THE TOP 10 NEWS STORIES OF 2001

10) METAL GEAR SOLID 2

After all the hype, was MGS2 worth the wait? You bet'cher stealth camouflage it was. We won't be forgetting this heady sequel anytime soon.

9) ONLINE GAMING

Online gaming on consoles got a kick in the pants in 2K1 with Phantasy Star Online, Outrigger, Sega/Visual Concepts' sports games.... The Dreamcast was just hitting its online stride when the system stalled for good.

8) THE LEGEND OF "CELDA"

Whether you're for, or against, The Legend of Zelda's makeover, you've got to admit that its new Looney Tunes look threw you for a loop. More than a couple fist fights have already broken out here at EGM over this very controversy.

7) GAME BOY ADVANCE

As much as we love the GBC, it was so overdue for a retirement. Enter the GBA, with its hard-to-see screen and library of SNES rehashes, here to save the day. Just kidding. We really do love this lil' bundle of joy.

6) CONKER'S BAD FUR DAY

Second-party developer Rare's drinkin', swearing and money- grubbing sonuvabitch named Conker flushed Nintendo's family-friendliness down the toilet, and was a sales disaster on the dying N64.

5) RESIDENT EVIL MAKES JUMP TO GAMECUBE

One of the shockers of 2001 was Capcom's announcement that the RE series was going GameCube-exclusive. Good news for mature 'Cube owners who want more than just the usual kiddy stuff.

4) SEPTEMBER 11TH

Just as American life changed dramatically after the events of Sept. 11, so, too, did the video games we play. Some games were cancelled, while others underwent last-minute changes before their final release.

3) XBOX AND GAMECUBE SYSTEM LAUNCHES

When the Xbox and GameCube launched three days apart (on Nov. 15 and 18, respectively), our wallets were begging for mercy. Oh sweet mercy.

2) VIDEO GAMES GO TO THE MOVIES

Video games hit the theaters big time with Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. For 2002 and beyond, we'll see flicks like Resident Evil, Crazy Taxi and Duke Nukem.

1) SEGA GOES MULTI-PLATFORM

"The world of games is changing, so Sega must change, too." With that statement, Hideki Sato, Sega's chief operating officer, made it official: Sega was leaving the hardware business to publish software on all systems. After this bombshell, we were distracted to notice that hell had frozen over.

...wait, maybe Mitsuboshi Colors? I don't remember the names of the cast, but Ueno makes me think of Ueno Park in Tokyo, and I remember a lot of their shenanigans (including pointing an RPG at a cop) happened in a big public park. Three character names being listed right off the bat also indicates a strong link between the characters from the get-go, since I think most synopses would spend a few sentences describing how the characters meet and thus the names would be spread out more.