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George Young's Top Five Games of 2002


Grand Theft Auto Vice City
A blantantly obvious choice, Vice City is on nearly every list of this type, and with good reason. To list all the reasons that Vice City is such a great game would be pointless. We've all seen them before, and at any rate, it's the little things that set Vice City apart from me. I got around to playing Grand Theft Auto 3 a few months after its release, and while I could see the potential for a great game, it wasn't quite there yet as far as truly being great. It was still a good game, but there were some rough edges that kept it from having that addictive quality that made me want to keep coming back for more. The gameplay in Vice City is 90% the same as in Grand Theft Auto 3, but it is that 10% difference that makes Vice City a great game. Those little changes, along with the atmosphere of the game, is what keeps me coming back to play it, spending hours just doing stuff like cruising around listening to VCPR, and not just playing through it once and moving on.
Metroid Prime
For all of the worrying about the transition of the Metroid series into an FPS, Metroid Prime is a perfect example of how to adapt an old series to a new style of gameplay. As a fan of the FPS genre, playing Metroid Prime is disconcerting at times precisely because it is what I expected and hoped for it to be - Metroid from a first person viewpoint, and not just a Metroid themed FPS. Indeed, the hardest part of the game for me is that it is so dissimilar to the average FPS, and trying to play Metroid Prime the way I'd play a normal FPS often gets me into trouble.
Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II
This is one of those games that doesn't seem all that great when taken at face value, but has an addictive quality that can draw you in and keep you coming back for more. The gameplay is solid but not spectacular and the story is nothing amazing, but the urge to reach that next level or find the rare weapon you've been longing for will have you spending more hours than you can count playing. And this is before playing online.
Battlefield 1942
As a straight up FPS Battlefield 1942 wouldn't stand out that much, but there are two things that set it apart. The first is that the stages are absolutely humongous. The largest stages in most FPS's would barely qualify as Battlefield 1942's smallest. The second, and most important, aspect is the variety of ways to play once the battle starts. Not only can you choose from a variety of classes, but you can pilot a number of vehicles as well. If you're having trouble breaking through an enemy line, just hop in a tank and force your way through. Enemy tanks wrecking havoc on your team and you can't get to them on the ground? No problem. Just hop in a plane and blow them up from the air. It's this matchless array of strategies that sets Battlefield 1942 apart.
Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (PC)
Let's be blunt. The appeal of this game is the lightsaber duels and force powers. Take away the Star Wars theme and this is just an average FPS. But gives us the abiltiy to lift an enemy into the air with the Force and then hack them into bits with a lightsaber as they fall to the ground and you've got a great game. Afterall, which of us hasn't dreamt of what we could do given a lightsaber and a grasp of the Force? Who of us wouldn't wish to go toe to toe with a lightsaber wielding Wookie? And that's exactly what this game - the multiplayer section, that is - is about.