There have always been crazy creatures in video games: Sonic is some sort of human-like hedgehog, Felicia is a cat-girl, and I can’t even begin to explain what a Brumak (Gears of War) really is. Today, on the other hand, we are here to honor those animals who gave some games that extra bit of charm to become great. Grab your dog Rex and your cat Fluffy, because it’s time to take a look some of the best animals in video games.
You thought it was over, but think again. Sure, our economy is in shambles, but it is becoming the Jurassic Park for one dinosaur of a system. Horrible metaphors aside, our loss has apparently become its gain. Yes, I am talking about none other than the PlayStation 2, which Sony has placed in the limelight again in an attempt to market off of these direst of times.
Nintendo DS, PSP, Playstation 3, Sony
Kingdom Hearts, prior to its release, was often scorned by gamers and thought of as Square selling out with Disney. But, once released, all the negative chatter ended and praise began. Following the first game on Playstation 2 was a Game Boy Advance release called Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories that picked up right where the first game left off. A port of the GBA game was included with Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix for Playstation 2 which was released in Japan last year. Now we in the West are finally going to get our hands on that console version with Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories on December 2.
Every so often, a movie, book or television show is released to great reviews, even though it does not reach a mainstream audience. However, a union of loyal fans still praise it as genius and, as a result, the work gains a cult following. The same can be said almost more so for video games.
Credit Nintendo for helping gamers get in shape. But while media folks talk up the fitness benefits of Wii Sports and Wii Fit, hardly anyone noticed another fitness game that predated both of those games.
In 2004, Respondesign released Yourself Fitness on the original Xbox, then later on the PlayStation 2 and PC. In it, a virtual trainer named Maya guides you through various types of exercises, ranging from cardio to yoga.
Well, aesthetically, at least.
But hasn’t that always been the major draw of a re-released system: what will it look like? The original Nintendo was one of the first systems I remember undergoing a drastic change in appearance: a simple gray box with a front loading cartridge drawer upgraded to a sleeker, more compact top-loading system. And while the heart of the re-design may have been to address design flaws with the original “toaster,”, the new look was what really drew awe.
