56 - Minecraft (PC)

Genre: Simulation
Rating: E
Developer: Mojang AB
Publisher: Mojang AB
Platform: PC (Also: Web, Mac, Linux)
Release Date: 2009

My first experience with Minecraft came sometime in the middle of last year when the game was free for a weekend. Something had happened so that was Notch's attempt to make peace with gamers. I didn't end up doing much however as the game seemed so damn boring. After my friend bought me a copy more recently, I decided it was finally time to give it another try.

The learning curve is surprisingly tough which is why I probably didn't get into it the first time. You can do very basic things without researching, but won't get very far at all. To truly get the best experience out of the game is to learn at least the basics online because once you are armed with a weapon and axe you can start to adventure and mine like crazy.

The basic structure of the game is that you're out in some huge world with friendly and unfriendly creatures. The earth is yours to mine and farm to create whatever you will with it. Aside from that though, there's really nothing you have to do. You can mine and make tunnels underground forever. You can build a massive castle. You can make a village with friends online. You can really do anything you'd like and it's a highly creative experience because of that.

What I really love is that you can turn off enemies entirely to make it a fully "safe" experience to build and explore. When I find a game that is such a blank canvas I can't stop playing it. The last time I really got so into a game was The Sims in 2000. Both games are creative outlets for storytelling and creation (thank you friendly creator tools for The Sims). Basically, I adore the game but it is not for everyone.

Would I play again? Yes!

32 - Sub Rebellion (PS2)

Genre: Simulation
Rating: T
Developer: Irem
Publisher: Metro3D
Platform: PS2
Release date: 2002

Just from checking out the cover I really didn't expect much from it. Submarines are far from an interest so what fun would I really have playing a sub sim? Strangely enough, once I got past the odd button layout it started to become a really fun game.

The story is ridiculously silly and as such won't be touched upon. However, the game itself is solidly good. There seem to be various missions you must complete in your submarine. The first were based around destroying those underwater mine buoy things (I'm so skillful with the English language). After doing those basics there was some sort of submarine boss battle which was a lot neater than it sounds.

In fact the whole game seems a lot better than it has any right to be. It's simplistic but fun and to a degree reminds me of a very souped up version of one submarine game for Atari. Now, I loved that game so it's no surprise that this game also draws my interest. Still, it's pretty strange to me that I'd so quickly get into the experience of commanding my sub.

Something else of huge note was the music. It was damn wonderful. Something that continuously strikes me is how much good music there is in games that otherwise are nothing special. Who's doing this music? Unfortunately I wasn't able to find the music on Youtube but I'm sure it's somewhere out there. Overall, it was really surprising but awesome to play.

Would I play again? Sure.

28 - Sky Odyssey (PS2)

Genre: Flight sim
Rating: E
Developer: CAProduction
Publisher: Activision
Platform: PS2
Release date: 2000

I don't know why I have so many simulation games that I barely know anything about. I don't have any particular interest in flying or planes but here's another game based around it. Unlike more action oriented games such as Ace Combat this game is one based upon adventuring.

In the game you're given the option to play through the adventuring story mode, practice, or just fly freely around. I went with adventure mode because that was what I assumed to be the meat of the game. At first it seemed really boring but quickly picked up.

You're flying in precarious places by cliff sides and between them. Sometimes there will be rock slides that spontaneously occur and you have to maneuver out of the way or else you're in big trouble. You also need to keep an eye on the random plane stats on the side of the screen or else your craft might stall in midair. Mine did, but somehow miraculously un-stalled before I went crashing to my death.

Speaking of which, I managed to fly through the level, hitting the magical circles in the air that they wanted you to nail. It was at the very end of the flight that I finally saw the landing strip down below me. I quickly descended and tried to get on their as slow as possible. However, what ended up happening was that I slammed down onto the strip and it was game over. I saved a replay and hope to upload that to Youtube sometime.

Would I play again? No.

16 - Armored Core 2

Genre: Mech sim
Rating: T
Developer: From Software
Publisher: Agetec Inc.
System: PS2
Release date: 2000

This game has a great electronic soundtrack. It's also damn good at hyping you up as soon as the disc is inserted into the console. Armored Core looks like a solid series and this was my first venture into that world. Despite really liking the idea of mech games I've barely ever touched them.

I got thrown right into the first mission without any information about how to pilot myself around or shoot, but figured it out after getting shot at a million or so times. Thankfully, that not-really-tutorial tutorial had me at infinite life so that was sure nice of them.

My first real mission was a complete and utter failure, however. It should have been apparent as soon as the level loaded and I spent the next 5 minutes trying to open the door to the battle. It's amazing how awful I can really be at games and still manage to have a good time playing them.

So, there's really not much to say because I honestly barely got to experience 15 minutes of game. I will say that the controls for the mech are really wild and confusing. They're not as tough as Robot Alchemic Drive but they're no walk in the park either. Almost every button on the PS2 controller is mapped to some function of the robot.

Would I play again? No.

Bonus intro video: 

10 - Everblue 2

Genre: Simulation, RPG
Rating: E
Developer: Arika
Publisher: Capcom
System: PS2
Release date: 2003

This game is the sequel to Everblue and its spiritual successor is the Endless Ocean series for Wii. All of these games are scuba diving simulators with RPG elements, at least from what I've heard. This is the only one I've played of these and probably the only one I will play for a long while.

From what little I experienced of the game it seems very akin to visual novel games. When you are out of the water you can choose to talk to characters but you control everything through menus, and not by actively walking your character around. You are mostly tasked to read what characters have to say a few times and then make a decision where you might like to go or whatever next.

Underwater the game is a full scuba experience. You must monitor how much air is left in your tank as well as being wary to not venture too deep into the ocean. I'm not sure what else there is to do in the game but for my maiden swim in the ocean all I could find to do was search for treasure. You did this by sonar and sending out waves until you were near an object. After finding a few objects you could bring it back up to the surface and identify it.

The aquatic life was beautifully rendered but the ocean felt very safe and overall boring. What was there to do down here? I'm sure later on there are probably more obstacles and things to worry about (sharks?) as well as cool places to search for treasure. However, as it stands the game seemed pretty lifeless and not worth spending time with.

Would I play again? No.