ENTERTAINMENT

10 Awesomest 2D Games that say 2D Aint Dead

April 19, 2012 04:00 PM 4150 views

WORDS BY GELO GONZALES

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Way before Doom’s attempts to murder you in its quasi-3D environments, and decades prior to the 3D revolution of Super Mario 64, 2D games were king. Witness: the side-scrolling levels of Mario, Sonic, and Contra; the playing fields of Pac-man and Dig-Dug; the space scenery of Galaga, and Space Invaders; and the “arenas” where Street Fighter, Samurai Shodown, and King of Fighters conducted their bloody business—all these were done in 2D.

Then 3D became the in-thing.

If it ain’t 3D, it ain’t cool became a motto of sorts in the late 90s, in spite of valiant attempts from the likes of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and half-obscure gems like Abe’s Odyssey, and shoot-em-up’s, Einhander, and R-Type Delta.

But just as the 90s is enjoying its comeback, 2D games are back in fashion. Here we’ve compiled some of our faves, including one of the latest ones to hit the market, Skullgirls, a fighter featuring 8 female characters animated in spectacular fashion.

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Skullgirls (Konami, 2012)
Xbox 360, PS3

We say: A smooth-playing, well-balanced fighting game that knows how to have fun. The animation is brilliant—a stylish, frenetic comic book come to life, with characters that are weird, eccentric, and cute such as Filia, an amnesiac schoolgirl with a pet parasite named Samson. Great for fighting fans who never use guy characters.