Mike Bantick
Sunday, 08 February 2009 06:09
Opinion and Analysis
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Best Graphics: Fable (PC)
Lionhead Studios 2004
Peter Molyneux’s original take on the fantasy world of Albion is probably an unusual section for best visuals of all time. But what can I say, it was the first game to spring to the mind’s eye when thinking about visuals that provided the ocular organs with sweet sweet candy.
The lush forests, dank swamps, thriving towns and excellent character models of Fable were a joy to behold on the PC monitor.
A couple of memorable runners-up are Quake II – the game I first played after outlaying for a Voodoo Graphics card and the original MDK by Shiny was a wonder of pre-GPU graphical rendering. Both these games were released in 1997.
With the obvious out of the way, let’s get straight into the more quirky of the memorabilia.
Best Game Mechanic: Insult sword fighting - The Secret of Monkey Island (PC)
LucasArts 1990
Before the internet as we know it today, solving puzzle games was sometimes a collaborative effort. In the early 90’s, the Monkey Island series from LucasArts was one of the top water-cooler moments. And with good reason: Guybrush Threepwood’s mis-adventures in and around the tri-island area as he bumbled from one situation to the next provided great conversational fodder at the time.
To this day, the bloodless sword fighting within the games is a highlight of game design. In order to win a melee, the swashbuckler must weaken his opponent by matching insults with the perfect retort. Thus the cut, thrust and riposte of a great cutlass clash is played out. The player must be skilled enough to win the contest, but win or lose; you will end with a smile on your face.
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