2022 has thus far been a fantastic year for gaming, and the same could be said of the now technologically distant year of 2002.
Though only a fourth of it has gone by thus far, 2022 is shaping up to be a standout year for gaming. Titles like Lost Ark, Horizon Forbidden West, and Tiny Tina’s Wonderland have dominated the attention of gamers, and From Software’s incredible Elden Ring stands to be one of the most remarkable releases of the decade.
The same could have been said about the state of gaming exactly two decades ago, as well. Though the gaming landscape was drastically different, Nintendo-led Mario and Metroid titles became critical darlings, and NFL-branded sports titles were experiencing a remarkable renaissance.
After a relatively lengthy hiatus, Nintendo’s Metroid series returned in a major way, launching two franchise-highlight titles on the same day in November 2002. While Metroid Prime was somewhat of a departure from the standard series fare, Fusion was billed as the triumphant return of 2D Metroidvania gameplay.
A GameBoy Advance exclusive, Metroid Fusion delivered a refined exploration-focused platforming title that rivaled the fan-favorite Super Metroid in terms of quality. Earning a 92 on Metacritic, its status as the second-highest ranking Metroid game of 2002 speaks to the remarkable status of the series in the early 2000s.
Released in November 2001 alongside the Nintendo GameCube, Luigi’s Mansion was an out-of-left-field Mario Bros. adventure that, while well-reviewed, left many fans craving a more traditional 3D Mario platformer akin to Super Mario 64. Nintendo would answer that call roughly one year later with Super Mario Sunshine.
An acrobatic platformer set in a tropical wonderland, Super Mario Sunshine replicated the 3D platforming freedom of the N64 Mario hit and enhanced it by way of a water-powered jetpack. While it remains somewhat divisive among hardcore Nintendo fans, it was regardless a standout on the console.
Two years before Blizzard would transform their successful Warcraft series into one of the most popular and recognizable MMOs of all time, 2002’s Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos set a new standard for RTS gaming when the genre was arguably at its peak.
While the RPG-infused RTS title was memorable offline and legendary when played against others, it was perhaps most well-known for its modding community. Warcraft III custom content was actively encouraged and incredibly approachable, and it afforded the game a longevity that would have lasted to this day had a botched 2020 remaster not complicated things.
In 2002, the survival horror was hitting a new stride; first making waves with late 90s titles like Resident Evil and Silent Hill and further propelled by all-time greats like Fatal Frame and Silent Hill 2, the unlikely video game genre was broaching mainstream success. This would further be cemented by the unforgettable Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem.
A GameCube exclusive intended to challenge the console’s child-friendly image, Eternal Darkness was an innovative horror title known for its sanity mechanic which feigned real-world hardware and software failures the worse off the player character became.
Before EA attained the exclusive right to use NFL branding, Madden wasn’t the only professional football series in town. In 2002, 2K’s NFL series was hot on the heels of the more-recognized sports franchise, and, at the time, both had received highly-rated installments which helped to ensure the future of sports gaming.
The main difference between NFL 2K3 and Madden 03 comes down to an increased difficulty and focus on realism. While Madden games tended to devolve into ridiculous air raid matches resulting in more than eighty combined points being earned, 2K3 more closely resembled something that might play out on an actual gridiron. It also made heavy use of its ESPN license, which furthered its goal of verisimilitude.
Long before Ubisoft would rake the Tom Clancy name through the mud with oddball titles like Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction and the baffling Tom Clancy’s XDefiant—which has since been rebranded—the name was synonymous with incredible stealth-action titles that felt like a new take on the James Bond formula.
While the series’ inaugural entry is a bit clunky by modern standards, it still managed to rival titles like Metal Gear Solid 2 and built up a gaming icon in series protagonist Sam Fisher.
Hitting its stride in the late 90s on the PlayStation, the Tony Hawk‘s series would explode in popularity in the early 2000s with games like Pro Skater 2, Underground, and American Wasteland. However, 2002 saw the debut of Pro Skater 4, a game which was highly acclaimed at the time, though it hasn’t quite aged as well as some of the other titles bearing the skater’s name.
With broader, more open levels and a reduced focus on time limits, Pro Skater 4 was much more liberating than previous series installments. While it’s not one of the most celebrated Tony Hawk games, it’s still more than worth a play for fans of arcade-style skateboarding action.
Today, EA’s Madden franchise is generally considered to be a lazy cash grab, but, two decades ago, the franchise was thought to boast industry-leading visuals and gameplay which expertly blended arcade-esque video game approachability with a level of depth that appealed to dedicated fans of American football.
It’s strange to consider how drastically different Madden 2003 is from modern Madden installments. Relatively bug-free and touting some seriously polished presentation, those clamoring for an NFL video game fix may want to return to yesteryear, as this was undoubtedly the genre’s highest point.
The follow-up to Rockstar’s chaos-filled open-world epic Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City would transplant the series from an approximation of New York City to a parody of Miami. Ravaged by the same ridiculousness for which the series had always been known, Vice City would establish itself as the pinnacle of the Grand Theft Auto lineage.
Though it was the victim of an unfortunate butchering at the hands of an inexperienced team tasked with remastering the classic title, the original Vice City still holds up, bringing as much mayhem as a player could possibly handle.
While Metroid Fusion, which debuted on the very same day as Metroid Prime, was billed as a more typical installment in the series, Prime seemed like an entirely new beast. A stylish and atmospheric first-person shooter, Nintendo looked to break boundaries on their new, more powerful hardware.
Combining Metroidvania-style exploration with fine-tuned first-person-shooter gameplay, Metroid Prime turned out to be an industry-leading title that spawned three sequels and established a new era for the beloved franchise. Two decades later, it is still recognized as one of the greatest Nintendo-developed games of all time, and it’s easily the best game to have debuted in 2002.
