Posted on June 25, 2007 - Filed Under A Look Back, Editorials |
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Look back at the history of video games and witness when a video game went from simple entertainment to an addictive fury of great gaming. PONG was a hot title in its day but it was the only title, thus comparing it to other titles wasn’t really a possibility.
How, then, did they take new titles and make them more addictive and more challenging? One of the best methods that still survives today is the concept of the ‘power-up’. The best definition seems to be from wikipedia.org:
“Items that confer power-ups are usually pre-placed in the game world, spawned randomly, dropped by beaten enemies or picked up from opened or smashed containers. They can be differentiated from items in other games, such as RPG, by the fact that they: take effect immediately, feature designs that don’t necessarily fit into the game world (often used letters or symbols emblazoned on a design), and are found in certain genres of games. Power-ups are mostly found in action-oriented games such as maze games, run and guns, shoot ‘em ups, first-person shooters, platform games, puzzle games, and vehicular combat games.”
Here is a list, in order of good/neat up to unique/innovative, which casualgamerchick has found while digging deep into the history of gaming:
#20: 1942 - Two Side Planes
The ability to fire with two additional planes in 1942 meant you could clear the game board faster and survive the battle onslaught for another few screens.
#19: NBA Jam - “On Fire”
Your basketball would literally catch on fire after a certain amount of consecutive shots, allowing them additional super-human powers (read: make seemingly impossible shots), burning the net as the ball swooshed.
#18: Donkey Kong - Hammer
Mario was able to drive away his enemy (barrels) and anything in his way with the powerful hammer. The hammer was so powerful Mario couldn’t even jump while wielding the godly item. It was one of the most powerful items in the game because it was really the only power-up he had access to obtaining.
#17: Worms - Air Strike
Although not part of the original title, the Air Strike power-up gave the player a great chance of spreading destruction across a larger area of land mass. An Air Strike was always a great weapon to use against low hit point worms or worms situated near water, mines or other dangerous objects.
#16: Super Mario Brothers - Starman
Super Mario Brothers was famous for its power-up items including the super mushroom which allowed Mario to grow big. However, the Starman was the power-up of ultimate power making Mario or Luigi invincible. Yet, the power-up was so well crafted that the invincibility limited them to localized attacks from enemies; cliffs would still end the plumbers career. This power-up also offered a music change-up during its execution which gave you a sense of power.
#15: Sonic The Hedgehog 2 - Supersonic
Sonic was never the same once it acquired supersonic abilities! This power up made Sonic’s quills stand up on end while Sonic turned a gold color and sparkles.crackles of energy went through his being. You thought Sonic moved fast before, super sonic is better than just sonic speed right?
#14: Galaga - Dual Fighter
What can be better than a Galaga dual fighter? You had twice as much fire power as you did before you recaptured your stolen fighter. The trick is, recapturing the little guy so you can use it against the enemy. Heck, the power-up was so special they made it an Xbox 360 Achievement (5GP) in the latest port to the 360 console.
#13: Zuma - Reverse Ball
The best way to defeat a tough Zuma level in PopCap’s casual title for the PC and Xbox 360 is to hit a reverse ball. By catching this power-up you rolled the marbles back from whence they came and, in effect, save your own skin in a tight situation. In some cases, you can save that reverse ball on the board until you know you’re in trouble–just make sure you can still reach it when you need it!
#12: Rush’n Attack - Flamethrower
What is the best way to stop what seems to be an unlimited military attack? Burn them! The flamethrower was an early power-up in the first stage which gave you three shots of firepower. You had to kill key enemies to retrieve the item but once it was in your hands you could use it when it counted most.
#11: Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis - Focus Shot
There is nothing like a matrix-like ping-pong return! As your player builds focus the shots will speed up, the ping pong ball will by flying lightening fast and your hands will be sweating on the controller. It is at that moment in which focus shot will be needed most, slow down the action and plant the ball where your opponent will have a difficult time returning it.
#10: M-Capsule - Arkanoid 2
In Revenge of Doh, the second in the Arkanoid series, you were able to obtain the mighty M-Capsule which could allow your ball to fire through bricks like it was a hot knife through virtual butter. The “Mega” capsule turned your ball red (and kinda hard to see) but it tore through the bricks and cleaned house. If you’re looking for the M-Capsule, it’s the purple one.
#9: Heavy Weapon - Megalaser
The Megalaser is an awesome power-up and is challenging to “build.” To gain this power-up you must find all the pieces of the laser as they drop from enemies in the stage. Once you had the laser built it would charge and fire a large beam of destruction. The laser was powerful enough to wipe out any enemies on the screen it touched and heavily weaken bosses.
#8: Ikari Warrios - K Power-Up
The icon labeled K was one of the best power-ups you could obtain in Ikari Warriors because everything on the screen died. Who knew…K stands for KILL. And it was effective at doing so.
#7: Peggle - Lucky Spin
Warren, the Rabbit avatar, had a neat power-up when you hit the green peg called “Lucky Spin.” The player would spin the wheel and gain a random power-up which was a selection of different power-ups in the game. You also had a chance for a free ball which could extend your chances of defeating a level.
#6: Contra - Spread Gun
There were many power-ups in Contra, all which could give you an advantage over your enemy. However, the spread gun made enemy cleanup easy. It required little skill and could be fired from anywhere on the screen and destroy the opponents. The gun simply spread fire in all directions in front of your character and usually emptied the screen of enemies for a short period of time.
#5: Metroid - Spin Attack
This power-up, unlike the traditional power-up, was permanent once you obtained it. It was beautiful, jumps that used to cause you “massive damage” now turned into crushing defeat for your enemies. Very few awesome power-ups existed which automatically enabled when you were doing a routine move like jumping from ledge to ledge.
#4: Spy Hunter - Oil Slick
The Spy Hunter oil slick is a fun, yet devastating way to push your enemies to the sideline. The trick is, you’ve got to do so without hurting civilian vehicles. This power-up was a great way to get away from the switchblade vehicle before it slashes your tires.
#3: Spy vs. Spy - Time Bomb
The only trap in Spy vs. Spy which had no remedy. If the enemy spy set a spring trap, you could disable it with wire cutters. A dynamite bomb could be disabled with a water bucket (don’t ask) and a water bucket over a door could be disabled with the umbrella. The time bomb could only be disabled by dying. Not a great method of disabling a trap.
#2: Super Mario Bros. 3 - Raccoon Mario
This power-up was so great it made the front cover of the box. Nintendo knew they had a winner, allowing Mario to seemingly fly and glide through the level. So many level walk through started with “if you have raccoon Mario you can…” because everyone knew where the action was: it was in that little raccoon suit! You could even whack enemies with your tail, how cool is that?
#1: Mario Kart - Lightening Bolt
The most memorable and frustrating power-up found in a game. The lightening bolt made you cheer with glee or frown in sadness and frustration. It seemed that everyone but you would get this awful little power-up and you were always the target of its aggression. The lightening bolt shrinks everyone in the level but the one that fired it (and anyone that was in the water or otherwise “not alive” at the moment). This could bring a last place finisher in a tight race right to the front of the pack, squishing folks along the way.
3 Responses to “Top 20 Video Game Power-Ups”
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Why is there no mention of Pac Man Power Pellets?
yea i agree what elmo45 said……..why?
I think the pellets from pacman are more of main object of the game not the powerup I think the the things that you touch and make the ghosts imvisible so you can eat them for bonus points is a powerup but who knows I did’nt make the game.