Top 10: Games of 2012

2012 has been a great year for gaming with several great titles coming out. What were your favourites?

Either way here's my top 10 games of 2012.

10:

While it barely makes the list for a lot of reasons, mainly because it's a very easy game and relatively short, The Darkness II was a blast from start to finish. The feeling you get of being a total badass, all the quirky and interesting NPC's you build a connection to and not to mention, the search for your dead girlfriend, all wrapped up in an epic story of light versus dark, makes the game an unforgettable journey. The multiplayer is also fun if you're into L4D-style co-op and each character feels well thought out and interesting. The comic book style also makes the game stay true to its source material.

9:

I love arcady racers and Ridge Racer Unbounded is one of the best I've played in that genre. The main gimmick here is that you can pretty much destroy parts of the course to gain extra points. You also get points for ramming into enemy vehicles and performing takedowns Burnout-style. With awesome graphics and a really good soundtrack, this is definitely my favourite racing game of 2012.

8:

Terrible ending aside, Mass Effect 3 is in my opinion a pretty good third person shooter with a lot of cool RPG elements and it feels like it takes elements from both ME1 and ME2 and brings them together in a good way. I really enjoyed the weapon customization they brought back and the dialogue feels a lot more natural in this game as characters are more active and don't just stand there talking for several minutes. Here they actually move and they feel more like people, making the conversations more engaging as a result. I also really liked the multiplayer, it makes for some frantic co-op action at times.

7:

Blacklight Retribution is honestly one of the best free-to-play games I've played. It offers graphics and gameplay that both rivals and surpasses the Call of Duty games and the try-before-you-buy model in the game lets you find your favourite loadout before spending money on anything. I'm also a total sucker for the cyberpunk feel of the game and the visor which reveals enemy positions more or less eliminates camping issues. A fun and enjoyable multiplayer shooter that offers a lot for very little to no cash at all and a viable alternative if you want a good modern FPS experience but don't wanna spend 60 bucks on the latest Call of Duty game.

6:

The Doom games remain some of the best FPS's ever made in my opinion and Doom 3 BFG Edition brings all 3 of them together in one rock solid package. Being the hardcore id-whore I am, this was a must-have this year and I am not disappointed. With Steam achievements, widescreen support up to 1080p, 3D support, a shoulder-mounted flashlight that makes the game suitably action-oriented as I always wanted it, a brand new third mission for Doom 3, and ultra-smooth gameplay at 120fps, Doom 3 BFG Edition to me is THE ultimate edition of Doom 1, Doom 2 and Doom 3.

5:

When I heard that a remake of Giana Sisters was coming out, I was pretty skeptical. Giana Sisters is one of my favourite 8bit titles and probably one of the most popular Commodore 64 games in existence and a cult classic among a lot of people. Though after having played Twisted Dreams, I can easily say that this is actually an improvement. The controls are really tight, like they should be in any platformer, the graphics are really cartoony and colourful and feel reminiscent of classics like Rayman at times, and the music are mostly rearrangements of the original Giana tracks, performed by the always awesome Machinae Supremacy. The main reason I really recommend Twisted Dreams is because it truly feels like a Giana game and not just a Mario ripoff.

4:

Let's face it, MW3 might have been a good game (at least it was in my opinion since it was my first CoD game) but it's obvious the series was beginning to stagnate. One of the most common complaints I hear about CoD is that none of the games stand out enough and don't feel engaging enough. This is where Black Ops II gets things right. Black Ops II I think might be the best CoD game because it takes everything that was bad about MW3 and just improves it. The single player campaign feels engaging because it focuses on making the characters memorable and having a more engaging story than MW3 ever did. Of course you still go from set piece to set piece, but the set pieces here are definitely more awesome than they were in earlier games, mostly because the game has a new setting, taking place in the near future and if you've ever wanted to fire a missile launcher while riding horseback, this is the game for you. Another thing they did with the story was giving you multiple choices at several points, adding actual replay value to the campaign as each campaign has a possibility of being really different from the previous one!
The zombie mode is also a really fun mode where survival is the key to unlocking new guns and various rewards that make fun and interesting changes to the gameplay. The zombies actually feel rather threatening and the mode is pretty challenging and will take serious teamplay to be completed.
The multiplayer also has received a much needed upgrade. The killstreaks have been replaced by scorestreaks, giving supportive players a bigger chance to contribute as the rewards are no longer based on the amount of kills you have, but how big your score is and it definitely makes the game a heck of a lot more balanced. The class creation system has been entirely revamped and you now have a "10 slots" system that allows for almost complete customization and you can make a class that fits YOUR playstyle to an even greater degree than MW3 offered. The maps are also much better designed and I think they did a splendid job with the graphics.
The major difference here is that MW3 looked like shit mixed with dust, and Black Ops II actually looks more realistic because it has more colour. Add the option to make your own emblems, the League play which lets you play against people in your skill range, and you have easily the best Call of Duty ever!

3:

Syndicate is a FPS set in the near future where the world is no longer divided into countries, but rather huge corporations known as syndicates rule the world. In the single player campaign you play as Miles Kilo, an agent for EuroCorp who uncovers corruption and conspiracy within his own syndicate. The game's main gimmick is that in the future nearly everyone are implanted with computer chips. As an agent you have the power to hack into these chips and you can pretty much force people to commit suicide and you can also use this hacking ability to dominate computer systems etc. The chip also gives you an overlay that highlights enemies and volatile objects. It makes for a very fun and engaging FPS that has a very strong cyberpunk aesthetic and the cool factor is pretty much through the roof. The single player campaign is pretty short though and feels like it doesn't offer enough replay value. The game could really benefit from a New Game + option. The multiplayer is pretty fun and engaging though and at times really challenging, and highly recommended. Also helps that the first bossfight has background music by Skrillex. Definitely one of my favourite games this year as I am a complete sucker for cyberpunk games, and I was definitely eager to play Syndicate as a FPS, and I can't help but feel Syndicate is terribly underrated. We can has sequel, EA?

2:

I'll say it right now, I'm a sucker for humor in games. A lot of the time it can really help a game stand out from the crowd as most games today take themselves way too seriously. It's this reason Borderlands 2 is a fresh breath of filthy air and it's really a unique experience that has to be played to be understood. Borderlands 2 takes everything that made the original so great and improves upon it to the f*cketh (that's a word now) degree. Also helps that the characters are really memorable, especially Handsome Jack, who I'd say is one of the most memorable villains as of recently. His constant taunting and teasing makes him a villain you get to dislike from early on in the game and when you finally get to take him on, the satisfaction is incredible. And guns. SOOOO MANY GUNS! There are really just two words that conjure up how I feel about Borderlands 2: Awesome and badass!

1:

F*ck Skyrim. If I want a huge open-world first person RPG with animals to hunt an items to craft, I'll play me some Far Cry 3, thank you very much. While I haven't completed this game yet, mostly because I spend far too much time running over animals with my car and putting pirates on fire with a flamethrower, this is easily my favourite game of 2012 already. There is just an insane amount of content here and so much fun to be had, and it's probably the most addictive game I've played lately. The multiplayer is also really well made, although it can be a bit glitchy at times. It's fun when it works though. The co-op missions are also really fun and add a side story to the game rather than just sending you from objective to objective. Add a very good single player story where you actually care about the characters, and lush graphics and you have probably not only the best FPS, but easily the best GAME of 2012 on your hands.

Top 10: Licensed Games

Licensed games have a bad rep of being subpar. But there are some good ones out there.

Here's a top 10 list of licensed games that I personally consider decent. Feel free to comment and add your own.

01. The Lion King (Genesis/SNES)

The Lion King is one of the proofs that good, even great movie licensed games exist. The animation is stellar in this game and it looks excellent for a 16bit title, even today and the controls feel tight and precise as well. The music is great renditions of the classic soundtrack and there's a lot of great level design in the game, inspired by the movie. If you like Disney's The Lion King as much as I do, give this game a try. You won't regret it. It might be a bit difficult at first (especially the monkeys stage), but once you play it a few times, you get through it.

02. Back to the Future: The Game (PC)

TellTale Games really know how to make good adventure games and this game, based on the awesome movie trilogy, shows that deriative games don't have to suck. Featuring excellent voice acting by AJ Locascio (who mimicks Michael J. Fox perfectly here) and the always awesome Christopher "I WAS FROZEN TODAY!" Lloyd, it's a fun and exciting game that is worth playing at least twice.

03. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time (SNES)

Known to us Europeans as Teenage Mutant HERO Turtles (ninja was a bad word apparently), most of the Turtles games were great beat'em-ups that really captured the spirit of the time well and were all fun to play, though the fourth game is definitely my favourite of the bunch as it has some of the best graphics and sound on the SNES and it actually surpasses the arcade game in quality, something few ports manage to do at all. On the Genesis there is a similar game called Hyperstone Heist which is also worth checking out!

04. Aladdin (Genesis)

While Capcom made a great SNES game based on Aladdin (known to me internally as Super Aladdin), the Genesis game is my personal favourite and one of the best games on the Genesis period. Great music, great graphics (it was animated by the people at Disney themselves) and tight platforming controls makes this a great 16bit gem that reminds me fondly of Prince of Persia, though in this case, it's the Prince of Agrabah.

05. Duck Tales (NES)

While Capcom made a ton of AWESOME Disney licensed games on the NES and SNES, Duck Tales is one of the most memorable. Still fun to play today, this platformer puts you in the shoes of Scrooge McDuck in the search of more money across the world. Great level design, great graphics and excellent music (Moon Theme in particular) makes this a true 8bit classic that, unlike other licensed games on the old toaster oven, doesn't reek of old shit.

06. X-Men (Genesis)

One of the best games on the Genesis, X-Men is worth playing because of the great graphics, tight controls and excellent sound for the system. Clearly worth a shot if you're into 16bit games and love the X-Men.

07. Blade Runner (PC)

Westwood's game based on the legendary 80's movie by Ridley Scott comes an entire decade and then some after the movie but it's still a pretty good title. The game is a real-time adventure game where you have to do detective work like Deckard in the movie, however you play an entirely different character and the game has its own story that takes place in real time as you play the game, something groundbreaking for the time. Another groundbreaking thing was the graphics, they look simply superb with all the cyberpunk environments from the movie recreated as 3D scenery. The only bad thing are the character models which are made of blocky pixels rather than actual 3d models, but I guess for the time this was truly high tech shit. A great game based on a great movie that is highly recommended if you like adventure/detective games ala Gabriel Knight.

08. Terminator 2: The Arcade Game (Arcade/SNES/Genesis)

Being ported to both the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo (both using their respective lightguns), this little gem is actually one of the best lightgun titles on both systems and it's pretty fun to play if you like these type of "Operation Wolf" games. The goal is simple: Shoot the terminators, save the humans and gather ammunition. The game can get quite hectic and the 2 player mode is excellent, and it even supports the SNES mouse. A great arcade game all in all.

09. Super Star Wars (SNES)

While it is only loosely based on Star Wars Episode IV, Super Star Wars set a pretty good standard for movie licensed games and it's one of the best games on the SNES, being a classic 16bit platformer with awesome graphics, great music that does a good job mimicking the original soundtrack's orchestral quality (something the SNES excelled at) and tight controls that really makes you feel like a Jedi. The only bad thing about it really is the difficulty, which is through the roof and might scare some players away. May the 16-bit force be with you.

10. 007 GoldenEye (N64)

It is often dubbed "the only good movie licensed game" and for a good reason. Rare did a splendid job doing a game based on the hit James Bond movie and it has since become one of the most popular games on the Nintendo 64 as a result. Mostly because it not only broke ground for movie-licensed games but also for first person shooters. It follows the movie's storyline perfectly and also uses characters and dialogue from the movie but makes it feel like a natural part of the game play and it was the first game to really make you feel like Bond. Introducing the concept of actually having to reload your gun as well as 4 player local deathmatch and a ton of cheats and fun stuff added to the game, it's a must-have on the N64. Although I think Perfect Dark was a better game which used the same engine, Perfect Dark was not movie licensed.

NES Game Review: MOTHER

Alyxx Reviews



I was a child once, like all of us are or have been at some point. And... I don't remember why or when, but I recall sitting outside. It was late, way past bedtime and my mom was probably calling for me to come inside. I was looking at the sky. There wasn't a single cloud on the sky and I could easily see the stars. I remember... looking up at them and just feeling a deep and profound sense of wonder and awe, not to mention feeling so immensely curious about what was out there. As a child, the world felt so big, so full of wonders and magic. It seemed like with your friends, when we were playing and lost in our fantasy worlds, we could accomplish anything. Even save the world if we had to. These emotions are feelings I have long forgotten now. I am now 24 years old, I have long since quit school and I am now far into the world of adults, with all the worries and problems and responsobility that entails. I feel these emotions belong to another world, another reality. And I believed for the longest time it wasn't possible to return to it.

That was until I played Mother, also known as EarthBound Zero to western fans of the game. When I played Mother, all these emotions came back to me, like memories I thought I had lost. They... flooded me, and shocked my mind and for once in the longest time, I felt like a child again. Again the world felt big and full of wonders, again I could feel how powerful your imagination can be. Again, I felt like I could accomplish anything, even... saving the world.

How do you review something like that? How do your review anything that has such an amazing effect on you? How can you even begin to review something that more or less changes your life and makes you feel like no other game ever has? Well, I might as well start with the reason why I became interested in the series to begin with.

Mother is very centered around music, and I've always been a huge music lover. Music is as important to me as air, food or sex. It's something I cannot live without. Hell, even the name Mother is allegedly inspired by a John Lennon song of the same name. Before I knew much about the games, I pretty much knew that Earthbound was a popular RPG on the SNES that had become somewhat of a cult classic. I played Earthbound a few times but found it hard to get into, it was too weird, too childish and just all around not my kind of game. Then... I heard Eight Melodies. Not the ones from Earthbound, mind you, but the ones from Mother, the first game. And the melodies... did something to me. Something I never thought music was capable of without associating it with something. They made me cry. I cried and cried. And every time I hear the Eight Melodies from Mother, I cry. I didn't even know why. I had never heard them before, nor had I ever played any of the games. Then... I realized why. The Eight Melodies reminded me of what I had lost for so long, my childhood. Just the Eight Melodies alone brought back all these feelings I felt as a child. It was an overload to my brain and still is. The greatest feeling they make me feel is love. Not the shallow kind of love you feel when you're in love with someone. But the kind of love a mother feels for her child, and the kind of immense and immeasurable love a child feels for his mother. Not sexual, not perverted, but pure. Pure as light itself. It was that kind of love I felt when I heard it. And the Eight Melodies from Mother was the reason I wanted to play Mother, not any of the sequels. And while playing, whenever I got stuck, whenever I was in peril, whenever I felt afraid and willing to quit the whole thing, I went into my inventory, picked up the Ocarina I got in Magicant, and I played the melodies I had gathered so far. Just hearing them, just 3-4 of them, gave me the strength to carry on because I wanted so badly to complete the song by getting all the melodies.

But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. You are probably wondering what Mother is and what it's about. Well, Mother actually spans several years and several decades. It begins in the early 1900's, when George and Maria are abducted by an alien species. Among them, Maria becomes the mother to one of the aliens, Giegue (known as Giygas in the sequel) and raises him as her own. George on the other hand studies the aliens and learns about their greatest weapon PSI, which is basically a form of telekinesis. He takes what he's learned about this back to Earth, angering the aliens. It is unknown what happens to Maria but basically, in 1989 Giegue has launched a full-scale alien invasion on Earth as revenge for humans aquiring the PSI weapon. You play as Ninten, a descendant of George who posesses such PSI powers and one day things are a little... weird. Inanimate objects become animated, animals go crazy, people go crazy or turn into zombies, strange alien creatures appear and to put it short, everything is going to hell. You use your grandfather's diary to enter a strange realm known as Magicant where you meet Queen Mary, who in reality is Giegue's mother Maria, who instructs you to find Eight Melodies on Earth that she has forgotten. Aided by some friends you meet along the way, including the prodigy Loid who always gets picked on for his intelligence, the sweet and loving Ana who despite her weak appearance as a young girl posesses incredibly strong offensive PSI powers, and the gang leader Teddy who is handy with a knife, you set out on a great journey to collect the Eight Melodies from different strange sources and to stop the alien invasion. In the end, none of your weapons can stop Giegue. He is too powerful for that. You realize the only thing that can stop him are the Eight Melodies that you have to sing to him with all your heart, as these Eight Melodies are the lullaby Maria used to sing to Giegue while raising him. In the end, these melodies remind Giegue of the love and comfort he felt from Maria and convinces him to retreat.

Needless to say, Mother's plot buried deep into my soul, it got under my skin in a way no other game ever has. I literally could barely sleep for days while playing this game, and I think the reason it resonates so deeply with me is because it awakens my maternal instinct and during the whole game, I played for the simple reason of giving Giegue the love he deserved. I wanted him to feel love again. It felt a bit like adopting a lost child who had forgotten what love is. And also the way it uses music as a central plot device felt unique to me. Sure other games like Zelda Ocarina of Time did the same but... Mother did this way before Ocarina of Time and did it in a much more profound way in my opinion. The Eight Melodies you collect are so powerful that I would call it simply the best single song in NES history. Sure, it isn't as memorable as Super Mario Bros., Zelda or Metroid or Mega Man, but it has become a part of me in a way no other NES tune ever has. No 8bit tune in the world has given me such profound deep emotions and I just cannot understate how incredibly good the music in this game is. I can truly believe that the Eight Melodies can inspire anyone to remember the love they felt in their childhood, and if they didn't have a childhood, this song can make them long to have one again. It is simply amazing. And the Eight Melodies resounded almost constantly in my head while playing the game. Like Ninten, I remember them, and probably will for all time. It is likely that when I have a child of my own, I will sing this lullaby to it. And when it's old enough, I will let it play Mother.

Graphically, Mother isn't all that impressive, but at the same time it is near impossible to find anything bad to say about the graphics. They are quite cartoony and at times makes me feel like I'm watching a Peanuts episode, so the game has a very unique style and atmosphere that I think adds to the game's childish nature. Most of the enemy sprites don't even look threatening and are at times outright adorable. You feel bad killing some of these enemies. At times I felt the enemies were like something taken out of a fantasy book or a child's imagination, which made them very powerful to me. Especially in Magicant I encountered enemies I couldn't even think up if I tried, and I would dare call Mother the most refreshing and original game I've played in a long time. After so many cookie-cutter RPG's with dragons, elves and other Western archetypes, it feels wholeheartedly inspiring to play a Japanese RPG like this that dares to go for a modern day setting and actually use some real imagination for once. I would rather play Mother over any Elder Scrolls game any day. As I stated, the graphics aren't that impressive or even realistic but the style makes this game simply impossible to not remember or take with you. A lot of locales are genuinely creepy and the atmosphere is at times incredible for an 8bit game. I'll also add that the graphics made the game feel really big and vast as the game is simply just one big world you are exploring without any load times except for when you go into buildings. This is just incredible for a NES game in my opinion.

Now, I've said a lot of nice things about Mother so far but if there is one thing I feel draws it back then it is the gameplay. I don't really mind turnbased RPG combat but I felt the game had a way too big abundance of random encounters. Even with the Easy patch I added that allegedly reduces the number of random encounters, it was way too many and at times after finishing one battle, just stepping one tile brought up another one and it was aggrivating. Trust me when I say that Mother hasn't aged well in terms of the gameplay. The actual combat mechanics themselves work fine though and you have a choice between attacking (basically using the weapon you have equipped) or using a PSI attack (though only Ninten and Ana were capable of using PSI powers to my knowledge). You can also guard, run away, use an item or set the combat to Auto, though I always preferred having control for more powerful enemies or groups of enemies. You'll spend most of the game going from town to town and in each town you have several options of going to stores (you get an allowance from your dad via telephones) where you can buy new weapons and items, going to hotels to rest (replenishing Hit Points and PSI Points), going to McDonalds to hang out (since it's America obviously) and have a burger, or go to a hospital in case you are wounded. Most towns also have exclusive buildings. Mother is a game where you'd want to talk to all the NPC's as this can often result in hilarious dialogue or situations. Unlike most RPG's where I feel NPC's are boring and only filler, Mother did a great job at making all the NPC's feel interesting and quirky. At its heart though, Mother is a straight turn-based party RPG where you have to take care of your party members and grow stronger. There is a lot of grinding involved although the Easy patch cuts down on this heavily so getting it is recommended for beginners or people who don't like grinding.

As previously stated, the music in Mother is some of the best I have heard from a NES game. It ranks up there with masterpieces such as Zelda and MegaMan. I often found myself humming along to the music as I played and there is a great variety of influences too, ranging from rock to pop music and as stated, I'd dare say Eight Melodies is the best piece of 8bit NES music ever made. The enormous power contained in those notes is enough to make me cry every time I hear it. And it was the sole reason I started playing the game. The sounds are great too, especially the PSI attack ones.

Scores:
Gameplay: 7/10
Story: 10/10
Graphics: 10/10
Sound: 10/10

Total Score: 8/10

In summary, Mother isn't only one of the best RPG's I've played, it isn't even just one of the best NES games I've played. While it ranks in my top 10 NES games at the moment, this game is one of the best games of all time for me. It touches something inside me, something no other game I've played has touched. It makes me feel like a mother and a child, both at the same time. It brings me back to a world I thought I had lost, brings back emotions I thought I had forgotten. While playing Mother, I am a child again, and it is the reason I consider it such an incredible game. It is more than just a game, it is pure art. And playing it, I could feel that this was not only a personal game for Shigesato Itoi, who designed and directed this masterpiece, but also it has become a personal game for me.

Mother is a game I will remember until I die, a journey I will take again and again. It reminds me and all who have played it, that love, pure love that a mother feels for her child, is the most powerful emotion of all, and can bring even an alien Tyrant to his end...

- Alyxx

My Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Collection

Here's the list of the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis games I own and a brief description.

After Burner II
One of my favourite arcade ports on the Mega Drive. Very close to the original arcade game though the music lacks the lead voices for some reason. I still love this game though, despite its arcade difficulty.

Aladdin
Strangely enough, the Mega Drive version of Aladdin is an entirely different game compared to the Super Nintendo version and features different gameplay and different graphics. Still, both versions are a lot of fun and it makes it worth owning both of them for. I like this version because of the detailed animations and the more Prince of Persia inspired gameplay.

Alien 3
A pretty decent platformer where the goal is to rescue Xenomorph victims on a set of levels. Requires a lot of memorization and retries but the atmosphere is pretty good. This is similar to the NES version but has different music.

Alisia Dragoon
I found out about this game from a review by Pat the NES Punk (which you can check out here if you don't mind a little S&M ;) ) and it's a pretty overlooked classic on the system. Great graphics, great sound and pretty unique gameplay makes this a platformer worth checking out. I haven't finished it yet but definitely plan to.

Altered Beast
A lot of people seem to like this game since it was packed in with the Mega but it's not one of my favourites personally. It's fun and all but I find it a bit boring in the long run and the graphics aren't that good in my opinion. Still, not a bad game, just not one I care for all that much. It's a straight up arcade port where the goal is to traverse horizontally scrolling levels while getting upgrades that make you more and more into an animal, ranging from bears to even dragons. It's an awesome concept but I felt the execution was a tad bit subpar.

B.O.B. 
A really good sidescrolling shooter that I originally grew up playing on the SNES. While I think the SNES version is superior, I do enjoy this version a lot as well. Great animations and music and it has a lot of great 90's humor too.

Bubsy
A lot of people seem to not like this game much but I think it's a lot of fun. It's not the best platformer by far but I find myself in the mood for it now and then.

Bubsy II
The sequel to Bubsy. Got it mostly for that reason. It's very similar so there's not much to say about it.

Bulls versus Blazers and the NBA Playoffs
A very average basket ball game. Not the best I've played but not the worst. It's pretty bland to be honest.

Castlevania: The New Generation (called Bloodlines in the US)
An awesome Castlevania game for the Mega. Everything here is very high quality and very well done and I love this game. A shame they censored it for Europe though and removed the blood from the game. Still, without blood it remains a great game.

Dragon's Fury
Arguably the best pinball game of the 16bit era. Also known as Devil's Crush and came out on other systems like the TurboGrafx16. Very awesome game with an excellent soundtrack, tight ball physics and badass level design. Highly recommended!

Dune II: Battle for Arrakis
Dune II is by many considered the grandfather of the RTS genre and paved the way for future titles such as Command & Conquer. Unlike Dune 1 which was more of an RPG, this game is a straight up real time strategy game where it's all about gathering resources, building a base and eradicating the opposing factions. An excellent game for the time and I wanted this port mostly to see how a strategy game would fare on the Mega.

Earthworm Jim
Earthworm Jim is a game with a huge cult following and it's easy to see why. It's a really fun platformer with zany humor and excellent graphics and sound for the system. Recommended!

Empire Of Steel (aka Steel Empire)
A shmup featuring blimps.

FIFA Soccer 95
It's soccer. Yaaaaay...

Gaiares
A shmup where you rescue Gaia, hence the name Gaiares. Extremely good soundtrack and graphics that really show off what the Mega is known for!

Galaxy Force II
Not the best mode 7 shooter I've played but you can do worse. I like the graphics a lot.

Golden Axe
A fun beat'em-up game to play with a friend.

The Immortal
An isometric RPG with a lot of bloody death animations. Combat system isn't that well executed and the constant traps can get annoying fast. Still it has its merits.

The Lion King
One of the best movie licensed games of all time in my opinion. Excellent music, graphics and gameplay though some levels can be a bit difficult.

Lotus RECS (Lotus II)
A fun racer with an included level editor. The music could be better though.

M6 (6-in-1 Cartridge)
No picture for this one. It includes 6 games:
Sega Soccer, a soccer game (duh)
Columns, a fun puzzle game that reminds me of Bejeweled or Tetris
Super Monaco GP, a racing game, haven't played it much though
Revenge of Shinobi, a ninja sidescroller
Sonic 1, which needs no description since some people bought a Mega for it and
Streets of Rage, one of the best 16bit beat'em-ups.

Mega Bomberman
Great party game, especially if you have a multitap.

Mickey Mania
Haven't played it yet but I would guess it's a platformer with Mickey.

Michael Jackson's Moonwalker
Despite what people say I think this game is awesome. I love the movie, I love the music and I love the game. It's pretty darn unique and I can appreciate that.

 

Mortal Kombat II
A classic fighter with some pretty awesome finishing moves.

 

Olympic Gold
Sports game. Some of the sports are fun, some are not.

 

PGA Tour Golf III
A decent Golf game.

 

The Revenge of Shinobi
Ninja sidescroller with a lot of cool graphics.

 

Rise of the Robots
A mediocre fighter but with some pretty impressive pre-rendered 3D graphics for its time and music by Brian May.

Robocop vs Terminator
This. This is just... fucking awesome okay?

Rocket Knight Adventures
Awesome platformer by Konami. One of the must-haves on the system!

The Simpsons: Bart vs The Space Mutants
I... don't even know.

Sonic the Hedgehog
The system seller. Sonic the Hedgehog is an awesome platformer with great graphics and excellent music. What else is there to say?

Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Like Sonic 1, but better with some new stuff.

Sonic 3
Like Sonic 1 and 2 but better with some new stuff and the ability to have save games (finally).

Sonic Compilation
Sonic 1, Sonic 2 and Dr Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine on one cartridge.


 
Strider
Awesome arcade port with excellent graphics and gameplay.

Sub-Terrania
A fun shooter with some cool graphics and music.

Super Fantasy Zone
A shooter made on LSD.

Super Thunder Blade
Mode 7 shooter, similar to Galaxy Force II but with a helicopter.

Syndicate
Wanted this mostly because I've played the 2012 remake. The original is not as fun in my opinion but it's still a pretty good game.


 
Taz-Mania
Haven't played it yet. Platformer with Taz from Looney Tunes afaik.

Truxton
FUCK YEAH!

Zero Tolerance
One of the (very) few FPS's on the Mega Drive. Extremely impressive given the limitations of the hardware.

And Master System games:

Aerial Assault (aka Assault City)
A fun sidescrolling shmup.

Asterix
Beat up some romans and celebrate with a roasted boar. Excellent platformer!

 Shinobi
I am a ninjaaa...