Gaming off the Beaten Path

Just like the 5 dollar footlong , my list is still going strong. Hey, maybe I could get Michael Strahan , Justin Tuck, and Jared to sing the theme song for my list. Oh wait, my list doesn't have a theme song...oh well. 69. Mike Tyson's Punchout (Nintendo, NES ) A lot of people forget that before he was biting ears and getting hideous tattoos on his face, Tyson was the baddest man on the planet. He was a great fighter (well, he had a great record) and this is a great game. You guide little mac on his quest for the world heavyweight championship. You fight a variety of different (and strange) opponents leading up to the final test, a one on one battle with Iron Mike. Punchout's arcade style boxing experience is as addictive as it is fun. photo courtesy of punchoutcheats .com 68. Mortal Kombat 2 (Midway, SNES ) Speaking of arcades, few cabinets had as much presence in 90's arcades as MK 2. The sequel to one of the most violent games of all time, MK 2 upped the ante w...

Normally I struggle to follow through with things. Looks like my readers are lucky...this list will probably get finished. Here we go. 79. Mega Man 2 ( Capcom , NES ) Everyone has to start somewhere. The second game in the series vaulted Mega Man from interesting new title to video game superstar. MM 2 expands on the first game in every way with more levels, cooler powers, and better graphics. The game is also noted for having some of the greatest music of all time. That is a huge compliment to an 8 bit game as sound technology was very limited at the time. photo courtesy of sydlexia .com 78. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega, Genesis) Another 2 nd entry from another video game icon who also happens to be blue. Sonic 2 makes the list for its awesome level design and blistering pace which was a welcome change at the time. However, Sonic 2 added a little more strategy than ...

Okay ten games down (well, 11) and we have already have quite the list. Well, here we go with ten (well, 9) more. 89. Vigilante 8 ( Actvision , PS1) Twisted Metal essentially created the car combat genre when it was released in with the first wave of PS1 games. Vigilante 8 put a new spin on the genre when it came out towards the end of the systems life cycle. Set in the 70's, V8 ditched the more imaginative vehicles of Twisted Metal for real life rides. It also gave players a more balanced selection of characters. With excellent arenas with plenty of stuff to destroy, it can be hard to put this game down once you pick it up. Image courtesy of romulation .net 88. Fatal Fury Wild Ambition ( SNK , PS1) SNK made tons of fighting games in its heyday. In fact, its Neo Geo system (which was a miserable failure) was almost entirely populated by fighting games. Thi...

Okay, so here is the list. 10 Games at a time for 8 days. The top twenty get their own post. Before I begin a few rules. This is my opinion. Mine alone. -It is based on both how much I enjoyed the game AND how well made I think it is. -Graphics will be judged relative to their time period. -I hold different genres to different standards. I.E. The story is the most important part of an RPG , whereas it is insignificant in a fighting game -I am not influenced in any way by popular culture or other lists. I read a similar list in a magazine some years ago and their number 1 game doesn't even make my list. In addition, I don't care what ratings games got. -Sports games will be listed as series' rather than individual titles. I.E. Madden is simply listed as Madden, not Madden 02, Madden 03, etc. -There will be spoilers. -PS3, XBox 360, Will, PSP , and DS were not considered. I haven't spent enough time with them to really do so. So, without further interruption ... 10...