Well, today is the last day of 2008. It’s probably a good time to discuss some of our best of the year choices. I’m going to start the discussion for game of the year then. I’m not going to be able to say which I think is my favorite cause I may have a choice that is coming way out of left field. My top 2 are:
1) Fallout 3
2) Left 4 Dead
And the underdog! I haven’t played it enough yet because I just got it, but I love Banjo Kazoie Nuts and Bolts. I’ve been waiting for a great platformer for a while and Banjo definitely fulfills my needs. It may not be the classic platformer but it has all the basics and then goes off on this awesome tangent with its vehicle creation. I’ve only played for a few hours so far and barely scratched the surface of this game, but I have a feeling I’m just going to get more and more into it and I don’t want to make my pick without giving this game I almost missed out on a full chance.
Even without the wildcard coming out of nowhere this choice was going to be really tough. I narrowed it down to two a while ago. To me GTA was great and I enjoyed it a lot, but I played Fallout and it changed my world. Not because of the story or anything, but because the only RPG’s I have ever played in the past were the original Zelda and Zelda, Windwaker thingy for the DS. That’s it. RussellCrowe might remember…. When I started playing Fallout I was completely lost. I had no idea what to do or how to progress. After getting past that hurdle I was completely hooked. Usually I like to get the story done and beat a game as fast as possible. I’m not so much into the exploration. However, with Fallout, I found myself wandering around going from blank triangle to blank triangle just trying to get more pieces of the story. It was great. I can’t wait for the next installment for this awesome awesome game.
Left 4 Dead is also great. This game is the first game that we’ve played that has a chance to completely take over the place that Halo has held in JFT lore since the very beginning. Its insane to think of how many times we have played through the same 4 levels over and over and over again, and never once have I been bored. I want to play again. I’m pissed I don’t have internet in my new apartment yet because I can’t play co-op with you guys right now! Haha. This is the best co-op experience ever. No game has ever made playing together feel this good, or made it such a necessity. When I first heard about this game I was sold. I heard Zombies, and I heard Valve, and I was done. I knew it would be great. I didn’t know that this game would become the stable of JFT that I see it becoming. The online vs mode is great also. I don’t think I’ve ever felt better then when we beat the final chapter and climbed onto that helicopter with all 3 of us surviving after that one douchebag on our team died immediately.
So What do you guys think? Which is your favorite game of the year? And which game may be in your top list that no one else might be talking about?
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I would have to say that Fallout 3 was my favorite game of the year with the WOTLK expansion for WoW in 2nd, and GTA IV in 3rd. With GTA IV, I was extremely excited for it, but frankly the ending was a letdown for me. I felt like it built up all this excitement in the story, and then the last mission is...oh go kill this dude on an island after chasing him around for a little bit. Kinda lame.
ReplyDeleteFallout was a little bit of the same way for me, but I really liked the "personalized" ending that changed depending on your actions throughout the game. It made my dude sound like a complete pansy tyrant. HOWEVER, the game was amazing. I absolutely loved the old-timey feel that you get with the music and actually wouldn't mind buying the soundtrack to it either just to be able to listen to those songs again. The story was incredible and I still feel like I really only scratched the surface of it, since I didn't read a lot of the monitors and other stuff that were lying around.
WOTLK - man did this expansion to WoW pull me back in. I'm not one thats much for reading the text in quest descriptions and stuff, but it really seemed like they put in a lot of time perfecting their design to make this game stand out compared to the others. The quests are actually fun and interesting and are no longer seen as a grind to get from 70-80, they are actually goals to reach in themselves. You'll hear people asking each other, "hey, did you do that quest with the cutscene yet?" or "what about the one that completely changed Undercity?" and you know that there are definitely some memorable quests to be had. All in all, a pretty good year.
Separate news? did you guys hear about the zunes all shutting down today? Hahaha, good stuff.
http://gizmodo.com/5121311/30gb-zunes-failing-everywhere-all-at-once
ReplyDeleteHere is the url in case you haven't read about the Zunes yet.
The Zune thing is pretty funny. I bet those 10 people that own one are pretty pissed.
ReplyDeleteAnd here we go:
My favorite game of the year is Fallout 3, without a doubt. There's been a ton said about it, so I'll keep it brief. It was fun, immersive, and had amazing attention to detail. Slow motion head explosions NEVER got old. I can't wait for the DLC.
Second favorite is Left 4 Dead. The best co-op game I've ever played and it can only get better with updates (which are going to be announced any day now according to Valve!!!)
GTAIV I feel like I need to mention. Although it got ridiculously good reviews, it has since received a TON of backlash for not being as deep and "fun" as the others. Personally I loved the new, more realistic direction, and the living breathing city they built was the single most impressive thing in gaming this year. I cannot wait to see how they build upon this.
Now I am going to go on a slight tangent. Although it didn't come out this year (well technically I guess the PC version did), I feel like I need to mention Mass Effect. I know you guys tried it and didn't really get into it, but I really think it deserves another shot. Admittedly, the game is not perfect. In particular, the combat system is not really the greatest, there are a bunch of small technical flaws (although I didn't have the game-killing freezes and glitches that many reported--perhaps the hd install helped?), and I hated driving that fucking dune buggy thing. Even with these problems, the game was still one of the best I played this year.
I can't overstate how good the dialogue and voice acting is. Unlike Fallout, the conversations really feel natural and fluid. This may not seem like a big deal, but once you get into it, it really does feel like an interactive movie. This is only strengthened by the fact that the story is very well done. BioWare has done a terrific job of creating a fully-formed universe with a deep history. I feel like I only skimmed the surface of that backstory and I really can't wait for the sequel to flesh things out. I am really not surprised that it has spawned novels and online databases chronicling every detail of the universe they have created. I really can't wait to see where they go from here.
I am kind of pissed that I missed out on a bunch of side quests by crossing some invisible threshold by progressing through the main story, but when I finished the game (main story at least), I honestly was considering booting up a new character and starting over again. There are rumors going around that the character and the decisions you made in this game will carry over to the sequel, and if it turns out to be true, I will be very pleased as I've actually grown kind of attached to the characters--especially the ones I boned. BOOYAH. Anyway, the sequel is tentatively scheduled for Fall this year, although it wouldn't be a surprise if it got pushed back, and it's supposed to be a trilogy when all is said and done. I'm sure the games are only going to get better, and it really seems like it can become the video game version of Star Wars. Fallout 3 has turned me on to RPGs (western style ones in particular--none of that anime crap), and now after playing Mass Effect, I really want to go back and check out the stuff I've missed, like KOTOR and Jade Empire.
Finally, I feel like I need to mention MLB 08: Road to the Show. In a year when sports games really stepped it up, I feel like this was the best of the bunch. It took the elements that I loved from MVP Baseball and created the deepest, most detailed baseball, scratch that, sports game I've ever played. When you are playing and the ump has to call time because the beach ball from the stands got hit onto the field, you know you have something special. I can't freakin wait for the next one to come out. I've read that you will be able to record your own voice for taunts against opposing players. I know I'm gonna have fun with that.
I forgot to mention Left 4 Dead. I would easily put that before GTA...so I guess L4D is number 3 for me actually, and GTA is number 4. I wrote a post and talked about L4D before, so I won't go into why it makes it that high up - y'all know why.
ReplyDeleteGames I've played this year:
ReplyDeleteWOTLK
L4D
Rock Band 2
Army of Two
Orange Box
So, I gues I'll stack rank these:
1) WOTLK
2) L4D
3) RB2
4) Army of Two
5) Orange Box