing, X-wing, and Y-wing starfighters of the Rebel Alliance. Fans of the Wing Commander series of games often put forward the mistaken notion that X-Wing was somehow inspired by, or derivative of Wing Commander, but the truth is that X-Wing was built on an evolution of the same game engine that underlay the Air Combat Classics series of World War II flight combat games, (Battlehawks 1942, Their Finest Hour: The Battle of Britain, and Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe), that were developed by Lawrence Holland for Lucasfilm Games. In fact, Larry Holland has reported that Chris Roberts approached him at a trade show to boast that he had reverse-engineered Battlehawks 1942 to create the Wing Commander game engine which he then attempted to pitch to Lucasarts as the basis for a Star Wars flight combat game! The failure of that pitch led to creation of Wing Commander.

X-Wing's main advance was that it featured a fully 3-D engine instead of bitmaps and sprites. The game also demonstrated a significant step forward in the AI and mission scripting so that players felt immersed in a believable simulation of the Star Wars universe, and faced intelligent adversaries that seemed responsive to the player's tactics. This was in stark contrast to the simple-minded AI of the Wing Commander series that was essentially an arcade shooter for gamers who wanted to experience the fantasy of being a starfighter pilot without requiring anything resembling the necessary skills. X-Wing was a flight combat simulator that required a high level of situational awareness, and some semblance of actual dogfighting skills. The X-Wing series appealed more to "hardcore" gamers and in its original floppy disk version was often found to be too difficult for more casual gamers.
]]> 17 May 2007 03:06:27 Shenmue The story of Shenmue begins in 1986 and centers around Ryo Hazuki, a young man who's father has been murderer. You play as Ryo and now must find the killers and avenge your father's death.

Gameplay in Shenmue is diverse; while most of the game is spent walking around the atmospheric, life-like Japanese locations in a third-person 'chase cam' mode (talking to people, searching for things, solving puzzles, and so forth), it is interspersed with many 'mini-games', including forklift and motorcycle races, bar fights, chases down crowded alleys, full versions of Sega arcade games Space Harrier and Hang-On (both originally programmed by Shenmue creator and director, Yu Suzuki), dart games, and 'free fighting' sequences.
]]> 24 May 2007 01:36:27 Command & Conquer The First Decade Command & Conquer: The First Decade was announced on November 4th, 2005 and was released on February 7 2006. Not being a new title in the Command & Conquer series as such, The First Decade is a compilation of the series' prior games, all bundled into one DVD and updated to run optimally on Windows XP. It was sold for the price of one retail game. Also included in the compilation was a bonus DVD which took a look behind the scenes of the successful franchise, including interviews with producers, old concept art, various soundbites, as well as a montage of the winning fan videos of the "Are You The Biggest C&C Fan?" competition held prior to the compilation's release.

Other items included in the compilation included a A3 poster with high-quality C&C renders on both sides, one of which has been confirmed to be a teaser image for EA's new Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars game currently in production, as well as a 70-page manual that only includes unit descriptions for each of the included games.
]]> 27 Mar 2007 11:38:40 Starsiege: Tribes Starsiege: Tribes a first person shooter set in the Earthsiege universe. It was developed by Dynamix and published by Sierra Online in Nov. 1998. It's the first in a line of Tribes products which include Tribes II in 2001, Tribes Aerial Assault in 2002 (for PS2) and Tribes: Vengeance in 2004.
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