Generations
Well, there’s no doubt about it – a ‘New Generation’ of consoles is being forced upon us, the gaming public, whether we think there’s life left in the current generation or not. Out of the current generation, despite having owned all consoles, the only ones I currently own are the GameCube, Nintendo DS, and numerous iterations of Game Boy Advance.
Out of the ‘next generation’, however, I only have firm plans to purchase the Nintendo Revolution – it appears to be doing something genuinely innovative and, given the current gen (more on this in a moment) I really feel they can pull it off. The Xbox360, from what I’ve seen, is a slightly prettier version of the Xbox, pushing glossier versions of substandard PC ports. No thanks – not really interested. The PS3 may be interesting, due to it being the only platform to get whatever Final Fantasy sequels may be coming up but, to be quite honest, the lies currently issuing from Sony’s Hype Department are doing a very good job of dissuading me from parting with my cash.
So, time for a very brief run down of where the fun has been (for me anyway) in the past three years, or so. These titles are the ones that have provided me and my family (or just me) with what I’d consider value for money. This list probably won’t reflect the magazine reviews, but so what – they can sue me 🙂
In no particular order, memorable titles from the past few years are:
ICO – PS2: Possibly the game of the generation. This was an emotional experience and on more than one occasion was greeted by wails of dismay from the kids as they thought something orrible was going to happen to Yorda. A stroke of genius.
Final Fantasy X – PS2: Bad NTSC conversion aside, a long, satisfying and enthralling adventure.
Metroid Prime – GameCube: A work of genius from beginning to end. Beautiful to look at and play, difficulty setting exactly right.
Scooby Doo – Night of 100 Frights – PS2/GameCube: I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve finished this game. It makes me laugh. Best platformer in ages.
Cel Damage – GameCube: For sheer hours clocked, this is up there with Super Smash Brothers. Which brings me to:
Super Smash Bros. Melee – GameCube: You don’t get much better value than this. My kids STILL play it.
Doshin the Giant – GameCube: Mad. But lovely. There’s something that’s just NICE about spending a day doing nothing except building a great big mountain and then sitting on the top of the mountain to watch the sun go down.
Phoenix Wright – Ace Attorney – Nintendo DS: Never played anything quite like this before. Original, funny, ACE.
And I can’t be bothered writing any more. But if I could, I’d be mentioning: Resident Evil 4 (game of the year, easily), Legend of Zelda – Minish Cap, Final Fantasy I & II, Advance Wars, Sonic Rush, Mario and Luigi – all incarnations, Paper Mario II, Pikmin 1 & 2, Meteos, Mr Driller, Metal Slug Advance, Zelda – Wind Waker, Super Mario Sunshine, Mario Kart DD, Mario Kart DS – the list just goes on and on and on. And most of them are Nintendo.
So, Mr Sony and Mr Microsoft – you can stick it wherever you like. You’re not interested in making decent games. When you do I may consider your console. Until then, Nintendo’s promise of making their back catalogue available for download on the Revolution means I’m going to have more than enough to occupy myself for the next few years.
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