Games' Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Players, Pawns, and Power-Ups

26. Tough Nuts to Crack

206 26 Tough Nuts to Crack Every video game out there has at least one difficult spot that players need to get past. It could be a complex level, a mind-bending problem to solve, a difficult course to navigate , or a tough boss to beat. Whatever the issue, it is part of the gaming experience and succeeding earns a true badge of honor. Here are some of the more difficult pathways to success in various video games over the years. 1. MIKE TYSON’S PUNCH-OUT!! The original boxing video game for the NES, Punch-Out!! was a port of the arcade game with some variations to account for the lower technological capability of the cartridge system. It was one of the more popular NES games and known for its ridiculously small boxer that represented the player. (The small boxer, named Little Mac, was done because the wire-frame outline in the arcade version was too difficult to replicate on the smaller 8-bit system.) Little Mac had a standard set of punching moves: jabs, body blows, and a powerful uppercut that you had to earn during each match. Mastering each opponent took a little bit of skill, until one by one they all fell and you finally faced the champ, Mike Tyson. Problem was, Mike was powerful. It only took one uppercut to knock Little Mac down and out for good, forcing you to start at the beginning all over again. Timing Tyson’s Tough Nuts to Crack 207 punches was a difficult feat and required patience and practice , something that many players just gave up on after a while. Tyson is still considered one of the hardest bosses to beat without the use of cheat codes, even after he was changed to Mr. Dream when Nintendo’s license of the use of Tyson’s name ran out. 2. GOD OF WAR II The final boss battle in this game is against Zeus. It should not come as a surprise that defeating Zeus is more than just hard, it’s pretty near impossible. (He is, after all, head of the Greek Pantheon.) The sequence of combinations and strikes necessary just to bring him down is dizzying to comprehend , not to mention the use of various powers and artifacts necessary. When fighting Zeus, aspiring gods face his iconic lightning bolts, plus quakes, distractions (from nearby Sirens), near-instant healing, and the Blade of Olympus. It takes deep concentration, the right moves from offense to defense, and proper button sequences to inflict the damage that will knock down the king of Olympus to the point of defeat. While the subsequent version of the game, God of War III, has better graphics and playability, there was something about fighting and beating Zeus at the end of God of War II that made players sit back in awe of their accomplishment. 3. ROCK BAND 2 Winning a particular Achievement within a game is a badge of honor of sorts. Many are easy, such as racking up a number of kills in Halo or getting a number of strikes in a row in the bowling portion of Wii Sports Resort. Most are of the moderately difficult variety, such as completing a track within a set time period in Burnout Paradise or opening up the bonus level in Super Mario Bros. Then there are the toughest Achievements, the ones that take seemingly infinite concentration , skill, patience, and a little gamer luck. 208 Games’ Most Wanted™ Rock Band 2’s Endless Setlist 2 is one of the toughest Achievements to obtain. Not because of the nature of difficulty , but because of the commitment necessary to complete it. Simply put, to win this Achievement, you only need to play eighty-four straight songs without a break, except for the few seconds between each song. How long would that take, you ask? Easy: just over six hours. Six hours of straight gameplay without a bathroom break or even time to swig more than a mouthful of water. No pauses, no failing out. And consider this: what if Xbox freezes up? Drained batteries ? Spotty online connection? These are all hiccups that can kill a successful run at this physically draining Achievement . How much frustration would you need to vent if your power went out five hours after you started? Taking on this Achievement requires careful planning and a lot of stamina. 4. SUPER MARIO KART Super...