Super Chart Island

A British history of popular video games told one sales chart #1 at a time. New posts on Mondays and Fridays. Currently in 2007.

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“The bridge” – Wii Sports Resort

[For this guest post, I’m once again very happy to hand over to Matt Gardner, editor of the excellent site GameTripper (which I hope to be on again soon!). Matt most recently wrote here about…

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“A fine effort from that distance” – Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10

[For this guest post I welcome back Richard Moss, who previously wrote about Sonic Drift and Pro Evolution Soccer 5. Richard is creator of the excellent documentary podcast The Life & Times of …

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“Punch it out” – Fight Night Round 4

For all that Fight Night Round 4 includes its share of razzle-dazzle, and of gnarly close-ups of guys getting punched in the face, it is keener on boxing as a slow and tactical sport.

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“Mankind is your mask” – [Prototype]

Prototype is a tremendously ugly game…

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“Time isn’t flowing and space isn’t stable” – Pokémon Platinum

Pokémon Platinum (Game Freak/Nintendo, DS, 2008/2009) [In line with the game, this is a modified repeat of the entry for Pokémon Diamond. Ne

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“Lifetime Happiness Points” – The Sims 3

The ‘Evil’ trait is an interesting one, because evil in the Sims universe is a rather nebulous concept…

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“Amazing rear naked choke victory” – UFC Undisputed 2009

UFC couldn’t have found a better developer for turning it into a video game with popular appeal

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“Tread carefully” – Resident Evil 5

I only had to look at the cover art for the game — the title over the outline of the continent of Africa in threatening dark red — to be rem

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“National pride” – Empire: Total War

Empire: Total War (The Creative Assembly/Sega, PC, 2009) There are a very small number of PC games left to cover in my story of the British

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“Get in the tank, Sev” – Killzone 2

Obvious inspiration is taken from some of the best bits of Gears of War and Halo, and high fidelity recreations are presented. All of Killzo

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“Historic distillery” – Street Fighter IV

I contested plenty of fights against flowchart Kens, and recognised even there a level of commitment and discipline which I would not reach.

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Two explosive charges need planting. You have one. Your colleagues plant the other. “Timer’s fried” they call. The thing explodes right on cue after you plant yours, whenever that is. Every airstrike to call, every big moment, they all have to be yours. In game mechanics, you’re still the solo hero of old, at the same time as the story tries to have you just one of many. Miss your cues and things get really strange. The invisible barriers to keep you on the battlefield are just the start. 

At one point I was given the task of blowing up some tanks with bazookas. I ran out of ammo, I wasn’t sure where to get more from so I pressed ahead anyway and reached a checkpoint. Then followed a good twenty minutes of repeated failed attempts at getting anywhere from said checkpoint without being blown up by tank shells. I actually got an achievement for dying so many times. I eventually managed to negotiate my way back to do what the game had expected me to do in the first place, duly chastened for having taken any kind of initiative.

I wrote about the UK's final #1 game of 2008:

“Relentless” – Call of Duty: World at War

Call of Duty: World at War (Treyarch/Activision, Xbox 360, 2008) Tying a series into a yearly release schedule has consequences, especially

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"It also transformed Gears 1’s leading characters from “overtly meaty heroes fighting underground monsters” to “overtly meaty heroes with personalities fighting underground monsters”. The painfully thin back stories originally attached to Marcus, Dom, Cole, and Baird – which, respectively, were “I’m angry”, “my wife’s missing”, “I’m a gobshite LaDainian Tomlinson” and “I’m too sarcastic for my own good” – were allowed to blossom in the same way the game’s expanded mechanics did.

Crucially, it offered the best highs and lows of the franchise as a whole. While playing it through with my friend – a very stoic, strongly constituted guy – I saw my own future. Gears 2 was able to hit those hilariously gruesome high notes, but completely pull the rug out from underneath you, making you react in ways you’d never imagined."

New guest post over on Super Chart Island:

“Intestinal fortitude” – Gears of War 2

[We’re nearly at the end of 2008, and it’s time for another guest post. I’m happy as always to hand over to Matt Gardner, editor of the exce

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“Radio Free Wasteland” – Fallout 3

Fallout 3 (Bethesda, Xbox 360, 2008) Fallout 3 eases you into its world particularly gently. Your initial exposure to its post-apocalyptic n

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“Bard to the bone” – Fable II

Fable II (Lionhead/Microsoft, Xbox 360, 2008) When it comes to pivotal moments in British video game history, Populous is one of the more si

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“Les grandes équipes” – Pro Evolution Soccer 2009

Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (Konami, PlayStation 3, 2008) From Commodore 64 to Amiga to PC, I grew up playing so many different football games

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“Ready for the floor” – FIFA 09

FIFA 09 (EA Sports, Xbox 360, 2008) 2008 is when the HD versions of the Big Two football games finally overcame the lasting momentum of the