Giants

Welcome to the Reader's Choice edition of the FiringSquad Top 10 PC Games list. Games were of course chosen by their own merit, but beyond that, the author had to be convincing and clear in his arguments for including the game in the list. The list is fashioned in no particular order, however, and is not split into multiplayer and singleplayer as the original was.

Note To Winners: Please contact "GX-WarSpite" through private messaging on the forums in order to certify your identity, and include an email address at which you can be contacted at.

The winners are: mdk30, AhrimaaN, carnyge, Catachresis, Brute, Spiney, leliel, skraut, Oats and Yoshi.

The first entry is by mdk30, with his entry for Giants: Citizen Kabuto.

Giants: Citizen Kabuto

I don't know about anyone else, but when I think about some of the best games I've ever played, the ones that really stand out are the ones that were just amazingly FUN to play. That may sound like a very obvious statement, but how many games have you played that were legitimately good and entertaining, but if you stopped to look at your reflection in the monitor while playing, you'd never once see even a crack of a smile on your face? Not that serious games can't be "fun," but when I use the word in this case, I'm talking about a game that doesn't just entertain you, or make you smile, it nearly makes you laugh yourself right out of your chair. The game I have in mind here is the relatively overlooked title "Giants: Citizen Kabuto" from the comedic geniuses at Planet Moon Studios.

The number one feature that distinguishes Giants from 99% of the other games out there is that it's exceedingly funny. Never, before or after Giants, have I played a game that actually made me laugh out loud more than this one. The wacky setting and characters, along with stellar voice acting and a hilariously written script, make Giants the hands-down funniest game I've ever played.

If you only bought Giants for the humor of its cut-scenes it would still be worthy of your purchase, but for it to be a truly great game, it needs to have equally impressive gameplay, and this game most certainly does. Giants' single player game is primarily a 1st/3rd-person shooter, but throw in some aspects of real-time strategy and base building, and you have a truly unique gameplay experience. The astounding thing is that what I've just described is only the first third of the game, when you play as the British-accented Meccaryns, one of three playable races in Giants. You get to do more strategizing when you play as the villain's daughter, Delphi, who wields magical powers that contrast the run and gun style of play of the Meccs. Finally, the last third of the game is played as the Giant himself, Kabuto. Starting out, Kabuto is not full-grown and you must feed on the elusive Smartie race in order to grow to your full strength. Once full grown, Kabuto is truly a force to be reckoned with. He can demolish buildings and dozens of enemies with a single blow when at full strength.

The humor of the game, combined with this variety of quality gameplay, make Giants a truly great game, but the most overlooked aspect of Giants is its equally enchanting multiplayer. Although it never really gained much popularity online, I've enjoyed many a LAN party with friends, playing this game almost exclusively at times. Once you've flown a Gyrocopter through the legs of a 30 story Kabuto, played by one of your friends, with 2 of your other buddies shooting their guns and rockets at him from both wings, you're hooked. Trust me!