Runoff, 2002, Game of the Year

[SvennoJ]

Some more greats arrived this year with

Ratchet and Clank was an instant hit for us, never missed a single release since

Such a fun shooter platformer with the most satisfying bolt collecting sound ever.

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2 was a personal favorite. Police chases are always fun

Back when the franchise was still great.

Sly Cooper also started in 2002, games I didn't play until the collection came out on ps3 where I played them back 2 back

Start of a great series with tons of charm and clever gameplay. Psychonauts likely drew a lot of inspiration from Sly.
Underrated game series, it deserves a comeback just like R&C and Psychonauts.

This is the year Ikaruga came out on GameCube, awesome game yet initially released in 2001


Eternal Darkness was something else, testing the player's mind as much as their abilities.

I would love to play a modern remake of this.

Plenty great sequels this year as well with RCT2 leading the pack for me, yet the best game of 2002 for me is Windwaker

It's the perfect Zelda game for me. Perfect balance between open world, dungeons and story. And being able to turn the wind in the right direction is genius in a game where you sail around a lot. Sailing around was perfection as well, so relaxing, so great to find new islands to explore. 10/10.