Electronic Gaming Monthly's Best Reviewed Games of 1998

Colony Wars & Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus (Tie)

#10

Like a lot of EGM Best & Worst episodes, we're starting the list with a tie I can't break. Colony Wars and Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus may be worlds apart when it comes to gameplay and genres, but they have one thing in common -- they both averaged a score of 9.25 out of 10, which was enough to beat such heavy hitters as Tomb Raider 2, Xenogears, F-Zero X and Final Fantasy Tactics. I bet you didn't see that coming.

Colony Wars was one of those games that snuck up and surprised everybody. Shawn puts it best: "I'm not the biggest fan of flight games, but Colony Wars is done so well and is so fun to play, I couldn't help but get into it." That's an opinion echoed throughout the reviews. Kraig notes that "all too often a game excels at graphics or gameplay, but not both. Such is not the case with Colony Wars, which is top-notch in just about every way." Sushi-X, on the other hand, liked that Colony Wars pushed the PlayStation hardware in amazing ways, but wasn't as high on the game. While everybody else gave it a 9.5, he was the odd man out with an 8.5, complaining that there are too many flight boundaries.

When it comes to Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus, everybody agreed that this sequel is everything the previous game was and more. The odd part of these reviews is how many complaints the critics had. Shawn mentioned the annoying trial and error puzzles, Crispin called this more of a "mission pack" than a proper sequel and Dan noted that it was just "more of the same." The good news is that the EGM editors weren't sick of more of the same, especially when the story is this good and the world is so immersive. Both Colony Wars and Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus managed to average a score of 9.25 out of 10, which is good enough to make it onto this list.

Einhander

#9

For as dominant as the genre was in the 1980s and 90s, traditional shoot 'em ups had gone out of style by in the 32-bit era. The new technology allowed developers to give us immersive 3D shooters, which resulted in both critics and consumers flocking to Star Fox 64 and Colony Wars. But if we learned anything from the release of Einhander, it's that the side-scrolling shoot 'em up still had a little life left in it. This was a chance for Square to show the world just how cool one of these games could look if you used the PlayStation's power correctly, and Electronic Gaming Monthly was eating it up.

"Einhander is the most cunningly designed shooter I've ever played," exclaims Crispin. He was one of the two critics that gave it a 9.5 out of 10, noting that the bosses are spectacular and the game is substantially longer than most shooters. John agreed with that assessment, but also added that "Einhander is easily the best shooter to come along since R-Type." The only thing keeping him from giving a higher score was the lack of a multiplayer mode. Kraig, on the other hand, went for the higher score and talked about all the fun ways you can destroy the enemy ships. "When I'm in a cruel mood, I love destroying an enemy's legs so he crumbles to the ground, or shattering his head so he bumbles around harmlessly." Yeesh, remind me not to get on Kraig's bad side. The stunning graphics and the ability to destroy bad guys in different ways was enough to earn Einhander an impressive 9.25 out of 10.

Gran Turismo

#8

Gran Turismo was more than a racing game, it was a major sea change for console gaming. Prior to 1998, the racing genre was largely dominated by arcade ports, cartoony carts and over-the-top racers that were usually set in the future. Just about the closest we got to a realistic racing game was Super Monaco GP, which ended up topping EGM's best reviewed list back in 1990. But Gran Turismo was something different. It was a console game that not only tried its hardest to recreate realistic physics, but also gave us dozens of licensed cars, gorgeous real-world locations and the ability to buy and customize your various cars with hundreds of parts. Even more impressive is the fact that Gran Turismo is the first racing game in eight years to make EGM's best reviewed list without being published by Nintendo.

"Gran Turismo is loaded with so much depth, so many options, so many cars, so much variety -- it just literally destroys anything that's come before it," notes John Ricciardi. "Get used to this quote, cause you're gonna hear it a lot: Gran Turismo is the best racing game of all time.'" To be fair, there is some disagreement amongst the EGM editors. Dean pushes back saying that it's "arguably the best racing game," because "don't forget Need for Speed 3." Kraig, on the other hand, actually has some complaints about the two-disc behemoth. "First, getting the different licenses is annoying. Also, there should be more American cars. I have an Acura Integra, and I'm disappointed they only have the Japanese styled one in the game." Oh well, man. That's just how it goes. With the two Johns giving it a 9.5 and Dean and Kraig going with a straight 9, Gran Turismo averages out to a 9.25 out of 10.

Banjo-Kazooie

#7

1998 was a solid year for the Nintendo 64, but you definitely wouldn't know it looking over this list. Of all the games released that year, only Banjo-Kazooie found its way onto the top 10 list; a far cry from 1997, when the trusty N64 dominated nearly half of the chart. After honoring so many 64-bit racing games and first-person shooters, EGM was ready to get back to 3D platforming. Perhaps that's why they were so excited to dig into the deep world of Banjo-Kazooie, a game most of the editors thought was actually better than Super Mario 64.

"What Rare has delivered here is solid-gold gameplay -- better, even, than Mario 64," starts Crispin. "The dual-character dynamic is ingenious, the fog-free graphics are flawless (the N64's best), later stages are superbly challenging and the amount of things to do and secrets to discover is immense -- almost daunting." John Davison was the only one to not give it a 9.5, and for some pretty solid reasons. "So is it a perfect game? No. There are two problems -- one creative and one technical: 1) Banjo himself is a tough character to really care about, and 2) Camera AI is frustratingly bad sometimes." But even with this slightly lower score, Banjo-Kazooie still managed to average a score of 9.4 out of 10. That's down slightly from Mario 64's 9.5 average.

Resident Evil 2

#6

Two decades before gamers fell in love with it again, Capcom released one of the most anticipated sequels of all time -- Resident Evil 2. Coming only two years after the terrifying success of the original, this follow-up promised a bigger story that finally took us outside of the mansion. The result was one of the best survival horror games of all time. It's also a sharp turnaround for EGM, who just one year earlier had Resident Evil: Director's Cut as the third worst reviewed game of 1997. We get more into why that happened in our last episode, but needless to say, everybody loves Resident Evil again.

"If any software developer wants to see how a sequel should be done, they should look at this game," explains Kraig. He's quick to note that he didn't like the first Resident Evil, but absolutely adores this new one. That's a theme that is repeated throughout the reviews. John starts his review by saying that "I was not a big fan of the first Resident Evil, but RE2 is everything the first game should have been." Dan echoes that sentiment by saying that this sequel surprised him, because he "wasn't that wild about the original." Even Shawn calls the original "a little overrated." Seriously, did anybody like the first Resident Evil? I mean, except for the four editors that made it EGM's 4th best reviewed game of 1996. Did everybody on the staff that actually liked Resident Evil end up quitting? Either way, Resident Evil 2 averages a terrifying 9.4 out of 10.

Point Blank

#5

After eighteen episodes, we've seen our fair share of genres on the Best & Worst list. We've talked about fighting games, shoot 'em ups, racing games, simulators, action games and even weirdo releases that combined the two. Just about the only genre we haven't talked about in this series is the light gun game. That ends today, thanks to Point Blank, Namco's clever party game that wanted you to get the whole family together to shoot at the screen. After years of games like stationary games like Duck Hunt and on-rails shooters like Time Crisis, Point Blank was a breath of fresh air, and I think you'll see why from these reviews.

"This is it: The best light gun game I have played in my entire life," raves Dan. "This is not a light statement to make, especially when we have great games like Virtua Cop 2 and Time Crisis." He loved the simplicity, the eight-player party mode and the countless mini-games. Shawn agreed: "Point Blank is one of those titles you'd be silly not to have in your gaming library." John explains that "it's so much fun, and there's so much variety that it'll keep you entertained for weeks." Over and over they say that Point Blank is their favorite light gun game, which is probably why it picked up an incredible average of 9.4 out of 10.

Game Boy Camera

#4

1998 continues to be a year filled with firsts. We just talked about light gun games showing up for the first time, so I suppose it's fitting to follow that up with another way to shoot things -- the Game Boy Camera. We've spent so much time talking about games that I had no idea EGM was going to throw a hardware review at us, yet here we are with this Game Boy add-on. It seems almost quaint today, but you have to remember that this was at a time when cameras weren't being shoved into every device you own. It was still novel to have a camera on your handheld game system, which might explain why everybody was so excited to take low-res black and white images that you could print out using a completely different peripheral.

"This little gadget has to be one of the coolest gaming peripherals I've ever seen," said John D. "I don't remember the last time a crowd of people had such a laugh with something which is fundamentally so simple." Kraig gave the add-on a 9.5 and accurately predicted the future: "I fear for the teachers across the States, because when this incredibly devious little device gets out, it's gonna cause lots of chaos in classrooms." Crispin wrote the longest review and worried that "the Game Boy Camera might be a little too much fun." He called it the "best peripheral of all time" and gushed over the delay timer, time-elapse snapshot mode, four mini-games and the ability to assemble your pictures into a 47-frame movie. The four editors all gave it a 9.5 out of 10 and called the Game Boy Camera the "Thing of the Month."

Panzer Dragoon Saga

#3

Panzer Dragoon Saga may not be the first role-playing game to show up on EGM's Best & Worst list, but it's definitely the rarest. After snubbing the original and the 1996 sequel, Sega's 32-bit fantasy series finally makes an appearance on a top 10 list. There's just one problem -- by the time Electronic Gaming Monthly published their review, most of the 25,000 units released in North American had already sold out. It was even worse in Europe, where only a thousand copies went on sale. And since Sega never got around to porting or remaking the game, all but a handful of people will ever get a chance to play Panzer Dragoon Saga. That's a shame, especially when you read EGM's glowing reviews.

"This is an absolutely brilliant RPG that is exceptionally innovative and addictive," explains Kraig. He loved the unique fantasy world Sega created and the "extraordinary battle interface." This was the general consensus at EGM, but a lot of the editors were ready to go stronger with their recommendation. Dan wrote a lengthy review concluding that Panzer Dragoon Saga is "even better than the almighty Final Fantasy VII." Not to be outdone, Shawn gave it a perfect 10 and gushed that "this game is hands down my favorite RPG of all time." EGM begged their readers to buy the game immediately, and hopefully you listened. If you did, then you own an incredibly rare and collectible game that goes for a lot of money these days. Panzer Dragoon Saga averaged an incredible 9.6 out of 10.

Tekken 3

#2

After years of dominating the charts, fighting games were suddenly having a hard time breaking onto EGM's top 10 lists. Despite notable releases like Tobal No. 1 and Soul Blade, you didn't see a single fighting game find its way onto the best reviewed games of 1997, as they instead opted to celebrate first-person shooters and cinematic role-playing games. With so much competition from emerging genres, fighting games were going to need to step up to the challenge and give us something truly special if they wanted to once again command respect on these charts. It was Namco who accepted the challenge, and Tekken 3 was the truly special release that sent the industry reeling.

"The graphics are exquisite, the character designs are better than ever, the moves graceful while fearsome and the control system is near perfect," explains John D. That pretty much sums it up, right? Nope, because the other John, Ricciardi, is ready to tell you why this game ROCKS. "Never before has there been a fighting game that's this deep AND this amazingly fun to play. Without a doubt, the absolutely best fighting game available for the PlayStation, bar none." He's one of three EGM editors to give the game a perfect 10 out of 10. Believe it or not, the only holdout was fake ninja Sushi-X, who called the game "phenomenal" before giving it a 9. His biggest complaint is that he prefers the classic 2D fighters over stuff like Tekken. Also, one of the extra modes is a "pain in the ass." His slightly lower score means that Tekken 3 averaged a 9.75 out of 10, making it EGM's best reviewed fighting game of all time. A title that will be short-lived.

Metal Gear Solid

#1

From Ninja Spirit to Street Fighter II Turbo to Ys Book I & II, we've seen the EGM editors give out a number of perfect 10 scores over the years. What we've never seen is a game that gets a perfect 10 from all four editors. After ten years and 113 issues, that incredibly difficult feat was accomplished by video gaming's greatest spy -- Solid Snake. Like it or not, 1998 was the year of Metal Gear Solid. It not only got the most coverage throughout the year, but turned out to be one of the few games to actually live up to the hype. In fact, these EGM reviews suggest that Hideo Kojima's cinematic masterpiece exceeded all expectations and set a new high-water mark for the industry.

"Unbelievable. Metal Gear Solid not only lives up to the hype, it surpasses it in every imaginable way," raves John R, repeating what I just said. "I haven't felt this kind of overall satisfaction with a game since the glory days of the SNES (Super Metroid, Zelda, etc.). An absolute masterpiece." Dan had a hard time finding the right word to describe a game this good: "Metal Gear is simply incredible. Maybe "incredible" isn't strong enough an adjective here ... this game is so full of innovation, so full of surprises, so full of fantastic design, that compliments don't do it justice."

In Crispin's longer review, he tells you to forget everything you know about the term "interactive movie." He explains that Metal Gear Solid is "easily the most cinematic masterpiece of game design on any system ever" and that it packs "more twists than an entire season of The X-Files." He was impressed by the attention to detail in every part of the game and the heart-stopping boss battles. This is a sentiment shared across all four editors, which may explain why it is the first game ever to score an average of 10 out of 10. That's an incredible milestone that deserves to be celebrated, but it comes with a small spoiler for the future -- Metal Gear Solid definitely won't be the only perfect 10 from EGM, and you'll see why when we dig into the games from 1999.