Hyper is Australia's leading multi-format gaming magazine. It consistently delivers all the information a gamer could want on all the next-generation consoles, handhelds, mobile phones and PC gaming as well as the latest Blu-Ray movie release.
There are some games that have left an indelible mark on both the games industry as a whole and gamers in particular, and there are others that are so well respected that they are all but permanent fixtures on "The Best Games of All Time" lists. This isn't that type of magazine. Rather than looking at games that are simply superlative, we've instead focussed on those games that we think all gamers should go out of their way to play - not just because they're good, but because of what they represent or the way in which they typified their genre or style. There's also one so bad you're guaranteed to win any "worst game ever" argument. We also take a look at the tech that has changed gaming, games…
Top 100 lists are pretty great when it comes to fomenting conversation but trying to put a bunch of games in numerical order is a hard task. How do you decide that Half-Life 2 is a better game than Civilization? Both are supremely good, hugely influential and near perfect examples of their genre. So which one is better? Rather than running a Top 100 list, we’ve instead opted to list 101 games that we think should be played by anyone who considers themselves a gamer. Not all of the games are amazing – hell, some of them aren’t even good – but they are all important in some way. Some of the games are fine examples of early genre tropes while others were hugely influential or genre defining. Whatever the…
DEVELOPER: GAME FREAK PUBLISHER: THE POKÉMON COMPANY TYPE: RPG PLATFORM: GAME BOY, GAME BOY COLOUR, 3DS YEAR: 1999 The core mechanics of the Pokémon series haven’t changed much over the years. Sure, we now have 3D landscapes and an ability to parade our pocket monsters around like spoilt Honey Boo Boos, but Gold & Silver had just the right balance of everything. These are titles of firsts: with the introduction of the night and day cycle, trainers now have to plan ahead to catch special pokémon that only appear at certain times; dual elemental types allow for more diverse combat options; and the friendship/ happiness mechanic srengthens player relationships with their little battling buds. The starter Pokémon are solid, and the 251 available pokémon is not only a manageable number,…
DEVELOPER: CAVIA PUBLISHER: SQUARE ENIX TYPE: ACTION RPG PLATFORM: PS3, X360 YEAR: 2010 Finding its origins amongst the fifth-ending of the first Drakengard, NieR was destined to be an odd title. Its mix of genres, gameplay and styles don’t always gel, but provide an experience quite unlike any other. This can be seen firstly through the game’s protagonist, an ageing mercenary that doesn’t subscribe to the immaculate appearance of other RPG characters. His daughter is ill, and he’s determined to find a cure for the strange virus that threatens to take her life. In actual fact, he’s really quite bland, but those that accompany him on his quest, such as the pompous talking book known as Grimoire Weiss, provide more than enough character and entertainment to fill the stoic main’s…
DEVELOPER: MOJANG PUBLISHER: MOJANG, MICROSOFT STUDIOS, SONY COMPUTER ENETERTAINMENT TYPE: SANDBOX PLATFORM: EVERYTHING THAT’S NOT NINTENDO YEAR: 2011 If you haven’t encountered Minecraft yet you’re living wrong. The procedurally generated open world sandbox is a playground of possibilities, and one that is so malleable it’s able to shift with every turn gaming seems to take. Currently appearing on a ridiculous number of platforms, the build-it-how-you-see-it title draws upon our basic instinct to create. Middle Earth, Azeroth, and even a fully mapped out Death Star are but some of the amazing user-created content this title has spawned, not to mention a working 16-bit computer. But creation is only one aspect of the title, with other players focusing on exploring, adventure, combat or taking part in fan made multiplayer minigames. What the…
DEVELOPER: ACCESS GAMES PUBLISHER: RISING STAR GAMES TYPE: HORROR/COMEDY RPG PLATFORM: PC, XBOX 360, PLAYSTATION 3 YEAR: 2010 Even if you've never played Deadly Premonition, there's a good chance you've seen this game in motion – its cut scenes are so unnerving and peculiar that several of them have gone viral. Like the iconic sequence where the protagonist sits at one end of a comically long dining table while trying to talk to a hearing-impaired elderly woman, as a wistful, whistling folk tune grows ever louder, overpowering the dialogue. The scene ends as he confides with an imaginary friend, divines the future from the shape of the cream in his coffee, and flashes an unnerving, maniacal grin. It's not immediately clear if he is a hero, a villain, or simply…
