As we approach the end of 2008, Binge Gamer is going to be counting down the top ten games from every year, starting in 1990 and working our way up to the top ten games of 2008 on Monday, December 29th.

We start the series off with the top ten games of 1990. 1990 was a particularly slow year in games. A few highlights from 1990 include the release of the original Game Genie, and the founding of both Eidos (Tomb Raider and Hitman series) and Team17 (Worms franchise).

That’s about it.

10.) Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker

Sure, Michael Jackson is downright strange. Sure, the idea of creating a video game based on a music video is dumb as hell. Sure, the idea of playing with as Michael Jackson as he tries to save young kids is just plain creepy. But you know something? The game was pretty damn good.

You play as Michael Jackson through six stages, fighting nameless enemies and Joe Pesci as you search for the children. Once you find all the kids and eliminate the enemies, some of the baddies come back onto the screen and join Michael in a good dance before the next stage begins. A truly strange game that somehow found a way to be fun.

9.) ActRaiser

Before there was Black & White and The Sims, ActRaiser gave players the opportunity to fulfill their wildest visions of grandeur and play god. After you, “The Master” are attacked by the six guardians of “The Evil One”, you are forced to retreat to your “Sky Palace” to heal your wounds. As “The Master” tends to his injuries, “The Evil One” splits the kingdom into six lands, each of which are ruled by one of the Guardians.

As you can imagine, when “The Master” wakes up, he wants to rebuild and unite his world.

The gameplay of ActRaiser breaks into two segments: A top-down view which plays a lot like Sim City, and a 2D Side-Scrolling section that is reminiscent of games like Rastan. While in the top-down view, you helped guide your civilization by telling them where to build roads and houses, and protect them from dragons and demons who will hinder your civilization’s progress.

The 2D Side-Scrolling? Pure, unabashed ass kickery of the highgest order.

8.) Sid Meier’s Railroad Tycoon

When a game designer puts his name in the title of his game, it’s usually met with eye rolling and some light scoffing. When Sid Meier puts his name on a game, however, fans across the world squeel in unrestrained glee. One of Meier’s earleist games, Railroad Tycoon, was a precursor of what we could expect from Meier.

Railroad Tycoon is one of the earliest example of business sims that revolves around the development and growth of a railroad company during the United States’ great expansion westward. At the start of the game you are given $1 million in capital, and you use that money to build your first rail stations, trains and railroad cars. From then, you work your business, create additional capital through selling bonds, and try to one-up your AI rivals by lowering cheaper rates, discounts, etc.

Yeah, it sounds boring as hell, but Sid Meier found a way to make railway management engaging and entertaining.

7.) Red Baron

Unless you’re a hardcore old school PC gamer, you probably had not heard of Red Baron until this past week, when it was announced that it would be coming to the PlayStation Network. Well, Red Baron is remembered by many old-school PC gamers as being one of, if not the, best flight simulator of the early 90s.

As you can gather by the name, Red Baron places you in aircraft from World War I, and actually allows you to fight along side of, or against, the Red Baron himself in either a single mission or a campaign mode. Throughout the campaign mode, you will make your way across several aerial campaigns from the war, and as time advances in the game you will begin to see more advanced aircraft. If you do particularly well, you’ll get to go into battle with some famous ace pilots from the war, including Albert Ball, Charles Nungesser, and of course, Manfred von Richtohofen.

6.) Wing Commander

The original Wing Commander, developed by Origin Systems (co-founded by “Lord British” Richard Garriott) is remembered for being the first true 3D space sim, although some fans argue this claim. However there is no denying the impact that Wing Commander had on the industry; the success of the game would inspire LucasArts to begin work on Star Wars: X-Wing, and the Wing Commander franchise is remembered just as much for their less-than-terrible live-action cutscenes for the solid gameplay.

It also spawned one of the worst video game movies ever released. Fortunately, it was so bad that most people forgot about it.

5.) Commander Keen

Before id Software hit it huge with Doom and Quake, they have birth to one of the greatest video game characters to never get his due: Commander Keen.

Commander Keen started off as a perfect port of Super Mario Bros. 3 for the PC. After Nintendo passed on the game, the game’s creators (Tom Hall, John Carmack and John Romero) were contracted by Apogee to starte development on what would become the first Commander Keen trilogy. The finished product contains several traits carried over from the SMB3 clone, such as the 2D platforming gameplay, and a few ‘re-imaginings’ of some of Mario’s power-ups. However, CK also had original content such as the ray gun, and the standard item in all id Software games: colored keycards.

However, Commander Keen may be best remembered as the first reported sighting of the greatest video game easter egg of all time: Dopefish.

If you’ve never played Commander Keen, or want to relive your childhood, you can download the game for free from 3D Realms website.

4.) Metal Gear 2

Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake is the first TRUE sequel to 1988’s Metal Gear, and is the only entry in the Metal Gear franchise to not have a stand-alone release outside of Japan. The plot to MG2, on the surface, is a lot like the original Metal Gear in that Solid Snake must rescue a kidnapped scientist and destroy the latest incarnation of Metal Gear. However, MG2 breaks away from its predecessor by starting to weave together the incredibly convoluted story that the franchise would become known for.

For better or worse.

The gameplay was also leaps and bounds ahead of the original: Enemies were much harder in MG2; they could see in 45-degree cones, enemies could now turn their heads from side to side, and now they could even hear sounds you made. Thankfully, Solid Snake also had several new skills to help combat these issues, including the ability to crawl and the inclusion of a radar.

If you live outside of Japan and want to play Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, you can find both MG2 and the original Metal Gear on the disc for Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistance for the PlayStation 2.

3.) Mega Man 3

Sure, Mega Man 2 is remembered as one of the greatest 2D platformers of all time, but Mega Man 3 was no slouch. MM3 introduced some of the mainstays to the franchise, including Rush the Dog and the ability to slide through tight spaces.

Mega Man 3 was the end of an era in the Mega Man franchise. Many fans consider Mega Man 4 to be the start of the franchise’s downfall, and Mega Man himself has been relagated to Mega Man Battle Network.

But hopefully, Capcom will do right by ol’ Rockman with Mega Man 9.

2.) The Secret of Monkey Island

Few video games are able to mix together that perfect blend of engrossing gameplay and witty humor, but The Secret of Monkey Island by the trio of Ron Gilbert (Day of the Tentacle, Maniac Mansion), Dave Grossman (Sam & Max Season One, Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People) and Tim Schaefer (Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, Psychonauts) was able to blend both aspects perfectly and help create one of the greatest adventure games of all time.

While many of the in-game jokes were welcomes by fans, a few of them went right over the heads. One in particular came during the end credits, where the game asked for “animation disc #23″. This in-joke, along with a similar gag involving a tree stump, was removed from the CD-ROM version of the game.

If you question the validity of the game’s cultural impact, keep this in mind: How many video games have plays written about them?

1.) Super Mario Bros. 3

Really, what can be said about Super Mario Bros. 3 that hasn’t been said already? It’s widely considered to be the best Mario game ever released, the best Nintendo game ever released, the best platformer ever released, and even a few will argue the best game ever released.

So to say that it wasn’t even the best game released in 1990 would be an insult of epic proportions.

Worst Game of 1990
Ninja Golf for the Atari 7800
Yeah, I know: It sounds like the most epically awesome idea in the history of civilization. Unfortunately, the game has two things working against it: 1.) It’s on the Atari 7800, 2.) It’s not particularly fun. The primitive graphics of the 7800 severely limit the golfing gameplay, and the combat mechanics are barely functional.

Thanfully, some kick ass amigos remade the game on Newgrounds, which is just plain wicked.

Come back next Monday, September 8th to see our list of the top ten games of 1991, and come back every Monday between now and the end of the year as we count down the top ten games of every year until we reach the top ten games of 2008 on December 29th.

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