15 Years of Gaming, Part 7 (2001)

2001 was, for all intents and purposes, the most important gaming year of the entire decade. Two new systems inserted themselves into the market, and what was simply the PlayStation2 running rampant was transformed into an all-out console war (at least for a couple years, until the PS2 did exactly the same thing). The future of the entire industry was shaped and cultivated in these 12 months.

And of these 12 months, two were particularly important. November and December. In these two months, four massively influential games were released, three of which remain my personal favorites on their respective systems.


Max Payne
Release Date: July 23, 2001.
Platform: PC
ESRB Rating: M
Developer/Publisher: Remedy Entertainment/Rockstar
GameRankings: 89.24%
Completely Arbitrary Personal Score: 7.9/10 (Above Average)

Max Payne is a game that amounts only to the sum of it's parts. What makes that a compliment is how varied and rich those parts are. The titular character's running monologue is every Film Noir stereotype rolled into one with a jaded, ultraviolent sheen. The setting (New York City during a torrential blizzard) draws multiple parallels with Norse mythology, particularly Ragnarok, a comparison the game calls attention to with names like Valkyr, the Aesir Corporation, and Alex Balder. The gameplay itself steals everything it can from John Woo's films. This is in no way an insult. Very few things come together as surprisingly well as Film Noir and Norse Mythology, and Max Payne takes advantage of it in a way that is still, to this day, uniquely dark and harrowing. Max Payne had himself one hell of a night.

Grand Theft Auto III
Release Date: October 22, 2001.
Platform: Play Station 2
ESRB Rating: M
Developer/Publisher: Rockstar North/Rockstar
GameRankings: 95%
Completely Arbitrary Personal Score: 8.8/10 (Very Good)

 Grand Theft Auto existed before GTA III (as the name would suggest). The first few GTAs were top down sandbox games that in retrospect, have little to do with the series' glorious reinvention. This isn't to say they aren't fun. Rockstar's trademark humor is very much alive, as is their trademark satire. GTA III lacks a lot of the inherent silliness of the series' later PS2 efforts, and it has more in common, thematically, with 2008's GTA IV than San Andreas or Vice City. Again, this is not a bad thing.

The difference between those games and GTA III is the same difference between Mario 64 and all the Mario's before it. This isn't to say that those games aren't as good, they're just different. GTA III was a mark of change for the genre (and for gaming as a whole), and it stands as the start of Rockstar's current run of greatness.

 

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Release Date: October 28, 2001.
Platform: PS2/Gamecube/XBOX
ESRB Rating: T
Developer/Publisher: Neversoft/Activision
GameRankings: 91.39%
Completely Arbitrary Personal Score: 6.8/10 (Decent)

There have been more enjoyable sports games than this. There have even been better Tony Hawk games than this. This game didn't make this list because it was better than similar games. It made this list because it was bigger. More important. Greater. THPS3 was the first game I can remember that was released simultaneously on every major console. It was one of the first major gaming events of it's generation, a generation that saw gaming rise from a niche to the major entertainment force it is now. This wasn't necessarily a good thing, but it was an important one. And for that reason alone, THPS3 makes this list. Plus, it had a bitchin' soundtrack.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Release Date: November 14, 2001
Platform: PlayStation 2
ESRB Rating: M
Developer/Publisher: KCEJ/Konami
GameRankings: 95.04%
Completely Arbitrary Personal Score: 8.7/10 (Very Good)

And finally, we make it to the big guns (I'm partially joking, GTA III is an unquestionably great game). Metal Gear Solid 2 rides a huge wave of momentum from the first MGS into an equally impressive first segment. It's unfortunate that momentum isn't carried through the rest of the story, which presents itself as a bit of a rehash of the original MGS. The plotline itself suffers from the typical doldrums present in most middle acts, combined with perhaps too much of that old Kojima insanity. This is a game that is often clever only for the sake of being clever. MGS2 is the weakest of the Metal Gear Solid trilogy.


Nitpicking aside, MGS2 is still REALLY good.

Halo: Combat Evolved
Release Date: November 15, 2001
Platform: XBOX (Later PC)
ESRB Rating: M
Developer/Publisher: Bungie/Microsoft Game Studios
GameRankings: 95.58%
Completely Arbitrary Personal Score: 9.5/10 (Great)

The original Halo was, and still is, a deeply atmospheric game. That, above everything else, is what I love about it. Fundamentally, it isn't much different from other shooters of it's time. Even the lauded two-weapon system wasn't a revolutionary idea (though it was executed flawlessly). The storyline is tightly woven and satisfying.

It's the atmosphere. It's the dull roaring in the background of the second level that made you feel like something great and terrible was happening beneath you. It's the lens flare every time you look at the sun. It's the grind of the tires on the Warthog as you flew around corners. It's the dread you feel right before your first encounter with the Flood.  It's the atmosphere, the feeling, that made me feel, cliche as it is, that I was experiencing this journey for myself, a cavalier feeling of exploration that very few games have ever been able to equal, let alone surpass.

Without these things, it's still an extremely enjoyable game, more than deserving of a place on this list. With these things, it's my second favorite original XBOX game ever.

Super Smash Brothers: Melee
Release Date: December 3, 2001.
Platform: Nintendo Gamecube
ESRB Rating: T
Developer/Publisher: HAL Laboratory/Nintendo
GameRankings: 90.3%
Completely Arbitrary Personal Score: 9.1/10 (Great)

At their core, the Super Smash Brothers games are nothing more than a self-tribute to Nintendo. But I'll be damned if they aren't enjoyable. I mentioned that 1999s original was, in retrospect, only a setup game fro what was to come. This is what was to come. Dozens of characters, from the expected (Mario) to the obscure (Mr. Game and Watch), each of whom plays differently from the others. Dozens of maps, from straightforward duel stages (Final Destination) to gimmicky survival maps (the F-Zero tracks), all of which offer something different to the gameplay experience. Add in an acceptably decent single-player mode (complete with inventive challenge modes), wonderfully remixed songs from Nintendo's past and present,and the literally hundreds of unlockable trophies, and you have one of the biggest, most rewarding games on the Gamecube.

Oh, and it's pretty damn fun to play with other people, too.

Final Fantasy X
Release Date: December 20, 2001.
Platform: PlayStation 2
ESRB Rating: T
Developer/Publisher: Square/Square EA
GameRankings: 91.84%
Completely Arbitrary Personal Score: 9.4/10 (Great)

Final Fantasy X is, on the surface, an uncommonly bright and sunny installment in the world's biggest game series. This is a false assumption. FFX has possibly the most mature and sobering plotline in the series' history, especially because it doesn't need it's protagonist to be a broody anti-hero to do it. Tidus, while initially insanely annoying, eventually matures into an extremely sympathetic and believable character, a young man who comes to grips with the...odd circumstances of his existence and possibly saves the world doing so, despite his ridiculous outfit.

What I enjoy most about this game, however, is the promise it represents. It was the first Final Fantasy of the new millennium, and also the first the feature full voice acting. It's unfortunate that it was also the last truly great Final Fantasy. Here's hoping Square eventually returns to the turn based gameplay that made it the juggernaut it was in the first place.