40-Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (Arkane Studios, Windows, 2008)

Dark Messiah was panned in reviews because the plot was lame and predictable, and because the voice acting was sub-par. I won’t disagree with these assessments. But even so, there’s a lot to like about the game. The set pieces were easily as impressive as those in Oblivion and Half-Life 2. It was spectacular to watch from a first-person perspective as a twelve foot tall cyclops smashed a city gate to splinters and charged in, raking aside the city’s defenders and wreaking havoc.

The game also boasts a better first person melee system than Oblivion and a very good classless skill tree. The stealth gameplay was well done (and optional) and the game encourages you to make use of the environment during battles by placing a lot of destructible and throwable objects. Plus, defenestrating orcs is just plain fun.

39-Point Blank (Namco, Arcade, 1994)

It’s somewhat surprising that there’s been no Wii version of Point Blank given the cartoony light gun goodness that the game represents. My favorite aspect of the game was its variety. In some levels, you’d be shooting paper cutout ninjas, in others you’d be firing at targets which you had to hit in order one through twelve in under five seconds, and in other screens you might be protecting Dr. Dan and Dr. Don from oncoming tanks or an erupting volcano or invading aliens. Before the Wii, Point Blank was fun for very much the same reasons that the Wii later gained popularity. I still have my Playstation copy of Point Blank, and I still have my light guns. I’ll tell you – those old style light guns work way better than the Wii remotes for shooting accurately. Writing about it now makes me want to pull them back out.

38-Mariokart Wii (Nintendo, Nintendo Wii, 2008)
My introduction to the MarioKart series came very late: the first Mariokart game I ever played was MarioKart DS. But although I did play that game multiplayer with friends who were across the country, it wasn’t until I played Kart on the Wii with my wife that I really grew to love it. People may speak fondly of Mariokart 64, but I think that’s largely because it was their first exposure to the kart racing genre. For me, it’s all about Mariokart Wii.

37-Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness (Hothead Games, Windows, 2008)

I’m lumping the first and second title in the series together here since they were moreso “part 1” and “part 2” than they were separate games. I’m a big fan of Penny Arcade’s sense of humor – I’ve been following Penny-Arcade.com for many years, and seen them rise from a simple webcomic to a gaming empire.

Their game is an over-the-top RPG where your three characters are battling robots, hobos, mimes, and barbershop quartets with fists and garden implements. A lot of the humor is very R-rated, but it’s truly hilarious.

36-Thief: Deadly Shadows (Ion Storm, Windows, 2004)

I’ve gotten a lot of flak for liking this game better than the original Thief game, but I think my preference is based largely on the fact that it’s difficult for me to go back to such an old game if I’ve not played it before. Nostalgia’s glasses do much to mute the imperfections of a game’s old age. After six years, even Deadly Shadows is now showing its age – the platforming is difficult to stomach, you can get stuck on the environment, and compatibility with newer operating systems is iffy at best. But control tweaks and texture packs help, and levels like Shalebridge Cradle make the game worth playing despite its flaws.

Keepers is a weekly segment in which I discuss games I’ve played that I’ve seen fit to keep after playing. I generally sell a game that I’ve finished, so the only reason I keep one is because I plan to replay the game some day. Classifying a game as a “keeper” is generally a badge of merit.

Mario Kart. You’ll notice that I left off a version here, because I really think that probably every version of this game is a keeper. I always hear a lot about Mario Kart 64, which I’ve never played, but I have played a couple other versions. The first one I got was Mario Kart DS, which was one of two games I bought with my very first DS: The DS Lite, on its launch day. Great game, and it’s one I’ll always be able to go back to. It’s tons of fun to sit on the couch and race against people from Shelton, Sheboygan, and Shebuya. The maps give me a good variety of maps in previous Kart games I’ve never played, and learning new shortcuts is always fun. Also, plenty to unlock. I actually think it took me over a year to fully unlock everything, playing as casually as I do.

Mario Kart Wii is also a lot of fun, in large part because my wife really enjoys playing it with me. The “Wii Wheel” is her method of choice for steering, although I much prefer the accuracy afforded me by the nunchuck. Online ranked races are great, and Linda and I can play together against people from all over the country. We take note of other couples playing and tend to root for them. It’s also very cool to see peoples’ Miis, and for other players to be able to see your Mii sitting in the Kart.

The Kart games aren’t ones that I’ll play regularly, but I’ll always enjoy going back to them.