Foolz said:

Incidentally, not sure how Metroid Prime 3 could be worth a replay with normal controls.

I guess we'll find out 5 years from now when they release a new Metroid game.

Foolz said:

If a fourth one is ever made, why assume they'd be dumb enough to a) not include gyro controls at the least and b) make a generic FPS like Metroid Prime 3?

Because gyro controls are a gimmick, & it's Metroid Prime 4 aka the fourth game in a series of FPA/FPS titles.

But who knows...maybe it will use Virtual Boy 2 by then as it's control method. Whatever they choose, only time will tell!

Foolz said:

Gyro controls a gimmick? This is why we can't have nice things...and indeed why Nintendo might be dumb enough not to include decent control schemes.

Out of the three Metroid Prime games, only one went the generic FPS route. And to be fair to it, it was a superior FPS to other console shooters at the time.

I guess like usual, I will agree to disagree with you at this point so David's next entry isn't five pages apart from his last.

43. Grand Theft Auto 3, 4, 5 and Red Dead Redemption

The open world game, it really wasn't much of a thing back in the early 2000s. What was mostly reserved for RPGs would take over action adventure games as GTA3 laid down a foundation that games still copy to this day. I actually played the original GTA back on the PS1 and had a great time with it. It was slightly dangerous, kill people for money, avoid cops, deal with criminals, all in a tongue and cheek sort of way. The first time I saw GTA3 was in an EGM magazine I believe and I recall a screen shot of the dude standing on a building maybe with a helicopter flying above, I remember thinking "wow that ugly 2D game is going full 3D, neat". Then the previews began to shower praise, this is a game unlike anything we have ever played before, the hype machine was in full effect. I actually don't remember much about GTA3 the game itself, I remember more the attention the game brought. Friends who pushed video games aside would buy this game. I would go over a friends house and there it was, guys taking turns just messing around, passing the controller around like it was the old days. GTA3 is a milestone game that has to be in every best ever list.

What I do remember most is the awesome map that came with the game. Here is this world, splint into three sections, back then the world was still blocked off at points until you progressed in the story. The voice acting was top notch, the presentation out of this world with fully realized radio stations and talk shows. One station simply played the Scarface soundtrack which quickly became my go to station. But what made the game special was the freedom, the freedom to drive anywhere, kill anyone, shoot anything and have the game world react accordingly. Gun fights, car chases, helicopter fights, assassinations, done in a way we have never seen before, it was breathtaking at the time.

Now we jump ahead a generation and skip the best games in the series for a later time. GTA4 is one of the most hyped games of all time and had one of the strangest review reaction with critics battling to see who could heap the most praise on the game "its the godfather of video games!" Well the gamer reaction was not as congratulatory, GTA4 had issues, it wasn't the dream game we thought it could be. It had the graphics, Liberty City is now recreated in as a stunning recreation of NYC. The world comes alive in so many ways, there are in game cellphones and you can surf a fake internet and have fake stocks and even watch fake TV or go to a fake comedy show. It is chock-full of features, all of which don't make the gameplay any better, for all they added the fun of simply playing the game seemed to take a hit. Movement was slugglish, driving was too heavy and tons of features, vehicles and weapons featured in SA is now missing. For all it's great advancements in creating a living world and giving a more grounded story it felt like a step back. And yet when compared to others of the same genre it's still unmatched.

I put well over 100 hours into GTA4 and loved it. I watched Republican Space Rangers with Nico's cousin. I didn't mind going on virtual dates. It was very engrossing and when it came down to the action GTA still did it better than most. The Heat inspired bank heist was a big highlight and so was Nico's story of betrayal. It's a great game it just doesn't live up to best of the series. Oh we can add Ballad of Gay Tony to this as its better than GTA4s main campaign, that brought the spirit of VC back into the game.

GTAV was a nice step in the right direction and a clear better game than GTA4. GTAV feature list is insane, I remember forum posts on the GGD listing all the things you can do in this game, it mirrored the lists of features on SA. The three protagonist system is something I loved as well, zapping from one character to another allowed the game to keep feeling fresh, bored of your location check in on what someone else is doing, now you are in a totally different area. Los Santos and the surrounding area was massive, I loved that we got country side as thats the best part of SA, GTAV felt like the fully formed do anything, have tons of things to do game that was missing from GTA4. The only problem is the missions, lots of them were garbage go here grab that. Most were simple missions building up to one of the major "heists" which sadly failed in their promise to be these elaborate custom missions. The hesists were great but there were only like four of them and I think the first one was the best one.

Still I adore the game because it is a blast to mess around. And you can fly a jet again, how many games let you fly a jet, or control a train, or ride a motorcycle onto a train that you are also controlling with another character while a third character is on a helicopter. They could have done so much with this, the template is there, this game should be their best. Trevor is a super memorable character, almost the series' Joker. I loved it all, I just wished it had better missions.

I am cheating a bit with Red Dead, yeah I know its a different franchise but it's so similar to GTA I want to lump it in here. RDR1 took everything I loved about GTA and put it in the old west. The freedom of the open country side, riding around on your horse, hunting game or searching for lost treasure. The treasure map hunts were some of my favorite things to do. Just performing tasks to get upgrades felt great, it was a cowboy simulator. John Marsden is a legendary character and it's why RDR stood out so much, the story had twists and turns that would fit perfectly into a western movie. The ending is one of the best in gaming history, it leaves such a strong impression, it's why the game as a whole is so memorable.