One decade ago, Konami left a neoteric imprint on the survival horror genre with Silent Hill, a video game that would inspire a number of future titles, a movie, and several books and comics. But Harry Mason’s investigation into the fog-covered town and its strange occurrences accomplished more than just a household name among the likes of Resident Evil. The heart-pounding adrenaline rush introduced gamers to a nightmare founded on psychological Japanese horror and an equally unnerving musical score by composer Akira Yamaoka.

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I’ll start off by confessing that I’ve been playing this game off and on for nearly a year.  It’s just one of those games that’s great to pick up and play for a little while, set it down, and come back to it later.  It’s also one of my all-time favorite games for the DS (it’s also available on nearly every other platform), even though it’s far from perfect.  But a game doesn’t have to be “perfect” to be fun, does it?  Even though I’ve finished the story mode, I know I’ll keep playing whenever the “match 3″ bug strikes me, and I’m very eagerly awaiting the true sequel, which promises to do nothing but improve over the first game.

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My game is best played in a pitch black room with the soft glow of my television piercing the darkness. The battle cries of obnoxious ten-year-olds do not tear through my eardrums. I do not waste time with team members who have no desire to play correctly or fairly. Silence and solitude are freedom; gateways to platinum trophies, 100% completion, and a committed relationship with the game in the disc tray. So why am I forced to venture into the sordid world of multiplayer whenever a new release beckons to me from the wild of the retail storefront?

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Almost four years before God of War became a top priority amongst action game fans, Capcom’s Devil May Cry was the go-to title for fast-paced combat, impossible air juggles, and a brutal, bloody storyline telling a tale of redemption of revenge. Though the series is more or less on the backburner with modern-generation consoles, Devil May Cry was very much the precursor to some of the biggest games coming out this year.

The plot kicks off in the protagonist Dante’s place of business, seemingly dead-center in the seedy underbelly of some unknown city. A woman named Trish steps to the plate as a physical opponent, and when Dante proves his worth, she informs him of the forthcoming return of the demon Mundus. Given the exact nature of Dante’s occupation, that he is in fact a Demon Hunter, the news of Mundus is clearly of great concern to him. Mundus, as it turns out, was responsible for the death of Dante’s family members. Dante and Trish set out to some haggard castle in order to track down the demon, and it is here that the majority of the game takes place.

Right at the onset, players are given a large cache of abilities within combat. Dante wields an enormous sword, which can be used within various combination attacks against the variety of enemies found in-game. The main draw to the fights in Devil May Cry was the over-the-top speed, which is utilized to a great degree. This time, though, Capcom made an interesting change to a mostly-standard formula with the inclusion of guns. Dante sports twin semi-automatic pistols named Ebony and Ivory, and with these two he can damage enemies from afar, switching from melee to projectile range with ease, as well as juggle said fiends in air.

Not limited to just a sword, Dante was able to acquire a powerful set of fire-based gauntlets as well as several firearms – a shotgun for spread damage, a needlegun for underwater combat, and a unique weapon called the Nightmare-Beta, firing charged green lasers. Each weapon granted new combo moves (with the firearms presenting different approaches to utilizing those moves) as well as a new visual style to Dante’s Devil Trigger powerup mode.

Players had to brave the combat in order to advance through the game’s mission-based levels, but were also graded upon how efficiently (and more important, stylishly) they were able to eviscerate their competition. Combos were rated as the player racked up successful hits, leading ultimately to an “Awesome” or “Stylish” combo. If the player’s hit streak was interrupted by taking damage, the combo would reset itself. At the end of each level, the player was rated by their overall performance, and given higher rewards for higher ratings.

Outside of the often-furious combat, Dante found himself in the midst of areas not much unlike those of a Resident Evil title. The protagonist would have to find keys to open doors, often engaging in platforming-style elements in order to acquire said goods. Other times, puzzles would present themselves, with the payoff often being an item needed to progress. The player could also stumble upon several hidden areas acting somewhat as challenge missions, with the payoff being massive amounts of red orbs, the game’s currency to be spent towards unlockable abilities.

After its release, Devil May Cry was praised for its intense combat, gothic visuals and atmosphere, varieties of unlockable content, and replay value. Though its success may have not been immediately (or financially) made apparent, it’s easy to see how it has shaped modern-era games. God of War, Bayonetta, Chaos Legion, Darksiders, and many other games use a fast-paced action style directly in the vein of Devil May Cry. Though almost nine years old at this point, Devil May Cry ranks high among some of the most brutal action games ever made, and any gamer worth their mettle owes it to themselves to play and conquer this game.

Title: Devil May Cry Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom Production Studio 4 Platform(s): PlayStation 2 Release Date: October 17, 2001

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Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater is a title that many gamers cannot forget, be it willfully or not. By this point in time, the series has been an up-and-comer, a hot new title, a firmly-established series, and a repetitive, iterative franchise. Now, the games have come to be nothing but a fragile husk of their former glory. While interest in skateboarding titles has both waned and been redirected to a newer series, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 was at one point in time one of the best games available, for everything from graphics, soundtracks, and straight-up fun factor.

1999 was the year of the original title’s release. While interesting and fun it its own way, its early downfalls were not apparently until the release of its predecessor in 2000. Better than the first in every way, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 showed how much dedication Neversoft had towards not only their brand, but towards skateboarding in general.

The already outlandish list of possible skateboarding tricks from THPS was still available, Neversoft saw it fit to include a number of new grinds (based upon their real-world counterparts), several flashy new special tricks (everything from flip tricks, grinds, to spins and varials), and the all-important manual and nose manual. The inclusion of the manual was the first step Neversoft took towards being able to link together huge chains of moves, racking up massive amounts of points, and sending the game towards an over-the-top extreme play style. Luckily, this was a game or two off into the future.

While the possibilities were quickly becoming enormous, being only the second entry in the series, THPS2 still kept itself quite firmly grounded in reality. Over a dozen real-world skaters were available to use across several levels based on real-world locations. If that weren’t enough, many of the unique named gaps across the levels were close to impossible without leveling up the player’s stats (much like in real life!), like leveling the Ollie stat to be able to land the Leap of Faith gap, or leveling up Speed to clear the Carlsbad gap.

Also new to the series was the inclusion of the Create-A-Skater and Park Creation modes. The character creation mode gave players the chance to build a skater like themselves or any professional or amateur skater they followed to down to their skate style, stance, and even their hometown. Included alongside this new creation tool was a few unlockable skateboarders, one of which being the first of many Marvel characters to come out of Neversoft’s contract to make future Marvel video games.

One of the least-often used features of the game was the skatepark creator. Though limited to a few basic styles of locale, the park creation was a fantastic way for players to build a run to their specifications. Skaters who played the game were able to build a park akin to the quarter pipe and funbox setup they might have had in their driveway, and then hesh on it with their personalized digital avatar. One of my personal favorite things to do was line up huge ramps to see how high my character could be launched into the air.

To add even more fun to the action-packed title, the developers added in even more unlockables and even cheats (a definite last-gen inclusion) that enabled anything from wireframe mode to oversized characters and moon-based physics. Popular amongst my friends was the ability to turn up gravity, allowing only low ollies. In a time before the more realistic Skate series, this was as close as someone could get to real-world skateboard physics. Many levels also had unlockable areas, which became somewhat of a staple in the later games to follow.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 represents everything the series had to offer, even at its peak. Players with outrageous in-game aspirations could see how many objectives could be completed in one run, taking huge launches and racking up three million point combos. Casual fans or skateboarding fans would likely have more fun lining up slick-looking runs and unlocking some of the end-game videos for their favorite pro skaters. All in all, THPS2 is very much the forefather of modern skateboarding games, and an excellent action title for any game fan.

Title: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 Publisher: Activision Developer: Neversoft Platform(s): PlayStation Release Date: September 20, 2000

The Nintendo GameCube was not as disappointing to me as it was for many gamers. Due to some of the things going on in my life during the time of its release (College, marriage, becoming a parent, etc.) I didn’t have time to play every game released. One of the largest complaints about the Cube was that it did not have the number of quality games that the other systems had. Though this may be true, I found many treasures in my GameCube library. For instance, the purchase of Pikmin 2 led to the most charming game experience in my career as a gamer.

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Few video games arouse genuine nirvana in players, but even less promise a blossoming underwater world only to swallow gamers whole and leave them wanting more wretched decay, both lovely and sanguine. BioShock is one such praised gem, and experiencing the game without feeling like the developers literally poured their souls into its creation is virtually impossible. Indeed, BioShock at its very core flourishes as a polished experience, and quite a mighty one at that.

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Yes, 2009 was quite a tumultuous year. It wasn’t quite the explosive year in gaming it was made out to be, but we laughed, we cried, and we broke several controllers. We ran to our favorite gaming forum to complain, and buddy, you know we had plenty to complain about. Similarly, we had plenty to rejoice about, with some of the biggest names in gaming bringing us several adventures we won’t soon forget. In 2010, things are only going to get better, or so we hope. But what of the games we were presented with this in 2009? Which one moved us the way no other could? Which game made us weep with tears of joy at how impossibly beautiful it was? And which one made us revile at the very sight of its hideous character models? Well, faithful Spawn Killer, you’re about to find out. We’re happy to present the first annual Spawn Kill Game of the Year Awards.

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During the 16 and 32-bit eras, role-playing games reigned supreme. Also during those times, Squaresoft saw a phenomenal boost in the sales and popularity of their games. With Squaresoft’s rise to power came a conflict within Quest (developers of the Ogre Battle series of games,) and many of the former employees of Quest signed on with Square. The result of this marriage was one of the finest strategy-based role playing games of all time, Final Fantasy Tactics.

Final Fantasy Tactics incorporated all of the best elements of both franchises. The intricate battle and leveling mechanics from the Ogre series were a perfect match for the previously-established line of Final Fantasy jobs as well as the generally-grand plots and character developments from the more recent games in the series.

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The story of Joan of Arc, heroine of France and historical legend, is known to many.  The tale tells of a young lass who hears the voice of God telling her to save France from the wicked English.  She does so by taking up arms and slaughtering people Old Testament style.  The game Jeanne D’arc follows this theme, but throws in animal human hybrids, elves, demons, and just about every other fantasy cliché one can dream up.  It still takes place in France, it still stars Jeanne herself, and it even features burning at the stake, but players certainly won’t be gaining any historical insight when playing.

What they will gain is one of the finest portable strategy RPG experiences they’ll probably ever play.

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The Sony PlayStation was arguably the most popular console around the 32-bit era of gaming. Likewise, Japanese-styled role playing games dominated on the PlayStation, moving some of the biggest titles of that time. One of the rarest of these titles came from developer Tri-Ace, known then for the ridiculously enjoyable Star Ocean: The Second Story. This particular game was titled Valkyrie Profile, and it was great.

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From childhood to adulthood, Naughty Dog has remained one of my favorite game developers out there. As a PlayStation owner for the majority of my life, it brings me the faintest amount of self-indulgent pleasure that all the alternative console elitists out there (the ones who refuse to pick up a PS3 for reasons other than price or dwindling ports on their television) don’t get to experience the exclusive Uncharted series. The sequel recently took the charts by storm as it featured a multiplayer option that only added to the wealth of praise Among Thieves received. As dandy as that is, I took the time to sit down with the first installment before charging toward the latest and greatest.

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I’ve used the term “video game crack” to describe three games in my life: Peggle, Oblivion, and Nintendo’s Animal Crossing. In 2006, I picked up Animal Crossing: Wild World on a whim, partially intrigued by my brother’s obsession with it and also desperately wanting a game to show my wife that the cash dropped on a new handheld was worth it. By the end of the summer in 2006, my family had three DS Lites, three copies of Animal Crossing: WW, and an enormous debt to a entrepreneurial raccoon. Yes, it was SO worth it.

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As a rhythm game fanatic, I thought I’d share  my expertise within the genre (though my first loves are FPSs and RPGs) for those who are searching for the perfect gift for music game mavens such as myself. In this Holiday Gift Guide for the Musically Inclined, you’ll find a sampling of some of the best ideas for that rhythm gamer dear to your heart this holiday season. Get your credit cards ready and make sure you’re in tune, because I’m parading out a symphony of the best of the best, from this year and years past!

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Video game based movies drag around an embarrassing history with a charm akin to a rotting corpse that was left in the sun, and frankly it’s not all that surprising. Some things own too much baggage to survive the transfer from medium to medium without dropping a few key items here and there, and oftentimes what does worm its way through the wreckage resembles a hideous mutant spawn that can barely manage intelligent human speech let alone impress anyone as some lovable lost puppy. Not much else needs to be said: Video game films are practically doomed from the start screen, much to the frustration of hundreds of controller-wielding fans.

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