Base Wars (NES):
What if baseball players could be upgraded so that they play better?
You say, "Wait, how is this different from steroids in real baseball?"
Well, some of these upgrades are weapons which the robotic players use in gladiatorial combat to decide the outcome of every encounter on the field. Completely destroy three of the other team's robots and the forfeit the game. Kickass.
Einhander (PS1):
From the days when creative people still worked at Square, Einhander is possibly the finest scrolling shooter ever made. Unlockable weapons, secret ships, cool levels and badass bosses.
The Earth and the Moon are at war, and you pilot one of the Moon's last elite fighter craft. You cut a swath of devastation across Earth, eventually battling a great missile that Earth has launched at the Moon. When you finally shoot it down, the Moon thanks you for providing crucial battle programming for their new fleet of unmanned E.O.S. fighter craft. Killing you is to be the final test for these craft. Time for you to disarm the other side.
Bushido Blade 1 and 2 (PS1):
Another old gem from Square, this one's a fighting game with no damage bar. A successful hit will either cripple or it will kill. Don't expect fireballs or physics-defying leap attacks, either, though a well-timed thrown weapon can cripple your foe so they have a hard time avoiding the killing stroke of your blade.
"The worst part about these reviews is they are [subjective]--and their scores often depend on how drunk you got the media at a Street Fighter event." — Mona Hamilton, Capcom Senior VP of Marketing
*Image indefinitely borrowed from BrainBoxLtd without his consent.
