Games I Can't Stop Playing

Nostalgia is one of my biggest flaws. A wise man once said 'Look forward not back' I constantly disregard this saying when it comes to games. I am not saying games today aren't as good as their predecessors, but my golden years of gaming are definitely behind me. This has led to me always replaying old games, to recomplete or just have fun on. Below is a list of my favourite games to replay:

1. Tony Hawk's Underground

The first and best in the series has to be first in the list. I've completed it countless times as the story, gameplay and characters were so easy to fall in love with. It combined the addictive over-the-top play of the Tony Hawk's skating series with a great rags-to-riches story. It was also one of, if not the, first skating games in which you could jump off your board and walk around and also drive cars. The story did not take anything from the gameplay which was consistently crazy and fun. An easy game that you can jump on no matter your mood.

2. Halo: Combat Evolved

We all know this game as the one of the most revolutionary games ever. Changing a lot of things not only in FPS but games in general. This particular game did not have the online multiplayer it's successors had yet to me me it was the best out of them all. The action was perfect as there was no online multiplayer distracting the game developers so everything was focused on the single player. When compared with Halo 2, 3 and 13 you can see were the story got the benefit on the first time around. None of the Halo's have managed to captured the atmosphere this game had, none of them could better or even equal the twisting yet simple storyline, and none of them could better the level Assault on the Control Room.

3. Warriors

Even Rembrandt was sick, RIP.

The PS2 release was how a movie to game...game should be made. Every game company wanting to make the transition should study how this game was made. It was perfect. It had a rich and unique back story for all the fans of the film who wanted to know more about their characters and favourite street gang. It played along with the film as if the two were twins. It also contained some of the most gruesome and violent fighting systems ever, for example Cleo jumping on people's heads during rage mode. This game was just so much fun. It took nothing away from the film, it made you want to watch the film more which in turn made you want to play the game more.

4. DOOM for PSX

There will be some whiplash from this statement but do not go into a frenzy just yet let me explain: The PSX version of DOOM was the best, better than the PC and N64. Now the N64 version was nothing much but the PC version was obviously a good game. It had a storyline and better graphics, modding etc. But the game itself was not as good as the PSX. The reason being was mainly the atmosphere. The music in the PC version was all heavy metal and it led the player to be more courageous and have little fear of what he was up against. The PSX version created an atmosphere of fear, the echoing of tortured souls, angry demons, and brainless zombies as well as an eerie soundtrack made this game quite frightening. Especially when you turn a corner and suddenly there is a Hell Knight towering above you and lets out a grinding roar which tests your bowel reflexes. All this coupled with the fact it was the first game I had with the PSX made a perfect DOOM shaped hole in my heart that needed refilling annually.

5. Resident Evil 2

I have talked about some of these games in my previous blogs but none so fondly as this bad boy. The best out of the Resident Evil series which combined the Horror of 1 and the action of 3. A perfect balance that led to me playing this game so many times I actually completed with it in 2 hours and 37 minutes without dying, sadly I saved which was a dick move but whatever I got over it so should you. This record may not be the best out of those youtubers out there but it was something I am certainly proud of as an 'Amateur Gamer.' The graphics had a great upgrade from the first and cutscenes meant a move immersive story, but more importantly the game was basically four games in one. Complete it with Leon and Claire separately you have the same story more or less. However continue the save with the discs reversed and you get a whole different face to the game as the stories entwined creating a story few games had achieved at this point. 


6. Mass Effect series (but 1 in particular)

It hurts, it still hurts. Ever since I ended three after that bastard update I haven't played it since but before that I completed these games so many times. It was ridiculous. Even though the action was a bit awful and the team AI was atrocious the story was just amazing. So in-depth so meticulously thought out and (up until the end of 3) the decisions had fantastic and interesting impact in the later story. Some of the most extensive and breathtaking environments any game has created. I played this game so much I discovered how many people you could have sex with on the first game, three is the answer (if there is more let me know). I completed it with all the classes, maxed out so many different characters, the greatest of my creations being Being-Willy Shepard of course, no wonder they never said my first name in the entire series! Brilliant and even though the end of 3 kind've fucked my life up forever I'm sure I will come back to it at some point...maybe. Just the Reaper Indoctrination theory would've fixed everything! If they had played along with it after that update it would've been fine, but no they had to ruin it, why did they land the Normandy in front of the reaper at the end just to save two of your teammates like WHY! Everyone knew it was a suicide mission, so why did they want to be saved? FUCK!!!

7. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Okay let's bring it back to a happy place. Oblivion. No game has taken up so many hours of life than this game. My first place through, a Dark-Elf Warrior by the name of Penis-Face took at least 287 hours for me to stop playing and think 'Ok I've done enough.' I bought the game on a whim but it sent a message to the world saying 'This is how you make an RPG.' Built on the success of Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind it went on to achieve even greater feats. The endlessness of this game was staggering as the main storyline lay forgotten in your list of quests and murdering a bunch of people in a locked house in Skingrad for the Dark Brotherhood was your priority.

8. Sonic Adventure Dreamcast

Lastly but certainly not leastly was this glitchy, annoying but addictive game. One of the launch titles for my favourite console ever, Sonic Adventure re-launched a series that I had zero feelings for up to this point. After I had always returned to this game completing it over and over again. I knew it was a bad game in terms of dialogue, level design, animation, and gameplay but it was still just so much fun. It did have its plus points the character selection gave this game real lasting ability, the graphics were beautiful, and the story was actually good when you take into account all the characters who you could play lapped over each other without any error, impressive when compared to the gameplay. All these points gave Sonic Adventure a real quaint feel to it, even though it would be really frustrating at times, most of the time it was a nice relaxing game.

That's my list, I have stupidly sold a few of these games so if you have them lying around the house message me and we'll talk.

P.S. GTA would have been included but it was waaaaay too obvious.