MI-80 De Oppresso Liber

Well, it's that time of year again, E3. The biggest and baddest video gaming expo ever certainly appears to be loosing steam though. Booth babes are being cracked down on, and less and less unique or original stuff is appearing each year. The PS3 is coming and it'll be crazy expensive. Nintendo's new console looks great but no one will buy it, and Microsoft is happy in their flight pattern circling rehash valley. What about those games that really deserve new life, back in the days when most games were unique and full of original ideas? Well, let's look at what I call the top 10 of em.

First off, why would I want sequels? I'm always bashing them after all. Well to be honest I have nothing against a good sequel that surpasses the original in every way, while remaining true to its roots. What I do have issues with is when someone like Electronic Arts (EA) takes one game engine and starts releasing a slightly rehashed version of a game series every 8-12 months. These games don't excel, improve, or in any way really separate themselves from the pack. It just gets annoying because what was once a great series such as Ghost Recon is just...okay now. O the newer one has slightly higher polygon counts, woohoo! The new one has 3 more weapons, woohoo! I can pay for PREIMUM content on top of the $300+ console and the constant stream of $60 rehashes, huzzah! You get my drift. If a sequel takes 3-5 years, then I'll check out out because in my own experience that's how long it takes to make a truly brilliant game.

System Shock 2

System: PC
Developer: Looking Glass Studio
Release Date: 1999
Genre: FPS
GameSpot Said: System Shock 2 both retains the best attributes of its predecessor and provides a fresh experience in its own right.
GameSpot Score: 8.5

Since I hold originality and uniqueness in such high regard it's surprising that a sequel would even make this list, but sometimes a sequel really can improve upon an original across the board. System Shock 2 took the Sci-Fi horror theme the original practically invented and improved the game play by streamlining the interface and controls, jazzed up the graphics to make gamers jump in their chairs, and basically just raised the bar for video games all around.

System Shock 2 surprised a lot of people. It was held almost without exception as one of the best games of all time, and many gamers still feel so today. It received stunning reviews and everyone thought System Shock 3 was guaranteed, especially given that first person shooters have only exploded over time. Unfortunately the System Shock title was sold to Electronic Arts when Looking Glass went under, making a future incarnation highly unlikely. Since it's purchase the only mention EA has made regarding the series has been in the form of Cease and Desist letters sent to gamers making mods and high-def theme packs to bring some new life to their long beloved game.

Grim Fandango

System: PC
Developer: LucasArts
Release Date: 1998
Genre: Adventure
GameSpot Said: In addition to being a very good adventure game, it features great writing and beautiful art direction.
GameSpot Score: 9.3

To anyone who remembers Tim Schafer's Grim Fandango, the normal response at the memory is simply “wow.” This game was beautiful. This game wasn't just original, it was unique. This game had a story and setting which was nothing short of mind-blowing. Besides the traditional and accessible interface, almost nothing else in this game had ever been seen before. Unfortunately it came on the heels of the downward spiral surrounding adventure games, so a follow-up is unlikely. Even claims of "Game of the Year" and "Adventure Game of the Year" throughout the industry couldn't help.

There is some hope though since some of Schafer's more recent games have done so well, including one following later on this list.

Starcraft

System: PC, N64
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Release Date: 1998
Genre: RTS
GameSpot Said: It doesn't stray far from the blueprint created by its predecessors, but it is, without a doubt, the best game to ever adhere to that formula.
GameSpot Score: 9.1

The question with Starcraft isn't should there be a follow-up, the question is where the hell is it? Both critically acclaimed and sold in the millions even to the point of becoming a national past time in South Korea with TV broadcasted tournaments and everything, Blizzard Entertainment has been silent about it for the eight years gamers have been begging for a sequel.

Starcraft took what the Blizzard vets had learned from the Warcraft series and applied it to a RTS which redefined the genre with its dark vision of the future. The graphics were amazing, the movies were unbelievable, and the story left millions dying for answers which the lone expansion pack only fueled. Besides the absolutely fantastic single player the multi-player still has tens of thousands of gamers playing matches every single day.

The likelihood of Blizzard picking up Starcraft again is up in the air. Hints come from everything including easter eggs in other games such as World of Warcraft and Warcraft 3 to even official posts and April Fools pranks pulled by the developer. Unfortunately officially Blizzard has held tight not only is there nothing in the works, but they have no plan or desire to return to the Starcraft universe. Since Vivendi Universal now owns Blizzard, it's really their call.

A stealth-action third person shooter titled Starcraft: Ghost was in the works for consoles, but that was put on hold indefinitely in March in no small part to the virtual rebellion among Starcraft fans who felt betrayed.

Jet Force Gemini

System: N64
Developer: Rare
Release Date: 1999
Genre: Third-Person Shooter
GameSpot Said: Nintendo 64 fans should pick up this title without delay and hope that Rareware's team of top-notch talent will continue to churn out even more games like this one for years to come.
GameSpot Score: 8.8

This was the title right beside Mario Kart 64 that convinced me to buy a Nintendo 64. Developed by Rare, who at the time was at the height of their popularity due to Goldeneye 007 for the N64, Jet Force Gemini was another great game that fell under the radar.

While it received grand reviews it just didn't sell. Originally designed more cartoon like, at release time Jet Force Gemini paired Banjo-Kazzoie's simplicity and level design with Goldeneye's maturity to create a truly unique futuristic console shooter. Further separating it from other games Jet Force Gemini featured a co-operative mode allowing two people to play through the single-player story together, something still sorely lacking from many games today. Besides that a solid but technologically hindered multi-player was packed in along with many easter eggs and unlockables to keep players and especially Rare fans happy long after finishing the single player game.

While Rare continues to be proud of what they released in Jet Force Gemini, and the fact that many gamers still adore it till this day, there's never been any word on expanding the series.

American McGee's Alice

System: PC
Developer: Rogue Entertainment
Release Date: 2000
Genre: Third-Person Shooter
GameSpot Said: While you'll undoubtedly enjoy the imaginative artwork, you might end up disappointed with just how straightforward the underlying game really is.
GameSpot Score: 7.3

Out of this world is the only way to describe Alice. Placed years after the classic literary pieces the game has gamers playing a much more cynical incarnation of the young girl Alice. Written in the spirit of Tim Burton's Gothic works, but combined with the at the time jaw-dropping Quake 3 engine powered visuals, Alice really created an awe-inspiring atmosphere. From downright creepy the characters and music especially helped push Alice over the edge to what by all rights will one day be a horror classic.

The level design wasn't just creative but stunningly clever, combining the chaos of the game universe with the original sense of wonder Alice in Wonderland is known for. Alice also took great advantage of the new and until then vastly underutilized abilities of the Quake 3 game engine, including many levels that were full of reflections and particle and glowing effects.

American McGee's recent games haven't faired too well. Just like Alice they've been not only creative but great games, but they just haven't sold. American McGee planned to release his version of The Wizard of Oz, which was highly anticipated throughout the game industry, but that was put on hold for an unknown period of time. There are some hopes however since American McGee's Alice is set to be released in movie form in 2007, holding the potential to re-spark interest in reviving the game.

Psychonauts

System: PC, PS2, Xbox
Developer: Double Fine Productions
Release Date: 2005
Genre: Platformer
GameSpot Said: Psychonauts doesn't reinvent the platformer, but it still delivers an experience that feels wholly original in every aspect of its execution.
GameSpot Score: 8.8

Of course not all great games are older. Still available in stores and online, and for only $30 might I add, Psychonauts goes to show that even today there's room for great original titles.

Designed by Grim Fandango's visionary designer Tim Schafer, Psychonauts is a game that delivers where no one expected it to. The game's basics revolve around running inside of peoples nightmares, allowing the 10 core levels to have entirely different and unique settings. While the core game play holds true to its console platformer roots, this unique setting lets the player visit everything from miniature villages on Chess boards to playing a Godzilla style monster. The variety of level also allows an incredibly refreshing level of detail setting it apart not just style wise, but visually as well.

Psychonauts also ups the ante audio wise by introducing traditional adventure game elements including strong storytelling and a great sense of humor, especially expressed via the excellent voice acting including talents such as Richard Horvitz, more widely known as the voice of Invader Zim.

Sadly like so many other great games listed here despite critical success Psychonauts didn't do as well on the sales chart, hurting an already poor year for the publisher resulting in their CEO's resignation. This makes any sequel highly unlikely. It's amazing the original was released at all given its original publisher was supposed to be Microsoft, but they dropped it in 2004.

Stubbs the Zombie in "Rebel Without a Pulse"

System: PC, Xbox
Developer: Wideload Games
Release Date: 2005
Genre: Action
GameSpot Said: Eating the brains of the living to form a massive army of the undead is extremely satisfying, often hilarious, and, unfortunately, almost painfully brief.
GameSpot Score: 7.8

I tend to pay a lot of attention to niche and below radar games, but Stubbs the Zombie almost got away from even me. I only caught it because of an article covering its development in Game Developer magazine. Boy was I lucky.

Stubbs the Zombie combines good graphics (it's based on the Halo engine) with a unique layer of old movie style visuals. This has the pleasant side-effect of making the slightly outdated visuals not noticeable at all since they go so well with the games overall style. What might leave gamers wanting in graphics is made up for a hundred fold by the unbelievable audio, a combination of perfectly styled sound effects (grunts, brain munching sounds, etc.) and perfectly toned period music (soundtrack available for sale it's so great).

The best aspect of this game is its humor. If you want an unique and funny game, nothing can beat Stubbs the Zombie. The story itself is classic B-Movie horror, but the game uses that to its full advantage by making fun of itself and being hilarious in the process. It even has co-op play!

Luckily Stubbs the Zombie has actually sold well enough to where another installation in this young series is at least possible.

Skies of Arcadia

System: Dreamcast, Re-released on GameCube
Developer: Overworks
Release Date: 2000
Genre: RPG
GameSpot Said: Skies of Arcadia is the product of a legacy of role-playing games that hearkens back to Sega's earliest days in the home console market.
GameSpot Score: 9.2

If you're a true RPG fan, then chances are you owned a Dreamcast and already played this, but just in case let's touch on Skies of Arcadia. Skies of Arcadia had a unique premise, replace oceans with sky and ships with floating ones, and run around a huge open world which you could freely explore.

Game play wise Skies of Arcadia combined its original setting with a great battle system. It turned the idea of playing Sky Pirates into a great adventure. It heavily emphasized and rewarded exploration, something sorely lacking from many of todays games.

As expected of Sega Skies of Arcadia's story was one you couldn't walk away from. Open even by todays standards its world was enormous and open ended. Beyond that the developers locked the game at 30 FPS, meaning they had enough polygons available to make a beautiful game. While there were some slight performance issues in the original Dreamcast release these were fixed in the later Gamecube re-release. It's the fact that enough was thought of Skies of Arcadia to re-release it on the Gamecube, and some slight hints dropped in 2004, that there's hope a sequel might work its way out one day.

Nights into Dreams

System: Saturn
Developer: Sonic Team
Release Date: 1996
Genre: Action-Adventure
GameSpot Said: N/A
GameSpot Score: N/A

Nights into Dreams is basically a gimme for any article of this type. It's hard to read any article viewing a retrospective on gaming without it coming up because it's widely considered a classic, and I certainly agree.

Nights into Dreams introduced many new concepts to gamers. It was one of the earlier 3D games, and came with a analog joystick of sorts widely considered a predecessor to the N64 controller. It combined unbelievably beautiful graphics with a great and imaginative setting and story. The music was also excellent, actually allowing for randomly modified techno tracks based off of certain in-game aspects.

A follow-up to Nights into Dreams has been in hot debate for years. Many gamers were left wondering why it didn't get one immediately. Critics loved it, gamers loved it, and it sold well. Gamers have been holding their breaths for a decade now hoping for a follow-up. Official statements have ranged from “we can't top it so we won't try” to “we'd love to but it'd take awhile.” Unofficial hints have gone on for years as the Nights cast constantly pops up in cameo appearances in other games. In the end, we can only hope.

Conker's Bad Fur Day

System: N64, Re-released on Xbox
Developer: Rareware
Release Date: 2001
Genre: Platformer
GameSpot Said: The premise of the game is gimmicky, but after its sordid skin is peeled away, a true gem of a 3D platformer is revealed.
GameSpot Score: 9.3

Ya, I know Conker just got a re-release, but it lost a lot of its zeal over the years. The premise of Conker was to make a cutely accessible but mature themed console platformer/shooter that would push the limits of the Mature rating. Most of all it'd be funny, relying heavily on parodies of then present-day happenings. While it was wildly funny originally, many gamers didn't find the re-release funny mainly since so many of the jokes were lost on them. An actual sequel could easily address this issue.

Beyond the humor Conker had solid game play coupled with good audio and graphics. The multi-player was great but sadly limited heavily by the N64's power.

A true sequel has been rumored, however just as the original the re-releases sales have been lake luster. While I'd love to see a true sequel I wouldn't hold my breath.

Any who, that's it. Obviously there are games I feel are much more deserving than Burnout 3 Unlimited Uber Special Edition 4a II, but everyone's going to have their own list, so feel free to toss comments below. I'll certainly return to this topic in the future as there are many more games I feel outta be given a second lease at life.