At Gamasutra.com they ran a question of the week about genre defining games. The same problem that other media has is that many games do not fit into any one genre and also that genres are not set in stone, they evolve with the media. However, there are some games that define a genre. What I mean is that when I am playing another game of the same genre I will compare it to the defining game and also many of the features in the game are in other games in the genre.

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64. I may be a little bias with this game considering it is one of my favorite franchises of all time and in my opinion the best game in the franchise (next installment is due out in the fall). Now this game could fall into the action/adventure genre or the RPG genre. Many third person perspective games have borrowed features from this game. It had an impeccable story, engaging characters, and was unbelievably fun.

Goldeneye: 007 for the Nintendo 64. This is the original console first person shooter. It has been copied time and time again. This is one of best executed games of all time across all genres and platforms. The biggest thing about this game is the multiplayer and the controls; they are still par for shooters even today.

Starcraft for the PC. Starcraft is the quintessential real time strategy. It has three very balanced and very different races that are playable. The story (or campaign) is very well done with having any repetition. The multiplayer and map editor are also what I judge all over real time strategies against.

Soul Caliber 2 for Gamecube/PS2/Xbox. The fighting game genre is a tough nut to crack. There is much diversity in the genre; however Soul Caliber 2 is one of the greats. It has an interesting single player game and very broad multiplayer. The controls do not require memorization and the learning curve is manageable.

Some other genre defining games:

Halo for Xbox (FPS)

Gran Turismo 4 for PS2 (Racing Simulator)

Legacy of Kain: Defiance for Xbox/PS2 (Action/Adventure RPG)

Burnout 3: Takedown for Xbox (Racing)

Resident Evil 4 for Gamecube (Horror)

-Mark (27-Apr-2005)

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