Game Trailers video review for Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Given a 9.4/10

Top 30 Video Games of the 2000s: #10 Elder Scrolls IV: The Oblivion (2006/2007) Platform: PC, XBOX 360, Playstation 3 Developer: Bethesda Publisher: 2K Games Genre: First Person RPG Anyone who knows anything about video games knows that the Elder Scrolls series is the mammoth of RPGs.  The games are so huge, so time consuming, that you’re probably going to ruin your life playing one.  Well, those are the kind of games I love.  I like getting my money’s worth with games, and let me tell you: 60 bucks for a Playstation 3 game that I put over 100 hours on is well worth the purchase.  Over 100 hours and I still haven’t even beat the main story line.  Basically, you’re this guy in prison who is visited by the emperor of the city you’re being held captive.  For some reason, he thinks you’re the chosen one and so frees you.  Unfortunately, amidst all the chaos, some dark evil dudes kill the emperor, and now it’s up to you to save the world from the clutches of Oblivion, a plane of demon existence that threatens to cross over to the light world.  You can traverse the massive world of Cyrodiil, all the while destroying the portals into Oblivion.  Or you can take part in literally hundreds of quests and side missions that take place all over the world.  You can take part in the Fighters Guild and help the townspeople.  Or you can join the Thieves Guild and loot the surrounding caves.  Or if you really want to, you can run amuck and kill everyone in a town.  Like Grand Theft Auto, this is truly a game where you can do anything you want.

Top 30 Video Games of the 2000s: #10

Elder Scrolls IV: The Oblivion (2006/2007)

Platform: PC, XBOX 360, Playstation 3

Developer: Bethesda

Publisher: 2K Games

Genre: First Person RPG

Anyone who knows anything about video games knows that the Elder Scrolls series is the mammoth of RPGs.  The games are so huge, so time consuming, that you’re probably going to ruin your life playing one.  Well, those are the kind of games I love.  I like getting my money’s worth with games, and let me tell you: 60 bucks for a Playstation 3 game that I put over 100 hours on is well worth the purchase.  Over 100 hours and I still haven’t even beat the main story line.  Basically, you’re this guy in prison who is visited by the emperor of the city you’re being held captive.  For some reason, he thinks you’re the chosen one and so frees you.  Unfortunately, amidst all the chaos, some dark evil dudes kill the emperor, and now it’s up to you to save the world from the clutches of Oblivion, a plane of demon existence that threatens to cross over to the light world.  You can traverse the massive world of Cyrodiil, all the while destroying the portals into Oblivion.  Or you can take part in literally hundreds of quests and side missions that take place all over the world.  You can take part in the Fighters Guild and help the townspeople.  Or you can join the Thieves Guild and loot the surrounding caves.  Or if you really want to, you can run amuck and kill everyone in a town.  Like Grand Theft Auto, this is truly a game where you can do anything you want.

IGN review for Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence

This was the remake of Snake Eater, which is the better of the two in that it improved the camera angles, came with bonus content and gave the game an overall polish

IGN gave it a 9.8/10

Top 30 Video Games of the 2000s: #11 Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004/2006) Platform: Playstation 2 Developer: Kojima Productions Publisher: Konami Genre: Third Person Action, Stealth Let me just say that I love Metal Gear.  It’s quite simply the best franchise in video games, both in terms of originality and overall game quality.  From the first Metal Gear Solid for the Playstation all the way up to Metal Gear 4, it’s been a breathtaking saga.  Metal Gear 3 saw a very different turn in the storyline.  Rather than continue where the plot left off in Sons Of Liberty, Snake Eater takes us back to the 60’s, where you control “Naked Snake,” i.e. the Big Boss (*sigh*, the plot is way too convoluted to explain… just get Solid and go from there), through the jungles of Russia in order to rescue a defected Soviet scientist who has constructed a colossal machine called the Shagohod.  From there it explodes into an epic action game worthy of any of the Metal Gears.  The traditionally exceptional voice acting is as prominent as ever, although Otacon and Campbell are unfortunately not in this one.  The gameplay is vastly different from Metal Gears 1 and 2, in that your overhead map is gone entirely.  To detect enemy soldiers, you use a device that detects movement or a sonar.  You can also use camouflage and jungle like environments to mask yourself.  Another added feature is injury, in that certain injuries will leave your health unable to recover unless you perform first aid on yourself.  You have fatigue as well, which leaves Snake in need to find food to sustain himself.  This creates so many new and exciting variables that affect Snake in his mission, and brings the concept of stealth to an ever more present scenario.  Like all the Metal Gear games, Snake Eater is pure quality gaming with incredible graphics and an unbelievable story.

Top 30 Video Games of the 2000s: #11

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004/2006)

Platform: Playstation 2

Developer: Kojima Productions

Publisher: Konami

Genre: Third Person Action, Stealth

Let me just say that I love Metal Gear.  It’s quite simply the best franchise in video games, both in terms of originality and overall game quality.  From the first Metal Gear Solid for the Playstation all the way up to Metal Gear 4, it’s been a breathtaking saga.  Metal Gear 3 saw a very different turn in the storyline.  Rather than continue where the plot left off in Sons Of Liberty, Snake Eater takes us back to the 60’s, where you control “Naked Snake,” i.e. the Big Boss (*sigh*, the plot is way too convoluted to explain… just get Solid and go from there), through the jungles of Russia in order to rescue a defected Soviet scientist who has constructed a colossal machine called the Shagohod.  From there it explodes into an epic action game worthy of any of the Metal Gears.  The traditionally exceptional voice acting is as prominent as ever, although Otacon and Campbell are unfortunately not in this one.  The gameplay is vastly different from Metal Gears 1 and 2, in that your overhead map is gone entirely.  To detect enemy soldiers, you use a device that detects movement or a sonar.  You can also use camouflage and jungle like environments to mask yourself.  Another added feature is injury, in that certain injuries will leave your health unable to recover unless you perform first aid on yourself.  You have fatigue as well, which leaves Snake in need to find food to sustain himself.  This creates so many new and exciting variables that affect Snake in his mission, and brings the concept of stealth to an ever more present scenario.  Like all the Metal Gear games, Snake Eater is pure quality gaming with incredible graphics and an unbelievable story.

IGN review for Super Mario Galaxy

Given a 9.7/10

Top 30 Video Games of the 2000s: #12 Super Mario Galaxy (2007) Platform: Nintendo Wii Developer: Nintendo EAD Tokyo Publisher: Nintendo Genre: Platformer In recent years the Wii hasn’t been very well received by traditional gamers.  Its shockingly low supply of quality games has turned pretty much every enthusiast away in favor of the far superior XBOX 360 and Playstation 3 consoles.  It’s too bad, too, as the Wii showed a ton of potential.  Nevertheless, it’s still the best selling current gen game console, mostly due to the demographic it caters to.  Anyways, Super Mario Galaxy remains to be not only the best game on the Wii, but just about one of the best games released this whole decade.  It’s the closest a Mario game has come to the quality and innovation as Super Mario 64.  Once again, Peach has been kidnapped by the ever more annoying Bowser (seriously, will this guy ever give up???), and its up to Mario to stop him.  This time, though, the battle between good and evil has reached epic proportions, as Mario now has to venture through space to vastly different galaxies and worlds to collect stars.  What you get is one of the best Mario games ever made, taking all of the stupid Wii controller gimmicks and making them fun to use.  The levels are all fantastically designed, and its difficulty is varied enough to get pure gamers and casual gamers interested.  Well, it’s pretty hard to go wrong with a Mario game, but this is far beyond good.  This is awesome, and it ultimately becomes one of the few saving graces for the increasingly pathetic Wii console.

Top 30 Video Games of the 2000s: #12

Super Mario Galaxy (2007)

Platform: Nintendo Wii

Developer: Nintendo EAD Tokyo

Publisher: Nintendo

Genre: Platformer

In recent years the Wii hasn’t been very well received by traditional gamers.  Its shockingly low supply of quality games has turned pretty much every enthusiast away in favor of the far superior XBOX 360 and Playstation 3 consoles.  It’s too bad, too, as the Wii showed a ton of potential.  Nevertheless, it’s still the best selling current gen game console, mostly due to the demographic it caters to.  Anyways, Super Mario Galaxy remains to be not only the best game on the Wii, but just about one of the best games released this whole decade.  It’s the closest a Mario game has come to the quality and innovation as Super Mario 64.  Once again, Peach has been kidnapped by the ever more annoying Bowser (seriously, will this guy ever give up???), and its up to Mario to stop him.  This time, though, the battle between good and evil has reached epic proportions, as Mario now has to venture through space to vastly different galaxies and worlds to collect stars.  What you get is one of the best Mario games ever made, taking all of the stupid Wii controller gimmicks and making them fun to use.  The levels are all fantastically designed, and its difficulty is varied enough to get pure gamers and casual gamers interested.  Well, it’s pretty hard to go wrong with a Mario game, but this is far beyond good.  This is awesome, and it ultimately becomes one of the few saving graces for the increasingly pathetic Wii console.

Top 30 Video Games of the 2000s: #13 Metroid Prime (2002) Platform: Nintendo Gamecube, Nintendo Wii Developer: Retro Studios Publisher: Nintendo Genre: First Person Shooter, Adventure The N64 saw a lot of classic games making the jump to the third dimension.  Some games like Mario and Zelda advanced quite gracefully, while others like Castlevania failed to do well in 3D.  Metroid, however, never made it to the N64, making Metroid Prime the first Metroid game since Super Metroid in 1994.  So going from the 2D Samus fighting her way through the treacherous Brinstar to becoming a first person shooter in 3D was quite a change.  And wouldn’t you know it?  It worked tremendously well, becoming just about the best game on the Gamecube.  At the time, the graphics were stunning, full of rich detail, everything from the water on your visor to the misty environments and lively monsters.  Like Super Metroid before it, the game was huge, incorporating a well working 3D map to guide you on your all too familiar maze like journey.  This was Metroid in all its glory, everything from the charge beam to the morph ball to the memorable fights with Ridley.  The gameplay was incredibly smooth, almost like Metroid was always meant to be a first person shooter, and the puzzles were well designed.  And of course, like all the Metroid games, Prime was fairly difficult, but was so in a very manageable learning curve.  It was never cheap, either.  This was pure and honest difficulty, which goes to show how well everything was designed and executed.

Top 30 Video Games of the 2000s: #13

Metroid Prime (2002)

Platform: Nintendo Gamecube, Nintendo Wii

Developer: Retro Studios

Publisher: Nintendo

Genre: First Person Shooter, Adventure

The N64 saw a lot of classic games making the jump to the third dimension.  Some games like Mario and Zelda advanced quite gracefully, while others like Castlevania failed to do well in 3D.  Metroid, however, never made it to the N64, making Metroid Prime the first Metroid game since Super Metroid in 1994.  So going from the 2D Samus fighting her way through the treacherous Brinstar to becoming a first person shooter in 3D was quite a change.  And wouldn’t you know it?  It worked tremendously well, becoming just about the best game on the Gamecube.  At the time, the graphics were stunning, full of rich detail, everything from the water on your visor to the misty environments and lively monsters.  Like Super Metroid before it, the game was huge, incorporating a well working 3D map to guide you on your all too familiar maze like journey.  This was Metroid in all its glory, everything from the charge beam to the morph ball to the memorable fights with Ridley.  The gameplay was incredibly smooth, almost like Metroid was always meant to be a first person shooter, and the puzzles were well designed.  And of course, like all the Metroid games, Prime was fairly difficult, but was so in a very manageable learning curve.  It was never cheap, either.  This was pure and honest difficulty, which goes to show how well everything was designed and executed.

Katamari Damacy intro

I know this doesn’t really show any gameplay, but DAMN do I love this song

Top 30 Video Games of the 2000s: #14 Katamari Damacy (2004) Platform: Playstation 2 Developer: NOW Production Publisher: Namco Genre: … acid induced super happy fun fun time? Video Games.  What do you envision most video games to entail in the current generation?  First person shooters?  Yep, lots of ‘em.  Sports games?  Oh, plenty.  Action adventure titles?  you betcha.  How about RPGs.  Of course, all kinds too.  Okay, well what about a game about a dude who rolls people up with a ball?  …Yeah… not the average video game.  When I first picked up Katamari Damacy, I couldn’t believe it.  This is one of the most memorable games I have ever played in my entire life, and every gamer needs to play it at least once.  The concept is this:  You’re this dude.  A fairy, a pixie, I don’t really know.  And you’re working for this weird God who tells you to go out into the world and roll up shit with a giant ball called a “katamari.”  You roll up everything, from safety pins to coins to watermelons to people to trees to cars to buildings… to… well, the whole freaking world!  Every level has certain objectives, most of them requiring your katamari to reach a certain size.  That can be anything from a meter in diameter to a full on kilometer.  It’s tons of fun.  The art style is simply bonkers, evoking a trip-like experience, as well as featuring some infectious J-pop music in the soundtrack.  Basically, it’s a wildly original game with simple controls and endlessly fun gameplay.  If you do not find this game in the slightest bit amusing, I conclude that you have no soul…. … … and you hate kittens.

Top 30 Video Games of the 2000s: #14

Katamari Damacy (2004)

Platform: Playstation 2

Developer: NOW Production

Publisher: Namco

Genre: … acid induced super happy fun fun time?

Video Games.  What do you envision most video games to entail in the current generation?  First person shooters?  Yep, lots of ‘em.  Sports games?  Oh, plenty.  Action adventure titles?  you betcha.  How about RPGs.  Of course, all kinds too.  Okay, well what about a game about a dude who rolls people up with a ball?  …Yeah… not the average video game.  When I first picked up Katamari Damacy, I couldn’t believe it.  This is one of the most memorable games I have ever played in my entire life, and every gamer needs to play it at least once.  The concept is this:  You’re this dude.  A fairy, a pixie, I don’t really know.  And you’re working for this weird God who tells you to go out into the world and roll up shit with a giant ball called a “katamari.”  You roll up everything, from safety pins to coins to watermelons to people to trees to cars to buildings… to… well, the whole freaking world!  Every level has certain objectives, most of them requiring your katamari to reach a certain size.  That can be anything from a meter in diameter to a full on kilometer.  It’s tons of fun.  The art style is simply bonkers, evoking a trip-like experience, as well as featuring some infectious J-pop music in the soundtrack.  Basically, it’s a wildly original game with simple controls and endlessly fun gameplay.  If you do not find this game in the slightest bit amusing, I conclude that you have no soul….

…

…

and you hate kittens.

a cool overview of Vice City with shots of gameplay

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Themed by: Hunson