You what now?

hylian_elf wrote:

You what now?

Best of Windows Entertainment Pack.

Worth it for Chips Challenge alone.

mk64 wrote:

how does syndicate compare with canon fodder? I have never played either (i've watched the longplay of CF though) and always heard Syndicate was better? 

Didn't play a huge amount of Syndicate, just the one dinner really as I didn't have a pc, but I'd say it was far more of an actual strategy game. CF being like the console version, which for many genres always seemed like the 'lite' version. More enjoyable game to me, I suppose it might be the difference between Microsoft flight sim and desert strike

He had both!

Will update later this week. Thanks to all for locking in their picks. Probably should do mine.

This is a great thread. I'm going to come back to this a few times and read up on games I missed out on, or for a nostalgia trip.

But it took until page 5 and Roujin (thank you Roujin) before anyone mentioned Baldurs Gate.

You ignorant sluts.

Poprock gets a nod for planting his flag in Speedball 2 as his 1-10.

No mention of Thief?!

Reg listed Thief 3 but that wasn’t in the time frame and also rubbish - when compared to the first 2. Thief 2 is my choice but that’s 2000.

Final lock @regmcfly.  Had to bump Bangai-O as it missed the decade as a PAL release. 


1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64)

I wanted it so much I bought the game on release day, which lay dormant as an awesome yet infuriating paperweight until I nicked my sister's bf's N64 for the Christmas holidays and hid at my nan's with it.  My first Nintendo game and an another example of an N64 game nailing the transition from 2D to 3D at the first pass.  I only played through it once, but I've got nothing but perfect memories that sit [channels Glen Campbell] forever gentle on my mind. 

2. Street Fighter II (specifically Turbo era)

This was A Big Thing.  Everyone was obsessed with it, which of course it deserved.  I put the majority of my hours in on the stuff-strutting 24-carat 24-MEG Megadrive version, but Street Fighter still smells of chips to me.  At one point we had SF2: Champion Edition in the chippy and Mortal Kombat in the cab office.  Perfect. 

3. Shining Force II (Megadrive)

Managed to get hold of this when I was in a bit of a lather over RPGs.  Was my first grid tactics affair.  As a youngfam what I used to like was towns, and talking to videogame villagefolk about stuff/running errands in hamlets etc.  Lost your hat?  Never fear, I am here.  'What are the towns like?' would've been my first question to anyone who'd played an RPG I was interested in.  Thankfully the towns in this were solid, and the rest of it was utterly magnificent.  The ability to properly level up each character with a class transformation blew my mind, and its team assemble game has only ever been rivalled by Mass Effect 2 imo.

4. Micro Machines 2 (Megadrive) GET OFF MY SPONGE

5. Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64)

Probably the poster child for 'how did they manage that then?'.  Mystifyingly good jump to three dimensional platforming that's been the template for all the best efforts since.  Honestly though, how the fuck was it this good?  Ridiculous achievement. 

6. Quake III (Dreamcast)  Dial-up multiplayer bliss.

People complained about the lag but it was a whole new world for me, I frittered away many post-6pm hours becoming reasonably proficient at it.  I never bothered learning an M&K set-up, so even if I brought my A game a merking was just around the corner, but I absolutely loved it nonetheless.  Small maps, limited players, great weapons and quality respawning pick-ups.  Much as I enjoyed the early days of Halo 2, it was diminishing returns for me & online mp from this point onwards.  Fun fact: Also responsible for adding LOL, LMAO and ROFL to my acronym vocabulary.  I blame the lag though.   

7. Bangai-O (Dreamcast)

My favourite Treasure game.  Their top 10 is astonishingly good, so for this to top the list is quite an achievement.  The risk/reward of the counter attack is sublime and of course, the game built around this conceit is sublime.     

7. The Secret of Monkey Island (Amiga)

My mate had an Amiga, and as was par for the course, a seemingly infinite stack of games.  This one wouldn't save for some reason so we had to leave it on overnight after reaching the island, then finish it in the morning.  Insult sword fighting, absolute genius.  Would probably be my choice for gaming's all-time no.1 theme tune too.  

8. Worms Armageddon (PS1)

Gaming: The after pub years.  Red Stripe, cheap hash or omg we've got weed, near constant soundtracks provided mostly by my best mate's older brother and undercooked frozen pizza.  See also: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater.  Could well be the point in time I'd choose to revisit if I had a special one shot time travel button.   

9. Streets of Rage II (Megadrive)

Forgot about this until I saw it in Eric's votes.  With apologies to Virtua Fighter 2, which it bumps off my original list, I think this was marginally more of an event for me.  The original was a very good scrolling beat 'em up - scoring extra points if you added the word 'console' before 'scrolling' - and got plenty of things right first time.  But ho boy the sequel was insane.  Kicking the door open, arm in arm with Landstalker, bowling in with their 16 meg swagger and basically giving the Megadrive an extra two gears.  Everything aside from the lack of team-up moves in two player is nigh-on perfect.  The greatest scrolling beat 'em up of all time. 

10. Virtua Fighter II (Saturn)

I could've happily chosen any of the Xmas '95 window Big Three ports, but VFII is the game I was the most obsessed with.  I couldn't fathom the popularity of the Playstation at the time, as Sega were winning all the big head-to-heads in my eyes (VFII>Tekken 2, Sega Rally>Ridge Racer Revolution, Virtua Cop>>>Time Crisis), but *shrug*.  An excellent tactical fighter with depth, balance - at least at the level I was at - and a full set of worthwhile characters.  Okay Shun Di was a bit crap, but old drinking dude was still a great addition to the roster.  The (admittedly limited) counters in particular blew my mind.  Hugely impressive conversion too; glossy Sega perfection.

monkey wrote:

I think that was thief 1 and it got 3 points.

Oh, doh!

Right, add 85 points to the score then all is correct in the world.

note to self: read the posts properly

Good man.

I missed both mentions of Thief on the first page!

My list:
1. Thief
2. Thief
3. Thief
etc

Also
Turrican
Turrican 2
Super Metroid
Super Mario World
Dungeon Master (tenuous entry - PC version was released in 92)

Rightyo

1. Streets of Rage 2 - This is the (not a) game that will always be replayable. When I catch up with my best man for a games night, it will not be Tekken or Halo or CoD or any other fad we go back to. It will be SoR2 and until completion. Roast chickens, pipes, knives, combos and teamwork strategies are permanently imprinted upon our minds and have been for the better part of 25 years. Only one other game can claim a similar mantle.

2. Speedball 2 Brutal Deluxe - I thought (and still am) thinking hard about this one. The rise to supremacy over the fearsome Super Nashwan through the leagues, culminating in a tense 11-9 win with no goals scored. Most of which I believe were from star panels. It is an arm-wrestle of a game at its best, and a blowout when you reach the peak (200+ vs Revolver in the first half is routine). The music is utter perfection (Amiga version was my original experience).

(Work in progress)