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OPM's Big List of Games To Play

Posted by Zonk on from the before-you-DIE dept.

1up is running a feature from Official Playstation Magazine, an exhaustive list of 100 games for Sony platforms you must play ... before you die! From the article: "We couldn't go it alone. We asked the top PlayStation game designers, producers, and members of the press to submit their picks, and we've included what they had to say. No list is ever perfect. But perfection was never our goal. In the end, we hope this list is one that, if you were to play all the games in it (and you conceivably can since many are still available at retail or on eBay), will make you a supremely well-rounded gamer. Maybe you'll find, as we have, that games have the power to entertain, challenge, inspire, and affect you in ways you never thought possible."

79 comments

  1. Re:Poor Xbox by Deliveranc3 · · Score: 1

    Sure we could do this,

    1. Fuzion Frenzy.
    1. Project Gotham Racing.
    3. NHL 2k Series
    4. Jade Empire
    5. Kotor
    6. Halo
    7. Halo 2 (just to piss you off troll)
    8. Rainbow Six 3
    9.Splinter Cells
    And you're right I can't think of any more... oh wait.
    Doom3, Fable etc. Eat well damn troll!

  2. Much of this list is anti-Nintendo bulls*** by DeanCubed · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Some of these have merits, but others are just plain idiotic.

    I'm paraphrasing here, but:

    "Metal Gear Solid was released at the same time as Ocarina of Time, which is why I have yet to play Zelda. Who cares about a deku tree when there are terrorists with nukes to stop?" -Guy who made Burnout series, which, suprise suprise, is no longer being made for the Cube. With biased dickweeds like this working in the industry, no wonder Nintendo can't get third parties to support their consoles.

    "Crash Team Racing took the Mario Kart formula and perfected it." - Some guy from 1up. I mean seriously. CTR is what Mario Kart could be if it was perfect? Gimme a freakin break! Guess what came out the same gen? Mario Kart 64! Is that not perfect already? I know MK for the DS improved on it, but for consoles without a second screen to display an overhead map, and taking the online component out... You don't get better in kart racing than Mario Kart 64, unless you REALLY like Double Dash for some reason. Crash Team F'n Racing...

    --
    Born to Play
    1. Re:Much of this list is anti-Nintendo bulls*** by YowzaTheYuzzum · · Score: 1

      I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to agree with the author - CTR was a far superior game to Mario Kart 64. I mean, I loved Mario Kart as much as the next guy, but CTR really perfected the kart-racing genre.

      Unfortunately the same can't be said for its sequels :/

    2. Re:Much of this list is anti-Nintendo bulls*** by Walkiry · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      What you see depends on where you're sitting. When you're a Nintendo midless fanboi, everything is anti-Nintendo propaganda. Much like Apple and the overly annoying Jobs fanbois in that respect, really. We know in both cases you guys are the minority, but you make a hell of a ruckus; stop with the paranoid bullshit already.

      --
      ---- Take the Space Quiz!
    3. Re:Much of this list is anti-Nintendo bulls*** by Kazzahdrane · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Sorry to burst your bubble, but overall CTR was a much better game than Mario Kart 64. I played the hell out of that game, unlocking all the tracks and characters and spending dangerous amounts of time beating my time trial ghosts for good laps. CTR also had an excellent battle mode which made MK64's look like an afterthought in comparison. Sure, you needed a multitap to really get the most out of the game but that was a fault of the hardware rather than Naughty Dog. I had this very arguement with a Nintendo fanboy just yesterday, in the end we decided that MK64 had the advantage of characters that everyone knew and a SNES prequel that was a real gem itself - whereas only PSX owners had met Crash and his friends (and the characters were mostly a bit rubbish anyway). For me, CTR just felt a bit faster than MK64 a lot of the time, and it's a game I still have very fond memories of playing alone and with my family (My MUM finished the Adventure mode!).It's a real shame that Sony decided to let another developer have a crack at the CTR sequel when Naughty Dog sold the license off. They should have left it alone as I understand the later games in the series were pretty dire.

    4. Re:Much of this list is anti-Nintendo bulls*** by WWWWolf · · Score: 1
      "Metal Gear Solid was released at the same time as Ocarina of Time, which is why I have yet to play Zelda. Who cares about a deku tree when there are terrorists with nukes to stop?"

      And the writer even bashes the wrong game with wrong game! You don't splat Ocarina of Time with MGS. Nope! You need Final Fantasy VII to splat that. Duh. The writer obviously has no anti-Nintendo trolling skills at all and should stop doing that right now. There are rules to be followed, you know, otherwise it will just look ridiculous!

    5. Re:Much of this list is anti-Nintendo bulls*** by nickyj · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I've played CTR and MK64. Yes MK64 is slightly slower, but that doesn't mean anything. You want speed, play F-Zero (29sec my battle time). CTR only entertained me for a few days with friends. MK64 we played everyday for months, (beatings for using lightning on the Wario track). Two different games but one appealed to the gamer friends (MK64), the other appealed to the non-gamer friends (CTR). Nothing wrong with that.

      --
      Causing Chaos Everywhere,
      Nik J.
      The strange world of a loner, in a populous city, drowning in society
    6. Re:Much of this list is anti-Nintendo bulls*** by Celarnor · · Score: 1

      I find it amusing that it mentions the Gamecube numerous times, but the word 'Xbox' doesn't appear once...

    7. Re:Much of this list is anti-Nintendo bulls*** by Guppy06 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "And the writer even bashes the wrong game with wrong game! You don't splat Ocarina of Time with MGS. Nope! You need Final Fantasy VII to splat that. Duh."

      Except that OoT outsold Final Fantasy VII.

      It's been years since OoT launched, and it continues to be the only game for which I stood in line before the store opened. I have never seen that kind of reaction for a game again.

    8. Re:Much of this list is anti-Nintendo bulls*** by dyslexicbunny · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Or you have other gems like:

      "Red Faction gave Half-Life's a run for it's money." - Granted it should have after 2 years. But instead, it was a mediorce shooter with a cool, destroyable environment. The only interesting thing was the Geo-Mod environment.

      It also considers Baldur's Gate a Diablo-esque game. Laugh. Dungeon Siege is Diablo-esque. D&D just isn't the same. But I doubt anyone that wrote the article bothered to think about that.

      Final Fantasy ##. We must fellate this series to no end. VII was excellent with IX being just as good. XIII, X, and X-2 are jokes and insults to the FF series. Some people may find them redeeming but I don't (which is all that matters to me on game opinions).

      I just don't think most consoles have 100 games you HAVE to play before you die. Besides they throw FFXI on there and still try to make it pass for Playstation when it's really pretty much a PC game. Sigh... lists like this are stupid.

      Besides, to hell with them anyways. I'm content with my Gamecube. I may have only bought 15 games but I enjoy all of them. And being a PC gamer, I prefer FPS on PC.

    9. Re:Much of this list is anti-Nintendo bulls*** by PhotoBoy · · Score: 1

      The list was clearly written by someone who knows nothing about the games they're writing about anyway. Just on the first page there were loads of glaring errors, my favourite is the one on Rage Racer which says "Nearly all of the excellent track details and designs from the arcade game made it into the home version". Rage Racer was never in the arcades and it wasn't based on Rave Racer either.

    10. Re:Much of this list is anti-Nintendo bulls*** by HarvardAce · · Score: 1
      It's been years since OoT launched, and it continues to be the only game for which I stood in line before the store opened. I have never seen that kind of reaction for a game again.

      I'm a big Nintendo (and especially Zelda) fan, but I can assure you the reaction for Halo 2 was an order of magnitude greater than it was for OoT.

      --
      Note to self: Stop putting jokes in my insightful comments so I can get something other than +1 Funny!
    11. Re:Much of this list is anti-Nintendo bulls*** by apoc06 · · Score: 1

      ...and grand theft auto san andreas [just the ps2 version mind you] outsold halo2 by a decently large margin and with half the hype. both were released around the same time period. by this point, people just knew they were going to buy the game. NEHN -> no extra hype needed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best_selling_ computer_and_video_games#Sony_PlayStation_2

      each console has its movers and shakers. if you dont own all of the consoles, you are less likely to follow the community response for other consoles, but you cant deny the numbers.

      the anticipation for metal gear solid was just as huge at release time as it was for OoT. [sales where almost equal as well] thanks in part to the amazing [at the time] demo disc that came with official playstation magazine or maybe it was Gamepro.

    12. Re:Much of this list is anti-Nintendo bulls*** by apoc06 · · Score: 1

      i think the point was that each game has something special that you should check out. not all of these games are excellent or system sellers or anything crazy like that, but they all have some aspect that another developer or someone in the industry looked at for inspiration at some point, or felt like upped the current ante for console games.

      case in point, no final fantasy x was not the best in the series, but it definitely upped the ante in terms of what to expect from a console. if im not mistaken, it was the first rpg to feature almost complete voice acting. it marked a change in the genre. it showed "what could be done". as for ffxi, its on the list to show that consoles and pcs do not need to be considered separate. it was one the first game, and definitely the first mmo game to allow pc players and console players to interact. showing that the lines drawn in the sand separating each platform are only imaginary or company imposed.

  3. Oxymoronic by Curien · · Score: 3, Interesting

    An exhaustive list includes all possible values. An "exhaustive list" of the "top X" of something is an oxymoron.

    --
    It's always a long day... 86400 doesn't fit into a short.
  4. Re:Poor Xbox by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What a pathetic list.

    A crappy racing game that can't even run at 60.

    A couple mediocre shooters.

    And a bunch of stuff that has better pc versions.

    Wow, dude you totally showed the GP!

  5. A serious question... by mmaddox · · Score: 1

    I'm a gamer, but have been PC-only for the past 20-something years. Really. I haven't owned a console since the original Atari, since every time I've investigated the consoles, I haven't been impressed with the lack of enjoyable--to me--games. My impression of the consoles is that they cater pretty much exclusively to the "twitch" gamer, not to someone who prefers a more thinking-style of game. I like war games (traditional hex-and-turn-based, and RTS), some RTS (loved Homeworld, Ground Control, Close Combat, and similar), Civ (class all its own), and some shooters (enjoyed Battlefield 2 in the beginning, Call of Duty). It just seems that too many console games solely reward people who enjoy repetition. It's also probably because I won't play most twitch games long enough to develop any skill, so I'm mostly a noob loser.

    In the new crop of consoles, are there some must-have titles that might lead me to reconsider my dislike of consoles?

    --

    What'dya mean there's no BLINK tag!?

    1. Re:A serious question... by steveo777 · · Score: 1
      Get yourself a DS or GBA. Advance wars, any of them, are amazing. Fire Embelem is also worth every penny. You'll put 30-50 hours into it and in the end feel it's too short. There's also a Fire Embelem on the Gamecube, but that's a different system and more money. Stay way from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, it's so slow that you'll be too frusterated to play... even after you turn off all the exp. animations and the like.
      The DS is getting a vesion of Age of Empires.

      Other than that, a PS1 will serve up Tactics Ogre. FF Tactics (the original) which is an amazing piece of work still. I have no idea if there's a descent strategy game out for the PS2 yet.

      --
      This sig isn't original enough, it's time to come up with something witty...
    2. Re:A serious question... by AcidLacedPenguiN · · Score: 1

      Front Mission 2 through 4 are amazing tactical strategy/rpg games. I bought a PS1 and Front Mission 3 after playing the SNES emulation of Front Mission 1.

      I was about to call you a blasphemer when you started to trash FFT, but I guess the GBA version isn't as good as the ps1 version?

      --
      disclaimer: I've been known to store numbers in my ass for which to dig out when quantities are required.
    3. Re:A serious question... by chrismcdirty · · Score: 1

      SNES has Ogre Battle. N64 has Ogre Battle: Knights of Lodis (?). I hear anything from Nippon Ichi is pure bliss as far as Tactics-type strategy games go.

      And the DS AoE is going to be turn-based. I'll reserve judgement on that one until I play it. I think it could go either way.

      --
      It's like sex, except I'm having it!
    4. Re:A serious question... by Baikala · · Score: 1

      "Disgaea: Hour of Darkness" and "La Pucelle: Tactics" are two nice strategy games by Nippon Ichi for the ps2, in the vein of "Ogre Tactics" but with his own anime flavor.

      --
      16,777,216 comments ought to be enough for any forum!
    5. Re:A serious question... by jclast · · Score: 1

      Knight of Lodis is a GBA game. The n64 one is Person of Lordly Caliber. Both very good games, if you can find them that is.

      --
      e2 | LJ
    6. Re:A serious question... by steveo777 · · Score: 1
      FFT PS1 was/is great. Massive customization, epic battles. That's what I need.

      FFT GBA was/is less than great. It's a good tactics game all around, but it doesn't come close to the PS1 version. There's tons of battles and items, but there is almost no customization. The five races can each have a 5-9 classes and there are abilities that they all share in one way or another. For instance, every race has a few classes that can stun/confuse/muddle/disable. Leveling is almost pre-set, but you can get faqs for that stuff on gamefaqs (didn't link because I'm at work, blocked).

      My realy big problem with the game, however, is that it is painfully slow. As in every move takes 15-25 seconds and some one is using that time to vigorously rub steel wool filled with silicate sand on a fresh wound. I'm serious. I bought the game and almost threw it across the room during the into match.

      The turn speed can be fixed, though. You can turn off the "Judge Point" alocation, as well as exp. allocation. You don't always get JP's, but stopping the exp from popping up every time pulls a good 2sec off each char's turn (JP is another 2 if they would get one). I think there is a few more things you can do to speed it up like the message speeds. But at top speed you're still looking at 8-12sec per char's turn. The enemy AI is worse as it will take 1-3sec deciding what to do.

      Then there's those "Judge Points". There's laws in the game that start off annoying, but get downright pissy. You get JP for doing what is good that day and sent to jail for doing what's illegal (often polar opposites, fire bad vs. ice good). If you just lost some JP for doing bad, it would be much more tolerable, but when you do something like accidentally stunning an opp. with a weapon side-effect and your main gets sent to jail (and you lose the game/progress in that battle) it really grates on you.

      Those JP's can be used to do the combos on enemies. They've never been useful to me as any time it's more than a two on one gang-up I'm likely to be spread out so the baddie can't get them all with an area effect. I think I've seen one combo.

      As you can tell, the time in a game is a big factor for me. The graphics don't even matter as long as it's easy to recognize what's going on. This is why I love Fire Embelem, you can turn off all the animations and a battle goes from 1-1.5 hours to about 15-20 minutes. Don't get me wrong, the graphics are great to look at, but after seeing them a few times I lose interest and I just want to play the game. This is why I can't even play most RPG's these days. Battles take far too much time (FFVIII-FFX2,Skies of Arcadia). Any time I can shorten the battles, I do.

      --
      This sig isn't original enough, it's time to come up with something witty...
    7. Re:A serious question... by AcidLacedPenguiN · · Score: 1

      I see. . . I guess I shouldn't have judged without playing the GBA version, because the psx version is like, mastery of the tactical RPG genre. My bad :(

      --
      disclaimer: I've been known to store numbers in my ass for which to dig out when quantities are required.
    8. Re:A serious question... by BartulaPrime · · Score: 1

      We are very similar in our past gaming history. I left the Atari console behind and never looked back. I've been C=64/PC-centric since I was 14, however I will disagree that there are no good games for consoles. Personally, I think your and my problem was not looking at the PS2. Recently, I saw a demo for Shadow of the Colossus, and that hooked me right then and there. Then, I discovered the RPGs for PS2. I'll always play RTS and FPS on the PC, but RPGs are really good for the PS2. Given that it takes ages to finish one, it's nice to be able to sit back in a recliner and use the gamepad to play in a relaxing position.

  6. Also available on... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Many of these games are available on other platforms:

    Tomb Raider II - PC
    Resident Evil 2 - GameCube
    Metal Gear Solid - Multiple platforms, including NES and C64
    Spyro the Dragon - GBA
    Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus - PC
    Rayman 2: The Great Escape - N64
    Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 - XBox, GameCube
    SSX Tricky - XBox, GameCube
    Dance Dance Revolution - Arcade and multiple platforms
    Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance - GameCube
    Medal Of Honor: Frontline - Xbox, GameCube
    Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 - XBox, GameCube
    Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time - XBox, GameCube, PC
    Soul Calibur II - XBox, GameCube
    Beyond Good & Evil - XBox, GameCube
    Madden NFL 2004 - XBox, GameCube (Madden 2005 also available for PalmOS)
    Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 - XBox, GameCube
    James Bond 007: Everything Or Nothing - XBox, GameCube
    Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory - XBox, GameCube
    Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition - XBox
    Timesplitters: Future Perfect - XBox, GameCube
    Star Wars Battlefront II - XBox, PC
    Resident Evil 4 - GameCube (released 10 months prior to PS2 port)
    Lego Star Wars - XBox

    That's just a quick scan of the games on the list*. The article tries to hype the Sony machine(s) by making it look like these games are exclusive to the PlayStation 1 and/or 2, but many of these games are available for other platforms. [And in many cases look better on other platforms.]

    If you stick to nothing but Sony exclusives, the list becomes much shorter.

    ___
    * All I did was a quick Google search for each of the above titles, so they may be available for other platforms as well.

    1. Re:Also available on... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, did you make yourself out to be a pathetic Sony hating loser with that post.

      Congrats retard.

    2. Re:Also available on... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sony is for gay0rs. Real men play with breasts.

    3. Re:Also available on... by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 1

      Wow, did you make yourself out to be a pathetic Sony hating loser with that post.

      Well Sony has done much to deserve hatred lately. Even before the CD rootkits and the ActiveX controls to remove them that opened even bigger holes in your system, they used to design many of their CD and DVD players to refuse to play burned music off of anything other than Music CD-R media (with attached RIAA tithe). They continue to try to lock consumers into their closed proprietary media where open unencumbered media already exists.

      The last time I heard Sony did something right for the consumer was taking Sony Corp. v. Universal City Studios to the Supreme Court and winning.

      OK, so they settled the rootkit case, but doing right just because you got caught doing wrong doesn't make you noble. And the settlement is to give away stuff that costs them little or nothing? How's that a penalty? What ever happened to cash settlements where the CEO has to write out a check to each person by hand, "Pay to the order of: Mrs. Wilbur Stark, one dollar and NINE CENTS!"

      Disclaimer: I just bought one of their 400-disc DVD players.

      --
      Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
    4. Re:Also available on... by apoc06 · · Score: 1

      the point wasnt to hype any sony machines. it was to give a summation of what titles are worth buying for ps1 and ps2, since in a few months when the ps3 is released everything will become bargain bin. sure you can get some of the titles on other consoles, but not everyone owns a gamecube and or xbox as well.

      the list is a fan service to ps2 [and psp] owners. if you are neither please move on, theres nothing to see here.

    5. Re:Also available on... by Ayaress · · Score: 1

      Metal Gear SOLID was not on the NES or C64. The "Solid" title was tacked on when the series went 3D. Metal Gear Solid games are on the Gamecube, Xbox, PS2, and I'm not sure about PC. Splinter Cell is, and it's a more engaging and less rediculous game anyway.

    6. Re:Also available on... by WWWWolf · · Score: 1

      Yup, Metal Gear Solid is on PC too. At least the MGS1 and MGS2 are. They'll probably port MGS3 eventually too.

      (Gah, there it sits on my game pile. I didn't have enough horsepower in my computer to run it earlier, and now, when I do, I don't have Windows. =( Seemed like a cool came, based on the little I played it. Wish they give a TwinSnakes treatment to it too! Would love to play it on the Cube!)

      MGS was actually released for Game Boy Color too. Well, actually they took Japan-only title "Metal Gear: Ghost Babel" and not-so-discreetly renamed it for world release. Main plot doesn't have much to do with MGS on PS or PC, but the VR missions are mostly same as in MGS:Integral / MGS PC.

    7. Re:Also available on... by PaganRitual · · Score: 1

      Spyro the Dragon - GBA

      I think you'll find that a ps1 game that has been ported to the GBA is probably slightly different. I.E. no 3D. it's either top down or isometric.

  7. Vertical/horizontal shooters. by Threni · · Score: 1

    I know i'm not supposed to like 2d games any more, but I'm bored of FPS (quake, duke, BF2 etc) and car chase/race games. Can anyone recommend some good scrolling (don't care whether its horizontal or vertical) shooters for the pc (don't care if they're native or emulated). Any era, old or new games - something stupid, fast and fun.

    defender (arcade)
    datastorm (amiga)
    swiv (amiga)
    raiden (arcade/psx)
    r-type (arcade) is ok but a bit slow.

    I like the look of some of the pc-engine stuff - any recommendations. Perhaps neo-geo also.

    Thanks in advance!

    1. Re:Vertical/horizontal shooters. by AtaruMoroboshi · · Score: 1

      Shmups ("Shoot-Em-Ups") are my favorite genre of game:

      My MAME recommendations mainly focus on cult shmup developer CAVE:

      Dodonpachi (Manic Bullet Hell!)
      Progear No Arashi (Side Scroller with Laputa-inspired artwork)
      ESP.Ra.De (Psychic Teenagers!)
      Guwange (absolutely beautiful Medieval Japan setting)
      Dangun Feveron (Disco-themed space shooter!)

      all of these games are hard but are in fact beatable in a single credit if you put in enough effort. Personally, I can usually only one-credit clear the first 3 to 5 stages before dying repeatedly.

      As far as Raiden goes, you might also enjoy games from developer Psykio, such as:

      Sengoku Ace
      Sengoku Blade
      Gunbird 1 & 2
      Strikers 1945 (parts 1, 2 & 3)
      etc.

      Also, Batsugun from Toaplan is quite fun.

      and side scrollers:

      GRADIUS (1 through 4)
      R-Type 2
      Pulstar
      Blazing Star

      if you own a Gamecube or Dreamcast, you should play Ikaruga. There are another half dozen or so excellent shooters on the Dreamcast.

    2. Re:Vertical/horizontal shooters. by pnice · · Score: 1

      It might suck but I've always had fun with Sexy Parodius as well.

      and I don't know if any of these are good or not but you can go to klov.com and search for shooter within game descriptions and it pulls up the first 100...and that only goes to the Ds.

      --
      My Xbox Live Gamer Card
    3. Re:Vertical/horizontal shooters. by rabbot · · Score: 1

      Ikaruga for the gamecube. Best vertical shooter i've played in probably 10 years.

    4. Re:Vertical/horizontal shooters. by AtaruMoroboshi · · Score: 1

      I love the Parodius series! They do tend to be brutally hard however.

    5. Re:Vertical/horizontal shooters. by radish · · Score: 1

      Check out Xenon 2 : Megablast (I have it for Atari ST, I think it's on PC & Amiga too).

      --

      ---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"

    6. Re:Vertical/horizontal shooters. by Prophet+of+Nixon · · Score: 1

      Jets n' Guns
      Tyrian (requires DosBox)
      Star Monkey

      Also, look up a guy named Kenta Cho, he has some awesome free stuff he wrote on his site. His last game, GunRoar, is really great. There's another good free game called End Effector, though I can't recall its author.

      And if you have a PS2 around:
      R-Types (PS1)
      R-Type Delta (PS1)
      R-Type Final (PS2)
      Gradius III & IV (PS2)
      Gradius V (PS2)
      Castle Shikigami 2 (PS2)
      Silpheed (PS2)

      I highly recommend Jets n' Guns, Gradius V, and Castle Shikigami 2; the others are pretty good too.

    7. Re:Vertical/horizontal shooters. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Here's some other ideas, they're not necessarily shmups but I've really had a blast playing them:

      GBA:
      - Drill Dozer
      - Gunstar Super Heroes

      SNES:
      - Axelay

      NES:
      - Life Force
      - Journey To Silius

      PC:
      - Cave Story
      - (and ditto, all of Kenta Cho's games are a blast!)

      Cave Story is more like Super Metroid or something like that, but it's one of the most fun PC games in a very long time, and it's totally free. It has some great weapons and boss battles, and the story is strange but touching. It has a great retro look and feel too.

      Gunstar Super Heroes on the GBA (you can order the ROM online and play on PC) is a REALLY crazy shooter - games on the GBA should not look that good, and the bosses are really insane. The learning curve is not too bad as far as shooters go, and it also has an easy mode.

      Also, I have to agree that if you have a 'Cube you gotta at least try Ikaruga; it is getting pretty hard to find though, so get it while you can!

    8. Re:Vertical/horizontal shooters. by gmezero · · Score: 1

      Well, the PC-Engine is the unquestioned king platform for shooters. Some remarkable classics would be:

      Gate of Thunder
      Lords of Thunder
      L-Dis
      Cotton
      Air Zonk
      Soldier Blade
      Download 2
      Spriggan mark 2
      Sidearms Special
      Darius (for the best non-arcade version) ...just as a primer.

      Many others come to mind for other systems though...
      Mars Matrix (Dreamcast)
      Radiant Silvergun (Saturn)
      In the Hunt (Saturn/Playstation)
      Darius Gaiden (Saturn)
      all of the Darius games on the Genesis
      Steel Empires (Genesis)

      Come to think of it, just drop by SHMUPS for all your shooter needs.

    9. Re:Vertical/horizontal shooters. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Someone already mentioned Kenta Cho, but I just want to make absolutely sure you follow it up. His stuff absolutely rules, it is exactly what you're looking for, and free.

      Go here, download, love.

      p.s. Picking up a dreamcast (approximate cost $0.01) might also be good for you if you don't mind a little warezing. Ikaruga, Giga Wing 1+2, and quite a few more, all available on a good torrent site as straight ISO images.

    10. Re:Vertical/horizontal shooters. by apoc06 · · Score: 1

      surprised no ones mentioned einhander for psx. love to see a ps2/3 sequel... its a great game.

      also try out r-type delta for psx.

    11. Re:Vertical/horizontal shooters. by AcidLacedPenguiN · · Score: 1

      I second, third, fourth, and fifth that! It's my favourite shooter, mainly because it forces you to play a puzzle game without even realizing it.

      --
      disclaimer: I've been known to store numbers in my ass for which to dig out when quantities are required.
    12. Re:Vertical/horizontal shooters. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bangiao (maybe spelled wrong) for the dreamcast
      Gunstar Hero's for the GBA or Genesis
      Thunder Force
      Rolling Thunder (mame/genesis/snes)
      Vector Man (Genesis/sonic collection)
      Earthworm Jim
      Geometry Wars Evolved (xbox 360)

    13. Re:Vertical/horizontal shooters. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought Drill Dozer wasn't released yet?

  8. Re:Poor Xbox by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    20+ Xbox games could be picked just by looking at the top 100 list they posted because they are made for both the PS2 and Xbox. The Playstation had some great original games but the PS2 shares a lot of titles with other systems.

  9. On Katamari Damacy.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    By the end of 2004, though, none of us was laughing, mostly because we were all too busy trying to master the dual-analog controls necessary to roll up thumbtacks and beach balls and penguins and judo masters and toolsheds and anything else that got in our way.

    Trying to master the dual analog controls!?! What the Korea? Were they supposed to be hard to master because I think I was an expert within 5 minutes.

  10. I stopped reading... by Strell · · Score: 2, Funny

    When Peter Molyneux called Lara Croft a "believable heroine."

    That was enough for me.

    --
    I'm not scared of anonymous cowards.
  11. Read the Web Browser ;) by Madpony · · Score: 1

    It says:

    OMP's Essential 100: PS1, PS2, and PSP Games You Must Play Before You Die from 1UP.com


    Hmmm.... 1UP.com has been making me feel a little light headed lately...

    ...I think I'm going to lie down.

  12. Re:Poor Xbox by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So you're up to 11. Wake me up when you reach, like, 15 or something.

  13. Well, I liked the list. by Thag · · Score: 1

    I could quibble about a couple choices, but all in all, it's a pretty solid list.

    I'm sure everyone will find one or two games they think don't deserve to be there, but that's the nature of the beast.

    I have to check over lunch to see if I still own a copy of Bushido Blade...

    Jon Acheson

    --
    All opinions expressed herein are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled.
  14. ..."First and Best tactical RPG"? by Bagels · · Score: 1

    Perhaps a minor nitpick, but Final Fantasy Tactics wasn't nearly the first tactical/simulation RPG. The Tactics Ogre and Fire Emblem series preceded it (by one and two generations, respectively), and there were plenty of similar games on the PC, too (check Spiderweb Software's Exile/Avernum series).

    --
    --- Bwah?
    1. Re:..."First and Best tactical RPG"? by chrismcdirty · · Score: 1

      Definitely not the first, but the original is one of the best that I've played. Granted, I haven't played much in that genre. But I wasn't too much of a fan of the way TO had your team all move, then the opposing team all move. I liked the way FFT interlaced every characters' movements.

      --
      It's like sex, except I'm having it!
    2. Re:..."First and Best tactical RPG"? by Fred+Or+Alive · · Score: 1

      Perhaps what they meant to say was "First and best tactical RPG on PlayStation in North America" :-)

      (Shining Force was also out way before as well, possibly the first to be released in English?)

      --
      10 PRINT "LOOK AROUND YOU ";
      20 GOTO 10
    3. Re:..."First and Best tactical RPG"? by lazuli42 · · Score: 1

      I was disappointed that Disgaea didn't find a spot on the list.

      I'm not typically a compulsive videogame buyer. I don't have a lot of free time, so I like to read reviews and learn more about the game before I buy it. However, the first time I saw someone playing Disgaea, I knew that I immediately had to own it and play it.

      The visuals are wonderful, the story is humourous and endearing, the music is some of the best I've heard in a videogame, and the gameplay is fantastic. It's my favourite game for the PS2, by a large margin.

      --

      "There's companies that are just so cool that you just can't even deal with it," - Bill Gates, about Google

    4. Re:..."First and Best tactical RPG"? by AuMatar · · Score: 1

      Dark Wizard for the Sega CD was a pretty damn cool one too. A much larger selection of units, with each of 4 characters getting their own selection.

      --
      I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
    5. Re:..."First and Best tactical RPG"? by justchris · · Score: 1
      I agree, not the first, but still so far, in my experience, the best, and I devour Tactical RPGs.

      Superior Story, Superior Gameplay, Excellent Customization, it's a hard game to beat. The FF license is just gravy.

      --
      just some guy
    6. Re:..."First and Best tactical RPG"? by apoc06 · · Score: 1

      i second.

    7. Re:..."First and Best tactical RPG"? by apoc06 · · Score: 1

      it wasnt the best, and the graphics were kinda muddy, but vandal hearts for ps1 was amazing IMHO. there was something special about some of the level design that i havent seen since. i probably sucked now going back, but it was the first time i saw a multistory deathtrap level lowering characters to their doom in a pit of lava. quite impressive scene. it would be interesting if the metal gear acid series too a cue from VH.

      the first final fantasy tactics is still king in my book though. would love to see fft done in current ff graphics. with real scaling and rotation for the maps.

  15. Which games are missing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    what games would you add to the list?
    A few that I can think of are:

    Ratchet and Clank (the origional).
    Final Fantasy 8 (if FF10 is good enough for the list, this definately is good enough to make the list)

    I would also replace Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty with Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance. (its the exact same game except they added 350+ VR missions, 150+ Alternative missions, five Snake Tales missions, and boss survival mode. All that for the same low price as Sons of Liberty!)

    I look forward to seeing what games you would add to the list!

  16. Moblie Light Brigade by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    is Castle Shikigami 1 repackaged for the US. I've heard the foobared the story, but the gameplay should be intact, and it's dirt cheap off ebay.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:Moblie Light Brigade by Prophet+of+Nixon · · Score: 1

      Mobile Light Force (PS1) is Gunbird 1.
      Gunbird 2 is on the Dreamcast.
      Mobile Light Force 2 (PS2, with the same awful box art as MLF 1) is Castle Shikigami 1.
      Castle Shikigami 2 is on the PS2.

      The story of Shikigami 1 isn't foobared, its just gone. Entirely. Though as you say, the gameplay is intact and the game is dirt cheap off ebay. So is Shikigami 2. I've got them both, and I'd say that 1 has better bosses, but the engrish story in 2 is hilariously awful, and sorely missed in 1. Though if the story in 2 is actually translated correctly, then maybe I can understand why they cut the story out of 1.

      They're both awesome co-op shooters, though, as is Gradius V.

  17. The ONLY? by chrismcdirty · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "Lara Croft is the only videogame character to have achieved international-cultural-icon status"

    I believe Pac-man was an international cultural icon 15-20 years before Lara Croft. Add to the list Mario, Princess Peach, Donkey Kong, and Frogger, at least. I'd be willing to bet more people recognize Pac-man than they do Lara Croft. Most people likely see Lara Croft as Angelina Jolie these days.

    --
    It's like sex, except I'm having it!
  18. Re:Read the Web Browser ;) by vlaube · · Score: 1

    You better play the games first!

  19. The list is crap. by Inoshiro · · Score: 1

    Tomba on the PS1 and God of War on the PS2 are the only 2 games I don't have in my collection which would happen to be exclusive and that I would be interested in. My PS2 game collection is around 40 titles; none of them are EA titles or games which are out on other platforms, but not many of them are super must haves (except ones like ZOE2 and the DDRs) -- because the PS2 does not get as many must-haves as the GameCube (to a gamer of my tastes).

    The majority of the non-EA games, such as Soul Calibur 2 and Street Fighter Alpha 3, have versions on other platforms which are superior. It is redundant to list Soul Blade when the Dreamcast had both Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Soul Calibur.

    Tiger Woods, Madden, and other mindless sequel games aren't worth mentioning because they are noise. It's like if you tried to make a list of the 100 best movies on the past 10 years. How many movies really worth watching come out in a decade's time?

    And the 2 PSP titles: Lumines and the 4 or 5th appearance of GTA on the list. If 1/20th of your list is GTA (the same game every time with minor plot changes), you might as well start listing all the MegaMan games: same gameplay, minor story changes! At least Lumines (the other Tetsuya Mizugchi game, besides Rez) is worth having (although it's more worth having as a download onto a 1.5 PSP, since the PSP is pretty boring when it's not also able to be a NES emulator).

    --
    --
    Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
    1. Re:The list is crap. by SlayerDave · · Score: 1
      The majority of the non-EA games, such as Soul Calibur 2 and Street Fighter Alpha 3, have versions on other platforms which are superior.

      You obviously missed the point. This list is not claiming that the PS2 version of Soul Calibur 2 is the best version of the game across all platforms. It's claiming that Soul Calibur 2 is one of the top 100 games available for some Sony platform, period.

      It is redundant to list Soul Blade when the Dreamcast had both Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Soul Calibur.

      Wrong. Dreamcast (and XBox and Gamecube) is irrelevant to this list. Once again, this is not a list of the best 100 Sony-exclusive games. It is a list of the 100 best games available on a Sony platform.

      You can argue that some game should or should not be on the list, but arguing that the whole list is crap because such-and-such game is also on Dreamcast or that Gamecube has a better library misses the point completely.

      Stop trolling.

  20. The post filtered my link... by gmezero · · Score: 1

    The post filtered out my link... http://www.shmups.com/

  21. Re:Read the Web Browser ;) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1up.com can smoke my big fat cock.

    FFS that list is for homosexuals.

  22. Re:Poor Xbox by AcidLacedPenguiN · · Score: 1

    he forgot Forza Motorsport, Steel Battalion, Phantom Dust, Rallisport Challenge, Jet Set Radio Future, Mechassault, Dead or Alive 3, Deathrow, Shenmue 2, and Full Spectrum Warrior. One could argue that that list is spread out across 3 distinct consoles. poor xbox indeed. but I suppose I'm just being rude.

    --
    disclaimer: I've been known to store numbers in my ass for which to dig out when quantities are required.
  23. some comments on the games by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    Not that anyone is obligated to care but...

    Ridge Racer: I know this game has a huge following but why does anyone even care in a world with Gran Turismo one through n? Ridge Racer has some of the worst physics I've seen since Out Run.

    Wipeout: It's perfect to put this right next to ridge racer since these two games have the same stupid problem: hitting the wall (or in RR, the curb) at all makes you slam to a stop. They fixed this problem in Wipeout XL, and you can ride the walls very well by drifting. Incidentally, Wipeout on the Saturn is the same way. Very odd that Wipeout on PSX and Wipeout on Saturn have such different wall physics.

    Raiden Project: I haven't played project, but IMO Raiden II is the best top-down shooter of all time, period.

    Final Fantasy VII: Still my favorite RPG. I replay this one now and then.

    Bushido Blade: Another game where you want to play the sequel, which is so much better it's ridiculous - but in this case, both games are timeless classics.

    Tomb Raider whatever: Tomb II didn't do as much for me as the original, but I suspect this is just a matter of taste. Maybe it's just that the original was enough Tomb Raider for me.

    I must be the only person on Terra who thinks the resident evil games are all lame.

    Metal Gear Solid: The camera ruined this game for me. The game starts out too hard, too. (I may be a wuss since I said that, but on the other hand, I did beat the original NES game without a strategy guide.)

    Gran Turismo and sequels: Best. Racing. Game. Ever. 'Nuff said.

    Spyro: Lame control scheme, poor play control, great otherwise. I give this one a miss.

    Xenogears: The first half of this game is super-badass. The second half is super-unfinished. Go play FFVII again instead.

    Final Fantasy Tactics: Definitely one of the all-time greats. I prefer it on the GBA, though, in the form of FFT Advance. There's more going on in the PSX version but this is a game that begs to be portable.

    R-Type Delta: I suck at R-Type. It's hard! More to the point, you have to memorize, which I think makes it kind of lame.

    GTA3: Great game, but if you still haven't played it, skip it and play San Andreas instead. The ability to climb up things and swim makes it a no-brainer.

    MGS2: Also too hard for me, but it was the first game in the long while to give me the sweaty-palmed jitters, and it's absolutely gorgeous. Play control is top-notch. Everyone should play it at least twice.

    SSX Tricky: Best snowboarding game I've seen yet. Really smooth with an incredibly high frame rate, AND fun to play.

    Need For Speed: There is no such thing as a NFS title with good physics. I just can't play the racing games with bad physics, perhaps because I like to drive, and have driven a wide array of different types of vehicles, and I keep expecting cars to do the right thing.

    GTA Vice City: See above on GTA :)

    Prince of Persia Sands of Time: Wins best gimmick award. Fun to play, except for that pesky camera.

    GTA SA: Oh, there it is. Do we really need all these GTA games on the list?

    And uh, that's all the games on the list that I've played. Guess I have to hand in my hardcore gamer badge.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    1. Re:some comments on the games by justchris · · Score: 1

      I can understand saying that FFT begs to be portable, but there is really no comparison between FFT & FFTA. FFTA was a major disappointment. I felt cheated after I'd beaten it. FFT is better than it in every single way. Well, no, the original is better in all but one way. The original isn't portable. That's the only good thing FFTA had going for it in comparison.

      --
      just some guy
  24. The list by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    100 items is a lot of items to list... This seems to be a list of pretty much every game for a Sony system that had any kind of significance to the industry. I consider myself to be pretty hardcore, but I'm not sure if I've even played that many PS* games. That being said, I was pleased to notice a couple of my own relativley obscure favorites on there like R-Type Delta and Persona II: Eternal Punishment, and I can see where they're coming from with most of the items on the list.

    Conspicuously missing, IMHO, are Einhander (A solid 2D shooter by none other than Squaresoft; possibly the only sidescrolling shooter on the PS that can rival R-Type Delta) and Valkyrie Profile (A fairly unique experimental RPG from Enix- it does a lot of new things, and does enough of them right that it's worth a play).

    - HC

  25. ..will make you a supremely well-rounded gamer... by kn0tw0rk · · Score: 1

    I thought most gamers were already 'well rounded' from sitting down while playing the games.... with the exception being the DDR freaks :P

    --
    See my art -> http://herbevore.deviantart.com
  26. You've been working with the government too long by DevolvingSpud · · Score: 1

    When the first thing you think of when you hear OPM is The Office of Personnel Management. Wow, those guys do gaming too? They probably pwn at Roller Coaster Tycoon.

    But I bet they go home, play Splinter Cell, and secretly wish they worked for another three letter agency.

    --
    Keep your friends close.
    Keep your enemies in a little jar on your desk.
  27. Re:Poor Xbox by dyslexicbunny · · Score: 1

    But how many of those are ported from PC or have been ported to PC? I don't have an X-Box but I spot names of PC games easily.

    I know Doom3, Splinter Cells, R6-3, and some other popular shooters were ported onto X-Box. The Halos, Fable, and Kotor (X-box came first but the PC version was made PC friendly and had some changes so not a pure port) were ports.

    Since I don't play racing games and I'm not a huge fighting fan (only love Soul Calibur), I would like to know what X-Box only games I should be excited about that I didn't mention.

  28. Tomba made the list with good reason! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Tomba was a fantastic sidescrolling platformer! If they would just make a sequel for the next-gen or even current gen consoles, I would buy it in a heartbeat.

    Anyways, if sidescrolling platformers are your thing, get Tomba! In fact I might go find, and play through it again, just for nostalgia sake.... That and FFIV, and Syphon Filter (the original), and Crash Bandicoot... I could go all night.