Hi everyone, and welcome to another one of my Mixtapes. In case you're not sure what a Mixtape is, here's an explanation...
A Mixtape is a playlist of a certain genre, band or era. The list is generally 80 minutes long, the same length of a blank CD, with further recommendations if some of the songs aren't to your taste. Remember kids, downloading is wrong!
The Sega Mega Drive (or Genesis if you're from the US) is one of my favourite consoles. It was the first console I ever had as my own, and it holds a very strong sentimental value. Some of the music from this 32-bit era was truly tremendous. It's amazing how much power the console had at the time, in terms of producing great tunes. The 64-bit era and beyond changed music in video games forever because they could play actual genuine music, but back when the Mega Drive was around that wasn't the case.
So I wanted to showcase my favourite songs from my favourite games from this era of video gaming. If you want to see an actual list of my 50 Favourite Mega Drive Games, simply click this link here. But as for the music, here's the playlist below, with links to each individual song!
Title Theme - Street Fighter II Championship Edition
"Considering the circumstances Activision truly have
put Wumpa fruit, sweat and tears into giving us a brilliant remaster of the
games we all remember."
Crash Bandicoot first came out in 1996 and was developed by
Naughty Dog. They went on to make two sequels, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex
Strikes Back in 1997 and Crash Bandicoot 3 Warped in 1998. After that Naughty
Dog released a spin-off kart racing game called Crash Team Racing before
leaving the Crash Bandicoot series to make other incredibly successful video
game series in Jak and Dexter, Uncharted and The Last of Us.
No matter where your feelings lay with the other Crash
Bandicoot games released between 2000 and 2010 it’s safe to say the series went
downhill from then. From mixed reviews to negative reviews to different
developers and different publishers, to an unsuccessful reboot in 2007, things
have been frustrating for both Crash Bandicoot fans and anyone who has helped
create any of the games at any point in its history. Activision, who have been
the publisher since 2008, had a video game series that from 2010 to around 2015
or so, they didn’t know what to do with. It was like Activision were standing
right next to a Nitro box in a Crash game, anxious to move around it just in
case it explodes in their face but also they wanted to move forward. There was
potential in the Crash Bandicoot series, but they didn’t know how to make it a
success.
In around 2014 or 2015, rumours went around that Crash
Bandicoot was going to have a reboot. Activision had to many times play down
the rumours, mainly because they were just that, rumours. Even Naughty Dog had
to emphasise that they don’t have the rights to the video game series anymore,
and, even if they did, they don’t know if they would have made another Crash
game. But the rumours turned into hype – fans wanted Crash to return. A beloved
franchise and once mascot of the Sony Playstation, fans reminisced over how good
the original Crash trilogy was. They wanted a new Crash game, or a remake.
Crash Bandicoot, like Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario before it, had become
a classic platformer that fans would talk about as being some of their
favourite childhood memories. Surely the Crash Bandicoot series couldn’t stay
in limbo?
Crabs always go sideways. It's just a fact.
And then in 2016, Activision announced they would fully
remaster all three original Crash Bandicoot games. It wasn’t Naughty Dog, but
Activision, partnered with Vicarious Visions (who worked on the series from
2002 to 2004), would redo the three games in full HD and with some new features
too.
I would like to say, the circumstances that were handed to
Activision were difficult. Firstly, the original trilogy is very well loved by
a large selection of fans. They needed to redo the games to please them, but
also keep the games open to newer fans who haven’t played the games before.
They were taking on the three games originally done by Naughty Dog, a
completely different developer, using very outdated coding, lots of which they
were unable to reuse. Most importantly (in my opinion) they also needed to get
the “feel” of the original trilogy correct, something intangible that made
those games so great in the first place. Let’s get on with the review.
If you’ve not played Crash Bandicoot before, it’s a 3D
platformer where you control Crash (or in some levels Coco, his sister) where
you have to go from the start of the level to the end. In Crash 2 and 3 you’re
also expected to collect a crystal placed somewhere in the middle of the level.
You can jump and spin enemies and crates, the latter which gives you extra
lives and “Wumpa Fruit”, which you get an extra life when you collect 100 of
them. Other crates exist in the game like arrow crates which you can use to
jump extra high on, TNT boxes which countfrom 3 to 1 before exploding and exclamation crates which unlock a crate
somewhere else in the level. In Crash 2 and 3 you can also do a slide attack
and crawl, as well as do a belly flop and a high jump by doing the slide attack
quickly followed by jumping. In Crash 3 you also can unlock other special
abilities every time you defeat a boss. In Crash Bandicoot 1 you get a gem for
collecting every single crate in a level and completing the level without
losing a life. In Crash 2 and 3, they made this easier by only the need to
collect all the crates. One thing that was added in Crash 3 was Time Trial
mode, where you had to repeat levels as quickly as possible, getting time bonus
crates along the way. Earning fast times gets you Sapphire, Gold and Platinum
relics respectively. In the Crash Bandicoot remaster, they’ve added this
feature into Crash 1 and 2 as well.
Nothing like a bit of breakdancin' before beating up a massive robot with torpedoes!
Again if you’re not familiar with the story of Crash
Bandicoot, it’s not the most important part of the game but a brief outline is
that Dr Neo Cortex create a machine called the Evolvo Ray which is used to
mutate animals into super beasts. They experiment on Crash who Cortex was
intending on being the leader of an army of animal soldiers. They try to put Crash
into a machine called the Cortex Vortex which rejects Crash and allows him to
escape his lab. Instead, Cortex kidnaps Tawna, Crash's girlfriend to experiment
on instead. Crash decides he needs to rescue Tawna and defeat Cortex. In Crash
2 and 3, the story continues at the defeat of Cortex at the hands of Crash,
where Cortex is hell bent on getting revenge on Crash by using crystals to
power up the Cortex Vortex, to try and destroy the earth.
Comparing this to the original trilogy released between 1996
and 1998, naturally the graphics have had a complete overhaul. To be fair,
these aren’t the best graphics on the Playstation 4 but they were never meant
to be. They were meant to be crisp, polished and easy on the eyes. Activision
have done a splendid job of making Crash look brilliant. Being a big fan of the
original games, there are a couple of things I would have changed (like make
Crash look a bit goofier than he does comparatively to the original) but I
honestly can grasp at straws in terms of thinking of anything negative to say
about the redesigning of the games. The redesigns of all the boss enemies look
spot on too.
Being a massive fan of the original games, I was a little
concerned when I heard they were remastering the soundtracks of the original games.
The music in the original games has a big place in my heart and the job Naughty
Dog did in the original would be hard to beat. But, pleasantly, I barely notice
any difference when actually playing the game when hearing the music. It does
sound almost identical most of the time and the few changes are welcome because
they often substance rather than subtract, such as add native jungle sounds to
emphasise the area of the world the games are set in.
It's not realistic enough. Surely Crash would be sweating buckets, being next to all those grills??
When it comes to the sound of the game, overall it does
sound very crisp and each individual sound correlates well to what’s happening
on screen. But – and a big but – perhaps its nostalgia, but for me, Activision
have replaced many of the key sounds from the original games that didn’t need
replacing. Think of Sonic as an example – can you imagine if they changed the
sound of collecting rings? Or Mario, when he jumps into one of the tubes? These
sounds are over 20 years old and are iconic parts of the respective games. When
it comes to Crash Bandicoot, there are also classic sounds, completely omitted
from the remaster which disappoints me as a guy growing up with the games as a
kid. For instance, getting an extra life has a very mild “kerching” sound
compared to the brilliant one from the original games. The “whoa” sound that
Crash makes is completely changed too. The glorious “aaaaah” noise when
collecting a crystal is replaced. Just these little things, these iconic
sounds, should have remained in the game in my opinion to remind people that
these are the foundations of a 20 year old classic platformer that should be in
place in every Crash Bandicoot game ever released in the future. But never
mind!
Speaking of sound, the voice actors have done a good job in
the remaster overall, and most of the dialogue remains untouched too, with some
subtle changers here and there mainly for clarity. My only bug bear with this
remaster however is Cortex. That’s not to say that Lex Lang has done a bad job
as Cortex, but when Clancy Brown offers his services to completely redo his
work from Crash 2 and 3 and they don’t even consider him, it stings a little.
Cortex from the trilogy is one of my all time favourite villains and Clancy
Brown brought that life to life in a massive way during this period.
One thing that was a criticism of the Crash Bandicoot, but
was improved on slightly in Crash 2 and 3 was the controls and mechanics. In
what was a stumbling block in the original trilogy, the game play mechanics,
combined with the controls, are “almost” identical, for good or for bad. As
stated earlier in this review, for me an imperative factor in this transition
was to make the games “feel” the same, the intangible quality that was so
specific and evident in the original games but lacked in other titles, the
feeling so hard to define, HAD to be present in this remaster. And the result?
It’s 99% there. And I emphasise 99%. Sometimes the game play mechanics feel a
little “off”, sometimes the controls are a little stiff, but overall they do
feel the same, very much so. There’s one or two things that are different in
the mechanics, again, something hard to give examples of, but one thing is the
ice levels in Crash 2 – gliding across the ice doesn’t “feel” the same as the
original games, they definitely got that wrong and you have to mentally adjust
to that if you’re playing comparatively from the original from 1997.
However, I emphasise the mechanics and controls are almost
identical, “for good or for bad”. Why? Crash Bandicoot is HARD. Especially the
first game. The second and third games are a lot easier than the first, but
that doesn’t take away from the fact that overall as a package, this game, even
though it’s aimed at a younger audience, is a tough nut to crack. And while the
controls and mechanics are almost identical to the original games, this could
throw some people off. Aiming for that ambitious jump? Good luck. You’ll go,
“how did I not make that jump! This is ridiculous!”. You’ll swear there was
enough space between you and Nitro boxes. If you do Time Trials, be prepared
for trial and error, getting far into a level before falling down a pit at the
end. This game requires a lot of patience and it’s something a lot of modern
day gamers may struggle to adapt to, when, generally speaking, games are easier
than they were in the nineties.
No joke here. I love this picture, it's totally badass.
A final thing about the mechanics - if you’re someone that
completely mastered the original Crash Bandicoot series (something that I
actually did only 2-3 months ago), I would like to stress that this game isn’t
identical. I said earlier that it’s 99% the same, but those 1% moments make a
big difference. I got Game Over on Crash 2 a good few times in my run through
that game, despite the fact that in my run through the original game only 2-3
months ago I finished the game with 82 lives and didn’t get Game Over once.
There’s just certain parts of the remaster that are just harder than the
original. I can’t put my finger on what makes those moments harder, they just
are. You point and go – “I didn’t lose so many lives on this part of the game
on the original!” – and you just can’t put into words what it is. Trust me on
this, it’s not me being bad at the game, it’s just legitimately harder! That
being said, if you’re not someone that played the games over and over again,
and you only played Crash on occasion, you probably won’t notice. But it is
super hard regardless!
This next paragraph is for those who have played the
original trilogy and want to know what’s added into the game, or what remains
on a subtle level. I mentioned it earlier briefly but you can now play as Coco
in Crash 1 and 2, something you weren’t able to do before. Coco in these games
plays almost identical as Crash does and is purely there as for novelty
purposes, in the end her presence completely goes against the story of the game
but they did justify that by saying that she “uses the time machine from Crash
3 to relive Crash’s old adventures”. Coco can’t play every level however, but
she can play most of them. Also, she can’t be used to go against the bosses
either. As stated earlier too, you can now do Time Trials in Crash 1 and 2.
There’s also a leaderboard, so you can compare your times to how people are
doing around the world, which is nice. Also, if you beat Crash 2, you can
unlock the Spint Shoes (also named Crash Dash) ability from Crash 3, which is
definitely required because some of the Platinum times that you need to beat
are just crazy. The password saving system from Crash 1 has been removed and
replaced with a simple system similar to Crash 2 and 3, and the bonus levels
from Crash 1 allow you to try as many times as you wish, which too is similar
to Crash 2 and 3. When you get Game Over, Uka Uka from Crash 3 is the one to
give you the bad news, regardless of what game you’re playing. This, in my
opinion is a bit odd, mainly due to the fact that he was imprisoned up until
the story of Crash 3 so there’s an error of continuation. The jet pack levels
of Crash 2 gives you an option of inverting the up and down buttons to down and
up, if that makes sense, so those who found the controls confusing in the
original game can change them in the Options menu.
Overall, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is a brilliant
remaster of the original games which came out, 21, 20 and 19 years ago
respectively. Activision considering the circumstances, truly have put Wumpa
fruit, sweat and tears into giving us the games we all remember playing two
decades ago but with very polished look, remastered audio, some subtle but very
justified changes to the games and have truly given it a whole new lease of
life. Everything from the original Crash trilogy is there, all the good and the
bad and you can’t fault Activision in many ways for the job they have done. And
this game is great value, available in the UK for £25-£30 at base value, a
bargain compared to most new games that have come out. The question really now
is, what happens from here? Do Activision bring out a Crash Bandicoot 4, in a
similar style to these three? Or do they bring out a version of Crash Team
Racing? Early reports are saying this game has sold tremendously well, so this
certainly won’t be the last time we see Crash Bandicoot on our consoles!
Rating: ****1/4 stars
As an aside, this is what rating I would give the original
Crash Bandicoot games released in the late nineties in comparison:
Crash Bandicoot - ***3/4 stars
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back - ****1/2 stars
Crash Bandicoot 3 Warped! - ****3/4 stars
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Game: Crash Bandicoot Level: 27 (of 31) Level Type: Factory Random Fact: This level, by a large margin, has the most extra lives that are not in crates in Crash history. There are 27 lives in a secret area all in one place (see the picture below)
Considering how hard Crash Bandicoot 1 is, you’d expect that Level 27 would be one of the hardest in the entire game. And while there are some very tricky parts in the level, the truth is, the level is quite easy. More than that though, this level is so much FUN. All of the platforms and steam machines are great to jump on, it honestly feels at times like a Sonic level. The enemies are few and the difficult obstacles aren’t that hard to get around. This level apparently was one of the last levels Naughty Dog created for the game, so maybe they just thought it’d be a good mercy level for the player. It’s a hoot, that’s for sure!
Game: Crash Bandicoot Level: 1 (of 31, including boss battles) Level Type: Jungle Random Fact: Being the first level in the history of the series, this is the first time the player sees almost every type of crate available, bar TNT crates really! Nitro crates came into the games in Crash 2.
I’ve put down that this level is a “Jungle” level but it starts off at the beach, and goes into the Jungle, so in theory you could say it’s the only “beach” level in the game to do so. Ah, the first level. It’s a classic really. It’s not on the level of, say, Green Hill Zone of Sonic the Hedgehog or World 1-1 in Super Mario, but for so many gamers, this was the gateway into the Crash Bandicoot series. Overall, it’s not the best level, it’s not the best designed level either, and for a first level of a video game it isn’t terribly easy. That bridge of see-through boxes still gets me at times! But it’s still an iconic level, and just hearing the music and seeing Crash wake up from the shore, is a classic moment no avid Crash Bandicoot fan will ever forget.
If you missed #21 click here. For #19, click here.
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Hey everyone, and welcome to my newest listing. On the 30th
June the remaster/remake of all three of the original Crash Bandicoot games is
coming out. I am/was a MASSIVE Crash Bandicoot fan. I’d probably say it’s only
second to the Sonic the Hedgehog Mega Drive games in terms of my favourite
platformer series. Yes that means I prefer it to Mario and Spyro, and all of
the others.
I can’t put my finger on why I loved the Crash games so
much. I love the sense of humour, it’s a style that you just don’t find
consistently in other platformers. The games are so slick, or, at least, the second
and third games were. Crash as a character is the perfect mixture of nerdy and
cool, and he’s just so awesome. I love the many, MANY different level designs.
I love the music. I love the power ups in Crash 3. I love the chase levels. I
love riding the hog, Polar and Pura. I love trying the Time Trials on Crash 3,
unless they’re super tough anyway! I just love this game series so much.
Unfortunately, since Naughty Dog sold the Crash series, a
load of mediocre Crash games have been made since. Activision have held the
rights to the series since 2008 and have only really made one major title , Mind
Over Mutant back in 2008, and a few mobile games in ’08, ’09 and 2010. For the
last seven years we’ve had nothing.
But a couple of years ago, rumours were flying that Crash
was going to return. Rumours that Activision were going to bring the series
back, or Naughty Dog were going to buy the series off them again. Either way,
the rumours were initially false, but the hype and excitement that came from
those rumours set in motion the beginnings of a fully remade version of Crash
1, 2 and 3. And to be fair, Activision have paid a very good tribute to Naughty
Dog’s original gameplay, music and level design, the game does look fantastic.
We’ll all find out on June 30th if all the hype and hard work that
Activision has put in will be worth it.
So! To pay homage to Naughty Dog’s three fantastic video
games, and to celebrate the release of the remaster, I thought I’d countdown,
one day at a time, my favourite 30 Crash Bandicoot levels. So please note,
these levels are only in Crash 1, 2 and 3. Also, there are no boss levels in
this listing either. By all means tell me about your favourite levels, and
favourite moments in the series by commenting below. So without any further
delay, let’s start with #30!
#30 Heavy Machinery
Game: Crash Bandicoot
Level: 18 (of 31, including boss fights)
Level Type: Factory
Random Fact: This was actually the first level Naughty Dog created,
ever!
Despite the level being difficult (to be honest, the second
half of Crash 1 is harder than any of Crash 2 and 3, in my opinion anyway),
this level is lots of fun. The song is really catchy, the gas platforms that
push you upwards very fast are cool and are very reminiscent of Sonic, the
steam popping upwards as a hazard is a good idea to add further difficulty to the
level, and the hot and cold pipes are a fun and novel idea too. Simply, all in
all, it’s just a fun level to start off the third and final island in the game.
Click here for #29! ...or go straight to #1 by clicking here!
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We're 40% through the list, so let's count another 10 villains down, from #30 to #21!
Note: There are possible spoilers in each entry so avoid them if you don't want to ruin any storylines.
#30: Dr Fetus
Other Names: Dr Keith Fetus Debut Game and Year: Super Meat Boy (2010) Famous Quote?: None Other Appearances: None
Super Meat Boy is a brilliant game. With a very simple storyline. Dr Fetus is an evil bastard, who dislikes everyone. Especially Meat Boy. Because he hates Meat Boy so much he kidnaps his girlfriend and hides her in very difficult traps for Meat Boy to get killed in. It's an old school platform game made fun and very difficult, and Dr Fetus always stays one step ahead of Meat Boy, continuing to hide his girlfriend away from him and flips his middle finger at him whenever possible. Dr Fetus isn't an original villain in motivation or even complicated, but he's just fun to chase and serves a great deal of joy in playing Super Meat Boy. #29: Giovanni
Other Names: None Debut Game and Year: Pokemon Red and Blue (1996) Famous Quote?: "Keep your nose out of grown-up matters... Or experience a world of pain!" Other Appearances: Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, Pokemon HeartGold and Soulsilver, Pokemon Black and White 2
There was something quite likeable about Giovanni from the original Pokemon games. He was a man that wanted power and to use Pokemon to take over the world but, there was always a certain respect he had for the player. Despite all the evil and intent he had, he lost his battles against you with grace and respect and walked away from his plans whenever you got the better of him. I don't know why but I just thought that was such a cool thing about Giovanni. I've always liked him and always will. #28: Creeper
Other Names: None Debut Game and Year: Minecraft (2011) Famous Quote?: "sssssss......" Other Appearances: None
Ask anyone who has played Minecraft about Creepers and they will all tell a different story about this little fella, all resulting in hearing a hissing sound and an explosion of some creation that took hours of time to arrange. Creepers are like the landlord from hell, waiting for you to work your butt off for a living then take a huge chunk out of your hard work... but this time it's literally. All they do is explode in front of your house or other structures, just for the hell of it. But there's also something quite lovable about them too, and they're one of the best bunch of green pixels a game can ask for. #27: Nemesis
Other Names: Nemesis-T Type, The Pursuer Debut Game and Year: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999) Famous Quote?: "S.T.A.R.S..." Other Appearances: Resident Evil Survivor 2 Code: Veronica, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
Nemesis is one of the most iconic monsters in video game history, but he's not my favourite. More on that later in the list. But it's hard not to see why. Big grotesque monster. He's possibly the most popular stalking monster in the history of video gaming. Has a rocket launcher. Has an awesome trench coat. Very difficult to knock out, nevermind kill. He's been the nightmare of many a player, in two ways, playing the game and his scariness. He's a tough m-fer and is so hard to knock down. Easy mode or hard mode, makes no difference. But I've gotta love Nemesis, he's a different kind of badass and deserves a big mention here in my list. #26: Mankar Camoran
Other Names: None Debut Game and Year: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006) Famous Quote?: "So, the cat's-paw of the Septims arrives at last. You didn't think me unawares? Here of all places, in the paradise that I created?" Other Appearances: None
Before I talk about this dude I'd just like to say I was debating whether or not to put Cicero from Skyrim in this list. I've decided not to as he can be a friend or a foe. But he would have made this list, and quite far in it, if it wasn't optional. Anyway, Cicero aside, The Elder Scrolls games do struggle to make great villains. There are some good villains, but very few are "great". Mankar Camoran is a great villain however. He's almost invincible and talks a lot of sense to a certain extent, and that's what's so good about him. It seems inevitable that evil will run over the planet at some point or another, when Oblivion is just underneath the world. But obviously you want to stop it, and try to make it so it'll never ever happen. But Mankar Camoran's speeches are great to read, whilst travelling through Paradise. I love Camoran, and for me he's one of the best characters in the entire series of The Elder Scrolls. Okay, we're half way there now, so here's a recap of the list from #50 to #26: #50 - Ogre (Tekken) #49 - Tom Nook (Animal Crossing) #48 - The Tank (Left 4 Dead) #47 - Akuma (Street Fighter) #46 - Ba'Gamnan (Final Fantasy XII) #45 - Mr. X (Streets of Rage) #44 - The Director (Manhunt) #43 - Tiny Tiger (Crash Bandicoot) #42 - Goldman (House of the Dead) #41 - Bryan Fury (Tekken) #40 - Blue (Pokemon) #39 - The Ghosts (Pac-Man) #38 - Lisa Trevor (Resident Evil) #37 - Knuckles (Sonic 3) #36 - Dr Zomboss (Plants vs Zombies) #35 - Scissorman (Clock Tower) #34 - Seifer (Final Fantasy VIII) #33 - Walter Sullivan (Silent Hill 4: The Room) #32 - Black (Gunstar Heroes) #31 - G. Ceara (Super Monaco GP) #30 - Dr Fetus (Super Meat Boy) #29 - Giovanni (Pokemon) #28 - Creeper (Minecraft) #27 - Nemesis (Resident Evil 3) #26 - Mankar Camoran (Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion) So, let's start the Top 25! At number 25 is... #25: Dr Robotnik
Other Names: Doctor Ivo Robotnik, Dr Eggman Debut Game and Year: Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) Famous Quote?: None Other Appearances: Almost if not all Sonic the Hedgehog games since
Do you call him Dr Eggman? Because fuck you, if you call him Dr Eggman. He's Dr Robotnik and I won't take any arguments about that. You've gotta love Dr Robotnik. The man will stand at nothing but to try and take over the world, just to be thwarted every time by an annoying speedy blue hedgehog. He has no soul; kidnapping all sorts of animals and shoving them into his high-intelligence robots and make them take over precious lands in attempts to taking control. He's real evil like. And I love him. His grin, his Eggmobile, his running animation, he's just so awesome. #24: Zachary Comstock
Other Names: Zachary Hale Comstock, Father Comstock, The Prophet, Booker DeWitt Debut Game and Year: Bioshock Infinite (2013) Famous Quote?: "One man goes into the waters of baptism, a different man comes out, born again. But who is that man who lies submerged? Perhaps that swimmer is both sinner and saint, until he is revealed unto the eyes of man." Other Appearances: None
Spoilers! Spoilers! Spoilers! Avoid the text above and this paragraph to avoid spoilers! Okay? Right. Anyway. Wow. Wow is the best word to describe the amazing storyline and scenario created in Bioshock Infinite. Comstock is Booker DeWitt. Never saw that coming. The horrible cycle of Comstock, Colombia, Elizabeth's birth and amazing power all comes down to a loop in Comstock's bloodline. He can see the future apparently. Elizabeth can see the past. Time travel is everywhere in Colombia, and Booker DeWitt is in the middle of a huge confusing storyline of time travel that is way above him. Or is it? It is him. He is the core of the whole situation. DeWitt is an alternative version of Comstock, the "old" Comstock, before he became a prophet. DeWitt is full of dispair and shame, because Elizabeth is his daughter, and he loses her. And he has to die, to stop everything from happening over and over again. He has to die to stop the time travelling and for Comstock's existence to be void. For Elizabeth not to be taken advantage of. Of course she has to die too (although that's been debated... not gonna go into that). Either way, Comstock, or Booker DeWitt, is a great villain. Full of badass quotes, a strong agenda and an almost clear cut invincibility, until the events of the game finally occur, Comstock is one great bad guy. #23: Heihachi Mishima
Other Names: None Debut Game and Year: Tekken (1994) Famous Quote?: "I'll be quick with your death!" - pre-fight quote from Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Other Appearances: Every Tekken game since
His dad, Jinpachi, his son, Kazuya, and his grandson, Jin, all have different forms of the devil gene, but you can always argue that Heihachi, the only person who doesn't have it in his bloodline is the most evil of the lot. He disposes of his father and takes over his country, throws his son down a ravine to "test his strength" and tries to kill his grandson. All he cares about is himself, and his power, and has very little time for anyone or anything, and won't hesitate to double cross anyone, family or not. But, like a lot of these villains in this list, there's something lovable about Heihachi. I love his relationship with his pet bear, Kuma. And there's quite a few funny moments in some of the endings, throughout the series. Not to mention that he has an awesome moveset. I just love Heihachi. #22: Dormin
Other Names: None Debut Game and Year: Shadow of the Colossus (2005) Famous Quote?: "We, Dormin, have arisen anew..." Other Appearances: None
Spoilers! Spoilers! Don't read this if you want to avoid spoilers! Done? Okay. Like the Comstock entry, I thought it's important to warn you about spoilers because of how amazing the game and its storyline are. If you haven't completeled Shadow of the Colossus you won't recognise Dormin. All of the colossi you defeat in the game, are actually parts of Dormin. He tricks Wander, the main character, promising him to ressurrect his lady if he kills the colossi in the lands around the temple, where in actual fact, by killing them, they, one by one, take over Wander's body to their master in the temple. When he gets killed in the temple, Dormin takes over, all sixteen parts of him, become one giant demon-thing, and destroy the people who are in the temple. He tricked you into believing him, thinking he was good, and had the power to bring back your lover, when in actual fact, he was using you to become born again. Dormin looks badass, and is a horrible villain, for using your character like that. #21: William Birkin
Other Names: None Debut Game and Year: Resident Evil 2 (1998) Famous Quote?: None Other Appearances: Resident Evil 0, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
If you haven't seen it yet, I wrote a homage article to William Birkin on this website. It's the second most viewed page on this site. You can read that here. Considering I wrote a homage article about him you'd have to expect me to place him high on this list of villains. Some may have expected him higher on the list. Fair enough. But it shows you how much I love the next twenty villains. William Birkin was an amazing monster. And that's one of the main reasons why he's not higher on the list. As a monster, he's absolutely incredible. My homage article pays homage to the monster, the transformations and everything about his physical appearance, and how much it affected me as a gamer. But as a villain, William Birkin isn't really a bad guy. He was a researcher who was experimenting for the Umbrella company. When he realised how special his research was, he started to guard his virus vaccine from those who wished to use it for bad. But he became obsessed with it, and his obsession lead to him being mortally wounded by Umbrella Special Forces. He'd rather use it on himself than give his life's work to those leeches. So, as a villain, he wasn't an evil dude. He was on the wrong side of the fence, and was desperate. So that's why he's not higher on the list. But sure, the monster, not the man, is an incredible sight to be seen and will live with me, and many gamers, forever.
Hey
there, and welcome to the second edition of my Mercy Links. This section is
basically me revealing to you the ten songs I've been listening to the
most every month. I did January last month and, while I'm a little late, I bring you February's ten songs now. So what are the Ten Mercy Licks of February 2013? Let's find out...
#10: "Laid to Rest" - Lamb of God You'll notice a theme with a lot of the songs in this list. And that theme is Guitar Hero. If it wasn't for Guitar Hero I would have never even thought about liking Lamb of God. I don't really like bands that shout from the bowels of fiery doom much, not when it's pretty much the only thing they do. But Lamb of God are one of the better bands in that bracket. And I do enjoy a couple of songs by the band. "Laid to Rest" is a pretty damn cool track. #9: "Get to the Gone" - Static-X I have been playing this a lot recently in general. I was surprised it didn't make last month's list. It's my favourite Static-X song and I have recently really been listening to a lot of Static-X. It's just so awesome, I love everything about it. I prefer it to the singles off the album, being "Cold" and "Black and White". If you like your industrial metal, seriously, give this track a listen. #8: "Ayo Technology" - 50 Cent feat. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland I had forgotten all about this track for years until my good friend reminded me. I really don't like 50 Cent. At all. He pisses me off big time and I really don't rate his music. But, naturally, working with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, two of the better performers in RnB, brings the best out of Fiddy. It's a really catchy track and it's probably the best work 50 Cent will do, at least in my opinion. #7: "Linchpin" - Fear Factory I'm not a big Fear Factory fan to be honest. As industrial metal bands go they're not one that inspire me to rock out much. But "Linchpin" is totally badass. I really really like this song, so much that it may actually make the Top 10 in March as well. I have been playing it an incredible amount and to be honest, I'm not tiring of playing it yet. It's just awesome. #6: "YYZ" - Rush Here's a medley of Guitar Hero songs I've played a lot through the last month. The first being "YYZ", possibly one of the greatest instrumentals of all time, or at least I think so. I'd never really listened to Rush before I played Guitar Hero, and in honesty, I'm not a fan of the band but "YYZ" is just a piece of musical genius. It's funny as in some ways, it sounds a lot like the basis of Sonic music in the Megadrive era, yet ten years before. Just give it a listen if you haven't before. #5: "Carry on My Wayward Son" - Kansas As I said, this is a Guitar Hero medley of songs I've been playing a lot recently, but you could also put in a huge assist to Supernatural for this one. Most people nowadays think of Supernatural when it comes to this song anyways, and I have been watching the series a lot recently. I've always appreciated "Carry on My Wayward Son" because the guitar riff is so awesome, in honesty hair metal isn't my thing and it took me a while to like the rest of the song, but I really do now. It's a cracker of a track and love putting it on. #4: "Free Bird" - Lynyrd Skynyrd Man, what a song "Free Bird" is. It's just one of the best classic rock songs of all time. And it has to be played in the full nine minute version, no shortcuts. I recently saw "The Devil's Rejects" and the scene in the film that has "Free Bird" in it is used to perfection. The song just has an attachment to pop culture that will never fade, as far as I'm concerned. And of course, I love playing it on Guitar Hero, it's just great. #3: "YOLO (feat. Adam Levine and Kendrick Lamar)" - Lonely Island
It's funny that this is the third most played song on this list as I'm actually a little underwhelmed by the new Lonely Island track. This is the first single off the new album coming out soon, their third album, but when you compare this track to the promoting singles off the other two albums, namely "I Just Had Sex" and "Jizz in my Pants", it just doesn't compare in comedy value and music quality. But it's still quite good, and the video is pretty funny too. The best thing about "YOLO" is simply, that it means we're getting a new Lonely Island album which is fantastic news. #2: "Bangarang (feat. Sirah)" - Skrillex
There were two songs that flew away with the amount of times I played them, and this marginally lost out on the top spot. Bare with me here. You may remember me saying I really don't like dubstep, nor do I really listen to chart music or popular music. But I have been going to clubs a lot more recently and this kept on coming on, and I loved dancing to it. I never knew it was Skrillex, nor what it was called for months. I kept asking my friends but, well, how can you describe a dubstep track in sound without making a lot of "bwa bwa bwub bwub" noises? Exactly. So I finally found this track and I just love it. Fair play to Skrillex, despite me really disliking him, I now like two of his songs. Ah well. #1: "Back in the Saddle" - Aerosmith
Unlike the other tracks on this list that have appeared in Guitar Hero games, this entry isn't really because of the game. It's actually because of Supernatural. The song came on when I was watching series 6 and I forgot how absolutely badass it is. It's by far my favourite Aerosmith song. "Carry On My Wayward Son" appeared on this list because of Guitar Hero, this appeared beause of Supernatural. But you can say I've definitely had my fill of Guitar Hero and Supernatural this month and that's what makes this list what it is. So, that's a wrap for today. I
hope you've enjoyed this list. Until next time,
take care! If you liked this article you might want to read:
