Summer Games Challenge 2026 - PRESS I FOR INVENTORY

[RobertAugustdeMeijer]

AJ’s list is absolutely based. I’ve beaten Mega Man Legends and Sonic CD, and I can attest to their classic status. Just great games, particularly Mega Man Legends. Star Control II I played a lot on my friend’s DOS PC very long ago. It blew my mind, and I need to make an actual attempt at beating it someday.

1 Skies of Arcadia (Dreamcast)
2 God of War 2018 (PlayStation 4)
3 Beyond Good & Evil (PS2/Xbox/NGC)
4 Madden NFL 2005 (PS2/Xbox)
5 Viewtiful Joe (GameCube)
6 Rome: Total War (Windows XP)
7 Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (PS2/Xbox/NGC)
8 Jet Grind Radio (Dreamcast)
9 NBA 2K11 (X360/PS3)
10 Ninja Gaiden 2 (Xbox 360)

Wish me luck!

Good luck! I’ve bounced off multiple games in this list - Skies of Arcadia, Viewtiful Joe, Ninja Gaiden II - but based on my time with them, I see them as classics. The ones I’ve beaten are Beyond Good & Evil, which is a very solid Zelda-like from a great designer, and PoP: Sands of Time, which had a really neat mechanic 20+ years ago. I hope you like them.

On the sports games…why did you pick those particular years?

I seriously detested Sands of Time back in the day. Lazy combat mechanics, stupid puzzles, and the praised rewind time mechanic was the same as having limited lives. My best friend loved it and after decades of embarrassment for never having beaten a game, this was his first. We're still friends, but I'm still gobsmacked that this crap was to his liking.
I'm giving it another chance, but my expectations are low. Luckily, having beaten 100+ AAA games I didn't like, my nerves can now take a beating.

Didn't like Beyond Good & Evil that much either (good thing it has nothing to do with Nietzsche, phew!), despite wanting to like it because of its style and characters. Gonna beat it this time for real.

I also want to know a bit more about popular sports titles. NBA 2K11 had the Jordan challenges and made NBA2K super popular. NFL 2K5 is often seen as the best (realistic) football game, and I want to compare it to the second best: Madden '05.

[Ack]

Hmm, all right, I'm thinking about it. Here's what I have so far:

1. Call of Duty: World at War
2. Far Cry 3
3. Duke Nukem Forever
4. Marathon 2
5. Titanfall 2

This list will be expanded upon, of course. Some other titles I'm considering are Powerslave and Rise of the Triad. Maybe Sniper Elite, though I am trying to do pure FPS, and that would ruin the vibe. Research continues!

[MrPopo]

I mentioned this before, but for DNF, I'd recommend skipping the base game and playing the DLC instead. The DLC hits all the same bits of gameplay, but you get a decently told story and none of the utterly terrible writing of the base game.

Powerslave is quite fun, so it'd be a good one to add. As for Sniper Elite, it's not technically an FPS, but the whole point of the game is that you should be doing everything through the scope at long range, so the third person perspective can be thought of as cinematic traversal between combat areas.

[marurun]

For added value you could play the PC and Saturn versions of PowerSlave and compare them. The Saturn version is supposed to have a lot of changed content.

[Ack]

Alternatively, I could do a mix of genres more like the usual lists. It does end the theme, but I would have options like horror games, point-and-clicks, and so on. Decisions, decisions.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Here’s what I’m thinking:

- Baseball Stars (NES)
- Blast Corps (N64)
- Decathlete (Saturn)
- Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze (Wii U/Switch)
- Gimmick! (Famicom/Switch)
- JJ & Jeff (TG16)
- Saturn Bomberman (Saturn)
- Twisted Metal 2: World Tour (PS1)
- Wave Race 64 (N64)
- Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair (Arcade) / Monster Lair (TG16)

Thoughts? I’m going with relatively short games in a variety of genres with a vaguely “summer” theme.

[Ack]

Blast Corps and Twisted Metal 2?

I approve, good sir.

[MrPopo]

Fair warning, Blast Corps is much longer than you think it is.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Fair warning, Blast Corps is much longer than you think it is.

Thanks for the warning. Should I swap it out for one of these?

Arkanoid
Beetle Adventure Racing
Bionic Commando Rearmed
Crazy Taxi
Crash Bandicoot 2
Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father
Puyo Puyo 2

If so, which one?

[prfsnl_gmr]

Oh no! Double post!!

Just showing my enthusiasm for this year’s SGC!