Resident Evil
What Capcom did with adventure gaming in the 90s was inspired. They took the classic formula of chasing down monsters and killing them and flipped it on its head. Instead of a super powered Rambo style hero taking out as many of his opponents as possible with ridiculous amounts of health, Resident Evil was born as the first in a long series of Survival Horror, a genre that grew and grew to the point of ridiculous knock offs. The original games in the series though, Resident Evil 1, 2, and 3 for the Playstation console were classics and were part of what made Sony's Playstation so successful. The game took place in a city over run by a rogue company's failed experiments, a drug that turns people into zombie-like beasts. The city is destroyed and it is your job to go in and find out what happened and do what you can to stop it. The game at its time was one of the tensest, most chair gripping experiences around and could quite possible scare you out of your seat.
Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider, when it first appeared was a revelation in the development of Adventure games. It was fully 3D, had incredible graphics (as the series' heroine, Lara Croft's shirt dimensions could attest to) and was a lot of fun. The original run of Tomb Raider play games, up until the third were ingenious in bringing to gaming an entire new approach that involved puzzles, carefully maneuvered fights and cinema style gameplay. Unfortunately, the games took a sharp downturn after the first few and have never fully recovered from their mediocre approach. The formula, while revolutionary, is entirely overplayed at this point. But, it wasn't before Lara Croft became the essential face of gaming and spawned two films starring Angelina Jolie.
Legacy of Kain
The Legacy of Kain and Soul Reaver games were both amazing action/adventure games that took a new idea, something that gaming had been playing with for a few years and really added a lot of features to it. While not inventive or revolutionary in many ways, these games were incredibly good at taking what other people were trying and making it work that much better. The story was perfectly crafted and the free games smooth and seamless and without a doubt, this is a series that is long overdue for a return.
Silent Hill
As an offshoot of the survival horror craze, Silent Hill went above and beyond the call of duty. Instead of shooting and running from Zombies, a formula born in George Romero's films of the 70s and 80s, Silent Hill was a vivid, psychological scare, the kind that would stick with you for days. It was dark, faded, and most of all hard to play through for more than a couple hours without taking a break to catch your breath. The series kept it simple most importantly and managed to stay strong throughout the Playstation 2's lifespan as well. This game is a true Japanese creation; stark, psychological scares.
Fighting Games for Your Playstation Console
