Yuku free message boards

Honourable DS Mention: Mario Kart DS


I've long been of the opinion that Mario Kart 64 is one of the most overrated games ever, and people try to justify their praise of it without playing any of the newer ones which are all much better (yes, even Double Dash... perhaps not the GBA verion, though) Super Mario Kart and every 3D entry after 64 outclasses this one. Not to mention there was the far superior Crash Team Racing over on the PlayStation (even though it was a couple of years later).

In short, I hate MK64 and it won't get an honourable mention. Anyway...

DS is, no question, the best game in the Mario Kart series. Seriously, if this was what they put on the console... with touched up graphics and slightly longer courses, it would be the perfect Mario Kart game. It's got some great, innovative racetracks, the length of which suit the DS really well, the Battle Mode was not raped of it's classicness (I'll rant about that once I get to the MKWii ranking) and there were some great old courses from past games. Plus the challenge mode was a great feature

24. N+ (XBLA)


Before I start, anyone who has not gotten the PC version of this game must... this is the best freeware game I've ever played, and you've been missing out if you haven't played it yet.

http://www.thewayoftheninja.org/n_downloads.html

Anyway, N+ is an Xbox 360 (now also on PSP and DS) version of the acclaimed PC flash game, N. There's nothing particularly innovative about this game - the graphics are simple and so is the premise. Find switch, unlock door, go through door. But the journey to the switch and door is a blast. Various enemies hinder your path in this 2D puzzle-ish game and touching one of them will kill you. You have unlimited lives and the physics engine allows you to jump really high if you can get the timing right. Anyway, the Xbox version ran considerably smoother due to it being a console version, and the addition of Co-op and multiplayer modes makes this a really top-notch game. Value for money, I'd still probably go for MBU, but this is still an amazing game.

23. Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360)


This scale of this game was simply mindblowing. Having not played a proper GTA game before this one, I wasn't really sure what to expect... it's not really my kinda game, despite this I found the single-player mode really entertaining. The storyline was compelling, the environment was massive, and beautifully detailed, the Eastern European radio station had some great songs and there was a seeimingly endless supply of side-missions to keep me occupied. The multiplayer was kind of a let-down, though... since most of the time people just fucked around. Great game in most aspects, though... I just didn't enjoy it as much as some of my more sentimental favourites

22. Super Mario Kart (SNES)


Fun fact... Yoshi sucks in this game. While I always play as Yoshi in every other Mario spinoff game (and am yet to play as anyone other than Yoshi in MKWii) When it's nealy impossible to take most turns, someone with steering as loose as Yoshi's (or Peach's) is not your friend.

They just don't make'em like this anymore. This game was rediculously fucking difficult... but at the same time, was enjoyable enough for me to cling on, and I eventually beat 150cc Special Cup (which, in comparison to later entries in the series... would be like 300cc). Anyway, while I don't like to judge games based on how "revolutionary" they are, this one certainly deserves credit. For a game released in 1992, it still plays pretty well today (unlike a certain 1996 entry to the series) despite the lack of depth. The 3D effect the game gave was also pretty cool. I only ever had 1 controller for my SNES, so I never got to play Battle Mode properly, unfortunately.

21. Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox)


Ugh, my original write-up for this game disappeard... so I'll give you the abridged version.

Humans (including the powerful super-soldier you play as) need to save the galaxy from misguided killer aliens, though most plot unfolds in sequels. Evil parasites also try to kill you.

Good points: Simple gameplay, great storytelling, great graphics and beautiful soundtrack
Bad points: Multiplayer maps wasted unless you can set up a LAN due to lack of bots or online capabilites

20. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back


This one was a lot more polished than its prequel but still suffered a lot of the same problems. The game was a lot smoother, and certainly there were some nice additions (bonus gems, new boxes and 'vehicles') but the game was still painfully linear. That's not to say it wasn't fun... but it was not a particularly immersive gaming environment. Some of the levels offered a great challenge ("Cold Hard Crash" and "Ruination" come to mind) without being hair-tearingly frustrating (as dapa mentioned, "Slippery Climb"). So this game does deserve a decent amount of praise... hence its high ranking on this list

19. Banjo-Kazooie (XBLA)


I didn't play much of the original BK on the N64, so I'm not sure why I was so keen on getting Nuts & Bolts, but I did... and this was included as a freebie. A thouroughly enjoyable 3D platformer with a wicked sense of humour this game was marred by a couple of things, the controls got frustrating at times, especially in the later levels when a dodgy move could lose you some serious health. Another issue I had was with its length - once you got the jiggys and beat Grunty... that was it. Collecting Jiggys was a pretty quick affair except for a few frustrating ones - but most of the game could be tackled without too much time wasted. Overall, it was good enough for me to want to get Tooie - I just haven't found enough time to get it yet.

Honourable N64 Mention: Conker's Bad Fur Day


I'm not sure how this game made it onto the otherwise family-friendly N64... but it did. It's violent, it's crude, it's creepy and it's amazing... it's a great balance of platforming fun and risque humour

18. Spyro the Dragon (PS1)



It's games like this that showed how much better the PlayStation was than the Nintendo 64. This game was enchanting to say the least. The adventures of the little badass dragon trying to save the rest of the Dragon kingdom from the wrath of Gnasty Gnorc were both fun and challenging. The game played really smoothly and looked great, some of the levels had just that good amount of difficulty that challenged but didn't piss off, and it wasn't so short that it made you feel ripped off (plus there's something strangely satisfying about getting all that treasure in the final level). Though, unlike Crash Warped, which was released at pretty much the same time... this game had zero replay value which is something I like in my games

17. Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped


This game wasn't really leaps and bounds ahead of Crash 2, so in my book it can't be much higher on the list... but it was still a better game. The addition of the Coco levels was something that felt pretty natural, there was also the�motorcycle, plane and underwater levels which�I liked. The unlockable moves were also handy... and didn't feel tacked on. This game also had the great addition of the relics, which is good because now, 10 years after I got this game, I'm still trying to get those last few Platinums. Still linear, but also one hell of a game.

16. Gears of War (Xbox 360)


This was certainly an interesting game... it was fun to play, but it was frustratingly generic. Unlike the Halo series, this game's story isn't the most captivating ever, partially because the plot is "OMG, there's aliens from underground attacking us... let's kill them!!!!" and "OMG, our last attempt failed, let's try the same thing again" but partially because the voice acting (apart from the Locust Queen) is atrocious, it sounds like a cross between a dubbed anime and a cheapo independently produced video game. The game is fun to play through, though... and the still looks amazing even if it doesn't sound it. The multiplayer was also pretty good, but suffers from a lack of different modes. Most of these problems were fixed in Gears 2, though.

15. Tetris (Game Boy)



Tetris was my first ever game. It was putting blocks on top of each other to make lines. As you progressed, the blocks fell faster. It was simple, it was quick, it was awesome. Nothing more needs to be said other than SSBB had a great remix of the classic 8-bit theme.

14. Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (Xbox 360)




A lot of people are quick to criticize this game for being too different to its predecessors. While I can undestand how this game may not be everyone's cup of tea (no game really ever is) I enjoyed it immensely. It's like a cross between the first two Banjo games, Simpsons Hit and Run, and at the same time it even felt a bit Zelda-y with the hub world. Trying out new vehicles to see what suits each challenge best is great fun, building things for the soul purpose of destroying stuff is also oddly satisfying. The game also retains the same witty, and often self-depreciating humor of the first two games, and the single-player story is a treat to play through. Multiplayer was also better than I expected it to be. The four-player splitscreen was a welcome surprise, although multiplayer fell short by not allowing you to build your own custom races.

13. Spyro: Year of the Dragon�(PS1)
�


It's a shame that my Spyro 3 disc is scratched, because this game was just awesome. It was longer than Spyro 2, and was just as challenging as Spyro 1 but with heaps of extra goodies. A lot of characters from Spyro 2 returned, offering a lot of continuity that wasn't there between the first two games. The Sparx levels and the unlockable characters were all great additions, and some of Moneybags's lines are pure gold. It's a shame the franchice, like Crash Bandicoot, went down hill dramatically once new developers took over.

12. Mario Kart Wii (Take a guess)



This game was pretty damn good. Well, racing was anyway. The courses were all really well designed, and while I'll admit I was initially skeptical about motorcycles, and bumping up the number of racers to 12 - but the first was actually a really good addition, and the second doesn't really impact the game much. The wide variety of karts, players and customisable options were also good additions. Online was pretty good, too. I'm not a big fan of Nintendo's stupid friend code system, but the method for choosing courses is pretty fair... there is however one main gripe I have with this game.

BATTLE MODE! Seriously, the battle mode in MKWii is a shadow of its former glory. The DS version, on top of the classic "destroy your opponents balloons" mode, also included computer-controlled battlers (so battle could be played in single mode) and team mode as well. Including bots was something that battle really could've used, anyway, and team was pretty good as an option. But then the Wii version went and GOT RID OF FREE FOR ALL! And if that wasn't bad enough... losing all your balloons means nothing, and you just get put back in the game with 3 balloons again!! What gives!? The person who decided getting rid of the classic battle mode that made it such a fun party game was a good idea should seriously DIAF. That being said, the battle stages themselves are pretty good (well, two of them were. Delfino and Funky stadium.) Overall, though, the race mode is redeeming enough to get it a good spot on the list... though the fact it's in my present game rotation helps, too

11. Super Mario World (SNES)



Well this game was the first ever to feature Yoshi, so it's pretty much automatic win... even without Yoshi (which was sadly the case during boss battles) it was a pretty damn good game. It may not be the best 2D scroller in the world, but it's still a pretty complete game. Sure, shallow and generic storyline (but so is the case with every Mario game up until Sunshine, where there is a small change to the formula) but hey, as long as its fun to play, right? 68 levels of pretty decent length, and there's plenty of variation in there... castles, desert, rivers, ice caves... they're all there somewhere. Dinosaur land, the setting of this game, would also be a pretty awesome game to come back to in a 3D game at some point. It's interesting to also note that every piece of music, save for the invincibilty theme and the final battle with Bowser, are all based off of the same basic theme. Pretty cool

10. TimeSplitters: Future Perfect (PS2)




"Electric Zombies!? That is totally unfair"

Coming off of the massively awesome and successful TimeSplitters 2, this game had a hard act to follow. And in most aspects, it didn't disappoint... it just wasn't quite up to the awesomeness delivered by its predecessor. Firstly, the things that this game did right. In this game, you were able to melee with all of your weapons. Which was sorely needed, seeing as switching over to 'punch' when you had five other weapons to scroll through got pretty annoying. Secondly, this game went a step further than TS2 storyline-wise. While TS1 had no real story to speak of (despite there being a Story mode option), TS2 had this vague time-travelling campaign plot tied together with a 2401 backdrop. The missions had no real connection to each other, though.�In this game, you play as Cortez throughout the entire single-player campaign... and there is a solid (if extremely confusing) storyline. Plus the addition of computer-controlled allies also makes things more interesting. Mapmaker is also vastly better than in the first two games. I wish the tilesets were a little more engaging, though.

Now for where this game falls short in comparison to 'Splitters 2. Anyone who's played the first 2 games can attest to its insane difficulty. Even "Normal" in TimeSplitters 1 and 2 pushes the envelope a bit. However, this difficulty - the main appeal of TS2 - does not exist in Future Perfect. Which was a huge letdown. Secondly, TimeSplitters multiplayer is known for its Unreal Tournament-fast multiplayer as well as its wacky modes. Future Perfect took out my favourite mode (Flame Tag) which to this day pisses me off, and the maps available for gameplay aren't quite as good, either. Despite these flaws, though... it's still an amazing game. And even though the online servers have been closed, I can't recommend it more for its fun and light-hearted story mode, as well as the frantic multiplayer. (Although if you can find TS2, get that as well)

9. Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360)



This had a number of improvements from the first Gears game. The storyline was more enjoyable and less pointless than the first game. Although it did end really abruptly... I mean you'd expect some kind of conclusion from a game even if you know there's going to be another sequel... it's just common courtesy. But yeah, the voice acting was still pretty atrocious, and it really made the most emotional scene in the game lose a lot of its intencity. The scale of everything was also much bigger, the last game had one ginourmous monster, and all you could do was flee from it, while in this game you're killing them left right and centre. It does balance the wide-open stuff with closed off areas, though.

Anyway, multiplayer contained an unexpected surprise... CPU players! Something that's rarely seen in small-scale multiplayer shooters these days. Combined with some interesting maps and this is a really good game... I just didn't find it that much better than the first, though it was a decent step up.

Honourable Mario Mentions: Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES/GBA) and Super Mario 64 (N64/NDS)

�ARGH, why does it keep fucking up... I don't have it in me to write this for a fourth time. If you want to see videos look for them yourself.

Super Mario 64 - 3D awesomeness
Mario Bros. 2 - Unique gameplay, selectable characters, new enemies.

Both of these had far superior handheld remakes�

8. Halo 2 (Xbox)




Wow, this game was amazing... I know there's�a lot of people who bitch about the Halo series being overrated... but I still think it's an awesome game. Great Multiplayer, simple controls that are easy to pick up, and a really engaging storyline... not to mention�a score composed by the John Williams of video games.�Still, there are a few things that this game manages to fall short with. The removal of the Assualt rifle was a pretty dumb thing to do, thankfully a slightly different AR was brought back for Halo 3... there was also the frustrating cliffhanger ending, and while I did like the inclusion of the Arbiter campaign levels, you didn't even finish the game as Master Chief - although this game gets props for having a proper final boss - the other two just had really long car rides.

Multiplayer was great, it didn't have bots... but the popularity of the game meant finding a game online was never difficulty. The multiplayer maps were rockin' as well. Basically, most of this game was win... but with a few key flaws.