Enough to make Fire in the Sky look like a country picnic. I think despite ourselves, we all remember Earthworm Jim. Following their success with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, Playmates Toys wanted a video game presence in the age of the first console war.
It was biting, it was clever, it was funny, and it charmed everyone! But, by the time had rolled around, there was no need for that worm anymore. Earthworm Jim 3D for Nintendo 64 was not only an unnecessary extension of a played-out brand, it was also a poorly made video game.
Add to the litany of flaws an obnoxious plot that is so late '90s it hurts. Everyone's once-favourite worm is hit by a flying cow, sending him into a coma. Within his own subconscious, Earthworm Jim must locate the Golden Utters of Lucidity and regain consciousness before he is trapped in his coma forever. Earthworm Jim 3D tarnishes an already worn-out franchise that was once enjoyable, smart, and fun.
Like the younger brother of a star quarterback, the combat flight simulator Strike Commander lived in the shadows of Wing Commander and was mostly over-looked. However, with a plot straight out of a Jerry Bruckheimer film, Strike Commander is a hidden gem. The flight mechanics in Strike Commander are great, especially for the time, the cut-scenes are awesome and the storyline grabs your attention, pulling you right into the plot. Plus there's nothing like getting a missile lock on an enemy fighter plane and blasting him out of the air after an arduous-yet-enjoyable dogfight!
Most people have long forgotten ReBoot, the animated television series. But the fact that the Canadian CGI-animated show spawned a video game should tell you something. On second thought, it should tell you nothing. The end of the s culminated in a host of advancements in computers and game design. A new generation of devices emerged and expectations were much higher than before. In this environment, there was no need for the PlayStation game ReBoot. Poor controls, low-quality graphics, boring quests, pretty much everything that can go wrong did.
Following the general synopsis of the show, a Guardian named Bob must defeat the virus Megabyte in order to save Mainframe, a world that exists inside a computer system. Understandably, a lot of people really didn't care about that. There's no way this game wasn't cheap to make, but still, it shouldn't have been made. The theme song though, who could forget that? No one can deny how massive Jurassic Park was when it first came out. From toys to posters, t-shirts to soundtracks, stickers to thermoses, nearly every type of merchandize you could conceive of was sold en masse to countless children obsessed with the film.
As Ian Malcolm put it: they patented it, packaged it and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox. I probably owned that lunchbox. But perhaps in the deluge of all things Jurassic Park, some gems were forgotten, gems like Jurassic Park for Sega Genesis.
Released in , the game was guaranteed to sell well and it did, but even though the developers could have sold practically anything with the JP logo on it, they still took the time to make a great, albeit very difficult, game. There's a lot of things to like about Jurassic Park for Sega Genesis, as the graphics are great, the levels are varied and challenging, the music is awesome, but perhaps the best part: not only could you swing through the jungle as Alan Grant, you could stalk the park as a Velociraptor!
Maybe that brat in Montana who said raptors looked more like 6-foot turkeys. The film, for its countless flaws, did give us Darth Maul, a double-bladed lightsaber, Coruscant and the epic pod-racing game Star Wars Episode I: Racer for Nintendo There are so many great Star Wars games don't get me started , it's easy to see how a stellar one like Episode I: Racer would get lost in the crowd.
And X-Wing Alliance. And Dark Forces. I'll stop. With three different single-player modes as well as a multiplayer option to choose from, Star Wars Episode I: Racer is as re-playable as it is enjoyable. The controls and mechanics are amazing, the graphics are spot-on and there's plenty of levels. For all of us Star Wars nerds, that means it includes eight planets some of which appear for the first time in the game. The game was popular at the time and is still well received, but with the unending stream of Star Wars games, many of them high-quality, Episode I: Racer can easily be over-looked, even forgotten, until now The game is a traditional platformer with lots of jumping and the occasional flurry of attacking bats, though it is possible to transform into a bat and fly around for bit, which is great fun.
Death follows Kid Dracula along his journey, aiding him in his quest to defeat Galamoth by providing tips and heirlooms from Dracula Kid Dracula's father which is intriguing, especially for a kid's game. The controls inherent in the game are well designed, the levels are fun enough without being too difficult and the soundtrack is pretty epic.
Perhaps the reason why the game is so often forgotten is the company it keeps as a Game Boy platform game, what with some many legendary titles to compete with. That and the protagonist. Star Trek: The Next Generation practically defined the s. The television show was massive and henceforth there was no end of merchandize available for purchase. When the NES game came out in , the potential was huge.
Explore new worlds, seek out new life and civilizations, all from the comfort of your flower-patterned couch. Sign me up! It definitely did. Starting off as an ensign, players are given a series of missions by Captain Picard ranging from transporting ambassadors to full-on combat.
Of course, all of the missions are technically taking place on a Starship simulator in Starfleet academy, so really you're not in space after all, you're in the Enterprise-D simulation program somewhere in San Francisco. I know, big let down but it's not like anyone other than Jean-Luc Picard could captain the real Starship Enterprise, at least not in Sure, controlling the 'ship' is difficult and yes the graphics are sub-par even for the time but look at the bridge!
Listen to the beeping sounds of instruments as you traverse the simulated cosmos with Picard himself! Not sold? Maybe not. It's almost a shame, after all where else can you see characters like Blue Suede Goo and Ickybod Clay or come across wily puns such as 'goojitsu'?
For some reason product mascots were a big deal in the s. Enter Cool Spot, aka the red dot in the 7up logo. I recall renting this game when I was a youth, I can't imagine why, but I nearly destroyed the cartridge out of complete frustration and disappointment. I was more than willing to go along for the adventure, but when I struggled to get past the first level, I knew adventure wasn't awaiting me, anger was. I think I developed an irrational distain for 7up on account of Cool Spot.
Suffice to day, the game was bad, real bad. And yet somehow a sequel Spot Goes To Hollywood was made. I guess advertising 7UP was reason enough to make another game. Any publicity is good publicity. After all, the time-traveling warrior is charged with guarding the barrier between Earth and the Lost Land. Mainly dinosaurs, aliens, an evil overlord and a relic called the Chronoscepter.
And who doesn't want a Chronoscepter? At any rate, in the first chapter in the Turok saga, Tal'Set, assuming the mantle of Turok , must defeat the evil Campaigner set on harnessing the Chronoscepter to destroy the barriers of space and time and hence rule the universe.
High stakes. Speaking of high stakes, in , the developer Acclaim relied a great deal on the first N64 title to get their finances back in order. The gamble paid off. Well, at least for while they went bankrupt in True Lies was a box-office hit in and, though a lot of us choose to forget that film, the blockbuster was responsible for at least one good thing: the video game. The top-view action shooting game more or less plays out exactly like the movie. So is pretty much every scene in the film.
The game was moderately well received at the time of its release, and gamers really appreciated the hidden areas sprinkled here and there, but, due to its mediocrity, True Lies was easily and quickly forgotten. That's really where the game shines. And they happen often.
Something about the animation scratches me right where I didn't even know I itched. It is often forgotten however due to the fact that the rest of the series of games are all called So ul Caliber.
Unreal is often overshadowed by Unreal Tournament but it's actually an amazing first-person shooter. The plot centers around a prisoner aboard a spacecraft which crash lands. You take the role of that prisoner, the one human survivor who has nothing to lose. Virtua Fighter first became popular in the arcades back in the early to mid 90s. It was first released to arcades in and later to the Sega Saturn in and the Sega 32X in It was the first fighting game to use 3D polygon graphics.
The game sparked a popular franchise with many fighting game fans flocking to play both the original and the sequels and spin-offs released throughout the decade. This classic side-scrolling platformer was hugely popular in the mid 90s. The edgy art style and surreal humor helped it stand out from the crowd.
Throughout the decade Earthworm Jim was found on many consoles across the globe. Four games were released between and Over this time the series evolved from its 2D side-scrolling start to a free-roaming 3D extravaganza. As the gameplay and graphics evolved the series zaniness remained a constant, drawing in fans. Back in a string of developers worked together to produce massively multiplayer online role-playing game Everquest.
Everquest has its roots in MUD multi-user dungeon games and is also inspired by traditional role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons. Positive reviews and a string of awards helped the game gain popularity early on. Despite many of us putting the title to the back of our minds the game actually continues to this day, with the latest expansion, The Burning Lands, due to hit shelves on December 11 th.
One of the first ninja games to incorporate stealth, Tenchu: Stealth Assassins was an action-adventure game released in The involving gameplay and interesting mechanics made this game a success. It features 10 levels which increase in difficulty.
Each level can be repeated as many times as needed to progress. The Japanese version of the game is very different to the one we saw in North America and Europe. All versions however feature moves from martial artist Sho Kosugi and his son Kane, acquired using motion capture technology. Back in Worms was one of the go to titles for anyone with friends round to play games, especially over here in the UK.
The first game was a 2D artillery tactile game. Each player takes a turn to fire weapons at the opposing players worms. The aim is to keep your own worms alive while destroying others. You could play against your friends or an AI opponent.
This simple format was insanely popular and there have been many titles in the series, the last one being Worms W. D in Ape Escape is a third-person perspective platformer in which players use a variety of gadgets to chase and capture apes. Released in the game was hugely popular and many cite it as a PlayStation classic. The controls was the first to use dual shock functionality and makes heavy use of the analogue control sticks.
The quirky title is fun to play and includes different environments, a wide range of gadgets and an array of vehicles. The series continued right through the s with the last release being PlayStation Move Ape Escape in The popular adventure game became known for its humor and its player-friendly approach to gaming. The game itself makes it difficult to fail, instead preferring to guide you through the story.
This concept was unique for the time and was one of the draws of the game. The open format allowed players to really explore the fictional islands the game is set on. The game was so popular it spawned several sequels throughout 90s. The release of Windows 95 and Internet Explorer both marked huge advancements for home computing. Over the next few years, PCs would become more popular, bringing with them a range of simple games.
Windows 95 came with pre-installed games which defined 90s PC gaming. Anyone who had a PC in the late 90s has played these games, often for hours.
They are all simple and mostly terrible but for many, these were the first taste of pc gaming. For most, the game fared better than the movie and many gamers enjoyed the title, said to be a spiritual successor of Star Wars: Rogue Squadron.
The game features 15 missions as well as unlockable secrets including three bonus levels. Although some critics were skeptical the game was hugely popular at the time. The game offers a top-down third-person view of a story comprising a prologue and seven chapters. It is heavily dialogue based and a great game for anyone who loves role-playing games.
Dungeon Keeper is a strategy game where you take control of a dungeon, building it up and defending it from attack. This game was one of the earliest to put you in control of an evil character. You played the bad guys in the game as hero characters tried to invade your dungeon full of evil minions. You had to not only defend your dungeon but use your minions to explore and attack the heros.
This game and its sequel were Bullfrog classics. Backyard Football is part of the B ackyard Sports series and was hugely popular back in the late 90s. It was known for its quirky way of bringing playing sports as a kid onto console. The series began with Backyard Baseball in and then Backyard Soccer in before Backyard Football was released in Ridge Racer is another game which was found in many arcades in the early 90s.
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