FAN's Top 125 Favorite Playstation 2 Games

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

93. Lego Star Wars 2: The Original Trilogy

Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy is a multi-platform action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by LucasArts and TT Games. It was released on September 11, 2006. Part of the Lego Star Wars series, it is based on the Star Wars science fiction media franchise and Lego Group's Star Wars-themed toy line. It follows the events of the Star Wars films A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The game allows players to assume the roles of over 50 Lego versions of characters from the film series; customized characters can also be created. Camera movement was improved from its predecessor—Lego Star Wars: The Video Game; and the concept of "vehicle levels" was explored more thoroughly. The game was revealed at American International Toy Fair 2006. Promotions for the game were set up at chain stores across the United States.

Lego Star Wars II was critically and commercially successful; it has sold over 8.2 million copies worldwide as of May 2009. Critics praised the game for its comedic and "adorable" portrayal of the film series and for their preference of the original trilogy to the prequel trilogy. However, the game's low difficulty, and its Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS versions in general, were received more poorly. The game received awards from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Spike TV, among others. A mobile phone adaptation was later developed by Universomo, published by THQ, and released on December 19, 2006. Lego Star Wars and Lego Star Wars II were compiled in Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, released on November 6, 2007. The Mac OS X version of the game was released on April 2007 by Feral Interactive.

Lego Star Wars II's gameplay is from a third-person perspective, and takes place in a 3D game world that contains objects, environments and characters designed to resemble Lego pieces. Its gameplay—a combination of the action-adventure, platform, and sometimes puzzle genres—shares elements with that of Lego Star Wars: The Video Game. While Lego Star Wars followed the events of The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Lego Star Wars II is based on A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The game comically retells the trilogy's events using cut scenes without dialogue. The player assumes the roles of the films' characters, each of which possess specific weapons and abilities. At any time, a second player can join the game by activating a second controller. During game play, players can collect Lego studs–small, disk-shaped objects that serve as the game's currency. The player has a health meter, which is displayed on the game's heads-up display. The player's health is represented by four hearts; when these hearts are depleted the player dies and a small amount of their studs bounce away. However, they are instantly reincarnated and can often recollect the lost studs.

The game's central location is the Mos Eisley Cantina, a spaceport bar on the planet Tatooine. At the counter, the player may use their Lego studs to purchase characters, vehicles, gameplay hints and extras, or activate cheat codes. In a small area outside the cantina, players may view collected vehicles. The game is broken into levels, which are accessed from the cantina; each film is represented by six levels, representing key locations and scenes in that film. The locations include Hoth, Bespin, Dagobah, Tatooine, the Death Star, and Endor. The game also features bonus levels. During levels, the player defeats enemies, builds objects out of Lego bricks and drives vehicles, Certain levels are played entirely while piloting vehicles, including a TIE fighter, a Snowspeeder, and the Millennium Falcon. Levels must first be played in story mode. This unlocks the next level as well as a "free play" mode for the recently completed level. Gameplay is identical in the two modes. However, story mode restricts playable characters to those followed in the film scenes the levels are based on, while free play offers all those unlocked. Levels can be replayed in either mode to collect studs and secret items.

Three types of secret items are available: gold bricks, minikits and power bricks. Within each level is hidden one power brick. When a power brick is collected, its corresponding extra, such as invincibility or stud multipliers, becomes available for purchase. Each level also contains ten hidden minikits, that is, ten pieces of a Star Wars vehicle. When all ten have been collected, the player is awarded a gold brick. Collecting a certain number of gold bricks unlocks free rewards, such as a spigot that spews out studs. Gold bricks are also awarded when levels are completed and when a predefined number of studs is accumulated in a level; ninety-nine gold bricks are available. The vehicles represented by the minikits are displayed outside the cantina. As each vehicle is completed (all ten minikits collected), it becomes available for play in a bonus level.

Over 50 characters from the films are playable over the course of the game, including variations of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, R2-D2, C-3PO, Darth Vader, Wicket the Ewok, and Boba Fett. Character abilities have a greater role in Lego Star Wars II than in Lego Star Wars. Certain characters armed with guns can use a grappling hook in predesignated areas. Characters wielding lightsabers can deflect projectiles, double jump and use the Force. R2-D2, C-3PO, and other droid characters are needed to open certain doors. Small characters like the Ewok and Jawa can crawl through hatches to reach otherwise inaccessible areas. Bounty hunters, such as Boba Fett, may use thermal detonators to destroy otherwise indestructible objects. Sith, like Darth Vader, can use the Force to manipulate black Lego objects. Some characters have unique abilities; for example, Chewbacca can rip enemies' arms from their sockets, Darth Vader can choke enemies with the Force, Princess Leia possesses a slap attack, and Lando Calrissian can use a kung-fu-like attack. Special abilities are often necessary to unlock secrets, and story mode does not always provide characters with needed abilities. This means that some secrets can only be found in free play mode. The player can unlock the "Use Old Save" extra, which imports all unlocked characters from Lego Star Wars for use in free play; however, a Lego Star Wars saved game must be present on the same memory card that contains Lego Star Wars II's save data.

Players can create two customized characters in the Mos Eisley Cantina. These characters can be built using both miscellaneous parts and those of unlocked characters; millions of combinations are possible. Entering two cheat codes, publicized by IGN, makes pieces for a Santa Claus character available. The game generates names for the characters based on the pieces used (for example, a character made from pieces of Darth Vader and C-3PO might have the name "Darth-3PO"); alternately, the player may create a name.

Lego Star Wars II was created by the Cheshire, England, game developer Traveller's Tales. LucasArts—busy with other projects—had deferred publishing of Lego Star Wars to Eidos Interactive, but regained the "necessary resources" to publish its sequel alongside TT Games. Lego Star Wars II was created for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance (GBA), Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable (PSP), and Xbox 360. Differences exist between platforms: the DS and GBA versions have some different playable characters than the other versions, and the DS and PSP versions support a "Wireless Lobby" for multiplayer gameplay. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 versions of the game feature higher-definition graphics.

Lego Star Wars II uses a modified Lego Star Wars engine. However, many gameplay improvements were made over its predecessor, most notably camera angles and movement. Camera movement in co-op was a specific point of concern, as LucasArts received critical feedback from fans over this issue. TT Games looked to expand upon the concept of levels completed entirely in vehicles. These "vehicle levels" were explored more thoroughly in Lego Star Wars II than in its predecessor. In response to complaints from fans, LucasArts and Traveller's Tales granted the ability to build bricks to all non-droid characters. Character customization, an entirely new concept, was considered a significant improvement over the original game, and is one of three features highlighted on the game's final back cover. Tom Stone, director at TT Games, stated of the various improvements made over the original game:

“We were surprised and, of course, delighted that the original game was played and enjoyed by so many people ... And with all of the new improvements and features along with the Original Trilogy we're implementing into LEGO Star Wars II, we're confident that the new game has what it takes to entertain even more gamers than before.”

The designers attempted to recreate the films' characters and events in a "cute" way. Assistant producer Jeff Gullet said that, in the game's recreation of a Return of the Jedi scene where Luke Skywalker "jumps off the plank ... and somersaults onto the skiff", Skywalker "performs an all-out acrobatic routine with all sorts of jumps from the plank. It's hilarious". LucasArts producer David Perkinson said, "nless you've got the heart of the Emperor, you are going to chuckle at many of [the characters] the first time you see them – you just have to. They're so darn cute!"

On February 2, 2006, images of the game were leaked to the Internet. However, they were quickly removed, and LucasArts, if telephoned, did not confirm or deny the game's development. The game was formally announced on February 10 at American International Toy Fair 2006. A preview was later hosted at Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2006. Because the original Lego Star Wars had been well received commercially and critically, selling 3.3 million copies by March 2006 and winning several awards, its sequel was highly anticipated by both fans of the original game and video game publications such as IGN and GameSpot. Shortly before the game's release, promotions were set up at chain stores across the United States, including Toys "R" Us, Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, GameStop, and Circuit City.

In Europe, Lego Star Wars II was released on September 11, 2006 for PC, Xbox, GameCube, GBA, DS, and Xbox 360; on September 15 for PlayStation 2; and on November 10 for PSP. The game's North American release fell on September 12 for all platforms, coinciding with the release of the individual two-disc DVD releases of the films on which it was based. The game's Australian release fell on September 15 for all platforms, but the Xbox 360 version was not released in this region. The Mac OS X version of the game was released in 2007. The PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS versions were the only versions that saw release in Japan, which occurred on November 2, 2006. The game received a rating of E10+ from the Entertainment Software Rating Board (for "cartoon violence" and "crude humor"), 3+ from PEGI, and A from CERO.

Upon release, Lego Star Wars II was generally well received by critics, who praised its portrayal of the films' characters and events. Nintendo Power staff writer Chris Shepperd claimed that "[t]he adorable LEGO adaptations also led to some hilarious story moments: the 'I am your father' scene from The Empire Strikes Back is priceless". Reviewers from GameSpy, 1UP.com, GameSpot, IGN, and PlayStation: The Official Magazine offered similar opinions. Shepperd and Variety's Ben Fritz called the game "adorable". In reviews of the Xbox 360 version, Official Xbox Magazine praised the game's "off-kilter humor", and Electronic Gaming Monthly stated that "[y]ou have to give credit to the brilliant blockhead who forced this awesome yet fundamentally bizarro idea on LucasArts."

The game was praised as a result of reviewers' preference of the original trilogy over the prequel trilogy. Andrew Reiner of Game Informer said that "comparing [the prequel trilogy] to the films in the original trilogy is similar to comparing Jar Jar Binks to Han Solo". Shepperd praised the level design of Lego Star Wars II, and called its predecessor's environments "sterile". These views were echoed by reviewers from 1UP.com, Variety, GameSpot, GameSpy, Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (for the PlayStation 2), and BusinessWeek.

Critics were divided on the game's level of difficulty. Fritz claimed that, though Lego Star Wars II provided only a "short journey", it was "loads of fun". GameSpot's Ryan Davis estimated that it could be completed in six hours, but praised its bonus content. GameSpy and 1UP.com's reviewers thought similarly. A review by USA Today's Brett Molina claimed that "[t]he game's difficulty is balanced well enough so kids won't feel too frustrated while older gamers will still find a solid challenge" and gave the game an overall score of 8 out of 10. Official Xbox Magazine's review praised its "weird puzzles". IGN's Jeremy Dunham and Reiner were more critical of the perceived low difficulty.

Critics disliked the game's Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS versions. Davis believed that the Game Boy Advance version could be completed in two hours. GameSpy staff writer Phil Theobald bemoaned this version's poor controls, easy levels and vehicle-piloting sections. He concluded that "for goodness sake, [one should] buy one of the [home] console versions". Theobald, Davis, and IGN's Craig Harris criticized the high number of glitches in the DS version.

Lego Star Wars II sold over 1.1 million copies worldwide in its opening week. The PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox 360, and Xbox versions were the third, fifth, eighth, and ninth-best selling games of September 2006, respectively. The GameCube, Xbox, and PlayStation 2 versions were the third, eighth, and ninth-best selling games of 2006, respectively. All platforms except PC combined, the game was the third-highest selling of 2006 in the United States, behind Madden NFL 07 and Cars. All platforms combined, the game was the fifth-highest selling of 2006 in the United Kingdom. The GameCube, GBA, and DS versions were the first, second, and fifth best-selling of January 2007 for their respective platforms. By May 2, 2009, the game's worldwide sales had surpassed 8.2 million. It has been certified as part of the budget lines Platinum Hits for the Xbox 360, Greatest Hits for the PlayStation 2 (each represents a worldwide sales total of at least 400,000 on its respective platform), and Player's Choice for the GameCube (250,000).

Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of global marketing for Microsoft, commended Lego Star Wars II for expanding the range of consumers for the Xbox 360, noting its family-friendly appeal. Character customization—a new feature in Lego Star Wars II—reappeared in subsequent Lego video games such as Lego Batman: The Videogame. A prequel called Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars was released in 2011. It covers some of the time period of the Clone Wars.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

92. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando

Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (known as either Ratchet & Clank 2: Locked and Loaded or simply Ratchet & Clank 2 in most PAL countries) is a 3D platformer/shooter developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony. Released for the PlayStation 2 in 2003, it is the second game in the Ratchet & Clank series, following Ratchet & Clank and preceding Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal.

The game begins with Ratchet and Clank being hired by the company Megacorp to find a small creature that was stolen from the company's labs. Ratchet finds the thief and returns the creature to Megacorp before learning that the creature, called a "protopet", is a dangerous monster which reproduces at amazing speed and that Megacorp is planning to market it to unknowing customers across the Galaxy. The duo must stop the protopet menace and save the galaxy.

The gameplay of Going Commando is similar to that of the original Ratchet & Clank. The player explores planets in the "Bogon" Galaxy and undertakes missions. It contains more mini-games than were present in the previous game. The game also introduces role-playing game (RPG) elements, such as upgradeable weapons. Going Commando was released roughly a year after its predecessor, and received very positive reviews. Critics noted the game's improved graphics, longer gameplay, and added role-playing elements as being major improvements over the original, but also criticized the game for its very high difficulty.

The player controls Ratchet from a third-person perspective, and uses weapons to defeat enemies. The player can also use gadgets to explore new areas. The player travels to planets in the "Bogon" Galaxy and completes main objectives and optional side quests. "Bolts", the game world's currency, are obtained by defeating enemies and breaking crates located throughout the game's levels. Going Commando also includes four types of "maxi-games", mini-games in which the player can participate to earn bolts . These games including arena battles, hover bike races, spherical worlds, and space combat. After completing the game, the player may also enter "challenge mode", which is more difficult but allows the player to start with the weapons and health that they had when the finished the game the first time.

Going Commando introduces eighteen new weapons, such as the Blitz Gun, Seeker and Lava Gun. Each weapon has a "growth bar", which increases when the weapon is used to defeat enemies. The weapon is upgraded once the bar is filled, doubling its power and changing the design of its shot. Certain devices from the original Ratchet & Clank make a return, such as the Swingshot, while others are new to Going Commando. The player can use a save file from the original Ratchet & Clank to access a selection of "retro" weapons from that game, bringing the total number of available weapons to twenty-four.

As with weapons, Ratchet gains experience with each enemy destroyed. When Ratchet's experience bar fills, he gains a new level of nanotech. This awards him with additional health bubbles, up to a maximum of 80. Ratchet's health can also be increased by collecting nanotech upgrade items. The game introduces armor vendors, which are able to provide up to five additional levels of protection.

After defeating Drek in the previous game, Ratchet and Clank become celebrities. However, things start cooling down after a while. After an interview with Behind the Hero, Ratchet and Clank are suddenly teleported to the Bogon Galaxy by Abercrombie Fizzwidget, the founder and CEO of Megacorp, a corporation that manufactures every product in the Bogon Galaxy. Fizzwidget asks the duo for their assistance in recovering a stolen biological experiment. Ratchet is equipped with some weapons and is sent to a flying laboratory on planet Aranos to search for the Experiment, where he finds it in a cage. The thief reveals himself, and Ratchet attempts to cover his identity up by lying. The thief takes the Experiment, and leaves the ship. Ratchet returns to his ship and contacts Fizzwidget, informing him of the thief's escape.

Ratchet is given coordinates by Fizzwidget and, with the help of Clank, chases the thief across several planets, eventually confronting the thief on the frozen planet Siberius. He defeats the thief, reclaims the Experiment, and returns it to Fizzwidget. Later, after Fizzwidget 'accidentally' ejects Ratchet and Clank from their ship, the thief approaches, demanding the Experiment back, not realizing that Ratchet gave it to Fizzwidget. The thief's mask comes off accidentally, and it's revealed that he is actually a girl, Angela Cross. After learning that the experiment has been handed back to Megacorp, she warns that it will ultimately doom the galaxy.

On planet Dobbo, Ratchet and Clank discover that Angela's claims are true, because the Experiment turns out to be a dangerous predator. They try to persuade Fizzwidget to destroy the experiment, but their efforts are in vain. The duo then stumble across an advertisement for the Experiment, officially called the "Protopet", which is being prepared for mass release. On planet Boldan, Ratchet and Clank are captured by the "Thugs-4-Less" mercenary company which was hired by Fizzwidget. They are sent to prison, but escape and try to rescue Angela, who has also been captured. After Ratchet defeats the Thug Leader on Planet Snivelak and rescues Angela, they go to Megacorp Headquarters to destroy the protopets.

After they get there, they discover that Captain Qwark (the disgraced superhero from Ratchet & Clank) had disguised himself as Fizzwidget and planned to release the protopet, knowing about its dangers, from the beginning. Qwark was about to use the protopets to restore his reputation. He attempts to use a "Helix-o-morph" (a gadget that will repair the flaw in the Protopet) and zaps the original protopet, but something goes wrong, and the original protopet mutates into a gigantic monster. After Ratchet defeats the giant protopet, Clank fixes the Helix-o-morph. Angela zaps the original protopet and amplifies the device with Megacorp's TV transponders to cure all the Protopets in the galaxy, ending the threat. The real Fizzwidget then appears, having been tied up in a closet. In the end of the game, Ratchet, Clank, Angela, and the Infobot are seen at Clank's apartment, where they find out that Qwark has unwillingly become a test subject for Megacorp's new "Crotchitizer"

Going Commando was approved for development five months before the first game's release, after highly positive reviews from the original's playtesters. In August 2002, Insomniac Games started designing the visual concepts for Going Commando, while still fixing bugs in the original game. Brian Hastings, Insomniac's Vice President of Programming, said in a 2003 interview that the first step in the game's design was to "try to come up with a few 'Big Ideas'. These are the things we think will really grab people's attention and give the game that Wow-Factor. In the case of Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando the big ideas were RPG elements (like weapon upgrades and health upgrades), spherical planets and space combat." Hastings said that the inspiration for the game's spherical worlds came in part from the cover of the 1943 novel The Little Prince. Designing the spherical worlds required changing about 50,000 lines of the game's code, to account for the different handling of gravity. Development took a total of ten months, during which time Insomniac's design team doubled from 40 to 80 members.

One common criticism of the original Ratchet & Clank was the design and personality of Ratchet. Ted Price, the game's producer, said that to fix this they made Ratchet "less cocky, he is much more friendly to Clank, and he's able to handle himself better in stressful situations without being impetuous, which is what he was in Ratchet 1." The character of Captain Qwark was a late addition to the game.

Going Commando was released in North America on November 11, 2003, Europe on November 21, 2003, and Japan on December 11, 2003. In 2004, Sony added Going Commando to their Greatest Hits series of games for the PlayStation 2, and it was similarly added to the Platinum Range used in the PAL region on August 13, 2004, and to the Japanese list of The Best games on July 8, 2004.

Going Commando was received with universal acclaim. 1UP.com said that "Everything that Ratchet & Clank did, Going Commando does better, and the tweaks and additions just push it further over the top."Game Informer's Andy McNamara said that the game has "the best and most compelling content [Insomniac] has put out to date."

The game's arena combat and racing levels were praised by Andrew Reiner of Game Informer, and Benjamin Turner of GameSpy similarly said that "it's surprising how fun it can be to play interstellar gladiator." GamePro praised the game's pacing, saying that the first game felt like it didn't "really show its true colors until about halfway through", but that Going Commando had the same feeling by the end of the second level. GameSpot mentioned that the "great sense of humor" of the original game is also noticeable in Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, a statement echoed by GameZone when they said that the game's cut-scenes "represent some of the most thought-out and gut-wrenchingly funny sequences ever witnessed in a platforming game."

Going Commando's graphics were praised by reviewers, who specifically mentioned Ratchet's improved character design. Game Informer said that "the graphical details will leave you speechless..." GameSpot considered the reuse of graphics for the menus and mission screens to be "a little lazy", but praised the graphics and sound effects of the game's weapons. GameSpy mentioned that "Going Commando is easily the most graphically impressive platformer on the market". GameZone reported that the game's sound was well-done, including the music, weapon effects, and dialogue.

Criticism of the game was aimed at its level of difficulty, which is higher than that of its predecessor; 1UP.com mentioned that this was most noticeable near the end of the game, where "there are levels that consist of nothing but wave after wave of difficult enemies thrown at you to deplete your ammo, and then more waves of enemies after that." GameSpy, however, praised this aspect of the game, saying that it made Going Commando more interesting than the original. Some reviewers also felt that the game's space combat was poorly done in comparison to the rest of the game,[6] and that the "Giant Clank" levels were "brainless and boring".

The game was awarded 11th place on IGN's 2007 list of "The Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time". IGN also awarded both Going Commando and Final Fantasy X-2 their Game of the Month award for November 2003 in their first "Game of the Month" feature to cover two games.

"While the first Ratchet and Clank suffered, in my opinion, because of its immensely generic homogenization of character and because of its relative ease, Ratchet and Clank Going Commando tries to solve these problems in typical Insomniac fashion. Ratchet too annoying? Let him grow up and take charge. Game too easy? Increase the quantity and kinds of weapons for Ratchet and for the enemies. But Insomniac didn't just fix problems. It looked at every detail of the first game and from the ground up improved everything wholesale. It upgraded everything, and then it added new stuff. [...] Throughout its core fabric, Going Commando is improved in every way."
—Douglass C. Perry

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

91. Killer7

Killer7 is a 2005 action-adventure video game for the Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2, developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and published by Capcom. The game was written and directed by Goichi Suda, also known by the nickname Suda51, and produced by Hiroyuki Kobayashi.

The game follows an elite group of assassins called the "killer7". The assassins, physical manifestations of a man named Harman Smith, perform hits on behalf of the United States government. Through these missions, the killer7 uncover a deeper conspiracy regarding the role of Japan in US politics and secrets about the nature of their organization. Killer7 features first-person shooter elements and a unique on rails control scheme, but the core adventure-style gameplay has been compared to Myst and Snatcher.

Killer7 was Suda51's first game released outside Japan. It received polarized reviews due to its unconventional control scheme and complex noir plot. While some reviewers appreciated the stripped-down controls and stylized arthouse approach, others panned it as confusing and restricting. Jack Thompson, an activist who campaigns against video games, alleged that the game contains "full-blown sex sequences", but his claims were ultimately refuted. Despite these setbacks, Killer7's cult appeal led to remakes of Suda51's older works and the successful launch of No More Heroes.

The player controls the on-screen character, a member of the killer7 group, from a third-person view using the gamepad. The gameplay consists of elements of first-person shooter and action-adventure game with restricted movement (i.e. "on rails")—rather than allow free motion, the game limits the on-screen character to predetermined paths through the environment. The on-screen character moves forward by holding a button and reverses direction with another button press. At intersections, the player may choose which path to take. Progress is made by navigating the environment and solving puzzles. Some puzzles require the talents of a specific killer7 member. The player may switch between available members via a menu in the pause screen at any time. Other puzzles require magical rings or other items collected throughout the game.

Combat in Killer7 occurs when the player encounters enemies called "Heaven Smiles". Smiles announce their presence with a laughing sound effect and are initially invisible. The player must switch to a first-person viewpoint and scan the surroundings to reveal Smiles. While in first-person view, movement is disabled and the analog stick aims the character's gun. Targeting specific body parts will disable them; for example, shooting off a leg will cause a Smile to fall to the ground and crawl toward the player. The player may aim for a "critical point" that instantly destroys the Smile. Smiles that get too close will explode and injure the character. If a character dies, players can use Garcian Smith to retrieve the fallen character's head and bring them back to life.

Defeated Smiles yield "thick blood" and "thin blood". Thick blood functions similarly to experience points, and players gain more by shooting Smiles' critical points. The player may redeem thick blood for "serum" while in "Harman's Room", checkpoints that appear throughout the game. Serum is used to improve the attributes of the characters such as "power" and "speed". This also unlocks special abilities for the characters. Players may save their game to a memory card in designated Harman's Rooms. Thin blood is used to recover the characters' stamina and fuel special abilities.

Killer7 takes place in an alternate version of Earth in the early 21st century. After a treaty ends all international conflict, the world powers destroy all nuclear weapons by firing them into the upper atmosphere and intercepting them with other missiles. This event becomes known as "Fireworks" and symbolizes world peace to the general populace. In an effort to combat terrorism, pandemic disease, and cyberterrorism, the International Ethics Committee (IEC) shuts down all air travel and public use of the Internet. Air transportation is replaced by a system of intercontinental expressways. However, a new terrorist group called "Heaven Smile" appears, targeting the United Nations (UN) and IEC. The members of Heaven Smile are humans who have been infected with a virus that evokes a desire to kill. Factory-produced Smiles are given a "bomb-organ" that allows them to explode at will, their principal means of attack.

In this Earth, Japanese politics are dominated by two parties: the UN Party and the Liberal Party. The UN Party is more powerful and moves to end the Asian Security Treaty and sever ties with the United States (US). The UN Party seized control of the Japanese government through the wisdom of the "Yakumo Cabinet Policy", a secret document which details how to run the "ideal nation". It was written by the Union 7, young members of the Liberal Party who went on to found the UN Party. The US government is also eager to sever relations with Japan, seeing the country as a hindrance and of little economic value. The interaction between Japan and the US is a central source of conflict in Killer7.

The player controls the members of a group of assassins called the "killer7". The group is led by an elderly wheelchair-bound man named Harman Smith, who exhibits "Multifoliate Personae Phenomenon". This condition allows him to physically transform into one of his seven assassin personae: African American Garcian Smith, aggressive Irish American Dan Smith, barefoot Japanese American female KAEDE Smith, albino Briton Kevin Smith, Puerto Rican Coyote Smith, young Chinese American Con Smith, and Mexican American luchador MASK de Smith.[9] These people were gifted killers in life and Harman absorbed their souls through his condition after their deaths. The killer7 were temporarily incapacitated in an incident 50 years ago, in which the members of the group were systematically tracked and killed while performing a job at the Union Hotel in Pennsylvania. Garcian, whose power is to revive fallen personae, became the dominant personality as a result. In this capacity, he receives orders from the frail Harman when his consciousness is "awake" and accepts jobs from Christopher Mills, who hires the killer7 on behalf of the US government. Multifoliate Personae Phenomenon also causes Harman and his personae to see "remnant psyches"—ghosts of their past victims. Iwazaru, a man in a bondage suit, and Travis Bell, the killer7's first target, are the main remnant psyches who aid them throughout the game. The primary antagonist is an old friend of Harman's named Kun Lan. He has the "Hand of God", a supernatural power that produces the Heaven Smile virus.

The game opens with a conversation between Garcian Smith and Christopher Mills about a new job for the killer7. The assassins battle their way to the top of a building which has become infested with Heaven Smiles. Harman confronts the source of the Smiles, an angel-like figure, but she is merely Kun Lan's puppet. Harman and Kun Lan discuss the current state of the world before the mission ends. In the subsequent missions, the killer7 target a number of individuals on behalf of the US government or for personal reasons. They kill Andrei Ulmeyda, a Texan postal worker who established a successful company based on the Yakumo, when he becomes infected with the Heaven Smile virus. Dan Smith confronts Curtis Blackburn, his former mentor and murderer, when Mills informs the group that Blackburn is running an organ trafficking business that targets young girls. Their penultimate mission pits them against the "Handsome Men", a group of sentai rangers who assassinate a US politician.

The central plot arc concerns the true nature of US–Japan relations. To distance itself from Japan, the US fires a volley of two hundred intercontinental ballistic missiles at Japan and contracts the killer7 to eliminate Toru Fukushima, the head of the UN Party. However, an assassin posing as Fukushima's secretary kills him first in an attempt to reclaim the Yakumo document for the Liberal Party, believing its wisdom would help the party to regain political power. Shortly thereafter, Kenjiro Matsuoka (nicknamed "Matsuken") kills two senior members of the UN Party to become its new leader, under the influence of Kun Lan. In the end, the killer7 defeat the two UN Party members who had been reanimated by Kun Lan as Japan is destroyed by the missiles.

In their final mission, the killer7 seek Matsuken, who leads the 10 million UN Party members who live in the US. The government fears that if they converge on a single state, they could win a seat in the United States Senate. Garcian travels to Coburn Elementary School near Seattle, Washington and discovers tapes that reveal the school as a front for the UN Party to train children as assassins. The tapes focus on Emir Parkreiner, a gifted killer trained at the school. Garcian encounters Matsuken, who claims that Japan has used Coburn to control the course of US politics since its founding in 1780. The assassins battle a group of invincible Smiles and all but Garcian are incapacitated. Garcian travels to the Union Hotel where he witnesses visions of the other members being killed in their rooms. At the top, he discovers that his true identity is Emir Parkreiner, the one who killed the killer7 at the Union Hotel over 50 years ago. Following that incident, Harman absorbed Emir as a persona and Emir's memories were lost.

Three years later, Garcian arrives at Battleship Island in Japan to destroy the last Heaven Smile. He meets with Matsuken, who presents Garcian with a choice: let him live, which allows Japan to mount an assault on the US; or kill him, which lets the US discover Japan's role in rigging American elections—US forces destroy Japan's last stronghold, Battleship Island, in retaliation. Regardless of the player's choice, Garcian finds that the last Heaven Smile is Iwazaru, whose real identity is Kun Lan, and kills him. However, Harman and Kun Lan are revealed to be immortal beings representing good and evil—the game concludes a century in the future in Shanghai as they continue their eternal battle

Development for Killer7 began in mid-2002 as part of the Capcom Five, a set of games overseen by Shinji Mikami and intended to be exclusive to the Nintendo GameCube. Capcom produced the games to bring new intellectual property to the video game industry, which the company viewed as stagnant. Killer7's gameplay mechanics were finalized late in development because most resources went to story and visual work. Director Suda51 wrote the scenario based on a plot he conceived together with Mikami, and later decided on the unconventional control scheme as a deconstruction of how gamers play and to "create new expression". Complex controls and combos were omitted to present a system that fosters easy progression for the player. Producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi described the controls as "intuitive" and stated that the team wanted players to "think when they are playing" so they can enjoy the mystery in the story. The long development process culminated in several delays, the last of which was due to an artistic desire to release the game on July 7 (7/7)

Suda51 drew influence from film noir, particularly the theme of multiple personality disorder, and called Killer7 a "hardboiled action-adventure". Hiro Sugiyama, Peter Saville, and American comic book artists, such as Adrian Tomine, inspired the artistic design and aesthetic. Suda51 noted the inclusion of cel animation in Western and Japanese anime styles was meant to legitimize games as an art form by competing with traditional art forms in their stage. Kobayashi commented that Killer7 is "styled more as an interactive story than a traditional game." Suda also drew from yakuza film Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Hiroshima Deathmatch. His experience as an undertaker had a powerful effect on the portrayal of death in his games. The game reflects his interest in professional wrestling; Suda51 included a luchador character, MASK de Smith, and conducted interviews and attended promotional events while wearing a lucha libre mask. Reflecting on his work, Suda51 considers Killer7 his proudest achievement.

Killer7 received divisive reviews and sparked debates about depictions of sex and violence in video games and the status of video games as art. James Mielke of 1UP.com likened the game's high-contrast art style to noir and neo-noir film such as Se7en. He found that despite poor pacing and stilted gameplay, the "quirky scripting and edgy plot" were strong draws, and called Killer7 one of "most artfully designed footnotes in gaming history". Edge magazine's reviewers echoed this sentiment and predicted that the game would "[pave the way] for future creative leeway", crediting the director with an unwavering artistic vision. Eurogamer's Kristan Reed was keenly aware of the game's limited appeal, calling it "a concept game, an arthouse game, a simple game, an often beautiful game, but most certainly never an everyman's game". Yahtzee Croshaw of The Escapist commends the game for "showing exactly what can be done when you flaunt all established convention and just start exploring what can really be done with gaming as an art form".

Virtually all aspects of the game had their proponents and detractors. Greg Kasavin of GameSpot praised the unity of "great-looking camera work with simple controls" and compared its "thought-provoking" storyline to Metal Gear Solid, while a GamePro reviewer criticized those features, calling the controls limited, the cel-shading dull, and the story incoherent. Kasavin complimented the game's eclectic soundtrack, excellent voice acting, and distinctive sound effects, while the GamePro reviewer panned them as minimalist and irritating. IGN's Matt Casamassina likened the control scheme to "old-school adventure games like Myst and Snatcher" and commended Suda51 for making a "cult hit", "erupting with style, mood and undiluted craziness". Casamassina was also impressed by the quality of the anime-style cutscenes featured in the latter half of the game.

The IGN, GameSpot, and GameSpy reviews noted the GameCube version features superior graphics, substantially faster loading times, and more responsive controls than the PlayStation 2 version, resulting in lower scores for the latter. Nintendo Power claimed that Killer7 is a "highly rewarding" experience for dedicated gamers. Nintendo World Report writer Karl Castaneda also remarked that, despite repetitive gameplay, it was "still fun". Charles Herold of The New York Times was less forgiving and commented that the lack of new features beyond the first hour made the remaining experience boring and annoying.

Despite its mixed reception, a number of video game publications recognized Killer7's unconventional gameplay and innovative style. At GameSpot's "Best and Worst of 2005" awards, the game was nominated for Best Story, Best GameCube Game, Most Outrageous Game, Most Gratuitous Use of F------ Swearing, and won Best New Character (Harman Smith) and Most Innovative Game. IGN GameCube similarly nominated it for Game of the Year, Most Innovative Design, and Best Artistic Design and awarded it Best Adventure Game, Best Story, and Best Game No One Played. IGN later named Killer7 the 20th best GameCube game of all time. The game had a large presence at the 2005 Nintendo Power Awards, winning Best New Character (Harman Smith).

In August 2005, Jack Thompson, an activist who campaigns against video games, demanded that the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) change its rating for Killer7 from "M" (for Mature, ages 17 and up) to "AO" (for Adults Only, ages 18 and up). He cited Casamassina's review of the game at IGN, claiming that "full-blown sex sequences" present in the game would be harmful to minors. Casamassina rebutted that the scene in question involved two fully clothed adults and that a similar scene in a film would garner "only a PG-13 or, worst, R-rating".

Reviewers quickly identified Killer7 as a cult game with limited appeal. IGN lamented that its experimental style was not conducive to high sales, naming it GameCube's Best Game No One Played in their 2005 awards. IGN's Casamassina later placed it fourth in his Top 10 Tuesday: Underrated and Underappreciated Games feature. Despite modest sales, Killer7's cult success prompted the development of remakes of Suda51's older Japan-only games, The Silver Case and Flower, Sun, and Rain. In 2007, Grasshopper Manufacture released Suda51's No More Heroes to critical and commercial success. In addition to an original soundtrack and comic book adaptation, Capcom published Hand in killer7, a companion book that explains the plot in more depth. Kinetic Underground, the company that handled the comic book, also released a number of figurines depicting characters from the game.

Killer7 Original Sound Track was released on June 20, 2005 by Sony Music Entertainment. It features 61 compositions by Masafumi Takada and Jun Fukuda across two discs. Takada put a large emphasis on ambient music due to the genre's ability to draw in the player. He called his soundtrack a "translation of the text" of the game and sought to retell the story through music. Carolyn Gudmundson of GamesRadar praised the soundtrack's varied style, a "moody, atmosphereric base punctuated with spikes of manic energy". She singled out "Rave On", a track heard before mini-boss battles, as an excellent example of the latter. GameSpy's Phil Theobald had similar compliments for "Rave On" and other more subdued pieces that slowly "work [their] way into your mind".

In 2006, Devil's Due Publishing released a comic book adaptation of Killer7, written and drawn by Kinetic Underground staff. The planned 12-issue limited series was cancelled after four issues. Players who preordered Killer7 through EB Games received a special "Issue #0" as a bonus, and "Issue #½" was available at the 2005 San Diego Comic-Con. Writer Arvid Nelson described the story as a "mutant cross-breeding of John Woo and Quentin Tarantino", and Devil's Due President Josh Blaylock commented that Killer7's style was perfect for the comic book medium. In adapting the game, Nelson admitted that the plot was streamlined to maintain a comprehensible story, but noted that the "video game doesn't spoon feed you information ... That's how the comic's going to be, too".

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

125 Favorite PS2 Games
125. Duel Hearts
124. Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu
123. Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore
122. Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis
121. Timesplitters
120. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2
119. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
118. Legends of Wrestling
117. Beyond Good And Evil
116. Dragonball Z: Budokai
115. Showdown: Legends of Wrestling
114. Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht
113. Virtua Fighter 4
112. King of Fighters 2000
111. KOF: Maximum Impact 2 (aka King of Fighters 2006)
110. Burnout 3: Takedown
109. Legends of Wrestling II
108. Rogue Galaxy
107. Maximo: Ghosts To Glory
106. Silent Hill 3
105. MLB Slugfest 2003
104. Guitar Hero
103. Wild Arms 3
102. Need for Speed: Most Wanted
101. Megaman X8
100. Pro Evolution Soccer 3
99. Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
98. Dragonball Z: Budokai 2
97. Smackdown vs. Raw 2007
96. Megaman X Collection
95. Soul Calibur 3
94. Tekken 4
93. Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
92. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
91. Killer7

Clues to the next five games


* Emellious has abandoned his duties, to seek the power of Xorn

* Radditz and Zarbon have been given their own story modes

* Ratchet & Jak golf in this game

* Rebuild towns after the Dark Genie destroyed them

* Title track is "Slip Away" by Dry Cell

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

90. Freekstyle

Freekstyle is a 2002 motocross racing video game for the PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo Gamecube. There are four levels of gameplay, the circuit, a quick race, freestyle, and free run.

Race Courses were:
* Monumental Motoplex in Monument Valley, Utah-A course that twists and turns though the rock structures. The jumps are very smooth and one of the last jumps has burst though a ring with a glass panel in it with the Freekstyle logo on it.
* The Crust Belt-Based in an abandoned coal mining/welding factory, oddly still running, features jumping over belts full of coal, and speeding through a run down warehouse. There are also two secret jumps, one where you jump over buckets filled with molten steel, and the other in which you have to smash through wooden crates to get on the route to a massive jump.
* Burn It Up-Race your way in this "Nature Gone Ari" track, Full of burning/collapsing trees and rocks shooting down an uphill section of the track. The very first jump is the biggest in the course. There are two secret jumps, one you go off course and follow a gray line that leads you to a rock jump. The other needs full boost to get up on the top of the multiple 'S' shaped turns below.
* Gnome Sweet Gnome-This course is inside a bush sculpting garden, featuring jumps over multiple sculptures, and a section where you knock over little gnomes.
* Let It Ride-Based in possibly Las Vegas, Nevada, is one of the more colorful and ambient tracks in the game. There is a secret route where, when a jump pops up from the ground, you will land on a red and blue platform which takes you to the next pop up jump, (non-secret).
* The Rocket Garden-The hardest track in the game, is in a rocket launching base, has more secret jumps than any of the other tracks. First, if you hear an alarm go off in the first section of the track, go to the middle launching pad, There will be a jump and you soar past a rocket taking off. Next, on the very next jump, if you jump the middle ramp, you will land on a platform which leads you to the inside of the facility. The exit of the building launches you out to the next jump section. On the final stretch, go to the middle route, it will lead you to a big jump with a glass pane ring.

Freestyle courses are:
* Feel The Pane in Detroit-A course filled with jumbo-trons or "Freek TV's", and loads of glass panes to smash or crash though.
* The Crash Pad-An abandoned house under construction, full of jumps over the house, exploding grills, and a pool. Not for swimming though.
* The Burbs-A neighborhood turned into "Freekville" The population was originally in the thousands, after Freekstyle paid a visit, there were only eight (Number of racers in the game). This course is full of twisty, curvy, massive, and "Over-the-Top" jumps

The title track for the game is a song called Slip Away by Dry Cell. Dry Cell's debut CD, Disconnected, was scheduled to be released by Warner Bros. Records on July 16, 2002 but was scrapped due to a dispute between the label and the band.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

89. Dragonball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, originally published as Dragon Ball Z: Sparking! Neo in Japan, is the second installment in the Budokai Tenkaichi series. The game is available on both Sony's PlayStation 2 and Nintendo's Wii. The PlayStation 2 and Wii versions have different dates of release. It was released on the PlayStation 2 in Japan on October 5, 2006, Europe on November 3, 2006, North America on November 7, 2006, and Australia on November 9, 2006. The Wii version had slightly later releases; it was released in North America on November 19, 2006, Japan on January 1, 2007, Europe on March 30, 2007, and Australia on April 5, 2007. It is now a Greatest Hits title, like its predecessor. Though originally confirmed as being a launch title in North America for the Wii, some stores started selling the Wii version on November 15, 2006. An issue of V-Jump listed January 2007 as the release date for the Japanese version of the Wii release. The game originally featured 129 characters and 16 stages, though the Japanese and PAL Wii versions came with five additional characters (Demon King Piccolo, Cyborg Tao, Appule, Frieza Soldier, and Pilaf Robot/combined form) and an extra stage as compensation of their late releases (all of the added characters reappear in Tenkaichi 3's English version).

Some additional bonus material within the game was the special story modes specifically given to Zarbon and Raditz, whom were attentively treated particularly well with their own game modes, unlike any other characters. One element of Tenkaichi 2 that is absent from Tenkaichi 1 and Tenkaichi 3 is that the story mode allows the player to fly around the Earth and Planet Namek, which was also featured in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3. Also during cutscenes more than two characters can be seen on the screen which is more than the other two. In character selection there is a minor glitch in one of the character's name.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

88. Grandia III

Grandia III is a role-playing video game developed by Game Arts and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2 console. Originally released in Japan in August 2005, the game later made available in English in North America in February 2006, and is the first main series Grandia title to not appear in the PAL region. The game was designed by much of the key staff of previous games in the series and includes many features seen in its predecessors, including a similar, more fast-paced action-based battle system. Music for the game was provided by series veteran Noriyuki Iwadare, and features the opening theme song "In the Sky" performed by Japanese pop/rock artist Miz.

Set in a fantasy world where technology has allowed man to fly in magic-powered aircraft, a boy named Yuki is determined to become a great pilot like his idol, the Sky Captain Schmidt. When he and his mother encounter a girl named Alfina who has the ability to communicate with the spiritual guardians of the world, they become involved in the plot to discover the secrets of the world's past and face an evil rogue guardian named Xorn. The game met with a generally positive response in Japan and North America upon release, with critics praising the game's innovative battle system.

The player controls Yuki and his companions through a fully 3D world, fighting their way through obstacles using a battle system in the same style as the other Grandia games, with some slight tweaks. Throughout the game Yuki enlists the aide of various characters and creatures called the Guardians to aid him on his journey. Rather than use a world map to travel between areas, the player flies in a plane.

Battles are similar to those of the previous Grandia games. It uses the same basic combat system, where both time and distance play into the execution of actions.

Icons representing all characters and enemies on the field begin an encounter on a point on the dial depending on whether the enemy party or the player party was running away from the other prior to the encounter, and progress along the circle at their own rates. Once the icon reaches the Command point of the dial, the game pauses to allow the player (or computer, if the icon is an enemy's) gives that character a command. The icon then enters the red area of the gauge. Spells, skills and criticals progress more slowly during this period than combos. When the icon reaches the ACT point in the gauge, the command is carried out, and the icon is sent back to the start, where the cycle continues. Characters on the field have two standard attacks: combos and criticals. With combos, the character will swing/stab/shoot the enemy a number of times as per their weapon's use and any applicable skills. They do more damage overall than Criticals, whose purpose is to knock the position of an enemy on the Turn Dial backwards. If a combo is performed upon an airborne enemy, then a special Aerial attack is done. If an enemy is defeated with an Aerial Finish, the monster may drop more valuable items.

The characters of Grandia III were designed by You Yoshinari and feature an assortment of playable and non-playable individuals. The game centers on Yuki, a 16 year-old boy who dreams of becoming an ace pilot like his idol, the legendary Sky Captain Schmidt. Together with his friend Rotts, he builds his own magic-powered aircraft in an attempt to fly over the ocean, but becomes sidetracked due to the intervention of his mother, Miranda. When Yuki and Miranda meet Alfina, a beautiful young girl with the ability to communicate with Sacred Beasts, the god-like guardians of the planet, they become involved in an adventure that takes them around the world. During their journey, the party meets four other characters who become playable at certain points in the story, which include Alonso, a gambler who dreams of completing his map of the world; Ulf, a simple man who owns a pet dragon named Shiba; Dahna, a cynical cartomancer with a hidden soft side; and Hect, a sullen musician from a troubled village.

The principle antagonist is Alfina's brother Emellious, who, like his sister, can communicate with the guardians. Rather than seek worldly balance and harmony, he abandoned his duties as a Communicator to seek the power of Xorn, a rogue guardian with the power of darkness, and become a god. Emellious is assisted in his endeavor by a number of subordinates, including Kornell, a large, imposing man with an iron gauntlet; Violetta, who serves Emellious out of love; La-Ilim, an inhuman, demon-like man who uses an artifact known as the Crystal Skull to summon undead beasts; and Grau, Emellious' right-hand man and conniving strategist. In order to combat their adversaries, the heroes must travel across the world to meet the Sacred Beasts and gain their power, who consist of Gryph the eagle, Drak the dragon, Yoat the ram, Seiba the unicorn, and Unama the dolphin.

Grandia III takes place in an unnamed world, consisting of a main continent surrounded by the Belion Sea, which is vast, to the point where only one person has flown its breadth, Sky Captain Schmidt. Yuki hails from the village Anfog, on Titalos Island. Much of the world relies on methods of flying, from dragons to planes, which use a magical power source. The Guardians are mystical beasts which reside in the world of Grandia III, hailing from the Verse Realm. They came to Yuki's world after a war broke out on their own, quieting wars in both worlds.

Approximately 5,000 years in the past the world was nearly destroyed in that war. The 12 Guardians stopped the destruction and guided the remaining people of the world to safety. They then watched over the world, imparting wisdom to the people through a chosen line of “Communicators”, who could understand the words of the Guardians.

Yuki, an aspiring pilot, has been building an airplane with his friend Rotts in the hopes of being the second pilot to fly across the ocean, following in the footsteps of his idol, Schmidt (though he keeps these plans a secret from his mother, Miranda). So far, he has been rewarded with little success, with nearly twenty projects which, for varying reasons, have failed to get him where he wants to be. On this final flight, he finds that his mother stowed away on his plane, and is unable to fly high enough with the extra weight.

His reprimanding of his mother is interrupted, however, by the sight of a girl in a carriage being chased by several men. Yuki decides to get involved, and swoops down, inevitably crashing into the forest. He and Miranda fight to defend the girl, who they learn to be Alfina, a Communicator, one of those who speaks with the Guardian beasts. They, in light of what had just happened, offer to escort her to the temple at Arcriff, and become more and more involved in the events surrounding the disappearance of Alfina's brother, Emelious. As the story progresses, Alfina's fate becomes more twisted, as Alfina and her companions challenge Emelious and finally face Xorn.

Grandia III was first announced in a March 2005 issue of Japanese Weekly Famitsu magazine, which revealed that Game Arts and Square Enix would be bringing the game to the PlayStation 2 console like the previous installment, Grandia Xtreme. The project was headed by director Hidenobu Takahashi, who previously served as art director for Grandia II, and stated that the game would follow the series' themes of "adventure, drama and dreams", and would continue in the direction of taking the series to a more "adult" sensibility while still retaining an overall optimistic tone. Character design for the game was provided by You Yoshinari with Takahiro Hasebe serving as scenario writer, both of whom had worked on the original Grandia. CGI movie cutscenes were placed in the game help advance the story, which were produced by Mikitaka Kurasawa who had also worked with Capcom on Onimusha. According to a Square Enix representative, the amount of cutscenes in the game are roughly equal in length to three movies. Combat in Grandia III was designed to be a variation of the system seen in previous games in the series, and was described by Takahashi as being "very complex but very easy to learn", adding that "The combination of the story, fast-paced battle system and beautiful environment will prove to be an extremely enjoyable adventure." An official website was launched for the game in April 2005, which detailed the game's final release date the following August, as well as offered updates on the game's mechanics and characters.

The English version of Grandia III was announced in December 2005 in the form of a teaser website from Square Enix, which revealed that the game was scheduled for release in North America the following February. In January 2006, the game was given its final release date of February 14, along with the announcement that Game Arts would be continuing development on their Grandia Online project, which at the time was also scheduled for release that year.

The music of Grandia III was composed by series veteran Noriyuki Iwadare, who contributed the soundtracks to all previous Grandia titles. Shortly after the Japanese version was released in August 2005, the Grandia III Original Soundtrack was released by Two-Five Records, featuring background themes from the game across two discs. Grandia III also features the theme song "In the Sky" performed by Japanese pop/rock singer Miz, which is featured in the game's opening demo, and was released as a single one day before the game in both regular and limited editions by Victor Entertainment. Players who pre-ordered the game in Japan could also received a special promotional album featuring three songs from the game recorded live by the game's music staff, including the vocal theme "To the Moon" performed by Kaori Kawasumi. In September 2005, "Melk Ruins", a music track from the game that was unable to be included in the official soundtrack, was made available on the game's official Japanese website as a free download. In addition to music, game contains voice clips during battle, as well as in story certain story scenes, with voices provided in Japanese and English for each region by veteran anime and video game actors.

Grandia III was met with a fairly positive response in Japan, debuting as the second highest-selling game of its week of release with 122,000 copies sold, and would go on to sell approximately 233,866 copies by the end of 2005. The game received a 35 out of 40 score from Weekly Famitsu Magazine, earning it an editor's choice Platinum distinction.

The game's reception in North America was generally positive, earning a 77% average rating from aggregate review website Metacritic, and a 78% average from Game Rankings. Many publications praised the game's battle system, with Electronic Gaming Monthly stating that "Grandia's semi-real-time battles are superb, offering just the right balance of strategy and visual flair, and the new aerial combos are a blast," but found the game's plot to be "fairly linear". GamePro similarly called the game's combat "intriguing", yet deemed the game's story to be "more clichéd and campy than epic and amazing ... The characters all fall into conveniently familiar categories and fail to attract any serious interest in their concerns or circumstances" GameSpot found the game's short length and lack of sidequests to be its low points, yet ultimately declared that "While not as stuffed with features and extra content as some of the other RPGs currently available, Grandia III still delivers an interesting (if traditional) story, fun characters, and a versatile, strategy-based battle system." 1UP.com declared that the game's story, pacing, and character development felt disjointed from one disc to another, stating that "I almost feel like I'm reviewing two games -- the first disc, which is awesome, and the second, which is ho-hum." In an article for The New York Times, game critic Charles Herold called the game's battle system "arguably the greatest combat system of any turn-based role-playing game in existence" but found the rest of the game to be largely average, remarking that it "falls short of true greatness, not because it does anything glaringly wrong but because it doesn't do quite enough things right."

In an import review of the North American version, Eurogamer found the game to be a largely mediocre role-playing title, but wrote that its battle system was above-average, concluding that "the game is saved from total mediocrity by its superb battle system, but a fantastic battle system does not a brilliant game make." The website would additionally pan the game's J-pop opening theme, calling it "a disgustingly poor piece of aural pap", yet called the rest of the game's score "pleasant, though forgettable." Play Magazine UK conversely felt that the game was above-average, stating that "[Grandia III] does almost everything well, from the involving story and beautiful graphics to the compelling characters, and does one thing - the battle system - better than any other RPG we've seen.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

87. Dark Cloud

Dark Cloud is a role-playing video game for the PlayStation 2 (PS2) video game console. It was developed by Level-5 and published by Sony Computer Entertainment in December 2000 in Japan, May 2001 in North America and September 2001 in Europe. The gameplay of Dark Cloud combines action role-playing with elements of city-building games. A sequel to the game, Dark Chronicle (or Dark Cloud 2), was released two years later.

The game's story focuses on a group of adventurers who band together to fight against a being called the Dark Genie, whose attacks on their home villages has affected them all. The main protagonist is Toan, a boy who is given a magical stone called the Atlamillia by the Fairy King, which has the power to rebuild the destroyed lands.

The game was originally intended to be a launch title for the PS2 but was eventually released later in the year. The game was generally well received by critics who praised its blend of gameplay types. It has sold more than 1 million units worldwide.

Dark Cloud is a third-person role-playing game in which the player moves through randomly-generated dungeons, battling monsters and collecting items. Inside these dungeons, on random floors, the player may have the option of entering a separate area which contains stronger monsters and more valuable treasure. The player will sometimes 'Duel' an enemy. In this type of battle, the player must correctly press a sequence of buttons shown on the screen to win, similarly to a quick time event.

Another part of Dark Cloud's gameplay involves special items called Atla which are used to rebuild the world.[6] These items, which are present in almost each dungeon level, are large spherical objects and can be retrieved only by the main character. When removed from the dungeon, they become pieces of the world (trees, houses, villagers, etc.). These pieces must then be placed through Georama mode, an element similar to city-building games, in which the player can arrange the pieces of the world onto the landscape. After villagers have been placed, the player can speak to them to discover what their wishes are for the rebuilding of the village. As the player approaches the ideals concerning the village restoration and its villagers' preferences, their progress is recorded as a percentage of completion in the Georama menu. When the progress reaches 100%, the village is considered complete.

Unlike most role-playing video games, instead of the main characters leveling up, their weapons do. The player characters themselves can only grow stronger with the consumption of particular items. Weapons level up by killing enemies, but they wear over time, and it is necessary to repair them to avoid them breaking and becoming unusable. With the exception of the starting weapon, a broken weapon is immediately removed from the player's inventory. To upgrade a weapon, the player can attach stat-increasing items to it (attack power, speed, ability to kill different types of monsters, elemental attributes, etc.), but a single weapon can only carry a limited number of attachments. To permanently keep the extra statistics the attachements give, the weapon must be leveled up using absorption points, which are gained by defeating enemies. Weapons can be combined after reaching a certain level, giving the player a single weapon with the combined attributes of the two.

Dark Cloud features six different main characters each with their own playstyle; three ranged fighters and three melee fighters, each using a different weapon. The melee characters use a variety of blades, hammers and staves, and the ranged characters use magic rings, guns and slingshots. Each character also has a unique ability that helps them move through the dungeons (one character can jump across chasms, another can open certain types of door etc.).

Dark Cloud is set in a fantasy world called Terra. The world is made of two main continents, referred to as the East and West. The eastern continent has a focus on technology, and the civilization is advanced, whereas the western continent is less so, and its people prefer to "live in harmony with nature."

On the western continent are the settlements that were sealed away by the Fairy King so as to protect them during the attack by the Dark Genie, and where the game primarily takes place. These settlements are Norune, Matataki, Brownboo, Queens, Muska Racka and a settlement on one of Terra's moons, Yellow Drops.

Dark Cloud features many characters, some of which are playable. Each playable character utilizes different weapons, fighting styles and abilities that aid in the exploration of dungeon areas. The main protagonist, a boy named Toan, fights with daggers, knives and swords. After the events of the prologue, he is tasked with the restoration of the world by the Fairy King.[13] The main antagonist is the Dark Genie, an evil genie released by Colonel Flag, a second class military commander who wants its power to control the world.

During the course of the game, Toan meets new characters who can be chosen to explore and battle in dungeons. The player must accomplish in-game events for new characters to join. The available characters include: Xiao, a slingshot-wielding 'catgirl'; Goro, a hunter from Matataki Village who uses large hammers; Ruby, a magic-ring-using genie from Queens; Ungaga, a Muska Racka warrior using staves; and Osmond, leader of the Moon People, equipped with a variety of guns and blasters.

Dark Cloud is a fairy tale read from a book found in ancient, nameless ruins. After scholars translated the story, its significance and verity became debatable.

The story begins in a chamber called the Dark Shrine where a ceremony of dances is being performed to awaken the Dark Genie, a legendary creature of great power. Colonel Flag, who wants this power for war, watches while the ceremony's organizer, a priest of the shrine, explains the legend of the Genie. A large urn containing the genie's spirit billows black smoke and the Dark Genie materializes. It accepts Colonel Flag as its master, but devours the priest. Under Flag's orders, the Dark Genie then attacks the western continent, but the Fairy King casts a protective spell around the affected lands. This spell causes the buildings, objects and people to be sealed away in magical orbs called Atla, avoiding the Dark Genie's attack. However, the orbs are scattered throughout different parts of the world.

Toan, whose home is the affected Norune Village, is given a blue stone called the Atlamillia by the Fairy King and learns he must search for the people and objects in the form of floating orbs called Atla. Toan goes to a nearby cave and collects all of the Atla containing Norune Village and its people. In his exploration of the cave, Toan meets a man called Seda, who challenges him to a sword duel. Toan loses when he tries to protect a cat that was accidentally caught in the battle. Seda throws Toan a changing potion as a gift for doing so. The potion is later used on the cat, which causes it to change into a half-human/half-cat named Xiao, who joins Toan on his quest. At the cave's bottom, Toan finds Dran, the god of all beasts and guardian of Norune. The usually peaceful Dran, however, is possessed by the Dark Genie and attacks Toan. Defeating Dran releases him from the genie's control and he suggests Toan and Xiao find the Moon People, directing the two toward Great Treant in Matataki Village.

As they move into Matataki, Toan is challenged by a boy named Goro. After being defeated, Goro runs back up to his tree house, dropping the magical earrings which allows one to understand the creatures of the forest, including the Great Treant. Goro eventually joins Toan's party. After speaking with Treant, who tells them where to find the Moon People, the group heads to the nearby Wise Owl Forest. There they face a giant possessed primate called Master Utan, the guardian of the forest. He attacks them, but as with Dran, by defeating him, they free him from the Genie's control. Toan and the others venture deeper into the forest, making their way to Brownboo, an unaffected village where the Moon People reside. There they are captured by the Moon People for trespassing. Learning of the Dark Genie, the Moon People release the group and together devise a plan to defeat the Genie permanently. The Moon People want to call the Moon Ship using the Moon Orb. To find the orb, Toan and party travel to the seaside village of Queens where they learn of a shipwreck, which may be where the orb resides. Queens has suffered the same fate as Norune and Matataki, apart from one shop run by a man named Rando, who tells them of the shipwreck. While searching the wreck for the orb, the party find and restores the city of Queens, and Toan finds a lamp that releases a friendly genie, Ruby, who also joins the group. The party also hears the story of the former queen, La Saia, who was abandoned by her lover at the altar, and who threw herself into the sea in despair. A shopkeeper who initially refuses the party entry to his store also tells them the local story of an orb that will grant immortality, but at the cost of whatever the owner most values, apart from their life. In the final area of the shipwreck, Toan and party meet with La Saia's ghost. After defeating her, her fiancée, Rando comes into the sanctuary and apologizes to La Saia, revealing that he was knocked out by the Life Orb prior to the wedding, in order to destroy what he most valued; his love for her. He then hands Toan the Moon Orb, and joins La Saia by destroying the Life Orb.

Still unable to summon the Moon Ship even with the Moon Orb, the Moon People send Toan and the others to the desert village of Muska Lacka. There, they find the Sun and Moon Temple and begin to collect the Atla to restore the village. At this point, Toan befriends a desert warrior named Ungaga, who later joins the group. After reaching the last floor of the temple, they face The King's Curse. When defeated, a passage opens that leads to the Moon Ship. With the help of the Moon People, the ship is finally activated. They travel to a moon city, Yellow Drops, where Toan meets Osmond, a Moon Person, who asks for help in collecting pieces of a giant battle robot called the Sun Giant. The Moon People, who have lost their magical abilities, believe they can destroy the Dark Genie for good by using this robot. After meeting Osmond, he too joins the group. Toan and party collect the scattered pieces of the robot by searching the Moon Sea. Toan collects the final piece, a powerful energy source, by fighting a giant Minotaur in a colosseum-like battle. When the Sun Giant is completed, Toan and party, with a crew of Moon People, pilot the Sun Giant towards the Dark Heaven Castle, where the Dark Genie now resides.

The group arrives at the castle and confronts the Dark Genie. However, after defeating him, they learn that they were actually fighting a rat that had absorbed some of the true Dark Genie's powers while sealed away in its urn. The true Dark Genie has in fact possessed Colonel Flag, and it now destroys the Sun Giant. The Genie's power proves too great for Flag's body, and he dies, leaving the Genie without a host. Toan continues to pursue the Genie and enters the castle where he again encounters Seda. He explains to Toan that it was his fault the Dark Genie was created. He reveals that he accepted tremendous dark power into his body in order to gain the power to defeat an invading army, and that this led to the Genie's birth. Seda opens a portal to the Gallery of Time to allow Toan and the others to travel back to the past to ensure the Genie is never created.

The Genie reappears, wanting to reunite with Seda's body, but Seda kills himself to keep the Genie from his power. The group travel through the years of the Gallery of Time to collect and view the memories Seda had infused into the Gallery, in order to learn the full story of the Genie's birth. It transpires that while the power Seda absorbed was necessary to create the Genie, the final cause was the death of his fiancée at the hands of an assassin seeking to kill Seda. Toan is unable to prevent the Dark Genie's creation, but he faces and defeats its true form. He then completely expends the Atlamilla's powers to revive Seda's fiancée, Sophia. Upon doing so, the group is returned to its own time, when the Fairy King informs them that the Genie is gone for ever.

Dark Cloud was the first game of the Japanese developer Level-5, lead by designer Akihiro Hino. Development of the game began when the company was founded in October 1998. When the PlayStation 2 was announced on March 2, 1999, Sony president and CEO Ken Kutaragi used a demo of Dark Cloud to show the capabilities of the platform, although many elements of the demo were not used in the release version of the game.

The English language release of Dark Cloud had additional gameplay features, including the ability to upgrade weapons, extra duels and an extra dungeon after completing the game, the Demon Shaft; this location does not appear in the Japanese version.

The Dark Cloud Official Soundtrack was released to the Japanese market in late 2001. The soundtrack, composed by Tomohito Nishiura, consists of forty-six tracks.

According to Famitsu, Dark Cloud was the 15th best-selling video game during the week of its debut in Japan, with 19,615 copies sold.[48] By the end of 2001, the game had sold 70,471 copies in the region.[49] Level-5's Akihiro Hino stated Dark Cloud has sold over 800,000 copies worldwide.[1] In 2002, the game received best-seller re-releases in both Japan (The Best range) and North America (Greatest Hits).

Dark Cloud has an 80% rating on review aggregator site Metacritic, and a 78% rating on GameRankings. Reviews in general were positive, but in most cases the main criticism of the game tended to focus on the repetitive dungeons and battles and lack of strong story. The gameplay was often compared to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time because it contained features and a main character that are similar, while also likened to Vagrant Story for its weapon system. IGN, GameSpot, Allgame and others praised Dark Cloud for blending different types of gameplay together successfully. GameSpot called it "one highly addictive and surprisingly cohesive experience." TotalPlayStation mentioned how the town building feature was unique, while GameSpot and IGN said it borrowed elements from ActRaiser. The battle system received mixed reviews, while some felt it was repetitive and monotonous in regards to the dungeon crawling, many positive points came from the weapon system and how it is easy to use.

Reviews of the plot were mixed. IGN and TotalPlaystation thought the story, while simple, was "good enough." Gameplanet thought the plot was "bland" and "negligible" and that it was one of the factors that brought the game down. Reviews of the game's graphics were more positive. PSXExtreme said it "has...some of the prettiest textures I can think of," while RPGamer and TotalPlaystation thought the visuals "don't slouch," but were not as good when compared to other games, like those made by Namco and Square. Absolute PlayStation and PlanetPS2 felt that most of the music was "mediocre", "not too inspiring and sometimes can get monotonous," but reviews of the ambient and general sound effects were positive. RPGamer felt the complete opposite and thought the "music does an excellent job of setting the mood," but some of the character sound effects were overused. PSXExtreme compared the soundtrack to the soundtrack from Chrono Cross which they said is "actually a very good thing."

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

86. Hot Shots Golf: Fore

Everybody's Golf 4 (Hot Shots Golf Fore! in North America, Everybody's Golf in Europe) is the fourth game in the Everybody's Golf series and the second released for PlayStation 2. It was released on November 27, 2003 in Japan, August 17, 2004 in the United States and September 23, 2005 in Europe.

This game delivers more realistic physics, sharper graphics, more golfers, caddies and courses than before. miniature golf games and online play for players with the Network Adaptor are also driving features. The developers increased the overall number of characters from 15 to 24, added more caddies (10 in all) and boosted the number of courses from six to 15. Of these 15 courses, 10 are new, while five are returning favorites from the previous game. The game also features a Tournament mode where up to 32 players can compete against each other. Cameo roles as playable characters in the North American and European versions are Ratchet (from the Ratchet & Clank series, in his first appearance) and Jak (from the Jak and Daxter series, as he would later appear in Jak 3). Ratchet and Jak's caddies are Clank and Daxter, respectively. A Pipo Monkey (from the Ape Escape series) is an unlockable caddie in the Japanese and European versions only. The European version seems to have the largest character roster overall.

Everybody's Golf implements the "Everybody's Points" system where players earn and spend points to unlock new gear and extras. Several different modes of play are available and include Tour (full season of tournaments), Tournament (plug and play instant action mode), VS Mode (challenge golfers to unlock new characters/costumes) and Training (in game tutorial mode). In addition, there are two online play modes: Head to Head (one on one play with another player) and Real Time Tournament (real time online golf tourneys). The North American and European versions included online play while Japanese did not. The North American online play servers were shut down as of June 30, 2008.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

125 Favorite PS2 Games
125. Duel Hearts
124. Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu
123. Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore
122. Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis
121. Timesplitters
120. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2
119. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
118. Legends of Wrestling
117. Beyond Good And Evil
116. Dragonball Z: Budokai
115. Showdown: Legends of Wrestling
114. Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht
113. Virtua Fighter 4
112. King of Fighters 2000
111. KOF: Maximum Impact 2 (aka King of Fighters 2006)
110. Burnout 3: Takedown
109. Legends of Wrestling II
108. Rogue Galaxy
107. Maximo: Ghosts To Glory
106. Silent Hill 3
105. MLB Slugfest 2003
104. Guitar Hero
103. Wild Arms 3
102. Need for Speed: Most Wanted
101. Megaman X8
100. Pro Evolution Soccer 3
99. Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
98. Dragonball Z: Budokai 2
97. Smackdown vs. Raw 2007
96. Megaman X Collection
95. Soul Calibur 3
94. Tekken 4
93. Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
92. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
91. Killer7
90. Freekstyle
89. Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2
88. Grandia III
87. Dark Cloud
86. Hot Shots Golf: Fore

Clues to the next five games

* All female wrestling

* First time Pat Summerall was not in this game

* Rock at Nilbog High School, The Rat Cellar Pub, The Blackout Bar, The RedOctane Club, Rock City Theater, Vans Warped Tour, Harmonix Arena, and Stonehenge

* Set ten years after the death of Geese Howard

* We love a ball that rolls up people

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

85. We Love Katamari

We Love Katamari (or We ♥ Katamari), known in Japan as Minna Daisuki Katamari Damacy, is a video game published by Namco for the PlayStation 2. It was released in Japan on July 6, 2005, in South Korea on July 28, 2005, in North America on September 20, 2005, and in Europe on February 2, 2006. It is the sequel to the previous year’s sleeper hit, Katamari Damacy. This is the last game in the series that had involvement by the series creator Keita Takahashi.

The concept for this game is as idiosyncratic as its predecessor. Since the release of the original game, the King of All Cosmos and his son the Prince have acquired a fan base. The Prince receives a request from a fan at the start of the game. The objective of the game is to have the Prince fulfill each fan’s request, which will make more fans (stages) appear until the whole game is mobbed with fans. Upon fulfilling each fan’s request, the Katamari is given to the king, which he uses to create a new planet in the cosmos, this continues until there are enough planets in the cosmos to roll up the sun using the Earth as a katamari. Constellation data can be loaded from Katamari Damacy to help with this task.

The gameplay follows the same core mechanic: To gather material, the Prince pushes around his katamari, a magical, highly adhesive ball capable of grabbing anything smaller than itself. Initially, the katamari can only pick up smaller items like loose change and discarded pencils. As more items accumulate, the katamari’s power grows, allowing it to pick up “vaulting boxes, pencils, erasers, postcards, ramen, robots, cows, sheep, this girl, that boy, moms and dads, bicycles, motorbikes, homes, buildings, rainbows, clouds, islands, hopes and dreams”. Once the level is successfully completed, the katamari is launched into space and becomes a planet, satellite, or other celestial object. If the planet has already been created, the katamari can replace it or be shattered into “stardust”.

The sequel adds many new objectives, including: making the katamari as large as possible with a limited number of objects, collecting objects for their monetary value, rolling a sumo wrestler over food items to gain body mass (and then into his opponent to win the match), pushing a snowball around to create the head of an enormous snowman, and a number of “fast as possible” time attack challenges. Many levels have both a “big as possible” and a “fast as possible” objective, and some even have three similar objectives of increasing difficulty or size.

In the previous game, finding the prince’s cousins only unlocked them for use in 2-player mode. We Love Katamari allows the player to switch to the cousins in the 1-player game as well. Additionally, two Royal Presents can now be worn: one on the head or face, and one on the body. The appearance of presents may differ depending on the character that wears them.

In addition to the standard, single-player mode, this game features a two-player cooperative gameplay option, in which each player controls half of the katamari. Players must work together to effectively maneuver the ball. Any stage in the game can be completed in solo or cooperative mode; however, in cooperative mode, some extra time is usually added to the game clock to compensate for the difficulty in coordinating the players.

In the Snowman level, which has no time limit, this method of play is eschewed in favor of a more traditional one: each player rolls one half of the snowman. Similar to the single-player version of the stage, the snowman is completed as soon as the two players collide; however, because the bottom half is also being rolled by someone, players are not limited to forming the snowman in the middle of the area.

In the Japanese and PAL version of the game each player’s gamepad is depicted on-screen, illustrating how each player is currently manipulating the dual-analog sticks. This feature was omitted from the American version due to copyright issues.[

As in the original game, there is a two-player competitive mode, wherein the opposing players each control their own katamari. Control of the katamari is identical to the regular game, and the objectives are similar. The winner is the player who most fulfills this objective, which is either to collect the most of a small object (such as pencils in the House, or pudding in the Town) or to have collected a single large object at the end of the game (such as a Ginkgo leaf in the House or a ghost in the Town).

Unlike Katamari Damacy, battle mode maps are drawn directly from the single-player world (albeit with fewer objects due to technical limits as to how many polygons can be rendered at once), offering a wide variety of diverse regions in which to compete.

We Love Katamari tells two stories: a self-referential story of how the King of All Cosmos is reacting to the unexpected success of Katamari Damacy, and an origin story of how the King of All Cosmos became the King of All Cosmos, met his wife, and had his son.

After completing his goal to recreate the stars in the sky, the King of All Cosmos was surprised to discover that he had many fans down on Earth. Thus begins We Love Katamari, where the King of All Cosmos seeks to help fulfill the wishes of his fans—with the help from his son and his son’s cousins, who again travel Earth, rolling things up into a Katamari. At the game’s conclusion, the player discovers that he/she too loves Katamari.

The King of All Cosmos’s history is told in We Love Katamari’s cut scenes, interspersed between the game’s stages.

The King of All Cosmos was not always the King. His father was the previous King of All Cosmos (also called Emperor of the Cosmos, or Papa). The future King of All Cosmos grew up either on Earth itself or a planet very much like it, in a giant castle on a hill surrounded by green fields. (Though, early in the game, we are to believe all action takes place in a world called “The Great Cosmos”.)

His father was a strict man, always pushing his son to go further, a trait which his son would inherit. He was a boxer in his younger years. While good, he was not the best, and in one telling scene, after losing first place in a boxing tournament, the Emperor throws his son’s second-place trophy into the river out of disappointment.

Later in life, after an argument concerning a strawberry shortcake, the future King of All Cosmos runs away from home. During this period of rebellion, he gets into fights with street punks who in one altercation slice off the front of his pompadour haircut. In the next scene the dejected future king meets the woman who would become his queen, after the severed end of his pompadour is pieced with her half-eaten loaf of bread to create the shape of a heart. During a subsequent date, the father shows up, as disapproving of his son as ever. In frustration and anger, the son lashes out, knocking his father to the ground.

Later that evening, the son inadvertently spies his father deep in thought, staring at the second-place boxing trophy. Recalling the incident from his childhood, and imagining his father stooping to fish the trophy back out of the river, he suddenly realizes the love underlying his father’s stern exterior all these years. He bursts into the room, crying, and kneels before his father to beg forgiveness. In the most demonstrative gesture of affection to date, the father places a hand on his son’s head.

After this reconciliation, all is well between the Emperor, the son, and his fiancée. But soon afterward, the Emperor falls ill, and calls his son into his bedroom. Upon entering, the father crowns his son as the new King of All Cosmos, and then collapses, seemingly dead (but is, in fact, only sleeping).

Moving forward, we see the King as a grown man, pacing back and forth in a waiting room. A nurse appears from a doorway, and introduces the newly-born Prince of All Cosmos, the character that the player controls during the game.

Being highly non linear, We Love Katamari lends itself easily to numerous easter eggs, in this case, the deliberate placement of in-game items to create humorous scenes. Since the environments are typically very large, and a player’s current katamari size determines what objects a player can physically see, these “hidden” situations can be found literally anywhere. For example, in one level, the player can find the Prince sitting on a photocopier, with Slip (the Cousin who is a flat 2D clone of the Prince) emerging from the paper tray. Other combinations of objects or situations derive their origins from folklore. For example, in one of the outdoor levels, there is a female ghost that rises up and down out of a well, like the character Okiku in the Japanese folktale Banchō Sarayashiki. (This is also reminiscent of the character Sadako in the Japanese horror movie Ringu.) Another example is the Tsuchinoko, a snake which can be found in the flower bed stage. As in reality, only a few people claim to have seen this snake, and so it is very hard to find in the stage. Also, if the player continues to collect every object again and again in the “credits level” the ending movie will change slightly each time. Another secret is there is a creature very similar to a Kappa in the game (actually named as a Kappa in the Japanese version). In fact, there is a level where the “kappa” creature is found swimming in a pool near children. In the flower level, a lady titled 'God' when rolled up can be found in the pond with a bear.

After collecting all of the cousins to be found in the game and sequentially rolling them all up in the level represented by the Hoshino boy, a level opens up, telling the player to roll up 1,000,000 roses, which are only scattered about the level as single roses or bouquets of 10 roses, both types respawning after a short time. At first, one may think it is a joke, but it is possible. The roses do not all have to be rolled up in one play session; the player can return to the select meadow, save the game, and come back where he or she left off. The rose “fan” in select meadow appears to grow taller and taller as more roses are collected. When 1,000,000 roses have finally been rolled up, the level will be “completed”; that is, the King will take the prince back and give him a little speech, after which the entire clump of roses will be thrown up. The main screen meadow will now have roses scattered throughout and during loading screens, the glowing orb in the bottom right corner will be replaced with a spinning rose.

Gamers have created makeshift inventions to help them in completing this time consuming task, such as positioning the analog sticks of the DualShock controller in a fixed position with rubberbands in order to automate the collection of the million roses.

As this is the first game in the series to be released in the PAL regions, two bonus movies from the original Japanese Katamari Damacy can be unlocked: the introduction movie from the game, and the Hoshino family cut scenes edited together as a single movie, along with the dubbed versions in English, Japanese, and Korean. These scenes are also included in the Japanese (NTSC) version.

The NTSC U.S. Greatest Hits release has a Japanese spoken and a second unlock Korean spoken English subtitled version of the Hoshino family episodes.

The official soundtrack album (catalog number COCX-33273) for the game was released in Japan on July 20, 2005. The soundtrack consists of eighteen songs from Namco composers Akitaka Tohyama, Asuka Sakai, Hideki Tobeta, Tomoki Kanda, Yoshihito Yano, Yū Miyake, and Yuri Misawa.

Japanese beatbox artist Dokaka is prominently featured in the game’s soundtrack, performing an a cappella version of the series theme “Katamari on the Rocks”, both with and without lyrics.

There is a mentionable tribute to the original Katamari Damacy on the soundtrack (titled “Sunbaked Savanna”). The song is a medley containing many of the songs found in the original game using “animal noise” samples as the main instruments.

Another tribute can be heard in the song "Disco Prince" with a short clip from “The Moon And The Prince”. Both songs were performed by Kenji Ninuma, one of only two returning performers from the original game.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

84. Madden NFL 2003

Madden NFL 2003 is an American football video game. It features then-reigning 3 time NFL Offensive Player of the Year, and former St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk on the cover. This edition of Madden was the first to feature EA Trax. The game was released on August 12, 2002 for the Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and the Xbox. It is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB, as well as G for General by the OFLC in Australia. This was the first game John Madden and Al Michaels appeared as commentators taking over for Pat Summerall.

On release, Famitsu magazine scored the PlayStation 2 version of the game a 33 out of 40.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

83. Guitar Hero II

Guitar Hero II is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane. It is the second installment in the Guitar Hero series and is the sequel to Guitar Hero. It was first released for the PlayStation 2 in November 2006 and then for the Xbox 360 in April 2007, with additional content not originally in the PlayStation 2 version.

Like in the original Guitar Hero, the player uses a guitar-shaped peripheral to simulate playing rock music as notes scroll towards the player. Most of the gameplay from the original game remains intact., provides new modes and note combinations. The game features more than 40 popular licensed songs, many of them cover versions recorded for the game, spanning five decades (from the 1960s to the 2000s). The PlayStation 2 version of Guitar Hero II can be purchased individually or in a bundle that packages the game with a cherry red Gibson SG guitar controller. The Xbox 360 version of the game is offered in a bundle that packages the game with a white Gibson X-Plorer guitar controller. Both of these controllers are wired, but RedOctane also sells a wireless controller for the PlayStation 2.

Since its release, Guitar Hero II has been met with both critical and commercial success, helping the Guitar Hero series become a cultural phenomenon. As of December 1, 2007, the game has sold 3.1 million copies. It has spawned the "expansion" title Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s for the PlayStation 2. A full-fledged sequel, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, has been released by Neversoft, the makers of the popular Tony Hawk series.

The surprise success of Guitar Hero readily led to the development of a sequel for the game. According to developer John Tam, the team felt they "hit the sweet spot" of genres and decades within the set list and wanted to maintain that for the sequel. The costs of obtaining licensing rights for music from "big bands" such as AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, and Metallica, in addition to the lack of understanding of how the music would be used prevented these groups from being used in Guitar Hero. However, Tam notes that with the success of Guitar Hero, "They understand that we're not going to embarrass their music, we're going to actually pay homage to their music and get it to the point where people are going to fall in love with their music and understand their music in a totally different way than they've ever experienced it before." They also had requests by artists to include master tracks within the game.

In addition to working more directly with artists, RedOctane and Activision worked with various musical instrument and equipment companies to provide in-game product placement. Such vendors include BOSS Effectors, DW Drums, Eden Bass Amplication, EMG, Epiphone, Ernie Ball Strings, Gibson Guitar Corporation, Guitar Center, Hofner, Kramer, Krank, Line 6, Mesa Boogie, MusicMan Basses, Orange Amplifiers, Randall Amplifiers, Roland, Vans and the Vans Warped Tour, VHT, and Zildjian.

Guitar Hero II was originally announced for the PlayStation 2 on April 17, 2006. A demo version of the PlayStation 2 version of Guitar Hero II was released with issue #110 of Official PlayStation Magazine on October 5, 2006. Features of the demo included four playable songs on four difficulty levels for single player and co-op modes. Demo releases do not feature the ability to flip the notes for left-handed players. Demo versions feature the songs "Shout at the Devil", "You Really Got Me", "Strutter" and "YYZ". The demo featured slightly different note charts than the final release for some of the songs. The retail game was released for the PlayStation 2 on November 7, 2006 in North America, November 15, 2006 in Australia, and November 30, 2006 in the United Kingdom and Europe. It was released as both a stand-alone game and as a bundle containing the game and a cherry Gibson SG guitar controller.

Gameplay is based on the successful formula created for the first Guitar Hero game; the player may use the guitar peripheral to play scrolling notes by holding the corresponding fret button on the guitar neck and simultaneously pressing the strum bar. Alternatively, one can play with the DualShock 2 or Xbox 360 controller by using four shoulder buttons and a face button, mapped to specific fret keys.

Several changes have been made to the gameplay mechanics for Guitar Hero II: hammer-on and pull-off functionality has been improved, and three note chords have been introduced, scored as triple points if played correctly. There are additional statistics available for a song upon completion, and the scores achieved in either Quick Play or Career mode are saved to the same in-game high-score list. The handedness of the guitar can now be toggled from the Pause menu when playing a song (previously, this was only available from the game's main menu). For the Xbox 360 version, scores can also be compared with other players through Xbox Live via the Leaderboard feature, and there are 50 Achievements that can be earned in the game.

In Career mode, players create a band name and select a guitarist from among the available characters. Eight characters, each representing a unique genre of rock music - are available from the start of the game: Eddie Knox, Axel Steel, Casey Lynch, Lars Ümlaüt, Izzy Sparks, Judy Nails, Johnny Napalm, and Pandora. Additional characters — Clive Winston, Xavier Stone and the Grim Ripper — can also be purchased, allowing them to be used in later sessions.

Only the lead guitar is available to be played in the Career mode. Over the course of the Career mode the band plays at eight available venues. The venue system from the original game has been altered slightly and has the band traveling geographically from town to town in order to play at the next arena. The venues are Nilbog High School, The Rat Cellar Pub, The Blackout Bar, The RedOctane Club, the Rock City Theater, the Vans Warped Tour, Harmonix Arena and Stonehenge. The venues feature lighting and pyrotechnics that are synchronized with the music.

Not all songs in the main setlist are available from the start. Once a song is unlocked for play within Career Mode, it becomes available for play in all other modes. When working through Career Mode at a specific difficulty level, the next tier of songs is unlocked once the required number of songs on the current tier (3-5, depending on difficulty and console) are completed. Additionally, the encore song for a particular tier is only made available once its requirements are completed. On the Easy difficulty setting, there are no encores available, but the next tier will be unlocked immediately after completing the required songs in the previous tier.

Successful completion of a song on Medium or higher difficulty during Career mode will earn the player in-game cash. Higher difficulty levels and better scoring performances are rewarded with more cash. In-game money can be used at The Store to buy various items. Some items are available only after completing all songs at higher difficulty levels or 5-star performances. Within The Store, the player can purchase new Gibson guitars, guitar finishes, three additional characters, alternate outfits for the eight characters available from the start, bonus songs, and videos. For unknown reasons, the bonus videos are absent from the PAL version of the game. Within the Xbox 360 version, there is also an option to access the Guitar Hero II content on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

There are three different multiplayer modes available:
* Cooperative
One player plays lead guitar while another plays either bass guitar or rhythm guitar, depending on the song. Both players share a score, rock meter, star power meter, and streak multiplier. Cooperative mode is the only multiplayer mode in which a song can be failed. Star power can only be activated by both players simultaneously.
* Face-Off
This is the same multiplayer mode as featured in the original game, though in Guitar Hero II both players can select their own level of difficulty. In this mode, players alternate between playing sections of the selected song. The scores are weighted so that a player who hits fewer notes on Easy difficulty may not necessarily lose against an opponent on Expert difficulty who hits more notes.
* Pro Face-Off
Players play the full lead guitar track on the same difficulty. For the PlayStation 2 mode, this is available upon completion of any career level, while for the Xbox 360 version, the mode is unlocked after completing the career mode at Medium level or higher. The score system is identical as the song could be played alone, but songs cannot be failed in this mode.

Although, online multiplayer was not available at the release of Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360, RedOctane has stated that they hope to be able provide this later once they are able to work out the technical issues.

Practice mode is a new addition to the game, allowing a player to practice certain sections of a song ("Verse 2," "Chorus," "Bridge 3," "Gtr Solo 4," etc.) on different difficulties and instruments.[40] Practice mode gives the player the ability to toggle the speed of the notes (Full Speed, Slow, Slower and Slowest) and does not stop a song no matter how many mistakes are made. Players can play the bass guitar lines on most songs. On others, a rhythm guitar line is available instead.

Both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 versions of Guitar Hero II feature the same core 64 playable songs (40 licensed, 24 bonus songs). Among the featured tracks are "You Really Got Me" by Van Halen, "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses, "Girlfriend" by Matthew Sweet, "Woman" by Wolfmother, "War Pigs" by Black Sabbath, and "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. The Xbox 360 version of the game contains 10 exclusive tracks not included in the PlayStation 2 version, including "Billion Dollar Babies" by Alice Cooper, "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" by Rick Derringer, and "The Trooper" by Iron Maiden. Additionally, the Xbox 360 version allows for downloadable songs to be purchased on the Xbox Live Marketplace. The Xbox 360 version also features a reorganized set list that provides a more balanced progression in difficulty.

Most of the songs featured in the main set list are cover versions, with the exception of "Stop!", "Possum Kingdom", "Dead!", and "John the Fisherman"; these four are based on master recordings. The unlockable bonus songs are all master recordings, including some specifically arranged for use within Guitar Hero II. Cover songs are credited on screen with the phrase "as made famous by" (for example, "Heart-Shaped Box, as made famous by Nirvana"), while the original songs are credited with "as performed by" (for example, "John the Fisherman, as performed by Primus").

RedOctane stated that the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II "planned to feature more downloadable content than any other 360 title" utilizing the Xbox Live Marketplace, including many of the songs from the original Guitar Hero a week after the release of the game. Four such packs have been released since April 11, 2007. Additionally, two packs featuring new content to the Guitar Hero series have also been released, including songs from My Chemical Romance, Protest the Hero, Trivium, and Atreyu. There have also been individual track downloads featuring songs from bands Los Rodríguez, Pleymo, and Soilwork.

Guitar Hero II features many popular real world Gibson, Epiphone, and Kramer guitars, including the Gibson Les Paul, Gibson SG, Gibson Flying V, (these three being the only ones available from the start) Gibson Sonex 180 and Gibson Explorer. Oddities such as the double necked Gibson EDS-1275 and unusual looking Gibson Corvus also make an appearance. Several available finishes are also recognizable from popular guitarists, including Zakk Wylde's bullseye Les Paul. As play progresses, several custom shaped guitars become available, although some are notable in the real world such as the USA and Battle Axe (a similar looking bass is played by Gene Simmons, and the guitar was played by John Christ of Samhain/Danzig fame). Basses, such as the Music Man StingRay, Gibson Thunderbird, and the Höfner bass (as made famous by Paul McCartney, the bassist for the Beatles) are also available for co-op play.

The band itself plays with Orange amps and DW drum kits, along with more in-game endorsements. When the player passes each set of songs in career mode, his/her band is rewarded with money and equipment endorsements, including Ernie Ball strings, Boss effects, Line 6 guitar amplifiers, VHT amplifiers, Mesa Boogie amplifiers, and Roland keyboards. These products then appear on stage while the band plays the ensuing setlists.

The PlayStation 2 version of Guitar Hero II was welcomed with very positive reviews. It received a 10/10 review in the December 2006 issue of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine and was awarded the Game of the Month award. The game received a rating of 9.5/10 from IGN,[56] ranking higher than the original game in the series and amongst IGN's highest rated PlayStation 2 games ever. IGN would later include it on their 2007 list of "The Top 100 Games of All Time" at #49. GameSpot reviewed the PlayStation 2 version with a rating of 8.7/10, and the Xbox 360 version 8.9, both slightly lower than its predecessor. Game Informer gave it a 9/10, while its "second opinion" rating was better, at 9.25/10. According to Game Rankings,[60] the average critic score of Guitar Hero II is 93%, making it the 9th best reviewed game of 2006. The Australian video game talk show Good Game's two reviewers gave the game a 9/10 and 10/10.

Common praise for the game by critics is aimed at the new multiplayer and practice modes. Common critiques concern the song list, which includes more hard rock and metal than the previous game, deeming it less accessible to casual players. Other common critiques concern the quality of the covers.

In December 2006, Guitar Hero II for PlayStation 2 was the second best-selling video game of the month, selling 805,200 units. It was outsold only by Gears of War for Xbox 360, which sold 815,700 units. It was the fifth best-selling video game of the fiscal year of 2006, with 1.3 million copies sold. It was also the third best-selling game for the PlayStation 2, behind Madden NFL 07 and Kingdom Hearts II. Total sales of the game during 2006 were $200 million.

On July 12, 2007, Dusty Welch of RedOctane stated that there have been over 300,000 downloads of the music packs until that point and that the prices were "very attractive and desirable for consumers." On September 11, 2007, Activision reported that with over 650,000 downloads, the music packs qualified as "multi-platinum" under RIAA's definitions.

No official statement from RedOctane or Activision has been made about the discs or the game itself having any issues, but players have reported songs freezing or skipping, causing the audio to be unsynchronized; unusually long loading screens; and menus that freeze or lock up entirely causing the game to crash. The RedOctane Support Center Answer Guide states, "We’re already in the process of looking into this and testing to replicate the experience. We’ll notify everyone with our results shortly, and will have a positive resolution if need be."

Two models of the X-Plorer controller were released for the Xbox 360 version of the game: model numbers 95055 and 95065. Of the two versions, the 95055 has an RJ-11 jack for effect pedals near the controller cord and is subject to having an unresponsive whammy bar. RedOctane later responded, saying that they "isolated this issue to two model numbers that can be found on the guitar's packaging". Customers are able to exchange these models for new models.

On April 13, 2007, Activision revealed that the issue was not a problem with the hardware, and that the guitars were not defective. The cause of the problem was anti-cheat protection software, and Activision released a patch on Xbox Live on April 14, 2007 to remedy it. However, this patch may have caused some unintended side effects. Starting on April 16, 2007, numerous users began reporting lockups and failures of their system after downloading and installing this patch. RedOctane stated, "We're aware of the problem and we're looking into it."

Numerous game players have also reported problems with static shocks to the X-Plorer guitars causing various fret buttons (usually the green one) to permanently malfunction. Multiple exchanges of guitars have not solved the problem, as exchanged guitars also exhibit the problem. To date, RedOctane has not solved the problem, and has refused to extend warranties to replacement guitars, time limiting the warranty back to the original date of purchase.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

82. Garou: Mark of the Wolves

Garou: Mark of the Wolves, known as Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves on Dreamcast, is a 1999 fighting game produced by SNK, originally for the Neo Geo system. It is the ninth and final game in the Fatal Fury series, set ten years after the death of Geese Howard in Real Bout Fatal Fury. It is known for pushing the graphical capabilities of the Neo Geo as well as its well-balanced roster of characters and highly technical gameplay.

The two-plane system in which characters would fight from two different planes was removed from the game. The game introduces the "Tactical Offense Position" (T.O.P.) which is a special area on the life gauge. When the gauge reaches this area, the character enters the T.O.P. mode, granting the player character the ability to use T.O.P. attack, gradual life recovery, and increased attack damage. The game also introduced the "Just Defend" system, which rewards players who successfully block an attack at the last moment with a small amount of health recovery and the ability to immediately counterattack out of block stun. (Just Defend was later added as a feature of K-Groove in Capcom's Capcom vs. SNK 2.) Similar to previous titles, players are given a fighting rank after every round. If the players manages to win all rounds from the Arcade Mode with at least a rank of "AAA", the player will face the boss Kain R. Heinlein, which unlocks an ending once defeating him. If the requirements are not met, then Grant will be the final boss and there will not be a special ending. Additionally, through Arcade Mode, before facing Grant, the player will face a mid-boss which can be any character from the cast depending on the character the player uses.

Ten years after crime lord Geese Howard's death, the city of Southtown has become more peaceful leading it to be known as the Second Southtown (having formerly been corrupted by Geese). A new fighting tournament called "King of Fighters: Maximum Mayhem" starts in the area, and several characters related with the fighters from the previous King of Fighters tournaments participate within it.

During the fan event 2005 KOF-party, illustrator Falcoon mentioned that the game's sequel was around seventy percent complete for the Neo Geo by the SNK team. Falcoon also confirmed that one of the new characters meant to appear was a student from Joe Higashi, a character who starred in all of the Fatal Fury games. In July 2006 SNK reported that they were still working on the sequel, saying that they will use modern high-resolution graphics instead of the resolution quality level seen in the original game. During an interview in March 2008, SNK USA developers commented that there was not any concrete schedule of demands for the game and that they plan to make the sequel with some new technology.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

81. Rumble Roses

Rumble Roses is a professional wrestling fighting game that was developed by Yuke's Future Media Creators and Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, and published by Konami in 2004 for the PlayStation 2. The game uses the same engine as Yuke's 2003 release WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain. Rumble Roses was followed by Rumble Roses XX for the Xbox 360 in 2006.

Rumble Roses features an all female cast. There are regular matches and mud wrestling matches. There is also a story mode and an option to allow two computer controlled girls to "duke it out while you watch." Each character is claimed to contain 10,000 polygons, a record number for the PlayStation 2.

Rumble Roses' boasts a heel/face system. Each character has an alternate side, bringing the total character count up to 22. Most characters start as a face, or good side. Three of them, however (Bloody Shadow, Candy Cane, and Evil Rose), start as the heel or evil side. Alternate forms of each character are unlocked through the Vow System. Vows are specific things the player must complete during matches, such as not using weapons, using a Killer Move, or winning the match within a certain time limit.

The game's unique unlock system allows only one version of each character (either heel or face) to be unlocked for exhibition matches at any time. The characters can still change back and forth, and unlocked characters remain open for story mode and gallery mode. This effectively cuts the roster in half for exhibition mode.

The game has received generally mixed or average reviews, having an aggregate score of 66% on Metacritic.

In 2012, FHM included Benikage among the nine "sexiest ninja babes in games" and compared her to Jade Lopez.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

125 Favorite PS2 Games
125. Duel Hearts
124. Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu
123. Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore
122. Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis
121. Timesplitters
120. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2
119. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
118. Legends of Wrestling
117. Beyond Good And Evil
116. Dragonball Z: Budokai
115. Showdown: Legends of Wrestling
114. Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht
113. Virtua Fighter 4
112. King of Fighters 2000
111. KOF: Maximum Impact 2 (aka King of Fighters 2006)
110. Burnout 3: Takedown
109. Legends of Wrestling II
108. Rogue Galaxy
107. Maximo: Ghosts To Glory
106. Silent Hill 3
105. MLB Slugfest 2003
104. Guitar Hero
103. Wild Arms 3
102. Need for Speed: Most Wanted
101. Megaman X8
100. Pro Evolution Soccer 3
99. Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
98. Dragonball Z: Budokai 2
97. Smackdown vs. Raw 2007
96. Megaman X Collection
95. Soul Calibur 3
94. Tekken 4
93. Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
92. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
91. Killer7
90. Freekstyle
89. Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2
88. Grandia III
87. Dark Cloud
86. Hot Shots Golf: Fore
85. We Love Katamari
84. Madden NFL 2003
83. Guitar Hero III
82. Garou: Mark of the Wolves
81. Rumble Roses

Clues to the next five games

* 007 vs Raphael Drake

* Destroy the Ultimate Insult

* Larry Lovage takes after his aging uncle

* Tekken Bowl

* The trials and turbulations of Custom Skater and Eric Sparrow

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

80. Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude

Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude is a 2004 video game, part of the Leisure Suit Larry series. The game introduces a new main character, 'Larry Lovage', as Larry Laffer's nephew. This is the 8th game in the series.

Like many other current games, Magna Cum Laude has a free exploration mode where Larry can walk about campus and interact with students and personnel on the premises. In this mode, Larry can search for hidden money or tokens, strike poses to impress girls, and take photos which can later be sold to collectors. At several locations on campus a minigame can be entered, usually by "activating" an object or a person (starting a conversation). The player must win most of the minigames in order to advance. Minigames started by a conversation usually increase the affection of one of the girls; other minigames can provide money or increase "confidence".

There are several different minigames, and variations on them:
* Chat: the player must steer a sperm icon through a course of "hot spots." Green hot spots result in a good conversation, whereas red spots result in inappropriate and humiliating (but amusing) topics.
* Dancing: a rhythm game similar to Dance Dance Revolution where the player must press the right buttons on time
* Trampoline: a variation of dancing, where Larry is bouncing on a trampoline
* Serve: a variation of the classic arcade game Tapper, where food or other items must be passed to each row before the queue reaches Larry
* Quarters: a drinking game where coins must be tipped in a glass to get the other player drunk

Other minigames included are panty raids and evasion, where Larry must escape other people by running along a set course. Typically in order to "win" a girl, multiple of these games must be played in succession.

The game originally received an "Adults Only" rating from the ESRB and was subsequently edited to receive a more commercial "Mature" rating in the USA and Canada. In Europe, the game was released unedited on all three systems and featured a disclaimer on the packaging highlighting that it was "uncut". The unedited version was eventually released in North America under the title Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude—Uncut and Uncensored!. The major difference between the two North American releases is that the uncut and uncensored version contains full frontal nudity and sex scenes, although the latter contains very little and is mostly implied. Both versions were refused classification by the OFLC and effectively banned in Australia.

The main character, Larry Lovage, is a student at Walnut Log Community College whose purpose is to get on a dating TV show called "Swingles". Uma Yasmine, the hostess of the show won't allow Larry in the show until he will prove his seductive wits by obtaining "tokens of affection". Sixteen college girls will conveniently be at his disposal. His aging uncle, Larry Laffer, from the original games, provides brief advice and appears at a local bar. Larry also must outsmart a sorority house and a fraternity house, known as Dio, where they recite lines that are actually modified lyrics of Black Sabbath songs.

A brief subplot involves the college's arena football team going against a rival team known as the Maiming Maggots. However, the college's team name is a running gag because it is obscured by objects, only revealing it as Flaming Fa-. The final scene shows the team name is actually the Flaming Fantasticks after the Swingles van leaves the school.

In 2003, a surprising announcement was made by Sierra Entertainment, now a division of Vivendi Universal Games: the Leisure Suit Larry franchise was being revived with an eighth game, called Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude. This is the first game in which Al Lowe is not involved in any way, as this game was created by game developer High Voltage Software, Inc. On his website, Lowe talks about how he was in talk with Sierra about working with them on the game, but they stopped contacting him, as they went into downsizing. Later he received a letter from a writer on the game, where it is revealed that the game had long since been written by the time he entered discussions with Sierra.

The new Larry game does not star Larry Laffer, but a new character: his nephew, Larry Lovage. There are numerous homages to the earlier Larry games: Larry Laffer is the tutorial guide and giver of questionable advice for Larry Lovage; Larry's computer is playing Leisure Suit Larry 4: The Missing Floppies ("the best game of its time"); and secret tokens featuring the likeness of the Where's Dildo? character from Larry 7 can be collected. The loose storyline of the game is that Larry wants to appear on a dating TV show called Swingles, but he must prove his worth before he is allowed on air.

In late 2005, Target department stores (through online vendor Amazon.com) began accepting pre-orders for a sequel to Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude entitled Leisure Suit Larry: Cocoa Butter. This new game was being developed for personal computer, Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox, and Sony PlayStation Portable systems. However, it has since been canceled.

On January 17, 2007, Sierra Entertainment announced that Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust would be released in 2008 as the sequel to Magna Cum Laude. However, it was delayed until March 27, 2009, when it was released.

Reviews of the game were mixed, with some praising the game for its humor but panning it for its gameplay. Many critics also took the game to task for its sexual content and humor being too direct and obvious, citing that much of the charm of the series has been in its more subtle handling of the dirty jokes and sexual situations, focusing more on double entendres than actual foul words and hints at nudity rather than full-on bare breasts. Al Lowe denounced Magna Cum Laude vigorously, emphasizing on his website that he took no part of its creation after being promised a role in its creation. The game is banned in Australia mostly likely due to its graphic sexual content and depictions of revolting content.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

79. Tekken Tag Tournament

Tekken Tag Tournament (commonly abbreviated as Tekken Tag and TTT) is the fourth main installment in Namco's popular Tekken fighting game series. It, however, is not canonical to the Tekken storyline. The game was originally available as an update kit for Tekken 3. Tekken Tag Tournament was originally released as an arcade game in 1999 before it was ported to the PlayStation 2 in 2000. The arcade version operated similarly, but ran on a 32 bit graphics engine like Tekken 3. It received upgraded graphics when it was ported to the PlayStation 2. It, along with Tekken 4 and Soulcalibur II, was re-released in 2008 as a part of Namco Classic Fighter Collection. After 10 years, a sequel has been announced named Tekken Tag Tournament 2.

A remastered version of the game titled Tekken Tag Tournament HD was released for PlayStation 3 in November 2011, as part of a Tekken Hybrid disc which also includes the 3D movie, Tekken: Blood Vengeance, and a demo version of Tekken Tag Tournament 2.

Continuing the fighting mechanics from Tekken 3, Tekken Tag sees players battling in teams of two characters. At any point in the match, the player can hit a tag button to swap out with their other fighter, allowing the resting fighter to recover some lost health. The tag can be implemented in many ways, such as in between combos or utilising special throws. At times when a resting fighter's is flashing, that character can be tagged in to be given a temporary boost in strength. Unlike other tag games such as Capcom's Vs. series, players are defeated when only one of their fighters lose all their health, requiring players to be strategic about tagging their fighters. In the event of a timeout, the team with the most accumulative health remaining wins the round.

The game features over 35 characters that have previously appeared in Tekken 2 and Tekken 3. In addition, there is a boss character, Unknown, who is similar to Tekken 3's Mokujin in that she can randomly imitate any character's fighting style, albeit she is able to change her style any time during the fight. The PlayStation 2 version added enhanced graphics and various modes, including 1-on-1 mode, in which players only choose one fighter each, and Team Battle, where players choose up to eight battles and play with the tag rules, with each new character replacing the one that was defeated (the remaining fighter must fight on his/her own). Also featured is "Tekken Bowl" mode, a bowling minigame where each character has different attributes.

Tekken Tag Tournament, being a non-canon game, features no storyline. It is more of a compilation of the Tekken series giving fans the opportunity to play as almost every character in the series up to that point, including many of those that had apparently been missing in the main Tekken storyline. Of all the returning characters, Kazuya Mishima was the most heavily promoted, since he featured prominently on the game's cover art and promotional material, despite his absence from the previous entry in the Tekken series (he would return in Tekken 4). When Arcade mode is completed, a real-time ending is shown over the credits for the main character (i.e. the first character chosen when selecting the two fighters). The exception to this is Unknown's ending, which is a FMV.

As the game was made to be a compilation of previous games, the game include nearly every character from the original Tekken up to Tekken 3, including those who were canonically missing in the current canonical game Tekken 3, such as Baek Doo San, Jun Kazama, and Bruce Irvin. All of these characters are given improved moveset and animations to make them on par with the current characters.

Additionally, the game adds two new characters, all of them being mimic characters: Tetsujin, a metallic version of Mokujin, and Unknown, a mysterious woman who was controlled by the "Forest Demon" who also serves as the final boss of this game. Although Tetsujin was never featured in any other Tekken game, Unknown appeared in the sequel of this game, Tekken Tag Tournament 2.

The only absent characters in the game that were playable in previous entries of the series are the original Jack, King I, Kuma Sr., Marshall Law, Dr. Boskonovitch and Gon. Boskonovitch, however, makes a cameo appearance in the Tekken Bowl mode as a spectator.

The arcade and console versions of Tekken Tag Tournament differ slightly. The arcade version ran on a 32-bit engine, utilizing the graphics engine of Tekken 3. These graphics ran using the Tekken 3 PCB board, based on the PlayStation hardware. The console version ran on a highly updated engine, utilizing the PlayStation 2's graphics processor. The game doesn't run on a 32-bit engine, yet on a new and updated engine highly similar to that found on Tekken 4. The background designs and BGMs differed too, as the console version had new updated tracks, while the arcade version was based on MIDI tracks with an instrumental backing. Unknown is not playable on the arcade version, yet the character is on the PlayStation 2 version. The arcade version also allowed players to only select the alternative colours that have been added to the costumes at first, while the normally colored ones are unlocked when the bonus characters are. There are also crucial differences concerning the playability of the characters. Some moves or attacks are much more efficient in the arcade version than in the console version and vice versa.

Tekken Tag received positive reviews from critics. GameSpot gave it a 9.6 out of 10. It has an aggregate score of 85 on Metacritic. IGN gave it an 8.7 out of 10 praising its graphics and character moves. In 2007, IGN listed Tekken Tag Tournament as the 23rd best game on the PlayStation 2. As of 2008 PSM states "Tekken Tag is regarded as the best installment in the series". In an article by GamePro, Prince Paul praised Tekken Tag Tournament for its visuals stating such things as, "The fighting backgrounds were also astounding-especially Eddy Gordo's stage where you could see individual blades of grass!"

In Japan, Famitsu magazine scored the PlayStation 2 version of the game a 38 out of 40.

Tekken Tag has sold 4.63 million copies worldwide.

Tekken Tag being the only game in the franchise with the unique Tag style has remained a popular choice for fans despite its age. There is a growing trend for fans to gather for organised events. These events are played up using a Pro Wrestling style of promotion, including nicknames and hype videos. Fights are determined based on Rankings and has led to official Rankings pages showing up on various sites.

A sequel for Tekken Tag, titled Tekken Tag Tournament 2, was announced at the Tokyo Game Show 2010 on September 18, 2010. The game will expand on the previous game's tag mechanics, allowing for more flowing tag combos and combined moves, inherit some gameplay mechanics from Tekken 6, and feature characters from more recent Tekken games. It has currently been announced for a Japanese release in Summer 2011 (though was delayed to Autumn 2011 following the Great East Japan Earthquake), with other regions and platforms yet to be announced.

A free Tekken Bowl app based on the game's bonus mode was released on iOS on July 23, 2011.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

78. Escape from Monkey Island

Escape from Monkey Island is a computer adventure game developed and released by LucasArts in 2000. It is the fourth game in the Monkey Island series.

The game centers on the pirate Guybrush Threepwood, who returns home with his wife Elaine Marley after their honeymoon, to find her erroneously declared dead, and her office of governor up for election. Guybrush must find a way to restore Elaine to office, while uncovering a plot to turn the Caribbean into a tourist trap, headed by his archnemesis LeChuck and Australian conspirator Ozzie Mandrill.

Escape was the last of LucasArts' adventure games to be released. It was also the second and last game to use the GrimE engine, which was upgraded from its first use in Grim Fandango.

Escape from Monkey Island is an adventure game that consists of dialogue with characters and solving puzzles. The game is controlled entirely with the keyboard or alternatively with a joystick.

A new feature of the game are action-lines: Guybrush will glance at any items that can be interacted with; the player can use 'Page Up' or 'Page Down' to select the item that he wants Guybrush to look at.

One of the hallmark aspects of the Monkey Island games, the insult swordfighting — the witty sword duels which were won by knowing the appropriate insults and responses — is briefly touched upon in the game as "insult armwrestling", and in an unwinnable insult duel against Ozzie Mandrill. In the second part of the game, the insult games are replaced by "Monkey Kombat", the name being a parody of Mortal Kombat with a symbol to match. Monkey Kombat is a sub-game akin to rock-paper-scissors, where you need to memorize lines of "monkey insults and retorts" which consist of per-game randomized compositions of "monkey words" like "oop", "chee", "ack" and "eek".

The game begins with Guybrush Threepwood and Elaine Marley returning to Mêlée Island from their honeymoon, which they embarked on in the epilogue of The Curse of Monkey Island. Here they find that Elaine has been declared officially dead, her position as governor has been revoked and her mansion is scheduled to be demolished. The governorship is up for election, and suddenly a person known as Charles L. Charles presents himself as the lead candidate. As Elaine begins her campaign to recover her position, Guybrush hires navigator Ingacius Cheese in a game of insult arm-wrestling, meets again with three of his old "friends", Meathook, Otis and Carla, (see Minor characters in Monkey Island) and heads out to recover the Marley family heirlooms and obtain the legal documents to save her mansion. During his trip, Guybrush learns of the Marley family's greatest secret: a voodoo talisman known as the Ultimate Insult, which contains an insult so insidious, it destroys the spirit of those who hear it. He also winds up being framed for bank robbery by crook Peg-Nosed Pete at the hiring of the Australian land developer Ozzie Mandrill, but manages to prove his innocence.

After acquiring the legal deeds and returning to the manor, Guybrush and Elaine soon discover that Charles L. Charles is really the Demon Pirate LeChuck, having been freed from his ice prison of the last game and seeking the Ultimate Insult. As Elaine continues her campaign, Guybrush searches the Caribbean and recovers all but one of the pieces of the Ultimate Insult. Upon returning home, he is ambushed by LeChuck and Ozzie Mandrill, who steal the pieces from him. The two villains are revealed to be working together, Ozzie to rid of all pirates and turn the area into a resort and LeChuck out of debt to Ozzie for freeing him and to use the Ultimate Insult to break Elaine and marry her. Feeling they might need Guybrush as a hostage, the two decide to dump him back on Monkey Island.

Despite temporary discouragement, Guybrush sets about making his escape, learning the art of Monkey Kombat from the elder monkey and discovering Herman Toothrot is Elaine's grandfather, having contracted amnesia twenty years prior due to being pushed into a whirlpool by Ozzie. After discovering a giant monkey robot on the island, Guybrush manages to disable an Ultimate Insult amplifier made by Ozzie before returning to Melee. During this time, Ozzie has managed to capture Elaine and assemble the Ultimate Insult. When it appears to fail due to the lack of the amplifier, LeChuck takes matters into his own hands and possesses a statue of himself he had built shortly after his gubernatorial victory. Before Guybrush can stop him, Ozzie uses the Ultimate Insult to take control of LeChuck's statue form and engages the monkey robot in Monkey Kombat. During the duel, Guybrush forces LeChuck to perform the move invoking by repeated ties, causing LeChuck to smack his head in exasperation, crushing Ozzie and destroying the Ultimate Insult. LeChuck explodes in defeat, Guybrush and Elaine are reunited and Grandpa Marley resumes being the governor of Melee Island, so the two can go back to being pirates.

The game was made with Sean Clark and Michael Stemmle as lead designers, both of whom worked on LucasArts' previous adventure titles Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis and Sam & Max Hit the Road. Sean Clark also worked on Loom and The Dig. Escape uses a slightly improved version of the GrimE engine introduced by Grim Fandango. Compared to the rest of the series, the SCUMM scripting language was replaced by the Lua programming language (This is referenced in-game; the SCUMM Bar, which first appeared in The Secret of Monkey Island, has been replaced in Escape with the tropical-themed Lua Bar).

A new version of the iMUSE interactive music system incorporating MP3 compression, among other changes, was built and used for the game. Interactive programming of the music and ambiance streams in the iMUSE system was done by lead sound designer Larry the O. Escape's introductory music is identical to that of the third game, unlike the earlier sequels which featured newly-composed remixes of the well-known Monkey Island theme. The soundtrack itself consisted of pieces from five composers: Michael Land (who wrote the music for the previous "Monkey Island" games), Peter McConnell, Clint Bajakian, Anna Karney, and Michael Lande (often confused with Michael Land).[5]

The voice cast saw the return of Dominic Armato as Guybrush, Earl Boen as LeChuck, Leilani Jones Wilmore as the Voodoo Lady and Denny Delk as Murray. The only major voice not to return was Alexandra Boyd who voiced Elaine in the previous game. She was replaced by Charity James. Stan is also voiced by a different actor, Pat Fraley. Additionally characters who had previously appeared in The Secret of Monkey Island such as Carla, Otis and Herman Toothrot are heard with voice actors for the first time.

The game was also released on PlayStation 2 in 2001. Apart from obvious control differences, the PS2 version only varies by a slightly higher polygon count and use of less pre-rendered material. Escape is the second Monkey Island game to have a console release, with The Secret of Monkey Island being the first as it was also released for the Sega CD.

The game was met with a generally favorable reception. The gameplay received criticism for its interface and the difficulty of keyboard or joystick control as compared to mouse controls. The "Monkey Kombat" was also criticized, with the Gamespot review stating that "unfortunately Monkey Kombat may be the single biggest problem with Escape from Monkey Island". Another reviewer speculated that "Perhaps the designers figured that combining insult fighting, cute monkeys, and a Mortal Kombat spoof would work well, but it didn't".

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

77. Tony Hawk Underground

Tony Hawk's Underground, abbreviated to THUG, is a skateboarding video game, developed by Neversoft and published by Activision in 2003 for the PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and Xbox platforms. A PC version was released exclusively in Australia as a budget release in 2005, ported by Beenox. In 2004, its sequel was released.

It is the fifth game in the Tony Hawk's series, and the first not to bear the Pro Skater suffix. It features the ability to create a custom character, and supports face mapping and online play on the PS2 and PC versions. Unlike its predecessors, Underground focuses heavily on its story mode, plus is also the first game in the series to introduce the ability to travel around levels on foot.

The story follows the trials and tribulations of two unknown skaters. The player, as a Custom Skater (the main character in the storyline) and the Custom Skater's friend Eric Sparrow. The story begins in their hometown in New Jersey, with the Custom Skater and Eric exploring the area and helping prepare for Chad Muska's skate demo. After the demo, the Custom Skater performs for Chad as he explores the greater New Jersey area to grab his attention. Once accomplished, he suggests to the player to earn a sponsorship from the local skateshop, and gives the player his skateboard out of respect. After impressing the local sponsored skaters, one of Custom Skater's friends, Shawn, says that the local drug dealers have stolen a skateboard from Peralta's shop. The Custom Skater is sent on a dangerous odyssey to retrieve it.

The Custom Skater then meets up with Stacy Peralta, and asks for a sponsorship from his skate shop. He makes it a deal, as long as the Custom Skater shows him something original and doesn't film in any local spots. When the Custom Skater tells Eric the good news, he responds in a nervous panic that the drug dealers have been following him, angry that he destroyed their car. In an effort to help Eric, the Custom Skater leaves town with him to Manhattan, New York.

Once the Custom Skater arrives in Manhattan, he and Eric decide to make a skate video hitting famous lines and tricks in well-known areas of Manhattan, and complete the sponsorship video by performing various tricks over a burning taxi. They also speak with local skaters to check some new moves, and Custom Skater manages to repaint his skate that Chad gave him. Once completed, the Custom Skater talks to Stacy, who tells him to join the Tampa AM skate event in Florida. The player arrives in Tampa in trouble with the police for driving a shoddy vehicle (an old hippie bus lent by Stacy) with a police-offensive bumper sticker (cops push mongo). Eric gets arrested for mouthing off to the officer, meaning the Custom Skater must first do favors for the local police force to bail out Eric. The Custom Skater then proceeds with the Tampa experience. By the time the event starts, the Custom Skater gets into an argument with Eric when he "forgets" to sign the Custom Skater up. After impressing local pros, and doing some doubles with Tony Hawk himself, the Custom Skater is allowed into the event. He manages to win, and gets the offer of many sponsorships, which angers Eric.

Once the Custom Skater dominates the event, he joins the sponsor of his choice (Birdhouse, Element, Flip, Girl, or Zero, each choice modifying the GUI of the game), which sends the Custom Skater to San Diego to do a demo. Eric is soon joined to the team, introduced to the Custom Skater during his party-induced hangover. When the Custom Skater and Eric impresses their team manager Todd with their performance at the demo, the pair are sent to Hawaii to film for a team video. In Hawaii, the Custom Skater searches for a spot that has been untouched by skaters. The Custom Skater eventually finds the rooftop of a tall hotel, and calls Eric to film him skating on it. When a police helicopter arrives, Eric insists that the Custom Skater leave, but he wants to seize the moment of a challenge, and performs a McTwist off the hotel's roof, over the helicopter, and onto the rooftop of the neighboring building, with Eric capturing it on film. Custom Skater and his team then travel to Vancouver, Canada.

In Vancouver, after doing some local favors, the Custom Skater goes to Slam City and views the team's video premiere after hurriedly finishing parts for it. To the surprise of the Custom Skater, Eric had edited the filming of the rooftop jump to his benefit. Todd immediately makes Eric a professional skater, and presents him his own pro-model board. After confronting Eric, who couldn't care less about the frantic and angry situation that Custom Skater is in, the Custom Skater enters the Slam City Jam contest, and (despite still being an Amateur) lies that he is a pro and proceeds to take on a series of pro-competitions. The competition ends in a one-on-one between the Custom Skater and Eric. The Custom Skater wins, and is declared a pro by Todd. After gaining a shoe sponsor, the team decides to go to an international pro skateboard demo in Moscow. While practicing for the demo, the Custom Skater is reconciled with Eric, and the two perform a double performance together.

In Moscow, Custom Skater follows a drunk Eric when he steals the keys to a Russian tank, and takes it on a ride through town. After attempting to stop it, the Custom Skater loses control of the tank, and crashes into a building and becomes trapped in the tank under a pile of rubble. Eric runs off, leaving the Custom Skater to get sent to jail. The team sacks the Custom Skater, and leaves him stranded in Moscow. The American Embassy bails Custom Skater out, but he must get home by doing favors for locals.

When Custom Skater arrives back in New Jersey, he finds that Eric has changed. Eric now has many sponsors, has a record label in the making and now only skates for money. Eric reveals that he has been plotting to bring the Custom Skater down from the very beginning, and that the money is all that matters in professional skateboarding. The Custom Skater resolves to show Eric how wrong he is by making a "soul skating" video; a collection of pure skating exhibitions featuring a team of the best pros selected by the Custom Skater and Peralta. This is very successful, and provokes Eric into challenging the player to a last "skateboarding line" in return for the Hawaii tape he refused to let air at the Slam City Jam. After the player wins, the Custom Skater takes the tape and walks away from Eric, who throws a tantrum as the player leaves.

If the player completes the story a second time, there is an alternate ending. Instead of the Custom Skater following Eric's line again, a cut scene shows him flashing the tape at the player, but in a final frustrated move, the player punches Eric in the jaw, grabs the tape, and walks away as Eric faints onto his car. If all of the challenges are completed, the player is rewarded with a collection of game cheats.

There are secret tapes and levels from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 that the player can unlock by obtaining 'floating' pictures of the THPS2 game case or tapes.

For the first time in the series, the player can get off the board in order to walk, run and climb around as an alternate to skating. This is necessary to reach some locations and challenges. The player is now able to leave the skateboard in the middle of a combo of tricks and continue the combo elsewhere, as long as he or she continues within a time limit. Added to the moves in THUG is the wall push, the wall plant, hip transfer and acid drop.

In each level of the game (usually by beating a challenge that requires it), the player also has an opportunity to use vehicles throughout the level. Encountering the professional skateboarders in each level features them trying to teach the player a new trick to add to their slots (although these goals are not necessary for progression in the game).

Vehicles can also be used in Hotter Than Hell a level unlocked when successfully beating Story Mode on any difficulty. They can also be accessed in the Create a Goal feature which was a first of the Tony Hawk series. By accessing that level you can get the car you drove for that level. Also in the Create a Park feature you can use vehicles depending on the back-ground setting.

The game's default in story mode is the Custom Skater. By playing the levels and challenges, the player can pre-emptively access the professional playable characters in Free Skate modes, as well as unlock secret and bonus characters through Story Mode. Skaters include Tony Hawk, Chad Muska, Bam Margera, Mike Vallely, Eric Koston, and many others, including secret characters such as Gene Simmons and the other members of KISS, Iron Man, and Eric Sparrow.

The game received critical acclaim. On Metacritic, the game has an aggregate score of 90/100 for the PS2 version, based on 38 critic reviews. IGN stated that "The gameplay is still as stellar as ever: Neversoft's brilliant collage of on-the-fly experimentation and lighting-fast trick-popping is still as addictive as any drug and as intoxicating as any exotic woman." GameSpot noted "While the classic Tony Hawk gameplay is present, and still fantastic after all this time, the new story mode doesn't make as dramatic of a change as it probably could have." While Eurogamer commented "The marginal improvement on display here is happily eclipsed by rival extreme sports titles which do take steps to reinvent themselves, and partly because there are four other Tony Hawk games out there and they all do much the same thing."