In the first part of our annual Game Hall of Fame , five games — Chessmaster 9000 , Close Combat : First to Fight , Cosmo Bots , Doom 3 , and Jammin ’ Racer — took their place among the god in our Pittsfield , Massachusetts , shrine to great games . In this installment , we induce five more product that stood out from the residual crew this retiring class . Our honorees include the final instalment in a 13 - year - farseeing saga , a great way to use the Force , the prideful yield of the Sims , a marvelous massively multiplayer online game , and an oversize trackball that will bring back glad memories of all those misspent time of day at your local arcade .
Best end to a series
Myst V : closing of Ages(,Ubisoft , $ 60 )
What it is : The concluding installment of the game series that revolutionized graphical adventure play .
Who it ’s for : Myst enthusiast , and fans of puzzler - ground adventure games .
Why it ’s a Hall of Famer : Non - violent and intensely thought-provoking , Myst quint test your judgement rather than your reflexes . It may not be everyone ’s cup of teatime , but Myst V does , depending on your actions , furnish you with a satisfying end to a secret plan serial that goes back more than a decade : You must help save the D’ni civilisation once and for all .
Best use of the Force
Star Wars Battlefront(,Aspyr Media , $ 50 )
What it is : An area - elan natural action plot set in the Star Wars universe .
Who it ’s for : Star war enthusiast , and those looking for another game like Battlefield 1942 .
Why it ’s a Hall of Famer : Drawing on the rich mythology of all six Star Wars motion-picture show , Star Wars Battlefront assume scenes , characters , and technology that you ’re already familiar with and adds field - style battle action . you may even vanish TIE Fighters and X - Wings around .
Best example of art imitating life
The Sims 2(,Aspyr Media , $ 50 )
What it is : The sequel to the most popular estimator game of all meter , in which you take mastery of Sims , make ally , find vocation , lift family , embellish house and more .
Who it ’s for : Gamers who want to control practical people .
Why it ’s a Hall of Famer : How do you top the biggest biz ever ? If you ’re the makers of The Sims 2 , you incorporate a advanced new 3 - 500 engine that feature some of the most advanced graphics ever see in a Mac game , Doom 3 nothwithstanding . add together a genetic science feature that makes it possible for you to involve entire generation of Sims . Add even more challenge , too .
Best long-term investment
World of Warcraft(),Blizzard Entertainment , $ 50 plus monthly fee )
What it is : A massively multiplayer on-line role - playing game for Mac OS X and Windows .
Who it ’s for : Gamers who do n’t mind losing time of day , days or weeks explore a huge online kingdom chock full of baneful monsters and rare treasure .
Why it ’s a Hall of Famer : Few MMORPGs ever make it to the Mac at all , but World of Warcraft has . And like other Blizzard releases , it ’s been a Mac and PC game since the day it plunge . Add to that gorgeous graphics , lots of seeking and escapade to go on , thousands of other player sharing the experience with you , and an expansion pack due out in 2006 , and you ’ve got a plot that you’re able to ( and will ) play long after the luster might have worn off a lesser title .
Best absurdly enormous trackball
XTC - Arcade Trackball(,XGaming , $ 99 )
What it is : A 15 - pound trackball make just like the single you discover in arcades .
Who it ’s for : Old - school gaming partisan , specially those who have collections of emulated games they ’d like to play with a realistic comptroller .
Why it ’s a Hall of Famer : For colonnade sports fan , the X - Arcade Trackball is unlike anything else on the market . It ’s built like an panoplied railway car , is as wide as a keyboard and weighs 15 pounds . The trackball sport three openhanded buttons ( on the leftover and the right ) like the ones you ’d find on an arcade biz , with more big pinball game - trend buttons on either side .
