365 Games To Play Before You Die - #3 - #6
By mracoon 17 Comments
365 Games To Play Before You Die
I'm kind of cheating by doing 4 games in one day but I have a good excuse. I'm going away for the weekend so I won't be here on Friday, Saturday or Sunday so I thought I'd just cram them all in to one blog post and get them over with. I always like to be ahead rather then in a defect. A slight downside to this is that I'll only be able to write a smaller amount about each game but you do get 4x the goodness.
Previous Games
#3: Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2
Platform(s): Arcade, Amiga and everything elseRelease: 1987
Developer(s): Taito
Best Quote: None
GB Wiki Page
This, surprisingly, was the first game that I ever played. I don't remember too much but just that I spent way too much time on my Amiga because of this. The game is a sequel to the original Bubble Bobble (something I didn't realise until much later because I always referred to it as just Rainbow Islands) but it gameplay mechanics are quite different. Your ability in the game is to create rainbows which can kill enemies and help you get to higher platforms.
Being very young at the time I didn't know the real depth the game had. There were three different ending depending on which items you collected along the way. It's all very complicated (no. 3 on the page) and was too much for my little head to grasp. That didn't stop me from enjoying Rainbow Islands and it's always got a special place in my heart as it was the game that got me into gaming.
#4: Quake III: Arena
Platform(s): PC, Mac, Dreamcast and PS2Release: 1999
Developer(s): id Software
Best Quote: 'Humiliation!'
GB Wiki Page
Easily one of the best arena shooters of all time, Quake III is a classic and it was a game that popularised competitive multiplayer for many people. I never personally played that much multiplayer because I wasn't very great but I could always understand why people did enjoy. It was fast, frantic and rewarded highly skilled players.
A browser based version of the game, Quake Live, has entered beta so you can try to enter it if you want the same experience but with the convenience of being able to play the game in a browser. I haven't checked it out yet myself but I've heard it's just the same game, which isn't a bad thing.
#5: Castle Crashers
Platform(s): XBLARelease: 2008
Developer(s): The Behemoth
Best Quote: None but great soundtrack
GB Wiki Page
It might be very recent but that doesn't stop Castle Crashers from being an extremely fun experience. I'd hadn't played many other side-scrolling beat 'em ups so CC's gameplay was still quite fresh to me. The ability to unlock new combos, weapons, characters and pets also stops the game from becoming repetitive and also adds a ton of replay value.
The biggest reason I added this game to my list is because it's the first game I played in co-op with my sister. Although she doesn't play many game CC's adorable visuals and easy to grasp controls made it something she would want to play and a game that we had a lot of fun completing together.
#6: Half-Life 2: Episode One
Platform(s): PC, Xbox 360 and PS3Release: 2006
Developer(s): Valve
Best Quote:
GB Wiki Page
I'll tell you know that all the Half-Life (main) games will be mentioned in these blogs so be warned. This is probably the worst of all the Half-Life games but that doesn't mean it's a bad game at all. It's actually a great game but its major problem is that it's too short. That shouldn't be a problem for episodic games but Episode 1 is an episodic game done on Valve time.
The game itself plays just like all the others in the series and, most importantly, continues the story of the game. Episode 1 takes place immediately after the events of HL2 and puts you right back into the action as Gordon and Alyx must help evacuate City 17. Throughout the story we find out more about the Combine, get to know Alyx better, encounter Zombine and overall just further the HL mythos, which is all I could ask from the game.
6 down 359 to go.