There was a time when a console brand was built on the strength of its exclusives, so what are your favourite exclusives? Now, when I say exclusive, I mean games that were released on a particular console and could not be played anywhere else during their original runs, i.e. timed exclusives are excluded, however games which had later "remasters" or "remakes" for later gen consoles can be added. Sorry Resi 4. You can include PC exclusives too.
My list is:
1. Metal Gear Solid 4 (Sony PS3)
At a time when I was on the fence about whether or not to buy a PS3 or go toward the 360, MGS4 made up my mind. It delivered on almost every level, with fun and intuitive gameplay, a genuine push forward with the age old MGS mechanics and a story line, although convoluted at times, tied up some of the loose ends from the previous three games. Oh and it looked terrific for the time and is still pretty good looking today.
2. Halo 2 (Microsoft XBOX)
Not since the days of Mario has a game and gaming character so defined an entire console. Halo and it's sequel (simply a far superior game in every way) defined Xbox and continues to do so even now. It is both the narrative and gameplay high point of the series and its multiplayer was leagues ahead of anything else on the console market. Actually that's a disservice, it was on par with and in many cases, better than the mp for most PC shooters at the time too.
3. Mario 64 (Nintendo N64)
It is probably difficult for gamers who weren't around during the 90s heyday of the console wars to fully understand just how big a deal a Mario game was in those days. With Sony kicking on in the 3D era and solidifying themselves as top dog, Mario was Nintendo's not-so-secret weapon. The first 3D Mario and honestly, still the best. It's controls have always been fiddly and the sound effects are annoying af but get through that and you will enjoy one of the best 3D platformers ever made. A landmark moment in gaming.
4. Sonic 3 (SEGA Genesis)
If memory serves me correct, this is the first Sonic game I played and boy was I obsessed. The speed, the colour, a hero that wasn't a pussy and...the speed! It always made me want to retry levels, seeing if I could do them faster with a higher ring count and less "deaths". This was gaming at its most basic and its most fun. For a period with Sonic 2 to Sonic and Knuckles, SEGA were the undisputed king of console platformers and Mario was their cuckold. This, the third entry in that series of KOs is probably the best of the lot.
5. Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo N64)
As much as I was loath to admit it in the late 90s, when gaming was supposed to all hardcore and Stone Cold Steve Austin was all we aspired to be, I absolutely loved Mario Kart. I adored it. Four friends, connected up to a single console, racing around lobbing turtles at one another. That was the definition of fun. In the years that followed, PES and FIFA would overtake out multiplayer love but nothing quite "got it" like Mario Kart. Back then, Nintendo just knew how to make games. Genuine, bloody, games.
6. Final Fantasy XII (Sony PS2)
The best FF game ever and one of the best console exclusives ever. The world, the characters, the balanced battle system which allowed for real time movement and dodging of enemy attacks...or you could just run away. It was a welcome addition to a strictly turn based system. The story was a bit too self important and some of the "comic relief" a bit too cheesy but it all worked and was the last time an FF felt truly great.
6. Tekken 3 (Sony Playstation)
Many children of the 90s would have had their beat 'em up introduction with Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat. For me, it was Tekken. The third installment was a high point no other game in the series even came close to touching. The tight control scheme, the fluidity, the variety in character styles and the cheesy FMVs created a package I still went back to even when I had a PS2. It's remarkable how games such as Resident Evil, MGS and Tomb Raider have become synonymous with the Playstation brand but unlike those others, outside of an arcade, Tekken 3 (the best beat em up ever) could only be found on a Sony console.
8. Crash Bandicoot: Warped (Sony Playstation)
Yet another game from the golden age of Playstation and arguably its greatest achievement. What I mean by that is that Sony were able to release a series of games that not only competed with the 3D platformers of Nintendo but at times surpassed them. Give me Crash over Banjo any day. This, the third in the series is probably the best of the lot. It's fun, it has SO MUCH content, heck replying levels just for the time trials and relics is worth the admission price alone.
9. Metal Gear Solid 3 (Sony PS2)
MGS3 came about at a time when gaming was heading towards the PS3/XB360, with both companies teasing their new consoles and graphical capabilities. However, that didn't stop Kojima from atoning for his mistakes in MGS2, mainly Raiden and giving us a proper MG experience. The outdoor levels are quite basic and consist of corridors but with the paint of a jungle but that doesn't stop experimentation and various different methods of killing guards. In terms of stealth kill/distraction uniqueness, MGS 3 is superior to many other stealth games. How often can you drop a hornets nest on a russian soldier?
10. God of War 2 (Sony PS2)
Ah, God of Ward. You gory, angry slice of gaming heaven. I was torn between either this or GOW3 but I went for the second game because of its importance in the dying days of the PS generation and for the fact that it showed us gamers that the PS2 still had a few drops of beautiful blood left. Yes it suffers from the edgy textures of that generation but the battles are large, the bosses larger and Kratos' movement both fluid and just damn brutal. Let's kill them all!...I mean that's the end of the list.
Honourable mentions:
Gears of War (XB360)
Super Smash Bros Melee (N64)
GTA III
And a whole host of games like HL2, Age of Empires 2 and so on from the PC that also got console releases during that same time period, albeit inferior versions of the game.
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