Image: Rockstar / Nintendo / EA / Bethesda / Sony / MobyGames / Aluna1 (Shutterstock)
When people talk about the “best” year of video games, they usually rule out the usual suspects: 2007 (Assassin’s Creed! Mass Effect! Halo 3!), 2013 (The Last of Us! GTA V!), 2017 (Horizon Zero Dawn! That other open world game!). Let us raise that one of the best years of games happened exactly 20 years ago: 2002. Come with us to walk the path of memory where every step translates into another “Shit, this game was amazing!”
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PlayStation 2)
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PlayStation 2)
Screenshot: Rockstar / MobyGames See the article : 10 Violent Video Games You Can Beat Without Killing Anyone.
GTA III was the game that basically created the plan for the modern open world. So it’s no surprise that his follow-up, Vice City, is also a great open world adventure. But Vice City is also expanding to GTA III, adding more vehicles, weapons and secondary content to the sandbox. However, Rockstar’s decision to establish Vice City in Miami in the 1980s is what really makes it a special game. The music! The colors! Cocaine! Even 20 years later, few games, or none, have reproduced the feel and look of Rockstar’s open world classic. “Zak.”
Super Mario Sunshine (GameCube)
Super Mario Sunshine (GameCube)
Screenshot: Nintendo / MobyGames See the article : The best video games of June 2022: TMNT, Fire Emblem, and more.
While it’s notoriously divisive, I’m still on the side of Super Mario Sunshine as one of the best Mario games. The F.L.U.D.D. The device reimagined Mario’s platforming skills without deviating too much from what worked in previous games. The tropical island of Delfino served as a charming setting. Plus, there was everything about “focusing on cleaning up the environment,” which we could all use more of these days. —Ari
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (PC, Xbox)
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (PC, Xbox)
It may not be the most beautiful game ever made, but Bethesda’s Morrowind was still an amazing experience that somehow adapted and ran on the original Xbox. That’s how I first played this classic open world role-playing game, and to this day, I have fond memories of exploring the caves and cities of Morrowind for hours and hours. See the article : The 8 saddest games I’ve played during my gaming career. Nor will I ever forget the strange and horrible bug-like creatures that populated the gaming world. I still have nightmares about these things … – Zack
Metroid Prime (GameCube)
Screenshot: Nintendo / MobyGames
The first-person Metroid raid was a revelation. You no longer see the world far from a side-scrolling perspective. In fact, you were solving puzzles and shooting enemies with a laser cannon and reversing (both backwards) as if you were the bounty hunter Samus Aran. He ruled and generated two sequels that also ruled. Now, wait (patiently) for the fourth … ” Ari
Metroid Fusion (Game Boy Advance)
Metroid Fusion (Game Boy Advance)
Yes, Metroid fans ate well in 2002. On GameCube, as has been said, Metroid Prime was a tour de force, a total reimagining of a popular series. But in Game Boy Advance, Nintendo remained true to training with Metroid Fusion, which continued in the side-scrolling, exploration-centered structure established by previous Metroid games. One thing was certain: Metroid could break the mold. It could also fit like a glove. (For more proof: see the Fusion sequel, Metroid Dread, released last year for Nintendo Switch.) – Ari
Battlefield 1942 (PC)
Date of publication: 10 September 2002
Dice and EA’s Battlefield 1942 was not the first World War II shooter or the first online FPS. But it was one of the first real attempts to make a large-scale war game, and it succeeded in that. Even playing offline, which I did a lot in the old days, I had a great time fighting the game’s robots in big wars set in a series of memorable maps. To this day, people still play 1942 and its countless mods. There’s still something special about the chaos you can do in this 20-year-old shooter. “Zak.”
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 (GameCube, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Xbox)
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 (GameCube, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Xbox)
Screenshot: Activision / MobyGames
Tony Hawk’s best game is THPS3. But THPS4 is still a very good entry into the beloved franchise. Of course, it looks a little too much like 3 and also looks a lot like it. As a result, it doesn’t look as cool or innovative, but this PS2 classic is still as much fun to play as the previous entries while adding more fantastic levels and tricks. This game also marked the end of an era for the franchise. After that, the equally wonderful Tony Hawk’s Underground would move the series to the open world and change its tone to look more like Jackass. So for some, THPS4 is the latest pure game in the Activision series.
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire (Game Boy Advance)
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire (Game Boy Advance)
Screenshot: Nintendo / MobyGames
Release Date: November 21, 2002 (in Japan)
In the 90s, Blue and Red Pokémon entered the scene as an innovative series of role-playing games to collect monsters. They were followed by the Gold and Silver versions, which were based on everything that made the early versions great and added a lot of new creatures and features. But with the release of the third-generation games, Ruby and Sapphire, which came out in 2002 in Japan and the following year everywhere, Pokémon established itself as a nowhere near series. From the huge amount of spin-offs, sequels and remakes that have followed, yes, I think Pokédomination has come to stay. —Ari
Eternal Darkness (GameCube)
Eternal Darkness (GameCube)
Screenshot: Nintendo / MobyGames
Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem was a weird AF, but it worked totally. Although he looked and played seemingly like an Evil Resident of the time (i.e., creepy mansions and still cameras), he presented complex puzzles and psychologically annoying visual quirks, wrapped in a fascinating plot and time-lapse about ancient artifacts. People loved this game. Eternal Darkness was so good, even those of us who can’t normally stand scary games got bored of it. Come to think of it, this might have been the last horror game I actually played. —Ari
Splinter Cell (Xbox)
Even if Splinter Cell hurt, it would be worth playing for Michael Ironside’s iconic performance as the game’s main character, Sam Fisher. Luckily for fans of tactical stealth, Splinter Cell doesn’t hurt. In fact, it took the niche stealth tactical genre and helped make it mainstream thanks to streamlined controls, clever UI features, and wonderfully detailed levels that were open and allowed for different styles of play. It also looked fantastic and helped launch one of Ubisoft’s best franchises. And who says you need a real book to make a Tom Clancy game? Hope the remake is good! “Zak.”
Ratchet & Clank (PlayStation 2)
Ratchet & Clank (PlayStation 2)
Ratchet, a member of a fictional fox species known as the lombax, is a timeless mascot of PlayStation action platform games whose legacy now extends to five platforms and more than a dozen games. But it all started with the 2002 original. Does the game hold up? Well, that’s a matter of opinion. (Kotaku’s position on this is that the 2016 remake is better.) But the ability to stay is undeniable, thanks to a parade of well-received games, right along last year’s Rift Apart. —Ari
