My Gamin' in 1997

On 08/20/2015 at 02:26 AM by KnightDriver

Here's what I played back then, really getting into the N64:

Hexen	N64, Saturn, PS
Duke Nukem 64	N64
Diddy Kong Racing	N64
Turok Dinosaur Hunter	N64
Clayfighter 63 1/3	N64
Quake II	PS, N64, X360 (via Quake 4)
Doom 64	N64

Hexen was my number one favorite game in '97. It's a first-person fantasy shooter made by Raven Software. It was the sequel to Heretic and came out on PC first. I played the console port on N64. You could call it fantasy Doom since it used the same, but modified, engine, but I remember it being much more atmospheric and less like a corridor shooter. It had everything I love best in video games: campaign co-op, interesting fantasy environments, and PUNCHING! Oh yes, punch them into mush I say. Punch 'em good.

Duke Nukem 64 was my goto multiplayer shooter at the time playing split-screen on N64, Playstation and (via network not split-screen) on PC. The N64 version sticks in my memory moreso because of specific battles my friend Mark and I had centered around jetpacks and explosive shotgun shells. When the match started, it was a race to get both and then fly around shooting each other, and bots, getting one hit kills with the exploding shells. That never got old.

Diddy Kong Racing was Rare's attempt at a Mario Kart game and they did it pretty well. What I liked best about it was the exploration aspect. You'd race with three different vehicles to gather balloons to unlock more races. You had to pick up items hidden on the tracks and some races were designed like boss fights where you raced against one large antagonist. It all made it feel more like an adventure game, and I love it for that. I loved the music too. Turning on the game and hearing the hub world music today just brings a smile to my face.

Turok: Dinosaur Hunter was another FPS game I took to on N64. I loved this series and played all of them including the multiplayer Turok Rage Wars (I'll be writing about that one later on). You had a bow and arrow and shot at dinosaurs and robots. What's not to like?

Clayfighter 63 1/3. What I liked best about this was the humor. It was a zany take on Mortal Kombat. All the wacky characters, depicted in claymation style, would say their moves as they made them. It was totally silly, which is one of my favorite attitudes. The voice work was done by many of the people who did Animaniacs on TV. I luckily picked up the Sculptor's Cut version, which was only sold by Blockbuster video stores, on the cheap at the time. Now this cart is worth some bucks 'cause it's rare. It had some extra characters and a full song at the beginning which I really love.

Quake II is more of Quake. I may have played it on PC, but maybe N64, I don't remember. Maybe it was on Playstation. Anyway, it was good. So much FPS stuff out in the mid 90s. Had to play them all.

What's another FPS on the pile gonna do? Why the heck not. It's Doom 64, another PC port for the consoles. Gotta play them all.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

08/20/2015 at 05:36 AM

DiddyKong racing is seriously underrated. Flying the planes are the best.

KnightDriver

08/20/2015 at 03:12 PM

Planes, cars and boats. That about covers it all.

08/20/2015 at 03:32 PM

Um except for hover tank mechs.

08/22/2015 at 03:17 AM

Oo! i want that!

Cary Woodham

08/20/2015 at 08:00 AM

Gaming in 1997, 1998, and 1999 was a bit of a blur for me now. I was in college and starting to pick up steam revieweing games for The Dallas Morning News, so it was hard to remember all I played! I do remember enjoying Diddy Kong Racing a lot, as it was the first kart game to compete with Mario Kart. But it was also that year's big N64 holiday release, which really disappointed me. So soon after, I bought a PlayStation. That was one of the best gaming purchases I ever made. Even though I couldn't afford it, after buying a PlayStation I was reviewing games for it left and right. I think 1996 and 1997 were the years that the Namco Museums were first released, which ended up becoming one of my top five favorite games of all time.

08/20/2015 at 03:15 PM

There was just a flood of games for the Playstation. I think I played both PS and N64 pretty regularly.

mothman

08/20/2015 at 09:28 AM

Loved all the N64 games you mentioned especially Diddy Kong, Turok and Hexen.

08/20/2015 at 03:17 PM

I'm really annoyed right now because Hexen has escaped my collection. I wish Raven would release all three "Serpent" games: Heretic, Hexen and Hexen II in some sort of collection for consoles.

Super Step Contributing Writer

08/20/2015 at 01:49 PM

I remember thinking Doom 64 was so cool when I rented it. I've told you my feelings on Quake II. I loved both SNES and N64 Clayfighter games and loved the sense of humor and animation. Interesting how that Horizon game coming to PS4 is so much like Turok conceptually. I dug the adventure aspect of DDKR as well. Duke Nukem 64 was one where my brother would play it in our room despite me not being allowed to play it. Especially since it was on my N64, that got me mad. Hexen I hadn't heard of at the time, but it sounds interesting.

08/20/2015 at 03:23 PM

Holy moly! Horizon Zero Dawn (https://youtu.be/h-Y9xHLWIsU) looks amazing. I guess I missed seeing that one at E3.

08/20/2015 at 08:45 PM

Yeah. It was honestly my favorite game from Sony's press conference.

Machocruz

08/21/2015 at 05:03 AM

I've come to the conclusion that Hexen may have the most glorious level design ever seen in a FPS. The shit is madness, MC Escher on crystal meth. This was from an age where MIT graduates were working in video games, and it shows in games like Hexen, System Shock, Thief, etc. Love the art style too; it's like a fantasy comic book animated. Why it never achieved the popularity of DOOM is a mystery to me.

I played Doom 64 for the first time a couple years ago, and I have to say it became one of my favorite versions of the game. Certainly the best looking, with its colored lighting and subtle shading. One of my favorite Halloween games.

08/22/2015 at 03:20 AM

I'm so mad I let Hexen slip from my collection. I may be able to land a copy this weekend, because I'm pretty sure I gave it to my friend Mark and he probably has two copies.

SanAndreas

08/21/2015 at 10:07 PM

I liked Doom 64 and Turok on N64, though my favorite games on that system were Mario Kart 64 and Star Fox 64.

Final Fantasy VII, however, stood head and shoulders above all else released that year.... and pretty much any year....

08/22/2015 at 04:13 AM

Yea, FFVII is there for many people. I played one JRPG before that, Shining in the Darkness, but I didn't play many RPGs at the time. Seems strange because I consider the genre to be my favorite. I think because I played games with my friend Mark, I always looked for something we'd play together and RPGs were usually just single player except for action RPGs like Gauntlet, which I did play. So if FFVII had co-op, I'd have played it.

goaztecs

08/27/2015 at 11:05 AM

Quake. I played a little on the PC, but I think most of my recent time has been on the 360. I wasn't big on FPS games but some on the original Playstation I liked. Somewhere between the original PS and PS2 I started getting motion sickness from them so I stopped playing until recently when I could play them in small portions.

08/27/2015 at 04:16 PM

That's too bad. After arcades and a long break for school. I came back to gaming and played mainly FPS games and anything with co-op in it. I've tried to find time for RPGs and Stategy games, my other favorite genres.

FAF101

08/27/2015 at 09:27 PM

I have Hexen on Steam! I had it on PS originally but my game disc stopped working and figured to get the series on Steam instead. I use to go around punching things too...I failed a lot at the game thought. My dad did awesome at it, I use to watch him go through it every night.

08/28/2015 at 02:18 AM

That's cool it's on Steam. I imagine Heretic 2 (same dev) is on there too. Never played that one.

08/29/2015 at 06:25 PM

Yeah I have Hexen: Beyond Heretic, Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel, Hexen 2, and Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders

08/31/2015 at 02:04 AM

Awe cool! So want to play those.

09/03/2015 at 01:21 PM

If you have a steam account I can add you to my list of people I'm able to share my libary with!

09/04/2015 at 04:14 PM

Ok, I'm AIwithWarpDrive on Steam. I haven't used it much yet, but I will sometime.

09/16/2015 at 08:57 PM

cool beans! I added you as a friend and then I can add you to the list of users into my library =)

09/18/2015 at 04:23 PM

Whoopie!

PixlBit