The Nominees:

 1) Bionic Commando (NES) - Capcom's creative commando still haunts the gamers who enjoyed the fun of a bionic/grappling hook for an arm.  It was also pretty sweet to kill Robot Hitler to beat the game!  

2) Mega Man 2 (NES) - The definitive Mega Man adventure that spawned countless sequels.  Basically, it is as pure as any of the 2D shooters.  Interesting levels and weapons, great memorable music, and just plain fun.   This is the kind of game that could teach someone to have great hand-eye cordination and reflexes.  This game helped make me the gamer I am today.  And I'm not alone.

3) Faxanadu (NES) - A truly magical action/rpg that, like the other nominees this year, had a great soundtrack.  From its epic feel and classical fantasy motifs, it presents a emotional journey that you're unlikely to forget.  Not to mention the scariest elves you've ever seen!  

4) The Guardian Legend (NES) - Ahead of its time on many levels.  It is a two-sided coin and just as shiney on both sides.  Half of the game is a definitive space shooter that basically shows the entire genre (which was quite large in its day) how its done.  The second half of the game is an overworld map that plays like a Zelda.  It also has 'the' best music of any game ever!  

5) Zelda 2: Adventure of Link (NES) - How do you followup one of the greatest games of all time?  Well, Nintendo's approach was to make it completely different.  The end result is a great game in its own right.  Tremendous replay value and a stiff challenge to completionists.  

 

1988 Game of the Year - The Guardian Legend

 Just a superior product that beat the competition at their own game.  Frankly, it had no right to be this good.  From poweruping your vast array of awesome weapons, to putting them to good use against some great looking aliens.  This game is a monster.  It is very long, very satisfying and stays fresh throughout.   It even has a password to only play the spaceship levels if you so desire, and has a built in soundtest.  A masterpiece. 

The Nominees:

1) Castlevania (NES) - Dracula enters the gaming universe and how would you take him down? With a whip. Yes a whip. Not a gun, not a steak; a whip! Add in some flying Medusa heads and some holy water, and we have a game that elevated the adventure to the next level.

2) The Legend of Zelda (NES) - Nintendo's forth franchise player would become their MVP. You play as Link, who must adventure through the land of Hyrule to save the princess, Zelda. Music, gameplay, epic scope - never before had it achieved this level of perfection.

3) Rygar 2 (NES) - Tecmo quickly adapted their hero to the NES after debuting in Japanese arcades. Here, Rygar's equipment is enhanced, his world grew to a huge landscape of both overhead and sidescroller, and some cool music too. Hard to resist Rygar's swinging mace attack and those bizzare gurus.

4) Mike Tyson's Punch-Out! (NES) - Mario referee's the best boxing game of the era. A defining game for Nintendo, until Tyson went to jail for rape, then they downplayed it. But we all know that if you had a NES at anytime in your life, you had a great time taking down King Hippo and Bald Bull. With a very memorable lineup of opponents, this game somehow existed perfectly with only one real life counterpart, the invincible Mike Tyson. One of boxing's best eras.

5) Wizards & Warriors (NES) - Another fantasy in which you must save the damsel in distress from an evil wizard. But what a big game for it's day. Jumping from ledge to ledge inside a giant tree trunk may get annoying at times, but some really great music and treasure chests gallore help a lot.

1987 Game of the Year - The Legend of Zelda

This is the game that really changed it all. It wasn't the first (Mario), but it was the best! This was the first game that was simply magical. From the golden case it came in, to the haunting title screen with a bright waterfall; this game shaped the minds and hearts of a generation.  The creative combination of elves & fairies, with bombs & boomerangs, magical triforces and teleportation flutes; Zelda remains a work of genius. 

It's epic scale came from a huge overworld, that also contained nine underworld levels to explore.  Searching for keys for locked doors, unlocking puzzle boobytraps, lighting your way through the darkness, defeating grand monsters - it all really started here.  And how to you not like the original idea of having hearts represent health.  And leveling up your character to make him stronger also became universal with Zelda. 

Players and developers alike marveled at it in it's day, and every day since. It is a legend. 

The Nominees:

1) Metroid (NES) - Nintendo's alien franchise got things off to a great start with this big and innovative early title.

2) Rampage (ARCADE) - What a great concept. Being able to be a gigantic beast who destroys every major city on the globe. Brilliant!

3) Dragon Quest (NES) - The father of RPG's. It was this game that practically invented the genre and it does so successfully with charm, design, and a memorable score.  I'd say that random-encounter experiment worked out pretty well.  This game presented gamers with an entire world to look at and is perhaps the first legit epic to grace the industry. 

4) Solomon's Key (ARCADE) - A brilliant puzzle game from Tecmo in which you play as a young elf in a green tunic and matching hat, and you collect keys and fairies. Now where have I heard that one before?

5) Rolling Thunder (ARCADE) - Tecmo's second nominee is another early entry that helped define it's genre, the shooter. In it, you blast you pistol against unforgettable masked aliens, all for a blonde!

1986 Game of the Year - Metroid (NES)

The largest game to date, Metroid featured an entire planet to explore with mysterious and hidden treasures all over the place. Not to mention some really great music. This game also introduced audiences to the First Lady of Video Games: Samus. Hard to beat shooting missles at Kraid, Ridley or the omnicient Mother Brain. And oh those parasitic Metroids were menacing. From being able to morph into a ball, to the discovery of the Screw Attack, to the climatic race against time as you try to flee the exploding planet. Good times.

1985.  With arcades ruling the industry, the home console was the Atari.  At least until a Japanese company called Nintendo came along in 1985.  Finally, video games were progressing into home entertainment. 

The Nominees:

1) Ghosts N' Goblins (ARCADE) - Capcom's first hit is still a memorable one.  It's hard to shake the image of a knight having his armor knocked off of him until he's left in his boxers.  Take a second hit - and your naked night ends up a pile of bones.  Game over, indeed. 

2) Gradius (ARCADE) - Classic space shooting at it's best.  Left to right, shoot everything you see, and prepare to dish out quarters every ten seconds because it's so hard that NO ONE can do it! 

3) Super Mario Bros. (NES) - Enter now a new era.  Nintendo's original mascot became a household name and carried the torch into bringing the industry into the mainstream. Little man with a mustache, eats a mushroom and grows five feet; eats a flower and can throw fireballs at birds with shells.  I'm sold!

4) Duck Hunt (NES) - Nintendo also provided an ambitious light gun for players to shoot at the screen.  This game became the face of that principle.  You gotta root for a big loyal dog that laughs when you shoot the fly clear of anything moving.  Good boy, good boy. 

5) Elevator Action (NES) - Here an arcade game made a successful port onto the Nintendo.  You, for some reason, land on a roof of a fifty story building, and proceed to make your way to ground level, shooting every single person you see.  Simple and fun - even if it is impossible. 

1985 Game of the Year - Super Mario Bros. (NES)

When a game is such a masterpiece that it changes the industry, when a game evolves the industry; then we are looking at a Game of the Year candidate.  Super Mario Bros. defines these qualities.  This game opened the door forever to the home console and video games to the masses.  This game became the franchise player that Nintendo still enjoys to this day.  This was a character that not only headlined the gaming world, but also found himself on lunchboxes, bedspreads, television series & brought to life on the big screen (even if it was embarrassing). Mario became the first legit box office smash, and extended his arms to having a  full franchise ahead of him. 

With a winning main character, a cool villain in the dragon Bowser, and enough creativity to win its way into nearly everyone's heart: Super Mario Bros. was the king of games.  And will probably remain the most important game in gaming history. 

At E3 2006, one of the more interesting Wii trailers that played was a survival horror game called Necro Nesia.  One of the more intriguing aspects of this first glimpse was the eerie title "Necro Nesia".  Oh well!  That's now gone.  Necro Nesia is now strictly the Japanese title; and the rest of the world is left with the esoteric title "Escape From Bug Island"!  Seriously. 

Wagging finger of shame on you Nintendo!  First, you pulled that Mortal Kombat with no blood stunt in the early 90's and now THIS!  A cool title lost in translation to nothing more than the worst title of the year.  Snakes on a Plane the game.  Thanks for nothing Nintendo, you always know how to suck the life out of your older gamers when you stick this kiddie garbage down our throats.  I'm tired of your childish antics, Nintendo.  You're obsession with catering to your youngest audience is alienated you from everyone else.  It's one thing to not be able to compete with the graphics of Microsoft & Sony, and then just pretend that you "want" your games to look cartoony.  You don't seem to have a problem with wanting your trees to look like trees.  But that's okay, the market is certainly big enough for you to make your silly party games.  But now your taking your philosophy to changing your game titles. 

It's a Survival Horror game for the love of....Escape From Bug Island???  How did that boardroom meeting go, "Let's see, what's the opposite title of Necro Nesia?"  A title is the first impression of what your game is.  Necro Nesia is a cool, scary, dark title.  You know, like a title that has the aspects of the kind of game you have.  A survival horror game.  But no.  Here in the rest of the world, us simple minded English speaking people have to draw from "Escape From Bug Island".  Gee, I wonder what that's about.  So now expectations are lowered to a goofy B-movie.  That wouldn't be bad if the game was that, kind of like Destroy All Humans!.  But it's a horror game.  And now a game that can't be taken seriously because the title is the most horrific thing about it.  Gone is the hope an emersive experience because the title practically mocks itself. 

You can have your Banjo-Kazooie's and your Rootie Tootie Fresh N Frooties, as long as the title is somewhat suggestive of what you're getting yourself into. 

I know, I know, if the game is great, who cares what they call it?  The answer is me.  Especially when it has a good title, if only I lived in Japan. 

I have a goal for each console I buy.  I would ideally like to buy at least 30 games for it.  Why spend such a hefty financial investment in something that you won't use?  Thirty games more than justifies the heavy pricetags. 

For the previous era: 2001-2006, the thirty game run was upheld.  Especially toward the end of a system's lifespan when games are available for cutthroat prices.  Both of my PS2 and XBOX libraries made it to the 30 game mark, while the Gamecube made it to 17.  But 17 is not so much a failure because there were two other systems to supply so many games.  And with a concious effort, I could bring the cube's library to a respectable 20.  There are a couple of RPG's that I wouldn't mind getting.  But it really isn't necessary.  Nobody has enough hours in the day to play everything they want.  And with two consoles reaching the 30 mark, it is not needed (or maybe even wanted) for another 30 games to be added to the already 60+ for the hardcore gamer.  So I consider the last round a complete consumer success. 

But this era is in it's infancy and I am left wondering how the 30 game standard will fair this round.  With the X360 already piling an impressive and lengthy library (a dozen in a little over a year), and with exclusive titles getting harder to find, can Sony or even Nintendo deliver 30?  I don't think so, and maybe its for the better.  My current forecasts goal for this round is for the Wii and PS3 to deliver 20 games each, with Microsoft coming through with 40.  The 40:20:20 Goal doesn't have as nice a ring to it.  But in the end it doesn't matter where the good game comes from, only that it comes. 

Shame on you Microsoft!  Not making all XBOX games backwards compatible for the X360 is a joke and an outrage.  The first thing a system has to do in this day and age is promise the simple ability to play older games.  It started with the PS2 and is just now accepted as the way to proceed.  But Microsoft didn't want to comform, and thus make a complete jackass out of themselves. 

So now I can play Catwoman and Barbie: Horse Adventures but I can't play The Chronicles of Riddick.  That's just great!  They claim that the outcry is making them work on adding more backwards compatibility to the XBOX library, but until it's complete; Microsoft - you're getting thrown under the bus. 

Nintendo went so far to not only guarantee Gamecube compatibility on the Wii, but also NES, SNES & N64 games can be downloaded.  But hold on a minute, no Goldeneye?  What's the point then?  Look, I'm sure they'll straighten this out, but until then Nintendo, you're getting thrown under the bus. 

I Mean It!

It took films about twenty years to do away with silent films.  It's taken the gaming world the same amount of time but not everyone is complying. 

Games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion flatout embarrassing the rest of the market who choose to give text.  Dialogue is more effective to the senses when spoken, and the silent games will soon be extinct.  In fact they already should be.  After I played Resident Evil 2 in 1997, I was awestruck by the spoken dialogue and so enthused by the then "next gen" era of gaming.  Unfortunately, I've been severely disappointed by reluctance of developers to use full audio speech.  I was so disappointed the very next year, when Ocarina of Time had a bunch of old-fashioned dialogue boxes.  Then not one, not two, but three more Zelda games came with their mouths duck-taped shut.  Come on Nintendo, you can't look AND sound out of date. 

But Nintendo is not the only culprit.  Another recent embarrassment was Final Fantasy XII.  Going back and forth from talking cutscenes to silent textboxes can not possibly take you out of the game more.  The same goes for Dead Rising, Okami.....hell - you all know who you are! 

Having text boxes may be endearing for the beginning days, but its simply out of place and out of touch with today.  Just imagine how tacky they'll seem when every game has full audio; sadly they were already tacky at the turn of the century. 

So please, we have three brand new consoles, let us turn up the sound!

The industry is constantly changing and tweaking it's franchises to keep them oven-fresh.  So what's Nintendo's excuse?  Round 1 of the Wii is nothing more than Gamecube games with a Wii-mote?  I don't really care, but I do care about them making the same games!  They've got their big three - Mario, Metroid & Zelda.  But these titles have remained unchanged for over a decade. 

Metroid Prime was a breath of fresh air, and the sequel was the usual "more of the same".  But again?!  You might be able to get away with one followup sequel to run on the same engine, but two?  Three?  Metroid Prime 3 looks like the same game again with the Wii-mote.  Now that may guarantee a good game, in fact it does, but again?  Come on.  We've already played it. 

The most recent Zelda: Twilight Princess, seventh in the series, is nothing more than Ocarina of Time part 4.  Just like Windwaker was Ocarina of Time pt. 3, and Majora's Mask was pt. 2.  How about making a new game?  How about adding some vocals?  Oh don't get me started on that. 

Anyway, Super Mario is the same deal.  Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, 3, World & Mario 64 are all very distinctly different games.  But this next one, Mario Galaxy, is just Super Mario 64 part 3.  Mario 64 game out 11 years ago!!!  They keep making the same games again.   At least they're great games, but the same games nonetheless. 

I'm not going to say that Nintendo doesn't take risks.  Giving Mario a water backpack and having cartoon Link sail around for half a game were both gigantic risks.  But if that's all thats different, you haven't really done anything new.  Making Metroid a First-Person was another big risk that worked great.  But they took that risk for a reason.  The franchise needed a reboot.  And now, all three do again. 

Please tell me that the future of the Wii is not set in stone.  We don't need another five year term of the same games.  We love them, we the support them, but Nintendo for God sake get with it!  Wii are tired of them! 

Resident Evil was the latest franchise to get up from the count.  After the initial masterpiece Resident Evil 2 in 1997, they milked the series for a couple of great companions: Code Veronica & RE3.  But then they just played by the books and churned out Resident Evil 0 and some spin-offs to make the series go stail.  But then something magical happened and Capcom rejuvinated the series with Resident Evil 4 which broke a lot of tradition, yet kept the good stuff of the series.  In other words, the series evolved.  The way Metroid Prime did from it's predecessors, and Mario 64 and Ocarina did way back in the late '90s. 

Nintendo, you need to pull a Capcom on your puppies.  All three franchise players need a revamp next time out.  And while that won't be in this year's installments, here's hoping to the Wii providing the next step in the Mario, Metroid, Zelda evolutions. 

2007 is looking like it's going to be the biggest year in gaming history!  That's a pretty tall order but this year has more can't miss titles and hype than any year before.  With all three consoles up to speed, we've got games, games, and more games! 

First let's take a look at the classic franchises from Nintendo and Sony.  Usually the big guns are released in a year to themselves but this year all the eggs are coming out of the basket.  Nintendo has not only a Metroid game, but also a Super Mario.  Both are sure-fire can't misses.  In addition to them, Nintendo promises another entry into the RPG cannon with Dragon Quest IX.  Three trustworthy titles from Sony are God of War 2, Final Fantasy XIII and of course, Metal Gear Solid 4.  Now that they've finally learned how to make a good Tomb Raider game, they're remaking the original which is expected to be another gem.  They're sequels to sequels, but that only reinforces the guarantee that they will deliver. 

Then we have the original titles that Microsoft is providing such as Capcom's Lost Planet, Lost Odyssey, 2K's BioShock, Alan Wake, and Mass Effect; all from reliable developers.  They also have another zombie game this year with Left 4 Dead.  How can they screw that up?  They're also providing a couple of can't miss sequels of their own in Fable 2 and Halo 3.  Another name from the past, Turok V, is looking pretty good in early views. 

There will be plenty of multi-platform games to occupy our time with the likes of Assassin's Creed and Rogue Warrior leading the pack.  Not to mention the twenty-five game play hours being added to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. 

Finally, like every year, we have the surprises.  The games people know nothing or very little about that appear and impress.  What kind of games are developers going to make for the Wii?  Necro Nesia looks like an interesting survival horror game while Disaster: Day of Crisis and Sadness also had intriguing trailers.  As for the PS3, Eight Days and Lair stirring up buzz since they were announced at E3 2006. 

There is no way to understate this years lineup.  I didn't even get into what might come (stay seated, Resident Evil 5).  It is as exciting to be a gamer now than ever before and it is because this is the biggest year the gaming world has ever seen!