#70
Soul Calibur (DC)
135 points
By now, Soul Calibur is starting to succumb in its hype. Other games are now out with better graphics, supposedly better gameplay, and Soul Calibur is stuck on the Dreamcast, of all systems. Hell, now it even has sequels for everyone to enjoy. So why bother playing this old hunk of junk? I wondered what it would be like to play the original now after forcing out over 50 hours into Soul Calibur II. It seemed like this game would become completely obsolete with SCII exceeding it in every way. But alas, I still manage to find this at the peak of 3d fighting games. Sure, SCII is technically better with all of its upgrades, and VF4: Evolution is also probably better in that respect, but this still holds a charm to it, and by no means feels the least bit dated.
Review by Wes
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#69
Super Metroid (SNES)
138 points
An army of evil creatures are waiting for battle at every turn of Zebes' twisted, threatening passageways. It's up to Samus to recapture the long-surviving Metroid hatchling before evil hands unleash its energy. One of the selling points of the Metroid series has always been the freedom in exploration. Super Metroid retains the hallmark of adventure games – venturing from area to area, cleaning out enemies, and collecting items. Whereas most games venture from left to right, Super Metroid requires you to expand your exploration in all directions. Samus’ space suit allow you to switch at a second’s notice from a whirling dervish in the sky to a compact ball to evade a metroid. A great addition to the series and worthy of it’s praise.
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#68
Metal Gear Solid 2 (PS2/XBOX)
139 points
Snake returns and he’s brought his government conspiracies with him. The game begins simple enough; Snake and Otacon are on a mission to provide evidence that the Marines are building a new Metal Gear. But before you even gain control of Snake, the plans change in an instant. From there, it’s a web of confusion and revelation after revelation. It’s a lot to take in on your first play through and some gamers may be scratching their heads at the codec dialogue overload. But while some gamers point out it’s flawed, others went deeper into the story as the game progressed. Hideo Kojima has been hailed a genius for crafting what very well be the most perplexing and developed story-line in video game history.
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#67
Perfect Dark (N64)
141 points
Much like Laura Croft and Jill Valentine, Joanna Dark has become one of video games most successful heroines. Banking off the success of the incredible Goldeneye, Rare develops another picture perfect FPS for the N64. Instead of an action adventure much like Bond’s movies, Perfect Dark takes on a sci-fi approach. Voice acting, blood effects and a large variety of weapons add to the excitement. Not too mention a chaotic multi-player (for the N64 days) that kept friends up late.
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#66
Marvel VS Capcom 2 (PS2/XBOX/DC)
142 points
Story? We don't need no stinkin' story! In this, the final Marvel-licenced Capcom game you select 3 characters to fight another team of 3. People that first see this game in all it's down-and-out wild glory probably think it's just a button masher but, underneth the insanity a skilled player knows when to pull out what character and at what time, stringing together combos that can reach upwards to 100+ hits(no joke). MVC2 gave us 56 characters from the Marvel/Capcom universe; at the time it was the highest character count ever. Because of that there was what seemed like an almost infinite amount of fighting possibilities. No two fights were the same, and it was oh, so beautiful. Not to mention the smooth jazz music that plays during the fights. I was taken for a ride alright.
Review by Lentium
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#65
Beautiful Katamari (X360)
145 points
Arguably one of the best stoner series in video game history, Katamari has wowed us all with its insanity. In the latest addition, Beautiful Katamari allows you to enjoy snowballing everything in sight in new high-definition, next generation sights and sounds. The Japanese sure do love to be crazy, and Beautiful Katamari proves we like to get a little crazy to.
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#64
Fable 2 (X360)
146
This time around Peter Molyneux came much closer to fulfilling his promises. After many unfulfilled promises from the first Fable, Lionhead produced Fable II with far less promises to upkeep. Fable II is an entertaining open-world adventure game, where your character choices have many impacts on the story, not only short term, but also long term. Choices can dictate whether a city will be prosperous or a mere ghetto. People also react to your personal choices by either loving or hating you, or cheering or fearing you. All the while, you choose if you want your Hero to be fat or skinny, riddled with scars or not. Fable II introduced a very streamlined 3 button combat system, mapping sword swipes, gun shots, and magic casting to 1 button each. While it makes battles very fun to integrate all 3 together, earning you more experience points that way, the combat throughout the entire game is a little too easy. Fable II is a great Adventure game, with a beautiful world, many people would enjoy, and even with its ho-hum story line, many will consider a classic.
Review by Green Lantern
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#63
Tomb Raider (PS1/SAT/PC)
148 points
What can you say about Laura Croft? Besides the fact that she’s been voted #1 for every poll on hottest female video game character of all time. Well, if it were just her looks that put her on this list, then Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach volleyball would be in the top 10. No, Tomb Rider isn’t just about a girl with nice guns, and, umm, nice weapons… It’s also a labyrinth of cryptic mazes. Climb, swim and backflip your way through Incan ruins, Ancient Rome, Egyptian Pyramids, and the Lost City of Atlantis. The most successful game on the Sega Saturn with several sequels and two movies, Tomb Raider belongs on the top 100 of all time.
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#62
Dead Rising (X360)
150 points
Grab anything and I mean anything and prepare for zombie carnage inspired from Dawn of the Dead. Photojournalist Frank West has been dropped off at a mall in Colorado to investigate humans being used as chew toys. Within 72 Hours you must report the story of what’s going on as well as interact with survivors throughout the mall. Not such an easy task when the mall is loaded of the undead. Fortunately Frank can equip himself with any object available at the mall and use it as a weapon. Dead rising offers a lot of violence, a lot of choice and even a lot of humor and falls at #62
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#61
Shenmue (DC)
151 points
Should I find out who killed my father or hang out at the arcade all day? Not an option in most games but, in Shenmue you can do just that. Attention to detail is the name of the game, every resident of the town Sakuragaoka has a family, a home, a job, every drawer can be opened, there are literally hundreds of useless objects to collect. You are Ryo, it's the mid 80's, your father has just been murdered, a mysterious object known as the "dragon mirror" is stolen from your home; it's your task to figure out who, and more importantly why. Sadly we may never know the "why" after Sega's sinking at the hands of the "other three" Shenmue was never finished; only two chapters of this massive tale were told. Shenmue was ahead of it's time, it melded so many genres into a singular world. I hold out hope that it will be completed, untill then I'll continue not being as amazed when the next big thing comes around.
Review by Lentium
