1. 1080° Snowboarding
SSX got a reboot, and while the N64 classic got a GameCube sequel – 1080° Avalanche – it was significantly less good than the original 1080° Snowboarding.
The 1998 game had a quirky-yet-rocking soundtrack that no one can forget (Rock me baby!), characters with the most absurdly snowboarder names ever devised (Ricky Winterborn and Dion Blaster, to name but two) and there was almost nothing more satisfying than finally nailing the fabled 1080° spin.
2. Streets of Rage
There are a hundred million billion different fighting games available, but Streets of Rage was one of a kind. Unlike Street Fighter and games of that ilk, the side-scrolling mechanic of Streets of Rage made the game feel more like an adventure, whilst giving you all the opportunities to whoop ass that you could need.
3. Half-Life
Since it looks more and more like we’re never going to get Half-Life 3, all we can do now is beg Valve to give us a remaster of the original Half-Life game. Come on, guys. It’s one of the best games ever made, don’t deny us.
4. FIFA 97
Perhaps you’re not aware, but there have been quite a few football games since FIFA 97, so why rerelease it? Because FIFA 97 had an excellent indoor football mode, something sorely missing from the current crop of FIFA games. Yes, you didn’t know you needed it back in your life, but think about it for a moment, and you’ll realise.
5. System Shock 2
If it wasn’t for System Shock 2, we wouldn’t have BioShock, but despite never getting the same exposure that BioShock did, it’s worth remembering what a great game System Shock 2 was. Few games were as scary and tense as this; you were constantly on your toes and looking over your shoulder. Why do we want that back in our lives? We don’t know. We just do.
6. Metal Gear Solid
A remake, The Twin Snakes was released for GameCube, but who has a GameCube these days? It’s one of the greatest original PlayStation games ever made, and while The Phantom Pain is very good indeed, the first MGS keeps pulling us back. You never forget your first love.
7. Max Payne
When The Matrix came out in 1999, everyone saw bullet time and said, ‘Wow, I wish I could do that.’ Then Max Payne came along, and everyone said, ‘Wow, thanks Rockstar!’ Max Payne didn’t quite reinvent gunplay in games, but it created a singularity that was copied for a while, then laid to rest with the rest of the ’90s. But guess what’s back in fashion, people?
8. Deus Ex
So the graphics were a little blocky, and the crowbar was a little Half-Life-y, that doesn’t stop Deus Ex from being one hell of a game. The funny thing is, Deux Ex was so popular at the time that some people are still playing mods of it even to this day, but the rest of us could use a console rerelease, cheers.
9. Worms Armageddon
Surely one of the greatest multiplayer games of all time, who hasn’t sunk several hundred hours into Worms Armageddon? A game that could suddenly shift certain victory into teetering uncertainty with a single Holy Hand Grenade. There have been subsequent Worms games, but nothing ever quite hit the peaks that Worms Armageddon reached.
10. Skate
As the Tony Hawk’s games got more ridiculous and further away from what skating is actually about, Skate came along and brought the genre right back to reality. The tricky control system was difficult at first, which meant that Skate was not a universally accessible game, but if you invested time in it, the game paid you back in spades.
11. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
It was a tough choice between this and San Andreas, and we’ll definitely get some stick for choosing Tommy over Carl, but there’s something about the neon allure of Vice City that makes us want to go back so badly. The banging soundtrack probably had something to do with it.
12. TimeSplitters
AKA the most fun you could ever have in a game.
13. Red Dead Redemption
Yes, we’re getting Red Dead Redemption 2 pretty soon, but everyone who’s moved on from the 360 to the One will be missing this absolute belter of a game and no doubt want to refresh their memories – as though you could ever forget the adventures of John Marston.
14. Shadow of the Colossus
The Last Guardian has just come out, a sort-of spiritual sequel to Shadow of the Colossus (not really, but if you loved Shadow of the Colossus then you’ll already be getting stuck into The Last Guardian), so we’re casting our minds back to this absolute classic. There’s just nothing else like it, a true original, and one we’d love to see in glorious HD (hopefully with those frame rate issues sorted out).
15. Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare
But without having to buy Infinite Warfare, please.
