7. Medal of Honour: Frontline
World War 2 shooters are literally a dime a dozen, and I’ve only ever been really impressed with the use of the scenario in one game. MoH: Frontline was able to do what every other WW2 game has wanted to do ever since: Recreate that awesome beach landing scene in Saving Private Ryan. It’s an immensely iconic scene that translates perfectly to the gaming sphere in Frontline. It’s a shame the rest of the game couldn’t quite live up to the opening but, when your first level is that immersive, it’s a pretty ambitious request.
6. Dynasty/Samurai Warriors
Like an ancient chinese game of guess who
The Dynasty Warriors games have always used the historical setting in a rather mixed manner. Based loosely (very loosely actually) on the semi-historical Romance of the Three Kingdoms book series, the characters of DW are all based on real life warriors and leaders. Where the reality ends is when a Sun Tzu lookalike hops off his horse and slaughters 400 foot soldiers with a flashy finishing move. I’m pretty sure the battle of Sekigahara turned out very differently from how it played out in Samurai Warriors 2. Even though it doesn’t always get it right, there’s no doubt that the Dynasty Warriors series’ playful use of history makes for a fun (if mindless) gaming experience.
5. Valkyrie Profile
Rise my noble Einherjar!
Games based on Graeco-Roman mythology are fairly common, but Norse mythology is often an untapped resource when it comes to game scenarios. Don’t be put off by the awful story in Too Human, Valkyrie Profile used the Norse gods first and did a damn fine job of it. The entire story revolves around the Valkyrie recruiting fallen warriors in order to help them fight with Odin in the great battle in Valhalla. The use of mythology was fairly tight, and it gave the game a refreshing mechanic that helped differentiate it from other RPGs.
4. Call of Duty: Black Ops
The campaign for Black Ops set you as an undercover operative during the cold war for the most part. At other times it jumped around repeatedly to demonstrate the other tensions that were present during the period. Though the historical accuracy is highly questionable, the atmosphere compensates for this. One area that really takes the historical influence into the absurdist domain is the game’s fabulous zombies mode. The Five map sees you take on the roles of Kennedy, Castro, Nixon and the secretary of defence Robert McNamara as they defend the white house from the undead hordes. The incidental dialogue is absolutely priceless.
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