With the release of Batman: Arkham Asylum this week I couldn’t help but replay and revisit all the old Batman games in anticipation, although most of the Batman games are utter rubbish there are a few gems among them, and these are the top 6.

6. Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu – XBOX

Rise of Sin Tzu is a back to basics brawler and is very similar to the classic brawlers like Double Dragon. The main villain is Sin Tzu a never before seen character making his debut appearance in this game, although not to leave out the regulars, 3 villains from the comics make appearance as end level bosses, the Scarecrow, Bang and Clayface.

The playable roster is Batgirl, Robin, Nightwing and of course Batman, most feel very similar to play but they are great for cooperative play.

It’s a pretty decent game if all you are looking for is to mindlessly beat up thugs for a couple of hours.

5. Justice League Heroes – XBOX

Although this game is based around the ‘Justice League’ Batman is one of the primary characters.

Justice League Heroes was created by the same developers and on the same engine as the hack and slash game ‘Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance,’ thus it comes unsurprisingly that JLH plays like a Hack & Slash game, as you progress you can level up and gain new ability for your characters, although instead of item collecting they have replaced it with Jewel collecting as I guess it’s hard to imagine Batman wearing a + 1 Luck Ring *ahem* anyway the jewels can be used to augment your characters and improve the stats of your choice, there is a bit of depth to jewels but I wont go into it.

Batman sadly isn’t playable throughout the entire game, although whenever he is playable it’s great fun whooping out some Batman kick ass action.

4. Batman – NES

Batman, just Batman. No lengthy title was needed to sell this game, no gimmicks, no expensive cut scenes just pure Batman induced carnage.

Batman loosely follows the 1989 movie, the villain is the Joker and Batman is on a mission to lock him up.

It’s not a particularly great game by today’s standards and some of the stages difficulty are trauma inducingly hard, but I still love it for nostalgia’s sake and because it was the first Batman game I ever played.

3. Batman: Vengeance – XBOX

By far the best Batman 3D game to be released, the storyline is based in the Cartoon series continuity, Batman is the target of a conspiracy after being framed for attacking Commissioner Gordon. Now it’s up to Batman to figure out who is behind this before Gotham City is destroyed!

The graphics are very nicely done and almost look like they are taken straight out of the animated TV series, and the in game cinematics definitely give the feel the you are playing through a ‘feature-length’ episode.

The boss battles are great fun and are definitely the highlight of this game, street roaming is quite good although the first person sections let the game down a little.

2. The Adventures of Batman & Robin – SNES

My personal favourite 2D Batman game, ‘The Adventures of Batman & Robin’ is a side-scrolling action platformer, there is no overarching storyline in this game instead each level has its own storyline, setting and villains. Each stage is remarkably different to the previous and each feels like your playing through a different episode of the cartoon series.

The gameplay is where this game really shines, you can do the usual punch, kick and throw but you can also use the bat utility belt which comes with a plethora of equipment, including a grappling hook, stun grenades, night vision, flashlight, smoke bombs, grenades and Batarangs!

The levels are very varied going from a carnival to a museum, to even fighting on a chess board, each level is very detailed and is a blast to play through.

Fortunately for Robin haters his role is minor in the game, as he’ll just chip in occasionally to help you when you are in trouble. Nearly all the main villains from the series make an appearance including The Penguin, Clayface, Poison-Ivy, Two-Face, Catwoman, Scarecrow and of course no Batman game would be complete without the Joker.

1. The Obvious…

To quote Chris from Gamer Limit

Simply put, if you’re a Batman fan, and don’t have Arkham Asylum yet; save your allowance up, trade some games in, Goozex it: the bottom line is somehow, you need to buy this game. Action fans may be left wanting more, but for the studio’s first foray into the Batman franchise, it’s a solid title.

Read the full review here.

Remember the first video game character who really got under your skin? For some of you it may have been that dam dog from Duck Hunt. If you’re a younger gamer, maybe you weren’t really irritated by a game until the end of Portal when you learned the truth about the cake.

The point is, we’ve pretty much all been annoyed by a gaming character at one point or another. So, in the spirit of getting things off our chests, CG is counting down our top 10 most annoying video game characters of all time. Of course this is the sort of list that will vary greatly from person to person, so feel free to rant and rave in the comments section.

Let’s have at it.

10. Sagat (Street Fighter 2)

Sagat was a cool enough character, but his fighting style seemed to consist of something along the lines of; tiger uppercut, tiger uppercut, step back, jab, tiger uppercut, repeat. Occasionally he would throw in a tiger knee or something, but for the most part, it was all tiger uppercuts. Add in the very poor voice sampling tech at the time (especially on the Genesis) and Sagat could get very irritating, very fast.

9. Raiden (MGS2)

Maybe if Raiden wasn’t trying to fill the shoes of Solid Snake, the cigar chewin’, slightly perverted, badass protagonist of most Metal Gear games, people wouldn’t have been so hard on him. Unfortunately for Raiden, he was. It didn’t help that players actually got to play as Snake for a while before taking control of Raiden in MGS2. As it stands, his whiny, “I’m all emo and I don’t like to be controlled” antics mostly just got on everyone’s nerves.

This is a guy who could kill you six times before you hit the ground and all he wants to do is bitch and moan. Goddammit Raiden, just do your job for once.

8. Princess Peach (Mario series)

Next time this chick gets kidnapped Mario should probably just let Bowser keep her ungrateful ass. What’d she ever do for Mario? Baked him a cake, that’s what. You just know she’s not putting out.

In her defense, she looks kind of hot in the Mario Strikers games, but Peach is generally far to pedestrian looking for a girl who’s so high maintenance. And how the hell does she always manage to bake a cake while being held captive in Bowser’s dungeon?

7. Zach (Dead or Alive series)

When this guy’s not trimming his green mohawk or some such nonsense he likes to beat up girls and run around in a friggin’ skin tight, silver onesie. Oh and he named his private island “Zack Island”. As if.

6. Tails (Sonic series)

This weirdo showed up somewhere between Sonic 1 & 2 and basically started following Sonic around against his will. Sonic eventually just accepted his presence.

Truth be told, Tails is a lot less annoying than some of the more recent additions to the Sonic universe (anyone after Knuckles, really), but he still gets on our nerves. Why? He started the whole trend of adding pointless characters to Sonic games rather than focusing on gameplay improvements, thereby ruining the series. He’s sort of like the Jar Jar Binks of video games.

Thanks Tails, you little mutant freak. Thanks a lot.

5. Superfly Johnson (Daikatana)

Remember this game? Probably not. One of it’s main selling points were the a.i. controlled teammates who would accompany you through the whole game. If one of them died, the mission was a failure and you had to start over. This was revolutionary stuff 10 years ago. Unfortunately your teammates were as dumb as toast. When they weren’t busy wandering off a cliff, walking, face first, into a wall or just standing in a crowded hallway so you couldn’t get by they would mostly just walk off directly into enemy fire, getting themselves killed.

Watching out for these guys was an exercise in absolute frustration. Superfly only managed to edge out Daikatana’s other a.i. protagonist, Mikiko Ebihara, by a few points because of his ridiculous name. Superfly Johnson indeed .

4. Tingle (Zelda series)

Tingle’s a creepy little bugger. He can be found prancing about in the woods in a few classic Zelda games, selling his “wares” in exchange for precious rupees. I think Nintendo were going for a sort of whimsical wood nymph kind of look with Tingle, but ultimately he just creeps people out and gets on their nerves.

He ended up gaining a small degree of popularity in Japan where, let’s face it, the weirder, the better, but he was almost universally hated everywhere else. I mean look at this guy. Is it so hard to figure out why people hate him?

Oh and get this; his first solo game for DS was called Freshly-Picked Tingle’s Rosy Rupeeland. Riiiiight.

3. Pikachu (Pokemon)

“Pika! Pika!” Jesus, shut up. Anyone else want to snap this guy’s neck?

2. Mario (Every game ever)

I liked Mario well enough in the old days. He was a hardcore, mushroom poppin’, bad guy stomping tough guy who breaks bricks with his head and always gets the girl (or at least her cake) in the end. So why is he annoying? Well at some point Nintendo decided to give him a voice.

I would have loved to have been there when the casting director told Charles Martinet (voice of Mario) during that first recording session, ” Hey Charles, I love the work you’re doing here, but is there any way you can make Mario sound more like my little sister?”

Why, oh why does THE iconic figure in the history of gaming, a figure more recognizable than even Pacman have a voice that reminds us of an 8 year old girl? I’ll never understand it.

1. Slippy the Toad (Starfox)

Slippy the toad is perpetually in trouble in the Starfox games and he’s always quick to let you know over the radio that he’s got someone on his tail.

On those rare occasions when he actually does his job and shoots down a bad guy he’ll hop on the radio and enthusiastically let you know in that grating voice of his “I got one, I got one!!!”. We know Slippy. The rest of us got several already. Do you hear us bragging about it? This is why Falco and Fox get all the chicks.

Credits

Voice talent: Phil S
Script: Dan Z

I’ll quickly introduce myself; I’m Mr Old Skool, there that was quick!! I’ve been registered as a staff writer here for quite a few months but just never found the time to get an article out, for some reason I randomly decided to do it tonight, anyway enough small talk and on with my round up of the 10 finest games Sega’s console swansong has to offer.

Just to make this clear and to avoid a million “You missed such and such a game” comments this is MY personal top 10, I can accept there are games not on this list that deserve to be here but as I’ve never played them I can’t really include them.
One last thing, neither of the Sonic Adventure games are on it as they’re rubbish, that had to be said!!

10. Skies of Arcadia

Choosing the best traditional RPG for the Dreamcast wasn’t exactly hard, it was this or Grandia 2, but I feel this shades it. You play as young Sky Pirate Vyse and the story follows the tried and tested formula of a damsel in distress needing saved from some ruthless and clichéd villain. Still it’s an enjoyable adventure with nicely worked turn based battles, some excellent (though very bright) graphics and an interesting storyline. The flying sections can be a pain though they don’t ruin the overall experience. There are a few issues with the game, the camera position is awful at times and the characters are unbelievably cheery, at one stage Vyse takes the news of his Fathers kidnap with the same annoying smile he sports through the entire 2 disc romp. Reading those last few sentences you’d think the game wasn’t up to much but it truly is, I just find it easier to criticize than praise.

9. House of the Dead 2

Easily my favourite light gun game, House of the Dead also hosts the worst voice acting of all time but in a way it’s so bad it’s quite amusing. I’ve played this so much at times blisters have sprouted on my trigger finger, I have genuine war injuries!! Pure Sega arcade from start to finish, loud, flashy, action packed with excellent boss battles I even prefer it to the 3rd and 4th instalments as they got a bit gimmicky with the shotgun and Uzi, fun in the arcades (which I had the pleasure of stumbling upon both full sized cabinets whilst at the worst family caravan holiday of all time recently, needless to say most of my time was spent there!!) but useless at home with a bog standard light gun. The best shooter available for the home consoles by a long way.

8. Space Channel 5

I’ve always been a huge fan of rhythm action games and Space Channel 5 is no exception. Featuring the strangely attractive Ulala (You know what I’m talking about!!) and set in various location in Space the game is unbelievably fun, when you strip it down its just basically Simon Says but the graphics, music, game play and some of the funniest enemies ever combine to make it an essential Dreamcast title. It is difficult though, not a game you can just blast through first go, it takes time and patience to replay the levels and learn the patterns, I also find if I make one mistake I’m right off for the entire level but when you hit the zone you’ll find yourself nodding your head and tapping your feet to the music, which for the duration is top notch. One criticism would be the DC’s annoyingly small D-Pad sometimes feels like its out to get you but that’s hardly the games fault. It also features Micheal Jackson getting kidnapped by Aliens, ‘nuff said!!

7. Bangai-O

This is a serious love it or hate it title, I love it but many will detest it, basically it’s just a fun little horizontal shooter were you control two little Transformer like robots piloted by spiky haired Japanese kids. There isn’t a huge amount to it, just fly around taking out the enemies and buildings to increase your score and reach the end of level boss, there’s loads of truly bizarre characters, typical Japanese strangeness, and a lot of random comments that don’t make a huge amount of sense but it just adds to the games charm. Its stuff like this that keep me stuck in the past, no stupid amount of buttons to press just pure action that’s based on the players speed and skill, true pick up and play accessibility. One gripe is it doesn’t support the arcade stick which to me is sacrilege!!

6. Street Fighter 3rd Strike

Often quoted as the finest 2D Beat-Em-Up ever made, I’d have to agree. Capcom is well known for constantly messing about with Street Fighters fighting system and their releases can be a bit hit and miss but it all came together here and the developer should be very pleased with what they achieved . It all just feels right and apart from cheap Ken all the characters are finely balanced and well matched should you take the time to master each one. The parry system is amazing in the right hands, search You Tube for Daigo and you’ll see the master in action, the guy is just amazing!! If you don’t like fighters this isn’t going to change your mind though, it’s a hardcore game for hardcore players and can be a little daunting at first but is well worth your time and effort. DO NOT play this with the Dreamcast Pad, it’s just not up to the job, get yourself an arcade stick for the true experience.

5. Cosmic Smash

Most of the games so far you will have probably have been familiar with but one thing about the Dreamcast is if you choose to import from America or Japan there is some serious quality waiting to be enjoyed, Cosmic Smash is one such title. Kind off like a cross between Virtual Tennis and Rez and playing in a similar style to Squash, Cosmic Smash is just pure fun, the aim of the game is basically to bounce your ball of targets to make them disappear, hit them all and clear the level. The controls are spot on and the graphics are amazing, the game play is never going to set the world alight but it’s another game that you can just load up and get stuck in straight away, put this on a large screen TV with the volume up and enjoy. It was also one of the only Dreamcast games to come in a DVD style box, quite a rarity.

4. Jet Set Radio

Right up there with Ico and Okami in the “are games art” argument, Jet Set Radio is a beautiful game, the graphics are just perfect, a hugely detailed city and brilliant characters, music that gets you imeresed even more into the experience, excellent level design, I’m a big fan of this one as you can probably tell!! If you’ve never played it it’s basically a roller blading based game which has you spray painting various locations and defeating other gangs that try to invade your turf. Its full of the kind of bizarre characters that only the Japanese can come up with and playing it you would never believe its not far of ten years old, the graphical choice Sega made with JSR mean it just will never look old. Minor irritations include the parts when you have to match a rival characters moves and wall grinding, these don’t stop this from being one of the most remarkable games of all time though.

3. Shenmue 1 & 2

I’ve decided to put the two Shenmue’s together as I fell they are just a continuation rather than two separate titles. Some people really don’t like these games, I can understand why as the control system is a little dodgy, they do drag out a bit and the quick time sections are annoying but you have to see past that and see the bigger picture of what Sega achieved with these landmark titles. Excellent graphics, huge areas to explore with genuinely interesting things to discover, sometimes I just spend hours trying to complete my figure collections from the little machines, and a heart rending storyline put them right up there with the best. They were two of the few Dreamcast games to sell over a million copies though Sega still made a huge loss on them due to the expense of their production, hence the reason we are yet to see the 3rd and final part of the trilogy. The Shenmue duo are more than just games, they are experiences!!

2. Lack of Love

This is probably the most obscure game on the list, think of it as a cross between Pikmin and Spore. You basically have to control your little creature through the stages of evolution, battling enemies, collecting items and the like. At certain points in the game your creature will evolve and you gain new abilities and can then reach new, previously unreachable areas and collect more items to evolve again and so on. Only ever released in Japan and incredible difficult and expensive to track down Lack Of Love is one of those titles that just have to be played rather than read about, everyone’s experience will be different and there’s so much to see and do that the replay value is amazing. The game also has very little text so the language barrier is not an issue in enjoying it. Good luck finding a copy though, and no you can’t have mine!!

1. Rez

And finally we come to the mighty Rez, the greatest game on the Dreamcast and possibly the greatest game of all time!! The only one I ever played every day for 6 months and still play at least two or three times a week now. Pure perfection if ever there was in a title, sensational graphics, sound and level design,. The best bosses I’ve ever seen in my life, awe inspiring stuff, relentless action that sometimes you wish would stop just so you could admire the scenery though it never lets up. Then there’s the music, it immerses you in the action like no other game ever has, hours will fly by when you’re in the zone, shoot, shoot, shoot! “Oh I’m dead?? I’ll just start again then!!” My limited skill as a writer cannot do Rez justice, as far as I’m aware it’s just been released on Xbox arcade in HD, download it, turn the lights of, shut the curtains and sink in, who needs drugs when you’ve got Rez!!

Credits

It’s no secret that we’re a bunch of Flash addicts here at CG. We love it so much we’ve taken it upon ourselves to get as many people as possible into Flash gaming. To that end, Will has put together a great list of five simple ways we can all improve our Flash experience.

#5. Expand Your Horizons

It’s easy to rely upon one or two sites for entertaining flash games. If a primary source begins to feel a little dull, don’t accept a decrease in satisfaction by playing a mediocre game that you’ve avoided and aren’t really interested in. Try looking for a new site to increase your flash game supply. Most flash gamers know about Kongregate, Armor Games, and Addicting Games. However, there is also MiniClip, ArcadeAddikt and ArcadeGames. Some really fantastic games are hosted on private sites instead of a portal, such as Robokill

#4. Play With Friends

Humans (even introverts, like myself) are social creatures. Some games that seem terrible when played alone become a lot more fun when you invite a friend over to play with you. The competition can get steep when you turn Jumpcat into a drinking game (with sour milk, of course). Every time you bounce exactly twice before hitting a spike… etc. Make your own rules.

#3. Use A Gamepad

Many flash games require mouse input. However, some games (even ones that do require some mouse input) can be played with a gamepad. Depending on the gamepad, you might even able to replace the mouse with the joysticks. Some prefer gaming with a mouse and keyboard. Call me old fashioned but it just doesn’t feel right to play a game using a giant keyboard and mouse. Gamepads provide that good old fashioned SNES feeling. 360 controllers work great. There are many apps to use to set the key configuration such as Joy2Key and XPadder.

#2. Zoom, Zoom, Zoom…

If you use Mozilla Firefox 3.0 or higher to play flash games, you can zoom in on the action by pressing the control key and plus simultaneously (CTRL and +). You could also click on view on the menu bar, then zoom, then zoom in. This can be done repeatedly until you’ve reached the desired level. I use a 1440 x 900 resolution and I increase most games to be half the size of the screen. It enhances the visual pleasure and increases the immersion. Do yourself a favor and give this a shot. To zoom back out, press control and minus.

#1. Don’t Abuse, Appreciate

Gaming appeals to the visual and aural senses. Pay attention to the character model details and the background art. Notice the slick user interface. Listen to the stunning sound track and sharp sound effects. Some flash developers do a fantastic job of creating an outstanding experience through their choice of sound and animation. It’s not always about the high score or even beating the game. There are several factors that contribute to the value of all games, flash or console. It’s sad to read reviews that say “2 out of 5, can’t get past second level” when the music is originally composed and animation is done by the same individual who did all the code as well. Games are a work of art and can be enjoyed at an intellectual level.

A legacy of failure.

I must have thought I was pretty cool as a young lad with a sleek Sega-CD nestled under my Genesis and a sexy 32x sitting proudly on top. Alas, both add-ons proved to be huge commercial flops, earning them both spots on Casualty Gamer’s 6 worst console add-ons list. I don’t mind giving those two away early. We all knew it was coming, just like we all know you’re about to skip to number one anyway. Let’s get on with it.

6. The Sega CD

The Sega CD was easily the most successful console add-on of all time. It moved a few hardware units, though not nearly enough to be considered a commercial success, and it had a few very solid games released for it. Unfortunately someone at Sega decided FMV games were the future. Not only was the hardware way underpowered for running FMV, but, as we found out years later, FMV games just suck anyway.

5. The Game Boy Camera & Printer

The pictures kind of suck and it requires a *lot* of batteries to run these things, but apart from that, there’s not a whole lot wrong with the Game Boy printer and camera. So why is it here? Well we never could figure out what exactly the point of these things were. Obviously Nintendo loves accessorizing, but generally their products add some sort of functionality to certain games. The Game Boy camera and printer were completely frivolous and stupid. At best they managed to amuse a few primary school students over lunch break for a couple of days.

4. Sega 32x

Told you it was coming. I can remember cracking one of these guys open on Christmas morning one year along with a bundled copy of Star Wars Arcade. I was so excited. The very next day we went in town to pick me up a new game only to be informed by the toy store attendant that the 32x had been discontinued and games would no longer be available at most major retailers. Oh, the look on my father’s face when he heard that. If only I had my Game Boy camera handy then.

The 32x ended up being a decent piece of hardware, but, as Sega is prone to doing, when it didn’t smash any sales records in it’s first few months it was abandoned. Luckily, those of us who were duped into buying one were then able to pick up those few titles that were available at rock bottom prices.

3. Xbox 360 HD-DVD Player

Sure sucks to be the guy who ran out and bought one of these things on launch day. They’re available for around $10 a pop at Target right now. Not to mention you can pick up a half decent HD-DVD collection for next to nothing. There’s only one problem, though, it’s a dead format. Like Betamax and the laser disc before it, HD-DVD has gone the way of the dodo. Unfortunately this nifty little add-on had only been on the market for around a year when HD-DVD went under. Need a little salt for that wound? We didn’t think so.

2. The 64DD

Didn’t anybody tell Nintendo that 64DD sounds like a breast size measurement? The name of this add-on alone may have resulted in a public relations nightmare for Nintendo had it ever been released in any English speaking countries. The 64DD was supposed to solve the storage problem presented by the N64’s cartridges by using new high-density discs. For whatever reason, Nintendo decided that the 64DD would likely flop and basically gave up on it before it even came out.

It did see a limited release in Japan tied to a basic online service, but sales were as slow as Nintendo expected they would be and very few games were even released.

Here’s the kicker, the 64DD was probably singlehandedly responsible for killing the Earthbound series. Earthbound 3 had been in development for it for some time, but ultimately never saw the light of day. We haven’t seen series protagonist Nes on a proper home console outside of Smash Bros. since. What a shame.

1. The SNES CD

This one actually never saw a release in any territories, but that doesn’t stop it from making the number one spot on our worst add-ons list. It also may have been the biggest mistake in Nintendo’s history. There’s a long and sordid story behind this one, but here’s the short version; Nintendo decided to make a CD add on before the Sega CD was even being considered over at Sega. They were initially working with Philips, then Sony, then Philips again, then (allegedly) both, but in the end Nintendo decided licensing fees for any CD based system made the format too unattractive so they abandoned the project.

Unfortunately for Nintendo, Sony, who had been conspicuously absent from the console scene, now had their eye on the market. They started developing the Playstation shortly thereafter and ultimately took more market share away from Nintendo than Sega, Atari and Panasonic combined ever could. Ouch.

Also, Nintendo’s love for proprietary formats can probably be traced back to the whole SNES CD debacle. If there’s one deciding factor that more or less put Nintendo out of the race for a full two console generations prior to the wii’s release, it’s there stubbornness when it comes to paying license fees for a non-proprietary format like CDs or DVDs.

**********

Honorable mentions go to the Game Gear TV Tuner attachment and the Atari Jaguar CD, both of which suffered from abysmal sales, but became appreciated years later, if only for their cheesy retro appeal.

Remember guys, next time that hot new attachment for your favorite console comes out, give it a little time before you take the plunge. You just never can tell.

Narrowing down the top 10 RPGs on the PSX is no simple task. Much like the Genesis was famous for its sports games and the original Xbox became synonymous with first person shooters, the PSX was undoubtedly the greatest system of all time for RPG gamers.

With literally hundreds of titles to choose from ranging from abysmal to genre defining, we knew it would be impossible to come up with a list everyone will agree with. Even creating a list we’re happy with here at CG was a challenge, but we dug in our heels, laced up our boots and dove in anyway. Three days, four black eyes, countless Red Bull, numerous fractures/contusions and even one pillow fight later we’re finished. This is Casualty Gamer’s top 10 RPGs for the PSX.

10. Saga Frontier

If Saga Frontier has one obvious flaw it’s that the game tries to do too much. This planet hopping RPG lets you play as 7 different characters, each with their own main storyline to complete and several side quests they can embark on. Structuring the game this way helped keep things feeling fresh since each storyline was shorter than a traditional RPG’s main story.

Unfortunately the lack of a cohesive overall quest hurt the game in that players really didn’t have much motivation to keep playing after they had completed two or three different characters’ quests and seen most of what the game had to offer. The overall generic art style didn’t help matters either, but the game still has all the polish we’ve come to expect from Squaresoft.

This one won’t change your life, but it’s a great ride.

9. Grandia

This was probably the first Game Arts RPG most people got their hands on and while it never quite lived up to it’s big brother “Lunar” it certainly holds it’s own against the impressive stable of PSX rpgs. The combat system is more in-depth than that of Lunar and the graphics were very solid for it’s time.

The only real complaint I had about this game is that it never really managed to wow me. Sure, once I picked this little gem up I couldn’t bring myself to put it down until I was finished with it, but I walked away from this one wanting more. I expect this was to do with the game’s lack of any real challenge. The combat system is so flexible that any competent RPG player should be able to handle just about anything the game throws at them with relative ease.

8. Revelations: Persona

This game refused to play by the rules. Probably the most original RPG since Shadowrun for the SNES and Genesis, Persona was like nothing we’d ever seen before. The gameplay is hard to describe. Everything about it screams RPG, yet everything from the combat system to the storyline and even the setting were completely groundbreaking for the genre.

The game does get bogged down here and there with some lengthy first person dungeon crawls (a problem that was fixed by the time Persona 2 came around), but it earned it’s spot on our list through sheer innovation and plain old fun.

The Persona series’ fans take the words “die hard” to a whole new level. Speak ill of this one at your own risk.

7. Alundra

Certainly the most action oriented RPG on our list, Alundra plays a lot like Zelda or Legacy of Kain, with a heavy emphasis on puzzle elements. Like most of Working Designs imports, the English translation was nearly flawless.

Graphically Alundra is about as nice looking as a 2d game can get with a pleasing art style and some excellent animations. Many gamers were turned off by the game’s rage inducing difficulty, but for those who were willing to stick with it, Alundra proved to be a truly rewarding experience.

6. Suikoden

Suikoden is unique in that it allows players to control up to 6 characters in combat rather than the traditional 3. It also features a seemingly endless cast of playable characters making it feel at times like the “War and Peace” of the gaming world. Fortunately the story is a fairly simple one so keeping track of important characters and their place in the game isn’t difficult.

The game was panned by some hardcore RPG fans who found it to be to easy for their tastes, but for many the game’s lack of challenge was made up for by a unique storyline, refreshing combat, and absolutely stellar audio presentation.

5. Vagrant Story

Vagrant Story isn’t just another Squaresoft RPG. It plays like a cross between Heroes of Might and Magic, Diablo and your favorite Final Fantasy game. It came out late in the PSX life cycle and it certainly shows in the game’s impressive 3d graphics.

At it’s core, Vagrant Story is basically just a dungeon hack with a very unusual combat system. It also focuses heavily on puzzle solving which was unfamiliar territory for Square at the time. It is, perhaps, a little lighter on story and character interaction than most Square RPGs but the story that is there is interesting and the characters are some of the coolest we’ve ever seen. The pacing is also excellent. Vagrant Story never bogs down to the point where it feels like a grind like many dungeon crawlers do after a long play session.

4. Wild Arms

A Wild West themed, gun toting RPG. Wild Arms felt like a breath of fresh air in a time of Japanese flavoured steampunk RPGs. Beneath it’s unique exterior, Wild Arms didn’t offer much we hadn’t seen in the 16 bit era, but what’s there is charming, clean looking and a hell of a lot of fun.

The game’s overall style and penchant for action oriented puzzles drew criticism from hardcore RPG fans, but there’s a lot to like here if you can keep an open mind.

3. Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete

As an old school Sega fan, the original Lunar: The Silver Star for Sega CD was the first RPG I ever really cut my teeth on. In that sense it will always hold a special place in my heart, much like Final Fantasy 3 (6) does for so many North American gamers.

Lunar wasn’t really revolutionary in any substantial ways apart from it’s groundbreaking use of stunning anime cut scenes, but what it does, it does extremely well. Lunar reeks of polish from the graphics, to the translation, to the seamless combat system.

2. Final Fantasy 7

You knew it was coming. The grandfather of them all. Easily the best selling title on this list and arguably (not really) the most popular RPG even to this day. Perhaps single handedly responsible for Sony’s astounding success on their first foray into the console industry, there isn’t much left to say about Final Fantasy 7 that hasn’t been said already.

I may have been crucified for suggesting this 10 years ago, but the fact is Final Fantasy 7 didn’t do much we hadn’t seen before gameplay wise. The main reason this game had such a resounding impact is that it was the first game to remind many of us that the 16 bit days were gone and dead. Weighing in at a hefty 3 discs with beautiful pre-rendered backgrounds, face melting CG cut scenes and some of the coolest looking summoning spells to this very day, FF7 was an absolute assault on the senses. Top that off with an excellent combat system, some intriguing characters and just the right amount of tragedy and you’ve got a real winner.

1. Xenogears

A traditional RPG in every sense of the word, Xenogears was the culmination of everything Squaresoft learned during the PSX era, arguably Squaresoft’s greatest era. Freed from the somewhat linear expectations placed upon any game in the Final Fantasy series, Squaresoft were able to really let loose with Xenogears and try something new. The result? Giant mechs of course.

The combination of a traditional JRPG with giant mech based combat sounds like a bit of a hard pill to swallow, but Xenogears has one of the best stories ever in an RPG. The writers managed to explain the presence of these mechanised behemoths in this world of magic and monsters quiet well. With some of the greatest production values we’ve ever seen in a game, well over 80 hours of play time, some of the slickest looking in-game graphics and cut scenes on the PSX and a perfectly balanced combat system, there’s really not much to dislike about Xenogears. If you haven’t played it already you’re missing out.

That’s all we’ve got for you. I know there are tons of very deserving games that didn’t make the cut here today. So what’s your favorite PSX RPG?

Alright, you’re a PS3 owner that’s sick and tired of hearing about all the awesome games on Xbox Live Arcade from your buddies. Geometry Wars, Braid, Castle Crashers, and all the rest. Well fret not my friend, because your shiny black box has plenty gaming goodness just waiting for you to sink your teeth into. These 10 games are available exclusively on the PSN, because without exclusives, how can you rub it in your friend’s faces?

10. flOw

What other game could possibly kick this list off?  The immersive experience brought to us by thatgamecompany was for many of us the first game we bought off of the PSN.  Anyone could pick it up and play immediately with it’s super simple control scheme. And such is the soothing atmosphere that I would often gear it up just to calm down after a rough day at work. This game might not have the controller-gripping intensity some gamers are looking for, but it should be tried by all just to experience it.

9. Everyday Shooter

Twin-Stick Shooters don’t tend to stand apart from one another, but for a few noted exceptions (like one later in this very list). They all tend to be fairly similar in design and gameplay.  Everyday Shooter is no exception to that rule. What makes it worth $10 of your hard earned money is it’s unique visual style, and incredible soundtrack. Garage designer Jonathan Mak developed not only the game itself, but also recorded it’s guitar-exclusive soundtrack. The music is no mere background noise either. The soundtrack is shaped through what the player is doing on-screen, similar in a sense to Lumines. Fans of the genre will no doubt enjoy this one the most.

8. PAIN

Quick, name another game where you load someone in a slingshot, launch them, and earn points by causing all sorts of collisions using crazy rag doll physics. Can’t do it? That’s because PAIN pretty much has the market cornered. The best part of the game comes from not only causing these ridiculous crashes, but being able to re-live them through PAIN’s replay system. The original thrills are great, but sadly, the experience does get repetitive the more you play. However, being able to check out the PAINful experience of others is always good for a laugh.

7. Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection

Yeah, yeah. I know that Tekken 5: DR is nothing more that an update of the original Tekken 5. I also know that the game was first released in the arcades, and then on the PSP. It’s on this list because most gamers will tell you that it is the finest fighter on the PS3. And through a downloadable patch, this is the only version of the game that will let you fight online against your friends. The complex controls may be a little overwhelming for some, and the $20 price tag may turn off casual fans, but for true fight fanatics, it’s a bargain price for such a great game.

6. PixelJunk Eden

Ah, Q Games. How you have blessed us so with your engaging downloadable games for the PSN (What? I’ve never heard of this so-called “PixelJunk Racers”… ). This one may not look like much at first, but give it a chance. You’ll be amazed at how much time will elapse while you jump, swing, and pollinate with your “grimp”. The art style, while very rudimentary, is very engaging when you add in the trance-like soundtrack. Eden also has the distinction of being the first PS3 game with trophy support from the jump.

5. Calling All Cars

When David Jaffe gave up the reins of the God of War series to focus on other gaming endeavors, this was probably the last concept anybody anticipated seeing from him. In retrospect, it’s not too suprising, given Jaffe headed up the Twisted Metal series. To gain an solid overview of the game, check out ndring’s CG review. It’s a great experience so long as you have a couchmate (or 3) to play with you, because these days the online lobbies are a barren wasteland, sadly.

4. PixelJunk Monsters

Looking for an especially deep gaming experience from the PSN? Look no further than PixelJunk Monsters. Behind it’s quirky exterior lies a very awesome (and very difficult) real-time strategy game. You control a character defending his tribe from various forest beasts. Using coins dropped by your fallen enemies, you construct various tower weapons to take down your foes. As the level progresses, you tear down your structures to build different ones to adjust to the ever-changing enemy swarms. This game will suck you in for hours, and with a soundtrack that is so hip that it was released as a separate PSN download to boot.

3. Warhawk

Looking for some online multiplayer action? Even after more than a year since it’s release, Warhawk has one of the biggest online communities on the PSN.  Again, ndring has a solid review on Casualty Gamer to get the scoop on the game itself. Warhawk also shows no signs of slowing down and flaming out like many online games do, as they have released two downloadable booster pack to keep the experience fresh. It’s a safe bet to say that Warhawk’s loyal gamers plan on flying the friendly skies for a long time still to come, which justifies it’s otherwise steep $40 price tag.

2. Super Stardust HD

I talked earlier about twin-stick shooters being incredibly similar in design and gameplay, but also mentioned exceptions to that rule. Here is one such exception. Check out my review on CG to get an in-depth look at the game. Xbox’ers will no doubt shout about the greatness of Geometry Wars, and they should, as it is one of the best games for the system. Super Stardust HD is the PS3’s stellar shooter app that holds up just as well as it’s 360 counterpart. $10 is a great price for it, with two add-ons you can purchase to extend your asteroid blasting.

1. Wipeout HD

I know what you’re thinking: how could this game claim the top spot on my PSN list when as of this article being written, it had been out for exactly one day? It’s on top because upon booting it up for the first time, I couldn’t put down the controller for four hours. Yes, it’s that good. Wipeout has long been the gold standard for combat racing games, and this one ups the ante considerably.  Even though all of the tracks are recycled from the two PSP iterations, you wouldn’t know it from first glance thanks to the staggeringly gorgeous visuals. Of all the PS3 games that have been released thus far, it’s not a stretch to say that, except for Metal Gear Solid 4, Wipeout HD’s graphics are hands down the best on the system. And it’s pretty darn close to MGS4. Throw in a deep campaign mode, online play, and the fact that it runs at a silky-smooth 60 frames per second (something that the majority of retail PS3 games can’t boast), and one would expect to have to pay $60 for this game, $40 at the very least. That’s what makes the $20 price that much sweeter; try finding a game at that price that offers as much replay value. Fans of the series and newbies alike should not pass this one up.

So there you have it.  A solid 10 to build your PSN collection from the comfort of your own home! Break out those (mythical) PSN cards!

Now that the video game business is a bigger industry than even movies we’re starting to see games coming out based on just about everything. As gamers, one would think we’d be excited to see our hobby of choice getting so much attention, but the sad truth is some IPs just don’t make good games. To prove my point I’ve decided to take a look at some of the worst. Just be glad I did it so you won’t have to.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

I bloody hate this show. My hatred extends to all three current versions of the show and is likely to include any subsequent versions as well. I think the main problem for me is that all the highly specialized computer programs they use seem to have a crazy, custom designed 3D interface. Or maybe it’s the way the scientists feel the need to explain the simplest of concepts to the other scientists in easy to understand terms during the course of their investigations. Didn’t they all go to school for this stuff? Whether you’re a fan of the show or not, the fact is this IP should never have been turned into a video game, let alone 6 of them.

The games themselves loosely resemble the point and click adventures of old, but without any of the humor or challenge that kept adventure fans coming back for more.

In CSI, players are thrust into the shoes of a CSI recruit and charged with collecting evidence from various crime scenes and…well investigating stuff. All the while your partner is leaning over your shoulder, pointing you in the right direction lest casual players get frustrated and give up. I’m told the newer games have interrogation segments as well with branching dialogue paths like some sort of Japanese dating sim.

Clearly every dev. that’s had this horrid IP thrust upon them by a greedy publisher has tried hard to make these games not suck, but the fact is slow paced shows about pathological science just don’t make for good games.

Burger King

Burger King released a few Xbox games a couple of years ago. There was a Kart racer, a bumper cars simulation and a Metal Gear Solid clone, all of which featured the Burger King himself as a playable character. The games, priced at a very reasonable $4 a piece, proved to be a big hit with gamers and fast food enthusiasts. This brings to mind an interesting question. What the bloody hell is wrong with people? These are games starring a fast food mascot. Do I really need to say any more?

Lost

Personally I think Lost is the best thing to happen to TV in years. I’ve seen some valid complains leveled against the show and I understand that it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. One thing I think we can all agree on is that whoever initially conceived of a video game based on Lost should be fired.

Now don’t get me wrong, the Lost game isn’t that terrible. It looked fairly nice and the devs managed to come up with an interesting story by focusing on a survivor who had never been featured on the actual series. Via Domus is about one of those guys you see milling about in the background on TV sometimes. The problem with this game is that it just doesn’t have a purpose.

While the devs did a decent enough job making a game out of nothing, the fact remains this game really never should have been made in the first place and for all it’s polish it can’t escape the fact that it’s basically pointless and unnecessary.

Aerosmith

These guys aren’t exactly my favorite band, but it’s hard to deny their influence on modern rock music and they seem like a nice enough bunch of guys. I know some of you are thinking that Aerosmith isn’t exactly an IP, it’s a band, but I’d say they transcended the “band” label years ago. You can get Aerosmith lunch boxes, Aerosmith posters, toys, clothing, “tobacco” smoking devices and yes, even video games. Pointless, stupid video games.

Aerosmith isn’t the only band to try to cash in on the gaming craze, Kiss and Iron maiden come to mind, but as far as I know Aerosmith were the first to do it and they’re guilty of trying it more than once. Guitar Hero Aerosmith was released recently and I suppose as video game tie-ins go it’s a fairly good one, if a tad silly.

The first Aerosmith game was an arcade shooter released way back in 1994. As shooters go it wasn’t terrible, but the Aerosmith connection is laughable at best. Not only is the band featured heavily on the game’s soundtrack, but they actually appear in the game. If memory serves they’re kidnapped before a big show and you, the player, are tasked with rescuing them.

I wandered down to a nearby pub that used to have an actual working Revolution X machine to confirm this, but it had been replaced with an Area 51 cabinet when I got there. I asked the bartender what happened to the Revolution X cabinet, but he hadn’t even noticed the difference. Ah well…

Monster Garage

This spot could have easily gone to Pimp My Ride, but Monster Garage came out first and both games are equally pointless in exactly the same kind of way. At least Pimp My Ride has enough of a following that the publisher probably made a few dollars off it. Did anyone even buy the Monster Garage game? Where exactly is welding stuff and tightening nuts and bolts supposed to get fun? For god’s sake, how did this game even get past the concept stage?

Hey gaming industry are you listening? Good. Please stop with the stupid cash grabs. Some IPs just aren’t meant for gaming. Oh, and while you’re at it, stop ruining perfectly good gaming IPs by making terrible movies out of them. ‘Nuff said.