31. Grand Theft Auto IV – Azza
“Hey, Cousin, do you want to go bowling?”
GTA IV is a great game that has aged like milk. Sadly, the shooting mechanics are pretty stiff by today’s standards, and the driving isn’t like what I remember, with the camera bouncing all over the place. The gameplay is still fun, and the activities are pretty cool too. Pool and darts are my favourites.
However, the narrative is by far the best part of the game, with Niko being both funny and terrifying at the same time. He meets many diverse members of the underworld, from the Jamaican Jacob to the steroid-ridden nutjob Brucie. Through the many contacts and characters he meets throughout the game, Niko begins to rack up a spree of crimes, developing partnerships and rivalries with the different groups in Liberty City.
While GTA V could have been considered here, the 360 is now regarded as an inferior version in comparison to what you can play on PC or modern consoles. I would say the game does overstay its welcome a bit, with some of the missions being straight filler. However, the ending is great and makes it worthwhile to finish.
32. Sacred 2 – Azza
I like the band that was in this game.
Sacred 2 is like pineapple on pizza. Some think that Sacred is the most underrated ARPG ever made and find the humour, voice acting and animation hilarious, others may find it a clunky mess with a poor UI and terrible graphics.
I regard Sacred 2 in the same way I look at Two Worlds (you’ll see this entry a bit later), it’s so bad that it’s good. Gameplay has you running around the open world, taking on any of the five hundred quests and then completing them for EXP. I would say at least 1/5th of the quests are relevant and interesting, the other 400 are mostly filler used to power up your character or to stretch out the game’s length.
Combat is stiff and awkward and feels like a puppet show at times, loot is a bit hit or miss, and the way the armours look is so ugly that your character will look more like a piece of a building than an actual hero. But it has the makings of an RPG, whether or not it’s a fun one is a different matter entirely. Give it a go if you want something different, but it’s not for everyone.
33. Divinity II: The Dragonknight Saga – Azza
Dragon Knights, Dragon Slayers and Dragons. If you couldn’t tell, this game has something to do with Dragons.
Clunky, funky, and ugly. These are words that describe this game. Funny, interesting, and bizarre are also words that I would use to describe this game.
The narrative and multiple-choice options are fantastic and help to build your character and the world around you. The game reacts to your choices pretty much immediately, with NPCs refusing the even interact with the player should they do something morally reprehensible.
The side quests are also some of the best quests in the game and are extremely funny. The game also rewards the keen-eyed and observant player, as certain NPCs will hide secrets well worth uncovering and depending on your choices, can lead to hilarious results.
The story starts with you as a Dragon Slayer turned Dragon Knight (there is a massive difference between the two), and your adventure to defeat Damian. This leads you through a large, open world that is vast and rich with content. The main campaign is great and has a lot of interesting lore around the War between Dragon Knights and Dragon Slayers.
The gameplay is there, but it’s very clunky and doesn’t control well. The Dragon controls are equally as bad, and this is the downside of the game. It has some cool features, though, such as the ability to create your own monster that fights for you.
Overall, if you’re a big RPG fan, give this a go; the narrative alone is worth your time
34. Two Worlds – Azza
“Warriors, hard ones, not very friendly”
So this game technically sucks, and honestly, it may be one of the worst games ever made. The game runs at a stable framerate of 3fps, the graphics are awful, and it makes games on the PS1 look good. The story is utter hogwash and was written by a 13-year-old. The main character thinks he’s from Star Wars, judging from how he fights. And the list goes on…
And yet the game is a comedic masterpiece. It’s so random and terrible, it somehow redeems itself through humour alone. From the voice acting to the way NPCs react when you rob them, this game finds a way to make you chuckle, and that alone deserves merit. I don’t even know how this game has multiplayer, but it does.
I would honestly say that a remaster would be in order, as a new generation of gamers may enjoy being blessed with such filth. However, the idea of adding Ray Tracing to this is enough to make my eyes go blind.
35. Oblivion – Azza
Stop!!! You violated the article
Yes, I know what you’re thinking, they remastered the game, so why is this on the list? I personally feel the original has more charm and character than the remaster. While graphically, it’s aged poorly, the feel and atmosphere is still there, and I feel the remaster didn’t do a great job capturing that.
With all that being said, Oblivion is an Xbox 360 classic that was a must-own for the system. It helped revolutionise open-world games and brought the genre to a new standard that some games still fail to meet to this day.
The story, world and gameplay all come together to form an iconic adventure that people still rave about to this day. If you’ve somehow never played Oblivion, it’s available on most modern platforms.
36. The Saboteur – Azza
Do you like colour? Then fight for it.
The Saboteur had a really interesting idea that didn’t do so well among the mainstream; it’s a hidden gem for sure. The story can be summed up as: you are an Irishman in Nazi occupied France, and you like explosives and killing Nazis. Basically, the main character is a big BJ Blazkowicz fan with the realistic expectation that stealth is probably the best approach.
Every time you clear a Nazi-occupied zone, you bring the colour back to the location, which is a cool mechanic that I haven’t seen replicated since. The gameplay revolves around the main character blowing up anything Nazi related in a stealthy manner, which is easier said than done. It’s very satisfying when you pull it off, though, and it makes you want to do it again and again. Thankfully, there’s plenty to blow up, so you’ll never be lacking for targets.
If you liked games such as Red Faction: Guerrilla, Grand Theft Auto and Hitman. Then you should give this a go.
37. Dead Space – Kane
“…”- Isaac Clarke
You could make an argument for either of the first two Dead Space games being placed here. I’ve gone with the first instalment here mainly for the atmosphere and diegetic storytelling. The game leaves you very much alone for the vast majority of the plot, delivering tidbits of backstory for you to piece together through the carnage and logs that you find left behind. Isaac, mostly mute outside his screams of pain, adds a lot to this eerie atmosphere, leaving all the dialogue very one-sided to an almost creepy degree.
Dead Space places you in the very stompy boots of Isaac Clarke, a space mechanic having a terrible day. You are sent on a repair mission to the USG Ishimura, a mining ship designed to harvest entire planets. Upon arriving, you find that all the ship’s inhabitants are now dead, with most of them not staying that way.
As Isaac, you have to use your wits, your very stompy boots and a variety of repurposed mining gear to cut your way through the hordes of Necromorphs now standing between you and safety. A defining aspect of the series is its unique take on zombies and how to deal with them. While most media would have you aiming for the head of mostly human-looking undead, Dead Space throws in grotesque, stretched limbs that you need to cut off to disable the creatures. This adds a layer of complexity and challenge to the gameplay that keeps you invested from start to finish.
38. The Darkness II – Azza
I’ve seen things that I can’t unsee thanks to this game.
Do you like Mafia movies but wish they had more tenacles? Perhaps you wanted more edgy gothic protagonists in Mafia media? While I am confused as to how The Darkness even exists, it cannot be denied that the games are awesome and deserve praise.
The second one in particular gets the shooting right, with the gameplay being flawless. Gunplay is fast and fluid, and the tentacles/Darkness feel like a more viable extension of Jackie than the first game’s implementation. The upgrades change the way you play, and the points system encourages skilful, varied gameplay similar to Bulletstorm.
The story is great too, with plenty of tragic moments and horrible memories to relive from the first game. As well as a whole host of other horrible events to live through in this one. The coop campaign is worth playing even on your own. It provides further context to the main campaign.
39. Dante’s Inferno – Azza
I don’t think Dante understood that tattoos aren’t sewn onto the body
The marketing for this game was just as masterful as it was controversial. With many ad campaigns representing the different circles of hell, it’s some of the funniest marketing there has ever been.
The game itself plays very similarly to God of War and Prince of Persia. The combat mechanics revolve around using either a crucifix or a scythe to take out the many demons that you will face. It feels brutal, and it’s amazing, with chaining attacks into combos being a rather addictive process.
You also get to make decisions as to whether or not to acquit certain souls based on their crimes. This then awards either blue or red exp, which can then be spent on either scythe or crucifix abilities. How you approach the moral problem is entirely up to you and how you feel. Which is a surprisingly deep mechanic that I haven’t seen since.
The story is that of Dante’s Inferno, based on the book of the same name. I couldn’t tell you if it was a faithful retelling or not because I’ve never read it. But the story is good enough to keep you invested.
40. Overlord II – Kane
Don’t ask Quaver to sing you a lullaby
Minions always need a master. After suffering a catastrophe, the search for a new Overlord has led them to a familiar-seeming Witchboy in a small icy village. Much hated by the town and abused by his peers, he doesn’t hesitate to tag along and raise hell on their behalf.
Years later, after being raised to rule them as the new Overlord, you must travel across the land, commanding your minions, taking over territory and finding the lost artefacts of your trade.
Overlord II builds on its predecessor nicely, carrying on the mix of hack and slash, base building, and Pikmin-esque minion commanding with minor tweaks and improvements to make it feel a little tighter to control. The story doesn’t require you to play the first game to understand, and being the last of the franchise to be released on a home console (later games were all on handheld consoles), you can argue that this is the most fully realised Overlord title to date.
Post Comment