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Home » Articles, Industry, Technology

Top Ten Best Physics Games

Submitted by George Walker on August 21, 2006 – 12:53 pmComments

05.pngIn one of the many discussions I’ve had in the past concerning Our Beloved Hobby, a friend of mine made the assertion that certain games are fun because of their physics. He went on to explain that physics is a very important part of the male brain. I must say that I whole heartedly agree. There is certainly a part of our brains that is hard-wired to appreciate physics in all its forms. Why else would explosions, firearms, and car crashes be so inherently gripping? In light of this, our basic need for physics experiences, I thought I would give my Top Ten list of great physics games.


10. Pong
10.jpgWhat made Pong so addictive? Obviously, it was the first mainstream arcade game, as well as introducing true multiplayer. But something a lot of people miss, is that it is also one of the first video games to utilize physics in some way (as opposed to the early text-based games and ASCII Trek clones). Granted, the physics consisted of simply bouncing a glob of pixels off of walls and your paddle, but the thing to notice here is that Pong is easily the first air hockey simulator. Air hockey tables are used by physics teachers around the world because of the near-frictionless environment it provides for observing motion and collisions.

9. Red Faction
09.jpgAs a FPS, Red Faction was pretty generic, and the story had some potential but fell pretty flat, overall. But the most hyped aspect of Red Faction was its destructible environments. Originally, everything was going to be destructible, but it turned out that only certain sections of certain walls in the single-player campaign were truly destructible as hyped. Notwithstanding its shortcomings, Red Faction’s Glass House level was a thing of beauty. A house made entirely of breakable glass contained in a giant room surrounded completely by destructible rock walls and ceiling. I spent hours experimenting, trying to find just the right way of causing the huge ceiling to all fall at once on the unsuspecting house. I easily spent far more time with the Glass House level than I did on the single-player campaign. I still eagerly await a game where everything is truly destructible, as was promised in Red Faction.

8. JSRF
08.jpgThis game epitomizes what I like to think of as “fun, but not realistic, physics.” Let’s face it, the rollerblading gangs of JSRF don’t even come close to obeying the laws of physics. But so what? Levels like the amusement park level and the skyscraper level were just elaborate physics playgrounds. It’s like being inside one of those Rube Goldberg-esque marble contraptions, where the marbles swing and fly around various rails and apparati. Good stuff.

7. Dead Rising
07.jpgThere’s nothing really new here, physics wise. But what Dead Rising delivers is a physics experience that is truly satisfying. From CD tossing to potted plant wielding, there are nigh infinite ways to keep the zombies at bay. How about a super soaker? What about stuffing rotten zombie meats into their mouth? There is just so much about Dead Rising that satisfies the physics part of our brains.

6. Quake
06.jpgOnce upon a time, there was Doom. And with it, video games were, once again, mainstream. When id Software released Quake, however, something entirely different occurred. The convergence of video games and the internet had occurred. But more importantly, Quake gave the new online gaming zeitgeist 3 degrees of freedom. (Doom, for example, only had 2.) Yes, now you could go UP and DOWN. The other great thing about classic Quake was the rocket jump. Again, because of the Quake physics engine, you could jump in the air, fire a rocket at your feet, and be blasted impossibly far into space. That’s what made Quake great, it was really the first time that players could bend the physics of the game to find completely new ways of playing. And in case you still aren’t convinced of Quake’s pioneering physics, you should note that there has been a Quake Classic mod for Quake 2, Quake 3, and Half-Life (which, coincidentally, was based on the original Quake engine) that lovingly recreated the original Quake physics in each respective engine.

5. Bionic Commando
05.pngIf you somehow missed this gem on NES, you missed the boat on what is easily one of the best games of the platform, heck one of the best video games, period. What separates Bionic Commando from all the other 2D platform games was the little Bionic Arm that you could use to latch onto platforms, grab items and powerups, and push enemies around. Swinging around levels Spider-man-style was certainly one of my fondest memories of the NES. Good times.

4. Virtua Fighter
04.pngBefore Tekken, Soul Calibur, or Dead or Alive, there was Virtua Fighter. This was the first fighting game to utilize 3D models and environments. Granted, they looked like something out of a Dire Straits video, but still. Playing this arcade game for the first time showed me that the era of 2D fighters like Street Fighter II was over… well, at least until Xbox Live Arcade came along.

3. Halo
03.jpgAt first glance, it may seem there is nothing particularly remarkable about Halo’s physics, and you’re probably right. So, why am I mentioning Halo at all? Because Halo, more than any other game, has inspired me to just have fun with the physics. The first time you get the warthog in the second chapter, I must’ve spent hours just driving around, jumping off things, power sliding, trying to do flips… and then there is the famous Warthog Jump video. Halo’s vehicles harnessed the in-game physics in magnificent ways. And that’s what makes greatness. Taking something ordinary, and using it in an extraordinary way.

2. Half-Life 2
02.jpgFirst person shooters have been around for a long time, now. We’ve rocket-jumped, grenade-jumped, and force-pulled our way through hundreds of levels of castles, space stations, and burned-out buildings. But more than any other game before it, Half-Life 2 gave gamers (and modders) the tools to manipulate the physics of the Source engine in practically limitless ways. Yes, the grav gun was certainly one of the most entertaining ways to launch fuel canisters and saw blades, but more importantly, it’s been the modders that have taken the Source engine’s physics sandbox and truly create works of art. One of the first custom maps that I saw when Half-Life 2 was released was an accurately built trebuchet using in-game level design mechanics. I also encourage any budding physicists out there to spend some time with Garry’s Mod.

1. Portal
01.jpgWhether Prey stole its portal system from Portal’s predecessor, Narbacular Drop, I don’t know. But based on the trailer, Portal looks like it’s use of portals to be much more innovative and complete… whereas Prey’s implementation felt tacked on. Portal is definitely my most anticipated game of 2007. It has the potential to bring something genuinely innovative to a genre (and industry, for that matter) that has become almost unbearably banal. Watch the Portal trailer. Now.

Update: Honorable Mentions certainly include the great Dismount series. Pushing rag dolls down stairs, or trying to fling them through truck windshields was certainly a good time. Thanks, Sushi K, for reminding me of those!

Correction: halo.bungie.org noted that Halo did not use the Havok physics middleware, but Halo 2 did. My bad!

  • Dario100000
    i have portal thet is so cool game
  • Eddie
    The Marathon series by Bungie had a versatile physics engine that you could edit if you wanted. Grenade launchers had arc, powerful weapons had recoil, you could "grenade hop," and best of all people you kill with an explosion could potentially go flying across the level in a pile of guts.
  • Catchneyez
    Although the marines bouncing around perfectly while riding on the back of my warthog was cool, Psi-ops is what really made physics in gaming stand out to me. I never bought it, but I rented that game 3 different times in 2 years just because I wanted to toss people around and blow up heads again.
  • Skutarth
    Unreal didn't really utilize actual portals. As far as I know, it only uses rendering portals for things like the sky/moving settings (fighting on a train in UT).

    I'm pretty sure that Prey was first being planned in 1995... with Portals in mind. I'm glad at least half of you caught on that the author is full of crap.
  • Nimrod
    Virtual Fighter?!? How did you even think of putting that shit on a "TOP 10" List when you didnt even mention ANYTHING about PHYSICS?!?
  • kyldere
    Hey George .... What about Scorched Earth or even Worms? ... "Bureeeeeto"
  • andym
    "Yeah red faction was supposed to be really awesome but it kinda wasnt so thats why i put it on here"

    "dead rising has great physics because you can use all sorts of weapons."

    "the preset animations in virtua fighter means it has a great physics engine."

    i could go on and on. this is one of the worst top ten lists i have ever read. i mean #1 hasnt even come out yet. plus you say the portals in prey seem tacked on when prey has been in development for years before portal itself.

    do your homework or dont write stupid articles like this.
  • meast
    How come no one remembers portals were in unreal 1
  • BJ Woods
    the idea of portals from Prey came out waaay before Narbacular Drop... But anyway, If youre gonna rate games that havent been released yet, check out the trailer for Force Unleashed... theres pleeeenty of physics you can play around with using the FORCE!
  • Rip
    This article sucks. Many notable exceptions have already been listed.

    You claim to not know the history of the portals idea, but you go ahead and suggest that Prey stole the idea, even though they had it in 1996. How can you even say Prey's feels "tacked on" when the game is built around it? The only difference between Portal and Prey is that Portal lets you have a portal creating weapon, which was initially an idea from the 1996 version of Prey.

    And how does Portal even belong on this list?
    It's not even released and its the #1 physics game? This based on THE TRAILER?

    Have you seen THE TRAILER for Killzone for PS3? There was crazy physics in there too.
  • Joshua Rice
    Well, the list is pretty good but..

    I'd have to say Quake 3 has the best physics implemented INTO the game, sure the other has physics, but they all stick and the games feel, less reponsive, with teh exception of HL2, but Q3 and HL2 are pretty much some of the best games around (gameplay/physics etc.)
  • deathmaster
    ROFL!!!

    Portal is made by the Narpacular Drop Team!
  • I find also Oblivion physic model not too bad.

    While Jumpgate's near-Newtonian physics model is the best model ever used in a MMORPG: http://www.jossh.com
  • Paul
    It's really kind of an obscure game, but there was an N64 platformer called Rocket: Robot on Wheels that had an AMAZING physics engine for the time. Most of the game's puzzles were based around it to at least some extent, and the game itself was a lot of fun to play.

    That one is a bit too far out of left field for most people to remember/know it exists, but it's definitely a worthy option.
  • IVkm
    How can an article like this, about physics in games, miss out the first, physics oriented 3d game, TRESPASSER?
  • Daniel MD
    The best physics game for the GBA, better than "Bionic Commando" on the NES is Ninja Five-0 if you have not played it then you don't know what you are missing.
  • InsaneWookie
    What about the games made for the PhysX card
    http://www.ageia.com/
  • Ross
    Interesting article. As far as racing games go, and if you included virtua fighter as an example of a genre breakthrough, you should have included Grand Prix Legends. The 1998 game which simulated 1960's F1 racing. Notoriously difficult due to its realism, it is still played competitively online today.
  • LazyGit
    Ermm, exactly how difficult is it for people to forget about Worms, the first game to make people realise that physics in games is important? Pretty easy, apparently.
    cheers
  • Dhruv
    You forgot to mention PSi-ops man , the article is incomplete.
  • TommyTM
    How can Thruster not be number one? I think any game that can give you realistic physics on a ZX Spectrum has to win, surely?
  • Coreburn
    I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Flat Out 1 or 2. In 2 especially there is a lot of physics processing going on, the graphics are great and you still don't need a top of the line machine for it to run smooth. It's easily one of the most fun & replayable games I've ever played.
  • awesome
    portal is being devolped by the narbacular drop team
  • Independence War has some great physics: your spaceship had to be piloted with inertia in mind, making for some great manuevers.
  • Mig
    I know I'm in the minority here, but if you like Halo's physics, you would've absolutely loved their previous game: Myth: The Fallen Lords. They used the physics engine there for Halo. But in Myth, the game was Real Time Tactical, set in a medieval fantasy world. So dwarves were throwing molotov cocktails, archers were plucking their bows, and Thrall (think zombie) body parts were flying everywhere. The fact that you could replay your adventures and have free control of the camera (rotate, pan, zoom) meant you could see just how critical the lob of your dwarf's hand had in popping a pile of satchels. KABOOM! Beautifully arcing debris and undead body parts!
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