- Year: 1993
- System: Genesis
Streets of Rage 2 really kicked off a lot of the 90s attitude. You had some American Gladiator-ass names like Stone and Blaze and Max Thunder. You had a playable character on roller blades. The entire city seemed to be made of brick held together by graffiti and hilariously translated signs like "It's Like Boo" and "Do! Baseball."
129: Dungeon Keeper 2
- Year: 1999
- System: PC
Before Tower Defense was a legit mobile game genre, Dungeon Keeper 2 did all of that, and better. 
You have minions carve out pieces of a dungeon through the earth, and then you build specialized rooms. Depending on the size of the room and type of room, it would spawn combatants that would eventually meet up and start destroying your enemies.
This game involved building enough of a maze to your base to confuse the enemy and buy time and figuring out the quickest route to the heart of the enemies dungeon and destroy them before they overwhelmed your forces.
- Year: 1992
- System: SNES
Mickey played through worlds inspired by Disney properties, swapping out abilities to take on the evil forces, and wasn't too in your face with the "this is Disney" if that makes sense.
This is a criminally overlooked platformer, likely lost in the deluge of everything coming out at the time.
- Year: 1990
- System: NES
Everyone had Chip N' Dale for the NES. It was a late game on the NES and they squeezed all power 
out of the NES and the cartridge.
Seriously, the frame rate, the way the game utilized weapons, the co-op, the boss fights, everything came together to make one of the best platformers on the NES.
That Disney cartoon block was already so strong, but to make an incredible game based off of one of them, Disney was firing on all cylinders.
- Year: 2016
- System: PS4
Well, to those in the later, you were wrong. Doom 2016 proved that the arcade shooter was still alive and well. Part of what made Doom 3 such a slog to get through was how serious it took itself. Out the door was the serious space marines trying to push some hackey anti-capitalism story, in was the heavy metal god Doom marine.
Doom 2016 found a way to meld fighting game combos with a first person shooter and it worked well.
- Year: 1999
- System: PS1
I remember the advertisements for Warzone 2100. "Over 2000 combinations of vehicles." It felt so 
futuristic to have a game where there were 2000 different combinations of vehicles you could build.
Warzone 2100 was the first console RTS game that worked. I think part of that was they removed the need to micro-manage a bunch of different materials, instead focusing on two. And instead of clicking on your building and commanding a bunch of units get created, you could setup refineries to keep producing the same vehicle.
The main downfall of this game is the difficulty spikes to a point where I don't think you could beat the game without cheats or a Game Genie.
- Year: 2010
- System: Xbox 360
The un-numbered Halo's though, Reach and ODST, now that's my gritty fight I can get down on.
Reach is much like Star Wars Rogue One. You already know how it ends. You're on a suicide mission, but Bungie does such a great job at creating a universe and plot that you could believe in, that I kept driving toward the end, knowing full well what happens to my squad.
And those final moments play out so cinematic-ally. Smoking rubble all around you. One by one your buddies' coms going silent, and a shadow moving through the smoke toward you.
- Year: 1998
- System: Arcade
Arcade shooters are usually my go-to. I've probably played them all. Carnevil was different in how 
tactile it managed to feel.
When you shot a zombie, the place your shot landed meant something. Hit a leg, slow it down, arm and it's attack is cancelled, shoot the head and a chunk of flesh would fall off.
It also had you actually cock the shotgun to reload instead of shooting off screen.
The monster designs were very gory. It combined that wet horror look from the 80s with the blood and guts of the 90s.
There was a story to it, but you never could hear it over all the other machines going. Something about a haunted carnival showing up and a bunch of teenagers trying to defeat the hordes within.
- Year: 1996
- System: PC
I had never seen fully 3D modeled enemies before. I had never seen a FPS run some quickly and smoothly. The lighting looked like it actually reflected off surfaces. There was water that felt real and not just some sort of filter. You could jump! Do you know how crazy it was that you could jump at this time?
I know Quake 2 had a larger impact on gaming in general, but Quake 1 was the first time I felt a giant leap in PC gaming.
- Year: 2016
- System: PS4
Many people were tired of Uncharted by the time 4 came out. I have to admit, by the time credits
rolled on Uncharted 3, I would've been happy taking a prolonged break from Nathan Drake. I think that sort of wear really counted against what a fantastic experience Uncharted 4 is.
Yes, you still have to suspend your disbelief as Nathan Drake shoots his way to a body count nearing 1,000, but the pacing in Uncharted 4 felt perfect. Sure, in a standard combat scenario you have to shoot guns, take cover, shoot more guns, take cover again. But that would be followed up by a beautiful panoramic camera of a new set-piece, or exposition via some of the best acted dialogue in any game, and then a puzzle.
This game made me cry in many places. I've been with Nate for over a decade and gotten to know Sully and Elena. Their pain, their melon-collie, their happiness, those were all my emotions. If we never get another mainline Uncharted game again, this is a fantastic send off for our hero.
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