Video Games. Simplified. Trivia Quiz

Answer: Paper Mario

Released on the Nintendo 64 in 2001, "Paper Mario", made by Intelligent Systems, follows cut-out versions of famous Mario characters as he travels across the Mushroom Kingdom's various 3D/paper worlds to save Princess Peach. The gameplay is turn-based in battle, but acts as a platformer on the surface as Mario navigates the various areas to find items, characters, and otherwise. Bowser's castle takes off into outer space with Peach's castle in tow, and Mario must return to Mushroom Kingdom, accumulate seven Star Spirits, and use the almighty Star Rod to beat Bowser in the end. This type of gameplay is featured in the sequel, "The Thousand Year Door" for the Gamecube (released in 2004). "Super Paper Mario", on the other hand, for the Wii, follows more of a traditional sidescroller format, but it uses the Wii's graphic and motion sensing capabilities to create an entirely new adventure.

Answer: Time Hollow

"Time Hollow" was released on the Nintendo DS handheld in 2008. Created as somewhat of a point-and-click adventure game, it relies more on storyline and characters than action. The game follows a boy named Ethan Kairos who discovers a mysterious portal and a pen which creates more.

When he travels through different times and realities, he realizes that in order to get back to the way things were, he needs to make sure that he sets things right. Soon, he discovers that his family and others are involved in something much bigger with the Hollow Pen than he thought. "Time Hollow" was published by Konami, known for both the "Silent Hill" and "Castlevania" survival horror series and the "Metal Gear" stealth-shooter series.

Answer: Kingdom Hearts

"Kingdom Hearts" took off as one of the most profitable Playstation 2 ventures when it was introduced in 2002. Combining the lovable characters from the Disney franchises with the classic video game characters of "Final Fantasy", this series is the best of both worlds, allowing for fun, turn-based role-playing, immense storylines, memorable scenarios and replayability galore.

The sequel, "Kingdom Hearts 2", was released four years later on the Playstation 2 as well, and two years later it was followed by a remake of "Chain of Memories", which was originally made for the Game Boy Advance. Surprisingly, the sequel received more praise. Although "Disney's Magical Quest" features many of the more popular Disney characters, the game's main playable character is Mickey and no "Final Fantasy" characters are involved. "Mickey's Magical Quest" was released in 1992, the same year as "Final Fantasy IV" in North America. Both were for the SNES.

Answer: Resident Evil

"Resident Evil" was originally found on the Playstation in 1996 through it was ported to the Gamecube in 2002, and later, the DS and the Wii. The game follows the S.T.A.R.S. Alpha and Bravo Teams as they investigate some freakishly weird occurrences happening in the forests on the outskirts of the fictitious Raccoon City.

When they arrive, it's more than just an occurrence. Zombies are everywhere, there's infected dogs and crows, and the members of the team are barely making it into the front doors before they're picked off by more of the same. Upon realizing that the only way out is in, they realize that some things just don't stay dead. "Resident Evil" has spawned numerous sequels, spin-offs, movies, and more.

The original "Resident Evil" game is also explored in "Umbrella Chronicles" for the Wii while a prequel was created in 2002 (known as "Resident Evil Zero").

Answer: Katamari Damacy

The "Katamari" series is undeniably presented with a Japanese influence. Almost all versions of the game involve a Katamari, a rather large ball, which can be pushed into objects that are smaller in size to grow and expand. As the Katamari grows, it adheres to larger objects until a time limit runs down or an objective is complete.

When all is said and done, the King of All Cosmos, your ubiquitous father and narrator, will take you and your creation into the cosmos and throw it into the night sky to make stars, comets, and stardust to refill the night sky. Ideally, the bigger your Katamari is, the better score you will receive. Picking up more of certain items will also determine the attributes and name of your star in the night sky. "Katamari Damacy" was followed by "We Love Katamari" a year after its initial release in 2004. Both were Sony Playstation 2 exclusives.

The trend continued on PSP's "Me and My Katamari" before the game "Beautiful Katamari" was released on the Xbox 360 in 2007.

Answer: Goldeneye 007

"Goldeneye 007" was released on the Nintendo 64 system in 1997, receiving much critical praise and Game of the Year Awards (including Nintendo's 'Game of the Year' award). Based on the seventeenth James Bond film, "Goldeneye", the game was one of the crowning achievements of the Nintendo 64's early line-up, allowing players to have one of the most innovative first-person shooter experiences of the time.

The game was created at a point in time at which Rare was still with Nintendo. Shortly after, Rare released "Donkey Kong 64" and quickly shifted focus onto Microsoft's Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles. "Goldeneye" follows James Bond as he attempts to foil the plots of a double agent who plans to use an EMP known as Goldeneye to lower a major security grid and destroy Britain's economy in revenge. Along the way, Bond is assisted by Russian technician, Natalya Simonova and the two have to use planes, trains, tanks, and other vehicles (and lots of guns) to get the job done.

Answer: Pokemon

The "Pokemon" series of games (restricted to the Nintendo systems, both consoles and handhelds) quickly became one of the top-selling video game franchises of all time. Created alongside toys, a TV show, books, spin-offs, and more, "Pokemon" sold tens of millions of units over five systems within its first decade.
Initially released in North America as "Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow", the game started with one-hundred-fifty-one Pokemon to catch, train, and battle, and this basic system of catching them all, gathering badges, and being the best in the league ended up being a system-seller. The original Game Boy versions of the game were also known to surge the popularity of wired linking to allow for two real-time battles between players. This tradition continued wirelessly with the Nintendo DS' Wi-Fi capabilities.
Annually, the series released films in conjunction with the ever-popular show (which hit episode 500 in its tenth North American season in 2008).

Answer: Gears of War

"Gear of War" was originally released on the Xbox 360 (and later on the PC). It and its sequel, both made by Microsoft Games' developing company, Epic Games, were best-sellers for the Xbox 360 in 2006 and 2008 respectively, selling millions of copies each. Critical reception for both has been extremely good with both winning many rewards. "Gears of War's" first installment followed Delta Squad with the main character assuming the role of Marcus Fenix (and if playing co-op, the second player plays as Dominic Santiago). Fourteen years after the fated 'Emergence Day', during which subterranean beasts known as Locusts emerged and began their eradication of the human race, Fenix was released from prison to fight alongside the COGs to obtain a way to map the Locust tunnels underground and deploy a bomb to destroy them.

The second game resumes from this. With the bomb merely aggravating the Locusts even more, they set out to find a new way to stop the Locusts and save the final human stronghold of Jacinto.

Answer: LittleBigPlanet

This Playstation 3 title was one of the most highly-anticipated games since the announcement of the Playstation 3's launch many years before. After two years of waiting, "LittleBigPlanet" finally hit shelves in late 2008 before the Christmas rush, and while it didn't perform as well as Sony had hoped (possibly due to a half-week recall on all copies before the release date), it was still one of the Playstation 3's top-selling games for the year. The game involves the player character, a Sack-Boy, as he (and possibly three other people) navigate expansible, obstacle-laden stages with the objective of reaching the finish line. Along the way, Sack-Boys can pick up orbs for points, stickers, and customizable clothing options to make themselves stand out as individuals in this LittleBig world for theirs.

The game was also notable for its level creator, allowing players to customize and create full levels like those seen in the game, then post them online for all to play.

Answer: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4

"Persona 4" is the fourth in a series of game from the "Shin Megami Tensei" storyline, and while the game has had popularity in Japan, its appearances in the North American market have been best-received by the more hardcore gamer crowds. With extensively-long gameplay (the game can potentially last up to 100 hours, "Persona 4" allows players to fully immerse themselves in the storyline. Characters will travel into television sets in order to solve an odd mystery in a rural town, but in between their heroic moments, they'll be forced to go to school, maintain their friendships to power themselves up in battle, hold day jobs to earn money, complete daily tasks to bring up stats, write tests, spend time at home, have hobbies, and more. Also, because the game follows a day-by-day schedule, weather and time play big roles in certain points of the game. On certain days, the player can not go into the television and fight, while on some it's a requirement. Developed by Atlus and released in North America in 2008, "Persona 4" was highly acclaimed for various reasons, but since it really caters to more avid RPG-goers, it didn't even hit 500,000 sales in its first few months. Regardless, it may have been one of the more critically-renowned games of 2008 as a whole.