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Top Ten: Favorite Bosses part 2

The first arcade game to sport a boss fight was Phoenix, which was released in 1980. While most people were probably playing Space Invaders, I was playing Phoenix on my Atari 2600. Boss encounters have come a long way since the days of yore, displaying wonderful variety and imagination. The last five on my list go far to demonstrate just how unusual these encounters can be.

!! Spoilers Ahoy !!

Top Ten: Favorite Bosses part 1

The first game to sport a bona fide boss fight was dnd, a computer role-playing game released in 1975. Since that time, boss encounters have become a mainstay of video games. The very best sorts of boss fights are ones you remember long after the game is finished and I thought I'd highlight some of my favorites. Dipping into my game library, it became apparent I had a lot to choose from so with difficulty I limited my choices to one boss per game; enemies that offered up a fun fight, or were hard and interesting without being cheap, or simply scared the piss out of me.

!! Spoilers Ahoy !!

GameTrailers' Top 10 Most Difficult Games

GameTrailers.com posted a video list that names the ten hardest games of all time (so far). Does anything look familiar to you? Maybe selection number seven is responsible for that fist-sized dent in your wall? Perhaps #3 is represented in your mind by a controller dashed against the floor?

Not surprisingly, the comments section for the video is filled with insightful discussion, including "WHAT? Devil May Cry 3 was easy! ur just a pussy faggot!" and "u shuld get cancer & die."

The revival of old franchises has also rekindled a lot of talk about truly challenging games versus unfair games. Bionic Commando, for example, is a tough journey because you have to re-think everything you thought you knew about game physics. You unconsciously hit a jump button that's not there; you have to scale up, not out. Suddenly, a simple obsticle with an enemy soldier lying in wait behind it becomes a small puzzle because you cannot initiate a death from above. Not in the traditional goomba-stompin' manner paved by Mario.

My pick for hardest game doesn't make GameTrailer's list, but it will burn on in my heart like a cinder: Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter. Capcom's fifth installment in its famous RPG franchise about swords and dragons was anything but traditional. Dragon Quarter takes place in a congested underground world that's as hostile as a baboon pen during mating season. Everything is out to kill the main character, Ryu--including the less-than-benevolent dragon spirit that posesses him.

about the blogger

John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Hooksexup, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines. Based in Toronto, Nadia's prized possession is a certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.

Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.

Joe Keiser has a programming degree from Johns Hopkins University, a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, and a fake toy guitar built in the hollowed-out shell of a real guitar. He writes about games and technology for a variety of outlets. One day he will stop doing this. The day after that, police will find his body under a collapsed pile of (formerly neatly alphabetized) collector's edition tchotchkes.

Cole Stryker is an American freelance writer living in York, England, where he resides with his archeologist wife. He writes for a travel company by day and argues about pop culture on the internet by night. Find him writing regularly here and here.

Peter Smith is like the lead character of Irwin Shaw's The 80-Yard Run, except less athletic. He considers himself very lucky to have this job. But it's a little premature to take "jack-off of all trades" off his resume. Besides writing, travelling, and painting houses, Pete plays guitar in a rock trio called The Aye-Ayes. He calls them a 'power pop' band, but they generally sound more like Motorhead on a drinking binge.

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