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Let me talk to you, gamer, about 2004. What the gently caress happened in 2004 that makes it important? Well, a lot happened, actually. Most of it was sequels. Lets start in no particular order. I've done my best to include official Box Art of each game. Pokemon FireRed / LeafGreen They're the same game and the only people saying they aren't are Nintendo.  Can you imagine being alive in the time where the original Pokemon games got a remastered version? Think about the sheer power that has, in particular for someone who was there and involved in the original Red/Blue phenomenon. Except, FR/LG added a bunch of additional Pokemon to catch as well as a whole new (small) Region, packed into a single GBA Cartridge. Playing the original Games with the 3rd Gen Updates, combined with being able to grab yourself an Ursaring, which is objectively the best Pokemon due to being a bear, and, well, you got yourself a good time. Halo 2 Sir, finishing this fight.  Did you know the best FPS of all time (if you are between the age of 25-40) came out in 2004? Released in November 2004, Halo 2 changed the life of many a teenager at the time. Halo: Combat Evolved "redefined" the FPS genre for a lot of people, but Halo 2 took that redefining to its logical extreme. Halo 2 is the reason we have FPS as they exist today, in my opinion. This game was the first of its type to really tap into how incredible online gaming could be and came (and left) with so much hype it's hard to describe, even now. Halo: CE is where it all began, for sure, but gaming would be a different place if it wasn't for Halo 2. Halo 3 came close, as did Halo: Reach, but Halo 2 is pinnacle Halo and pinnacle Console FPS. It did more for the genre than anyone expected and we see its influence to this day. Also it had dual wielding. Need for Speed: Underground 2 3-6-9 drat YOU FINE  Okay so the Box Art wasn't Lil' Jon, but it might as well have been, because this game is a masterclass in licensed music (and also Driving Cars). Aside from Licensing Music in videogames, though, NFS:U2 was what we ended up coming to expect in an Arcade Racer. Don't get me wrong here - the Burnout series did it all better, but NFS:U2 is an important game because, without it, we wouldn't have Arcade Racing as we know it. Honestly, there isn't much about NFS:U2 that I can say other than it's the original formula for Arcade Racers we know nowadays, and Lil Jon was there. Half Life 2 Whatever, this game is whatever.  Did you know that the official release of Half Life 2 was 2004? So, whilst Halo 2 was busy reinventing the wheel over for Consoles, along came Half Life 2 to reinvent the wheel for PC's. There are more words on the internet about why Half Life 2 is a special game than most single Human Beings will speak in their lifetime, so I will keep this simple and short: 2004 brought us Half Life 2. The Sims 2 Clean. Up. Your. Plates.  The Sims 2 is, for a lot of people, the best game in the series. Lets set aside, for the purposes of this list, that you need all of the DLC in order for this argument to fly, The Sims 2 had huge boots to fill. The Sims was a tsunami insofar as PC Gaming at the time is concerned. Four years had passed since The Sims was released and during that time, expansions packs had allowed Sims to become famous, become magicians, own pets and... host parties. The Sims 2 introduced a lot of features that would return (or be inexplicably removed) from later installments, but it was here that Maxis and EA really hit their stride. I have no shame about how much I love The Sims as a series - I'm playing The Sims 4 to this day (and spending far too much money doing so) and you know, as a fan of the series, such as I am - what I keep saying to myself is that "this [insert thing] was better in The Sims 2." Truth is, The Sims 2 is almost a game that holds up to this day; the only things letting it down are loving LOAD TIMES and, well, Origin. Pikmin 2 Plants vs. The World  Pikmin was excellent. Pikmin 2 was better. All of the criticism of the original game was addressed, then Nintendo added a bunch of new poo poo for us to do - In fact, a lot of the DNA of Pikmin 2 is what carried over into the excellent Pikmin 3 and, true to Nintendo form, Pikmin 2 just happens to be one of those games where Nintendo introduce something new for other, better, studios to refine and do better. This is basically a fact of the universe by now. The most important thing about Pikmin 2 though? You can just sacrifice a Horde of Albino Pikmin and poison your enemies to death. Viable strategy. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Ah poo poo.  The best Grand Theft Auto Game came out in 2004. So, that happened. Numerous MMORPG's Poop in the sock.  Here's where I end my (very incomplete) list. 2004 saw 3 MMORPG's hit the market in Retail form. Everquest 2. Final Fantasy XI. World of Warcraft. One of these would exist. One of these would capture the imagination of many, many people. One would be played by your nan. Say what you will about these games, they arrived in 2004 and they are all here to stay. I'm going to put aside the lols for this post and focus on why these games are extremely important, and why they make 2004 the Year of the Game. Truth is, World of Warcraft is the champ. Before 2004, MMORPG's were a natural evolution of the MUD (multi-user-dungeon) which many Goons will be familiar with. You can argue that Everquest was released in 1999 and took that mantle, to which I say no, 2004 is the year MMORPG's made MUD's die (the death they actually deserved, honestly). We were introduced to three AAA equivalent worlds, which all were extremely broken, hosed up and beautiful in their own way. FFXI took off in Japan and WoW in the West - Everquest 2 existed in a weird inbetween state, wherein it would eventually die. Very different, these games all were - catering to vastly different crowds within the burgeoning MMORPG gamespace at the time, and yet WoW ended up as a cultural phenomenon. Regardless of where these games ended up or how they evolved, it cannot be denied that 2004 was a landmark for the genre the likes of which may not be seen again. That they are still played to this day is a testament either to the power of each game, no matter your opinion on it. MMORPG's were defined in 2004 and nothing comes close to what released that year, insofar as this one genre is concerned. Honestly, it hurts to type that because FFXIV isn't in the consideration here, but it isn't a genre defining game - it's a genre refining game. 2004 Honourable Mentions Of which there are many. Once again, in no particular order and with a comment for each: Viewtiful Joe - Proving that Comics make good videogames Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door - The best Mario RPG Fable - Our true introduction to Peter Molyneux R-Type Final - R Type Releases are important on any list ok Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles - I had the chance to play this with friends and it was incredible. Awful single player though Drakengard - Welcome to the Taroverse - terrible game though Beyond Divinity - Larian Studios can do no wrong Red Dead Revolver - The beginning of a legend The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay - Every morning I open palm slam this example of a Movie Tie In done right into my VHS Tales of Symphonia - Tales! Metroid Prime 2: Echoes - The best MPrime game ok Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - This gem began in 2004, too! Star Wars: Battlefront - Fun before the MTX Tony Hawks Underground 2 - Comparatively rubbish vs. the Pro Skater games but overall very good Killzone - Came out in 2004 Jak and Daxter 3 - Pinnacle of the series Super Mario 64 DS - Showing what the DS could do Alien Hominid - Flash game gone legit, it owned Gran Turismo 4 - Cars In conclusion, 2004 was the year of the game. iTrust fucked around with this message at 01:42 on Aug 21, 2022 |
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Aug 21, 2022 01:08
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| # ¿ May 11, 2024 15:08 |
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Thankyou for this thread Harrow. I think it's good that 1998 and 2017 were given a chance to shine, 2004 is such a kind soul of a year it doesn't mind being third in the overall running, because it knows that deep down in all our hearts it, 2004, is the true #1 year of gaming
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Sep 26, 2022 20:21
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