It’s April, folks, and you know what that means. Birds are singing, it’s getting warmer out, and there’s a slew of big name releases just around the corner. It’s like that every year it seems, as the big-name releases are inching closer and closer.

Strap in for your history lesson. This week: UK gamers gotta catch ‘em all, Star Wars becomes a whole lot cuter, and Gamecube owners get a smashing sequel.

Seven years ago, on April 6th, 2001, Pokémon Gold and Silver was released in Europe for the GameBoy Color. No matter your thoughts on the Pokémon series, you simply cannot deny the phenomenon. Gold and Silver were the direct sequels to the originals, Red and Blue (and Yellow), and added many features that the current game still use. The Pokémon craze was something to behold, and I will admit that I was caught up in it. Featuring a very deep and robust RPG with the addictive nature of collecting things, it was like a drug to kids. Gold and Silver built even further on top of the successful formula set in 1998.

Alright, let’s get away from Pokémon and onto something even cuter. On April 6th, 2005, Lego Star Wars found its way onto the Xbox in the United States. Taking the game in a completely new direction, Traveller’s Tales found a winning mixture that made the game perfect for adults and kids alike. Even though the combat was so simple that even the monkeys that write for Sarcastic Gamer have beat the game, the droves of unlockables were enough to keep the hardcore players indulged for at least a second playthrough. The key of the game, though, was the co-op, which made it the perfect fit for parents to play with their children. The game featured as much violence as real lego bricks, simple one-button combat, and pretty much no penalty for death. Perfect for getting your 5 year old addicted to Star Wars early. Even if it is based on the crappy trilogy.

All this talk of tame games is getting me a bit antsy. Let’s move on to something a bit more exciting. On April 8th, 2003, Burnout 2 crashed onto the Gamecube in North America. While the original Burnout showcased some awesome races with visceral crashes, Burnout 2 shines with the addition of the Crash Mode. In Crash Mode, players would start at a pre-created intersection and attempt to cause as much damage as possible. This mode quickly took off in popularity because of the competitive nature and the puzzle aspect of it. Each Crash Junction had a certain way to pull it off in order to achieve the highest score, so players could be found retrying the same one dozens of times attempting to beat their previous attempt.

There you have it. A strange theme showed up this week, three awesome games made popular because of a winning, addictive formula. Whether it be a deep RPG with a baseball card aspect, a simple combat with dozens of unlockables, or a puzzle mode in an awesome racing game with lots and lots of destruction, all three of these games have become legends in their own rights.

Tune in next week as we inch closer to more.. hardcore releases of days past.

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