NARC

Year: 1988
Developer: Williams
Publisher: Williams
Platform: Arcade; later ported to Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, NES and ZX Spectrum
Metacritic score: Not available
VGChartz sales to date: Unknown

WHAT MADE IT GREAT
Ultra-violence is nothing new to entertainment, from modern cinema back to the gladiatorial fights of Rome it's clear that humans have a deep desire to witness bloodshed that goes well beyond our actual propensity for causing it (for most of us, anyway).  Just as old is fretting over the societal impact such violence supposedly causes.  In the 1950's there was a Congressional inquiry into whether comic books caused delinquency and Homer's Odyssey, composed sometime around 1200 BC, is best summarized as a tale of monsters, cannibalism and violent death that ends with the hero savagely murdering the hundred or so men who tried to sleep with his wife during his 10 year absence.  In one of the earliest recorded acts of political censorship the infamously sadistic Caligula attempted to ban it on account of its depravity.  NARC, a product of Williams' arcade division, was one of the first to confront this topic in video games and drew plenty of controversy at the time.  

It's no Breaking Bad, but back in 1989 this was a pretty sweet drug lab.  Look at the size of those beakers!

In many ways the game is a mashup of two distinctively 80's conventions: action films and Nancy Reagan's Just Say No campaign.   This heady concoction was then turned all the way up to 11, as evidenced by the license plate on the fake Porsche murder-machine that reads "SAY NO OR DIE".  That threat is backed up as you mow down waves of junkies and dealers to unravel a powerful cartel.  In the gritty dystopia which you protect and serve the streets are under constant threat by the drug network known as K.R.A.K. and NARC units patrol with Judge Dredd-like authority over crime and punishment. You and a color coordinated partner are given dual SMG's and a rocket launcher along with the aforementioned Mad Max mobile to clean up those streets in the most violent way possible.  You can also bust enemies when you get next to them which rewards you with more points, but it's certainly more entertaining to blow them to pieces with a rocket.  Enemies drop cash and drugs which adds on to your score at the end of each level, but the real reward is knowing your murderous rampage has made the city safe from the dangers of drugs.  Actually, your real reward is finally confronting the kingpin Mr. Big who [25 year old spoiler alert] is the massive floating head of a rejected Miami Vice villain.  

Are his initials ME, or does he actually have a framed portrait of a himself labeled "me" in case he forgets who he is?  

Underneath the extreme exterior is a fun side-scrolling run 'n gun game that feels like a mix of Contra and the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade games from Konami.  The game was hard in the typical arcade way, meaning lots of cheap deaths and extremely difficult boss fights designed to suck down quarters.  The fight against Mr. Big is notoriously difficult, in part because you have to fight him while constantly resisting the urge to gauge your own eyes out.  NARC was also notable for the 32-bit processor that powered it, the first arcade game to do so, and the digitized graphics that would later be used in Mortal Kombat.  Both these factors have helped the game retain some visual appeal despite its old age.  It certainly hasn't lost any of its nightmare-inducing potential over time.  The knife-wielding PCP addict clowns are still just as terrifying as I remember, and perhaps those alone justify arming the police with an infinite supply of Porsche-mounted machine guns.  The driving segments are usually fun, but are occasionally hindered by weird design choices such as the obstacle laden streets where you first find it.  Even solo and on foot you pack enough firepower to gun down everyone who didn't just say no, which is apparently most of the city.  Seriously whatever city this takes place in makes Robocop's near-future Detroit look like friggin' Disneyland.  

This exists solely to terrorize the dreams of children

WHAT WENT WRONG
Unless the above image has traumatized you into a coma, you've probably already guessed why this game flew under the radar.  Despite its aggressively strong anti-drug policy, the game nevertheless attracted criticism because it still contained numerous references to drug use (even if all those references were "If you do drugs a militarized cop will blow you to smithereens").  When the game was ported to the NES by Rare in 1990, the instruction manual proudly proclaims it to be the first video game with a strong anti-drug message even though Nintendo insisted upon scrubbing all references to drugs from the game.  In the NES version, criminals no long drop backs of crack which implies that instead of taking down dealers, you're now just blowing away addicts wandering the streets in a drug-induced haze.  That's really more of a strong anti-rehab message, but either way the distinction was lost on angry parents.     

But it was the level of violence in the game that earned it the most criticism.  It wasn't the first game to give the player an automatic weapon and infinite ammo, but it was one of the first to include animated gore.  Blood sprayed from enemies when they were shot and a rocket blast would send bloodied limbs flying in all directions, not quite what we'd called realistic violence today but at the time it was more graphic then anything people had played before.  Williams seemingly knew well enough to try and skirt the controversy, as aside from the bullet holes and blood splatter across the logo the arcade flyers seem to intentionally downplay the amount of drugs and violence.  That strategy is probably what prevented the sort of all-out media backlash that greeted Mortal Kombat's commercial success, but it also ensured that NARC cabinets remained in the seedy shadows of the already incredibly sketchy arcade scene. 

Bullets, drugs and cash drop from almost every enemy but rocket ammo is very precious.   Explosions like this make it hard to not pull the trigger.

WILL WE SEE IT AGAIN
While attitudes regarding what level is violence is considered "normal" or acceptable in video games, it's unlikely NARC will ever rise from the ashes.  An attempted reboot of the franchise was launched by Midway in 2005 but it bombed spectacularly.  The game was billed as a direct reboot of the original, but the nonsensical plot was further hashed out in a vain attempt to not make the game seem balls out crazy.  Also, in a move that would have brought swift death from the original duo of Narcs the remake gave players the option of stealing the drugs they bust and using them to gain perks like increased fire accuracy.  Kind of lost the whole anti-drug message there, and it sort of calls into question the methods used to prevent the flow of apparently beneficial illegal narcotics.  Decisions such as this sparked an even more intense reaction then the original game.  Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich remarked on its release "These kinds of games teach kids to do the very things that in real life, we put people in jail for.", and he should know since he is currently serving 14 years in a federal prison for corruption charges. 

The reboot was probably destined to fail regardless of any controversy because the game is a true relic of the 1980's.  The shredding theme (which was awesomely covered by The Pixies), the radical biker getup for two cops that never use a motorcycle, and the hilariously incongruous stern anti-drug warnings delivered through extreme violence are all so uniquely 80's that anyone who didn't live through the decade would probably be completely bewildered by this game.  In that sense playing the game can be an exercise in cultural anthropology, trying to wrap your head around a simpler time when machine-gun toting cops who executed drug users on sight was considered preferable to the crack epidemic.  For that reason alone it's probably worth tracking down an original copy or the version ported to PC, Xbox and PS2 in the Midway Arcade Treasures 2 collection.  The more widely available NES version was hampered by the two-button controller scheme and noticeably inferior graphics, but still made for a fun two-player game.    But if you ever happen past a NARC cabinet it's definitely worth your time to plunk down a quarter or two.  Just make sure you keep your nose clean if you hope to survive the encounter, because as we all know Winners Don't Use Drugs. 

Anyone who played an arcade game between 1989-2000 remembers this title screen.  It may have kinda sorta worked too since teen use of weed and cocaine fell slightly during this period, though meth and ecstasy usage skyrocketed so make of that what you will.

Have you played this game?  Is there a game you remember being great but no one else has heard of it?  Sound off in the comments below, and be sure to Like us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter!

Marble Madness

Year: 1984
Developer: Atari Games
Publisher: Atari Games
Platform: Arcade (originally); ported to numerous platforms; currently available on PC, iOS
Metacritic score: Not available
VGChartz sales to date: Unknown

WHAT MADE IT GREAT
Life is full of simple pleasures and gaming is no exception.  The gaming industry loves to get worked up over big AAA titles and the drive for greater immersion in games, but there's plenty of what we now deem "casual" titles vying for our attention.  There's a tendency to view these games with scorn, citing their simple mechanics or limited depth as evidence that our hobby is being dumbed down to appeal to players lacking the skills to play "hardcore" games.  To those people, I humbly present Marble Madness.  This is a game without story, plot or even any characters and whose gameplay is based on a simplistic board game popular since the 19th century.  With only six levels and no save feature, it's a game designed specifically with casual play in mind and a skilled player can beat it in under 5 minutes.  It's also one of the most challenging video games ever created and is probably responsible for an entire landfill's worth of broken controllers.

You'd think watching your marble shatter from too high a drop would be a warning to treat your controller well, but it only serves to further enrage you

Developed in the wake of the Great Crash of '83, Marble Madness wasn't exactly meant to be Atari's next killer app, but to push their new emphasis on more lucrative specialized controllers and simultaneous two-player gameplay.  Marble Madness fulfilled both these goals by making use of Atari's new trackball device and allowing two players to compete with each other at the same time.  Luckily the head designer was Mark Cerny, lead system architect on the recently revealed PS4, and as a result gamers got a game that was both challenging and addictive in it's brilliantly executed simplistic design.  Players take control of a marble and try to race through a simple isometrically viewed maze before the timer runs out.  You're given 60 seconds to make it through all six levels, but each time you finish a level you get some time added back onto your total.  The levels themselves are 2D polygonal drawings heavily inspired by the work of M.C. Escher to give the illusion of 3D graphics.  The levels are populated with various traps and enemies (and possibly a second player) that can impede your progress or bust your marble, causing a significant time penalty.  Speed is the name of the game here, as a faster finish rewards you with a higher bonus score and more time to take on the remaining levels.  Since you only have a set amount of time to complete the whole game, each level is a nerve-wracking battle between your desire to get there as quickly as possible while patiently navigating the course to avoid costly time penalties.  With a second marble thrown into the mix and a 5 second bonus going to whoever wins each race, two-player mode can ruin a friendship if you succumb to the marble's madness.

Roving pools of acid will dissolve your marble to dust, costing you precious seconds while you regenerate

Despite the humble origins, Marble Madness stands as a notable entry in the history of gaming.  It was one of the first games to use stereo sound and had a composed soundtrack.  It was the first Atari game programmed in C, whereas most games were written directly in assembly up into the 1990's.  It was also one of the first games to use 3D elements convincingly by combining perspective drawings with ray tracing to create levels that gave the illusion of depth and height.  When it first debuted in arcades, Marble Madness generated so much interest that the trackballs would break down from overuse.  Ports were launched on every system imaginable, including the NES version most of us are familiar with that has some of the weirdest credits of any video game.  Milton Bradley (yes, that Milton Bradley) got the license from Atari through their quasi-legal subsidiary Tengen, which is why their name appears in the title credits.  Even though they aren't credited anywhere, the game was actually developed by Rare who would go on to make the similar Snake, Rattle n' Roll for the NES.  Other ports of varying quality were produced for the Apple II, DOS, Sega Mega Drive, Genesis, Windows, Amiga, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Gameboy (and later Gameboy Advance) and many more, most of which were published by Electronic Arts (who currently holds the rights).  While most of these ports were forced to ditch the trackball in favor of the inferior d-pad controls standard to most consoles, they at least gave players a bevy of ways to get their marbles rolling.    

WHAT WENT WRONG
A short but impossibly challenging game is the perfect recipe for arcade success, but in 1984 the arcade scene was in its death throes.  The Atari 2600 signaled the rise of the home console domination of the market, giving the first taste of a future where video games could be enjoyed from the comfort of your own couch.  While most arcade ports to the 2600 were vastly inferior to their arcade counterparts, it was still clear that soon the technology would catch up enough to close the gap.  When the NES arrived Stateside in 1985 that promise would be fulfilled, but in the meantime Atari was still focused on the arcade.  They sold over 4,000 Marble Madness cabinets in the first 6 months while interest peaked and the game became the highest-earning cabinet in most arcades.  But then demand suddenly dropped as gamers grew bored of the limited number of courses.  

Though few in number, the levels got progressively harder by adding more challenging obstacles and increasing the complexity of the mazes

The desire for fresh games may represent one of the earliest impacts of the growing impact of the home market.  Arcade games had traditionally been very short and incredibly hard since they were specifically designed to scam kids out of their quarters.  Donkey Kong was just 4 screens that repeated until it overloaded the memory and glitched out, but it still made over half a billion dollars in it's first two years of release saving Nintendo of America from insolvency.  But by 1984 gamers weren't content playing the same few levels for years on end and the arcade profits dried up.  That same year, Atari was split in two with the gaming division taking over existing rights and software development while the hardware division began producing new consoles.  They released a flurry of consoles and home computers over the next two years, some of which competed against each other but the crown jewel was supposed to be the $1000 Atari ST.  That went about as well as you'd imagine, but it was the only Atari system to get a port of Marble Madness.  Ports on other systems saw better sales but most of those were published by Electronic Arts and developed by outside studios so Atari only would have received a flat licensing fee.

WILL WE SEE IT AGAIN
Definitely, but don't expect developers to race the clock in bringing it to market.  Atari released the game on iOS as part of a massive collection in 2011, but shows no interest in a standalone title.  EA was developing a spiritual successor to the game that also included the original levels, but quietly slipped passed it's 2010 release and has been unheard of since which could suggest licensing disputes.  It's too bad, because the trackball controls and gameplay mechanics are a great fit for tablets.  New levels with updated designs would greatly add to the games appeal, you could even incorporate tilt-based controls to give more depth to the mechanics.  But given how many different studios released various ports over the years it wouldn't be much of a surprise if the game turns out to be a legal hornets nest.  

Other versions of the game that have already been released are available on PS2, Xbox, GameCube and PC in the form of the Midway Arcade Treasures collection.  The title is misleading since it actually contains multiple games never published by Midway, including Marble Madness.  And while that port was developed by an outside studio Midway had contracted, it was actually just a compilation of three arcade collections the studio had developed earlier for SNES, Playstation and PC.  At the time Midway owned both Williams and Atari, but since then Atari has been sold and resold multiple times and just last month filed for bankruptcy.  Don't mourn too long, because the brand has already died many deaths and will likely be resurrected once again.  But when Lazarus rises again from his pit, it's unclear if he'll bring Marble Madness with him.  

Choose the right path and you will shave a little time off your run, but choose poorly and you'll be stuck in development hell while lawyers wrangle over your publishing rights.  

Have you played this game?  Is there a game you remember being great but no one else has heard of it?  Sound off in the comments below, and be sure to Like us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter!  

Oni

Year: 2001
Developer: Bungie (PC & Mac); Rockstar Toronto (PS2)
Publisher: Take Two Interactive
Platform: PC, Mac OS X, PS2
Metacritic score: 71 (cross-platform avg)
VGChartz sales to date: PS2: 530,000; PC/Mac sales unavailable

WHAT MADE IT GREAT

Genre's get spoken of a lot when talking about video games. It's human nature to want to classify and categorize things, boiling them down to their "essence" so that we can simplify the process of thinking about them in relation to the stuff already in our heads.  A genre helps us determine what other games might be similar letting us decide whether it's something we'll enjoy or helping us to figure out the game's mechanics.  But the dark side of genre's is that it makes it all to easy to fall into a groove, checking off those main features gamers expect and then calling it a day.  Rarely are developers and publishers willing to stray too far from a genre's formula, not only out of fear of alienating consumers but also because combining different forms of gameplay is often beyond the abilities of whichever engine the game is being built on.  But when they are willing to go out on a limb, developers have a shot at radically shaking up the status quo and even creating an entirely new genre much as David Jaffe accomplished when Twisted Metal ignited the car combat genre.

All those in favor of whooping a little ass today, show of hands please?  Any opposed?  Yeah that's what I thought.

Oni jumps head first into these uncharted and treacherous waters by combining a 3rd-person shooter with a brawler.  The game's style, themes and story are all heavily influenced by anime, particularly the excellent Ghost in the Shell series.  You play as Technological Crimes Task Force agent Konoko, an elite member of the World Coalition Government's police force.  Ostensibly the TCTF is tasked with confronting the Syndicate, a global network of united criminal organizations that is constantly challenging the WCG for control and power within this near-future dystopia.  But in truth the WCG has also been using their police to suppress any opposition to their authority, criminal or otherwise, and Konoko begins to suspect there's a lot her employers are hiding from her, including her own past.  Uncovering that truth will mean placing herself at odds with both the Syndicate and the government, but fortunately Konoko is well equipped to deal with any threat.

Sunglasses and leather coats, of course, are included in that list of equipment.

Konoko is a bundle of graceful lethality.  She can effortlessly switch between laying down a stream of lead from an SMG to suddenly face-kicking three dudes at once.  It's that fluid shift between hand-to-hand combat and gunplay that makes Oni so unique and so fun to play.  You'd think that having access to a range of firearms including handguns, SMG's, assault rifles and even heavy duty weapons like rocket launchers or energy rifles would obviate the need to let your fists do the talking.  But Oni does a good job of balancing the power and ammunition available to make a guns-blazing approach more challenging then you'd assume.  In addition, you'll usually be dealing with groups of multiple enemies who will use their own firepower to give cover while melee units close around on all sides.  Since being hit disrupts your firing it's most effective to use your arsenal to close distance and then relying on Konoko's considerable martial arts skills to finish the job.  While at first she's limited to a few basic strikes, as you level up Konoko will be able to unleash a visually exciting dance of punches, kicks, throws and leaps to string together powerful combos.  You'll need to learn these tricks and make the most of them since there are multiple classes of enemies each with their own melee style.

Only two enemies this time?  That's perfect, one face for each foot.

WHAT WENT WRONG
Re-playing Oni after all these years reveals how surprisingly fresh the gameplay remains, but also shines a light on some aspects that were clearly unfinished and rushed. At the time Bungie was known as one of the best of the small contingent of Mac developers having found major success with the Marathon and Myth series. Oni was one of two games the studio was working on, but when that other game was publicly unveiled during the keynote address at the 1999 Macworld Expo, the studio's fate would take a drastic and monumental shift.  That other game was Halo: Combat Evolved and Microsoft liked the reveal so much they immediately bought Bungie out from under Apple's nose, famously triggering Steve Jobs' epic wrath.  But for Bungie, the buyout meant they had to hand off ongoing work on Oni to another studio while they turned their focus entirely towards creating gaming's next blockbuster franchise.

Take Two stepped in and took control by handing development off to Rockstar Toronto, but was wise enough to keep most of the existing staff as Bungie's West coast office in place.  But it's likely that this transition is the reason why the game feels a bit unpolished.  Maybe the project lost some key staff, or perhaps they were trying to rush the game to shelves before Bungie released Halo during the Xbox launch a few months later.  It's also possible Take Two didn't want to devote too many resources to a project that wasn't theirs from the start.  Whatever the cause, Oni's overall quality suffered in the end.  Parts of the game that had been previously teased, such as LAN-based multiplayer, were absent from the finished product.  More troubling, the levels had a distinct feeling of sparsity and emptiness since most interior spaces were devoid of any interactive elements or even scenery clutter.  Anyone willing to look past the rough edges was treated to an incredibly original game whose flowing combat promises a more polished game hiding below.

Knocked flat on her back, surrounded by enemies, some of them pointing guns at her.  She's got 'em right where she wants 'em.

WILL WE SEE IT AGAIN
I wouldn't count this one out just yet, but it's not looking too good.  When Microsoft bought Bungie, Take Two took over the remainder of development along with publishing in exchange for rights to the property.  Since then Take Two hasn't done anything with the game since it was originally published, aside from a blurb for the game on their website.  At the very least you'd think it would get a re-release on Steam, especially since it would add to their growing library of games able to run on both PC and Mac.  In any event, it's fairly easy to find a used copy online and finding a download of the superior PC version should also come naturally to anyone reading this site.

Even if Take Two has forgotten they own this property, there's still hope it will again see the light of day.  Bungie split off from Microsoft back in 2007 and in 2010 announced a 10-year partnership with monolithic publisher Activision Blizzard.  Unlike some other developer contracts with Activision, Bungie secured a deal in which they retain ownership of any IP they develop during the contract period.  Bungie has been pretty tight-lipped so far about what's in store, with only a few murmurs hinting at a sci-fi themed MMO likely headed for the next Xbox console.  It's doubtful they'd buy back the rights to Oni just to turn it into an MMO, but it would make sense for them to reclaim that property now while they can maintain ownership and control over it.  But then again you never know, introducing a fluent blend of shooting and martial arts into the MMO genre could certainly bring a little spice to it, and Bungie has proven they're willing to take risks with an established formula.      

Any formula that includes a jump kick to the back of the head is a winner in my book

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The Mark of Kri

Year: 2002
Developer: SCE San Diego
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Platform: PS2
Metacritic score: 80
VGChartz sales to date: 460,000

WHAT MADE IT GREAT
You know, when you stop and think about it there aren't a lot of Polynesian-themed video games out there.  I may very well be missing something (let me know in the comments if I am) but off the top of my head,the Polynesian expansion to Civilization V is the only recent game that borrows more then just the lush, tropical island settings.  That's a real shame, because as The Mark of Kri demonstrates the cultures, histories and styles of various Polynesian peoples (in this case especially the Maori of New Zealand) make for some incredible game designs.  The unique combo system and surprising gameplay depth made this a really fun game to play, but it's visually stunning and refreshing artistic design is what makes it so memorable.  The animated graphics would blend right in with newer Disney titles like Lilo & Stitch or Mulan, but this style is paired with an outright savage (if not particularly gory) level of violence.  While you might think this would be an incongruous design choice, it actually lends the game an original styling that holds up surprisingly well over time while giving a stimulating backdrop that elevates this game above many of it's hack n' slash brethren.    

The game stars Rau, a powerful young warrior who has flourished under his mentor Baumusu and is the pride of his village.  Taught to use his strength and skill to protect others instead of as a self-serving mercenary, he is keen on adventuring out in the world to increase his reputation and skill so when an offer unexpectedly presents itself Rau jumps at the opportunity.  He doesn't know it at the time, by that choice will put him on a path that will shape his destiny and seal his place in legend.  In a nod to The Beastmaster, Rau is accompanied by his spirit guide Kuzo, a black and red bird who serves as both ally and scout.  You'll come to rely on his assistance since Rau prefers to fight his enemies in groups.  Fortunately the clever targeting system lets you cut them down with style and grace while the variety in combat options (including a bow targeting setup that could teach Link a thing or two) ensures this is one hack n' slash game that doesn't get repetitive.  The collectibles that unlock new gameplay abilities and fun mini-game challenges add another layer of entertainment on subsequent playthroughs.  

Using Kuzo to scout ahead can make life easier, much like how Solid Snake uses the Metal Gear mk. II in MGS4, though this is actually a reference to Hideo Kojima's second game Snatcher released in 1988 for the NEC PC-8801

By using the R3 button you can select individuals or whole groups at once allowing you to attack them from any angle no matter where you move.  It works by marking enemies with face buttons on the controller, letting you leap from one target to another.  This also keeps the camera centered on the action without restricting your ability to pull off impressive combos.  Pulling off combos isn't easy since the enemy AI knows how to block and dodge, but when you can land them they usually lay waste to all around you as Rau roars out the name of the combo.  In the beginning your sword will be able to target up to three enemies at once but towards the end of the game you'll be wielding a powerful two-handed axe capable of mowing down large groups like they were stalks of wheat.  Despite the (almost unbalancing) power of the axe, my favorite weapon is the taiaha.  This indigenous spear-like weapon is whirled with lethality to strike enemies from each end, often implementing it as a staff and saving the spear point for a finishing blow.  But Rau isn't limited to open group combat, there is also a vast and effective stealth system in place.  By using Kuzo's spirit vision, you can get a literal bird's-eye-view of the area ahead and plan accordingly to greatly reduce the resistance of reaching your next goal.  The sheer number of stealth attacks available and the naturalness to how they are integrated into the overall gameplay takes a combat system that at first seems shallow and makes it something that is still fresh to play a decade later.    

That's part of what makes The Mark of Kri a great game to dust off and play through every now and then.  Since so few games have imitated it's artistic influence is still feels fresh despite more recent games like God of War III or Arkham City achieving a greater level of polish.  Just like those series, The Mark of Kri throws a new weapon or combat option into the mix just as you're mastering the previous one.  Seeing Rau's full power unleashed as he becomes the legend he hoped for is made even more enjoyable thanks to the gorgeously drawn cut scenes that hide load times.  Simple black slashes become lines which take shape to form a painted scene that is gradually colored in and made 3D before you are pulled into the frame and set loose.  It's a style that draws you in and makes such a compelling skin for the satisfyingly varied brutality the game is built around.  

It's like Disney's Hercules if it had been true to the incredibly violent original Greek mythology

WHAT WENT WRONG
That same style may have also turned off a wider audience appeal.  The PS2 had sold about 30 million units worldwide by this point in it's lifespan, and that growing base was spoiled for choice over the preceding 12 months.  Instant classics like Final Fantasy X, Metal Gear Solid 2 and Grand Theft Auto III were just some of the series-redefining games on shelves at the time.  It was a tough time for a new IP with a look and feel that was well outside mainstream to break into the market.  Commercials such as this one didn't exactly help either.  It was all too easy for The Mark of Kri to get lost in the shuffle.

It's a damn shame, because this was a game the critics all agreed deserved a close look.  IGN awarded it an 8.8 and it got a 9/10 from Game Informer who still consider it one of the top 10 forgotten games (along with previous entry Jet Force Gemini).  It would seem fans agree, as the user reviews on Metacritic stand at a very respectable 9.2.  Considering the game's somewhat niche appeal, it sold fairly well in a tough marketplace.  It was successful enough to warrant a sequel, Rise of the Kasai, but this game would quickly be overshadowed by a titan unleashed from Sony's other Southern California in-house studio SCE Santa Monica just a month later.  When God of War released in 2005 it immediately dominated the hack n' slash genre.  SCE San Diego had done little to improve on the established gameplay and simply could not match the unique weapon mechanic, elaborate combos and epic violence unleashed by Kratos on hordes of enemies both puny and godly.  

He may not gauge out the eyes of the Gods, but you gotta admit this is still pretty badass

WILL WE SEE IT AGAIN
I wouldn't hold my breath for this one, though the one ray of hope is a reference to the game in Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale which at the very least proves Sony still remembers the series.  The lackluster reviews and weak sales of the sequel likely prevented the game from transitioning onto the PS3.  It's hard to see how modernizing the game would manage to avoid treading too closely to SCE Santa Monica's God of War series.  Playing Rocksteady's take on Batman is further proof that The Mark of Kri's group-fighting combo system is on the right track but would need to change up the mechanics to meet current expectations.  It's easy to see how a new Mark of Kri could be a great game, but it's also easy to see how two in-house developers directly competing with each other might ruffle a few feathers.  Besides, SCE San Diego is keeping themselves busy with ModNation Racers these days (though given Sony's purchase of Media Molecule and their LittleBigPlanet series you could say they ended up in the same predicament anyway).  

The truth is Sony has little reason to divert resources or interest away from it's blockbuster series in favor of a cult favorite from the same genre, so don't expect the series jump to a different platform anytime soon.  Still, it would be nice to see the game available on the PSN and in many ways it's a great fit for the PS Vita.  Gesturing on the rear touchpad to target enemies could bring a whole new feel to the combat and improve it's mechanics at the same time.  The continued interest in the game by fans should provide some evidence of it's popularity, and the still in-development Warrior's Lair shows that SCE San Diego has a continued interest in the hack n' slash genre (albeit in a vein similar to Diablo).  So perhaps there's the slimmest of chances that Sony will decide to revisit and refine The Mark of Kri's spirit in the same way God of War refined it's gameplay.  It would be a shame to let such a unique gem slip away.    

The warrior's path is often hidden and filled with hardships.  Perhaps we'll find ourselves upon Rau's path once more.

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Ristar

Year: 1995
Developer: Sonic Team
Publisher: Sega
Platform: Sega Genesis, Game Gear (originally); later Virtual Console and also bundled in compilations for PSP, PS2, Xbox, GameCube, PC, PS3 and Xbox 360
Metacritic score: Not available
VGChartz sales to date: Unknown

WHAT MADE IT GREAT
For those of us born during a certain time, the 90's represented a coming of age in more ways then one.  For the video game industry, the 90's was when gaming transitioned from youthful fad to full-fledged entertainment industry juggernaut.  In 1982 at the height of the home console market just before the Great Crash of '83 the industry was pulling in around $4 billion annually, a number that would rise to over $20 billion globally in just ten years.  While there have always been multiple competitors in this market, it wasn't until the 1990's when we saw two companies so evenly matched.  By the end of the 16-bit era Nintendo would claim a slight victory in the Console Wars with 49 million Super Nintendos sold compared to Sega's 40 million Geneses (fun fact: the plural of genesis is geneses, you can look it up if you don't believe me).  It's fitting that the two generals of this conflict, Mario and Sonic, were both mascots from platformers because in many ways the 16-bit era was tailor made for the platforming genre.  The SNES and Genesis still had the same 2D rendering limitations as the previous generation, but modest increases in addressable memory space and processing power gave developers access to a greater palette of colors, sounds and sprites to craft worlds that possessed far more personality over their predecessors.   

If your first experience with video games was Pong, seeing this many colors onscreen at once could give you a stroke.  

This unique set of constraints favored games that were well-suited to 2D graphics and didn't require realistic graphics or gameplay to be enticing, so fans of platforming gameplay were absolutely spoiled for choice during the 1990's.  While many of the best selling platformers had gotten their start back on the NES (Mario, Mega Man, Metroid and Castlevania to name just a few examples) Sega was making headway with new properties of their own, of which the speedy blue hedgehog was undoubtedly the king.  But anyone who stuck too closely to Sonic did themselves a great disservice by missing out on titles such as Ristar.  The game stars an anthropomorphic star who is either the child of a Star Goddess or a "Legendary Hero" in the form of a shooting star, depending on whether you played the Japanese version or the English translation.  Your task is to save the Valdi galaxy by preventing the evil space pirate/19th century German imperialist Kaiser Greedy from enslaving the inhabited planets through mind-control.  The U.S. version also sees you rescuing your father/Legendary Hero/shooting star because somehow this makes the plot more...I'm not sure what exactly.  Maybe the Japanese thought we had a lot of daddy issues, but for whatever reason the plot was altered during the localization process.   

Apparently nobody notified Ristar of the change, because he maintains those arched eyebrows throughout the game

It's no surprise that the game borrows heavily from Sonic, especially since it was born from an early concept art in which Sonic was a rabbit, but Ristar set itself apart with a unique gameplay hook.  Ristar can run, jump and swim with the best of them but rather then rely on jumping, speed or a collection of weapons to defeat enemies and traverse levels, Ristar uses his extendable stretchy arms both to explore and fight.  Using the B button sends Ristar's arms shooting out in front of him, grabbing onto a handhold, switches, ledge, etc. will pull the rest of his body forward and releasing the button will make Ristar let go so his momentum can carry him.  Just like how stages in Sonic are designed to take advantage of speed, Ristar's stages are designed around swinging from place to place and the mechanic feels really enjoyable when you get into a rhythm.  The Star Hooks are especially fun to use as grabbing one sends Ristar swinging around at high speeds until you are ready to let go, at which point you rocket off like a shooting star.  Ristar is invulnerable while a shooting star and the player has some degree of control over charting his course, but mainly it's a matter of timing and gravity.  Each level has a hidden Star Hook that sends you to a bonus stage where you can earn special items by completing an obstacle course in a set amount of time.  Enemies can also be defeated by grabbing them and holding the button to pull Ristar into them for a high speed headbutt.  In this way, attacking enemies is just another means of traversing the levels allowing skilled players to swing themselves to the finish at a brisk pace, making the game popular for speedrun challenges.

Each stage ends with either a mini-boss or boss battle.  Battling the boss on Planet Undertow is made easier by not needing to breath since stars live in the vacuum of space.  Doesn't stop them from wearing sneakers, though.  

But you'll likely want to take your time as you explore the Valdi system since each stage is filled with hidden treasure chests in addition to the previously mentioned bonus stages.  It's also worth slowing down to check out the great background art and design touches that gives each planet a unique feel to match it's environmental theme.  While the platforming tropes of water zones, ice zones, etc. is still firmly in place, the level designs still make the grabbing mechanic your primary focus for navigation and attack.  The designs themselves are lustrously colored and filled with interesting details, for instance on Planet Undertow the screen brightness gets darker as you dive deeper beneath the water.  But perhaps the most standout feature of the design is the soundtrack with it's infectiously happy beats and surprising variation.  It's like MGMT meets Skrillex all filtered through 16-bits of pure joy.  

Bonus chests can contain anything from points to extra lives and are scattered in various hard to reach places

WHAT WENT WRONG 
Timing is everything.  Ristar was one of the last new games to release for the Genesis before the launch of of the Sega Saturn in the North American market.  The Saturn had already arrived in Japan and it's famously botched U.S. launch was only two months away from becoming a reality when Ristar was released.  Sega's attention was completely fixed on their next console and Ristar received very little marketing.  If that wasn't bad enough, an electronics powerhouse waded into the Console War by rolling out a new platform of their own.  Sony's Playstation had already followed the Saturn into the Japanese market in December 1994, and it would arrive in the U.S. in September '95.  The 16-bit era had ended, all hail the 32-bit reign!

...Moving on...

It's too bad everyone's attention was elsewhere, because Ristar was a really awesome game.  It was everything you expected from a classic Sonic game but with a whole new gameplay twist.  Game Informer gave it an 8.25 in it's original review and a more recent IGN review of the Virtual Console port is a testament to the game's sustained appeal.  With the Playstation's rise came new genre's based on first- or third-person perspectives along with true sports simulators like Madden NFL 97, the first in the series by current developer Tiburon.  After a decade of dominance the platforming genre was beginning to decline, and Ristar stands as a paragon of what developers had learned over the years.  In that way it was both derivative of them as some critics have pointed out, but also the ultimate refinement of those mechanics and principles.  

WILL WE SEE IT AGAIN
Despite starring in only this single outing, that determined little luminous sphere of plasma has grown in popularity over the years.  The game was re-issued in collections of Sonic games for GameCube and PS2, and was more recently brought to Steam and Virtual Console on it's own or bundled on PSN and Xbox Live in the form of Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection.  Ristar has also made two cameo's in the Sonic & Sega All-Star Racing series but never as a playable character.  He's become such a cult icon that homebrew sequel have even sprung up based around the original gameplay.  

Maybe we'll see a true sequel come from Sega, at the very least the cameos prove they remember the game exists.  Bionic Commando, which uses a similar platforming mechanic, has tried to refresh itself to mixed success but perhaps Ristar can make a more comfortable move to 3D platforming like Mario Galaxy accomplished.  If you want to play Ristar on the go, you'd better have a working Game Gear and a truck load of batteries because it's not available on 3DS or PS Vita.  While some Sonic games have made it to mobile Ristar is not one of them.  A touchscreen version may be difficult since your finger would always be obscuring the exact place you're moving to, but using a digital button pad might work.  We may never get another Ristar game, and it's possible the platforming genre will never be what it once was, but for a very short window of time Ristar gave fans of the genre one last fleeting moment of greatness.

Do we dare to wish upon this star?  Picture credit

Have you played this game?  Is there a game you remember being great that no one else has heard of?  Sound of below and be sure to Like us of Facebook or Follow us on Twitter!

X-Men: Next Dimension

Year: 2002
Developer: Paradox Development
Publisher: Activision, Marvel
Platform: PS2, Xbox, GameCube
Metacritic score: 60 (cross-platform avg)
VGChartz sales to date: 710,000

WHAT MADE IT GREAT
Until now we've held firm (more or lessto a self-imposed rule that in order to be considered a game must hold at least a 75 average on Metacritic, when scores are available.  While it's possible the individual preferences (or drinking habit) of a single critic can miss a game's hidden potential, it's not likely the entire collective field of video game journalism could all undervalue the same game?  Or is it possible that a confluence of seemingly disjointed variables cause a group of distinct writers to all view a game more harshly then it deserves?  I'm going to try and argue just that and hopefully by doing so convince you that while X-Men: Next Dimension may not be the one of the best games ever, it is one of The Best Games (You Never Played).

X-Men: Next Dimension could actually be considered the third in a trilogy of fighting games based on Marvel Comics' mutant superheroes.  X-Men: Mutant Academy 1 & 2 both shipped for the PSX to generally positive reviews, but the name was changed to reflect the shifts brought on with the move to the next console gen.  The name change was fitting, because the early 2000's brought some big shifts to the fighting genre.  3D polygon games have been around since at least 1983's I, Robot for the arcade and Atari 2600, but was still seen as a rare and exotic feature when Star Fox released for the SNES nearly a decade later.  But Sega changed all that in 1993 with the gorgeous (for the times) 3D rendered polygon characters in the arcade crowd-drawing classic Virtua Fighter.  The game still relied on the same standard 2D plane of motion that's defined fighting games from the beginning, but it's sharp, crystal clear graphics were a noticeable improvement over the 3D pixelated graphics being used the nascent 1st-person shooter genre in id Games' Wolfenstein 3D and Doom. Sega triggered the polygon count wars and a race towards realism that would come to define the next era of gaming.  It was a war Sega would badly bungle with the release of 1994's Sega Saturn, evidently taking their success with Virtua Fighter and Virtua Racing as a sign that traditional 2D environments using 3D models was the endgame rather then just the first step.  But the importance of that breakthrough game can't be overlooked and most fighting developers spent the rest of the 90's toying with how to mesh the rise of 3D games with the 2D principles their genre was based in.

There was a good selection of characters available from the start with a few unlockable ones waiting for you to beat the various modes.

One series in particular, Team Ninja's Dead or Alive, took the foundation set by Virtua Fighter and incorporated a full 3D plane of motion.  Unlike the free roaming Power Stone, fighters in DoA still locked onto each other in 2D planes, but players were now free to attack, dodge and counter in 360 degrees within intricately detailed stages.  The Tekken series had used elements of this before, but Team Ninja put a much greater focus on 3D movement by making it more fluid and also using it as a trigger to shift to different parts of the stage.  Paradox Development was no doubt influenced by these games in using 3D range of motion, fast-paced combat and detailed multi-part stages to take Mutant Academy to the Next Dimension.  The evolution was completed by the fullest roster yet, 3D stages based on familiar locales, and an interesting new story mode drawn from the comics themselves.     

Yeah Beast, we were stunned also to see Bishop and Forge in this game.

The story mode derives from the Operation: Zero Tolerance crossover storyline (spoilers) from the late 90's and puts a unique twist on the mode.  The X-Men and the Brotherhood are forced to team up when hyper-sentinel Bastion threatens to wipe out mutant-kind.  Instead of choosing from the total roster and then receiving that fighter's unique backstory, Next Dimension's story mode unfolds as a series of cut scenes (voiced by Prof. X himself, Captain Jean-Luc Picard).  Interspersed between these are matches that play out according to the plot, sometimes limiting your picks to a few characters while other matches are preset depending on who's involved in the story's current battle.  There's also the standard Arcade and 2-player Versus modes along with a Survivor mode that pits you against an unending string of opponents.  The GameCube version also gets Practice and Team modes as an exclusive feature.  The Xbox version gets a bonus stage and Pyro as a playable character, but the poor PS2 version only got coal in its stocking.  

There's a full cast of characters and alternate outfits showing plenty of love to fan favorites with the likes of Gambit, Sabertooth, Nightcrawler and Rogue joining regulars like Magneto, Wolverine and Cyclops.  Moves for each character are well suited to their abilities, for instance Beast has longer, more agile combos of powerful basic strikes whereas Storm uses ranged lightning attacks, wind traps and flight to overwhelm her opponents.  The controls are like a simplified version of the button combos used in most Capcom fighters.  Basic strikes are assigned to individual buttons while pushing two or more trigger special attacks.  Special attacks can be charged up to greater levels by dealing or receiving damage, though one route is more ideal the the other.  Since you're using the joystick to maneuver rather then input complex movements for combos the game lends itself better to button mashing, but someone familiar with the controls and characters moves will still have a definite advantage.  Duking it out around the Savage Land or Asteroid M is made all the more fun by pummeling your opponent into different areas.  There's a special joy in watching Toad connect an air juggle combo to knock Blob through the X-Mansion's second floor window only to land a tongue-based special attack that sends him further flying into the underground hangar.

Getting kicked off a skyscraper sucks.  The fact it was Toad who kicked you just makes it depressing.

WHAT WENT WRONG
It's pretty clear that mixed reviews, including some rather negative ones, might have played a role in the game's underwhelming sales.  Releasing the week before Grand Theft Auto: Vice City also was probably not helpful in getting the mass market's attention.  Despite being mostly uniform in scoring the game in the poor to fair range, critics disagreed with each other over what exactly made the game so displeasing.  Some complained that there wasn't enough depth to the combo system while others appreciated the ability for less skilled players to learn big flashy combos while still leaving room for more experienced fighters to toy with their techniques.  There was also some confusion over whether the graphics were typical for the time or noticeably outdated, but with the benefit of time on our side we'd say the visuals have held up better then other games from 2002.

I've seen worse versions of Psylocke

But what really stands out is how favorably it's viewed by the gamers who played it.  While the critic reviews on Metacritic average out to a fairly mediocre 60, the user reviews sit at a significantly more favorable 8.9 out of 10.  That's a pretty big spread between then and now, and it's unlikely to be explained by mere nostalgia for a game that was never too popular in the first place.  It's surprising that critics who liked 2001's Dead or Alive 3 were so turned off by Next Dimension, particularly since some of them cited the strong similarities between the two as a weakness.  One critique which does still stand out as true is the imprecision in the game's hit animations which can give the characters a clunky feel.  The animations themselves are smooth and gratifying, but connecting them feels a bit disjointed compared to most fighting games.  But does the game's unsuitability for the pro fighting tournaments make it mediocre?

Maybe DoA3 raised expectations too high by the time Next Dimension released.  The game did have more realistic graphics and prettier visuals combined with an enjoyable combo system.  X-Men: Next Dimension certainly couldn't match it's dedicated breast physics algorithm, for what that's worth.  Perhaps X-Men fans were afraid the game's visual connection to the Bryan Singer film's would another lazy movie tie-in game.  Who knows, maybe everyone was just burned out on fighting games as scores for most series seemed to decline during this period.  Whatever the reasoning, the reviews weren't going to motivate a lot of people to give a new game a chance the week before a blockbuster like GTA: Vice City hits.  Most gamers let this one pass them by, but those lucky enough to get a copy on discount later could enjoy a fun fighter suitable for both game nights with friends and mastering on your own.

The Juggernaut appropriately towers over the ol' Canucklehead, but if those claws actually retracted into Wolvie's hands they'd go all the way up to his shoulders.

WILL WE SEE IT AGAIN
Not looking good for this one.  Paradox Development was bought by Midway in 2004 and went defunct in 2008.  Activision still has the publishing rights to X-Men along with the rest of Marvel's properties, but has shown no interest in bringing an HD remake or even straight port to Xbox Live or PSN.  Mobile platforms, a prime target for re-releasing older niche games, is not exactly an ideal outlet for the fighting genre.  Neither the Xbox or PS2 versions are on the backwards compatibility list for their respective consoles, and as for the GameCube version... yeah that's not gonna show up in the Wii Shop channel anytime soon.  

As far as hopes for a sequel go, well those are pretty dim too.  Activision has published other X-Men games from various developers since 2002, but none of them in the fighting genre.  It really feels like a wasted opportunity, since so much of what makes the X-Men a great property translates well to fighting games.  The huge cast of heroes and villains provide for a large, well-rounded roster while their mutant abilities lend themselves perfectly to unique and exciting move sets.  Marvel vs. Capcom 3 provides a tantalizing tease of what could be, but stops far short of delivering on 3D mechanics or a fleshed out story and leaves many favorite characters on the sideline.  Fortunately for those wanting to give it a try, old copies can be had for quite cheap online.    

In Next Dimension Wolverine may not quite be the best there is at what he does, but he's still pretty damn good at it.

Have you played this game?  Is there a game you remember being great that no one else has heard of?  Sound off in the comments below, and be sure to Like us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter!