35. Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution and VF5

SEGA! The kings of arcade and the trailblazers of many 3D endevors. Chief amoung them Yu Suzuki, a legend who created enter genres and he did it with Virtua Fighter, the first ever 3D fighting game. VF1 wuth its ridiculous floaty jumps but insane level animation and movement around a 3D ring was game changing. Now I never really played the first, a rented it maybe but it wasn't until Virtua Fighter 2 that I fell in love. With a massive improvement in graphics and fidelity, the combat in VF2 was unmatched. VF is elegant in a way Tekken is not, no stupid dial a combo system, it's alll done with three buttons with varied fighters each with a unique style. VF2 added Shun Di and Lion, two of my favorites, but it was Lau which became my main. VF2 is my favorite Saturn game, I played it to death but when Tekken 3 came that game blew away VF2 in terms of features, of which VF2 had basically none. VF3 then came out, greatest graphics of all time when it hit arcades, but it hit DC as team battle and very bare bones.

Then Sega went third party and their arcade division was dying just like all arcades were. It was time to focus more on the home versions of these games, in comes Virtua Fighter 4 for the PS2. The culmination of all the years of VF gameplay into a perfect fighting game. THe beauty of VF is that it doesn't have a shifting roster, its always the same characters with new ones added in. The move list expands, each version gets more technical and more fluid. VF4 added Lei with his multiple stances and move sets, it showed a level of depths most games don't reach. But the first version of VF4 was still rather basic, then Sega did something crazy. VF4 Evolution was out in arcades, it added 2 more characters and a host of improvements. This was pre patch and DLC days so there was no way to upgrade the VF4 game, so they sold VF4 Evolution at $20 under the greatest hits label; maybe the greatest deal in gaming.

VF4 Evolution included the greatest single player mode in fighting game history. It's like they heard how bare bones VF was for content and decided to show everyone how it was done. Quest mode made you feel like you were traveling the world and visiting local arcades and battling the best players. Evolution came built in with the AI of many of the best VF players in the world. Every fight was against the AI of a real player, this made all the CPU battles feel like you were fighting other humans in the days before online fighters. The progression was like any RPG, you start at the lowest level and as you win you rank up and are now able to go to tougher arcades and battle tougher players. While you do this you unlock tons and TONS of customizable gear for your characters to make them unique to you. All this comes with the greatest tutorial in fighting game history to take you step by step in how the combat system works. It also happens to have the best combat system in any fighting game. VF4 EVOLUTION IS THE GREATEST FIGHTING GAME EVER MADE. SF2 can go away. Me and my friend would have so many battles on this thing but my Lau was too much for him. He couldn't beat me but I found my challenge in quest mode, spent tons of hours on it.

Years later, a new console generation, a new Virtua Fighter with VF5 being a PS3 exclusive. The graphics are stunning, the conbat EVEN BETTER than VF4 if that was even possible. The complexity is off the charts yet accessable to all. VF5 in terms of gameplay is the best controlling fighting game but I enjoyed the quest mode in VF4 evo more. The base VF5 had controversy because it lacked an online mode, wars were fought in the GS message boards on whether this was a unforgivable sin. Many argued that VF was so technical and lag would ruin the game, still in the age of PS3 it was a let down to not have online. A few years later VF5 online hit 360 and Final Showdown hit PS3 which had online and new characters. Guess what, online worked pretty damn well. Still I perfer the RPG like quest mode to fighting online opponents, I could learn the CPU opponent, the online guy is gone to another match. VF5 was my go to fighting game for that generation and to this day the best 3D fighter around. We all wait for VF6, hoping one day it will come to regain the crown as the best fighter, it's been so long and if it happens I will be there day one.

34. Okami

Zelda has not had much competition, most games never try to replicate the intricate game worlds and balacing act Zelda does with all it's elements. A handful of 3D games are comparable but one clearly stands above the rest, Okami. At the height of Capcom's power, Hideki Kamiya set off to create a game that is nothing like anything he worked on before. The structure of a Zelda game with the fast paced combat Capcom and Kamiya is known for thrown into the mix in a Japanese folk tale come to life, Okami was a passion project that hit all the right notes. As a fan of Kamiya's work I was sold from the start, I didn't even need the stunning art. Once I saw a beautiful mythical wolf running around a big open field I knew this game was for me. Okami is about as grand an action adventure game as you can get, those of you that played the game know what I speak of, this game is massive, when you think its over you are just getting started.  

Okami has a unqiue drawing mechanic that really helped it stand out. Now whether or not drawing a bomb is better than just selecting it with a button from your inventory is debatable, I think the drawinggot a bit repetitive but it sure was unique. When it's done just to substitute for a Zelda item it's not that impressive but when it is used in creative ways in combat or to solve puzzles that's when it all shines. The combat in Okami is better than any Zelda game, I wish he pushed the combat further as it stays in a relatively pain free level unless you go for 100% completition.

Above all I think Okami is special because of the game world. It has dungeons but they pale in comparison to a Zelda game, puzzles aren't as well done, but that WORLD, the people you meet, the world you explore is incredible.  I remember exploring the Japanese city, it felt so alive with so much to do. This game has the element of suprise that I feel is missing so much from games, who knows what you were going to do next. Constant new situations, mini games all over, fun distractions, new abilities at a steady clip, it's what all action adventure games should strive to do. Okami is masterpiece, the best "Zelda clone" even though it is different enough to be judged on its own merits.

33. The Last of Us

Happy Outbreak day! While we read previews on the soon to be released TLOU2 lets look back on the classic that started it. The Last of Us was the PS3 swan song, a game so chiling and memorable that many think its the game of the generation. I'm a fan of Naughty Dog, i'm a fan of survival horror, mix the two and I was greatly anticipating this game. From the moment it starts up I knew I was in for something special. That intro is one of the most powerful gut wrenching scenes in video game history. It set the tone for the level of storytelling the game would provide, story telling that would become the gold standard for this medium. I was gripped into this tale of a broken man meeting a lost girl and the two fulfilling that missing puzzle piece they needed in their lives. The lengths to which they went to stay together pushes the boundaries of what is moral, questions about who are you playing as, is this a good person. It covers all these themes expertly, constantly putting the player into those story beats not through long cutscenes but during gameplay. It's a rollercoaster ride of emotions to the very end, with that memorable scene that left be floored. By the end of the game TLOU wasn't just GOTY,  it was the best movie I saw that year as well.

The core gameplay is a stealth action game that mixes survival horror elements of ammo and item conservation. The core stealth was rather basic, I believe this is so because the game is fun when the shit hits the fan. Thats when the adrenaline kicks in and you must quickly think on your feet on how to take out each threat. The chaos of the action is what is memorable, hitting a guy with a brick as he charges at you, stab him in the neck, pull a shotgun and shoot the next guy, take cover as the another shoots at you. The added scarcity of weapons adds to those moments of panic, do I grab that bottle and rish getting shot, do I waste the last bullets or use a melee weapon.  It all works, combat encounters were brutal, visceral and a blast to get through. The invected served as a different kind of challenge which lead to great variety in the encounters. Like the best games in the genre TLOU keeps changing up situations and provides great gameplays sequences.

No sequence is as good as Winter, a sequence that joins the greatest moments in gaming like the final hours of MGS3, the train in Uncharted 2, most of RE4. Winter has the story and gameplay reaching a climax together in a way few games do. It has the most tense gameplay moments and a surprising swicth of character. Playing as Ellie makes you feel that anger and fear of losing Joel, each kill is step closer to him and further scars Ellie in ways that we will probably explore in TLOU2. It culminates in the best boss battle of the game and one of the most disturbing sequences as a man tries to rape you. Those two hours is everything great about TLOU.

There is so much to love including the fun multiplayer mode that many of us here played together. You may be wondering why isn't this game higher on the list, well I do not belive this is Naughty Dogs best game. TLOU too suffers from a very slow opening chapters that make replaying the game a slog at first. The gameplay while very fun still feels a tad on the limited side, now seeing what the gameplay has become in TLOU2 it further shows how this first game was valiant first effort but still a first effort. The gameplay while fantastic doesn't reahc the highs the story does. Still for many years I considered TLOU as the best story ever told in gaming (until a recent game took that mantle). for that its one of the best games ever.

Shocked...that The Last of Us made it into the top 50? I'm shocked it made it into the top 100!

Still a very good game, though.