Playstation Classics - Tony Hawk Pro Skater

Here we have one of my all-time favorite games.  Honestly, Mega Man X4 gave me a little frustration, and I knew this game would be pure joy.

If you have never played a Tony Hawk game before, you essentially just skate around doing crazy tricks and scoring points.

Each level places you in some location with skate ramps conveniently placed all over.  You are given five objectives to complete.  When you complete an objective, you received a tape.  Each level has two tapes for points, one for collecting letters to spell "skate", one is obtained from destroying various items, and the final one is a tape hidden somewhere in the level.

Some of the tapes can be difficult to obtain, but I have played this game so many times, it went quickly.

Overall, this game was a great blast from the past.  I have played newer Tony Hawk games more recently, but I forgot how different this one was.  No manualling!  This game still has my favorite non-original soundtrack of all time though, and it was amazing how many songs I could remember word for word.

Next up, Medievil!

Recommended Resident Evil Playing Order

Resident Evil has become the example of the survival-horror genre.  The game has some strange numbering at times, and numerous spin-offs and unrelated titles.  This is my recommended playing order, but not necessarily the best or in release order.

1. Resident Evil
2. Resident Evil 0
3. Resident Evil 2
4. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
5. Resident Evil Code: Veronica
6. Resident Evil Gaiden
7. Resident Evil 4
8. Resident Evil Revelations
9. Resident Evil 5
10. Resident Evil 6

Resident Evil (1996)

It would be obvious to start with the first one, right?  While technically it takes place second in the storyline, it would make vastly more sense to start here.

In this game, you play as either Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine.  They are both members of an elite police squad, STARS, and they are dispatched to investigate some killings that have occurred.  Bravo team has already been sent in, but nobody has heard from them.  Alpha team is dispatched and attacked by dogs, and runs into a nearby mansion...

Other Resident Evil 1 options:

• Resident Evil Director's Cut (1997): The Director's Cut is the same game with a few items and enemies moved around.  There are two versions of the Director's Cut, one with dual-analog support and one without.
• Resident Evil (2002): This is an enhanced remake for the Gamecube.  the graphics are far greater, controls are better, and each character now has their own extra weapon.  The game also slightly changes the story to mention some future game characters.
• Resident Deadly Silence (2006): This is a remake of the first game for the Nintendo DS.  It has some new gameplay mechanics and features inspired from Resident Evil 3 and 4.
• Resident Evil is available on the PSN as a PSX Classic.
• The Gamecube version of the game was ported onto the Wii.

Resident Evil 0 (2002)

Now you might think this game should come first, as it is a prequel to the first game.  I really think it works better after Resident Evil 1.  While the gameplay mechanics are going to be much better than the next few games on the list, the game is going to be the most relevant after finishing the first one.

The story is about Rebecca Chambers, a medic from the first game, and Billy Coen, an escaped convict.  Rebecca was part of the first team that went missing in the mountains before Alpha team arrives.

Other Resident Evil 0 options:

• The game was released on the Wii.

Resident Evil 2 (1998)

This is probably considered the best "classic" Resident Evil game.  It takes place shortly after the events of the first game.  To keep this spoiler free, the mansion from the first game had some zombies in it, they got out and found their way to Raccoon City.

In this game, you can play as either Leon Kennedy or Claire Redfield.  Claire is the brother of Chris in the first game.  Claire comes to town looking for her brother, not knowing their is a zombie apocalypse occurring.  Similarly, Leon is on his way to town for his first day on the job as a Raccoon City police officer. The game features two storylines, one for each character.  Their stories are taking place simultaneously, typically at different sections of the game.  The majority of the game takes place in the police station and surrounding areas.

Other Resident Evil 2 options:

• The game was ported to the Gamecube.  To my knowledge, it is no different than the original release of the game.  It's not like the enhanced version of the first.
• Resident Evil 2 is available on the PSN as a PSX Classic.

Recommended Marvel Comic Based Games

Many comic books are action packed, full of excitement and ridiculousness.  One would think they would make the perfect video games right?  Well, I can tell you one thing, there are many more bad comic based games than good ones.  This post is going to solely focus on games based on Marvel Comics properties.  This list certainly won't cover them all, just the ones I personally found to be a lot of fun.

Spider-man X-Men: Arcade's Revenge

While no where near the first, or the first good one even, this was the first Marvel game I played.  As the title suggests, the game features Spider-man and X-Men fighting against Arcade, among other famous villains.  The game is a side scrolling platformer.  Each character has their own level, starting with Spider-Man.  You go through the level collecting these little lights, but you have to get them in order.  It's not a perfect game, but for the time period, it was a lot of fun.  Plus, at the time at least, Gambit was my X-Men favorite character, and he is playable!

This game is going to be a little tough to find given its age, and I don't support piracy, but I think in this case an emulator would be okay to use.

Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage

This game is a side-scroller beat 'em up, very similar to Streets of Rage, featuring Spider-Man and Venom as playable characters.  In the game, you could also call many Marvel characters to your aid that add to the game impressive roster of Marvel characters including: Captain America, Cloak and Dagger, Deathlok, Iron Fist, Black Cat, Firestar, and Morbius the living vampire.  Carnage had his own allies including Shriek, Demogoblin, and others.  The game is generic, but if you like side-scrollers and Spider-Man, this is perfect.  Deathlok is also probably my favorite Marvel character ever for some reason.

Again, being as old as it is, an emulator might be the way to go.

Marvel VS Capcom 2

This game is exactly what is sounds like!  It features numerous Marvel characters battling against numerous Catpcom characters, including Street Fighter characters.  The game has been released on the PS2 and Xbox, and more recently on the Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Store.  It plays just like any old fighting game, so they might stray people away, but it's really great.  "I'm gonna take you for a ride!"

The original discs are pricey, I actually recently sold mine, but it can be found on the Xbox Live Arcade Marketplace and Playstation store for, I believe, $14.99.  Worth it if you are into fighting games!

X-Men Legends

This is probably my all-time favorite Marvel game.  The game follows the X-Men on various missions to fight Magneto, Sentinels, and even the Juggernaut!

Spoiler Free Guide to Playing Metal Gear Part 1

One of the most popular video game franchises of all time is also one of the most confusing.  Not only is this because of the insane storyline, but the release order or games and history behind them all can get a little intense at times.  I'm here to help.  I present you a short, but spoiler free history of the Metal Gear series.  I won't be giving away any major plot points here, I might even leave out some minor points just to safe, but be assured, after reading this article you will know which game to start with and where to get it!

Warning!  If you plan to play these games for the story, avoid anything that could potentially have spoilers!  You will enjoy it much more!

Metal Gear Solid (1998)

So, let's start in 1998.  Metal Gear Solid is released for the PSX and is a major success.  The game is praised for its graphic, entirely recorded dialogue, intricate boss fights, and innovations that just weren't heard of at the time.  The game focuses on a retried soldier, codename Solid Snake.  He is brought out of retirement for one last mission, because he is the best.  A missile base in Alaska has been captured by terrorists, and they plan on shooting some nukes off if their demands aren't meant.  Snake is sent in to silently stop this entire operations.  I'm not going to ruin it for you, but the story gets great.  Even though this is the first Metal Gear game most American gamers played, it was far from the first.  Let's jump back eleven years.

In 2004, a enhanced version was released on the Gamecube under the name Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes.  This version featured the same story as the original, but with the engine from Metal Gear Solid 2.

Metal Gear (1987)

This was the first Metal Gear game.  Due to its age, it isn't typically mentioned, even though I think it should be.  It was Solid Snakes first "big" mission.  Originally released on the NES in America, the gameplay is certainly dated.  It is a top down shooter/stealth game.  You run from section of map to section of map, either sneaking by or getting caught and fighting everyone off.  There are many gameplay mechanics seen in future Metal Gear games, like the cardboard box for example.

In the game, and elite soldier Gray Fox is sent to South America to assess a threat, he is captured and Solid Snake, a rookie, is sent to get him out.  Once there, they discover Metal Gear, a bi-pedal, nuclear equipped walking battle tank.  It's not spoiler to say Snake stops the Metal Gear from destroying the United States.

This game was released as part of Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence and is included on the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection.

Playstation Classics - Mega Man X4!

Today I have successfully completed Mega Man X4!

I have to come forth first though, I only beat the game with Mega Man X, but I didn't even try with Zero.  So technically, I only finished half the game.  Maybe I'll return to it someday and finish it with Zero.

I have been a Mega Man X fan since I got the first one on the SNES, and this plays very similar to that title.