Friday Five – Best Moments in Gaming

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Welcome to the Friday Five! Each week we help you get to know our writers with the help of a top 5 list. This weeks category? Best Moments in Gaming!
 
Video games are awesome! Seriously, try to argue with me on this one. You’re wrong! While not all games are created equal, every game can cause different reactions in the players. Moments that some find boring, others may find to be game selling. With that we’ve come to our decision to list the best moments in gaming! Now, I like this idea so much that we will be returning to this one annually. Why? Because with so many games coming out every year, we’re bound to come up with something new next year! For now, enjoy the overall best moments in gaming!
 

Chris

1. Everyone’s Connected – Final Fantasy VIII – Well it’s another Final Fantasy one, but finding out that all your characters were connected from childhood and even the villain was pretty wild. I know a lot of people hate on Final Fantasy VIII but looking back on it, it’s really a great game, with a pretty crazy story.
2. Everything – Legend of Zelda: A Link to The Past – This one is a bit of a cheat I guess, but there are just a lot of things I remember about playing this game. It was the first really epic game I can ever remember playing start to finish, and there were plenty of things that had me stuck for a while. But pulling the Master Sword for the first time, defeating Ganon, entering the Dark World for the first time, finding the god damn Flute, all those things are just ingrained into my memory probably forever.
3. Being Batman – Batman Arkham City – Yes I know it’s a bit vague, but more than any other game Arkham City makes you feel like Batman. Arkham Asylum and Origins were great, but City just took it to a different level, and did it first. Swooping in a guys from above, taking them out with batarangs or dangling them off ledges, and all of it voiced by the one true Batman Kevin Conroy, it’s almost more than anyone could hope for.
4. Harnessing The Force – Star Wars The Forced Unleashed – While the game had some pretty big problems that opening sequence as Vader with all his powers was amazing. Force throwing Wookies out of trees doesn’t get much better.
5. Learning The Past – Final Fantasy VII – I’m sure a lot of people will always remember Aeris dying, and while that was a pretty big moment and certainly shocked me the first time I played it, I think finding out what really happened to Cloud in his past was more memorable. Especially now when I think about how dumb it really was.

 

 

Vogel

1. Discovering the truth – Heavy Rain – I really enjoyed the story of this game. Eventually they go through a flashback sequence and show you the tragic event that turns a one into a serial killer.
2. Beating the “Power Rangers” – Super Mario RPG – This is one of my favorite games of all time. I used to rent it from Blockbuster all the time. Anyone who rented cartridge based games before understand the frustration of restarting the game every time you rent it unless you’re lucky enough to get the same copy. I always seemed to get to the battle on the ship toward the end of the game. Years later, I finally played through the game and beat them allowing me to complete the game.
3. Alternate World – Link to the Past – This is another game that makes it to my top 10 list. The first time I played it I remember getting frustrated when Link was sent to the Dark World as a bunny and couldn’t do anything. As I continued to play I really started to appreciate the mechanic of an alternate world.
4. Having 100’s of Playable Characters – Skylanders – So, this is the most expensive game I’ve ever bought having spent an easy $400+ on 2 games and at last count we have 37 characters, with a couple variations.The game is my son’s but I enjoy playing it with him or alone, and the ability to switch characters on the fly is a lot of fun. My favorite character is Drobot, but I play as all different characters.
5. Making my own Games – Little Big Planet 2 – LBP1 had a really cool level editor, but it was essentially playing the same game with a different look. Sure, they eventually added the paint gun for a new game mechanic, but it was still just a platformer. LBP2 added logic functions to the level creator effectively turning it into a game maker. I’ve made fully functional pinball machines, peggle clones, Ikaruga style shooter, Simon (you know, the electronic memory game). My son still plays LBP2 and pretty much all he does is plays around in create mode, and it still reminds me of the hours of joy and frustration trying to get my games to work.

 

 

Eric

Well, I play a ton of games. Literally, at this moment, I’m in the middle of Darksiders 2, Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, Pokemon Y, Kingdom Hearts 3D, and who knows what else really. The best thing about this, is that I still find myself in awe during most games. It’s a wonderful feeling, and I really hope it never goes away. Anywho, I’m going to keep this one restricted to 2013.

1. What would you do with a drunken sailor? – Assassin’s Creed III left a sour taste in my mouth. Very sour. I decided to give ACIV a shot as my only PS4 purchase. Boy was it the best game in the series! The ending was sort of. . . meh. The rest of the game was fantastic! Especially the sea shanties. Best moment of the game? Sailing, at travel speed, camera zoomed out, with the crew singing one of the many shanties.
2. Infinite Possibility – I will not spoil a damn thing here. But the ending of BioShock Infinite was an absolute mind f**k. The game itself was. . . ok. Too much gunplay, not enough exploration. The plot of the game was excellent, and the twist ending was outstanding.
3. The return of Lara Croft – Tomb Raider was an excellent Uncharted game, but not a very good Tomb Raider game. The platforming and puzzle elements in the game were severely lacking, but I did really really enjoy the acting. Best moment in the game? Lara Croft! She’s back, and better than ever. Just not really as good as she used to be. . . also, the dual pistols was awesome.
4. Meow! – Super Mario 3D World is just what the Wii U needed. A new core Mario game, that doesn’t force gimmicks on the players. It’s also a sweet ass throw back to Super Mario Bros. 2 and the different jumping abilities of all the heroes. Yes, I’m aware SMB2 was not actually a Mario game. I just don’t care. Best Moment of the game? The moustachioed hero in his kitty costume. It’s actually really creepy. . . and the “Meow” is. . . strange. It’s also one of the most OP powerups in the series.
5. Stan Lee Smash! – Lego Marvel Heroes would have to be listed as the best game I played in 2013. There’s over 300 characters, costume changes, a ton of random missions (like cleaning up the daily bugle as Deadpool and Doc Ock), and Stan “The Man” Lee! He can Hulk out, and it’s adorable. I mean. . . AWESOME!

 

Eric is not a boss. You can Email Eric or follow Eric on Twitter @EricSweeten or Facebook

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