-- first group --
The Last Story
Let's get the negatives out of the way first: the game is a technical mess and probably too ambitious for the Wii, and the first two hours can be a bit annoying with the gameplay segment - short cutscene - gameplay segment - etc thing. And the story is typical JRPG fare.
The positives: everything else basicaly. It's my kind of RPG: it's (fairly) short at 20 hours (which just means it has no filler at all - quite the opposite from Xenoblade Chronicles), the battles are fairly short but can be quite strategic if you "get" the battle system, the music is great,... Anyway, someone else said it better than me (it is his job after all). I agree with him all the way - for me it's one of the best JRPGs this generation, together with Lost Odyssey (quite surprisingly also a Mistwalker game!), and of course easily one of the best games released in 2012. I own the limited edition, and it's easily one of my most prized gaming treasures. It's been quite a while since I finished the game, but writing about it made me eager to play it again.
Dishonored
I heard about this game long before it came out, it was on my very short "hmm, might be something I'd enjoy" list. When I heard it was out I checked some reviews and impressions, and it really did look like it was something for me. And it was! People describe it as "Bioshock vs. Thief", and they're mostly right, but it's also its own thing. Take the best thing about the game: the heart. Point and "shoot" it at people and locations and it will tell you secrets. Not really important for the gameplay, but cool to learn more about the world and its characters. I really love stuff like this, it's a more subtle approach to exposing the world which I vastly prefer over long cutscenes and walls of text.
And it's not that gameplay is bad either. I went through the game twice, once doing the no kill approach, the other doing a quicker, more direct approach (though I admit I still used stealth most of the time). Both were fun, and had an impact on the story
FTL: Faster Than Light
Man I hate this game. I started 33 games so far, won none of them. In only four of them I actually reached the last boss. And I'm playing on easy. I suck at it so much.
On the other hand, I can't stop playing it. Steam says I played it for 18 hours so far, and I'm still not bored of it. I WILL beat this game some day, and I'll consider it one of my greatest gaming achievements.
Anyway, the reason why I come back to it: every game is different, and luck definitely has something to do with it. I have so many war stories to share, I could make several long entries about how some of my games went. Actually someone did it already.
The music also helps; it's easily one of the best soundtracks of 2012, in my opinion only rivalled by Journey and Hotline Miami (you can listen to it on Ben Prunty's bandcamp). Lastly, if you have any imagination you can turn every game into your favourite sci-fi tv show. FTL has elements of Star Trek (some of the random events), Star Wars (rebel scum!) and Battlestar Galactica (jump!), and you can even name your crew. I tell you, you will swear when your Picard and Riker die in a fire!!
So really, it's one of the best gaming experiences I had this year. Yet this image from RPS sums it up nicely:
Journey
Yes it's only 2 hours long, and there's no action apart from jumping around a bit and avoiding floating thingies. But what an experience it is. You know what (and you can quote me on this): it's my favourite multiplayer experience this gen. I mean, it's not strictly a multiplayer game, but there is quite a difference between going solo and playing it online. I went through the game three times, and the last time I did most of it alone, and it just doesn't have the same impact. The game is at its best when you have the same partner from early on, it makes the event at the end more meaningful.
And yes, I admit it, the first time I finished the game, it made me a little emotional. Or I might have had something in my eye, I don't know. Anyway, it's a game I can recommend to anyone, it doesn't require that much effort or thinking (good for the more casual player), but it does have secrets and collectibles (of sorts) which means the obsessive gamer will enjoy this as well.
Again I'd like to link you to an article - I don't really care about the "games are art" debate but there are some good points here.
-- second group --
Mass Effect 3
OMG the ending sucks lol. Now that we got that out of the way, I really enjoyed Mass Effect 3. The single player campaign is -again- very streamlined -and dare I use the word?- shallow compared to the first Mass Effect (still one of my favourite games this gen), but ultimately I enjoyed the ride, and there were definitely a few great moments (Mordin...)
But yeah, the ending upset me, but only because I really love the Mass Effect universe so much. I downloaded the "new" ending but haven't actually played the campaign again.
What I did play again though, to my big surprise, was the multiplayer part. Actually, it's probably one of my most played multiplayer modes ever (well, outside of fighting games). I don't really understand it, it doesn't really do anything exceptional - it's basically horde mode in the Mass Effect universe, but somehow I quite like it. I never thought it would work, but it does, quite well in fact.
Sleeping Dogs
I still remember when this was True Crime: Hong Kong hehe. I'm happy the game eventually got made and published (thank you Square Enix!), as it's my favourite open-world game this year. Not that Hong Kong is that interesting to be honest, and the car handling never really feels right, but I did enjoy the story, characters (Salty Crab is my hero) and especially the melee system. Yes, okay, it's a lot like Batman Arkham Asylum/City, but once you start unlocking moves it really shines. Also, I'm pretty sure you can't do stuff like this in Batman.
I've grown quite fond of Wei Shen really, so I do hope a sequel is coming eventually.
Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown
If this had an endless/ghost battle/quest mode, it would probably be my game of the year. Now it's just an arcade release - nothing wrong with that, but obviously I like some single player content in my game. Anyway, Virtua Fighter 5 is still one of my favourite fighting games this gen, this is just a faster and prettier version of it. It has that typical Sega "blue skies" thing, where everything looks bright and shiny. It's a really, really pretty game. No complaints about online play either, apart from getting my ass kicked too many times. Though I still prefer it to Tekken...
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
Bought this mid-december and got a 3-day addiction to it. Visually it's a very satisfying game, and that new bounce thing is a big gameplay changer (on a higher competitive level at least). The new battle lab mode is a little disappointing, I would've easily traded it in for bowling/beach volley mode hehe. Ghost battle is the main draw of course, but after playing the game for 10 hours I just ran into the same people over and over again, they just had a higher level. I got the feeling Tekken 6 (and even Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection) had more variety. My online experience was crappier than with Virtua Fighter though, got disconnected several times, and once the game even blamed me!!! Then there's also the fact that an average player like me can still be beaten by cheap tactics (hey Christie/Eddy players: you suck!) and button mashing - another reason why gameplay wise, nothing touches Virtua Fighter. But apart from that, I'm happy with this game and will probably come back to it several times in the next year.
Dust: An Elysian Tail
I got this when it was on sale around Christmas, and had a very fun 10 hours with it. It's a metroidvania with a very animé style (but western made), and it's quite charming really. I can't say I'm a big fan of the art style - I must admit I almost didn't buy the game because of it. But if you can look past that, there's a very solid action/adventure/platformer/RPG underneath. The battle system isn't that deep but functional, after a while you'll find your prefered setup and stick with it. I had a lot of fun finding the secret chests, and I'm still not done so I might go back to it. I have to mention the music as well; it has one of the better soundtracks of 2012 (you can also find it on bandcamp).
-- third group --
The Unfinished Swan
Very short but very beautiful game. It's just an incredible charming game - a nice story, simple graphics but with a fun paint system. It's one of those games you really need to experience yourself before you "get" it. It's even shorter than Journey I think, and gives less incentive to go back, but it's still a very nice experience.
Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing Transformed
Only started playing this a couple of days ago, but I feel it's easily one of the best kart racers in recent years. Lots of single player content, tons of things to unlock, and online play has been very smooth so far. Sumo Digital have my respect (not in the least for that great Outrun 2 port on the original Xbox!) Long-time Sega fans will love all the nods to older/forgotten titles - it has Vyse and some stages from Skies of Arcadia!
Far Cry 3
I only just finished this, and I have mixed feelings about it. I just didn't feel it the way I felt Sleeping Dogs, or Just Cause 2. Partly because of technical problems and design choices I disagree with, and also because some story elements just made me shake my head. Bad, bad, bad - and the final "boss fight"...oh boy.
I had the most fun in this game taking over enemy camps (doing it the stealth way of course - very satisfying), and climbing the com towers. Also, Vaas is an awesome bad guy (great voice acting as well), such a shame you only see/hear him less than 10 minutes in total. But really, sometimes it feels you're playing two games - an very decent open world game in which you're a skilled hunter/killer, and a game with a dudebro story written by a teenager. So, while I do enjoy parts of it (and will return to take over all the camps, and go artifact hunting as well), I don't really get this game.
Hotline Miami
Only played this for an hour or two (how long is the game anyway?). It's again something I don't fully get - part of me likes it, especially the atmosphere and music, part of me hates how brutal (in terms of gameplay) this is. Also, it's been quite buggy for me (the last two times I wanted to play it simply refused to start) and the Steam overlay doesn't work. But honestly, this deserves a mention just for the soundtrack alone.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Another weird experience. I was totally addicted to this, until I finished the game, went back to it after a couple of days, and realised... I wasn't having any fun at all. I had fun with it - I loved the base aspect, I loved kicking alien ass with upgraded weapons, but other than that, it did sometimes feel like a chore. I suppose I should try it again, but I really haven't been in the mood for it.
Right, that's it. I played some other 2012 releases, but didn't put enough time in them yet to properly "judge" them. And then there's the unopened games as well. I'd list them all but that would be depressing. Some notables that I've seen on other peoples GOTY lists: Spec Ops: The Line, The Walking Dead, Mark of the Ninja, The Darkness II.
I'll -try- to do more gaming updates throughout the year, the next 3 months I'll definitely try to clear out my huge backlog before buying new games.
No comments:
Post a Comment