Posts Tagged ‘2008’

Before I begin I should preface this article with the fact for the majority of the year I have not owned a Playstation 3. I have always been aware, jealous and observant of the buzz and critical opinion surrounding key titles. Now my PS3 sits proudly with my 360 and Wii but my knowledge of the games is limited. I have tried to be as fair as possible but for gaps in my knowledge I apologize and will rectify in the coming year as my Sony back catalogue arrives. Thus treat this pick of the year more as a review.

PS3 is still struggling a little behind the competition in terms reaching its peak. Being the newest machine and notoriously difficult to develop for, many multiplatform titles have suffered from poorer performance than their 360 cousins. This year has started to see developers reaching the point that they are familiar enough with the system that games are almost identical. A few development teams have even chosen to use PS3 as their lead platform, and in these few cases games benefited on the system because of this.

To discus the best Playstation 3 game of the year for would be a kin to asking panda what its favorite food is. That is that I have only tried one full game on the console all year. That said what a game. Little Big Planet by default gets my game of the year award but it would be a hard act to follow.

In truth it is merely a solid and extremely well polished two (and a half) dimension physics based platformer. Charming presentation that actually fills me with joy permeate the whole game. In some ways it feels like Fable 2 in its whimsical British style, if only because both games feature Stephen Fry’s fantastic vocal contributions.

None of this however is what makes Little Big such an achievement. User created content maybe a buzz word at the moment but rarely has it been implemented so well in the console space. In theory making sequels unnecessary as the game is endless. Though the online got off to a rocky start with server issues, developer Media Molecule should be given the same leniency afforded to MMORPG’s. Little Big allows users to upload vast amounts of content and play together. While the world is not persistent as in a game such as World of Warcraft, it is still an incredible achievement.

This year has seen the current generation of consoles starting to reach their peak. Companies are finally getting to grips with what the current systems can do with an install base which makes it a safer to invest and development. For no system is this truer than the 360. The oldest of the current generation of consoles, Microsoft’s machine is now really showing what it’s capable of.

It is sad therefore that this year the number of 360 exclusives have been the most forgettable. Gears of War 2 was a phenomenal ride and one of the most solid game experiences of the year, but didn’t stay with me. Too Human (which I enjoyed) performed relatively well at retail due to a well timed release but was paned by critics and attacked on message boards. Ninja Gaiden 2 also suffered from problems, a broken camera made combat cumbersome and the steep difficulty curve made it too hard for many.

Xbox’s game of the year therefore falls to Fable 2. Indeed of all the 360 exclusives this year there is only one experience that I am eager to jump back into. I want to experience the game from the other side. I want try growing horns and helping villains, I want to be evil.

Fable’s world of Albion feels like a Terry Pratchett book bought to life. From urban city to green meadows everything feels consistent. It is flawed, but all of the blemishes are easily forgiven when you are in whimsical world that developer Lionhead managed to create. An experience which draws you in and manages to foster a relationship with characters and story in a way rarely achieved in this medium.

It may not deliver on all of designer Peter Molyneux’s promises but when you aim as high as he consistently does you are guaranteed to fall a little short. Or maybe it was a design choice, cutting back on complexity and scope in order to make it accessible and keep the appeal as broad as possible, a theme of many games this year. While Fable was a harder choice than games on the other consoles the epic journey it takes you on makes it a worthy 360 game of 2008.

I am not here to pass a qualitative judgment on any platform. Platform exclusives, while less common than they used to be, still set the bar for what a system can do. This year saw Fable 2 and Gears of War 2 going up against Metal Gear Solid 4 and Little Big Planet while Smash Brothers Brawl and Animal Crossing laughed and counted their money from the sideline. Every system has its merits.

I could pontificate for hours on the topic of this years games and still not feel that that I have addressed enough of the issues to really do this topic justice. But to start this series of posts I will be taking a look at the Wii. Nintendo have achieved something incredible with their latest console. Appealing to gamers and none gamers has allowed unprecedented growth out of what is still a niche industry.

Due to the nature of the machine it is the one system awash with console exclusives. While I am willing to accept, neigh embrace the saccharin sweet world of Nintendo this year’s first party offerings failed to impress me. Thus the game fall to the only Wii game I bought this year which was not first party, though perhaps it is not representative of the majority of Wii player’s preferences. Suda 51’s No More Heroes. A nod to the hardcore gaming audience it was a celebration of all things otaku. It is one of the few third party games which make good use of the Wii controls. It doesn’t force constants whirling of the remote but instead focuses on occasional motions to unleash power attacks while relying on standard button mashing for the rest of the action.

The game feels fresh and stylish. Though at times the side missions and open world aspects become repetitive it remains amusing throughout due a typically incomprehensible plot from Suda 51. A title to recommend to any of the more mature gamers who own Nintendo’s little white waggle machine.

I can’t decide if this year has in fact been one of the busiest in gaming or if it just feels like it because this is the year I decided to start DoFuss. Either way the autumn was a busy (and expensive) time.

On the positive side quality isn’t suffering at the expense of quantity. From the start of the year we have had a steady supply of top tier games. Some of 2008’s early releases were delayed from 2007 while others marked a clear change in strategy. A few larger publishers made the conscious decision to avoid the usual holiday launch. Companies traded the forth quarter sales bump for a media dominance at time of release. Even with the extra coverage, the decision to move release date to a different season seems to suggest the industry becoming aware that it can sell all year round, not just the fourth quarter.

The holiday season onslaught was still present. It is these titles that sit freshest in player’s minds. Whilst every year I reminisce about Christmas gaming past it is hard to think of a year when so many quality titles were released. Perhaps testament to this is the fact that even established console exclusive franchises were quickly lost in the shuffle to the next big game.

It wasn’t just the big releases that made the news. It was a year which saw downloadable games further assert themselves firmly in the console space. The digital space has been exploited for sometime by small developers and for downloadable content, but this year saw Sony using it for ‘full’ games. Currently these games exploit the advantages and nature of their distribution. Probably so their online centric nature can be used as an excuse to the high street retailers. Until all gamers are online with sufficient bandwidth to support a total shift to the online market place, good relations with retailers remain vital.

Physical media and the fight with retail bring the topic of the resale market. Simply publishers want their product purchased new, as secondhand products yield them no profit. As a gamer I try and buy games new to support the industry and further development and innovation but at times this isn’t possible. Publishers are finding their own way to convince people to buy games new, for example downloadable codes packaged with new games, but with limited success. Digital distribution is of course a solution to this but if you take rights away from a customer concessions should be made to compensate them.

The download market brings with it the issue of piracy and with it digital rights management (DRM). Previously buying a game would give you physical ownership of it. Now the shift to digital distribution is changing this dynamic to the just the right to use a product. This year saw Spore come under fire for its DRM, notoriously only allowing three installations before needing reactivated by EA and used as a reason (excuse) by some to pirate. Public outcry caused quickly EA increase the number of installations to five. This is still not ideal, and until a middle ground is reach will continue to be a contentious issue.

DRM isn’t the only solution to piracy. Companies are now experimenting with free to play business models. From MMO’s like Maple story to action centric games like Battlefield Heroes, if these games can be monetized effectively with advertising and pay for content it could benefit everyone. Free for casual players and a constant income for developers.

Of course overshadowing the year and most of these issues is the economy. Unlikely to be solved in the near future it is already having effects on the industry. Though touted as recession proof, gaming did feel the pinch this year. Interestingly sales were not dramatically affected but profits were. As was consumer choice. Playstation 3 was probably foremost among the casualties in terms of sales, unable to keep up with the cheaper systems.

Already the recession has seen casualties as publishing houses close studios and some independent developers fold. Obviously this will affect us as gamers, but forget about that for a second. At a time when unemployment is on the rise and the number of jobs decreasing individuals whose work has entertained us have found themselves unemployed. Let’s hope the New Year holds better fortune for these individuals.

Onward to 2009 and the start of the year is looking strong with a number of quality releases lined up and continuing though out the year. I am sure we will see many quality titles again this year, but it will be interesting to see if in the current economy we will see as many as this year.