The PS2 and XBOX may be long gone by now, but we’ll never forget what they did for us.
What they lacked in crisp graphics and speed; they more than made up for through good old fashioned fun.
Back in the day when headsets were a thing of the future and the only meaning for the term ‘frostbite’ was when you got very chilly; we spent hours playing some quite spectacular games.
NOT PICKED YOUR FANTASY FOOTBALL TEAM YET? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
We take a look back at five classics:
1. Burnout 3: Takedown (2004)
What. A. Game.
Any game that’s sole purpose is to effectively cause as much damage as possible just screams out the word ‘fun’.
In the third instalment of the Burnout franchise, Take-down was arguably the best of the lot.
Hence the name, the game was all about taking down your opponents in high-intensity races; narrowly avoiding traffic as you hurtled along an icy freeway- but my favourite game mode was the ‘crash’ challenges.
You’d be given a vehicle- the bigger the better- and tasked with causing as much damage to other traffic as possible as you slammed yourself right into the centre of a busy intersection.
For maximum impact, ‘crash breakers’ could be used to effectively blow yourself up into a burning metal ball and hurtle into more oncoming traffic.
It was bonkers, but so much fun. And better still, there were 100 different crash scenarios to test yourself on.
The overall damage total would be totted up at the end and an overall score awarded, but definitely don’t try and do this on the M25.
They don’t make games like this anymore…
2. Manhunt (2004)
Life was good back then.
Manhunt was another absolute classic- and one we cannot believe is 13 years old.
The stealth-based physiological horror game was produced by Rockstar Games, so of course it’s being remembered fondly.
The game was actually so close to the mark that it was banned in several countries after its release, and was once caught up in a real-life UK murder case, such was the gory realism of it.
Players were tasked with completing 20 levels- or ‘scenes’- where they encountered various enemy gangs and ‘hunters’, whom you had to dispatch- usually by brutally murdering them with makeshift weapons including baseball bats and plastic bags.
It really was one of a kind, so it’s no surprise that the whole franchise sold over 1.7 million copies.
3. FIFA Street (2005)
After being controlled by referees for so long on FIFA, now was your chance to be set free. That’s why FIFA Street was very much like your very own stress reliever.
You could foul anyone whenever you liked and not get penalised for it- I mean how cool was that?
The game was all about flair and trickery, going on your own world tour, visiting the globe’s different skateboard parks to have a kick-about with the best 5-a-side team around.
Nothing quite beat the feeling of knocking the ball past an opponent via a one-two with the wall.
It really was a classic.
Come on EA, you NEED to make another one of these.
4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
This might not seem like that long ago, but a lot has happened to gaming over 8 years.
Of everyone who has played the COD series- and that is a lot of people- MW2 has always been referred to as the classic, mainly thanks to its fantastic airport level.
The king of online and testing offline campaign; MW2 was developed by Infinity Ward and was part of a 9-long game franchise.
The campaign follows the ‘Task Force 141’ as they hunt the leader of a nasty Russian national party.
Its realism is impeccable and it really does keep you on the edge of your seat, as if you are actually part of this cool American force.
Fans of COD are now eagery anticipating the launch of upcoming game ‘WW2‘, which is set to be released in November later this year, and if the game has the same feel as this one in terms of visuals, tension and engagement, we can’t wait.
5. Black (2006)
Ah, yes.
Fantastic first-person shooter Black was a real test of nerve. Players had to navigate their way through various missions, destroying enemies and their bases.
Difficulties could be altered, which meant the game could be played by most, but it was the graphics that really got everyone talking.
Considering its release date was 11 years ago, the look of Black is extremely impressive for its time.
Criterion Games– creator of the Burnout franchise– said they wanted black to ‘tear apart’ its genre just like the latter had done to racing.
It definitely achieved that, and then some.
6. RedCard Soccer (2002)
FIFA and PES may be the big boys, but back in the day there was another football game around town.
Named after Pepe’s favourite past time, the game was developed not by EA or Konami, but by Point of View.
But while today’s modern football games combat the realistic side of the game, the same cannot be said for RedCard, as players could suddenly engage in extra heavy tackles and skill moves if their ‘special meter’ was charged up.
But that’s what made the game fun.
It’s focus was on association football, which meant only international teams were included.
In actual fact, FIFA are well behind with this whole Frostbite thing as RedCard allowed players to compete on every continent- including Antarctica- so we’d seen it all before.
Try again, EA.