Rather than just have one person (me) contribute to the very first Sharky Games Extreme Game of the Year Award, we decided to keep it fair and ask all the Sharky guys and freelancers just what their favourite games of last year were. After all, if it was just me picking the winners it'd be pretty boring and one sided, wouldn't it? So, without further ado, here's a look at the top three PC game picks (along with the odd separate console pick) according to the guys who make Sharky Games what it is. And who better to begin with but the man himself, Alex Ross.
1st Place – No One Lives Forever
This is the first time since Half Life that any single player game has captivated me from start to finish so much. Goofy story, extremely varied levels and silly Yanks impersonating British (English and Scottish) accents. It won me over so much that even the slightly dated look of the 3D engine didn't bother me. It had everything from sneaking around avoiding cameras, to sniping and then all the way up to Matrix-levels of guns. It has sharks in it too. What else could I want out of a game? To sum up, this game is money.
2nd Place – Need For Speed: Porsche Unleashed
Gorgeous graphics and car models, long winding tracks and a great balance in terms of freedom to drive off-road and along alternative routes (i.e. no bloody invisible walls). It also have nifty single player modes and I especially enjoyed playing through the "Historical Porsche" mode from a squashed bake bean 50's Porchse to the GT1 Racing car. The multiplayer was a high point and Ben and I spent many hours staging some wonderful crashes (triple somersaults and salkos with pike - that sort of stuff) to be viewed over and over again in replays.
3rd Place – FIFA 2001
FIFA 2099 - which one are we on and who is counting? Once a year EA releases a whole slew of sports titles and the one that has "FIFA" in it gets added to my collection of games without fail every time. This year, the graphics have been improved upon with an apparently new engine. Sarcasm aside, this is clearly the one and only Football (Soccer to those of you in the US) worth playing. Hours/days of fun.