bluetoast

Next Generation was a great magazine which folded in 2001. Anything that they awarded 5 stars to was worth checking out. This youtube video goes over footage of the games while quoting the magazine's thoughts:


The list of games:


I didn't play PC games at the time but definitely Crash Team Racing, Tony Hawk 1 and 2, Shenmue, Virtua Tennis, are standouts. But the gameplay footage from the video above makes me think some of these games still hold up, or at makes me interested in the newer games in the series. Which of these did you play back then, and what still holds up?

OldBoy

Not a one.

fujishig

I wasn't a big PC gamer either (only played Diablo II and Quake) but I probably played all of the console ones (as a big Dreamcast fanatic) and Crimson Skies on the Xbox (which was great).

bluetoast

Oh yeah, Quake was played a bit at Wizards of the Coast.People would pay for computer time to play Quake over a LAN, and my friends were fans, so I joined a couple times.

brainee

I only played games on PC then. Of this list, I played Baldur's Gate 2, Deus Ex, Diablo 2, and Planescape (not Planetscape) Torment. And they were great games. In particular, I loved those "Infinity Engine" AD&D BioWare RPGs. I know they're probably dated now, but BG2 and Planescape were pretty amazing to play in their time (especially for someone like me who played AD&D). BioWare made some pretty great RPGs in the 10 years after this list too (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2, Jade Empire, Mass Effect 1 and 2, Dragon Age: Origins).

Michael Corvin

Only Crash Team Racing. I played VirtuaTennis but II think it was a Dreamcast one, maybe one of the sequels.

Also, what kind of year end list doesn't have a single Nintendo game? Zelda: Majora's Mask, Perfect Dark, Banjo-Tooie, and the first Mario Tennis game were all released that year. PS2 had Timesplitters which was pretty awesome.

andicus

A bit of Crash Team Racing and a whole lot of Quake 3 Arena, mainly iCTF.

The Questyen

Games I played a ton of:
Crash Team Racing (never cared for the Crash Bandicoot series but this was a great kart racer)
Final Fantasy IX (a fantastic FF game)
NFL 2K1 (one of the best football games ever made)
Resident Code Veronica (my favorite Resident Evil game)
Shenmue (I don't think this holds up well but for its time had me hooked)
Virtua Tennis (the original Virtua Tennis on the Dreamcast was one of my favorite sports games of all time. So much fun)

Maxflier

DoA2
NFL 2K1
Shenmue
SWAT 3 (fucking loved this game)
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater
UFC

Dan

Just these:
Diablo II (PC)
Final Fantasy IX (PS1)
Quake III Arena (PC)
Resident Evil – Code: Veronica (Dreamcast)
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (Dreamcast)
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 (PS1)

I spent an absurd amount of time with the THPS games in particular. I don't think I ever finished RE-C:V, but I did play it quite a bit as it was one of the few legit Dreamcast games I bought when that system went on a fire sale. The others I played but only barely.

RichC2

I played all of these a lot except Age of Wonder (I was RTS'd out at the time), and I'd agree most aged well outside of the football games.

​​​​​I play the THPS1+2 remake almost weekly still on my Steam Deck. I just played through the remake of Crash Team Racing on my PS5. Quake 3 Arena is still fun. Baldurs Gate II I would play Saturday mornings with my friends from IRC and AIM/ICQ and an ungodly amount of time with Diablo II.

beavis69

Crash Team Racing (PS1)
Dead or Alive 2 (Dreamcast)
Madden NFL 2001 (PS2)
NFL 2K1 (Dreamcast)
Resident Evil – Code: Veronica (Dreamcast)
San Francisco Rush 2049 (Dreamcast)
Shenmue (Dreamcast)
SSX (PS2)
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (Dreamcast)
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 (PS1)
Ultimate Fighting Championship (Dreamcast)
Virtua Tennis (PC) - Didn’t play on PC though but DC

In my opinion this is a really bad list. Of the console games only 3 are considered classics (SSX, THPS2, Shenmuh), and a few greats (RE:CV, DoA2, SFRush2049). Odd to see two NFL games.

I would have expected Legend of Zelda Majoras Mask, Perfect Dark, Chrono Cross, Jet Grind Radio, MvC2, or Banjo-Tookie which were all highly rated at the time.

My personal favorites from that year were Metal of Honor Underground, Dino Crisis 2, WWF No Mercy, THPS2, and MvC2.

Nesbit

I played quite a bit of Tony Hawk with friends but was just good enough to not be embarrassing. It was just something we all liked well enough to agree on and could pass around for hours.

I would put real money down on a game of virtual tennis though without any practice having not played it in 15+ years. That was my jam.

bluetoast

Yeah Virtua Tennis on Dreamcast is still my top tennis game. Mario Tennis on 64 and Top Spin on Xbox are good, but I haven’t played any standouts since then.

Noonan

I played through the majority of those. I was the only one of my friends who bought SSX at PS2 launch. Everyone became jealous once they got to play it. SSX Tricky is still one of my favorite games ever.

Adam Tyner

I was a broke PC gamer in 2000, and I didn't play any of them at the time. I think the gaming I did that year was pretty Unreal-centric, at least for the first half or so of 2000. Not sure I played much of anything from late Spring on.

The only one I played on the listed platform was Quake 3 Arena, but that was a couple years afterwards.

I played Crimson Skies on Xbox, Dead or Alive 2 on Xbox, and the remastered Tony Hawk 1/2 on the PS5.

majorjoe23

None of them. I guess I wasn’t really playing games in 2000.

Toddarino

I don’t think I’ve played any of those.
The only Tony Hawk I played was underground for PS2 and that was only because a band I was in is on the soundtrack. It was a older song before I joined.

bluetoast

This is making me seriously consider the remake of Crash Team Racing.

RichC2

Some of the races are crazy difficult but it's a lot of fun

Mike86

Only Crash Team Racing and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2. I also have played Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater but not on Dreamcast.

nickdawgy

These are the games I played more than a few times...

Baldur's Gate II:
I played a lot of this one. Classic D&D gaming. I might download it for Xbox and get back to it one of these days.

Crimson Skies:
Played a lot of this on the old Xbox with some people here at DVDTalk. Memories.

Deus Ex:
Definitely one of my favorites. I love those types of games and I wish they'd come out with another.

Final Fantasy IX:
Probably my least favorite of the series. I know a lot of people don't agree with me on this one.

Madden 2001:
Played it. Forgettable.

NFL 2K!:
Played it. Probably why Madden 2001 was forgettable. A true classic and I'd love an up to date version.

RE Code Veronica:
Fun and intense but never finished it.

spainlinx0

So a bunch of people who played Virtua Tennis here. Did the nubs on the DC controller buttons not destroy your fingers? I played an obscene amount of that game, and my right thumb suffered greatly for it. Still loved it though.

Nesbit

Don’t need fingers. Just need to hear the bell when my shot lands in the center of that bullseye.

The Questyen

I don't remember that being an issue for me but it has been forever since I played it.