Feature / Music
2004: A Year In Review

Posted pre-2010

(In no specific order)

Halo 2

This was why the X-Box was invented. Nothing else is neccessary.

Half-Life 2

Whether it's the sweeping storyline that leaves you feeling you're playing an interactive movie, the epic soundtrack that makes you want to don sniper goggles and a bullet belt as you charge through enemy infested sniping gorges, or the sheer exhilaration of sending a flaming barrel of explosive chemicals into your enemies, Half-Life 2 is, quite simply, the best computer game ever created. A realism explored through lifelike physics and a world you can manipulate and interact with, it feels more like a trip into an alien-infested Eastern European warzone than a simple computer game. Buy this game. Now. Doom 3

The ultimate game for those who love horror, zombies, guns and hell. Doom is unashamedly thin on plot: here are the alien zombies, here is the shotgun. Despite its paper-thin storyline, its visual effects are nothing short of jaw-dropping. Shadow and light effects sometimes rival reality, and the creepiness and tension of waiting for the impending monster attack you can just hear in the distance make you carry on playing. If you want to experience a game that will leave you scared and jumpy after playing a marathon midnight session, a game that will make you jump out of your skin time after time, and a game that will make you laugh with maniacal power as you hit Beserker mode and kill everything in sight with your bare hands, Doom 3 is the game for you.

Katamari Damacy

If you're reading this and are wondering what the hell Katamari Damacy is, that's okay, but go out now and get this game. It's been hailed by games critics as the happiest game ever made, and it's a purely captivating game. Indescribable (would you believe a game about collecting random junk to fix broken stars was going to make top 5 lists?) and yet neccessary, it even boasted a Mario-esque soundtrack full of catchy and genuine jaunts that will no doubt be covered by nintendoXcore bands in years to come. Play this game, take my word for it.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

GTA:San Andreas almost didn't make this list, but I got a call to my house last night and four gangster-looking hoodlums with baseball bats stepped inside, and, well.. we discussed San Andreas' presence in this list. After making an appointment with my chiropracter, I re-considered. Having evolved from its humble 2D beginnings into its now infamous 3D settings, GTA:SA now features a fully interactive world and, for the first time in gaming, a rare physical control over your character. Eat too many pizzas and you'll take on an appearance akin to the late Barry White. Opt to run everywhere instead of stealing your transport, and you'll become slim and lean, like numerous steroid-addicted athletes. The temptation to skip the missions and just take part in wreaking destruction over the hugely proportioned state of San Andreas is hard to resist, and this is a game that you'll certainly get your money's worth from.

Runner-Up:

World Of Warcraft

"World of Warcraft is addicting. I am addiciting*. Look at my AIM profile for Christ's sake. It's great. You can freaking have a raptor for a pet. MUST GO PLAY."

*Scene Point Blank's own self-styled "Grammar Nazi" Melanie typed this in a fit of excitement. We figured if such a game could induce such a state of illiteracy in one so accurate, it deserved inclusion here.

-Matt

Next: Top 5 Shows!

— words by the SPB team

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