Gex

This is one of the quirkier games if the 90s, mainly thanks to our titular hero who finds himself in a strange situation that serves as our story as he's required to escape from a TV world that the villain trapped him in.

While there are certain levels that can be frustrating to playthrough (particularly those levels with the rockets gex must ride on) the game is a ton of fun thanks to its catchy music, addictive platforming and unique level design. There are only five worlds here, however they each boast a unique setting that includes a graveyard, a toy land, an Aztec jungle and a Chinese dojo (that's admittedly a bit culturally insensitive even for the time.) As you're controlling a lizard, you can expect that the controls would factor this in, meaning that there's a ton of instances where you'll be crawling up the side of a wall in order to access higher areas within a level. This helps the game stand out from other 2d platformers given how most of its contemporaries would simply have gex behave like a typical anthropomorphic animal rather than take advantage of the species he's a part of. The bosses are a ton of fun, referencing popular franchises such as the exorcist and Indiana Jones as well as taking full advantage of our heroes move set that he expands upon as the game progresses. I can honestly take or leave the pop culture references gex spits out in the game, they're not egregious like most 21st century media, but they also don't add much to the game aside from the occasional cheap laugh.

It's a ton of fun for a 2d platformer, not the best the franchise has to offer, but one with a ton if personality and worth checking out.

As a kid I played the hell out of Enter the Gecko and it was one of my first PS1 games, so a few years later around my brothers birthday I ended up going to gamestop with my dad and getting the original Gex. I think it was right before I was in 7th grade, so we're talking a good 5 or 6 years after I originally played Gex 2, and well yeah this is a lot different. Instead of being 3D, this is 2D and its way more linear, and this plays way more like a traditional platformer. To be honest even when I was younger I didn't like this one as much, even Rez in this one felt more lame. But I can say the music in this game was pretty catchy, but everything else just felt generic.