game opinion

It isn’t only the huge franchises that made an impact this year, some returning (less established) favourites also managed to more than impress. Be they downloadable games or full releases that simply lacked the attention that I personally felt they deserved. These are the games that seemed to get less love, either in ‘game of the year’ lists I read on other sites or from general sales figures. This is my small attempt to redress the balance.

Rayman: Origins – Beautiful. It is impossible to fault Rayman: Origins for what it does. From there it simply comes down to whether what it is trying to do appeals to you. Superb 2D platforming with some of the finest animation I have seen and a charming light hearted wit. Sure it may look childish to some, and paying full price for a 2D title may not be how most people chose to spend their money, but I promise it is worth every penny.

A perfect platformer, with jaw dropping hand-drawn art.

InFamous 2 – Platform exclusives tend to get a significantly more backing than other releases, but Sony has a strange habit of only back some of its titles; Killzone 3 got the push, InFamous 2 did not. I don’t pretend to know the thinking behind this move, but InFamous 2 was one of the few sequels this year to real build and improve on the previous title and deserved more attention than it got in the years “best of” considerations. With fantastic parkour traversal and combat, it is a title I cant help but feel was overlooked by action fans in search of more guns.

From Dust – This was an unexpected one. Coming out of nowhere this downloadable god simulation game created an experience that cried back Populous. Dust’s goal is to lead the nomadic tribes people of the world to the Promised Land. To do this, paths must be constructed from the elements of water, earth and lave, to allow the tribes people to make their way to safety. Gorgeous and addictive, it makes me realise why (if there are gods) they made the Earth for their entertainment.

Dark Souls – Demon’s Souls was already one of my favourite games this generation. With its licence tied up with numerous publishers in each territory Dark Souls is the sequel that otherwise could not be. It keeps nearly everything that made Demon’s Souls unique, the bizarre multiplayer, punishing difficulty, even the look of the world remained intact. But learned lessons made a game that was more accessible with a structure that allowed for a greater connection to the game’s engrossing world. Not for everyone, but I am sure not everyone who would love it has played it. My game of the year.

A picture that, for me, encapsulates the lonely awe of Dark Souls.

Hard Corps: Uprising – Contra ring any bells? If so then the bells it rings are probably riddled with bullet holes of nostalgia and filled with chimes of satisfying frustration. Assuming the annoyance of thousand deaths are not still too raw, then Hard Corps: Uprising is the perfect addition to your collection. A spiritual successor to Konami’s classic series this downloadable, beautifully hand animated title has all the gameplay of the original combined with a persistent perk system that rewards prolonged play by elevating some of the game’s impossible difficulty.

Gaming is becoming an increasingly wonderful (and expensive) hobby. Last year I must have played and completed more games than in any previous year. That isn’t me bragging, it’s a sad statement of my year of part-time employment that has left me with a depressing amount of free time to indulge my hobby. Luckily gaming was accommodating, with a flood of polished and interesting releases throughout the year.

In a year so filled with titles any list I can offer is far from exhaustive, but I can say with certainty that if you see a game the coming few posts that you haven’t tried, then you should probably consider it.

This is a list of the biggies. Games with the advertising muscle to make an impact, with or without the medias’ approval. Don’t hold that against them though, seek them out if they passed you by.

Dead Space 2 – A real treat to start the year for a horror game fan. Managing to blend horrific monsters, creepy plot and tight shooting action, its success was well deserved. While I still maintain the original Dead Space offers a scarier and more terrifying experience, Dead Space 2 to builds on the unnerving interplay between church, state and unknown alien force that was only hinted at in the original.

Dead Space 2's setting, the silent and isolated Sprawl.

Portal 2 – My expectations were mixed for Portal 2. With the original an unexpected bonus in the Orange Box, much of its appeal was a snappy sense of humour and the fact it was basically perceived as free. But keeping the same sense of discovery and comedy was going to be a challenge. Valve should never be doubted however and the results were impressive, maybe lacking some of the wonder of the original, but managing to defy (my) doubt filled expectations.

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – No real surprise here, this vast game can accurately be described as epic with little hyperbole. Advances on Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion’s combat system and graphics were to be expected but it was the Radiant AI that dynamically introduces quests that really elevated Skyrim.

Skyrim finally made hairy overly large men the stars, so I felt right at home.

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception – Another globe trotting adventure for Nathan Drake, Uncharted 3 was incredible, with ship, airplane and desert sequences that were as good if not better than any single set piece of Uncharted 2. It may have ultimately been a less cohesive and rounded story than the second game, but it remains a fantastic and moving adventure.

Super Mario 3D Land – It is hard not to love Nintendo when they are on their game. The effort and craft they but into each of their flag ship titles is undeniable, and Super Mario 3D Land is a prime example. An instantly familiar feel despite entirely new angles of play, in conjunction with the best use of 3D on the handheld, made this not only one of the best games on the system but also of the year.

Sorry, I am doing this link thing again. My intentions were to stop these, but I have spent so much time writing for other sites that sometimes I just like to put them up to prove I am (still) alive. With that in mind below is a list of all my recent pieces, with a small taster of the articles that I am most proud of.

My game of 2011 list will still be coming soon later this month, as well as some highlights from the year so far. In the mean time check out the links below, keep an eye on Game People, Play Devil and Games Jobs Japan for my regular content. Also be sure to find me on Twitter (I am DoFuss there too) where I will be posting my exploits in video editing with OXM, CVG and other Future sites.

Warhammer 40:000: Space Marine - Call of Juarez: The Cartel – Scary Girl - and…

My silent character had to murder his way through the world with no relatable motivation. While the landscapes were beautiful and absorbing the fiction seemed unaware of the emotional well it left untouched. It left me only with the choice of continuing the senseless killing or turning off the game. I no longer felt like a champion or hero, I didn’t even feel like villain, just a robotic killing machine and that really frightened me. Do you want to know more?

I wasn’t even sure I wanted to go on alone; I felt that somehow, without my partner, to finish would be empty. Then from the darkness I heard a small cry, my screen illuminated slightly in one corner indicating the direction of the call. Wasting what energy I have left I leap towards the sound and am joyously reunited. Do you want to know more?

Just one on here…

After a number of recent posts from foreigners working in Japan our latest interview has a slightly different face, that of Yutaka Kurahashi, Chief Artist at Q-Games. As a Japanese employee working along side foreigners in Japan he provides a good counter point to the discussion of issues to be tackled in a mixed work place, from basic communication to cultural misunderstandings. Kurahashi is also able to compare Q-Games to more traditional Japanese companies that he has worked at, shedding some light on to the changing face of business in his native country, and how he feels injecting new cultural ideas can be of benefit. Do you want to know more?

Reviews

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt2 - Call of Juarez: The Cartel – PX5 Headset – Trouble Witches Neo – Nin2Jump – Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine – Ms. ‘Splosion-man – Xmen: Destiny – Mario Kart 7 – Rayman Origins (Xbox) – Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception – Captain America – Soul Calibur V - Thor: God of Thunder - BlazBlue: Continuum Shift 2 – Sonic Generations – Rage – Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi - Dark Souls – Batman: Arkham City - Super Mario 3D Land - Zelda: Skyward Sword – Bloodrayne Betrayal – James Noir’s Hollywood Crimes - Trine 2 – Final Fantasy XIII-2 – Wipeout 2048 – Pac-man Party 3D – Uncharted: Golden Abyss – Super Stardust Delta – Rayman Origins (Vita) – Street Fighter X Tekken

Previews

Namco Bandai: An Evening with Ezio – Armored Core V - Inversion – Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations – Ridge Racer Unbounded 

And…

There is a clear respect and seriousness given to the source material by the development team. The few cries that may (will?) be heard of it being in some way sacrilegious will probably find their basis in the fact that such text were used at all (or maybe that they are being regarded as fiction) rather than the handling of it. True some oddities come through, with character design and aesthetic often edging towards the bizarre, but it has gravitas and nothing is treated flippantly. Do you want to know more?

It is a wonderful story with themes that are actually adult, wrapped up in a beautiful anime style, creating an experience rarely seen in a retail console release. As I said it spoke particularly to me and it was interesting as I answered my questions to see just how differently Vincent’s life and my own panned out. Do you want to know more?

This should be the last you see of my articles on Shadow’s of the Damned, the game I expected to worship but that I ended up just adoring. It was a hard score to decide on for Play Devil, as their scores are weighted slightly higher than I would naturally place them and I suspect that by comparison to some other reviews on the site I should probably have gone up to 8.5, rather than the flat 8.

As with Shadow’s of the Damned you are likely getting bored of this of me talking about scores all the time so lets make this my last post about this also. I always understood each site and publication weighted their scales differently, but it was never something I gave much thought to. Reading only a handful of magazines regularly for reference, Edge and GamesTM, my internal barometer adjusted to their admittedly strict schemes. Receiving a 6 in either of these indicates is an above average game, but looking at most other sources such a score would be quite damning. By learning the rubric of these two magazines (how they use the full scale with 5 as the true average) the context of any review score is immediately evident to me. Unfortunately my familiarity with systems meant that I internalised them, and I am now finding it hard to slip in to a different mindset.

A good game but how good depends on context, numerically at least.

A score has to be relevant to the place it finds itself, because otherwise it’s just an abstract number devoid of reference. As long as a site is internally consistent with it’s scoring then everything should work out fine providing the readers understand the range. The issue here of course is that as I am struggling to assimilate Play Devil’s system, and so am doing the readers a disservice as they compare my scores with others on the site.

Having become used to the more stringent scoring in the few magazines I read readjusting my thinking is a challenge, but I will continue the struggle. I guess the point of all this is to say that if I were I to review Shadow’s of the Damned on the scale I am accustomed to it would probably earn a 7, but compared to other games on Play Devil I suspect even my 8 was a little harsh.

I hate memes and leetspeak, I despise them, but upon hearing about Shadows Of The Damned my reaction was an instinctual… OMG! It was as if Hermes herself (among her other duties in Greek myth she was also the god of gaming) had reached in to my mind and plucked my dream team of designing talent and forced them to make a game for me.