Games That Defined The History of the PlayStation (PS1)Metal Gear Solid
Hideo Kojima’s career-spanning series, Metal Gear, broke into super-stardom on PlayStation with Metal Gear Solid. Selling over 7 million copies during its lifespan, the game would become on of the highest selling games in the 32-bit generation. Of course, it also was the beginning of a franchise that would help sell millions PS2s and PS3s for years to come.
Metal Gear Solid’s success comes as little surprise as it brought movie-like cut scenes, an incredible cast of characters, bizarre secrets, incredible audio, and more stealth action than one could shake a stick at. The game mechanics came as such a pleasant surprise to mainstream gamers that Metal Gear Solid is often credited as having created the popularizing the Stealth genre that is now filled with many blockbuster titles.
Of course, what more could be expected from a title whose designers were out to “literally make the best PlayStation game ever”. And despite some criticisms about the short length of the title, the constant cut scenes, and how easy it was to avoid enemies, some gamers could argue they did it, or at least came close.
Looking back at the 32-bit era, it’s easy to see that many of the early 3D games don’t age especially well when compared to their newer counterparts. However, Metal Gear Solid seems to be one of the few exceptions to the rule. Kojima and Company did an outstanding job making use of the PlayStation’s capabilities and made sure to push the limits of the things that matter most in the long-term: gameplay and story. Even though the game was remade on the Gamecube, it is still strongly recommended that one play the original version of this classic on the PlayStation.
Tekken 3
While the Tekken series may have been one of the greatest selling 3D fighters on the PlayStation console, it is specifically Tekken 3 that deserves special attention. Considered the pinnacle of the series, Tekken 3 brought over fifteen new characters, a revised combat system where moves were easier to combo, the z-axis and side-stepping were made key to avoiding attacks, and jumps were severely toned down.
When brought over from the arcade, mini-game modes like Tekken Force and Tekken Ball were added on top of the older modes from Tekken 2. Backgrounds became more limited and character models had frames of animation removed as well as lower polygon counts and fewer textures. The game also was forced to a lower resolution. The new gameplay was left largely intact, however, and including all unlockables, the roster held an impressive 23 characters.
At its release, changes to the combat engine were happily accepted and the game was considered almost perfect by reviewers. Three out of four reviewers at Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game a 10 out of 10, with the last giving a 9. Years later, the game is still considered one of the best, appearing on Top 10 lists. As of this writing, Game Rankings rates Tekken 3 as the 10th highest rated game of all time, much to the ire of Virtua Fighter fans everywhere.
Tomb Raider Series
The Tomb Raider games may seem like standard fare now, but back in 1996, the series was revolutionary in more ways than one. First of all, Tomb Raider was one of the first 3D action adventure games on the market and had excellent use of 3D environments in an era when most developers were still trying to wrap their brains around truly 3D game design.
In addition to the relatively expansive and innovative game design, Tomb Raider was also a trailblazer in terms of character design. Even though Nintendo’s Metroid series was the first to have a strong female character as a lead, most gamers would never have known it at the time. However, it was hard to ignore the fact that Lara Croft was not your typical game protagonist. While the extra curvy character design raised some eyebrows and attracted some extra attention from young male gamers, Lara was more than a pretty face.
The Tomb Raider series focuses on Lara’s archaeological exploits in various tombs around the world and how they often turn sour, due to animal attacks, traps, puzzles, or nefarious forces attempting to steal said artifacts. Once gamers played the games, it was obvious that Lara Croft was more of a female Indiana Jones-meets-James Bond than a stereotypical pin-up girl.
Developed by the relatively small team at Core Design (which was newly acquired by Eidos), Tomb Raider was a quite ambitious project, but the early hype and the large sales impact the game had at the 1996 launch took the team by surprise. Though originally being released on the Sega Saturn, the first Tomb Raider would see great success on the PlayStation console, leading to further success on Sony’s console and easily becoming a top-seller.
After blowing the gaming industry away, Eidos pushed Core to have Tomb Raider II ready to ship by the holiday season of 2007. Even under such a tight deadline (development was finished in nine months), Tomb Raider II was a solid product that adequately improved over the original with superior graphics, twice the scope, more flexible controls, and the ability to use vehicles. This time it wasn’t much of a surprise that Tomb Raider II was heavily anticipated and had amazing sales numbers.
In the end, Core Design pumped out five solid, blockbuster games in as many years and gave not only the PlayStation, but also the entire gaming industry one of the most iconic characters of a generation. The series didn’t have a huge evolution within itself, but it definitely inspired many other developers to create many of the more advanced 3D adventures that we enjoy to this day.
Twisted Metal Series
While most European and Japanese fans may not remember the Twisted Metal series due to its lack of release anywhere but the United States, American gamers will never forget how awesome a game about vehicular combat could be.
The Twisted Metal series was synonymous with the PlayStation almost from day one, seeing it’s first game put out in just under two months after the North American PlayStation’s release. The series would become known for its large cast of kooky characters, its outrageous storyline and ending sequences, its explosive combat, and its exclusivity. (Twisted Metal games have only ever appeared on Sony consoles and PCs).
And what’s not to love about a series where the player can select a hearse or a biker to bring untold destruction upon a dune buggy or a police car? Sure, the drivers sometimes change vehicles between games, and the cast fluctuates with each new title, but the old favorites almost always find some way of returning. And though the series would see five releases on the PlayStation alone, the gameplay was always one giant destruction derby battle royale to the last man standing.
