Phil’s Top Five Picks of 2004
5. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2)
Publisher: Rockstar Games Developer: Rockstar North
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Some said it's more of the same, and that the graphics are outdated. But nobody can deny that there is massive replay value, ingenuity, and just plain fun in this game. Slap on an awesome plotline, great voice acting with celebrity appearances, and a lot of excessive violence, and you have yourself a winner.
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4. Final Fantasy: Dawn of Souls (GBA)
Publisher: Square Enix Developer: Square Enix
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Call me a softie for the classics, but having Final Fantasy I and II in one cart, with improved graphics and sound...new dungeons, new bosses, continuing plotlines...and you've got me sold. Finally, a game company listens to the players!
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3. Street Fighter Anniversary Collection (Xbox, JPN)
Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom
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Not only do you get two of the best fighters ever released in perfect arcade conversions, including a dream-match version of every classic Street Fighter game; you also get online play that, if you play people in your region to reduce lag, is actually playable. Add voice chat. Then throw in the full-length Street Fighter II animated movie. Now you've got the best fighter of the year. Take that, Mortal Kombat!
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2. (tie) Far Cry, Painkiller, Unreal Tournamnet 2004, Doom 3, and Half-Life 2 (PC)
Publisher: Ubisoft, Dreamcatcher Games, Atari, Activision, VU Games (respectively)
Developer: Crytek, People Can Fly, Epic Games, Activision, Valve (respectively)
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I'd love to pick one FPS of the year, but I just can't. Let's face it: every one of these games excelled in one department this year, and it was a fantastic breakthrough year for FPS gamers. Far Cry gave some of the most beautiful graphics in an FPS, and gave tremendously open-ended gameplay. Painkiller brought us back to the old school Doom/Serious Sam days, with slews of enemies just COMING AT YOU; not the most advanced gameplay, but definitely a lot of fun. UT2K4 gave us arguably the most fun in a multiplayer FPS, with multiple game modes and advances. Doom 3 gave us a horror-movie-in-a-box and is probably my ultimate pick for Scariest Game on the PC, ever. Top that off with Half-Life 2, which had all the makings of a serious hollywood production, with beautiful graphics and open-ended gameplay to boot. This year, FPS gamers were the real winners.
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1. World of Warcraft (PC)
Publisher: Blizzard Developer: Blizzard
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The best MMORPG ever? That depends on what you classify as "good." But World of Warcraft did what no other MMORPG has done: bring mass-market appeal to an already flooded genre. The simplified gameplay and graphics make it easy for anyone, even the casual gamer and "the guy with the 5 year old computer," to jump in and have fun. The lack of horrible game bugs make this one of the most playable MMORPGs ever. Having a PvP-based strategy appeals to an even wider audience. And expanding on the already hugely popular World of Warcraft universe is just pure gold. Now just get your servers working 100% of the time, and you're tops in my book. There's no surprise why this is the fastest-selling...and highest-selling...PC game, period. |
Best Games of 2004 (by Genre)
Fighter: Street Fighter Anniversary Collection
Platformer: I play platformers?
RPG: Final Fantasy: Dawn of Souls
Puzzle: Mario vs. Donkey Kong
Racing: Burnout 3: Takedown
Sports: Any ESPN game. [Sorry EA, you missed the boat]
Shooter: Alien Hominid
Other: That game where you roll around and pick up stuff into a huge ball!
PC: World of Warcraft
Online: World of Warcraft
Odds & Ends
Best Developer: Blizzard
Worst Developer: (Tie) Blizzard Server Team/Black Hole Entertainment. One can't keep their servers up, what do they get paid for? The other's first offering is a carbon-copy of Blizzards two most successful games, with blantant theft written all over it. Call your lawyers, folks.
Best Innovative Product: Far Cry
Most Useless Product: Nyko Wireless PS2 Adapter [Sells for $80 and is slower than a regular PC adapter that goes for $20.]
Best Soundtrack: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Best Cover Art: Street Fighter Anniversary Collection
Worst Cover Art: Any Yu-Gi-Oh game, a 2 year old can do better.
Wierdest Cover Art: Spongebob Squarepants. [I don't get the appeal.]
Most Overhyped Game this Year: Halo 2
Coolest Male Videogame Character: Main character from Painkiller
Sexiest Female Videogame Character: Girls who aren't real are sexy?
Most Desired Game to Complete, But Didn't: (tie) Doom 3, Half-Life 2
Most Shocking Industry Highlight: Acclaim goes bankrupt after making a bazillion dollars off crappy games in the 1990s
Ultimate game the world could live Without: Halo 2. [Sorry folks, theres just nothing new or original in this game, and the controls suck. Go buy a PC and stop buying the hype.]
David’s Top Five Picks of 2004
5. Ninja Gaiden (Xbox)
Publisher: Tecmo Developer: Team Ninja
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This is one slap-yo-mama beautiful game, too bad I may never see it all...but even though I'm too weaksauce to measure up to the challenge, I can't hate this game. Quite to the contrary; in this age of hand-holding, it's a breath of fresh air to have a game that can put you in your place, where every enemy plays for keeps and every stage beaten seems a monumental achievement. Kudos to you, Team Ninja, for testing what we gamers are made of. This game is proof that the most satisfying victory is a hard-won one
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4. Katamari Damacy (PS2)
Publisher: Namco Developer: Namco
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Your father's galactic bender leads him to order you to replace the stars he destroyed in that drunken reverie with gigantic balls of trash. Can you imagine someone at an American company trying to get this idea put into production? Thankfully, Japanese companies are willing to take a chance every now and then, and so voila. One of the most innovative, talked-about niche games of the year.
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3. Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy (PS2, Xbox)
Publisher: Midway Developer: AI Implant
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Here is a perfect example a game being greater than the sum of it's parts. The story's pretty cliche, the graphics are a tiny bit above average, the stealth elements are lacking, and the physical combat and gunplay would be little more than passable on their own. However, with one little gameplay mechanic thrown into the mix, it becomes a total blast. The mechanic is Telekinesis, and it more than effectively carries the weight of the game on it's broad shoulders. Throwing people and objects around the room with your mind is easily the purest gameplay pleasure introduced this year.
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2. Shadow Hearts: Covenant (PS2)
Publisher: Midway Developer: Aruze, Nautilus
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Ah, now this is the cure to what's ailing me. You see, I can no longer stomach the typical JRPG formula. For the most part they're tops in aesthetic design, and yet the no-skill-required gameplay forms a inpregnable wall forever blocking the view of the game's main draw. Enter Shadow Hearts, with a customizable timing based system that actually makes you feel like you're contributing more than just good item management. In addition to this very welcome element, SH:C also has quirky yet likable characters and a setting outside the done-to-death medieval one, breaking the JRPG mold in a couple of other great ways.
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1. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GC)
Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Retro Studios
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Retro, how long we've come. When I first heard an unproven Texas-based company was given the reigns to Metroid, I was shattered. Surely this was a recipe for disaster. Then Metroid Prime hit, and damned if they didn't prove me wrong. Really wrong. But surely they couldn't do it again... Well, Retro made a fool of me once more. This game is not only another more-than-worthy addition to the Metroid franchise, it is Exhibit A in the "games as art" argument; Retro has crafted an alien world so consuming it truly defines awe-inspiring. |
Best Games of 2004 (by Genre)
Action/Adventure: Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy
Platformer: Sly 2: Band of Thieves
Fighter: Street Fighter Anniversary Collection (PS2)
RPG: Shadow Hearts: Covenant
Racing: Burnout 3: Takedown
Sports: ESPN NFL 2K5
Shooter: Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
Other: Katamari Damacy
Odds & Ends
Best Developer: Intelligent Systems
Worst Developer: I wouldn't know, I try not to play bad games.
Most Useless Product: AirFlo controllers [Do people's hand really get sweaty enough to justify these?]
Best Soundtrack: Katamari Damacy
Worst Soundtrack: Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
Best Cover Art: Breakdown
Worst Cover Art: Malice
Wierdest Cover Art: Katamari Damacy ["Yeah, I'm looking for Katamari Damacy, it has a rainbow and a cow on the cover..."]
Most Overhyped Game this Year: Halo 2
Most Desired Game to Complete, But Didn't: Ninja Gaiden (foretold in prophecy as The Ultimate Bringer of Controller Destruction)
Most Shocking Industry Highlight: EA rains fire upon all adversaries (and even some within their own ranks) with no conscience in sight
Ultimate game the world could live Without: Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2
Off Topic
Best New Character - Male: King of the Cosmos (Katamari Damacy)
Worst New Character - Male: Kalas (Baten Kaitos)
Best New Character - Female: The Boss (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater)
Worst New Character - Female: Rachel (Ninja Gaiden)
Best Returning Character Redesign: Samus Aran - Light Suit (Metrod Prime 2)
Worst Returning Character Redesign The Prince (Prince of Persia: Warrior Within)
Quirkiest Non-Human Character: Joachim Valentine (Shadow Hearts: Covenant), a wrestling vampire
Biggest Wasted Opportunity: No online co-op in Halo 2
Hit the next page to read Tedd, Thomas and our Reader's Choice picks...
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