The most underrated Crash game by a country mile. Buttery smooth 60fps, a pleasant aesthetic with fluid animations and some genuinely fun and creative level design (shout out to the safari jeep level). It was no small task taking over the mantle from Naughty Dog, and Traveller's Tales did an admirable job given the short dev time they had. I personally had a better time with this than Warped, and it's far better than the entries that came after. Unless you're playing the version with the ten hour long loading screens, I don't see why this game gets so much hate. The dark horse of the franchise.

Part of my 'unofficial Final Fantasy' canon. Like some kind of bastard love child between Tekken and FFX, The Bouncer is a techno-infused take on the beat 'em up genre through a distinctly Y2K era SquareSoft lens. Characters with spiky haircuts and nonsensical outfits fight their way through retro-futuristic locales, set to a backdrop of slick electric guitars and techno rock.

At first glance, you'd be forgiven for mistaking The Bouncer for a new entry in the Final Fantasy series, as they share so much aesthetic makeup with each other that they may as well be related, thanks in part due to Nomura's heavy involvement in both titles. It also feels similarly well produced with an attention to graphical fidelity and a gorgeous all round presentation.

In essence then, The Bouncer is basically a beautifully rendered, feature length Final Fantasy cutscene that's occasionally injected with short and sweet bursts of arcade beat 'em up action, which play out like a simple version of Streets of Rage in the Tekken engine. These sections are fun enough, thanks mostly to the hilarious ragdoll physics which lets you launch enemies into the air and send them hurtling in to one another, but all too brief and unfortunately don't offer much in the way of depth or variety. With a focus so clearly placed on its story and presentation above deep gameplay or mechanics, you often feel like you're spending more time watching than playing- but that's not necessarily a bad thing. On the contrary,The Bouncer takes some interesting creative risks to stand out from the crowd and in hindsight could be considered one of the first truly cinematic movie games.

Clocking in at around only 2 hours, the game is easily beatable in one sitting but offers some decent replay value, as it can be played from three different perspectives with unlockable characters and features branching paths, reframing certain events within the story.

Harshly judged at release for not living up to sky high expectations (being Squares first release on the new console), The Bouncer is more than the sum of its parts and well worth revisiting for those looking to indulge in some mindless fun and early PS2 aesthetic kino, if nothing else. And boy does it deliver on that.

Possibly my most replayed game of all time; there's never an occasion that I'm not in the mood for more Sonic Adventure.

From its sandy beaches and clear blue skies to its dreamy guitar riffs and metropolitan cityscapes, Sonic Team's first foray into 3D has left an immeasurable mark on me and my gaming sensibilities. It is pure, distilled nostalgia, and no matter how many times I've slipped that CD into the tray over the years, I'm always transported back to the tender age of 11, stood at a Dreamcast demo kiosk inside my local Virgin Megastore, my eyes wide and mouth agape, the future in my hands. And what a bright future it is.

(2D Sonic fans are in denial- this is the best game in the franchise by a mile.)

"I should have been the one to fill your dark soul with LIIIIGHT!!"

Not the most mechanically impressive of the series, but by far the most soulful.

Made from the scraps of the ill-fated Resident Evil 4 prototype, Kamiya practically reinvented the wheel in this gothic horror action tale, with many titles after wearing its influence firmly on their sleeves.

A sure remnant from its days as a Resi title, the single castle setting helps create an incredibly strong mise-en-scène, demanding that you back track and familiarise yourself with your surroundings, finding key items and unlocking doors to progress deeper inside its walls. This sense of place was lacking in subsequent entries to the series, and they feel more like standard action games in contrast. Which is not inherently a bad thing, it just makes the original stand out as a slightly more unique experience. I simply love the atmosphere of the castle, with its winding staircases and gothic décor, antiquities and books lining the shelves, fireplaces and candles still alight, really making it feel like an inhabited and lived in space- yet strangely lost to time.

Due to this legacy, DMC feels like a curious hybrid of survival horror and action, with many signature Kamiya touches also on display (including first person underwater segments and an afterburner-esque mini game boss battle).

My personal favourite of the series, even if the combat has been outclassed by later entries. I just dig the vibe real hard.

If you're a Resi fan and don't enjoy this game, I'm sorry to say, you have been filtered.

Arguably the most difficult, and definitely the longest of the classic entries, with enemies and obstacles that pose an actual challenge (the zombies rule in this game), Code Veronica is the perfect culmination of the series formulae.

Whereas 2 and 3 slowly began to shift more towards action, Code Veronica shuns this notion and returns the series to its true survival horror roots, with its maze-like level design, head scratching puzzles, gothic European architecture and a shit load of backtracking. Sure, it doesn't have the gorgeous pre-rendered backgrounds from the previous titles, but it more than makes up for this with its stylised early Y2K era graphics (which I'm a huge sucker for) and creative use of its new dynamic, moving camera system, allowing the devs to frame the environments using more interesting and creative angles to help fuel and drive the tension.

It also features the best cast of characters yet seen in a Resi title, with the mad Nazi crossdresser Alfred, the return of Wesker and (the adorable) Steve Burnside.

I don't fuck with people who don't like Steve btw.

"You're tuned to seventy-six point five on your radio dial, Ridge City FM."

The sun setting on the horizon paints the city and its streets a golden yellow hue. DJ Ken Ayugai tells me over the radio that we've got the perfect weather conditions for a grand prix today. I can't say I disagree.

I take the wheel and speed my gorgeously rendered Fiera through the futuristic Japanese city streets, along looping expressways and down its winding coastal clifftops overlooking the sea, all at a lightning fast 60fps. Welcome to the age of PS2, baby.

The sound of roaring engines and rubber tires burning on asphalt fills the cool evening air.

Narrowly avoiding collision against the extremely aggressive and punishing AI, I carefully manoeuvre my way through the pack one by one towards my ridge racing destiny.

On the radio, "Paris" (Nobuyoshi Sano) begins to play, its ethereal techno sounds punctuated with cool, emotionally charged piano runs.

Chills tingle down my spine. I'm in the zone now.

I can almost feel the cool evening air in my face as I take the final stretch of road, my palms sweaty but mind razor focused.

The wise words of DJ Ken reverberate inside my head-

"Those drivers face danger at every turn of the track. You've got to give them crazy daredevils some respect for that."

Damn right you do.

The culmination of hours of practise and hard work, I ease off the accelerator, executing an inch perfect drift as I turn into the final corner, soaring past my stunned rival and putting me firmly into first place.

DJ Ken says "That's some wicked steering! Check him out!"

Thanks DJ Ken.

I can taste victory now. Those countless hours learning every inch of every track is finally paying off. This is my time.

Heart racing, I leave my opponent behind me in a trail of dust and roll over the finish line, triumphant.

"There goes the winner! What an incredible race!"

I cheered. I shouted. I fist pumped the air. Nothing prepares you for this.

I win. I am the Ridge Racer.

And just like that, I am snapped back to reality by my girlfriend, looking distinctly unimpressed…

"I'll be impressed when you stop playing on easy mode, bitch"

We Came From the Abyss

Allow me to take you back. To a time when Fromsoft, despite their rather expansive catalogue of games, were but a small curiosity outside of Japan known almost exclusively for their mecha combat series Armored Core. Back to 2003. To a time before Dark souls, and Demon Souls. Before Miyazaki. Before George R R Martin.

Enter Shadow Tower Abyss.

A game steeped in mystery, and having never left Japan, sadly allowed to fall in to near obscurity.

But a game that undoubtedly sowed the seeds of what was to come.

How did we end up in a place like this

All the staples we know and love are here; A gloomy, melancholic world that defies natural logic, seemingly frozen in time. Beautiful but hostile locales haunted by all manner of strange creatures and wayward souls, in equal parts majestic and horrific. Intricately designed looping hallways and corridors with unlockable shortcuts that expertly mark progression. A permeating sense of hopelessness. Tragic characters who meet sad and unjust ends. Obtuse, underplayed storytelling shrouded in intrigue. Messages scribbled on walls warning you of dangers yet to come. Illusory walls that hide secrets and hidden paths. Death traps that'll send you back to the title screen within minutes of loading up the game. Weapons and loot to pillage besides the resting corpses of fallen warriors. And lest we forget to mention; the infamous poisonous swamps. Ladies and gentlemen, this is page 1 from the Souls playbook (or 2 if we're counting Kings Field, which we obviously should).

But whereas the Souls titles only grew in size, Shadow Tower: Abyss is smaller by design, more restrained and intricate. You will get to know these locations intimately by the time you've finished ascending each and every distinct and varied floor of the 'Shadow Tower', inching ever closer towards the top. From subterranean forests and icy caverns, to the rot infested wastes of alien civilisations, signposted with strange moving platforms and monolithic structures, the first person perspective adds wholesale to the immersion, in turn creating a sense of claustrophobia and confinement lacking in the subsequent entries. This shift in camera perspective lends itself perfectly to the close quarters encounters, making you witness the horrors up close and personally, even allowing you to dismember and maim foes with a swing of your sword if aimed right. Roaming these strange winding hallways filled me with a sense of loneliness, dread and unease that I haven't really felt since playing Konami's Silent Hill 4: The Room.

And why are we even here, exactly? What is our goal, in this strange, forgotten and cursed land? Outside a vague notion of acquiring some ancient, hidden power, I'm not sure even our nameless protagonist knows. All we can be sure of for certain, is reaching our destination.

Will you survive, or die trying?

There are no checkpoints to be found, nor tutorials. Save points are few and far between. Traversing the labyrinthian corridors requires you to pay keen attention to your surroundings, as they're littered with pitfalls and traps designed to slow your progress. Although daunting at first, thankfully no area really outstays its welcome for too long and the game moves you along at a relatively brisk pace, so long as you're observant and resourceful. You're encouraged to map things out, take mental notes and rely on recognising landmarks to progress, as naturally there's no menu map or waypoints to be found. Different entry and exit points allow you to explore the various zones mostly in your order of choice, and if you're stuck, there's often another area off the beaten path to focus your attention on, to level up and find gear, before looping back round to where you were previously. It feels tightly designed and satisfying.

Enemies offer a challenge, especially in the early game, but none will stop you in your tracks or fully halt your progress unlike certain roadblocks encountered in the later titles. Weapons and armour are doled out generously, but are prone to degrade and break rapidly if overused. The game walks a fine line between difficulty and fairness- nothing felt cheap in my time playing, but caution and problem solving are pre-requisite to success. Should I push deeper in to the level to hopefully find that next save point, or spend time retracing my steps to heal and repair my gear first? Shout out to whoever came up with the idea of having to sacrifice your HP to repair broken gear, and vice versa- it's purely masochistic in design and brings with it a real sense of risk/reward as you're not always sure what's more important in the moment. And you can't just rely solely on combat skills alone to brute force your way through, as some areas demand solving actual puzzles to progress, which seems to be a sorely lacking aspect of Fromsoft's more recent titles.

And if that isn't entirely your bag, did I mention there are guns in this game? Like, literal fucking Uzis and Grenade launchers.

In Summary

I hope that Fromsoft eventually decide to revisit this series in some form, if not a direct continuation (which is highly unlikely at this point), at the very least dare to return to its first person perspective and its slower, more methodical and weighty combat. For all their merits, and there are many, their later games have become a bit bloated and have started to lean too heavily on fast paced action, dodge rolling and frustratingly difficult boss battles, which in my opinion is not the reason these games are so compelling. A title that strips things back a bit, and better balances their unrivalled atmospheric design with more of an emphasis on puzzle solving as opposed to just killing increasingly difficult enemies, would do wonders in helping me to stay immersed in their worlds.

And if not? Well, I still have all the Kings Field games left to play through...

Screw the haters- Tekken 4 rules.

A perfect companion piece to Ridge Racer V, the early PS2 vibes are at full force here. Fantasy takes a back seat to a more modern, military-tech themed aesthetic, with a focus on night time city environments drenched in a palette of cool blues and icy greys, marking the arrival of the new millennium in style. Kazuya donning shades. Jin sporting the effortlessly cool jacket-with-hood-up combo. Hwoarang now a tacti-cool spec ops agent. Brawling in minimalistic urban stages like Airport, Mall and Building to the impeccable techno sounds of 'Touch and Go' & 'Authentic Sky'. This 'on the cusp of the future', technologic inspired aesthetic is simply unimaginable by todays standards- a perfect time capsule from the Y2K era, where we yearned eagerly for what was waiting just around the corner. Peak. Soul. And for a title released in 2001, the graphics go hard- check out the rippling water effects in the Jungle stage as your fighters wade through the stream or the bustling npc's ringside in Underground, who can even be knocked over if your opponent is smashed into the crowd.

To top it off, no longer are you forced to fight a dumb giant demon as a final boss- no, not on Tekken 4's cool-ass watch. Instead you're thrown into a cage match with a very angry, very naked, sumo Heihachi.

Hell yeah dudes.

During the Dreamcast's short but oh-so-sweet time in the spotlight, no developer more distinctly encapsulated the brands ethos and aesthetics quite like Sonic Team. Although criminally cut short due to the consoles lacklustre sales, the catalogue of varied and creative titles they put out during this time were overflowing with that special Sega sauce; colourful, fun, pick up and play classics like Sonic Adventure and Chu Chu Rocket managed to instill themselves in the hearts and minds of gamers for decades to come.

However, their most groundbreaking game by far would come at the tail end of the consoles short life, in the form of the seminal Phantasy Star Online- an insanely ambitious experiment that redefined the joy and wonder of co-operative play by introducing console gamers to the world of online play- and it would do so with that signature Sonic Team style.

From the title screen alone you knew you were in for something truly special- lulled in by its hypnotising, ethereal sci-fi intro theme, you're invited to imagine the endless possibilities that lay ahead of you at the frontier of this new age of gaming.

As a young polaroidplayboy, I was totally enamoured by PSO, and many a sleepless night ensued as I found myself teaming up with strangers (who quickly turned to friends) to explore this beautiful new and strange world, helping each other to learn the ropes, fighting ever increasingly difficult monsters as we progressed, trading the weird and wonderful rare weapons and loot we found along the way, feeding our mags and even just shooting the shit back at home base at the end of a tough boss fight. Gamers today take these simple things for granted, but at the time there was nothing else even remotely comparable.

With its stunning and vibrant cyberpunk aesthetic, married with an otherwordly, ambient techno soundtrack and a simple but seriously addictive gameplay loop, PSO helped shape my tastes for years to come.

One of my most nostalgic gaming memories by far, and unquestionably one of my all time favourite games ever.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to cook some bacon and eggs with this new weapon I just found.