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20 |
Medal of Honor: Underground |  |
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| The original Medal of Honor included one of the most engaging campaign modes to grace the PS1, gone were the brainless blasting and corridor's of earlier PS1 games to be replaced with elaborate story driven missions to fulfil. This sequel improved immensely on the formula laid down by the original and was a much more polished, graphically impressive game, its new setting (amongst the backdrop of the French resistance) added immensely to the feel, and brought a certain element of intrigue and subterfuge to the proceedings. | |||||
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19 |
Street Fighter Alpha 3 |
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| Capcom carried on with their new high standards and produced yet another highly impressive 2D fighter for the PS1 (after so many previously disappointing ones). This version of Street Fighter Alpha 3 manages to impress with its similarities to the original coin-op in graphics, and animation (though still not quite as close as the Saturn version), and with load times nowhere near as intrusive as in earlier PS1 fighters. The game itself? quite possibly the best Street Fighter game ever! loads of classic characters, fantastic art design, tons of options ect, effectively it was everything a Street Fighter fan could ever want. | |||||
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18 |
Grand Theft Auto 2 |  |
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| At a time when freedom of choice in videogames was starting to become rare, with straightforward, linear games taking over, Grand Theft Auto came out of nowhere to almost single handedly rejuvenate the concept. Here we have a game where you have complete access to an entire city, there's missions to carry out (such as deliveries, and hit and runs), but you're free to choose where you want to go, when you want, you can even ignore the main game and just cause havoc! this sequel adds a 2.5d perspective and tightens up the already excellent gameplay. | |||||
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17 |
Tony Hawk's Skateboarding 2 |  |
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| Here's another great series known for its pioneering originality. Tony Hawks was an addictive game which had you careening around different environments pulling off impressive tricks and manoeuvre's. The games managed to be very accessible, yet still with a huge learning curve that allowed those who stuck with them to truly master them, and wow their friends. Along with the usual presentation improvements you'd expect, this sequel also adds extra moves which allow you to string more tricks together, and a great park editor. | |||||
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16 |
Final Fantasy 9 |  |
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| For their third Final Fantasy game on the Playstation Square decided to go for a brighter style and lighter tone (albeit the plot had its dark moments), a style which contrasted greatly with their two previous outings. Final Fantasy 9 attempted to put the sense of wonder back into the series, every place in the world was a joy to explore, and the characters were some of the most likeable in the series. | |||||
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15 |
Crash Bandicoot Warped |  |
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| When Naughty Dog decided to make a 3D version of the platforming mascot game they took a much more literal route than many of the bigger companies, no searching around for items or puzzle solving here, just pure straightforward, platforming bliss in 3D. Warped represents the high point of Naughty Dog's Crash Bandicoot games, it didn't stray too far from the classic formula, but added a little more variety, and a ton more polish to mix. | |||||
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14 |
Chrono Cross |
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| Here's yet another excellent RPG from Square that carries on their reputation as the best RPG company in Japan. Chrono Cross' story is one of the more unique, and instantly engrossing of the 32-bit era, it concerns alternate realities, with the main character being transported to an world in which nobody recognises him due to his tragic death at a young age. The game, like its predecessor eschews the random encounters found in many other JRPGs for a system where enemies can be seen, and avoided if so wanted, it also has one of the most interesting, and elegant of the battle systems of that era, with colour coded attacks, and customisable tables which allow you to assign your moves at different levels. All in all the game is an artistic, and fantastically memorable experience. | |||||
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13 |
Driver |
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| In 1999 a company called Reflections, only known for their Shadow of the Beast and Destruction Derby games came out of nowhere to release one of the seminal games of the whole era, Driver. Driver was an ambitious attempt to bring free roaming games to the next level, the execution was brilliant, with the graphics and speed free from major issues, and the whole thing was infused with a cool 70s cop show sensibility. Essentially the game has you driving around a city doing jobs under strict time limits, and escaping the ever present police (though here, unlike GTA there's a less morally questionable plot about being an undercover cop thrown in). Definitely one of the more important action/driving games of the 32-bit era. | |||||
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12 |
Resident Evil 2 |
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| With the first Resident Evil Capcom took the groundwork laid down by Alone in the Dark and turned it into the horror gaming tour de force it always promised to be, creating a great combination of chills, clever puzzles, and exploration. With this superlative sequel (set in a police department and the outlying streets) Capcom refined the gameplay, making a more focused, pacey game, and used a much bigger, less claustrophobic setting. All around, the game was a hugely enjoyable, well constructed experience. | |||||
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11 |
Final Fantasy 8 |
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| When charged with the difficult job of following up one of the biggest games of all time, Square surprised everyone by creating something which couldn't have been more different in style and execution to its famous predecessor. With Final Fantasy 8 the style and plot took on a more serious, and mature look, with full sized characters and a plot revolving around soldiers and armies taking the place of the small characters and stylised art design of FF7. Focus also turned towards building a much more in-depth, and complex battle system, and its in this area where Final Fantasy 8 really shines, you could spend an absolute age mastering it. | |||||
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