On 3/18/2024 1:21 PM, LucLan wrote:
> Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Warning:
>> --------
>> So, this is essentially a random ramble, except without me actually
>> calling it that. There's no central argument here; no theme; it's just
>> me going on endlessly about a long list of games. You have been
>> warned.
>>
>>
>>
>> Intro:
>> ------
>> Every now and then, I sift my library by year and there are a few
>> years in video gaming that really stand out. 1995 is one; 1998 is
>> another. But I've decided to focus on 2004, which was a surprisingly
>> full year in video games history. So let's talk about that! (And, yes,
>> I know I did something similar a year ago - 'Knowing Your Classics Pts
>> 1,2 & 3 - but this is a deeper dive into a specific year, which makes
>> it completely different ;-)
>>
>> Mostly, I just want to talk about the games (so many games)! Hopefully
>> this wide-ranging topic will spark conversation. Ignore the stuff that
>> bores you and just reminisce about specific games that you liked!
>> Think of it as a buffet; lots of semi-appetizing reheated discussions!
>> Only read the stuff that looks interesting! Break the thread into
>> separate topics! There's gotta be something in this post that
>> interests you! ;-)
>>
>>
>> 2004 is probably most remembered for the release of both "Half Life 2"
>> and "Doom 3", so let's get those two out of the way first.
>>
>>
>> The Games:
>> ----------
>> * Half Life 2
>> Honestly, "Half Life 2" left me underwhelmed - both in 2004
>> and to this day. I know it's well renowned, as far as I was
>> concerned it didn't really do anything in FPS games I hadn't
>> seen before. Sure, it was done with more polished than a
>> lot of other games, but it felt too tightly scripted, its
>> gormless hero was dull as dishwater, and it had a lot
>> of uninteresting segments. Sure, the gravity gun and
>> Ravenholm were neat... but they couldn't carry the game
>> by itself. IMHO.
>>
>>
>> * Doom 3
>> This game similarly left me unexcited on its release,
>> although I've come to appreciate the game more as the years
>> have gone by. But sure it didn't feel like the earlier Doom
>> games we knew and loved, and that annoyed me terribly. But
>> even after I warmed up to it, the game's flaws - most
>> notably its monster closets and the infamous darkness -
>> keep it from being as good as it could have been.
>>
>>
>>
>> * Baldurs's Gate: Dark Alliance 2
>> A console-only title, the "Dark Alliance" doesn't get
>> much love compared to the better-known PC alternatives,
>> but it's actually not that bad a game. It's a far
>> simpler title than the PC CRPGs, of course, but it has
>> its own charm. In some ways, its setting captures
>> the 'adventure-land' feel that D&D tries so hard to
>> cultivate much better than the Bioware titles (even if
>> the PC games better capture the tabletop feel of the game).
>> Mechanically simple, but a nice diversion.
>>
>>
>> * Viet Cong: Purple Rain
>> Admittedly, the core game came out in 2003 and probably
>> shouldn't be included in this list; "Purple Rain" is a
>> compilation of the core game and the expansion. Still,
>> it was this compilation where the game really started
>> to gain attention, and anyway, it was the first version
>> I played. Despite a number of too-long levels, overall
>> it had a verisimilitude to it that few FPS games of the
>> day (or even today!) could match. I'm normally opposed
>> to remakes and remasters, but I wish this one got
>> the full treatment, that's how much I loved it.
>>
>>
>> * Onimusha 3
>> A console game ported to PC, it was so sloppily done
>> that many of its puzzles prompted you to push Playstation
>> controller buttons even if you were using a mouse/keyboard.
>> Still, its Japanese-weird story was an intriguing departure
>> from my normal gameplay, and the combat was colorful and
>> fun. "Onimusha 3" was one of those games that made me -
>> at the time a stern PC evangelist - start to reconsider my
>> opinion on console titles.
>>
>>
>> * The Suffering
>> I always thought of this game as something released
>> on Halloween, but apparently it came out in March. Well,
>> I bought it in October, anyway. Its early levels still
>> stand out as one of the spookiest experiences I've ever
>> played on PC. The feeling doesn't last through the rest
>> of the game, but fortunately the setting and gameplay
>> are enough to carry it once the scares become
>> predictable. One of my favorites.
>>
>>
>> * Katamari Damacy
>> Another console-exclusive, I didn't actually play this
>> one until years later... and then regretted how long it
>> took me to discover it. Weird and wonderful, its
>> simplistic concept is contrasted by its detailed worlds.
>>
>>
>> * Battlefield Vietnam
>> BFV - a multiplayer only game - was never one of my
>> favorites, but it was one of those games I respected.
>> I didn't play a lot of it, but I admired how well it
>> captured the mood of the seminal conflict and combined
>> it with the needs of the gameplay. Plus, it had a
>> rockin' soundtrack, with all the Vietnam War hits!
>> There's nothin' like flying a Huey low over the jungle
>> blasting 'Fortunate Son'!
>>
>>
>> * Farcry
>> Not just "Half Life 2" and "Doom 3", but "Farcry" also
>> came out in 2004. I told you this was a year of note!
>> Sure, the latter half of the game faltered after the
>> introduction of the mutants, but between the solid
>> first half fighting mercenaries and the awesome visuals
>> and giant, detailed open-world, "Farcry" was a fun game
>> and a great technology demo.
>>
>>
>> * Red Dead Revolver
>> Oft forgotten in the shadow of its better-known
>> successors, RDR set the stage for those great games. On
>> its own, it's not that great to play these days except
>> to see how its ideas evolved as the franchise developed.
>>
>>
>> * Thief Deadly Shadows
>> Generally disliked by "Thief" aficionados, "Deadly
>> Shadows" is actually my favorite of the series. Its
>> open world, solid - and accessible - stealth mechanics,
>> and some great missions make it a very fun game. I think
>> its bad reputation comes more from the fact that it
>> went third-person and that it was designed for console
>> rather than any serious flaws in its implementation.
>>
>>
>> * Full Spectrum Warrior
>> FSW is a game that, sadly, never founds its niche. It looks
>> like a first/third-person shooter, but it's actually more
>> of a strategy/ puzzle game; there's a very specific way
>> to get past the AI in the levels, and its up to you to
>> figure out how to move your troops into the right positions
>> to outmaneuver the opposing forces. Its clever mixture
>> of real-world tactics and action-game mechanics make it
>> another favorite from that era.
>>
>>
>> * Myst Uru
>> "Uru" was a disappointment to me. It's one of those games
>> I really wanted to like; I was hoping it could get me
>> re-invested in the "Myst" franchise which, after the first
>> game, I'd mostly lost interest in. But it's 'you're
>> playing yourself in the game' and weird mixture of modern-
>> day sensibilities and Myst-fantasy made for an unconvincing
>> melange, and the puzzles and setting remained as
>> frustratingly uninteresting as ever.
>>
>>
>> * Alpha Black Zero: Intrepid Protocol
>> A forgotten FPS, APZ's most interesting feature was that
>> it used the "Serious Sam" engine to create a thematically
>> interesting but boring-to-play adventure. It has a
>> surprisingly interesting sci-fi story, but the levels
>> are overly large without much to see or do in them.
>> Definitely a case of quantity over quality. Still,
>> the narrative inspired me to replay it a few times.
>>
>>
>> * Call of Duty United Offensive
>> My absolute favorite game in the franchise, "United
>> Offensive" is the forgotten expansion to the original
>> "Call of Duty". It has some of the best maps in the entire
>> series, and some of the best-paced action as well.
>> Compared to this, all the rest of the games in the
>> franchise were let-downs.
>>
>>
>> * WH40K Dawn of War
>> The first really successful Warhammer 40K game. Sure,
>> there were earlier WH40K video games, and some (like
>> "Space Hulk") were quite well received, but "Dawn of War"
>> was the first one to really make it big. It was pretty
>> fun too, even coming in on the tail-end of the RTS craze,
>> with just enough alterations to the formula to make the
>> game feel fresh in comparison to its peers.
>>
>>
>> * Star Wars Battlefront
>> Yup, not just "Farcry" and "Half Life 2" and "Doom 3",
>> but "Star Wars Battlefront" too! 2004; what a year!
>> Despite its multiplayer focus, I enjoyed this one more
>> than "Battlefield Vietnam", partially because of its Star
>> Wars setting, but also because it had solo-against-
>> bots. Its sequel was, IMHO, the better game, but the
>> original "Battlefront" was an exciting taste of what
>> was to come.
>>
>>
>> * Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone
>> Another D&D game; sadly, this one wasn't that good. It
>> wasn't horrid - an action/brawler in the style of "LOTR:
>> Return of the King" - but it was fairly shallow and
>> had a number of overly long and tedious levels. Still,
>> it had just enough high-points to keep me playing
>> until the end. Oh, and it had fan-favorite Drizzt too.
>>
>>
>> * Total War: Rome
>> The third game of the Total War series, "Rome" didn't
>> really do too much new, but its solid production values
>> and good mechanics kept me playing. I never mastered the
>> combat but enjoyed it mostly as a 4X strategy game
>> (admittedly, missing the whole point of the series).
>> Still, its massive battles were fun to look at.
>>
>>
>> * Bards Tale
>> I quite disliked this one, even though mechanically it
>> was quite similar to the "Dark Alliance" series. But it
>> felt a bit too simplistic for my taste, and too much of
>> its humor revolved in the game pointing out all the
>> foibles and stupid tropes of CRPGs... and then repeating
>> those same mistakes. If you see why these tropes are so
>> stupid, developers, why are you still doing it in your
>> own game?!?
>>
>>
>> * Kill Zone
>> Another console exclusive, and another game I didn't play
>> until much later. That's probably for the best, because
>> had I played "Kill Zone" in 2004, it probably would have
>> undone all the introspection and growth prompted by
>> "Onimusha 3", reaffirming my belief in the superiority of
>> the PC platform. Admittedly, it wasn't really until
>> "Kill Zone 2" that the franchise really took off, but
>> the original was too grey, with too-clunky controls
>> to be much fun. But I guess when the best FPS you had
>> on consoles was "Halo", even "Kill Zone" looked good...
>>
>>
>> * Halo 2
>> Speaking of which... 2004 also saw the release of
>> "Halo 2" (although only on XBox; the PC port wouldn't
>> arrive until 2007). I know a lot of people love this game,
>> but I think it's the worst of the franchise; ugly, a dull
>> story, poorly paced, and just not a lot of fun to play.
>> Then again, I liked ODST and Reach, so what do I know?
>>
>>
>> * Nexus: The Jupiter Incident
>> A "Homeworld" clone, featuring battling starships in 3D
>> space. It had a solid story and was, generally, a fun game,
>> but a lot of my interest drained away about a third of
>> the way into the game, when the hero gained super-science
>> gravitic drives that let them replace their rockets and
>> spaceships with rotating rings for gravity. I really
>> loved the 'realistic' aspect of the game, but it became a
>> bit too sci-fi later on for my taste.
>>
>>
>> * Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
>> I loved this game's predecessor - "VTM: Redemption" - so
>> I had high hopes for this one. But it's setting (modern-
>> day Los Angeles) and the vast number of bugs made for a less-
>> than-stellar experience. Still, it was an ambitious game
>> and even though I didn't enjoy playing it, I nonetheless
>> respected the game for what it was trying to do. If only
>> the developers hadn't tried to race Valve to be the ones
>> to release the first "Source Engine" game...
>>
>>
>> * Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
>> "Warrior Within" is a sort of guilty pleasure. There's
>> so much cringe about this game, not least is the
>> scantily-clad villainess or its emo hero. But it
>> recaptured the excellent platforming and time-manipulation
>> of its predecessor, improved the combat, and had some
>> excellent level design. Still one of my favorite games
>> in the franchise.
>>
>>
>> * Star Wars: Knights of Old Republic 2
>> Not quite the game its predecessor was, KOTOR2 was another
>> overly-ambitious title let down by its rushed development
>> schedule. Its grey-on-grey morality tale was interesting,
>> but (IMHO) a poor fit for the Star Wars universe, and the
>> clunky combat of the original - and less interesting maps -
>> made for a poor experience. Still, more Star Wars was
>> always welcome.
>>
>>
>> * Tribes: Vengeance
>> a.k.a. Tribes 3, this game leveraged a single-player
>> campaign into the franchise. Fans of the series hated it,
>> but - being single-player focused even then - I welcomed
>> the addition. Or I would have, had the gameplay been
>> more interesting. Mostly, I remember the levels just
>> not being very interesting to traverse, as the game was
>> more interested in showcasing how large its levels could
>> be rather than making them fun arenas. Sadly, this game
>> killed the franchise for years; I'd have liked to see
>> a more polished sequel.
>>
>>
>> * Unreal Tournament 2004
>> Not only Half-Life 2, Doom 3, etc. etc., but also UT2K4.
>> Probably the second best game in the franchise (nothing
>> will top the original!) it had big levels, solid mechanics
>> and gorgeous visuals. Not a favorite of mine, but still a
>> solid game.
>>
>>
>> * Second Sight
>> Another overlooked classic, this third-person shooter
>> from Free Radical Design featured a strong story,
>> interesting level design, and some really fun psychic
>> powers. Mechanically, it wasn't their best game, but
>> it still ranks up there as one of the more memorable
>> titles of 2004.
>>
>>
>> * X-Men Legends
>> Yet another console exclusive, "Legends" was a mix of
>> bombastic action, RPG mechanics, and Marvel super-heroes.
>> It's really hard to argue against that combination! A bit
>> too reliant on the "X-Men" movies for inspiration, perhaps,
>> but still a lot of fun.
>>
>>
>> * Evil Genius
>> James Bond meets his match... in you! Build the evil lair
>> that you use to commit diabolic crimes, and then trap the
>> secret agents that come to stop you! Basically, "Dungeon
>> Keeper" but for spies. Unfortunately, some of its humor
>> was a bit off, and its mission-based structure (or, at
>> the very least, a lack of sandbox mode) kept it from
>> being as entertaining as it could have been. But I
>> could appreciate the game for its novelty.
>>
>>
>> * Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth
>> RTS comes for Middle-Earth. Honestly, not the greatest
>> of games and - without its license - it probably wouldn't
>> be remembered. But it was fun to fly around the game-
>> world (modeled after the movie's visuals) and absolutely
>> nothing beat the thrill of riding a few dozen Rohirrim
>> horsemen into a mob of orcs, and watching the latter go
>> flying from the impact of so much horsemeat and steel!
>>
>>
>>
>> Also, some less-memorable games:
>> --------------------------------
>> These are all sequels to existing franchises and - while
>> none of them were bad - neither did they really add much
>> to their series. They were just 'more of the same'; fun
>> to play, but not really worth spending a paragraph
>> to go over each one. (also, I don't really have any strong
>> feelings about most of these ;-)
>>
>> * Splinter Cell 2: Pandora Tomorrow
>> * Hitman 3 Contracts
>> * Ace Combat 5
>> * Jak 3
>> * Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena
>> * Ground Control 2
>> * Gran Turismo 4
>> * Metal Gear Solid 3: SnakeEater
>> * Need for Speed: Underground 2
>> * Sly 2: Band of Thieves
>> * Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
>> * Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault
>> * Syberia 2
>>
>>
>> Final Words (and call to action)
>> --------------------------------
>> So many noteworthy games! I told you 2004 was a year worth reviewing!
>>
>> How many did you play? Did I miss any you feel deserve to be
>> remembered as some of the great games from a year filled with great
>> games? Do you have any memories about specific games?
>>
>> C'mon, discuss!
>>
>>
> All my memories goes to NFS U2.
halo 2
killzone
the sims 2

god i could go on, so many ps2 classics as well
i am old so much has happened
gamecube super monkey ball 2