Dragon Age: Origins (2009) PlayStation 3 ||  Kylie McBride

My introduction to the Dragon Age (DA) series was through my cousin, Kaitlin, who is obsessed with it. She’s played through every character path and companion romance plot line, and I wouldn’t even be able to guess how many hours she’s clocked in DA Origins.

For me, video games were a fun pastime, a few hours put into completing a dungeon or working through an area and I was content. Level finished, achievement unlocked, attention moving on. Needless to say, I had never played an RPG. Kaitlin wasn’t deterred by my obvious lack of engagement, encouraging me to play and eventually shoving me her spare copy of DA Origins and sending me on my way.

I’ll be honest here, it took me four months to finish.

My Human Mage roamed Ferelden at a snail’s pace, my habit of playing a few hours here or there had not changed, but my experience was completely different. The sole idea of being able to choose a backstory for your character to come from fascinated me, and building on top of that with choices of who lives, who dies, and who you build a relationship with, all blew my mind. Your choices mattered, where you invested your time was worth something, the relationships and plotlines I’d built weren’t something I could just walk away from. A strong narrative paired with the freedom to find your own way was captivating for someone who was so used to subpar linear storylines.

When I got the title card at the end of the game, it felt like something I’d earned. It was an exhausting, months long, ordeal, but one that had completely transformed how I would play video games moving forward. I’m not quite as proud every time the credits roll on a finished game, but I still credit DA Origins for getting me there.

 

Spider-Man (2000) Sony Playstation || Sean Clerkin

 Insomniac Games’ exciting new Spider-Man game has me feeling nostalgic for simpler times.

Neversoft (known for the Tony Hawk Pro Skater series) released their first Spider-Man game in 2000 on a multitude of platforms. I played the game on the original Playstation.

This game holds a special place in my heart for many reasons, but chief among them is that it is yet to be surpassed as a comic-book inspired video game. Chock full of eccentric villains and crossovers with other comic book characters, I have this game to thank for my introduction to the Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Captain America, and The Punisher.

The game oozes style and the cartoonish camp of comic books. Upon starting your journey, you’re greeted by a voiceover from original Spider-Man writer Stan Lee himself, who rejoices at the adventure you’re about to experience. He explains that Spider-Man’s villains are collaborating to cover New York City in a dense poisonous fog, and how Spidey is about to face an elaborate series of over-the-top encounters with his greatest adversaries.

Neversoft’s Spider-Man did something which licensed games tend to miss. It perfectly translated its source material from the comic-book panel to the joypad. Everything from the controls, to the voice acting, feels true to the character.  Few adaptations have ever got it right, but those that do are always memorable.

 

Pokémon Diamond/Pearl (2006/2007) Nintendo DS ||  Sam Hayes

Much mystery surrounded video games for me in my youth. I received my first console at age seven. Before that point, I have memories of my friends’ houses, playing Lego Star Wars and The Simpsons Hit and Run on PS2. I never played for long, giving these games a vast feeling. I was acutely aware that these worlds extended far beyond that which I saw. As such, when I received my black Nintendo DS Lite, the prospect of finally being able to explore the worlds of this mysterious medium was tantalising. While this predated the rise of Let’s Plays, for me watching people inhabit fantastical words was solely the realm of television and film, only games could put the audience in the driver’s seat.

Though Pokémon Diamond/Pearl was not my first game, it was the first with a world in which I got lost. The game’s theme of mythology made for a fictional region with history and legendary creatures to seek. Furthermore, the path to those Pokémon was the player’s to forge. From the beginning, my first Pokémon was my choice, and indeed, so was my entire team. As children we wish to explore, but much of our freedom is dictated by our parents. Where we can go and what we can do is limited. This was the draw of Pokémon for me. I could explore a world that my imagination had extended far beyond the cartridge at my whim, and forge my Trainer’s identity.

This adventure lust is a draw for me in games to this day. From The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to Steamworld Dig and Metroid, nothing beats discovery, and the popularity of Bethesda games, such as Skyrim and Fallout, shows that I am not alone in this feeling.

 

Medal of Honor (1999) Sony Playstation || Eoghan McConnell

The original Medal of Honor was released in 1999 and was developed by Dreamworks Interactive at the behest of Steven Spielberg, who had recently released Saving Private Ryan.

The game puts the player into the boots of OSS agent Jimmy Patterson at the height of the Second World War. Dropped behind enemy lines, Patterson embarks on a dangerous mission to sabotage the Nazi war machine at every turn, from infiltrating U-Boats to blowing up a V2 launch facility.

It was truly tense for a six year old. Most of the levels take place at night, or in cramped mines, sewers, and bunkers. This compensates for the Playstation’s limited draw distance, but it creates an immersive atmosphere aided by Michael Giacchino’s excellent score and truly breathtaking sound design. Guns in Medal of Honor are well researched from a historical perspective, but still they feel genuinely powerful and dangerous. Similarly, the way the AI reacts to the player is surprising even by today’s standards. German soldiers respond like real people to threats, running for cover or throwing and kicking grenades back at the player. The death animations are realistic for their time, and gruesome for a game with no blood or gore. The damage you inflict still seems painful, with only a straight headshot guaranteeing a one-shot kill.

I think any current developers making a game set during WWII should take notes from the original Medal of Honor games and what they did right. A problem with the series in later years was its failure to adapt to changing standards in shooters, especially with the arrival of the original Halo: Combat Evolved. If someone were to make a title similar to the original, but with the full scope of current technology, they might well have a masterpiece on their hands. Many modern shooters function, but lack the creative love Medal of Honor embodied.