Why I Shouldn't Blog E3 For 1UP! - A 1UP classic from April 07, 2005

There are a lot of qualified people going for the coveted spot of 1UP E3 blogger, but there are several reasons why I feel I'm the most qualified for the spot. I define myself as a gamer. Hardcore, true-blue, never give up, that all applies to me. From the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep all I think about is breaking into the game industry. For the past few years this is all that I obsess about. The only thing that keeps me going after many letters of rejection are those 3 days in May.

You can ask my family and you can ask my friends. I live and breath for only three days of the year. My birthday, Christmas, New Years and Superbowl combined don't mean as much to me as the E3. Sounds crazy? I can only say that after having touched the face-of-God known as the E3. Nothing else compares. But let me take you back a few years, way back to 1999.

Well even before 99 really. Back when my brothers and friends first found out about the E3 we were in high school. The E3 had moved from LA to Atlanta following on the heels of the new ATL Convention Center and the Olympics. My friend Robert and I were trying to convince our parents to let us fly out to Altlanta, stay at his sister's house and forge passes to get into the expo. Our parents thought we had completely lost our minds. Just how much did videogames really mean to us? People talk the talk but my friend and I walk the walk. We had budgeted ourselves for the expo and had even talked to a travel agent about tickets. We would do and try anything to get into the expo even if it meant running away... but our parents kept us on lock-down until we finished high school.

A few years later my friend Robert and I were newly-enrolled college students. The E3 was returning to Los Angeles. Being a lifer since the pinball machine was replaced with Asteroids (I can actually remember a time when pinball machines still took about 60% of the arcades). I knew that we had no excuse to miss out on the E3 happening in our back yard.

We concocted a plan, an impossible dream that you can't get away with today. We were going to get into the E3 with false credentials... We got hold of some applications, went to the local Kinkos and made up some phony business cards.

Since the E3 is supposed to be "industry only" we figured to put on our best suits and look the part. Although we later found out that it's casual, people treat you a lot better when you look like a professional.

This part may come as a shocker but in 1999, the tickets for the E3 (exhibits only) were $50. Moreover you got one guest pass for every ticket purchased. My two brothers bought tickets so they joined Robert and I and we invited four more friends. In 2000 ticket prices went up to $150 and no guest passes were given out to ticket purchases. Prices for E3 tix has steadily increased and security has become more stringent in the past few years.

We set out to the LA Convention Center with our friends, cameras and skateboards in tow. You'll find out about the skateboards later. We parked a few blocks away, walked to the CC, waited in the registration line and picked up our badges. On the way we ran into some publicity seekers.

The next few hours and days were filled with many sights and sounds, and easily could be more than enough to overwhelm even the most jaded gamer or industry veteran. Just typing about the E3 in 1999 makes my heart pound.

The first thing you notice is the deafening sound coming from all of the booths. The sound levels have been cut back but Electronic Arts always seems to ignore that policy. The displays themselves are glorious. I mean, Walt Disney would even take a step back in amazment at the sheer scale of some of the bigger booths. Giant robots, military vehicles, skateboard halfpipes... you simply cannot brace yourself for what you can expect to see.

We split into groups and all went our separate ways. Robert and I were checking out the skateboarding games, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was being debuted and almost the entire Neversoft staff and Tony Hawk himself was out there promoting the game. Now you know why I brought skateboards.

The sad part was that most of the attendees (even Robert) had no idea who Tony was or what the game was about. So many people passed on the title... Little did they know that a few months later Tony would land his first 900 at the X-Games and the momentum would carry over to the game where it would become an instant hit and bring skateboarding to the mainstream...

Fortunately for me I was a skateboarder, knew them by sight and could approach them at the expo and seek autographs. The first person I saw after Tony was Colin McKay, I was turning a corner when I saw him sitting down behind a ramp and just chilling before a demo. I asked "You're Colin McKay?" And he turned, nodded and looked at me funny.

I was wearing a tux after all and looked like just another businessman at the expo. I looked over his shoulder "And you're Bucky Lasek, and you're Rune Glifburg, and you're Bob Burnquist! Holy shi... can I have some autographs?!?!?!?!"

The skaters were more than happy to oblige as I was the only person in a sea of suits that knew who they were and was down with skateboarding. Many an attendee just stared as I pulled out skateboard after skateboard and poster after poster from my backpack. Not a one knew why I was getting autographs or even who the riders were. (Today you can't go to the expo without seeing one or two skateboards being carried by autograph hounds)

When the demo started the arm candy on many power players would whistle and yell "go higher!" as if the skaters were trick ponies sent to amuse them. I walked away wondering if any of the people would ever remember who they saw that day.

 
We went on to convention hall after convention hall picking up swag and playing games. Sony had impressed us with the scale of their display, they were put between Sega and Nintendo in the North Hall. Promoting Gran Turismo 2 Sony put real race cars on the walls of their booth.

Not to be outdone, Nintendo featured the full-scale Anakin Skywalker racing pod from Star Wars Episode I just above their name. It was so low overhead that you could look inside the pod and touch it... Now that's money!

We walked and walked and walked until we were exhausted. Our legs gave out shortly before the expo had ended and very few of us had the strength to return the following days. Having carried around 30lbs. of skateboards had left me the most drained but also the most determined to return the following two days. My legs cramped so bad that night that I awoke vomiting from the pain. But the following day I put on my suit and went back to war.

The expo meant so much to me that I had to share my experiences with my friends and family that couldn't make it. So I gave up all my swag and carefully documented the experience in pictures and video for them so they wouldn't feel left out. To this day I still give away all of my swag and make videos and now DVD's for my family and friends. I know that I could cover the magic of the expo better than any blogger or journalist only because I have been there and each and every day I think about videogames even more than food or sex!

In 2000 I offered the webmaster of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Online FAQ (later renamed PlanetTonyHawk.com) full coverage of the THPS2 title. He accepted and I began writing for the site on that day. Given our dedication to the series we've dropped more exclusives online thanks to the E3 and all of the skateboarders I had first contacted in 99.

I was also the webmaster of the Hydro Thunder Fanpage and had scored an exclusive interview with Team Hydro regarding the arcade sequel.

The industry knew the arcade scene was coming to an end, at least in the US, so Hydro Thunder 2 never came to fruition and the team left Midway to found Swinging Ape Studios and release the critically acclaimed Metal Arms - Glitch in the System.

 
Although Midway seemed to have the budget to finish the lackluster Mortal Kombat 4, Off Road Thunder and Arctic Thunder (which G4TV claims as the most interactive arcade game) they spurned the arcade community by not following through on HT2. I still have the only two screenshots know to exist on the remade HT2 boats straight from Team Hydro.

2000 was also a turning point in the industry. Booths weren't as lavish as the industry entered a slight recession that followed through to the E3 for the next few years. I still have yet to see displays grander and more over the top than in 1999. Ticket prices to the expo had gone up and this time only Robert and myself went. We made the most of it and still look back with fond memories.

In 2001 Robert and I no longer qualified as members of the industry since we were full-time college students. But after having seen so much I would not let myself be denied. A friend at Crave scored me a guest pass and then let onto something that would turn out to be very true these past two years.

Although the E3 is an industry only event, guest passed used to be given out to developers by the box load. Many a kid under-18 managed to get in and more than a few guest passes ended up on eBay. So from 2001 on guest passes would be restricted. My contact at Crave had to sign off for me and I had to vow now to share the pass with anybody. He did this favor for me again in 2002.

In 2003 Crave had cut backs and my friend was laid-off. I was still determined to go to the expo and I asked Neversoft if they could do me a huge favor. Since I had now been covering the expo for PlanetTonyHawk.com for the past few years, plus had submitted volumes of ideas for the series (many of which made their way into the games), if they could score me a guest pass. They obliged and made it into the expo by the skin of my teeth.

The webmaster of PTH Trevor "Slateman" Esposito flew in from New York on his own dime and was given a guest pass from GameSpy. GameSpy offers one pass for each hosted site but does not offer to pick up the tab for flying or rooming during the convention. From that day on Slate and I have covered the expo as a team. I even made tee shirts to celebrate the expo given to Slate, myself, some of the people at Neversoft and Tony Hawk himself.

Where else but at the expo can you get the chance to meet and talk with the president of a small publisher and then share that information with a fan site dedicated to the game rather than some big magazine site? For example I got a chance to talk to the president of Torus games about Carmageddon 3 since Torus had aquired the rights from Stainless. There were many fans around the world wondering what the quality of the game would be like coming from a different publisher. This small news and many others would be overlooked by many magazines going to the convention only to cover the biggest game releases.

Last year was the straw that broke the camels back. Organizers of the Expo had taken so much criticism for allowing non-industry types in that guest passes were only given out by royal decree. Even Neversoft was not given any passes last year.

Having exhausted all of my contacts I called in the favor of all favors. I asked Tony Hawk if he could ask Activision for a guest pass on my behalf. They looked and looked and when they got back to Tony even they were flabbergasted, there is one guest pass among one of the biggest publishers in the world and they passed it on to me. Has the security policy become so bold as to deny anyone that even inquires about guest passes let they be a multi-billion dollar publisher or a small developer?

Since that time Tony has "lost" my e-mail address and Neversoft is under a strict no outside contact policy. I asked well in advance this year to see if there was any possible way I could get into the expo. The prognosis was grim. Neversoft had been denied guest passes again and even Activision was not an option. The word is that guest passes were requested from an Activision-sponsored talent for the family of a boy battling leukemia... that selfless request sparked friction from the industry and E3 organizers. It is still not determined if the boy can go. Can you believe that? It is one thing to do the right thing, but given that the industry is money-driven let's put it another way, "You can't buy that kind of PR for granting the wish of a kid that's had to battle uphill just for the right to live"...argh!!!

So it looks that for the first time in my miracle six-year run I too will be denied the glory. I had requested the time off from work already. I had even ordered new tee's for Slateman, Tony and the guys at Neversoft. I was budgeting myself for MiniDV film and a pair of comfortable shoes for the expo. I was looking forward to producing another video for my brothers and my cousins and my friends, but the closer we get to the E3 the more I realize it may not happen. On the second week of May I may be forced to settle for sitting in front of the TV playing games knowing full-well that not more than 15 minutes away my Christmas/ Birthday/ SuperBowl/ NewYears has been taken from me.

I am reduced to begging for passes from 1UP, whose editors I may have already spurned. I am reduced to competing against far more talented wordsmiths. I am forced to admit that a person that has never been should get the chance to go more than a fat skater that's been so many times.
Damned if I didn't want to give it one more go around.

Or maybe I want to go to the E3 so I can see her again. The super-cute British Activision employee that made a pass at me in 2000, and in my ignorance did not notice so I have been kicking myself every day since.

As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

My favorite Games of All-Time #8: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 - Originally published on 1UP - June 30, 2006

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 should be a videogame in everyone's collection. It doesn't matter if you are an RPG nut, sports fan, import snob, racing junkie, RTS kook or a FPS virtuoso. THPS 2 crosses genres and appeals to many types of gamers. It is the perfect balance of skateboarding culture and game.

There is never a reason not to own a copy of the definitive title in the series. The first game was groundbreaking, revolutionary, phenomenal and just about any other word you can think of to describe a title that completely rewrote the history books.

Neversoft put themselves on the map in 1999 with the release of the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. The game came out under the radar. But when combined with tremendous word of mouth and Tony Hawk landing the first 900 in competition helped turn the game (and the art of skateboarding) into a sensation.

A series usually takes a little time to find it's rhythm. For example Gran Turismo has only gotten better since the original. Some purists will tell you that very few games past the first are ever better. THPS 2 is the exception to the rule. No skate game before or since was better.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater became successful because it appealed to both skaters and gamers. Gamers with no interest in skateboarding enjoyed the arcade feel of the title. They liked that they could learn the controls quickly and begin building a library of tricks and combos within minutes. Skaters that were casual gamers enjoyed the game because it offered the creativity and details of actual skateboarding. The names, tricks, animations and even skaters themselves pulled from real life.

The sequel gave both gamers and skaters more of what they wanted and then some. The addition of the manual, allowed for trick chains to become longer and scores to go up exponentially. But this alone would not put the game on my top-10 list. The graphics were sharper, the music better, the characters larger, the control tighter, the trick library expanded, the animation more fluid and the details... well the devil was in the details. Detail is what carries this game into my top-10 favorites.

Each skater in THPS 2 had their own look and feel. Their personality shone through their special trick selection. We could see great differences in the way street and vert skaters handled on each area. Even the levels had their own personality. Parts of New York and Philadelphia made famous in skateboard videos turned up as an amalgamation for each level.

Neversoft managed to cater to all audiences in this game. Knowing that there was an actual Leap of Faith in San Diego, Venice Beach skatepark in Southern California or Mariseille skatepark in the south of France did not make the game any better for those that played. Even the inclusion of Skate Street, a real-world skatepark that many of the Neversoft crew frequented did not make the game more memorable.

The levels were important because they changed the psyche of the gamer. They changed the perception of the mainstream audience. The thought that real places like those featured in THPS 2 began to get players hyped on the world around them. Gamers would never look at a bench, a set of stairs and a rail in the same way again. Every block became a potential skate spot. The game made kids want to learn to skateboarding.

Skateboarding enjoyed a renaissance in the late 90's. ESPN says the X Games are partially responsible for that. Well, Tony and his games should also be allowed to take some of the credit.

I don't recall the last time a Madden game made a kid want to learn to play football... but skateboards became a magical vehicle, like a flying carpet, everyone wanted one. More important, everyone wanted to learn to ride, grind and kickflip everything in their path. Casual gamers learned that the world was a playground for pro skaters. The best never had to do anything else but skate and enjoy success. THPS 2 gave both a player editor and a park editor. There was no reason we could not live vicariously in Tony's world as well.

As a rule there will never be two levels as fun in a skate game as Venice Beach and Marseille. Both of these levels inspired by the real-world beauty of skating by the beach. Both of these locations legendary in skateboarding circles. Venice became famous for breeding the most technical and dirty skate rats around. As it was in the heyday of Dogtown as it is today, "locals only." On the other side of the globe many a pro cited Marseille as the greatest skatepark ever designed. With smooth concrete and lines that flowed for days. If anything Marseille was the complete opposite of Venice, whose harsh angles, cracked concrete and rough facade weren't organic at all.

Neversoft took the genre a step further by introducing many hidden elements. The School II featured details from schools actually used in many skate videos. What made the level memorable was the hidden pool accessible only by grinding the "Open Sez Me" rail when the school bell rang. This hidden pool didn't show up in many maps and was unknown by many gamers for months. Try keeping a secret like that today!

By the time THPS 2 hit Tony Hawk was at the top of his game and planned on going out of competitive skateboarding. Tony wanted to release a video with his absolute best stuff and then just walk away from competitions. This part was in the Birdhouse skateboard video "The End" released a half a year before THPS 2. In it Tony skates one of the largest ramps ever constructed for a video part. According to Tony the inspiration for the infamous "Bullring Ramp" was part Hot Wheels track and part Animal Chin. Neversoft didn't just recreate the ramp and the loop for the game, they also created an entire level around it.

The End was one of my favorite videos of all-time and seeing that ramp come back in game form almost brought a tear to my eye. The parks after that level, assuming you managed to get gold in every competition, were even more incredible. The best of which was Skate Heaven.

Skate Heaven features the best portions of parks that are no longer around. These include the plexiglas ramp that Tony Alva and the Z-Boys would skate in the early 70's, the snake run and full pipe from the Pipeline Skatepark, the Combi Pool from Del-Mar where toughest punks in skateboarding like Duane "the Master of Disaster" Peters would compete, the Kona ditches from Hawaii, the rail from San Dieguito elementary school and even Tony Hawk's backyard ramp from before his father passed away. They were all in one place.

All of these details, many legendary in the eyes of a skateboarder, defined the game. For that Neversoft would always have my respect. The legacy of the game would be cemented in the third hidden portion for the game (the second was in Marseille). A certain rail caused the volcano in Skate Heaven to erupt. If a player managed to jump into the volcano during the eruption they would be transported to the core of Skate Heaven. A ramp titled the "Enema Chen" and based on the ramp featured in the cult Powell Peralta skate film "the Search for Animal Chin" waited for them. As in the movie this ramp even featured a secret tunnel that allowed players to skate through to the other side.

Neversoft managed to put both the Bullring Ramp and the Animal Chin ramp in one game... I was completely blown away by their efforts.

Other secrets included "McSqueeb," the way Tony looked like in the late 80's. Complete with bright pink shirt, knee-high socks and the (Flock of Seagulls) flop haircut. "Kid Mode" where all of the skaters could played as their childhood contemporary. The "Chopper Drop," a competition level floating on the ocean served as the other secret level aside from Skate Heaven.

After locating every "Blue Text Transfer" bonus in the game players were rewarded with every teenage boy's skateboarding dream gal, Private Carrera.

With every secret and playable level in THPS 2 Neversoft managed to make a skateboarding game more epic that Sega's Top Skater. If the control was not on par with the level design then the game would have been a bust. When I say Neversoft rewrote the history books I mean it. Without them the experience that was Top Skater would never have been brought home. It would have never been expanded and made better.

Neversoft is one of the most underrated game studios in the world. Many people might think of them as a one trick pony but it couldn't be further from the truth. I say they are as good as Incognito Inc. or Sony Santa Monica. While the latter studios were allowed to develop new IP, Neversoft has been pushing out sequels for one game under the watchful eye (and pressure) of publishing giant Activision. Lest anyone forget that Neversoft also created the original Spider-Man engine for the PS1 and Gun for the modern systems and PSP. They are a studio that is capable of so much more if given the chance.

I doubt that it was easy to make THPS2 and make it so well within a year of the first title. It is tough to improve upon perfection. Neversoft has not made a better skateboarding game since.

All of that praise said before I even mention that Spider-Man was also hidden in THPS 2! Any game great enough to break my top-10 is special. Any game from a US developer that breaks the top-10 is extra special. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 is the greatest skateboarding game ever made. It will never fall from this spot. Believe it.

I’d like to hear your personal top-10, top-20, top fighting games, top sports games, or top games in any genre. Let me know in the comments section please. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

My favorite Games of All-Time #13: Top Skater - Originally published on 1UP - May 26, 2006

When I think of Top Skater little beads of sweat build on my brow. So much went into that game that I honestly have no idea how Sega managed to pull it all together. In short I am humbled by the design.

I tip my hat, I bow my head... any analogy you can think of as a sign of respect. Top Skater is one of my most beloved games and also one of the most overlooked influential titles of all-time. Top Skater begat the Sega action sports legacy, just look to my desktop picture to see what's I'm talking about. My desktop picture is important to me for many reasons. Not the least of which was because it allowed some common ground to talk with Jim of Pennywise.

Before I start talking about Cookie, Ken-ta or Jill. Before the big-name sponsors that lent their names to the game. Even before I talk about the revolutionary control set-up I have to mention one thing. Atari's 1986 arcade smash hit 720 (degrees) was the original arcade skateboarding game. It pushed the genre through its dynamic control and punk-themed music by "Faceplant". 720 is partially responsible for almost every skateboarding game to date.

10 years after 720 Sega's Top Skater rewrote the book on skate games. True to the legacy of other titles in the Sega arcade amusement (AM) groups. AM1 (later renamed WOW Entertainment) created the only other Sega arcade game on my list, the Ocean Hunter. AM2, the most famous unit under the direction of Yu Suzuki was responsible for Outrun, Virtua Fighter, Daytona and scores of other instant classics. AM3 was renamed Hitmaker in 2000 and was responsible for Top Skater and Ollie King. AM 11 renamed AV created Ollie King. Sega's platform developers Smilebit created the Jet Set Radio series... now you are all caught up.

Hitmaker was on pace for something special when the control scheme was revealed. Top Skater used a skateboard for the arcade interface rather than a joystick. Players had to stand upright on the cabinet and not only turn the skateboard from side to side to change direction, but also tilt the board to carve a turn and even slap down the tail to "ollie" or the nose to "nollie" and catch air.

A skater gained points and speed by successfully performing ramp jumps and collecting time tokens. Okay, so the experience was not a 100% accurate representation of skateboarding but then again what is? Top Skater was a downhill racer that did feature a lot of tricks based from real life.

A skater could grind on ledges and rails. They could even ollie and perform wallrides on billboards. The physics for gaining speed were semi-realistic. A player had to find the fastest line down the level while at the same time looking for ramps and shortcuts that would reward them with speed. Players that carved hard angles onto ramps and ollied at the lip were rewarded with bigger and higher airs. Those that managed to carve a fullpipe with enough speed could actually go a complete 360 degrees upside down. Special moves, mind bending animations and massive points were the icing on the cake.

If I could pin down the one thing that made Top Skater memorable it would have to be catching air out of halfpipes. Gamers that knew how to carve the gigantic snake runs could keep going perpetually higher and faster on the halfipe. These airs became longer, trickier and more dynamic. Special animations accompanied these airs. Some of the tricks based on actual skateboarding and a few based on snowboarding. The question you may be asking is "so what?" We've seen tons of these moves in other skateboarding, inline and snowboarding games. Why would Top Skater hold a place in my top game list above them?

For the simple reason that Top Skater broke taboo. They animated the air out of a halfpipe by crossing the horizon line. As an aside; some people get motion sickness while playing FPS games. This is because their eyes tell their brain that they are moving, while their inner-ear tells the brain that they are not. This mix of information causes them to feel queasy. One of the things that most video editors, animators and game designers do not do is cross the horizon line. If the horizon line is tilted it can make mild motion sickness worse. Like watching the ocean pitch from side to side while on a boat causes you to get sea sick.

With the exception of air combat sims, most games never break, let alone slightly tilt the horizon line. Watch the video for Warhawk and then the one for Snoopy vs. the Red Baron. Do you notice that the Snoopy game allows the camera to pitch and roll with the plane? The camera crosses the horizon plane and gives the player a sense of vertigo. This is one of the reasons I'm looking forward to the Snoopy game more than Warhawk. Well, that and about a $560 price difference.

Back to the game on my list!

Top Skater doesn't just cross the horizon line, it wraps it up into a little ball and throws it right out the window. The skater will fly out of the ramp and contort themselves in various positions when performing "A" and "S" class tricks like the Alley McTwist. When the skater does this the camera will pan back and rotate with the animation. Often times leaving the player not knowing which end is up until they reenter the ramp. For those few moments we are with the skater, we get to see the world through their eyes.

No game before or since has ever done it as well. Not SSX, not 1080 and none of the Tony Hawk games. In fact Dave Stohl with Activision and Scott Pease with Neversoft Entertainment said that Top Skater was one of the biggest influences in the creation of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. The downhill levels in THPS could attest to that. After eight years the Hawk franchise returns to its roots with Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam. The game will be released almost 10 years after Top Skater and a full 20 years after 720.

But this isn't where my praise of Top Skater ends. I just said that the camera was the biggest highlight for me. It isn't the only reason Top Skater was a memorable game and earns a place on this list. Top Skater also features some unique characters, each with their own personality and trick library.

These characters not only represented the archetypical skaters, they also had names like Keith, Jake and Ash. The skaters were even sponsored by shoe companies like Vans, eS and etnies. The soundtrack was provided entirely by Pennywise, the Orange County punk band with tremendous street credit. These little details helped round out the world that the game was set in. The character models were detailed for their time and did resemble skaters from the mid to late 90's. Hitmaker made great use of the then new Model-2 Arcade board when designing the levels as well.

Both the normal and expert skate parks had their own look and feel. The levels resembled a big-time race in an exotic local that could have taken place, if 100 foot ramp jumps were normal for skaters. True to the design in other Sega games like Daytona 2, the levels in Top Skater made you wish that places like this really existed. Stadium length tracks where skaters could grind and wallride with reckless abandon while moving in and out of snake runs and jumping distances that would make Danny Way jealous.

As if the game wasn't already a fun experience Hitmaker hid a number of things in Top Skater. One of these things were hidden characters, Alex the surfer and P-Nut the bodyboarder. Wait, bodyboarder and surfer? That's right! These characters floated above the air, could paddle to gain speed and even featured their own special tricks.

Top Skater also had a level hidden within the Expert course. This level was filled with ramps and bowls and known better as the Freestyle course.

The characters could skate regular (lead with the left foot) or goofy (lead with the right) based on their statistics, players could put in a code to change their stance and thus performance in the game.

Top Skater even had a code that allowed skaters to appear "super-deformed," that is have large heads, hands and feet and look like giant kids. This style of character later appeared in another Sega game called Virtua Fighter Kids. The "Kid Code" even worked on Alex and P-Nut.

Every detail that went into Top Skater forever changed the face of action sports games. The game was just about as balanced and innovative as any game on my list. The control, animation, sound, music, level and character design were way ahead of their time. Many of the hidden features went on to be copied in future games not only by Sega, but by the rest of the industry.

Three years before Tony Hawk's Pro Skater featured a couple of downhill levels with rails to grind, giant halfpipes to air out of and ramps to jump, four years before kid mode appeared in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 and five years before Kelly Slater the surfer appeared in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 there was Top Skater.

Top Skater began a legacy that not only carried over to every other Sega action sports game but also the rest of the industry. For every flying skateboard that you see from now on, for every Tony Hawk clone that has come out we can pay homage to the creator. Top Skater has earned its place on my list. It will remain as one of my favorite games of all-time.

I’d like to hear your personal top-10, top-20, top fighting games, top sports games, or top games in any genre. Let me know in the comments section please. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!