Can't tell Mario from Luigi — or a truly thrilling video game from an electronic dud? Few grown-ups may realize it, but not all video games are programmed equally, nor are they all addictive, brain-numbing shoot-'em-ups. In fact, some of the best are imaginatively crafted, challenging, and at times even a little thought-provoking. Entertainment Weekly video game critic Bob Strauss picks the 20 greatest games in the stores this season, ranked here in descending order.
1.SONIC THE HEDGEHOG
A
hedgehog may strike you as an unlikely hero for a video game, but
Sonic — who looks and behaves like a cross between Bart Simpson and the
Road Runner — has true star quality, bouncing, spinning, and smirking
his way past weird-looking enemies and ominous, pulsing machinery in
his quest to save the world from the evil Dr. Robotnik. Moreover,
with its animation-quality graphics and superresponsive play control,
this game is the most advanced yet for the Genesis — or any of the
recent wave of graphics — and sound-enhanced 16-bit systems.
2.SUPER R-TYPE
The space-shooting
R-Type game has been evolving over the last several years; this
latest incarnation is the most graphically overpowering yet. Players
pilot a ship through the deep cosmos, picking up various supercharged
weapons along the way and squaring off against some extraordinarily
detailed aliens, which look like illustrations from classic pulp
sci-fi magazines of the 1930s.
3.BONK'S ADVENTURE
NEC stakes out some odd historical territory with this game, which
features a runty caveman who uses his head, literally, to bonk his
enemies into oblivion. Cute, cartoony, and highly imaginative, this
is one of the rare games that's as much fun to watch as it is to
play.
4.THE LEGEND OF ZELDA
One
of the best adventure games in video game history, Zelda is comprised
of two levels: an overworld, where it's easy to get lost if you're
not paying attention, and an underworld filled with twisty dungeons
and hypnotic background music, where hero Link must defeat the evil
Gannon and his swarming minions. Completely addicting, especially
for unsuspecting adults.
5.FACEBALL 2000
The
Game Boy meets virtual reality (i.e., artificial, computer-enhanced,
first-person perspective). In Faceball 2000, you assume the identity
of a Holographically Assisted Physical Pattern Yielded for Active
Computerized Embarkation — or HAPPYFACE — and hunt down your opponents.
You can play alone or link up with as many as three additional
players. More fun than real-life tag, and much more stimulating.
6.SUPER MARIO 2
The second
and still the best of the Super Mario series, in which the spunky
plumber Mario and his friends do battle with the evil Wart and his
troops of shyguys and tweeters. Mario bops his enemies with giant
turnips, Luigi bounces clear over their heads, and Princess Toadstool
floats serenely above the fray. And check out the evil Mouser, a
bomb-throwing rodent with totally rad shades.
7.CHECKERED FLAG
This all-frills racing
game (side-and rearview mirrors, manual and
automatic transmissions, a digitized voice that booms "Gentlemen,
start your engines") makes the grade for its ability to accommodate
up to six players at a time, provided that each brings along his or
her own hand-held Lynx equipment.
8.TETRIS
Thanks to Nintendo's endless promotion, Tetris has
become one of the most popular video games. Though also available for
the NES, this tumbling-blocks game plays best on the Game
Boy — especially during long car trips.
9.TOE JAM & EARL
Googly-looking aliens Toe Jam and Earl (two can play simultaneously
at one Genesis machine) crash- land on earth, then bop around as you
help them look for pieces of their Righteous Rapmaster Rocketship.
Simply hilarious, from the Warner Bros. cartoon-inspired sound
effects to the rap songs players can improvise while using the
control pad.
10.ADVENTURES OF LOLO 3
Most video
games are as mentally taxing as a sixth-grade spelling quiz; Lolo 3
is challenging enough to be the entrance exam to Cal Tech. Over a
course of 100 rooms, players have to figure out what obstacles to
move and what enemies to eliminate in order to maneuver Lolo (or
Lala — should you choose to play as a female character) safely out the
back door.
11.HARDBALL!
With its
oversaturated colors, ultrarealistic sound effects (when the umpire
shouts "Play ball!" it sounds as if he's in the room), and detailed
managerial options, HardBall! is the
closest you may ever get to playing in a real major-league
ballpark.
12.UN SQUADRON
This lively
battle game may not score points for political correctness, involving
as it does a multinational air assault against a small Middle Eastern
country. But the graphics, sound, and game play are good enough to
wear down anyone's pacifist tendencies.
13. WHERE IN TIME IS CARMEN SANDIEGO?
The first-ever video game to come packaged with its own softcover
encyclopedia. Playing a "time sleuth," you travel to various
countries in various historical epochs, trying to accumulate enough
clues to track down (for instance) the man who stole Paul Revere's
horse.
14. GAUNTLET
There have been sequels to
this game, but nothing matches the original Gauntlet, an innovative,
fast-playing mix of mazes, monsters, and magic spells. It's easiest
when tackled by two players simultaneously — either cooperatively or
(as is so often the case where kids are involved) at each other's
throats.
15.PARASOL STARS
This one's even more fun to play than it is to describe: Bubby (or
Bobby when two play simultaneously) uses his umbrella to flick
bizarre meanies across the screen and turn them into pieces of cake,
apples, mushrooms, etc., which he then gobbles up in order to earn
points.
16.POPULOUS
Talk
about big-time role-playing. Most video games posit you as a mere
sword-wielding, perilously mortal human; in Populous you're a deity.
Slow-paced, intricate, and difficult to learn: You literally have to
create entire worlds while all the time battling those pesky forces
of evil.
17. BLOCKOUT
"Tetris
cubed" might have been the formula used to create this colorful and
addicting puzzle game, in which players have to race against time and
the laws of gravity to fit three-dimensional blocks neatly together
inside a deep pit.
18.METROID
The visuals are
simplistic, but few games make you think as much as the five-year-old
Metroid. Try not to consult Nintendo's hint book, which provides
detailed maps of the terrain your hero has to navigate in order to
complete his mission.
19.CASTLE OF ILLUSION STARRING MICKEY MOUSE
Perfect for younger players, but challenging
enough to satisfy adults, too. A superbly animated Mickey bops
through three different worlds — the Enchanted Forest, Toyland, and the
Dessert Factory — in a quest to save Minnie from the evil witch
Mizrabel.
20.MANIAC MANSION
The graphics are
merely okay and the music is Nintendo at its tinniest, but Maniac
Mansion's plot is enough to overcome these faults. In this
command-driven game — adapted from the computer hit — three buddies
venture into a sinister haunted mansion and wind up juggling a bunch
of wacky story lines.
