So techies around the world are waxing nostalgic. Playstation has just turned 15.Really? I never realized how much time has passed since the original Playstation came out. I'm a late bloomer, by tech standards. I got my Playstation in 1997--three years after it was launched. It was my first big ticket purchase, being a scrawny, underpaid and overworked copywriter-trainee back then.
My former boss gave me a generous bonus (generous to me, at least) after we won a creative pitch. After handing me the cheque, it was a no-brainer on what I should spend it for.
I had to have a Playstation.
It was worth every centavo. Perhaps even more. Call me having a sorry existence, but I have to say some of the best times of my life were spent in the ruins of Tomb Raider, on the futuristic and brutal race tracks of Wipeout and in the creepy labs of Resident Evil.
To celebrate Playstation's 15th anniversary, here are my personal picks for the Five Greatest Playstation Games Ever (in no particular order):
Tomb Raider - I'd be surprised if anyone would not include Tomb Raider in his list of the greatest Playstation games ever. This is perhaps the first video game that treated gamers as intelligent, cunning beings. To figure out by yourself how to get out of a tomb without any visible exit is sheer bliss. I think those who say Tomb Raider's appeal rests solely on Lara Croft is missing the point. Tomb Raider taps into the reward system that our brains are so hard-wired with. I can only surmise that oceans of dopamine were released each and every time millions of gamers around the world are able to figure out just one of the hundreds of bewildering puzzles within Tomb Raider.
Wipeout - Even to this day, Wipeout doesn't look dated. The soundtracks may give the age of the game away but visually, it still looks like several hundred years into the future. Wipeout is a triumph of design and gameplay. The ships' and tracks' designs made me an instant fan of Designer's Republic. But the gameplay by Psygnosis is what really sets it apart from all the other eye candy games. The choice of bizarre offensive and defensive weapons (my favorite is the seismic bomb), the otherworldly sound effects and the wicked twists and turns of the tracks are balanced to perfection in such a way that your baser instincts just takes precedence over your thinking brain. (Ego: the sun's out and we have to get to work in a few hours! Id: Shut up! Just shut up! Superego: Yes, just shut the F up!)
Gran Turismo - You know what, it's not so much the driving physics that blew my mind. Yes, the physics was a thing of beauty. You can't find even a single fault in the work of a bunch of Japanese game developers afflicted with OCD. But more than the physics, it was the joy of watching the replay--of how stupid you drove around the track or how brilliant you conquered the chicanes. Any claim to game realism before Gran Turismo was rendered moot. Any claim to game realism after Gran Turismo was solely measured against Gran Turismo.
Resident Evil - Anyone who played Resident Evil will never forget the zombie Doberman. Yes, the one that broke through the window. I will put money down on a bet that someone actually died of a heart attack playing Resident Evil because of that Doberman. No game has scared the living daylights out of me as intensely as Resident Evil had. And considering my default mental state is that of catatonia, that says a lot.
Metal Gear Solid - I can't say that MGS is better than sex. But if I were forced to enter the priesthood, I would have to ask for a Playstation bundled with MGS. All that sneaking and scheming and killing is enough to release all that pent-up aggression. After each kill, after each puzzle solved and after you succeed in destroying Metal Gear, you get a high that can only be compared to a post-coital embrace with Megan Fox.
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