30. Resident Evil, REmake and Resident Evil 5

If this were a list of the most important games I've ever played, the games most responsible for shaping who I am as a gamer, RE1 would be near the top. This is a game so near and dear to my heart, it changed how I viewed games forever, I love it. But it was quickly surpassed by the sequel and so thats why it's at this spot. I know RE5 doesn't match the other two, I wanted to fit in a  lot of games so RE5 gets lumped in here. Ranking these games, honestly RE5 is my favorite game of these three.

Resident Evil 1, a game that does not get the credit it deserves. Before MGS1, before FFVII, before every action adventure game was like playing a movie there was Resident Evil. Games with big stories existed mostly in RPGs at the time. There was a lot going on with PC gaming and FMV, mainly in adventure games. But on consoles we were just entering the 3D revolution, PS1 came out in 95 with an assortment of arcade like games, same as Saturn. It was like an extention of the 16-bit era only way more impressive. March 1996 is when the first of what would become the modern game hit, there was nothing like Resident Evil.

I first noticed it in a magazine preview that my brother showed me, he was a horror movie buff so this was right up his alley and the reason he got the PS. More and more previews were hitting close to release and clearly it looked like it would be a special game. I have told the story of the sleep over the night we got the game many times. It is one of my fondest memories growing up, my brother and best friend, waiting till midnight to play this insane game that was like a movie. That intro, perfect B-movie recreation, set the tone immediately. I knew I would love to hate Wesker just from his actor and that pose you see in my avatar. The voice acting while terrible still fit the game perfectly with the music and the camera angles. We were playing a horror movie. Not imagining what the game should look like if it were a movie like in the SNES days, here it was with the voice acting, the proper framing, the music, the pacing of a movie and we control it.

The first time we tried to move Chris it was quite an adventure, tank controls took a bit to get used to but it quickly became second nature. Dying at that first zombie is a rite of passage, we were all screaming, pull out the gun, shoot! My brother didn't know how and he died, like so many did. My first go I choose Jill and managed to kill the zombie. Barry was the best partner ever, I knew this was my character and so I was almost always Jill when I played RE1. I got to this hallway where I KNEW the dogs were coming from all the magazine previews and still when they crashed through that window I threw the controller in the air and screamed like a little girl. We took turns playing, getting deeper and deeper into this mansion. Having the freedom to explore at will, needing to survive till we reach that save room. Solving puzzles, fighting new monsters, and getting new weapons was all special.

This was the first true new kind of gaming experience I had. It was while playing Resident Evil that I saw what this medium was capable of. Oh it's not going to be simple cartoon mascots jumping around, oh we are going way beyond the fun games for kids. This was a true artistic medium that can rival movies in the way it can affect you, hit all the emotional beats a movie can while letting you play in that world.  I knew then I would be playing games for life. In an instant my Sega bias was gone, this stupid 16-bit war mentality was shattered. Gaming can be enjoyed across all paltforms, no need for allegiances (even though I held grudges for a while longer). The PS became my console, I lived in my brothers room. I did not care about that stupid saturn in my room, it did not have Resident Evil. It did not have a game that was unlike anything I have ever played. I would beat it every which way I could, I beat it under 3 hours, got the rocket launcher. I could play parts of it blind folded. I knew every line, the same way you would your fvaorite movie. I got my own PS soon after so I didn't have to live in my brothers room and that was the start of my love for PS, there is no franchise I associate more with the Playstation than Resident Evil.

So you could imagine my anger when Capcom announced "hey the whole franchise is moving to Gamecube!"  I had a DC for CV, got a PS2 and now my franchise is not following along, what the hell. Now I had to get a third console. Well it was time for my Nintendo hold out to end so it wasn't all bad, the GC was a great console and Resident Evil Remake was a glorious reimagining of that game I hold so dear. The setting of RE1 has yet to be topped for me in this series, so when it was announced that it would be getting a remake with those STUNNING graphics I was all in. How amazing does REmake look, to this day it's incredible. That happened in the span of like 5 years, we went from that blocky mess to REmake graphics, wow.

The actual game part I have some issues with. The orginal was fast paced, moved quickly and was sort of painless. REmake is dangerous, its slow and methodical, every moment can kill you. It's not a breezy game I could quickly speed run. Without a doubt it is the better game, in fact if I look at this objectively it's the best of the old formula. Mikami took everything he learned and stuck it into REmake. It makes you manage the shit out of your inventory and doubles down on the dangers of exploring too much as crimson heads will soon haunt you if you linger. All the elements that make this franchise so great are there with some great new surprises in Lisa. But like I said before I kind of like the more action paced REs than this one and thats on me. REmake is a classic where if a fan says it is the best RE game I will not argue with them.

Now to pivot with RE5, this is after the masterpiece that was RE4, the perfect game. No chance RE5 matches it, it can't, I just wanted something close to as fun and RE5 delivers. So much of the talk of this game gets bogged down on the AI partner, how its forced coop ruins the experience. Just set the AI to stay close and don't give it any big guns, it's not hard to do. Don't let that take away from a game where if RE4 did not exist I would probably hld up as the best TPS ever. It improves on the melee from RE4 and gives us real time weapon switching which is a great QoL improvement.  While the level design is not as tight or varied RE5 still craps on the competition. Think about all the things you do in this game starting with the rehashed village from RE4, going into dark mines with new creatures, a boss battle in cave, a car chase with el gigante after you, battling a massive bat monster, exploring a swamp filled with super gators, going into a temple with mutant tribal people and so much more. In all these locations there remains incredible encounter design, fun unique situations that push the coop aspect to the limit. This is the best coop game I have ever played.

Then there is the story which is easily the best in the series. The 10 year soap opera of Chris and Wesker, the origins of Spencer and Umbrella all come to a head in this game. It might as well serve as the true series finale with the epic battle between Chris and Wesker in a VOLCANO. It's everything I could have dreamed of for a final battle, sadly the series has not recovered from losing Wesker, the story is a bland mess now. Mercenaries mode was so good it spun off its own game. There is so much replay value to be had with the rankings of every chapter and online leaderboards. It is the total package for a coop shooter, playing solo or not. It might not reach the highs of RE4 but it sure as hell gets closer than any other game of its type.

As a co-op game, RE5 is one of the greatest ever. Ridiculously underrated.

edgecrusher said:

Tomb Raider & Resident Evil got me back into gaming after a few years of thinking I was too old to play games anymore, because I didn't want people thinking I was a nerd. Pretty hilarious to think about now.

Maturity is merely embracing immaturity.

29. God of War 2 and God of War 4

From the opening scene GoW2 hits the accelarator and never lets up. Right away you are in a battle with a gigantic living statue destroying and entire city, its a spectacle that nearly has no equal in the PS2 era. Cory Balrog took over for David Jaffe and improved upon the original game in nearly every way, this is one of those perfect sequels that defines the series going forward. What makes God of War 2 so special is the pacing, to me it is up there in the patheon of those perfectly paced action adventure games like RE4 and Uncharted 2, GoW2 is that level of consistent quality gameplay for a solid 11 hours.

This was the PS2s swan song and it so happened to be the first game on my first HD TV. It was 2007 and the new generation of HD consoles was upon us but PS2 and Xbox had the ability to output certain games into HD, GoW2 was one of those. My god how crisp and clean it looked, what a great advancement, I remember parts of the game vividly just because I was marveling at my new TV. Many argue GoW 2 should have been delayed for the PS3, ehh why, this is as good a game as you could get, GoW3 with all its graphical bravdo couldn't match the perfect pacing of 2. GoW2 upped the ante with more combat options, better puzzles, new items, way more bosses, and so many incredible locations like climbing on giant horses. GoW 2 was without question the best game in the series until Cory Balrog returned.

Like many franchises do they run a formula into the ground. It happens to the best of them, the key is reinventing the franchise by changing up the formula drastically. The relaunch of God of War was massive departure from the formula GoW 2 perfected. No more button mashing combos that wipe out entire crowds. No more small corridors and extremely linear level design. Instead GoW4 kind of does the RE4 camera method and brings the player in close, right over the shoulder of Kratos for a more intimate playing experience. Combat is deeper than it has ever been and unique, honestly its one of the best third person combat systems ever created. It has the careful balance of offense and defense that a Souls game has but with the depth and quickness of the faster action games. The leviathan axe should be admitted into the video game weapon hall of fame (we need one of these), that first time you throw the axe and call it back, it feels so right. It is used in so many ways, it is such a versitile tool worked into every facet of the game.

I love what they did with the structure of the game world. It is the wide linear approach that works really well for action games. Give the players options in where to go, a central hub to explore to give that sense of freedom and adventure. But when the game needs to go balls to the wall action it sends you through a well designed area that is fit for an action game. This game does try to add many popular elements of todays games, like loot. People love stats, the love power levels, they love RPG elements so GoW4 gives it to them/. It works, its not a game with a bunch of useless loot. must upgrades are meaningful. The most pwerful gear is locked behind clear side quest goals so now you have great incentive to complete the challenge worlds.

It all works, there are many ideas taken from other games but the essence of God of War is still there. This is most apprent right at the start when you firts meet the stranger and all of a sudden a marvel movie breaks out. That same sense of HOLY SHIT I cant believe I am playing this still happens many times during this adventure. Plus it has a way more mature and dramatic story that is captivating from start to finish. It is easily one of the best games of this generation and depending on what style of game I am in the mood for I sometimes think this is the best GoW game.

edgecrusher said:

Cory Balrog looks like the kind of guy who would let other dudes bang his wife.

SupremeAC said:

Just to be clear: is this a feature we frown on or approve of?

I'm not a communist. But I think there's a few of them around.

28. Red Dead Redemption 2

I love Rockstar games, to me they are the kings of the open world genre they basically invented. No one seems to fill those worlds with so many details or storylines and things to do. They are master craftmen and RDR2 might be their crowning achievement. With RDR2 they went for grounded and real, a game fully commited to making you feel a part of this world. Every action would have an animation, if you gut an animal you will watch Arthur gut an animal. Guns get worn and dirty, horses balls shink in the cold, you have to eat to stay healthy and so on. Parts of this commitment to the simulation of a western can seem pretentious and lead to many many repeated animations but somehow it just works, mainly through the strength of the story and characters which put you the player into the greatest story ever told in this medium.

I was more than ready to crown GoW as my GOTY last year, no way RDR2 gameplay will match the great combat system of GoW. It didn't matter, RDR2 has aspects of its game where I can point to it and say thats the greatest its ever been done. This story is more grand than any movie western, it's more in line with a great bingable TV show, a tale that spreads across 60+ hours of game. It is the story of one Arthur Morgan, a life long criminal that is faced with his own mortality and begins to reflect on what he has done in his life and what his legacy will be. I have never played as a more compelling character, every moment as Arthur Morgan I was infatuated with his story, his attitude toward others which I the player could control somewhat. I began to admire him despite the horrible things he does and the ohhh about 2000 people he kills. Yes there needs to be a slight cognative dissonance with the combat parts as no one human would ever kill so many people, its a game I have never had an issue with this in here or games like Uncharted. Rockstar masterfully pushes the story along through incredible missions that keep the player involved while the most dramatic moments are happening. The turning point in the entire story involves a mission gone wrong and a horse ride back to camp during a dark stormy night and this incredible song starts to play, it has echos of the MGS3 ladder scene, a song perfectly chosen for the moment. I'm not even doing anything, I'm traveling the same road back to camp I did many times but with the weight of this monumental moment in the story, the way the setting fits the moment perfectly and that song hitting the right emotional beats; thats storytelling at its best. There are many moments like it, performances that left me floored, characters that made me feel in ways the best tv shows do. Also they do this while tying it all together with the first game, enhancing that games story through a character that didn't exist when they wrote the first game. TLOU lost its crown when RDR2 came out, Arthur Morgan is the most fleshed out, interesting character I have ever played as and this story, the acting, the directing, all of it is the new bar all other games need to reach.

This is me though, I'm gameplay first guy and RDR2 does not have deep mechanics, its a rather simple game. All gun battles can be finished by just slowing down time and headshoting everyone. So am I giving this game a pass on story alone, not exactly. The value of a game is simply how entertained was I playing it, did it keep my attention and did I feel I was participating in a compelling manner. All those sim like qualities fit into this beautifully constructed world perfectly to make exploring a joy. Hunting is basically an entire game of its own, this game could be Cabela's Hunting game it is so detailed. I spent so many hours trying to find the legendary beasts. As I explored the world I would stumble upon often times disturbing situatuations all unique. There were treasure maps with drawings of locations you had to match to find the gold. Bounties to track each with a cool mission and story that makes all of them a quality diversion. There is the usual slew Rockstar mini games, comedy shows, gambling, and oddities that make this world SO COMPELLING. Some how BOTW bored me when I realized all these mountains dont have shit, oh look its the same korok seed, oh great another combat shrine, but that game had such incredible gameplay but if I don't feel the exploring is leading to anything that world starts to feel like busy work. RDR2 never felt like that, every new location had something to do, had a small story to uncover and it was pretty clear in what was worth looking at and to tell the player when to move on. Whenever I got bored of exploring I always had the next story missions ready to go and these were fun.

Again the story missions are not complex, don't offer much of any choice or strategy; instead they feel like big action setpieces. Imagine a game full of crazy Uncharted action sequences, thats RDR2. I know I am just shooting the same dudes over and over but they dress it up by changing the scenarios constantly and tying them to the story perfectly. So many epic horse chases, a thrilling jail explosion and escape, rading a platation, gunning people down while in a hot air balloon, it just keeps getting wilder and wilder. I love action movies, I love explosions and our characters in dire situations and the best part of this game is that they arent always safe, there are some Game of Thrones level moments in these missions that left me jaw agape. This is how you take relatively simple gameplay and dress it up enough so that it never gets boring.

There is even some online mode I haven't even touched yet. I put well over 100 hours into this game, played it for nights on end for about a month. Some games I feel that fatigue, I want to finish to just move on but RDR2 absorbed me into that world and I did not want to leave.

I really enjoyed RDR2.  It took a few hours to warm up to the game play, but once I did I enjoyed more than the previous game.  It's a series I prefer over Grand Theft Auto.

I really need to get back to RDR2 and finish playing it. I was liking the game very much but got sidetracked with other games.

Star Tropics number one baby!