Ellytelly's List - Genshy's List - Iskandar's List - George's List

LegendarySword's Top Five Games of 2002 (not in order)


FFX
Everything about this game screams greatness, well except for Yuna's emphatic reactions to serious situations. This game is something I have been longing for, a reason to clutch my controller for 10 straight hours. Admittedly, I beat this game in 2001, however from January to March 2002 I devoted much time to fully completing the game which is why it goes on this year's list. I didn't start a new game, but there were many times when I sped back to the last boss and fought him again with "Another World" playing in the background. I've yet to obtain my dream file where I have 80,000+ HP with each character as well as what I consider Ultimate Armor. Perhaps my 1 hour or so each month spent building this file will one day make me realize my dream to be the Ultimate FFX player ever.

MGS2:Substance (Xbox)
I bought an Xbox just recently and decided I wanted a challenging game. The main game isn't too hard from what I had heard, however placing first out 350+ VR Missions would seriously be a challenge. I shelled out the $50 for this and this only, at first. I then looked back in last year's issue of magazines and realized that if everyone was saying this game is outstanding, there must be something great about it. I decided I would play the main game and try to collect all the Dog Tags. Graphically, this game is way above average (even today). Some of the pieces that make up the environment seemed washed out, but overall the game is visually appealing. The best aspect of the game, however, is the story. Deep down, Hideo Kojima might be making fun of the United States, but the story is still engrossing. I admittedly don't understand everything that went on. I chalk that up to doing too much with the game's script. However, I recognize classic when I see it and that's exactly what this game is. EBGames.com reports it for $24.99, half the price I paid for it. If you own an Xbox, forget this article and buy the game now.

Onimusha II
Having enjoyed the orginal, I already labeled this a must-buy when I first heard mention of it. It didn't matter what PSM, EGM, Game Informer, IGN.com, or Videogames.com had to say on the matter (although it faired rather well with all of them). Onimusha II does what every sequel tries to do, give you everything that the orginal was but more. Onimusha II succeeds on all accounts. No other game on any system conveys a more life-like character than Jubei, the main protagonist of the game. Imagine what one of Bruce Lee's ancestors looked like back in the day and you have a good mental picture of what Jubei looks like. The game is a hybrid of action and RPG. If you love Devil May Cry and FFX, you will love Onimusha II, plain and simple. The game focuses more on action than RPG, so keep that in mind. It's fun visiting locales that might have been earlier in history. It's also quite fun slashing up the bad guys and executing one-hit kills. Obtaining the best secret this game has to offer will take multiple playthroughs, but never will this get annoying. Frankly, that's how this game should be played.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Grand Theft Auto who? I couldn't have given two shits about Grand Theft Auto 3 late last year. FFX was getting my money as well as Devil May Cry, but Grand Theft Auto 3? Bah. It took a friend who was not into gaming to change my foolish ways. Seeing the gameplay as an observer and not a player led me to appreciate Grand Theft Auto 3. I took my accumulated Sam Goody certificates last May + $20 and picked up some GTA action. Having been obsessed with this game during the first month of my summer vacation, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City catapulted to the top of my list for must-have game. Move over Devil May Cry 2 as well as the FFX sides-stories, Vice City was smashing it's way through. This, folks, was the only game I have ever pre-ordered out of fear I would not get a copy on Day One. When I actually picked up this game, I realized I was very lucky since all but five copies were not pre-ordered at my local stores, out of 50! Since everyone and their grandmother already has this game, nothing else needs to be said about it. If you're mature (not necessarily of age) enough to handle this game then get your hands on it. I might get weird looks for this one but I'll say it anyway, "This game reassures that the 80's were cool."

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
I had heard some about this game. Basically it would be Resident Evil-like in nature, except the story would be clear cut and not have to take a decade worth of sequels and prequels to understand. You could finish off your enemies a la Mortal Kombat. That sounded pretty cool to me. Moreover, you would play as 12 different characters over the course of the game and somehow they would all be linked together. This was intriguing so I let my friend who had a GCN know about it since he wanted a game with a good story at the time. The game orginally started out on the N64, which led me to question if the graphics would be merely updated for the GCN or would the graphics be entirely redone. Sadly, the former seems true which is inexcusable for a game that had been developed for 5 years. During the course of that 5 years, however the storyline had definitely been fine-tuned to perfection. The diversity of the locales and the engrossing nature of the Tome of Darkness is simply amazing. Videogames are for kids? Uhm, yeah, play this game would be my reply. Granted, the controls are somewhat cumbersome. I had much trouble getting used to not hitting walls instead of the enemies. I'll chalk that up to the GCN's flawed controller and not necessarily the control scheme itself. This was the game I played on GCN that gave other PS2 games a run for it's money. This holds true for today, as there is nothing else like it on any other system. Another legacy to add to Nintendo's record.