Ellytelly's Top Games of 2002
Ace Combat 04 (PS2)
It is surprising that it doesn`t say Virtua Fighter 4, but I had never played a game with airplanes before and I was postively surprised. It really gets the feeling over to be flying, and you can feel the tension as you strive to complete that mission. I liked the storyline as well, in spite of its weird telling (as anyone who has played it knows), and how the actual action felt the influence of what was going on elsewhere. Flying low through a canyon, hunting missiles over the icy pack and, most of all, the five minutes long dogfight battle against the enemy ace rank among the best gaming moments this year.
Morrowind (PC)
Although a dead ringer with NWN for the title of "less played great game" this year, Morrowind surprised me enough to warrant it a sure complete playthrough early next year. My computer does an awful job at rendering the complex world of Morrowind, and the battle system and overall character design certain left to be desired, but nothing can beat the sense of hugeness perceived when you are on a path someway in the mist looking for mushrooms and adventure. Probably the best game this year, especially with the mods to correct some of its downsides...
Resident Evil (Gamecube)
Although I like the cube a lot, the lack of a PAL Metroid Prime deprives it of its best title and makes it incredibly hard to choose among a slew of very good but not staggering titles. The RE remake is really polished and plays much better than any RE, while telling a classic adventure and scaring like only Silent Hill before it. Of course, not having played the original more than once helps a lot at enjoying this. I also like the new character design a lot, and I see that thankfully it is being carried over to REZero and RE4.
Metroid Fusion (Gameboy Advance)
Allright, I bought the GBA 2 days ago but I had emulated it the whole year. Metroid is a darn fine game and definitely the best GBA game this year, if not the best handheld game ever. So far it matches Super Metroid in intensity and surpasses it in graphics, and my only fear is it probably turning out to be just an inch to short to be a surprise game of the year. Still, it fully embodies what Metroid is, and adds the welcome novelty of a plot with written text and Samus monologues. A pity it didn`t come on Gamecube. But, wait, there is a Metroid on Cube, only not in Europe... dang!
