First Round: Anders vs. ThePlatypus: ThePlatypus Wins!

[Monkey_Driven]

Anders vs. ThePlatypus

Anders
1. The Last of Us (PS3)
2. Super Mario Kart (SNES)
3. Halo 3 (Xbox360)
4. Sid Meier's Pirates (Commodore 64)
5. Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)
6. Gran Turismo 2 (PS2)
7. Bloodborne (PS4)
8. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (Xbox One)
9. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)
10. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (GBA)

ThePlatypus
1. Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
2. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (PS1)
3. GTA V (PS3, XBox360)
4. Mega Man X (SNES)
5. Injustice 2 (PS4)
6. Yoshi's Island (SNES)
7. Kirby and the Amazing Mirror (GBA)
8. Super Mario Maker (Wii U)
9. Batman: Arkham City (PS3)
10. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (SNES)

Click for Videos and Descriptions:

Spoiler: show

Anders

1. The Last of Us (PS3)
The rules put this as the PS3 version, but I was primarily thinking of the wonderful PS4 version, certainly one of the best games ever. The story is second to none, and the game flows as well as any other. If you haven't played it, and you don't intend to do so, check it out on youtube. It will be well worth your time.


2. Super Mario Kart (SNES)
The classic SNES version and in many ways the best Mario Kart game. Here the playability is in the forefront, the tracks and secondary events are streamlined and simple, yet unsurpassed in this most entertaining of franchises. Where later games focused on strange tracks and battle options, this game in its simplicity beats them hands down. To such a degree, that you long back to these tracks every single time you play the later games.


3. Halo 3 (Xbox360)
For me it’s the best online game in history. The community highly active, the online platform well built, and together gave a vast amount of opportunities and challenges. The campaign (one player or multi) is also tight, and probably the best in the Halo franchise.


4. Sid Meier's Pirates (Commodore 64)
Possibly the most underrated game on RM. This game pushed the boundaries during the 80s, and has still not been outdone. It’s probably the best game from the legendary Commodore 64, and set the stage for all that was to come.


5. Super Mario Odyssey (Switch)
This is probably the best Mario game ever made. Don't think I have to say more than that.


6. Gran Turismo 2 (PS2)
Here I have included a personal favorite of mine. This is where the GT franchise really hit the jackpot. The flow of driving and the setup of the career mode have both never been topped. While easily being improvements on the original. The graphics were stellar for their time, and even today does nothing to ruin the playability involved.


7. Bloodborne (PS4)
Very surprised this wasn't picked earlier. If there was a steal in this competition, it may be Bloodborne as a 7th round pick. This is probably the coolest game I've ever played. Just try it for yourself. Just stay focused. If you do your job right, you can go on a streak, but a moment lapse in concentration can leave you laying on the ground. This game will also surprise you in the best ways.


8. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (Xbox One)
In recent years I've spent a lot of time playing Football Manager, Fifa 17/18 and Destiny 1/2. Yet I picked none of those. The final round where I considered it heavily was this round. I'll admit I have more fun playing Destiny than The Witcher 3. But some of Destiny's flaws, greedy developers, similarity to the Halo franchise, all made it difficult to choose. The Witcher 3 has none of those problems. In it you get the real deal. By many this is considered one of the best games of all time. It's open world mode is glorious and beautiful. It's mad and terrible and perfectly made. The story is fun and crazy, and will keep you on your toes from beginning to end.


9. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)
It's the Zelda game I've spent most time on. The Wii was a wonderful console, and in a time when games often lost something valuable along the way, Nintendo and its Wii provided the unique and vital option they have always held. In this game the fun and feeling of the older games is retained, in a way xbox or the playstation guys never could. Twilight Princess is a lengthy adventure packed with many well-designed puzzles. It keeps you active and stays true to its roots.


10. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (GBA)
This is a pure Castlevania game, that has all the charm of the original. In addition it worked better with saving, mapchecking and all those small things you find irritating when they aren't there, but hardly notice when they are. It worked fantastically on the GBA, and gave a challenge for all to enjoy.


ThePlatypus

“My friend Monique. I love her to death. She's legit one of the sweetest, most kind-hearted people I've ever met. But she has this horrible habit. Every time have dinner or a small get-together for someone's birthday, she insists we bring everything to a halt and go around the table taking turns in sharing a remembrance or birthday wishes for the birthday person. It's awkward for everybody and makes me want to die.

But hey this sounds fun”

1. Donkey Kong Country (SNES)


2. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (PS1)


3. GTA V (PS3, XBox360)


4. Mega Man X (SNES)


5. Injustice 2 (PS4)


6. Yoshi's Island (SNES)


7. Kirby and the Amazing Mirror (GBA)


8. Super Mario Maker (Wii U)


9. Batman: Arkham City (PS3)


10. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (SNES)

[96583UP]

Tony Hawk 2 wins

[E.H. Ruddock]

Tough matchup here. I'll have to think about this a little

[run2death]

Why even bother? Just put his holiness HOFer to the final already.

[96583UP]

Why even bother? Just put his holiness HOFer to the final already.

good point

then we can move on to the dinosaur tournament

[Jammer XCI]

Plat

[Bammer]

I refuse to vote. Both teams suck.

[E.H. Ruddock]

Anders' two Mario games will probably be the difference for me. Two of the best

[Monkey_Driven]

This is a great matchup. I'll post my thoughts tomorrow.

[LoathedVermin72]

Anders is instantly disqualified for picking garbage-ass Last of Us first. Voting for plat

[Jammer XCI]

The Last of Us is alright, but everyone with half a brain knows Naughty Dog’s crowning achievement was Crash Bandicoot.

[Anders]

I've been privileged to grow up in this era of gaming. When I was a little kid, my oldest brother bought a Commodore 64. Through trading with friends and buying a collection via an ad in the newspaper, he had hundreds of games, it may even have been up to a thousand. Many small, some large. Yie Ar Kung FU, Breakout, Asterix, Impossible Mission, Boulder Dash, California Games, Paradroid, Winter Games, Summer Games, Archon, Pitstop II, Microprose Soccer, Maniac Mansion, IK+, Last Ninja 2, Green Beret, Bruce Lee, International Soccer, Barry McGuigan World Championship Boxing, Skate or Die!, Street Rod. I could go on. So many great games. For me there was one that stood out, one that defied the limitations of the Commodore 64. Sid Meier's Pirates. That such a game could be made in the 80s was incredible. We had a great map printed out from the game, and I spent hours looking at my brother playing it.

Christmas Eve 1991 I got a Sega Megadrive (Genesis in the US). This was beyond belief for me at the time, never had I got such an expensive gift before, but I guess my mother knew how much I wanted one. She hid it until everything was over, and told me go pick up some Christmas cakes upstairs, and there it was waiting for me. I played Sonic that whole week, and probably most of 1992. Again there was a whole long list of great games. Later in the 90s, just when I was starting to think that era of youth and new games was coming to a close, I bought a Playstation in 1996. And even if I'd had both an Amiga and a PC in between, console gaming felt like my first love. The Playstation brought along a whole new era of games. Good times.

In the 2000s and 2010s I've had both Playstations, Nintendos and Xboxes. I've tried to make a list that represent both all four decades (80s, 90s, 00s and 10s), but also 10 different consoles, old and new. In some ways gaming has moved on, and the newer games are more advanced than ever was possible before. So not including new games felt wrong. Nevertheless, playability can be worse in a modern game, than an older game, even one from the 80s. It's all about finding the right balance.

Good luck to ThePlatypus, and thank you to those who have voted for my collection of games.

[Ello Sailor]

For me this is basically all about Gran Turismo 2 + Bloodborne vs. Tony Hawk's 2 + Grand Theft Auto V. It's actually extremely close.

[Anders]

Obviously I'm familiar with the games I have chosen, so I thought I'd have a look at the opposition. ThePlatypus has some classics, with a SNES heavy list. I like that he also has four games from this decade, providing some much needed freshness. Unlike most other collections in this tournament, there is not a single game on his list that I have spent a large amount of time playing. I do remember Donkey Kong Country being massive in its time though. Likewise, GTA V was probably the biggest game of 2013. I have played both of those. Skating was never my thing, but I have understood that Tony Hawk was big in North America. I would like to try Injustice 2, as I've never even played a demo of it. Mega Man was always a classic game, and my cousin's favorite in the early 90s.

The second half of the list feels quite a bit weaker than the first. Next time ThePlatypus faces someone else, most of my reasons for voting for him or not will be from the first half of his list.

[epilogue]

I actually haven't played a single game on Anders list.

He has some epic, all-time franchises represented, though. I wish I was more knowledgeable about his selections.

I've played several of the games on Jorge's list, and I like all of them. Donkey Kong Country and TMNT are fantastic games. And I spent more time than I'm proud to admit playing Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2.

vote: theplatypus

[Simple Torture]

If I cut the lists down to the games I've played, things don't look good for Anders:

Anders
Super Mario Kart (SNES)

ThePlatypus
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (PS1)
GTA V (PS3, XBox360)
Batman: Arkham City (PS3)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (SNES)

Doubly not-so-good because I never logged tons of hours with the original Mario Kart--spent much more time playing it on N64. Jorge's team also has a nice broad range of games with some good memories: dumped tons of hours into Tony Hawk trying to get those collectibles and unlockables, really liked Arkham City, and--while I only really played it in the arcade--those beat-em-up Turtles games did a great job of putting the spirit of the show on the screen, which was important to me back then. I go back-and-forth on GTA V: the game world is so impressive, and many of the missions are a lot of fun, but I do feel like the whole formula is getting stale at this point.

Anders starts to claw back into the discussion, though, because he has a bunch of games on his list that are on my backlog. I own The Last of Us, Bloodborne, and The Witcher 3, but haven't gotten into any of them yet (I only play about an hour of games a day, and since firing up my PS4 in September, I've only really played Fallout). So I feel bad that his team could be one of my favorites once I've gotten into those games, but that it's an issue of timing that knocks them down. Sorry, but I'm for Jorge.

[tragabigzanda]

1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
2. Mario Kart (Wii)
3. Half-Life 2 (PC)
4. Twisted Metal 2 (PS1)
5. NHL 95 (Sega Genesis)
6. The Oregon Trail (graphical version, 1985, Apple II)
7. Metroid: Zero Mission (GBA)
8. Missile Command (Arcade)
9. Rocket League (PS4)
10. Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father (PC)

[run2death]

I refuse to vote. Both teams suck.

Vote Anders.

The RM frat squad is gonna make sure Plat has plenty of votes.

[Brett]

I've played two games on Anders's list: Mario Kart and Twilight Princess. Obviously, the former is a defining game. If it's not the first mascot racer, it's definitely the first to make such a big impact. Twilight Princess is a competent enough Zelda game that has a haunting atmosphere.

I've watched some playthrough of The Last of Us, enough to find the story compelling. Mario Odyssey is another Switch game I'm itching to play. The rest I can take or leave, though I should point out that his video for Sid Meier's Pirates is for a PC remake, not the original Commodore game.

With Donkey Kong Country and Yoshi's Island alone, Platy's team is a force to be reckoned with. Though personally, I would have gone with DKC 2. Add in Tony Hawk, Mega Man, and TMNT, and I think I've played more games in this set than any other. The inclusion of Mario Maker, yet another on my wishlist, is enough to give Jorge the win.

[Anders]

Anders
Halo 3 - curious choice. I've never played this one, but I was under the impression that fans of the series were really let down with this installment? Or was that the next one? I know the original was amazing. I'm torn on this one.

Injustice 2 - Yeah this is the best fighting game I've ever[/b]

Thank you for a great runthrough of the games. I enjoyed reading it. Also made me want to check out Injustice 2 even more.

I wanted to respond to what you wrote about Halo 3. It was released to highly positive reviews, had one of the most active online communities ever, and is still considered on or near the top of the franchise. Halo Reach, Halo 4 and Halo 5 on the other hand have had much more mixed reviews. Halo 3 was the last game made by 343 Industries and Bungie together. Later Bungie made Halo Reach, Destiny 1 and 2. 343 industries made Halo 4 and 5.

https://www.gamebyte.com/all-13-halo-ga ... t-to-best/
https://www.thegamer.com/ranking-every- ... orst-best/
https://www.thetoptens.com/best-halo-games/