If you own a PS2, an Xbox, a Gamecube, or two systems, or even all of them, by this time you?ve had the chance to play a slew of solid titles. But for every system there was the game. The game that took hours to beat, the game you bought the sequel(s) for, if any, the game that you don?t play so much anymore but no matter what, you could just never trade it in – the game that made you run out and buy the system in the first place.

Indeed, the consoles of today have had a good five-year-run now and it is at this time that I implore you to take a look at what I deem to be the games that put their respective systems on the map.

For PS2, coming from the action genre, it was the Grand Theft Auto series. When GTA first came out for PC and Playstation in 1997, it had a 2-dimensional top-down view. Comparably the same way Mario blew us away when he made the transformation from the 2-dimensional side-scroller to the 3-dimensional 360 degree environment. Grand Theft Auto III did the very same when it first came out.

In short, GTA was a game that championed doing everything that the dark crevice of a person?s mind could lust for: murder, pimping, street racing and robbery just to name a few. The true beauty of the game was the fact that players could choose to either make progress in the underground world via missions or simply run around and create their own fun and havoc.

Although Xbox and PC versions came afterwards ? GTA?s developer Rockstar had a contract with Sony allowing them a six-month advance release ? this title clearly became a blockbuster on PS2. Running with the success of GTA III came the sequels Vice City and San Andreas offering the same freedom of huge interactive environments but also raised the bar with the addition of cooler vehicles, such as a harrier in San Andreas (unnecessary but fun) and fully customizable characters.

For Xbox it was undeniably the Halo series. Your classic scenario: aliens invade planet and ridiculously large, noisy and dangerous armaments are the only way to stop them. This was the same premise for Half-life, but since then no first-person shooter has had such smooth-game play, an extremely comfortable and accessible button configuration set-up and an absolutely superb multiplayer mode.

Typically, first-person shooters are championed for their multiplayer capabilities but the single player and co-op mode for Halo and Halo 2 provided its owners with an extremely long-lasting title. Even the magnificently orchestrated and high-quality cut-scenes for these titles are worthy of mention.

For these reasons this first-person shooter made waves in the gaming industry and allowed Microsoft to claim itself as the superior machine in terms of online gaming. Keep in mind, prior to coming out, every system?s developer made the promise that we were in for the revolution of online gaming and to this day, thanks to the Halo series, only Microsoft has kept that promise.

Finally we have Nintendo Gamecube and the fighter Super Smash Bros. Melee. This game offered more than twenty Nintendo characters ranging from Mario to Pikachu and allowed you to pit them against each other and by any means necessary, smash each other out of the screen.
As a result, this sequel to the Nintendo 64 original became the best multiplayer game for the system.

Other than Zelda: the Windwaker, no other game has boasted the graphics power of the Gamecube like Smash bros has ? characters in it for example, are detailed right down to the retinas of their eyes. And with more than 200 trophies, which could be unlocked by single, but also multi-player challenges, this game managed to provide a decent long-lasting factor.

But here?s my beef: despite the success of this game, Nintendo never made a sequel for it. With the troubles Gamecube has had competing against Xbox and PS2, a sequel with perhaps online capabilities could have completely turned the tables.

Compared to deciding on the best titles for PS2 and Xbox it was no easy task what with smash hits such as your Tony Hawks, Final Fantasies, Metal Gear Solids and Need for Speeds. But for Nintendo it?s clear that Super Smash Bros. melee stands on top because frankly, Nintendo never released enough epics.

The real reason why I?ve taken the time to ramble on about old games is because it?s no big news that the three big developers, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo have finalized what?s going to be the next generation of systems. And every single one of the games I?ve taken the liberty to nominate as the top pick is going to have a sequel on their respective up-coming console, be it the Nintendo Revolution, PS3 or Xbox 360.

I?ve taken a look at the technical capabilities of these powerhouses and I must admit it?s easy to drool at the thought of how many hours of nirvana these fun new toys are going to provide but lest we forget that a poor selection of games trumps the technical power of a system.

Come back to andPOP all next month because I?ll be giving you the skinny on what to expect from the next generation of systems starting next week with Xbox 360.

Johnny Keogh’s gaming column can be read every Wednesday on andPOP.






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