Leftwich's Top 100 Games of All Time
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28
Halo 2
Platform: Xbox
This in my opinion is one of the best multiplayer games I’ve ever played. Even after I got my 360 I still played this. In my honest opinion this is the game that blew up online multiplayer. A deserving spot to be where it is right now.
Halo 2 came out in the last full year of the Xbox being the big dog. Late 2004 changed everything when Halo 2 came out. The first Halo game to feature online multiplayer and I can honestly guarantee not a single gamer was let down. Just like its predecessor, Halo 2 was first person shooter set in the future. Just like in the first Halo you could play the campaign either by yourself or with a friend cooperatively. For the first time as well, Halo 2 featured online co-op which I believe was a first on a console. A nice touch to the campaign is the fact that you not only play as Master Chief but as a Covenant that is banished. Being part of the other side was fresh and an absolute great addition to the franchise. I enjoyed playing both Story Arc’s evenly and can honestly say this one of the finest campaign modes I’ve ever played. It’s fairly long for a game mostly aimed at the multiplayer aspect but it can keep you busy for roughly 12 hours. Quicker if you just fly through it. The selling point of this whole game is clearly the multiplayer and I’m about to get into that right now. The multiplayer was the first game to really take advantage of the power thing called, Xbox Live. The matchmaking was a breath of fresh air compared to what we normally had in previous online games. The matchmaking in Halo 2 was often imitated by other games and although it has been refined greatly over the past eight years this game has a lot to do with how it started. Halo 2’s maps were great and had a lot of diversity. Some of the best maps like Coagulation, Foundation and Terminal were some of my favorites and wish mayhem maps like that could be duplicated today. Although it was fun back when it was the hot thing, I don’t know if I could go back. Halo isn’t the same to me as it once was.
Graphically the game was gorgeous. It was somewhat late in the console lifetime so they did have some time to make sure it looked perfect and damn it did. Sounds are great as well. The guns sound good and the voice acting through the campaign is top notch. A real technical achievement all around for Halo 2.
Halo 2 was one of the last great games for the Xbox. If you never got to experience you could play Halo 3 and get the same thing. Watch the Video.
Originally posted by Tailback UIt won't say shit, because dying is for pussies.Comment
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Halo 3 wasn't really the same to me though. Halo 2's online community was great. I'd say over 50% of my friends list is from people I used to play Halo 2 with. I remember playing Tower of Power and Zombies for hours on end. No multiplayer game has topped Halo 2 for me and I really doubt one ever will.Comment
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I had a lot of nostalgia for the brief time I did the Anniversary Multiplayer. Some of my favorite maps were back, as were the power-up orbs.
I think Halo, like Call of Duty, has gotten away from the simple format that made Halo 2 and Modern Warfare hits. They've added multiplayer perks, equipment, etc and that's taken away from the base gameplay that was fun just shooting the hell out of anything that moves.
Halo 2 was probably the best online experience for me, and I don't think it will ever be topped.Comment
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27
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater
Platforms: Simply the best, better than all the rest
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater is one of my fondest teenage memories. I played this game til I literally got blisters. It was addicting and an amazing game that I’m sure Neversoft though would be this successful. Tony Hawk was not what I would say was the prettiest games I’ve ever played but definitely a game fun enough to look past the mediocre graphics but look more at enjoying myself as I play. But I’ll break the game up into two different parts, the career mode and everything else.
Tony Hawk’s career mode was my favorite career mode in any “sports” game. Instead of you having to compete in events or whatever you could just go into the level and complete is how you want inside two minutes. Collecting SKATE letters, hidden tapes, or scoring as many points as possible. Every level is a classic, The Warehouse is one of the greatest levels ever made. As you play through you can fill up your special move meter and once that is complete you can do your signature move, if you’re playing as Tony Hawk it will be the 900, speaking of that, I don’t know how many times I went into the halfpipes or bowls in each level and try to do a 900 christ air. Anyway, as you complete the goals in each level you will go to a new one such as The School, Skatepark Chicago or even Roswell. Although there are competitions in Chicago, Burnside and Roswell, they’re not hard to get gold in. Just pull of nice combos and try not to bail. They were actually one of my favorite things about the career mode. I thought they broke up the monotony of collecting letters and tapes. You can breeze through career mode but its something my friends and I would pass around the room to see how much one person could accomplish in 2 minutes. The career mode has one of the best lineups of levels in any skating game as well. All would be wonderful additions to the Tony Hawk HD game coming this summer.
The free skate and multiplayer modes were fun as well. Nothing to groundbreaking in either because there was no Xbox Live or Playstation network yet. But when you do play Free skate it is nice to explore levels and try to go for your best single score. We never really dabbled in multiplayer because it was kinda boring cause everyone wanted to be Chad Muska. So instead of bashing on something I’ll tell you this game has my favorite soundtrack ever One of the best mixes of ska and early to mid punk. I would never gotten into the music at all during my teenage years if it wasn’t for this game.
There isn’t enough words to tell you how amazing this game is. It’s unbelievable that a game about skating around would become such a gaming phenomenon. Sure it overstayed its welcome by given us a stale product after the 3rd one but this was one of the most addicting and fun franchises to ever come out. Watch the video of this guy balling out.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X1ZiZIJvOU"]Tony Hawk Pro Skater Speed Run World Record in 5:16 minutes (Nintendo 64). - YouTube[/ame]
Originally posted by Tailback UIt won't say shit, because dying is for pussies.Comment
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I started at THPS 2 but you always give grats to the O.G. games.
Damn shame the HD levels won't have the original soundtrack.Comment
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Eh, if you're going by fame and being mainstream then sure. Seems a bit silly though to discredit precursor's because they weren't as popular.Comment
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