The Sony PlayStation really was a game-changer, literally. Games had been big business already, with gaming consoles and micros such as the Atari, Spectrum, Commodore, Sega consoles, Nintendo consoles over the years since the late 70s and early 80s. But in 1994 a new player entered the game. Sony, with their more adult focussed console, the PlayStation. This brought 3D games to the fore and made it cool. Gamers had grown up, and these consoles even appeared in nightclubs. Gaming went to the next level.
I loved my first PlayStation and here are the ten games I played, or just enjoyed, the most.
10. WipeOut
This was one of the games that was really pushed as a champion game for the console. Cool futuristic vehicles, high speed 3D racing, and a hardcore dance soundtrack. It screamed everything that the PlayStation stood for. Personally I really enjoyed it, and I loved watching other people play it, but I was never very good at it myself, hence why it comes in at no.10 on my list.
9. Ridge Racer
This is a racing game that I was better at. My entry here includes all the various versions of Ridge Racer that were released. The original was a smart move for the launch of the console. Taking an existing successful arcade game and porting it well to the console. This was arcade racing at its most fun. I was slightly better at this than I was at WipeOut!
8. Kula World
I’m a sucker for a puzzle game, and a maze game, and cool geometric 3D graphics. I also love games that have levels that are similar structures but have different themes like Egyptian and snow and space etc. Kula World had all the above. It scratched all those itches. And I personally felt that it had a really great interface too. The way the ball basically stayed still and you rotated and moved the 3D world around you was very well done. All in all it’s a pretty simple game, but it perfectly used everything that the PlayStation had to offer.
7. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater
You have to say this is an iconic game, and its legacy lives strong today. I always wanted to be a skater but just didn’t know anyone else that did it, so other hobbies took precedence. But I could easily do skating in the Tony Hawk game which was a good substitute. It had a great mechanic, a scoring system that was addictive and just lots of little quirky fun elements. I really love the remastered version that was released a few years ago.
6. Tomb Raider
Another iconic game here. The original version in 1996 was ground-breaking, and ceiling-shattering. Not only was it a very good action-adventure game, and was very well made, but obviously having a strong female lead character was not the norm for video games up until that point. And wow did Lara do well. She has gone on to lead a huge franchise and often be the flag bearer for more female leads in video games from that point on.
5. World Cup 98
You may cringe at me having a FIFA-related game so high up, but the truth is that I played the hell out of this game for a few years. I played other games too like the FIFA series (of course, a new version every single year), but this is the one that really sticks with me. Possibly because of the title music being so catchy. Thank you Chumbawamba!
4. Driver
Now we’re talking. I fell in love with this game from the second I put it in. Don’t get me wrong, it definitely had its glitches, but it also oozed charm. I’ve always loved 70s cop dramas and this puts you right into the heart of the action. The cars, the sound effects, the music. So stylish. The missions were fun, albeit frustrating at times, but I do hold the memory of this game very dear.
3. Metal Gear Solid
On to the real big guns now. Very hard to separate the final three. Metal Gear Solid was a breath of fresh air. Hideo Kojima seemed to just live by his own rules, do his own thing, and revolutionise gaming. This was the real start of the 3D stealth game. Incredible graphics, cut scenes that you actually want to watch, pretty decent voice actors, and boy that gameplay. It was tense! Also, its’ the origin of two memes, the cardboard box reveal exclamation mark, and the “Snaaaaaaaaaaaake” line. An absolute classic. It’s on the PlayStation Mount Rushmore for sure.
2. Gran Turismo
I’m being cheeky here and considering both Gran Turismo 1 and Gran Turismo 2 here. The second game is really just an iteration of the first with more cars and better graphics. The key thing about both of them is the realism. It’s not Ridger Racer, but it’s also not Hard Drivin’. It’s somewhere inbetween. It has absolute realism, or at least the attempt of it. With actual recorded engine sounds of all the cars featured, the ability for petrol-heads to fine-tune umpteen parameters of their engines, and also incredible real time physics so that in the game (and especially in the replays) you can see that when cars break their nose goes down, just like in real life. This level of realism was groundbreaking. But they also managed to package it all up in an interface which did contain elements such as having to earn your driving licence, but then also having tense, dramatic and fun races to compete in. And then as you earn money you can unlock more cars. This series changed driving games and I absolutely loved this game. Great music too.
1. Tekken 3
Tekken 3 is my personal favourite. And it’s probably the game in my whole life that I have played the most, in terms of hours played, apart from Elite on the ZX Spectrum. For me it’s got everything a fighting game needs, and I still believe this is the pinnacle of the series. It’s the reason I bought a PlayStation. What’s so good about it? Firstly the graphics. Rather than the 2D sprites of Street Fighter this series opted for 3D. The first two incarnations had been a bit too much like Virtua Fighter’s polygons. But Tekken 3 upped the in-game graphics to another level. I think it still looks great. And although subsequent versions have looked better in terms of renders, I just haven’t loved the character modelling or animation quite as much as in Tekken 3. Moreover, this again has cut scenes and intros that you genuinely want to watch. They gave characters storylines that you cared about. And I still remember how excited I was when I first saw the Tiger Jackson disco dancing scene. Honestly, that 3D animation was cutting edge! Speaking of characters, the roster was another reason I loved the game. You had your standard Karate / Kung Fu related characters but you also had Forest Law who was basically Bruce Lee, you had Lei Wulong with his different stances, Paul with his huge hair, Yoshimitsu in his armour and pogo sword, King with his leopard head, Gun Jack as a robot, a Bear called Kuma, a Panda and more! Add on to all that the ease of doing combos (I used to know several 10 button combos for King which were great). The game had everything for me, and it’s one I still play regularly to this day. Here’s that Tiger Jackon cut scene. Enjoy.