Video Game Rankdown Pt. 2

[totes4totes]

TimeSplitters 2


I'm about to go to the gym and then go home so I'll not be on the internet for like 2+ hours so I'm getting this write-up done really quick. TimeSplitters 2 is the second in the TimeSplitters series. For those of you who like me hadn't heard of the TimeSplitters series before, it's a first-person shooter franchise. Unlike the first game, this game is a multiplatform and was released in 2002 for the Playstation2, Xbox, and GameCube (remember the days when Nintendo was trying to compete hardware wise with Sony and Microsoft!).

The game relies heavily on you knowing the plot of the first TimeSplitters game. And in this game you take the role of a space marine who has to stop the alien race known as TimeSplitters from f*cking up history by collecting time crystals in various time periods. The game has 10 levels which are each set in a different time period and have a different set of objectives. While the main campaign can be played solo, there is also a multiplayer arcade and mapmaking mode.

It got great reception when it came out and has often been compared to GoldenEye007. It seems like the type of game and series that has a small but very loyal fan community but unfortunately is maybe too niche to get a revival in the 2020s. But THQ Nordic acquired the IP and they are releasing soon a HD version of Battle for Bikini Bottom so it seems anything is possible these days.

[.Rei]

Super Mario 3D World








Super Mario 3D World is a super fun Mario game and one that I was hoping I could keep saved until the finals hence why I saved it multiple times. In the end, I had to make a decision and I really wanted Twilight Princess in the top 64 and I was pretty certain neither Sola or Tom would advance it so that's why I chose to cut my last 4 games and get the chance to pick 4 without waiting until the end. Super Mario World 3D was released on 2013 for the Wii U and is the sequel to Super Mario Land 3D. The plot follows Mario, Luigi, Toad and Peach attempting to rescue fairies called Sprixies from Bowser who has invaded the Sprixie Kingdom. The game mechanics is a mix of the 3D Mario games with the mechanics of the 2D side-scrolling platform games. You can choose to play as Mario, Luigi, Toad, Peach and Rosalina (who will be available later in the game). Like the original Super Mario World, the levels are presented through world maps. There are several items introduced during this game like the Super Bell, that gives the player a Cat Suit;and the Double Cherries, which make a clone of the player. You can either play by yourself or with up to three more players, and I recommend do it with more people, cause this is really fun game to play with friends. The game is beautiful, with many incredible levels and is definitely one of my favorite games ever. I really love it and if you haven't played it, please do it and have a great time with it. The game was very well received by the critics and sold more than 5 million copies which makes it the 2nd best selling WiiU game out there. Anyway, I love this game and it will be missed in the finals :'(

[Deeee]

Hopefully we can finish write-ups tonight!

 

Write-Ups:

 

Nico - 1

Megan - 1

Victoria - 5

[Deeee]

VICTORIA

[Deeee]

VICTORIA

 

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I'm on my way to my other co-workers wake; leaving at 9:30.

[miss denise]

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

 

 

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back is a platform game originally released on 1997 for the PlayStation. It is the second game of the Crash Bandicoot video game series. In this game Doctor Cortex abducts Crash, who tricks him into thinking he wants to save the world. Crash is thrown into different parts of the N. Sanity Island in order to recover crystals that will allow Cortex to contain the power of an upcoming menace and keep the planet of being destroyed. The game is considered to be an improvement over its predecessor however it drew some criticisms due to the lack of level variety, easy boss levels and lack of innovation. The game was success with sales of over 5 million copies and making it the 14th best-selling PlayStation game of all time. I played this game a lot when younger I know I had plenty of fun with it but somehow my memories of Crash 2 and Crash 3 are not as strong as those of Crash 1 where I can remember most of it. I still would have this game on the top 64 but you all voted against me (except Steven and Sola :" border="0" alt="blushing.gif" /> ) so this is what you get for doing that :* . Also the original Crash is still there and is the most iconic Crash game in my opinion. So bye to this game, you will be remembered.

 

Another Crash down. :bye2: This one is my brother's favorite.

[Deeee]

:) :) :)

[totes4totes]

I will just do every write up at this rate

[Deeee]

Victoria.

[Deeee]

I will just do every write up at this rate

 

I'm fine with this. I'll split them with you.

[NGM]

Mass Effect

 

 

I knew after I made my saves that most of my remaining faves were f*cked lol. And here we are. Mass Effect is a great game, and while the second one (which is still in) remains the gold standard, it doesn't mean the cut doesn't suck. Mass Effect was released in 2007 for the Xbox 360 (later it went to PC and even later to PS3), where you take the role of Commander Shepard and start to explore what has been going on in the Milky Way and the mystery of the Reapers. The game (and the other games in the series) made incredible use of interactive storytelling, making every decision by the player crucial for the game. The design of the game is also really well done, managing to bring the scope of space to life in a way that was so immersive. So yeah, fantastic game, and something I would recommend to pretty much anyone.

[totes4totes]

Mortal Kombat (Arcade; 1992)


With how iconic Mortal Kombat is, I'm surprised to learn that it made its debut a short 27+ years ago. It feels like it should have made its debut closer to when Street Fighter and Fatal Fury were first released in the late 80s. But looking at Mortal Kombat, that's a dumb thought from me because it looks so quintessentially 90s. Also because it was the center of a lot of 90s video game panic for its at the time (and something that carries through today) gruesome, over-the-top, gory graphics. Honestly, the controversy over the game probably helped it become the best-seller and start of the iconic franchise that it is today.

Mortal Kombat is a 2D fighting game that was first released in the arcade in 1992. Players fight in 1v1 matches where they aim to drain their opponent's health bar. As the matches are timed if both players still have health at the end of the match, the player with the most health left is the winner. Mortal Kombat distinguishes itself in a few ways. For example few moves require circular joystick movement, the blocking system differs from other popular fighting games of the day, and the game introduces the concept of "juggling" where a character can be sent into the air and then continually attacked in a defenseless position. And of course probably the most famous innovations, each character especially gory finishing move called a fatality.

With the controversy, the unique fighting mechanics, and the over-the-top nature of the original game, it's no wonder that Mortal Kombat became an iconic fighting game and a game that still releases consistently good games to this day.

[totes4totes]

Wario Land 4


If I had it my way, Wario Land 3 would have been the last Wario Land game standing. Wario Land 4 is good (and in fact, I just picked it up from a second-hand game store on Black Friday so I can replay the game), but I just don't think it is as good as its GBC predecessor. Wario Land 4 is the fourth and pentultimate in the core Wario Land series. Honestly, considering how Shake-It did not end up being great, it probably should have been the last Wario Land game.

The Wario Land series was to serve as essentially an "Anti-Mario" series of games. There's an intense focus on collecting coins and treasure rather than saving a princess. Unlike the previous two Wario Land games, this game reintroduces lives and doesn't make Wario indestructible (unfortunately). It's a fun game with pretty good level design and a lot of replayability but I think that it's just not as fun as the previous two games.

[totes4totes]

Conker's Bad Fur Day (Nintendo64, 2001)


Conker's Bad Fur Day essentially ended the long and illustrious run that Rare and Nintendo had together. Stretching all the way from the 1980s with their many many NES games to this last game they released before being bought by Microsoft in 2002. And while Rare would release a few more games for Nintendo Handheld devices, a Rare IP wouldn't really be seen on a Nintendo console until Banjo and Kazooie made their Smash debut in 2019.

If you've played a Rare platformer (and I almost guaranteed you either have or are at least familiar with games like Banjo Kazooie and DK64), you know how this plays. And despite coming out after the bloated DK64 and Banjo-Tooie, Conker's rights the track in terms of combining fun game play and collecting without making the game too tedious. Coming in at the end of the N64's lifetime, the game is also one of the most technically impressive and best-looking for the system as well. But because it's a Rare platforming game, and really just an N64 platforming game, the camera control still sucks.

Unlike the much more family friendly Rare games like Banjo and DK64, Conker's Bad Fur Day is known for its lowbrow humor and mature themes. Things you typically don't associate with Nintendo games like tobacco, alcohol, gambling, and profanity make its way into the game (and ensure that there's a bit of controversy surrounding the game). But that edgy element made the game a cult favorite.

A fun story, as I was moving out of my apartment a few years ago, I stumbled upon a working cartridge for Conker's Bad Fur Day on the side of the road ready to be just thrown away. This is why the collective college move-in/move-out day is so fun. Always finding weird stuff.

[totes4totes]

I'm gonna take a break if Dee wants to do Halo 2 and Splatoon

[Deeee]

Take them Megan!

[totes4totes]

Halo 2


It should go without saying that without the Halo franchise we'd probably still be looking at a two-horse race between Nintendo and Sony for Video Game dominance. And Halo 2 followed up on that dominance and did for Xbox Live what Halo did for Xbox. While Halo is the original, and Halo 3 is probably the best of the series, Halo 2 is still a great game in its own right. And its launch was preceded by one of the most iconic viral marketing schemes with the "I Love Bees" game.

Halo 2 features a story campaign that takes place shortly after the events of the novel Halo: First Strike and can be played either single-player or in cooperative multiplayer. The game also features a multi-player mode that allows players to compete in either split-screen mode or with linked systems. In addition, it was also possible to play in online multiplayer with Xbox Live and would hold the title for top Xbox Live game for two straight years after its release.

While Halo 2 introduced concepts like online matchmaking, the dual-wielding of weapons, and was universally praised for its mechanics and gameplay, I think that in retrospect the game falls a bit short and its plot and campaign suffer for being the middle game in the trilogy. It's especially infamous for its very abrupt cliffhanger ending. I think that if you are going to play the Halo games, then obviously all three games of the OG trilogy are definitely must-plays but if you were going to play only one Halo game, then you'd be better off playing either the original, Halo 3, or Halo Reach.

[totes4totes]

Splatoon (Wii U, 2015)


It's kind of insane how incredibly successful Nintendo has been at looking at the existing game landscape, seeing what games are popular, and just innovating genres to make them fit right within the Nintendo landscape. And Nintendo's ability to just make new franchises and have most of them become almost immediately iconic is what helps them persist in a video game landscape where they do not compete tech-wise with Sony and Microsoft.

Splatoon is probably the latest successful Nintendo Franchise almost single-handedly justifying the purchase of a Wii U. And while there's some interesting stories in the development of this game (most notably with High Voltage Software), it's clear to see that the order for this development was "We need a multi-player shooter with no guns" and Splatoon is what came out of it. And it's brilliant and tons of fun.

The game is primarily a team-based third-person shooter played with eight players in 4v4 matches. Though the game also features 1v1 matches and a single-player campaign. Players control Inklings (or fondly, Squid Kids) and shoot out ink from their weapons. They can hide and move around by swimming in the ink which allows for an incredible range of movement considering that you not only can move through the ink on flat surfaces but up buildings and walls and through grates. The game's objective is often to cover more of the area of play with your team's color of ink. Shooting opponents will "SPLAT" them back to their team's starting point and create a large area of ink.

The game is also notable for the amount of customization you can have for your character and features some of the coolest street gear that I've seen in a video game. Its Shibuya and Japanese youth culture inspiration is clear (speaking of which, another game with good fashion that I love that also takes place in Shibuya has made it through the finals of this rankdown).

The success of Splatoon pretty much justified the Wii U's existence and served as a useful franchise to allow Nintendo plenty of time to make sure the Switch would take off running, and wouldn't you know it, Splatoon's sequel served as a launch window game proving how much Nintendo believes in this franchise. I can't wait for hopefully the incoming Splatoon 3.

[1234567890]

Sorry, I was pretty drained from my co-workers wake and I'm on new meds which make me very tired.

[totes4totes]

Super Mario World


I'm kicking myself for not saving this game. I hope other people are as well. I just assumed that it would be saved so I saved some games I personally enjoy more but would easily admit that they do not match the quality of this game. At least I put through Yoshi's World (the other best platformer for the SNES and the Super Mario series).

It is insane that Super Mario World is an SNES launch game. You can talk about how Nintendo has a leg up in developing games for their own systems, but Super Mario World is so essentially perfect and uses every bit of the SNES hardware so well that the fact that it came out at launch is mind-blowing. In 2020, it's easy to take for granted the games visuals, graphics, gameplay, and sound design. But imagine coming from the 8-bit NES to the 16-bit SNES. In fact I'll help you do this through gifs and Youtube.

Super Mario 3 came out in 1988. Just two short years before Super Mario World and while it is probably the pinnacle of the NES this is what it looks like:


And this is what it sounds like:
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Again while incredibly technically impressive (especially if I were to compare it to the original Super Mario Bros NES game), it's still a bit flat in dimension. The sounds is definitely 8-bit.

Now here's Super Mario World:

(A castle to compare to the castle above)

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Just look at how much more texture and detail this game has. Like Super Mario Bros justified an NES purchase, this justified the NES to SNES upgrade. It shows off all the new technical capabilities of the system. Nintendo had a chokehold on the video game market in the 80s going into the 90s so the SNES still probably would have been a popular console buy, but the launch of Super Mario World in the same window as the SNES made it a must-buy.

But it's not just the graphics that make this game so standout. It's how much intricacy there is. The three previous Super Mario games didn't include a save system. Everything was meant to be played over and over until you mastered the games the levels and all their secrets in one go. Super Mario World, on the other hand, is a game that you play over and over finding new secrets in levels and new paths to take. The overworld map reflects changes you make in game like hitting switches that make different color blocks appear or showing new paths when you make different exits in the various levels. The game also introduces iconic items like the cape which allows you to float (and in some cases you can just skip entire levels if you master the floating technique) and the spin-jump which allows you to break blocks and hit enemies.





You also get the ability to hold and item just in case you lose that cape you might have a fire flower waiting to be deployed. This helps you when you may be stuck in a level with a long stretch of no power-ups making you slightly less vulnerable to attack and is one of the best quality-of-life features. The other great quality-of-life feature is the fact that you can save between levels. You don't need to get through the game all in one go, you can take your time and really explore and find all the secrets.

However, probably the most iconic introduction to the series is Yoshi.



That's right, our favorite video game dinosaur is not even 30-years-old, making his debut as Mario's ride in Super Mario World. And with Yoshi comes a whole new set of mechanics. Yoshi can eat almost any enemy and sometimes gains special abilities after eating. If Yoshi eats a green Koopa shell he can spit it back out at enemies. If he eats a red shell he can spit fire. A yellow shell will cause Yoshi to spit out dust that can kill enemies. And a blue shell allows Yoshi to fly.



Yoshi also essentially provides you the ability to take an extra hit without losing a power-up or life. And jumping off a Yoshi can provide you with extra height to reach some of those hard to reach platforms.

I have to cut this write-up to a little bit shorter than I would like, so I'll leave a few parting words. Super Mario World is one of the most iconic and perfect games in existence. It basically perfects the 2D Mario Platformer (and a better one has not been made since, and it being so good is probably why there is such a long gap between this game and New Super Mario Bros for the DS in 2006). It's so good and if you have a Nintendo Switch, you can play it with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription (actually the entire SNES Nintendo Switch Online line-up makes the $20/year worth it).

Edited January 5, 2020 by totes4totes

[1234567890]

[QueenKalie]

 

Victoria finds another way out of doing those 5 write ups we have to stan.

[totes4totes]

I put effort into all those write ups so I won’t put effort into the 64 incoming write ups Dee is gonna make us do

 

Also I left my laptop charger at work so congrats to me for getting all those write-ups finished before my battery died. Lol.

[NGM]

@megan add me to the list of people shocked no one saved World (including myself)