Well, two posts under my belt, and all you might be able to figure about me is that I like to rant, and that I like run-on sentences, like this one. Now, I could give you some biographical information—where I was born, where I live, age, etc.—but they really wouldn’t tell you much about The Monsignor, now would they? So, instead, let me tell you five of my favourite videogames. Now, these may not be my Top Five Favourite; everyone should know that list changes, both with new releases and re-considering old ones. Well, enough introductory paragraphitization; on with the article.

System Shock 2

The first System Shock was good, but System Shock 2 was incredible. It was the first game I played that really sucked me in with good gameplay and an atmosphere so heavy and horrifying that you could taste it (tastes kinda like peop—er, chicken). It had elements that I loved from amany different games: action, an RPG system, twitch-reflex moments and a sense of style. Anyone who has spent hours with this game knows the visceral thrill of the opening cinematic: “L-l-l-look at you hacker…” The game did everything right: it made sure to balance all the aspects together, and to create a truly different game when you tried it in different styles. The Hacker had to play different from the Marine, who in turn had to play differently from the Psionic. And every problem had solutions, but not necessarily the same one each time you played. This game in the grandfather of F.E.A.R., Half-Life 2 and Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, and those games show obvious signs that their creators had played one of the best FPS Horror games ever made.

Alpha Centauri

It was made as a sci-fi version of Civilization 2, if not even a direct sequel to that game. Alpha Centauri was, for those not familiar with the game, the story of humanity’s first colonization attempt on a distant planet, played in a Civ-esque, turn-based form, complete with Secret Projects (Wonders of the World), research trees and advances both for military units and for colony (city) improvements. Again, like System Shock 2, the game managed to pull off not only the purely technical aspects of the gameplay right, but also the sense of style. Who wouldn’t enjoy nerve-stapling the more unruly citizens? Also, unlike other turn-based games, the factions were distinctly different from each other and required a different style of play. The Human Hive’s best bet was to expand rapidly through colonies and ignoring the other factions; the Spartans, on the other hand, had to go into Conquer mode from the get-go or soon get crushed. I spent many months playing that game, and to this day, this morbid, black comedy science-fiction game still stands out as my favourite of the turn-based strategy genre.

Half-Life 2

Okay, okay. I know last week I criticized this game for being too short, and it still is. However, the short single-player experience is still something to behold. Up till Half-Life 2, many games had claimed to be an interactive movie experience, but HL2 was the first to deliver. From the opening sequence to the final ascension in the Citadel, this game kept the action coming and the atmosphere perfect. The rust, decay and general worn feeling of the various in-game settings made it feel like one of the most realistic shooters I’ve ever played. City 17 still to this day stands out as a memorable place in my mind. Also, the game has an exceedingly huge mod community, which means that it’s a game I won’t uninstall anytime soon. Still, Valve, that doesn’t excuse an excruciatingly short single-player game!

Star Control 2

A genre that has unfortunately died out, is the space exploration genre. The original Star Flight series was good, but it was Star Control 2 that was the apex. The game began with you piloting the helm of an ancient starship…well, at least a version of ancient starship that you just built. You find that Earth is under the control of the Ur-Quan, a race of unpleasant, large caterpillars; after gaining the trust of Earth’s starbase commander, you are off across the quadrant, exploring hundreds of stars and more hundreds of planets (not sure if it was in the “thousands” range). The game was easy to play, but hard to master; and unlike many games, it was quite possible to screw yourself over to a point where you had to restart. But restart you did, learning from your mistake and doing better. The game also had a sense of humour that was laced throughout every alien race, from your allies to your enemies. It took its situation seriously, but not itself. This game, like System Shock 2, can be found for free on the Internet (albeit under the title The Ur-Qaon Masters). And, like System Shock 2, this game still sits on my computer. And unlike System Shock 2, I’m able to run it. Damn dual-cores!

Baldur’s Gate 2

Long, involved, complex and with David Warner doing a voice to boot! This game was perhaps the apex of CRPG’s for me. That isn’t to say I don’t like the ones I’ve played since, but Baldur’s Gate 2 made me care for the characters. Though there was little randomness in the game, it was often replayable by taking on different characters into your party and watching the group dynamics unfold. Even replacing one of your six PC’s with another one was enough to make the game’s subplots change. Certain characters loved each other (and you), and others hated each other, sometimes creating the funniest moments in the game. Back that up with strong gameplay, fantastically detailed environments, and complex plots and sublots with interesting twists and endings, and you have perhaps the best hardcore Western RPG game made. Neverwinter Nights jerks itself off to sleep at night, dreaming of being as good as Baldur’s Gate 2 was at its worst.

Well, there you go; five of my favourite games. There are dozens others, but these were the ones I felt like writing about for now. Perhaps sometime in the future I will make more specific lists. Some great games got left off: Deus Ex, FarCry, the original Half-Life…but we’ll save those for another time. Now, what’s the one thing we all learned from this?

I like sequels, apparently.

The Monsignor