It is no surprise that both the Zelda series and the Mario series deserve
the praise they receive; they were created by the same man, a Mr.Miyamoto.
Mario has seen a variety of renditions. He has played golf in Mario Golf; he
has raced in Mario Kart; he has played tennis in Mario Tennis; he has become an
artist in Mario Paint; but his greatest achievement was his simplest. He became
great in his early platform games, where he jumped atop mushroom heads and slid
down tubes.
The simple concept entranced audiences around the world when it was released
on NES. This series has, like Zelda, spawned countless games spanning every
Nintendo system. Corporate Nintendo has not shied away from the series, letting
Mario manifest itself in almost every form (which is why he plays golf, tennis,
races cars, etc.). For the sheer diversity of Mario games, the series deserves
a mention. Yet, for the sheer quality, it deserves our praise. Every major
Mario platformer has been a landmark in videogame history, especially when it
turned 3-dimensional in Super Mario 64. It will only be a matter of time before
its next installment is released on the next generation system, the Nintendo
Revolution.
Grand Theft Auto
Many people don’t realize Grand Theft Auto is a series that has lived a lot
longer than its appearance on the Sony Playstation 2. The series began with a
game, simply Grand Theft Auto, on the original Playstation, with a PC/Windows
counterpart. The game was simple; it was a top-down adventure game where you
just drove around running simple missions. With its coming to the Playstation
2, Grand Theft Auto went 3-dimensional. The magnitude of Grand Theft Auto 3
drove sales through the roof. It was a game praised for its ultimate freedom;
that is, the ability to do almost anything. Driving, stealing, killing, etc
were at your fingertips. The series has run into a lot of criticism over the
years for its content, but in terms of technical quality and ingenuity, there
is nothing better. With the coming of the more recent renditions; Grand Theft
Auto: Vice City
and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the series has taken even greater leaps.
More vehicles, more abilities, more opportunities, and more options continually
further the feeling of “absolute freedom.”
The Grand Theft Auto series deserves a spot in history simply for its
technical ingeniousness. Massive cities are there for the wrecking, and you can
do practically whatever you want. No longer do you feel as if you are playing a
videogame. Rather, you are controlling someone’s life. It has come that far,
and the game’s developer, Rockstar, will surely take it much further. For
blurring the line between gaming and experiencing something real, Grand Theft
Auto is cornerstone in gaming history.