Blasts From The Past

A few weeks ago I posted my attempts to work around an error that was appearing on our XBox 360 - well, it was only temporary and a few days later I was forced to bite the bullet and send it in for repairs (though the thought of buying a new PS3 instead certainly crossed my mind). I gotta admit, the repair (sorry, replace) was done quickly and I had the machine back in a week. Though, I still have an issue with how fragile the dumb thing is in the first place.

Anyway, the week without the XBox got me digging out an older game to play. I dusted off the PS2 and plunked in Ratchet and Clank. I had so much fun that I thought I would make a post of some of my favourite games from the previous generation of systems.

Here they come. They're all great games, though I did order them from least to most favourite.

Resident Evil 4 - 2005 - GameCube

This game also came out for the Wii a year or so ago, and it is that version that I played most recently. I'm not a huge fan of the survival-horror genre (previous Resident Evil games left me a bit flat), but RE4 does separate itself in a number of ways.

It integrates the traditional clunky controls and limited inventory of a survival-horror game with a more fast paced shooter, and it works really well. You still can't run and shoot at the same time (which takes some getting used to) but that just adds to the tension - flight or fight, make a decision.

The level design is also varied with a variety of different game elements that combine together very well. If I have one gripe with the game, it's its overuse of quick-time elements during boss fights. I find these get very tedious, very fast. What I find particularly frustrating are bosses that can only be beaten by a particular, and obscure, pattern of button presses, usually requiring split second timing. In fact, one particular boss fight ended my experience with this game about 80% through. I just don't have anywhere near the patience for it.

What also separates RE4 is its quirky sense of humour. From the nonsensical merchants who appear out of nowhere to buy and sell stuff, to the hysterically atrocious dialogue, this game has its share of laughs.

Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal - 2004 - PS2

When playing this game most recently, I was amazed at how many elements from it have made their way into modern games. Destructible cover - check, crazy gravity ala Mario Galaxy - check, skill point awards ala XBox360/PS3 - check.

I think Ratchet & Clank suffers a bit from looking so kid friendly that it isn't taken seriously by the more hardcore crowd, but the game is tight, fast, fun, and demanding - certainly more so than most of today's M-Rated shooters. The characters are memorable and funny, the voice acting solid as well as the animations. In addition, the game play, quite frankly, kicks ass. If you enjoy blowing the hell out of stuff, you really can't go wrong here.

Besides, how can you no enjoy a game that lets you turn your enemies into flaming ducks (yes, ducks on fire) that lay bouncing egg grenades? You heard me right!

Psychonauts - 2005 - XBox

I'm not sure you can find a game more original than Tim Schafer's Psychonauts. On the surface a kid friend adventure-platformer, it doesn't take long before you realize this is a darkly funny, high concept little game that can be devilishly challenging at times.

Let me set the scene. You play Raz, a ten year old who breaks into a summer camp for psychically gifted children that is, in reality, a military training facility for the next generation of super soldiers - the psychonauts. The majority of levels in this game take place in the psychic landscape that represent particular characters' minds, and considering that many of the characters are bat-s**t crazy, some of these levels are bizarre to say the least.

For example, in one level you enter the mind of a paranoid milkman whose true personality has been pushed back thanks to the efforts of the game's villain. Here a quiet suburban neighbourhood is twisted into a gravity defying pretzel where every hint that may lead you to the true milkman is guarded by barely disguised government agents whose superiors are a troup of girl scouts (cookies - milk - get it?).

In another level, a giant mutated fish is being controlled by another villain. Here the fish's mind is an urban metropolis populated (quite amusingly) by fish - Fishopolis. Raz becomes a giant, Godzilla like, interloper that must thrash his way through the city to confront the similarly sized villain in a building destroying show down. How the hell can that not be fun?

And it keeps going like this. I don't want to give too much away but the game truly blows me away when the minds of Raz and the chief villain mix together and the two must team up to defeat their own perceptions of their fathers. Man, Freud would have a field day!

Shadow of the Colossus - 2005 - PS2

As mentioned, I've saved the best for last. Shadow of the Colossus is easily one of my favourite games of all time. First of all, in my opinion, it is the most, drop dead, gorgeous game I have ever seen, and that includes high pixel count games of the 360 and PS3. I'm talking about more than resolution here. I'm talking about composition, texture, and colour. There is nothing that compares. Just the way the camera moves is stunning. It doesn't just simply hold the avatar in the center, but lets it drift left-right, up-down, and in-out as if somehow it knows what would compose a great shot. When I first saw video of the game play, I found it hard to believe I wasn't watching a humanly constructed cut scene. It's absolutely astounding to me as to how this was pulled off.

Of course, I wouldn't love the game just because it's beautiful. The game play is truly unique too. The game is one, big, pastoral world that you ride through facing barely an enemy. There is no level grinding or items to collect, but there are sixteen colossi hiding out there that you can locate with a magic sword that you happen to have stolen (the lead character is very much morally grey). Yes, that is all there is to the game, sixteen boss fights, but before you dismiss it as being too simplistic, just give it a try. The fights are epic, varied, and challenging. Each boss is its only little puzzle to solve. By the time I got to the end, I was still hungry for more, something I don't get from most games.