>> GAME OF THE WEEK
â METROID PRIME â
Platform: GameCube (Retro Studios, Nov 2002) | Genre: First-Person Adventure
Samus Aran in FIRST PERSON. I know, I know â Metroid in first person sounded like heresy. But the visor, the scan visor, the morph ball in first person... Retro Studios made the impossible happen. Tallon IV is gorgeous, the Chozo ghosts are creepy, and the music is a CHILLING remix of the classic Metroid themes. Phazon mines = nightmare fuel.
The best part: you can scan everything. Lore logs, enemy weaknesses, pirate data. It's a game you can play for HOURS just reading about the world. Nintendo did it again. 10/10, would get scanned by a Parasite Queen again.
"Power suit online. Welcome back, Samus."
>> TOP 10 GAMES OF ALL TIME (IMO, NHT)
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64, 1998) â Z-Targeting changed EVERYTHING.
- Final Fantasy VII (PS1, 1997) â Aerith. I can't. I won't. (cries in materia)
- Doom / Doom II (PC, 1993/94) â RIP AND TEAR BABY.
- Chrono Trigger (SNES, 1995) â The greatest JRPG ever made. Fight me.
- Super Mario 64 (N64, 1996) â Mario in 3D, what a concept!
- GoldenEye 007 (N64, 1997) â Multiplayer split-screen LEGEND. Oddjob is banned at my house.
- Street Fighter II Turbo (SNES/Arcade, 1993) â HADOUKEN! Get owned, scrub.
- Mortal Kombat II (Arcade/SNES, 1993) â FINISH HIM! FATALITY!
- Super Metroid (SNES, 1994) â Atmosphere for days, yo.
- Quake II (PC, 1997) â Rocket jump master race.
#11 HONORABLE MENTION: Metroid Prime (GCN, 2002) â I'm literally playing it RIGHT NOW. Ask me again next week.
>> MORE GAME REVIEWS
STREET FIGHTER II TURBO
Capcom, 1993. The granddaddy of fighting games. Spend countless quarters choosing between Ryu (balanced, classic) and Guile (USA! USA!). My money's on a Chun-Li player in any tourney though â those legs are DEADLY. Don't even get me started on Akuma...
"You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance!" â Some guy at the arcade, probably.
MORTAL KOMBAT II
Midway/NetherRealm, 1993. The blood, the babality, the BRUTALITY! Scorpion says "GET OVER HERE" and I'm THERE. Sub-Zero's spine rip is iconic. Who else ran home after school to perfect the "FISHING" fatality? Mortal Monday '93 was a religious experience in my household.
"FINISH HIM!" â
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG
Sega, 1991. Gotta go fast! While Mario snoozes in the mushroom kingdom, Sonic is collecting rings and saving flickies. Green Hill Zone is burned into my cerebellum. The soundtrack is FIRE â sorry, was radical.
"Sonic's my main man, no matter what the stats say."
MEGA MAN X
Capcom, 1993 (SNES). X vs. Sigma â the best damn platformer-shooter hybrid ever made. Charging the X-Buster, finding heart tanks, mastering the Hadouken. Zero is the real hero, we all know it.
TETRIS
Alexey Pajitnov, 1984. The Game Boy ate my childhood. There's a reason the theme song plays at every convention. A puzzle game so pure, so elegant, so addicting that the Soviet Union couldn't contain it. Tetrises forever.
EARTHWORM JIM
Shiny Entertainment, 1994 (SNES/Genesis). A worm in a super suit! Groovy. The humor, the platforming, the utterly bizarre level design (Puppy Love?!). Doug TenNapel's twisted genius. Whip-crack, you can't come back.
NBA JAM TE
Midway, 1993. HE'S ON FIRE! Two-on-two basketball with no fouls and insane dunks. Pick the Chicago Bulls, pick the Knicks, dominate the playground. The announcer was a legend. "BOOMSHAKALAKA!" energizes me to this day.
STARCRAFT
Blizzard, 1998. THE RTS. Zerg rush, Terran marine spam, Protoss carriers. My dad yelled at me for tying up the phone line on the 56k. "Zeratul, you are... not the only one." Best competitive game of the decade. Korea knows what's up.
SUPER MARIO WORLD 2: YOSHI'S ISLAND
Nintendo, 1995 (SNES). Hand-drawn pastel art style, a baby Mario riding a dinosaur, and the most underrated Mario game ever. Yoshi's flutter kick is the most satisfying move in gaming.
>> THE ARENA â HIGH SCORES
Think you got what it takes? Drop your initials in the guestbook with your score & I'll add ya to the wall of fame!
| GAME | 1ST | SCORE | 2ND | SCORE | 3RD | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SF2 TURBO | RYU | 9-0 (Ryu) | KNT | 8-1 (Ken) | GUI | 7-2 (Guile) |
| MK2 | SCO | PERFECT | SUB | FLAWLESS | RAI | NO DAMAGE |
| DOOM II | NHT | 100% KILLS | DMN | 100% SECRETS | DOO | UV-SPEED 12:34 |
| GALAGA | ZRO | 8,450,200 | ACE | 6,200,400 | NHT | 4,100,200 |
| TETRIS | NHT | 999,999 | BOB | 850,300 | JEN | 720,100 |
>> SECRET CHEAT: KONAMI CODE
â â â â â â â â B A
Then press START on most NES/SNES games. LEGENDARY.
For more codes, hit the CHEAT CODES page!