CCIV: Game of the Year 1995 - Round Ten

[Neon Ignition]

We're getting there, 1995 draws to its end with another line up of titles which has seen one of the busiest line ups in a year covered so far even if it's been lacking in the big hitters we usually see standing out from these lists.

Which of these games deserves a place amongst the best of 1995?

[Neon Ignition]

Beware the dangers of this poll, they're not listed alphabetically!

[QualityChimp]

Although this great gif also popped, when I searched...

->Open Spoiler<-

[Asura]

Gotta be Wipeout for me.

At least in the UK, among people who loved videogames, few games have achieved as much as to provide a sea-change for how videogames were perceived by the general public. Wipeout was genuinely cool; the music, the visuals, and especially the graphic design by The Designer's Republic.

You could debate all day whether or not it's a better game than Sega Rally and Daytona USA, or even Ridge Racer, but that, to me, isn't really the point. The point is that there were plenty of people who would hear DAY-EE-TO-NAAA and couldn't see past the general way videogames were back then in order to enjoy them. Too selfconscious? Maybe. But it was the mid-90s, the zenith of the era of cynicism, where trying hard was tantamount to a betrayal of social norms and liking anything that wasn't wealth or sex was uncool.

Wipeout is cooler than you.

[Tobal]

lots of memorable stuff on this one.

Yoshi island got me through my psone laser dying and having it gone for months for sony **** repair services, Time Crisis(when the psone port came), VC2 in the arcades, legendary Worms, Twisted Metal 1 and Wipeout get there start. Also giving a nod to Terranigma which i wouldn't play till i got the PAL rom many years later. Also fondly remember Zero Divide, 3D robot tekken like with ring out grabs, one of the better B tier fighters Psone had, though probably plays like crap nowadays.

Out of that list, i think Worms is the number1 one for me, passing the pad around fighting and backstabbing my mates on the PSone with our custom teams.

[CMcK]

You Don’t Know Jack was very popular with my flat mates back then. A properly social game with a few beers and much p*ss taking. Virtua Cop 2 is still sublime. Haven’t seen the arcade version for years but still enjoy the Saturn port.

[phillv85]

I reckon Thunder in Paradise might be the worst game released in 1995!

[Neon Ignition]

Controversy!
I'll be on my own but I was always in the camp that Wipeout was a fairly average game who's styling did a lot of its work for it. It's not a diss against the franchise as there are later entries I enjoyed but the original game isn't one I ever felt lived up to the praise.

Second controversy...
Yoshi's Island is good and its later additions have demonstrated how good it is but... it's a big step back from SMB3 and Mario World. I always appreciated that Nintendo did something different with it but it's never held the same place with me that other 16 bit platformers have.


I did give it a vote though as well as Time Crisis and VC2 which are peaks of their type

[Travesty]

Warcraft 2 and X-Com Terror From The Deep for me.

[Anpanman]

I bought WipEout at launch with the PS1, it looked sublime and easily the best of the launch titles in the looks department but I couldn't get into it. I liked the first level but that was it.
I much preferred Ridge Racerrrrrrr.

Anyway my choice was Time Crisis, remember buying it on a HK Silver from a games shop in Bandar Seri Begawan on a side trip from Bali, but that's another story children.

[Hirst]

Surprised at how much of a lead that Time Crisis has over Virtua Cop 2! Both really good titles, but I've got to throw my weight behind Virtual Hylide for being a confusing jerky mess (even then) that me and a mate patiently worked at completing back in the day after getting it cheap off Wakefield outdoor market.

[dataDave]

Time Crisis is weak compared to any Virtua Cop.

Also, everyone seems to have forgotten just how huge Virtual Pool was back then.