Top 25 of this Decade: #25 – 21

Before I begin, let me reveal the five titles that I almost put on the list.  For one reason or another, these games just barely did not make the cut:

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Diablo 2 – Was #25 until a major oversight bumped it off.  That makes it the official “runner up”, I guess.
Chrono Cross – One of the finest RPG’s ever, and for some reason, I still have yet to beat the game.
Warcraft 3 – Never rocked the boat long enough to get that hooked.
Resident Evil 4 – Stunning game all around, but I never did beat the game.
Super Mario Galaxy – Excellent all around game. Enjoyed the 2D Mario games from this decade more though.

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Crazy Taxi
Sega Dreamcast
US Release Date: January 24, 2000

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What is it?

Coincidentally being the earliest entrant, this arcade port became one of the Dreamcast’s main titles in its battle for your money.  Choose one of four drivers and participate in a quest to pick up and drop off as many pedestrians hailing you, within a time limit.  Some of your clients will want you to drive nearly cross town for their destination, where you’ll have to bob and weave through heavy traffic.  Others…want you to drop them off a block away.  Get them to their destinations in time, or with extra time left and you receive a time bonus.

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Why did it make my list?

Crazy Taxi is an adrenaline rush on four wheels.  It’s fast paced, and allows little room for error.  The replay value, for me, was always extremely high because of how easy it was to get into but how utterly hard it was to master.  We can’t forget that AWESOME (read: brain damagingly painful and annoying) soundtrack as well!  Well, I can.  I just blasted “Whiskey in the Jar” from Metallica’s Garage Inc. or a random Goldfinger song through my headphones.  Crazy Taxi was re-released on the XBox in a three pack, which also contained Crazy Taxi 2 and the extremely forgettable Crazy Taxi 3, but I prefer the Dreamcast version, especially with the comfort of the controls.

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YA YA YA YA YAAAAAA!

As annoying as that soundtrack was, most gamers that played Crazy Taxi will agree that Offspring’s “All I Want”, at the very least, is one of the most memorable songs in a video game.  Sure it might not be remembered as one of the most loved songs, but it will definitely be remembered.

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Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Microsoft XBox 360
US Release Date: September 16, 2008

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What is it?

The untold story of the secret apprentice that Darth Vader had in the time between episodes 3 and 4.  Follow the Apprentice (aka “Starkiller” at one point) through his innocent beginnings, heartless mid-life, and indecisive present and future.  Gain different force powers, level up and enhance your powers, find lightsaber color crystals, obtain different outfits and more throughout your journey that will still leave you with a few questions without any clear answers.

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Why did it make my list?

The Force Unleashed is aptly-named because Lucasarts unleashed a force of awesomeness on us all.  The Star Wars universe had a very high failure rate when it came to video games, with a very small handful of the games being worth your time.  The Force Unleashed comes in with an original story, fun gameplay and at times, brutal difficulty, and it forces (ugh) you to view Star Wars video games differently.  The story alone was so well told, with great voice acting and so intriguing, that I’m still hoping George Lucas gets off his cash camel and thinks about making a spin off movie to supplement the experience.  To this day, it’s still fun to power on this game and play through it.  Not the longest title out there, but the experience more than makes up for its length.  I can say without a shadow of a doubt that The Force Unleashed would make a much better movie than episodes 1-3 combined.

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Jar Jar Binks Must Die!

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Dead Rising
Microsoft XBox 360
US Release Date: August 8, 2006

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What is it?

Frank West, a photojournalist, catches wind of a story about zombies in some small town. As his helicopter flies by, he captures pictures of zombies overrunning the streets, eating people, and just being gross in general.  Like any good (read: crazy) journalist, he wants to get closer to the story and unravel the truth behind this zombie infestation.  Frank lands on the roof of a mega mall and sets forth in his quest to get to the bottom of this all, while getting the scoop of the century.

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Why did it make my list?

I’m not one of the many that have recently become rabid zombie fans.  I liked the very first Night of the Living Dead, and Zombies Ate My Neighbors on the Super Nintendo, but that was the extent of my zombie love. However, there’s an undeniable charm here, as odd as that sounds.  Dead Rising is a sometimes mindless, but mostly excitingly, good time. Nearly everything around you is a weapon, from benches, to bowling balls, to shopping carts, right on to novelty helmets.  With all the themed stores in the gigantic mall, there’s so much variety to your arsenal and health replenishments.  Sure, most of the zombies are mindless bags of rotting flesh when it comes to AI, but some of them, bosses included, as well as some human outcasts within the mall, put up a challenging battle.  After you’re done with the main story, you can try to survive 7 days or more in another game mode, where health replenishment are scarce, and your health slowly decreases over time.  There’s a lot to try and see in Dead Rising, and it’s one of the best new IP’s in many years.

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Viva Las Vegas?

Dead Rising 2 will have what looks to be a Las Vegas backdrop and a new main character. Will the new setting help strike a jackpot for gamers, or will it get 00 two times in a row, like I got in Roulette this past summer in Vegas? (that’s a true story btw….I was not only falling out of my seat laughing, but crying at the same time, cause I had said “wouldn’t it be funny if I get 00 again?” right after the first time.)

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Burnout Paradise
Microsoft XBox 360
US Release Date: January 22, 2008

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What is it?

Burnout has been a series that has been defined by fast speeds and spectacular crashes.  Whether you’re initiating a crash or watching one unfold ahead of you, the collisions were a sight to see.  Burnout Paradise took the formula of breakneck speed and Hollywood-caliber crashes, and put them into an open world of sorts.  No longer confined to the same 10 or so tracks, you have a whole city at your disposal.  Drive to designated areas and initiate races, perform spectacular stunt crashes, break speed records on streets, outrun pursuers and much more.  It’s a racing fans paradise! (I swear I’ll stop doing that.)

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Why did it make my list?

Simply put, Burnout Paradise helped to change the way we look at racing games, and in a good way.  Not having to be restricted to the same looking tracks helps quite a bit. Now with the open world ahead of you, there are a lot more ways you can tackle races.  You have different routes you can take, that can amount to either being a great shortcut or a devastating sidetrack.  Online is so seamless, and more importantly, fun as hell!  Race in a series of tasks with other drivers, or just initiate a random race for you all.  There are a lot of vehicles to unlock, a lot of races to win, and overall a lot to do. Thankfully, nearly two years later, this game is still being supported with DLC and a decent player base that’s still burning rubber.

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ONE POINT TWO ONE GIGAWATTS!

One of the vehicles available to purchase from the Marketplace is the DeLorean from Back to the Future.  The lame thing is that even after going 88mph, I’m not traveling anywhere but forward on the road…

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Star Wars: Battlefront 2
Microsoft XBox
US Release Date: November 1, 2005

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What is it?

The sequel to an already fun and engaging new series, Battlefront 2 expands on the successful formula of its predecessor.  Choose to play through segments of Star Wars history in near epic scale battles, or take the fight online, where you and a partner can tag team AT-AT walkers in the snow fields of Hoth, run head first with your gang into outer space to take out the opposing teams, X-Wings, and other republic starships, or wage war against the other team of players through Mos Eisley.  Play well enough and you can wield the power of one of the Hero class characters, ranging from Luke Skywalker, to Boba Fett, to even Master Yoda.

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Why did it make my list?

Star Wars Battlefront 2 is a game that’s easily accessible to even a first time player.  Choose your ‘class’, whom all have their pros and cons, not worry about weapon pick ups, and just go at it in the battlefield.  Your ammo can be regenerated at recharging stations located all around each stage.  Sound tacky?  It’s far from.  When you have the ability to pilot a TIE Fighter over the skies of one stage to take an aerial advantage, when you can reenact the Battle in  Hoth with such a scope, when you have tons of enemies coming at you at mostly any given time, it’s a rush and a half. Hero classes can be cheap as hell, but have a hard time regenerating health.  With a lot of different eras, classes, classifications and whatnot, there’s a lot here to keep you busy.  Do you want to be a slow-walking Droideka with powerful shields and laser shots, or do you want to be a rebel sniper, picking off imperial scum trying to jump into a ground based vehicle?  Whatever course you choose, Battlefront 2 will provide you that sense of entertainment, as well as help prove the point that there were some good Star Wars titles this decade.

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Was that a potential Top 25 **spoiler**?

Yes.  Battlefront 2 and The Force Unleashed will not be the only Star Wars titles on this list. What other Star Wars game….or even games made my top 25 for this Decade?  Check back one week from today to see whether or not any Star Wars games placed between 20 and 16!