How does ESPN celebrate amateur athletes featured on SportsCenter Top 10. What is the significance of October 10 for ESPN SportsCenter. How are hometown heroes recognized through the #SCTop10 initiative.
ESPN’s SportsCenter Top 10: Spotlight on Amateur Athletes
ESPN has launched an exciting initiative to recognize and celebrate the extraordinary plays of everyday athletes featured on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays of the day. This program, known as #SCTop10, aims to shine a light on the remarkable achievements of amateur athletes across the country, proving that greatness can happen anywhere, at any time.
The Nationwide Tour: Bringing ESPN to Hometowns
Over the past month, ESPN has embarked on a nationwide tour, visiting the hometowns of young, everyday, and amateur athletes whose plays have earned a coveted spot on SportsCenter’s Top 10. These visits have been more than just a quick stop; they’ve been full-fledged celebrations of the people and places behind these incredible moments in sports.
- Nine athletes from across the country have been honored
- Celebrations involve families, friends, and local communities
- Custom public installations commemorate the #SCTop10 plays
ESPN has collaborated with creative agency Preacher to designate each town as “Home of SC Top 10,” creating a lasting tribute to these local sports heroes.
October 10: SportsCenter Top 10 Day
ESPN has designated October 10 as “SportsCenter Top 10 Day,” marking the official kick-off of this new and ongoing initiative. This special day will feature a live reveal with softball player Brooke Bearden in Liberal, Missouri, during the noon ET hour of SportsCenter.
Brooke Bearden’s Inspiring Story
Brooke Bearden’s journey is a testament to the power of perseverance in sports. As a senior at Liberal High School, Brooke suffered a stroke but refused to give up on her favorite sport. After months of rehabilitation and maintaining an unwavering positive attitude, she achieved the extraordinary by walking back onto the softball field, surrounded by cheering teammates.
Celebrating 10 Remarkable Athletes
Throughout SportsCenter Top 10 Day, ESPN will air vignettes featuring each of the ten athletes from #SCTop10 and their hometown commemorations. These young stars represent a diverse range of sports and incredible feats:
- Ashlynn Jolicoeur (Whitby, Ontario) – Amazing outfield skills
- Emery Dupes (Marietta, GA) – Crowd-leaping volleyball save/dig
- Henry Parrish, Jr. (Miami, FL) – Electrifying touchdown run
- Katie Starr (Berwick, PA) – Over-the-fence catch
- Jaila Roberts (Pensacola, FL) – Half-court game winner
- Teddy Townsend (Eden Prairie, MN) – Buzzer beater face-off goal
- Kyle Ginn (Covington, TN) – Pinch-hit home run
- Fran Belibi (Aurora, CO) – Incredible in-game dunk
- James Kahaleua (Waianae, HI) – Unbelievable one-handed catch
- Brooke Bearden (Liberal, MO) – Inspiring return to softball after stroke
The Impact of #SCTop10 on Local Communities
The response to ESPN’s hometown visits has been overwhelming. Laura Gentile, Senior Vice President of Marketing at ESPN, expressed the profound impact of these celebrations: “To celebrate these athletes and their accomplishments, and to bring the ESPN spirit to their communities has been gratifying beyond measure. It illustrates the power and beauty of sports, and has been an inspiring way to kick off our #SCTop10 efforts.”
These celebrations go beyond just recognizing athletic prowess. They serve as a reminder of the transformative power of sports in bringing communities together and inspiring the next generation of athletes.
Community Reaction and Engagement
The local communities have embraced these celebrations with open arms. Families, friends, and neighbors have come out in droves to support their hometown heroes, creating an atmosphere of pride and unity. These events have not only honored individual achievements but have also strengthened community bonds through shared celebration.
The Future of #SCTop10: Continuing the Celebration
ESPN’s commitment to celebrating extraordinary amateur athletes doesn’t end with SportsCenter Top 10 Day. Moving forward, SportsCenter will continue to recognize the next generation of Top 10-ers with a special rewards kit.
Rewards Kit for Future Top 10 Athletes
The rewards kit includes:
- SportsCenter-branded memorabilia
- Archive materials for athletes to document their achievements
- Digital assets for sharing on social media platforms
This initiative ensures that the recognition extends beyond the initial moment, allowing athletes to commemorate their accomplishments and share them with a wider audience.
The Significance of SportsCenter Top 10
SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays have long been a staple of sports entertainment, showcasing the most impressive and memorable moments in athletics. However, this new initiative takes the concept further by emphasizing the stories behind the plays and the impact they have on individuals and communities.
Diversity of Achievements
The ten athletes featured in this initiative reflect the diverse nature of SportsCenter’s Top 10. Their accomplishments include:
- Displays of athletic excellence
- Moments of great magnitude
- Stories that transcend sports
This variety underscores the inclusive nature of the Top 10, highlighting that extraordinary feats can come from any sport, at any level of competition.
The Power of Sports in Inspiring Communities
The #SCTop10 initiative demonstrates the profound impact that sports can have on communities. By bringing national attention to local achievements, ESPN is fostering a sense of pride and unity in towns across the country.
Inspiring the Next Generation
These celebrations serve as powerful motivators for young athletes in these communities. Seeing their peers recognized on a national stage can inspire them to pursue their own athletic dreams and strive for excellence in their chosen sports.
The public installations commemorating these plays serve as lasting reminders of what’s possible, potentially inspiring future generations of athletes in these communities.
ESPN’s Commitment to Grassroots Sports
Through the #SCTop10 initiative, ESPN is reaffirming its commitment to sports at all levels, not just professional leagues. This focus on amateur and youth athletics highlights the network’s understanding of the broader sports landscape and its role in nurturing talent from the ground up.
Bridging the Gap Between Amateur and Professional Sports
By featuring amateur athletes alongside professional sports highlights, ESPN is bridging the gap between these two worlds. This approach helps to create a more inclusive sports narrative, acknowledging that incredible athletic feats can happen at any level of competition.
The initiative also serves to humanize the world of sports, reminding viewers that behind every great play is a person with a unique story and a community that supports them.
The Role of Social Media in Amplifying Amateur Achievements
Social media plays a crucial role in the discovery and promotion of amateur sports highlights. Platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok have democratized the process of sharing remarkable athletic feats, allowing local achievements to gain national and even global attention.
ESPN’s Adaptation to the Social Media Landscape
ESPN’s #SCTop10 initiative demonstrates the network’s adaptation to this new landscape. By providing digital assets for athletes to share on social platforms, ESPN is embracing the power of social media to extend the reach and impact of these celebrations.
This approach also encourages user-generated content, potentially leading to the discovery of even more extraordinary plays from amateur athletes across the country.
The Future of Sports Recognition and Celebration
ESPN’s #SCTop10 initiative may signal a broader shift in how sports media recognizes and celebrates athletic achievements. By focusing on the stories behind the plays and the impact on local communities, ESPN is adding depth and context to sports highlights.
Potential Long-term Impact
If successful, this approach could inspire other sports media outlets to adopt similar initiatives, leading to a more inclusive and community-focused approach to sports coverage. This shift could have far-reaching effects on how we perceive and celebrate athletic achievements at all levels.
The #SCTop10 initiative also has the potential to strengthen the connection between national sports media and local communities, creating a more engaged and loyal audience base.
Conclusion: Celebrating the Spirit of Sports
ESPN’s SportsCenter Top 10 Day and the broader #SCTop10 initiative represent a significant step in recognizing and celebrating the spirit of sports at all levels. By shining a spotlight on amateur athletes and their communities, ESPN is not only acknowledging incredible athletic feats but also inspiring the next generation of sports stars.
This initiative serves as a reminder that greatness in sports is not confined to professional arenas or stadiums. It can emerge from high school fields, local gyms, and neighborhood courts across the country. As we celebrate these ten remarkable athletes and their communities, we’re reminded of the power of sports to unite, inspire, and bring out the extraordinary in everyday people.
The success of this program could pave the way for more inclusive and community-focused sports coverage in the future, strengthening the bonds between national media, local communities, and individual athletes. As we look forward to future SportsCenter Top 10 highlights, we can anticipate not just incredible plays, but also the inspiring stories and communities behind them.
ESPN Designates Oct. 10 as SportsCenter Top 10 Day
Consumer MarketingSportsCenter
Over the past month, ESPN has been traveling to the hometowns of young, everyday and amateur athletes whose plays have been featured on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays of the day, the #SCTop10. During each of these visits ESPN has celebrated the people and places behind the plays and, on Oct. 10, “SportsCenter Top 10 Day” will kick off ESPN’s new and ongoing initiative to recognize those athletes that prove that greatness can happen anywhere, any time.
To date, nine athletes from across the country have been celebrated by ESPN in their hometowns, surrounded by their families, friends and local communities. Unique and custom public installations that pay homage to their #SCTop10 plays were revealed to the athletes as part of larger celebrations.
ESPN worked with creative agency Preacher on the nationwide tour, which designated each town as “Home of SC Top 10.”
The tour will culminate on 10/10 with SportsCenter anchor John Anderson on site in Liberal, Mo., for a live reveal with softball player Brooke Bearden during the noon ET hour of SportsCenter. As a senior at Liberal High School, Brooke suffered from a stroke but didn’t want to give up on her favorite sport. After months of rehab and unwavering positivity, she did the extraordinary and walked out onto the softball field surrounded by cheering teammates.
Throughout the day on 10/10, ESPN will air nine more vignettes featuring each of the athletes from #SCTop10 and their hometown commemorations. The young stars featured during SportsCenter on ESPN include (all times Eastern):
- Between 7-8 a.m. – Ashlynn Jolicoeur (Whitby, Ontario) for her amazing outfield skills
- Between 8-10 a.m. – Emery Dupes (Marietta, GA) for her crowd-leaping volleyball save/dig
- Between 8-10 a.
m. – Henry Parrish, Jr. (Miami, FL) for his electrifying touchdown run - Between 8-10 a.m. – Katie Starr (Berwick, PA) for her over-the-fence catch
- Between 6-7 p.m. – Jaila Roberts (Pensacola, FL) for her half-court game winner
- Between 11 p.m.-12 a.m. – Teddy Townsend (Eden Prairie, MN) for his buzzer beater face-off goal
- Between 12-1 a.m. – Kyle Ginn (Covington, TN) for his pinch-hit home run
- Between 1-2 a.m. – Fran Belibi (Aurora, CO) for her incredible in-game dunk
- Between 2-3 a.m. – James Kahaleua (Waianae, HI) for his unbelievable one-handed catch
m. – Henry Parrish, Jr. (Miami, FL) for his electrifying touchdown run“The reaction in every home town we visited has been overwhelming,” said Laura Gentile, Senior Vice President of Marketing, ESPN. “To celebrate these athletes and their accomplishments, and to bring the ESPN spirit to their communities has been gratifying beyond measure. It illustrates the power and beauty of sports, and has been an inspiring way to kick off our #SCTop10 efforts.
”
Collectively, all 10 athletes and their plays reflect the mix of incredible feats that the SC Top 10 features year-round – athletic excellence, moments of great magnitude, and stories that transcend sports. Moving forward, SportsCenter will continue to celebrate the next generation of Top 10-ers with a rewards kit – including SportsCenter-branded memorabilia, which will allow athletes to share and archive their achievements, and digital assets they can share to commemorate their accomplishment on social platforms.
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The End of SportsCenter: ESPN’s Flagship Show Hits Bottom
“SportsCenter” has been in decline for years, but now it is in absolute freefall.
When ESPN added live weekday editions of SportsCenter in 2008, the move was long overdue. Up until that point, ESPN televised the 1 AM “SportsCenter” on repeat all morning long. Important stories that broke early in the day — such as the 2007 death of Sean Taylor — were not covered adequately. In addition, having the same highlights and same commentary hour after hour made ESPN a stale location on weekday mornings.
The live SportsCenter allowed ESPN to have fresh content and the ability to react better to breaking news. It has also, however, resulted in six hours of airtime that need to be filled — and hardly ever, at this point, by highlights.
Over the years, the morning SportsCenter has become a plague of bombastic analysis, artificial debate, and whatever is racking up hits online. Highlights take a backseat, unless they are used in the service of more debate.
The worst aspects of the morning “SportsCenter” were evident on Monday. The morning shows led with a viral video (a high school basketball buzzer beater) and then conducted separate lengthy interviews with the player and coach involved.
The fans would get to decide whether the buzzer beater or a Jadeveon Clowney hit from earlier in the year was the ‘best of the best’ play, a distinction that means nothing. During the interview, Ravens RB Ray Rice called in to congratulate the players; anchor Jay Crawford asked him which play should win an ESPY Award — the high school buzzer beater, or Rice’s own 4th-and-29 run during the NFL regular season.
As the topping on the ESPN sundae, star pundit Stephen A. Smith was allowed to opine about the Blackhawks’ NHL points streak, a subject about which he was strikingly ignorant. During the Noon ET show, he debated Barry Melrose on the issue, because of course he did. Indeed, this is SportsCenter — endless debate, fan interaction, and once in awhile, some highlights.
Briefly, here is a look at the factors that have made the morning SportsCenter some of the worst television ESPN has to offer.
Stephen A. Smith
The rise of Stephen A. Smith at ESPN would be sad if it were not so predictable. ESPN made the right decision when it failed to renew Smith’s contract in 2008. His hiring was one of the worst legacies of the Mark Shapiro era — loud, obnoxious, and starving for attention, Smith was the perfect pundit for ESPN’s mid-2000s programming.
As ESPN cleaned itself up from the Shapiro era in the late 2000s, Smith was suddenly out of place. His role shrank until he was no longer necessary. Afterward, he left for his true calling — the cesspool that is cable news.
For whatever reason, ESPN let Smith back in the door in 2011. While his initial role was confined to the radio and ESPN.com, he quickly resumed his position as one of ESPN’s most prominent talkers. Now, he is an institution on the morning SportsCenter, where unnecessarily deferential anchors sit by and watch him devolve into the kind of self-parody that even “Saturday Night Live” cannot adequately capture.
On Monday, Smith ranted and raved about the latest debate du jour — whether the Blackhawks points streak or the Heat win streak was more impressive. Smith’s argument in placing the Heat above the Blackhawks was that the NHL allows games to end in ties. Of course, the NHL eliminated ties after the 2004-05 lockout, but actual knowledge about sports is less essential for the morning SportsCenter than having an uneducated and polarizing take.
Endless Debate
With the “success” of ESPN’s First Take — success in quotes, as the show typically earns less than 500,000 viewers a day — ESPN has decided that compulsory debate is the wave of the future. It would be one thing if the debate format was confined to the little-watched ESPN2, but now the morning “SportsCenter” has begun to rely more on arguments than on highlights.
Day-long debates (Should fans storm the court? Should LeBron dunk in pregame?) now involve as many analysts as ESPN can fit around a desk.
Herm Edwards — who has transformed almost into a cartoon character during his time with ESPN — vehemently advocates for Tiger Woods as the biggest star in sports, but Tim Kurkjian thinks its LeBron James. Everyone must have an opinion, even if that opinion is hardly informed (see: Stephen A.).
The fans get involved as well. Like a presidential debate on cable news, fans’ realtime preferences get displayed on-screen. Is Seth Greenberg persuasive enough to get fans to vote for some high-school basketball half-court shot as the best play of 2013? Just check the bottom of the screen.
Viral Video Fixation
The fact that the 11 AM and 12 PM ET SportsCenter led with a high school basketball buzzer beater for nearly 15 minutes is no longer a surprise. As The Big Lead recently reported, ESPN has mandated that SportsCenter increase its focus on viral videos. As a result, every single half-court shot taken by a tenth grader is national news.
It is tough, of course, to get riled up about ESPN giving some kids a moment in the sun — and when those half-court shots are confined to the ‘Top 10’ list, it really is not that big of a deal.
However, the nature of the morning “SportsCenter” is not to let a nice moment breathe, but to pound it into the dirt until it loses any of its authenticity. So when a high school player hurls a halfcourt shot, that moment of joy gets put through the ESPN meatgrinder and comes out fodder for debate.
It is not enough for ESPN to be obsessed with viral videos of sporting events. The network has taken to viral videos of any kind, last week debasing the program with extensive coverage of the Miami Heat ‘Harlem Shake’ video. Not only did “SportsCenter” show the video repeatedly, but then Edwards taught Chris McKendry and Jay Crawford the proper technique. The show ended with dozens of ESPN staffers doing the dance. The only hilarious aspect of the ordeal was the fact that Bob Ley‘s “Outside the Lines” came on immediately after.
The morning “SportsCenter” will undergo changes later this year, according to a report by The Big Lead. It remains to be seen whether those changes can save the show from itself. While other editions of SportsCenter have flaws — the 6 PM ET edition has taken to asking fans trivia questions on Twitter — only the morning edition sails headfirst into pure schlock.
SportsCenter is not a completely lost cause. The 1 AM shows from Los Angeles, which are weighted heavily to highlights, still resemble what the show used to be. Not in its heyday, of course, but at least back when it was still watchable. The 11 PM shows, which are typically hosted by the show’s best anchors — Scott Van Pelt and John Buccigross — are usually good as well. Before 11 PM, however, SportsCenter has devolved into some of the most vapid programming on television.
Sega’s Best Games
While Nintendo and other manufacturers were quick to release libraries of their classic games on cute microconsoles, Sega’s collection of favorite games hasn’t found its way into modern times.
Bye.
We know that Sega is working on a Genesis/Mega Drive Classic console with pre-installed games, and Analogue, creators of the phenomenal SNES clone called Super NT, is in the field working on a recreation of the Genesis called Mega Sg, which will also fit the original cartridges. In other words, it will soon be time to become a Sega fan again.
However, we decided not to recall the company’s 16-bit creations, but to pay homage to a wide variety of Sega products, from slot machine hits to deep single player games, sports simulations and of course, charming and unique in their own way.
Bayonetta 2
Led by Devil May Cry think tank Hideki Kamiya, the first Bayonetta was a breakthrough in the slasher genre, combining stylish and addictive combat with an unforgettably badass protagonist who literally killed demons with her hair. Bayonetta 2 was a further evolution of this format. The game introduced a two-player co-op mode and a new “Umbran Climax” condition (yes, this series is pretty explicit) that took Bayonetta’s brutal attacks to the next level.
With its unforgivably sexy, transcendent, and insanely charming nature, the game is one of the greatest of its genre, and it’s no surprise that Nintendo has staked out Bayonetta 2 (and the upcoming Bayonetta 3) as their own Wii U and Switch exclusive.
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Sonic Mania Plus
Reducing Sonic’s presence in this list to one game was hard enough, but Sonic Mania made it easy. This is the quintessence of 2D Sonic games, recreated by developers driven by the desires of the fans, clearly understanding what exactly was so great about the original games. Filled with remixes of classic levels and plenty of new ones, such as the mysterious Studiopolis Zone, and faithfully reproducing the controls, mechanics, and power-ups of those same games, Mania is the one to recommend to those who have never played a Sonic game before. In addition, with the Plus add-on, you can get additional playable characters, which is very rare in the Sonic universe.
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Crazy Taxi
The Dreamcast is fondly remembered by those who loved its quirky games like the stylish Jet Set Radio and Phantasy Star Online.
Crazy Taxi isn’t one of them, but she’s great. Filled with boundless energies of 1990s optimism and the music of The Offspring and Bad Religion, the game lets you become a taxi driver who somehow gets lucky with passengers enduring his insane jumps and car stunts. Plus, you don’t need a retro console to play Crazy Taxi because the game has been re-released for PC and newer consoles, and it’s even free to play on smartphones and tablets. True, you have to watch ads.
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Valkyria Chronicles
Valkyria Chronicles is not only one of the best games Sega has ever made, but also one of the best strategy games with RPG elements. Most of the games in the series were quite successful, but the very first one is still the strongest of all. Set in a fantasy version of Europe, the game follows a small but diverse unit of soldiers saving their small country of Gaul (decommissioned from Poland) from the fascist forces of the Imperial Alliance.
Combat is an innovative hybrid real-time game with a turn-based system, where soldiers control rifles, machine guns, rocket launchers and even tanks, and the plot does not hesitate to bring up heavy topics such as guerrilla warfare and concentration camps. And remember the German occult that Hitler was obsessed with? In this game, he is quite real.
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Total War
Speaking of Sega’s best games, we can’t help but think of the cult strategy series Total War, owned by the company since 2005. It combines turn-based 4X global strategy with real-time tactical combat involving huge armies. We will lead one of the great empires of the past, from Ancient China to the era of the Napoleonic Wars, with the small exception of two parts in the Warhammer fantasy universe.
The series is capable of captivating from the first minutes. Your empire rises from obscurity, surrounded by enemies who seek to trample it to dust. Each decision at a strategic level puts the near future at stake, where the “next move” is not just another step on the way to a new upgrade, but a cautious step on thin ice.
In battles, too, you have to keep on the verge of life and death, and each of them can become Hastings or Austerlitz, opening the way to new conquests or forcing you to desperately fight for survival.
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Yakuza 0
Yakuza 0 shows how Dojima’s Dragon and Shimano’s Mad Dog find themselves in an outrageously cool action movie with a fair amount of emotional crime melodrama. It’s one of the best games in the series’ 12-year history and a great introduction to it. When you’re not in jail for murder, you’ll be fighting yakuza, running a bar with hostesses, and even getting involved in city planning.
Veterans of the Yakuza series will definitely appreciate the sights and sounds of the 19 fictional Japanese city of Kamurocho80s. You will meet bright eccentric characters from all walks of life and beat them with orange traffic cones or bare hands, moving in the style of breakdancing.
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F-Zero GX
The last real game in the F-Zero series (can you believe it’s been 15 years?), F-Zero GX, and its game version machines, the F-Zero AX, was the result of a close partnership between Sega, Nintendo and developer Amusement Vision.
It showed how third-party developers can help create a game for Nintendo, and the GameCube was the perfect platform.
The game made the most of GCN with its beautiful graphics and high speeds, although the difficulty was so high that the story mode about Captain Falcon was almost impossible to complete without memorizing the tracks by heart and not possessing lightning-fast reactions. Otherwise, the game was so good that it is still fondly remembered and hoped that Nintendo would revive the series.
Super Monkey Ball 2
Super Monkey Ball is a racing puzzle game. It’s one of those absurd, easy-to-implement concepts that Sega has always been great at, especially during the company’s most innovative period, the rise and fall of the Dreamcast. The first installment proved the viability of the crazy concept, and Super Monkey Ball 2 was the series’ crowning achievement, thanks in large part to the many multiplayer party games that are way more fun than they could possibly be.
Many children’s fights started in the skies of Monkey Target.
Virtua Fighter 2
In many ways, Virtua Fighter 2 revolutionized the world of 3D fighting games, just as Street Fighter II blew up the world of 2D. And if the first Virtua Fighter was rather bulky, then in VF2 there were detailed, beautifully textured 3D characters presented in juicy 60 frames per second, which at that time was almost unthinkable for 3D fights.
A simple punch/kick/block style control scheme concealed an infinite depth of combinations and tactics in combat, especially when layered on a diverse set of characters who practiced real-life martial arts. Finally at 19The 90s saw the rise of 3D fighting games with the release of games like Tekken, Dead or Alive and SoulCalibur, and Virtua Fighter 2 should be credited with founding the genre.
Daytona USA
Daytona USA is often cited as one of the most profitable slot machine games, and it’s easy to believe, given that it can still be found a quarter of a century later in the few remaining arcades in the world.
Created by the legendary division of Sega AM2, Daytona has become one of the most important 3D racing games in history. Loaded with a better control model than Namco’s Ridge Racer, gorgeous 60fps textured graphics and an unforgettable soundtrack, the game paved the way for all the polygon racing that followed shortly after.
In 1998, Sega released a sequel that took the implementation of driving to an unattainable height, but, unfortunately, it never made it to home consoles. However, in 2011, the first part received a beautiful HD remastering for Xbox 360 and PS3, which can still be played on Xbox One due to backwards compatibility.
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Jet Set Radio
No other game looked, sounded or played like Jet Set Radio when it was released 18 years ago, and even now it remains unique in kind. Determining what Jet Set Radio is is really difficult. There are elements of extreme sports, slight touches of gang warfare and of course the aesthetic of hip-hop culture, which was also influenced by the punk scene and the rise of indie music of the late 1990s.
Jet Set Radio’s soundtrack is often cited as one of the greatest in video game history, and rightfully so – it’s a musical reflection of the visuals, bringing together proprietary and licensed tracks, creating context and truly immersing you in the game’s neo-futuristic world. Luckily, it’s relatively easy to get back into it – recently, Jet Set Radio was released on almost every platform, including iOS, Android, Steam, and even PS Vita. But we’re still waiting for a port of her Xbox-exclusive sequel.
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ESPN NFL 2K5
Desperate to compete with EA Sports in 2004, Sega made the bold decision to sell all of its 2005 sports games for just 20 dollars. But most importantly, ESPN NFL 2K5 wasn’t just a cheap alternative to Madden 2005 – it was better. With a full ESPN license, the game has managed to create a hitherto unrivaled level of performance with real-life SportsCenter blocks and real-life ESPN stars like Chris Berman and Trey Wingo.
NFL 2K5 was filled with great content, with the ability to create your own field layouts and play a detailed season online mode. It’s unfortunate that Sega subsequently lost its NFL license, because 2K5 was well ahead of its time – and is still considered by many fans to be the best American football game.
Gunblade NY
Of course, this version of Time Crisis with flying over New York later came out on the Wii, but it’s not even worth looking at. Why? A pair of machine guns on a slot machine simulated the recoil from each shot. Difficulty increased to a fair degree, so the game was worth every coin spent. And thanks to the huge size of the machine alone, along with clanging sounds, a largely outdated game (you were shooting at angular, pixelated terrorists who took over the parks, bridges and streets of New York, and it was very difficult to hit them) seemed fresh.
Sega Rally
A year after the release of Daytona USA in 1993, Sega continued its revolution in the racing genre with another iconic game: the Sega Rally Championship.
Sega Rally, also released on arcades, was a more realistic take on a completely different racing discipline. Licensed cars in games were a rarity at the time, and project manager Tetsuya Mizuguchi, now known for Rez, Lumines and Tetris Effect, signed contracts with Toyota and Lancia, bringing the Celica and Delta models to worldwide acclaim and inspiring new legions of rally fans.
It also worked that Sega Rally was as close to perfection as a racing game could be, thanks to a professionally tuned physics model that still looks decent years later, ingenious track design, and an iconic soundtrack in true Sega style. It is this game that inspired the Codematers Colin McRae and Dirt series, and to the best of our knowledge, it is the only slot machine that Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson owns.
Vanquish
A stellar hybrid of racing and shooter that can turn off players with a banal plot about an alien invasion. But plot aside, the Augmented Reaction Suit worn by protagonist Sam Gideon (which appears to have been created in the hero generator) can be a lot of fun.
The game allows you to move faster than the world around, providing insanely addictive lightning-fast gameplay where you constantly have to alternate between shooting and acrobatics. Be sure to check out this game – it is available for purchase on digital services for PS3, PC and Xbox One, and there are still discs for PS3 and Xbox 360 in stores.
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Virtua Tennis 3
There have been more realistic tennis simulations, but perhaps none of them were as great as Sega’s Virtua Tennis series. Like all of Sega’s best arcade games, it’s fairly simple in structure (even simpler than Mario Tennis Aces) and there are only three types of strokes at your disposal. And that’s it – you won’t find any special moves or fatigue levels here. But the speed and dynamics of the gameplay are great fun, especially if you get involved. The groovy soundtrack completes the picture.
All parts of this series are fantastic, but if you choose one of them, it will be the third, thanks to interesting mini-games and mid-2000s stars like Roger Federer and Serena Williams, who were then at the height of their fame.
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Sega had so many great races that few remembered the company until recently had no good kart to compete with Mario Kart. But in 2012, that all changed with the release of All-Stars Racing Transformed, bringing together all of the company’s great past, from After Burner to Burning Rangers, into a game that has become a great kart racing game to the delight of die-hard Sega fans.
It had a lot more content than Mario Kart, a huge selection of dynamic tracks that changed shape every lap, forcing players to switch to other cars. And while it’s a little disappointing that the recently released Team Sonic Racing lost all non-Sonic content, it’s great to see Sega’s unique karting brand come to Switch where it belongs.
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Virtua Fighter 5
Of course, the honor of founding the 3D fighting game genre belongs to Virtua Fighter 2, but it was Virtua Fighter 5 that brought the series almost to perfection.
Released in 2006, the game looks striking even by today’s standards and boasts a rich, technically diverse combat system that rewards true skill, not mindless button mashing. The fact that VF5 is still an active esports discipline only confirms its eternal value, and it can still be played on Xbox One for backwards compatibility (or in the in-game machine in Yakuza 6. True).
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Out Run
One of the oldest racing games, Out Run came to arcades in 1986, giving gamers an incredibly challenging 3D racing experience similar to the classic motorcycle Hang-On of 1985 . Yes, thanks to Sega’s innovative ‘Super-Scaler’ technology, 3D games were around before half of today’s gamers were even born. Out Run was very successful, winning Golden Joystick awards for Game of the Year and Arcade Game of the Year in 1987, and the much-loved sequel Out Run 2 was released in 2003.
ChuChu Rocket!
A long-forgotten puzzle-party game that perfectly characterizes the Sega Dreamcast era.
Chu Chu Rocket! is a crazy, suspenseful game that many people would surely enjoy these days. It wasn’t an independent development – it was made by Sonic Team – but it had all the flavors of your favorite indie games like Overcooked.
Players had to guide herds of adorable mice to their spaceships, steal mice from rivals with arrows, and avoid hungry cats. If you don’t see the game in person, it may seem like nonsense, but then again, everything moves very quickly here, and not understanding what to do is part of the charm of the game.
Phantasy Star
By today’s standards, Phantasy Star is a bulky, ugly, unbalanced game with strange dynamics and underdeveloped characters. But back in 1987, no one saw anything like it. Phantasy Star was one of the forerunners of the JRPG genre, as was Final Fantasy, which came out just two days earlier.
But Phantasy Star had what Final Fantasy didn’t, including an ambitious sci-fi story, several planets to explore, a number of characters with personalities and motivations of their own, pseudo-3D dungeons, and advanced enemy animations.
You play as Alice, a space-roaming freedom fighter who lost her brother to the evil King Lassic. Carrying plans for revenge, she will go on a journey through three planets, which will end in a shocking denouement. The strategic turn-based battles and free exploration look decent even now.
Source: tomsguide.com
Top 10 games of all time, according to top game developers | Games
GQ magazine has compiled a list of 100 best games in the world. The publication conducted a survey among of the greatest people in the industry . It was attended by employees of companies such as NaughtyDog, CD Project, Blizzard and others. We can’t fit the entire rating here, but we’ll tell you about the top ten.
Half-Life 2
The legendary story of the silent Gordon Freeman. After the release of the first part, the continuation was expected millions of gamers . And someone even now, after many years, returns to him. What can I say, it’s a classic.
Dark Souls
Perhaps the most famous game in the soulslike genre. She, as expected, is distinguished by the gloomy atmosphere of and a high level of difficulty. It’s scary to even imagine how many keyboards gamers broke, again and again trying to defeat the next boss.
Portal 2
The case when “newer” does not mean “worse”. Conservative players, of course, will not agree with this, but the second part of this spatial puzzle turned out to be just as interesting as the first. You could also play it with a friend. And together is always more fun.
Metal Gear Solid
himself The genius Kojima had a hand in the project that started the history of Metal Gear. Subsequently, it was this series that turned the approach to development. Cinematic , which modern games boast, partly originated here.
Mass Effect 2
Once upon a time, the developers at BioWare decided to create an independent universe , which would include intergalactic flights, shootouts and communication with aliens, and also a cool story.
After the success of the first part, they immediately took up the development of a sequel, which became even better.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Classic RPG in Slavic setting . The activities implemented in The Witcher, peculiar humor, unique monsters and weapons brought incredible success. Without cute heroines, also could not do. But not only because of them, the game of 2015 is still popular?
Bloodborne
A project from the creator of the Dark Souls series. His name is Hidetaka Miyazaki . And a person with such a surname cannot do something bad. Especially the game that has become an exclusive for Playstation 4. Moreover, the developer has a whole soulslike series behind him, which is considered a legend.
Tetris
No comments here. We think that all well-known developers, successful e-sportsmen, and even ordinary gamers have passed this game at one time.
