If there’s one thing gamers are good at it’s telling other gamers what they should be playing, and if they don’t want to play what you tell them, well then one has to start wondering just how serious they are about gaming. Are they “hardcore” as they say they are? To take the emotion out of the topic, the editorial board of gameunder.net has created this objective list of the top ten games for hardcore gamers. This will be presented in four parts, as no hardcare gamer after years of twitching, has the attention span to sit through all ten at one time.
10.
Yourself!Fitness – 2004 Xbox, Windows, Playstation 2, Wii
To play a game like Yourself!Fitness challenges the core of hardcore gamers. First you have to find a copy of it, which became easier as the years went by as this game had one of the longest release windows in gaming history extending from 2004 on the Xbox through 2009 on the Wii.
As a hardcore gamer you’ll be challenged to stretch your concept of what makes a game, as well as your deltoids, as it puts your through a continuum of customizable aerobic exercises under the watchful eye of Maya (who laid the groundwork for Wii Fitness Coach). Stick with it and you’ll end up with amazing six-pack abs.
Bonus information for this game, a DVD featuring Maya was given away at the McDonalds fast-food chain in 2006 with every purchase of a salad and bottle of water.
9.
Marc Ecko Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure – 2006 Xbox, Windows Playstation 2
At first consideration a game about a 34 year-old fashion designer may not seem hard core enough to make it into this list, but consider that this game was banned in a state of Australia (and therefore all of Australia) until it was finally released for PC in 2013, on the basis of its promotion of vandalism.
MEGUCUP, as it’s become known in these parts, is not only controversial, but also an original concept for the time of its release including platforming elements, beat-em-up combat and of course the main element: tagging and street art by use of aerosol cans, rollers and stencils. Beyond the action, the story is worthwhile and once you’ve finished you’ll truly be a hardcore gamer (well, this and the other eight games on the list).
8.
SimEarth – 1990 Windows, Sega CD, SNES, Many Others
In the wake of the critical and commercial success of SimCity the eyes of the gaming world were fixed on Will Wright and his team at Maxis as to what they would do next. SimState? Sim Country? Why stop there? SimEarth, as a precursor as to what would happen with the over-hyped game, Spore almost two decades later, drew a lot of attention, but ultimately was too much for normal gamers to take in.
For the hardcore gamer though, a quick speed reading of the 200 page manual, will provide all you need to know as an introduction to this sleep inducing game. At times the education is almost too much to take, but hardcore gamers will be able to plow through and create a viable ecosystem for life to exist.
For an extra challenge, the truly hardcore gamer will want to play through the Sega CD version on the original hardware.