This is the ninth in my ’30 Best’ series of articles in which I discuss my favourite games ever on a system-by-system basis for the first time in my career. In case you missed them, the full list of other ’30 Best’ articles can be found at the bottom of this page.
’30 Best’ will now be a regular series, thanks to my lovely Patreon followers helping me reach a stretch goal. If you want to contribute, please visit my Patreon page.
Few retro games consoles are as fondly remembered as the Nintendo 64.
The history books list it as the system that was thoroughly trounced by the PlayStation, but with over 32 million sold – more than the Sega Mega Drive – its influence was still notable.
Nowhere was this influence clearer than in some of the games exclusive to the system. The N64 marked Nintendo’s first proper foray into polygonal gaming (I know, the Super FX chip, but whatever), and with it came a bunch of new concepts that would go on to shape the games we play today. Continue reading “The 30 best Nintendo 64 games”→
This is the eighth in my ’30 Best’ series of articles in which I discuss my favourite games ever on a system-by-system basis for the first time in my career. In case you missed them, the full list of other ’30 Best’ articles can be found at the bottom of this page.
’30 Best’ will now be a regular series, thanks to my lovely Patreon followers helping me reach a stretch goal. If you want to contribute and help me reach my next goal (to start a Tired Old Hack podcast), please visit my Patreon page.
There’s a saying in gaming when it comes to Nintendo. Well, there isn’t really but I’m making it up now and I’ve decided it should be one.
When Nintendo does well, it does really well. Look at the Wii, the DS, the SNES, the Game Boy Advance.
But when it does badly – the GameCube, the Virtual Boy – it does really badly, finishing a distant last place against its competitors.
Such was the fate of the Wii U, a console that arrived on the heels of the wildly successful Wii and somehow went on to undo all the fine work Nintendo’s motion-sensitive phenomenon had managed. Continue reading “The 30 best Wii U games”→
This is the seventh in my ’30 Best’ series of articles in which I discuss my favourite games ever on a system-by-system basis for the first time in my career. In case you missed them, the full list of other ’30 Best’ articles can be found at the bottom of this page.
’30 Best’ will now be a monthly series, thanks to my lovely Patreon followers helping me reach a stretch goal. If you want to contribute and help me reach my next goal (to start a Tired Old Hack podcast), please visit my Patreon page.
“I didn’t even know it had 30 games!”
This was the predictable reply I got from all manner of clever individuals every time I informed my Twitter followers that my next ’30 Best’ article would be dedicated to the Sony PlayStation Vita.
It’s little wonder, to be fair. Sony abandoned its handheld quicker than David Cameron abandons his children in pubs, which led to the understandable consensus that the Vita was dead before its library had a chance to grow.
In reality, the Vita does have 30 great games. Indeed, it’s got plenty more than that: I’ve added another 15 at the end of this list for good measure, and even then there were some I had to leave out. Continue reading “The 30 best Vita games”→
’30 Best’ will now be a monthly series, thanks to my lovely Patreon followers helping me reach a stretch goal. If you want to contribute and help me reach my next goal (to start a Tired Old Hack podcast), please visit my Patreon page.
The European and Japanese SNES, with its lovely coloured buttons
It says a lot about the Super Nintendo Entertainment System that more than a quarter century after it first launched, there are still some who claim it’s the greatest games console that ever existed.
It’s easy to see their point. The SNES was host to a wide number of technically impressive games, many of which redefined existing genres or created entirely new ones altogether. Continue reading “The 30 best SNES games”→
As before, because this is my own personal list and not a collaborative effort for a magazine or website, there will be some glaring omissions of games I simply didn’t play or didn’t like. So don’t lose your shit if Trauma Center isn’t on here – it’s just not one of my personal favourites.
If one of your own recommendations isn’t on the list, feel free to give it a shoutout in the comments below (politely though, mind) and tell everyone what it meant to you.
There are a number of so-called ‘gamers’ who are keen on rewriting history and suggesting the Wii was the console that single-handedly ruined ‘gaming’ for everyone.
In reality, the Wii was the most important console since the original PlayStation, in that it opened up gaming to an entirely new audience. But of course, you don’t need me to tell you that: you’re a lovely smart person.
To some this expansion of the audience was a bad thing: there are those who will tell you the Wii introduced the concept of ‘casual’ gaming which started with party games and eventually led to mobile free-to-play mania.
These people suggest that, one or two games aside, the Wii was swimming in casual titles and was sorely lacking in ‘proper’ games. These people are idiots. Continue reading “The 30 best Wii games”→
This is the fourth in my ’30 Best’ series of articles in which I discuss my favourite games ever on a system-by-system basis for the first time. In case you missed them, I’ve already covered the 30 best DS games, 30 best GameCube games and 30 best Dreamcast games.
As before, because this is my own personal list and not a collaborative effort for a magazine or website, there will be some glaring omissions of games I simply didn’t play or didn’t like. So yes, I know SimCity and Civilization aren’t on there: deal widdit, as the kids say.
If one of your favourites isn’t on the list, feel free to give it a shoutout in the comments below (politely though, mind) and tell everyone what it meant to you.
Xbox One versus PS4? Pffft. Xbox 360 versus PS3? Load of pish. Mega Drive versus SNES? Wouldn’t wipe my balls with it.
The Amiga 500, the first major Amiga model
The two biggest wars among gamers – in the UK, at least – were between computer owners, not console owners.
The ’80s saw a brutal three-way battle between the ZX Spectrum (hooray!), the Commodore 64 (yes, well played) and the Amstrad CPC (hahaha, aye, okay mate).
When these systems died out and were replaced by 16-bit computers, the war evolved and two new competitors stepped forward (because nobody counts the Acorn Archimedes).
This is the third in my ’30 Best’ series of articles in which I discuss my favourite games ever on a system-by-system basis for the first time. In case you missed them, I’ve already covered the 30 best DS games and 30 best GameCube games.
As before, because this is my own personal list and not a collaborative effort for a magazine or website, there will be some glaring omissions of games I simply didn’t play or didn’t like. So yes, I know Legacy Of Kain isn’t on there: stop riding me, dawg.
If one of your favourites isn’t on the list, feel free to give it a shoutout in the comments below (politely though, mind) and tell everyone what it meant to you.
It wasn’t always just Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo competing in the video game hardware race, you know. I mean, obviously you know, I’m just saying that for effect.
Back in the day Sega was a major competitor too, with the Master System and Mega Drive / Genesis shifting in hefty numbers worldwide.
After its fourth standalone console – the overpriced Saturn – crumbled against the Nintendo 64 and newcomer Sony’s game-changing PlayStation, Sega’s next system would either make or break the company’s future.
This is the second in my series of SEO-baiting articles revealing my favourite games of all time.
In time, as every system is covered, I’ll finally have listed the 700(!) or so games that had a lasting impact on my life.
As before, because this is a personal list and not a group-created list for a magazine or site, there will be some omissions of games I either haven’t played or just personally didn’t like (sorry, Harvest Moon fans).
If one of your favourites isn’t on the list, feel free to give it a shoutout in the comments below and let the world know why it’s important to you.
A while back Nintendo released a new console. Despite the hype surrounding it, it never ended up selling in as enormous numbers as Nintendo had hoped.
As a result, the Japanese giant found itself third in a three-horse race, with Sony leading and Microsoft holding its own in second.
Yet despite these disappointing sales figures, everyone who owned Nintendo’s console was in love with it, with some claiming it was the best system of the generation. Sound familiar?
I was one of those Wii U GameCube owners, so to celebrate the diversity of this grossly underrated console’s library, here’s my list of the 30 best GameCube games ever. Continue reading “The 30 best GameCube games”→
This is the first in a series of shameful SEO-milking articles that should hopefully still at least be helpful to you.
These articles are also important to me in a personal sense because they mark the first time I’ve ever been able to write my own definitive ‘top games’ lists, rather than contributing to collaborative lists on ONM, CVG and the like.
The eventual result will be a number of platform-specific articles that, when combined, will list my personal favourite games ever, something I’ve never been able to share in such detail.
Because of this, there will be blatant omissions and odd decisions. But I’m not going to add a game I’ve never played just because it’s widely considered a classic. These are my lists, paying homage to the games that I personally had a great time with.
The Nintendo DS turned 10 years old in the UK yesterday. On 11 March 2005 Nintendo’s chunky flip-case handheld arrived in Britain to a relatively muted response.
Many gamers, feeling Nintendo was losing steam with GameCube sales slowing to a crawl, were more focused on Sony’s upcoming handheld, the PSP.
The best handheld ever? That’s a debate for another time
Offering significantly better graphics and games that could pass as slightly low-res PS2 titles, the PSP was far more appealing to gamers than the DS’s N64-era visuals and its touch screen, which appeared to be no more than a gimmick.
And yet, a decade later, nobody can deny the DS’s eventual impact on the gaming world. With over 154 million units sold worldwide, it’s the best-selling handheld of all time and was around a million shy of overtaking the PS2 as the best-selling video game system ever.
The first game I ever reviewed professionally as an employee of Future Publishing was a DS game. Granted, it was the abysmal Dragon Booster, but the DS will always hold a place in my heart for that reason regardless.
So, since it celebrated its 10th birthday in the UK yesterday, and since it was where my career began, it’s only fitting that my first ‘best games’ article should celebrate the best Nintendo DS games I’ve ever played.
In the six years I spent at Official Nintendo Magazine I reviewed hundreds of DS games, arguably more than any multi-format journalist (since their publications wouldn’t have touched half the shite we covered). So trust me when I say these 30 must have done something special to get in here. Continue reading “The 30 best DS games”→
Few retro games consoles are as fondly remembered as the Nintendo 64.
Tired Old Hack 