My Top 10 Upcoming Games For 2012

I've already gone over my favorite games of 2011, and now (in keeping with tradition) I've decided to list my top 10 upcoming video games that are scheduled for release in 2012. Keep in mind that all dates are tentative. Very few of these games even have set release dates (only two to be precise) and you never even know what could happen with those, let alone the ones that are just "2012" or something similarly vague. It is more than likely that several of these games will wind up getting pushed back into 2013, but for the purpose of this list I'm using games that as of right now (January 2012) are supposed to be coming out sometime this year. Also keep in mind that the world is going to end in December, so if you decide to get/play any of these games set your schedule up to have adequate play time before that happens. You're welcome.



10. South Park: The Game - Xbox 360, PS3, PC - "Second-half" of 2012

I am excited for this game, but with some major reservations. Don't get me wrong, I love South Park. It's definitely one of my favorite TV shows of all-time. What I'm worried about is whether or not the game will stay true to the South Park spirit, and more importantly whether or not it will be a good game. It's an RPG, which is an interesting format for a South Park game, and so far it looks like Obsidian (the company developing the game) is going about making it the right way. But Obsidian does not have my full confidence: they've made some okay games based on other people's game engines (Knights of the Old Republic II, Fallout: New Vegas), but they've also made some pretty bad games when using their own tech (Alpha Protocol). Overall I'd say their history of game development over the past few years has been mediocre at best. Hopefully Obsidian will knock this one out of the park, but for now I'm (very) cautiously optimistic.

9. Tomb Raider - Xbox 360, PS3, PC - Third Quarter (Fall) 2012

I've never been a huge Tomb Raider fan, but I appreciate the franchise for the impact it's had on gaming, and from what I've seen of this reboot so far it looks awesome (mainly the preview they showed at last year's E3). It looks a lot more like a survival-horror game (think Resident Evil-ish) than your normal Tomb Raider game, which I think is a great direction to take a franchise that has gotten pretty stale in recent years. The game features a much younger Lara Croft who is just getting started on her tomb raiding career, and the preview they showed was very gritty and downright scary at some parts. We'll see if they can keep that up for the course of a whole game and not just one 10 minute demo, but if they can it will make for one hell of an action/adventure/survival-horror game.



8. Journey - PS3 (via PSN) - Spring 2012

Journey is a semi-indie game from the makers of the indie hit Flower, which (like Journey will be) is only available on the PS3 by downloading it from the PSN. While there's still a lot of mystery about this game, it seems like it's a third person adventure game with a very cool art style (see the picture above - that's actually a screenshot from the game). You are making a journey through a massive desert to reach something at the end, and along the way you'll encounter puzzles, obstacles, and even other players. There's an interesting co-op feature where you will occasionally randomly come across other players in the same area as you. You cannot connect with your friends or even use any kind of voice chat or text chat, but (if you like) you and this other random player can try to figure out a way to help each other with some of the puzzles in the world. This game will probably only be a few hours long, seeing as how it's a downloadable game, but that also means that it will probably only cost around $15.



7. Borderlands 2 - Xbox 360, PS3, PC - End of 2012/Beginning of 2013

Borderlands was a game that was great if you were playing with two or three of your friends and you were all almost exactly the same level. That being said, it had some problems too. Hopefully Borderlands 2 will keep the good things from the first game and fix most (if not all) of the problems. From what they've revealed and what I've heard so far things are looking pretty good though. Either way, assuming you have a couple of friends that will be picking this up too, a good time is all but guaranteed. Plus, I would pay $60 just to hear Claptrap talk for like 20 hours. Nice.



6. Guild Wars 2 - PC - 2012

As I've stated before I'm not usually a big MMO fan (besides my current obsession with Old Republic), but this game looks like it's really trying to innovate in the MMO genre, perhaps even more so than Old Republic has. Besides just the graphics and gameplay looking really nice, this game looks like it will be taking interactive storytelling to the next level for an MMO. Choices you make during missions not only affect your own story down the line (like Old Republic), but they can also affect entire areas around you. For example, while you're in town someone (a computer controlled character) might run up to you and beg for your help: his village is about to be attacked by goblins and they won't be able to fight them off. The goblins are almost ready to attack but his village is the next one over, so if you hurry you may be able to make it in time to drive them off. But if you choose not to go, the village can actually be taken over by the goblins, meaning that you and other players will have to fight them off before you can rest there, use shops, turn in quests, etc. If that game mechanic works the way it's supposed to it will make Guild Wars 2 incredibly interesting to play. Also, with Guild Wars 2 there is no monthly subscription fee. You pay the $50-$60 up front for the game but then you never have to pay again to play it. Subscription fees stop a lot of people from playing MMOs, so the fact that this doesn't have one means you'll probably get a lot of people buying the game who don't normally play MMOs (like myself).



5. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning - Xbox 360, PS3, PC - February 7

This is the game that's being made by famous MLB pitcher Curt Schilling and a bunch of other "big names". Besides Schilling, who's the head and founder of 38 Studios (the company developing the game), he's recruited R.A. Salvatore (one of my favorite fantasy authors from back when I used to know how to read) to write the story and the lore for the world (Amalur); Ken Rolston, who's claim to fame is being the lead designer of both Morrowind and Oblivion, and Todd McFarlane (who worked for Marvel and created the comic series Spawn) to be in charge of the art style. As far as fantasy video games go that just about as close as you can get to a star studded cast. Besides all the hype, what I've seen from the game does look very cool and promising, so I'm definitely excited for this one.



4. Diablo III - PC, Mac; Possibly Xbox and/or PS3 - 2012

I've only played a little Diablo in the past, but the quality of Blizzard's games makes anything they put out command attention, and Diablo (like all of Blizzard's other current franchises) has been beloved for decades. Diablo III looks like it will be no different in terms of quality and addictive hack and slash fun. A lot of the new ideas they're implementing seem pretty interesting and will most likely raise the bar for the hack and slash/RPG genre. It also seems that as time has gone on Blizzard has become more and more interested in telling a good story in their games (StarCraft II being a great example), and I would expect Diablo III to keep pushing forward with that.

Also, while this game is obviously coming to PC, there's been a lot of talk recently that Blizzard might be making it for consoles as well. Blizzard has admitted they've been looking into the possibility of making it for consoles, but beyond that it's all rumors and hearsay. So as of right now no one knows for sure whether it'll also be coming to Xbox, PS3, or both.



3. BioShock Infinite - Xbox 360, PS3, PC - 2012

Coming from the makers of the universally acclaimed BioShock (not BioShock 2, which was created by another developer), BioShock Infinite leaves behind the dark, damp hallways of Rapture and takes us to a literal city in the clouds: Columbia. Not only are the storytelling and characters guaranteed to be top notch, the atmosphere of the game, although much different from past BioShocks, seems like it will be just as intriguing as the first game. The gameplay also looks fast paced and like it will be a lot of fun. I've seen numerous interviews about the ideas behind this game and the direction they wanted to go in (including a live discussion with Ken Levine and some of the development team at last year's PAX East), and every time I get more details this game just gets more and more fantastic looking. Definitely can't wait for this one.



2. StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm - PC, Mac - 2012 (maybe)

There's no definite release time frame for this game yet, and while Blizzard has said it will be out sometime this year I wouldn't be surprised to see it get pushed back into 2013. Even if it does come out this year it will most likely be at the end of the year. Even so, I am still extremely excited for the next chapter in the StarCraft saga. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty (the Terran campaign) blew me away and consumed a lot of my time in 2010/2011. Most of this was time playing the online multiplayer, but the single player campaign was also fun and very well made, which is something you don't often find in a RTS. My hopes are that not only will Heart of the Swarm (which will be the Zerg campaign) match the quality of Wings of Liberty but will even exceed it. To be honest, although I'm very excited for this game, the one I'm really waiting for is Legacy of the Void, which (as of right now) is the name for the Protoss campaign that will be the final one released. But that is still years away, so the Zerg will have to keep me busy until then.



1. Mass Effect 3 - Xbox 360, PS3, PC - March 6

Mass Effect 2 was my favorite game of 2010, and now Mass Effect 3 is my most anticipated game of 2012. That's not a coincidence. I really enjoyed the first Mass Effect, but Mass Effect 2 really set a new standard for cinematic action/RPG games. The RPG elements were present but not complicated or intrusive enough to have to spend hours learning the rules and sorting your inventory, and the action was smooth, visceral, and satisfying. Those two elements, combined with a great story and superb characters combined to make one of my favorite games of all-time, and each of these elements should be even better in Mass Effect 3. If that is indeed what happens, then this game would (in my mind) have to be the best game of this console generation (which will probably be coming to an end in another year or two). The expectations (at least mine) are ridiculously high, so this game has a lot to live up to. And that could very well be its downfall. But I have faith that the people at Bioware will end the story of Commander Shepard and the Reaper invasion with a proper farewell. Commander Shepard and his team aboard the Normandy deserve no less.

With any luck, 2012 should be another great year for video gaming enthusiasts (which I'm assuming you are if you actually read this far into this post). When I look back at My Top 11 Upcoming Games For 2011, there were definitely several disappointments. Brink, Duke Nukem Forever, Dragon Age II, and Rage turned out to be letdowns, and while Battlefield 3 was decent it wasn't exactly the revolutionary modern war shooter I was hoping for. But there were some great games that more than made up for the bad ones. There's a good chance that one or more of the games on this list won't live up to the hype, but overall I'm convinced that 2012 will have at least a few gems (especially games number 1-4 on this list).

My Top 5 Games For 2011 (and more!)

The year 2011 has come and gone, and was a great year for video games. We saw a lot of great releases throughout the year and, as usual, especially around the holiday season. Unfortunately my free time was tragically cut short around halfway through the year, so I don't have nearly as much time to play video games as I once did. Because of this I've had to limit my selection based on free time (and money) to certain games (pick and choose my battles, if you will). So instead of a top 10, this year I present you with my Top 5 Games of 2011. Out of all the games I played this year, these five are my favorites. Keep in mind that I only include a game in lists like these if I feel I've played it enough to adequately review and judge it (which usually means "beating" it). The below are ranked in order, with #1 being my "Game of the Year". After the top 5 list I'll also give a few honorable mentions, some games that may have made the list if I had had time to play them, and a few of the letdowns from this year (there were unfortunately several).

We'll start with my Top 5 Games of the Year:

*drumroll*

5. Dead Space 2 - Xbox 360, PS3, PC - January 25

I'm not usually a fan of the horror genre, but I've come to realize that that may be the reason I'm so drawn to the Dead Space franchise. Besides the fact that they're great games with good stories, great atmosphere and setting, and very fun gameplay, a game like Dead Space 2 wouldn't normally be something I'd enjoy. It's outside of my comfort zone, and while I naturally like my comfort zone, it's nice to try something different once in a while. It's almost like a personal mark of pride for myself that I can say I've beaten every Dead Space game that's come out so far (yes, even the on-rails one for Wii). And while they're great games and I thoroughly enjoy pretty much everything about them, I do have to admit that I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I beat Dead Space 2. Playing games where you don't always have to worry about aliens popping out of dark at you is much easier and much less stressful. Dead Space 2 is not one of those games.



4. Batman: Arkham City - Xbox 360, PS3, PC - October 18

"Gimme yo' heads!"

Following up on the hit game Batman: Arkham Asylum, Arkham City puts you in a larger, open world, adds more classic characters, and improves on the (very) few flaws from Arkham Asylum. My one complaint about Arkham Asylum was the combat, and I felt that it flowed more smoothly and was easier to master in Arkham City. The setting, story, side missions, characters, voice acting, and gameplay are all great... and I mean, come on, it's Batman. What more could you ask for?



3. Portal 2 - Xbox 360, PS3, PC - April 19

"SPAAAAAAAAAACE!!!"

Portal 2 has the distinction of being the funniest game I've ever played. As someone who loves humor and comedy, that's a big deal for me. And when you add that and the great characters in the game (most of them new) to the awesome gameplay mechanics and puzzle design you get something really special. The new co-op mode is a lot of fun and works really well too. I played through this game almost three times this year, and while it admittedly isn't as long as most of the other games on this list (especially after you beat it the first time), that really says something about the kind of experience you get when you play this game.



2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Xbox 360, PS3, PC - November 11

One of the most epic games I've ever played. The world is beautiful and perfectly constructed. The stories and quests are very good, and the combat, while still a little rough in spots, is definitely a step up from Oblivion. And while that stuff is all great, the main reason I play the Elder Scrolls games (and Fallout for that matter) is for the expertly crafted huge open world. Most RPGs are all about going from quest to quest, advancing both the story and the side missions, and leveling up in the process. And while that is a big part of Skyrim, the beauty of this game is the ability to just explore the world and see what secrets you can find hidden away in the mountains of Skyrim (the name of the game is also the area in which it takes place). The game has a quick travel option to go from place to place, but I often find myself not wanting to use it. I'd much rather spend the extra time walking to my next destination and seeing what kind of awesome stuff happens along the way (like defending myself from a dragon attack), or what I can discover (like another hidden dungeon). This game is truly a masterpiece in an already fabled franchise.



*another, more dramatic drumroll*


1. Star Wars: The Old Republic - PC - December 20

Deciding between this and Skyrim for my #1 game was a tough decision that took me several weeks to come to. Both games earned the right to hold that title, and in fact when I first drafted this list I had Skyrim number one and Old Republic number two. But as I continued to play Old Republic I gradually changed my mind. Because it's an MMO, Old Republic has a built-in advantage of being able to play with your friends, which is always a good thing. All MMOs have that going for them, but what really sets Old Republic apart is that I find myself wanting to play it even when none of my friends are online (even over Skyrim, which is made to be only a single player game). I messed around with WoW back in the day, and more recently played Rift and a few other free-to-play MMOs, and while they're all fun in their own way I never experienced this with any of them.

Old Republic mixes all that's great about MMOs with a story that works a lot like Mass Effect does (another game by Bioware). There are still your usual MMO fetch quests (i.e. go here and kill 15 of these, or collect 6 of these and return to me), but where the game really stands out are its "class quests". These quests advance a story and introduce supporting characters that stay with you the rest of the game. And your choices in these quests matter: like Mass Effect you usually have a choice to be good or evil, and whatever you pick affects what happens in your story down the road. There are 8 different classes (4 for each faction) all with original and unique stories that span from level 1 all the way to level 50 (the max level right now). I haven't beaten any of them yet, but I'm a good chunk into 2 of them (out of 8) and they're both really good so far. And from what I hear from other players and online, all 8 are very well made (in the Bioware tradition). You basically get 8 Mass Effect-type stories in one game, and best of all it's set in the Star Wars universe (which I'm also a big fan of). All that mixed with the space combat (which is a fun diversion) and the ability to play with several friends makes this my choice as my favorite game of 2011.



Honorable Mentions:

Rift - Wasn't as captivating as Old Republic, but was fun and had a lot of good ideas I wish other MMOs (including Old Republic) would steal.

L.A. Noire - A very interesting game; it tried a lot of new things and they worked out. Some parts were repetitive, but the interrogations, the story, and most of the action was great.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution - This game had some problems, but overall I really liked it and found most of it to be a lot of fun. Here's hoping for a sequel where they keep all the good stuff and iron out all the problems.



Games that may have made my top 5 list if I had had time to play them:

This is my way of giving props to games that probably deserve a spot on the list but that I unfortunately haven't gotten a chance to play yet.

-Bastion
-Dark Souls
-Gears of War 3
-Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
-The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings



The Letdowns

And, last but definitely least, the letdowns. Every year there are a few games that I (and many others) look forward to but unfortunately fail to meet most expectations. These aren't necessarily bad games (although many times they are). They're just... well, letdowns.

Brink - Bought this game for like $10 on sale about two months after it came out. That should tell you something.

Duke Nukem Forever - This game has been $10 for months now, and I still haven't bought it. That should really tell you something.

Dragon Age II - Not a terrible game, but for the most part it was overwhelmingly average. The characters (Bioware's specialty) were still good, but that was probably the only real bright spot in the game. The story was only okay and the environments and combat were damn near terrible. Definitely did not live up to expectations or the standard set by the first game.

Rage - Another one that wasn't all bad; in fact it started out really well. The graphics and gameplay were great, but the story started out decent and only got worse and worse until the ending, which is one of the worst endings for any game ever. The game just ends. Like stops. All of a sudden, you just win. And for a game that was in development for like five years, it's insultingly short. The "open world" is a lie and the multiplayer is not worth playing. The racing is an okay diversion but is pretty shallow and gets old pretty quick. Rage had a lot of potential but ultimately failed to reach it, or really even come close.



And there you have it: my list(s) for 2011. As always I value and appreciate any feedback, so feel free to post any comments or opinions you might have.

Review: Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening

"Not Enough of a Good Thing"




I was obviously a big fan of Dragon Age: Origins (seeing as it was my favorite game from the year 2009), so I was very excited when they announced there would be an expansion pack not too far into the year. Unfortunately, this was not nearly the expansion pack I had hoped for, especially given the untypical high price.

Quick Facts:

Platform: PC, Xbox 360, PS3
Genre: RPG
Developer: Bioware
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Release Date (NA): March 16, 2010
Rating: M


To be blunt, this expansion is only mediocre, which would be okay for some games, but I had much higher hopes for a game I loved as much as Dragon Age. Also, I feel the $39.99 price tag (which is unusually high for an expansion pack) is not justified by the content (both in quantity and quality) found in the expansion. The expansion is not terrible, but it is definitely lacking many of qualities that made the original title such a great game. While short and underwhelming, Awakening also is not nearly as engrossing or enticing as the original game, and yet costs 2/3 of the original title's price.

*Minor spoilers are ahead if you haven't finished the original game (by which I mean Dragon Age: Origins; there are no spoilers for the expansion I'm currently reviewing), read on at your own risk*


The main plot of Awakening is that even though you ending the blight by killing the archdemon, the darkspawn have not all retreated back underground. Something is keeping them here attacking the surface, even though the blight should be over. Also, they seem to be gaining an intelligence that they had never possessed before, which makes them even more dangerous. While this story has potential, the execution which the game carries it out is not great. You can either create a new character or import your character from the original game. You start at the same spot for both options, there is no new origin story for a new Grey Warden character. Also, if you import your character from the original, regardless of what happened at the end of that game, you come in alone. It doesn't matter if you had a dog imprinted on you, or if you told your love interest you would stay by their side, the only thing that carries over from the original is (most of) your inventory and stats. A few decisions from your game may carry over, but these are usually insignificant, and the game is mainly streamlined so that every player will have almost the same experience.

The story's execution is only okay, and besides the new story, there's not much else that comes with this expansion pack. The level cap does rise a little, and there are a few new specialization classes/skills which can at least be interesting. There is a new cast of party members, and while they all have their moments, because the expansion is so short there really isn't enough time to get to know them like you could with the characters in Origins. And, without spoiling anything, I found the ending to be very abrupt and unfulfilling, which (come to think of it) is a great way to summarize the game as a whole.

While this review has had a mostly negative tone, there are some good things. Like I said, the story has potential to be great, it's just not fleshed out enough. There are also a few things, like running the justice system of your land, that were interesting and really took me back to Baldur's Gate II. And, even though the gameplay hasn't changed much, that's okay with me because I loved the original so much. My main complaint with Awakening is that it feels rushed: there isn't enough content in it, and the content that is there is decent but would have benefitted from having more time and more content to go with it. The lack of quantity itself affects the quality of the stuff that is there, if that makes sense.

My recommendation would be to wait on this. It's not a bad expansion pack, but (especially when the price is considered) it's not great either. If the price tag had been lower, say $25-$30 (instead of $40), then I think this would have been a more positive review. Chances are if you loved Dragon Age as much as me and some of my friends did then you already have it; but if you did enjoy Dragon Age and you haven't bought this yet then I would say to wait a while until it drops by at least $10.

In Summary:

Pros: The story and characters have a lot of potential, the gameplay is slightly tweaked and improved and great as ever (assuming you liked Dragon Age: Origins), you can import your character from the original and keep most of your stuff, some interesting side quests.

Cons: The story and characters (as mentioned above) aren't given enough time to develop and be fleshed out, other side quests are short or just plain uninteresting, lack of content for such a high price point, visually many of the areas look the same - it looks like they're recycling scenery, abrupt and unfulfilling ending, overall feels rushed.


FINAL SCORE: 3 out of 5





Note: All reviews on this site are solely the subjective opinion of the author. If you disagree with my review please feel free to post in a polite manner and state your opinion. I welcome respectful discussion on my blog and would love to get feedback on my review and also read yours. Thanks!

The Greatest Games of the Decade: The Year 2009

Finally! Here is the last entry in my Greatest Games of the Decade series (though some people do it differently, for the purpose of this I counted the decade as 2000-2009). It's been a fun ride (at least for me) looking back at some of my favorite games of the last ten years, and I hope you enjoyed it too and maybe even got something out of it.

2009 ended only two months ago, so many of the games from that year are ones I still play or even still have yet to play. My favorite game from 2009 is a game that I put a lot of time into, and have even started new playthroughs with different characters after I beat it.





Dragon Age: Origins

Platform: PC, Xbox 360, PS3
Genre: RPG
Developer: Bioware
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Release Date (NA): November 3, 2009
Rating: M


Another amazing RPG by Bioware (almost all of whose games made my lists), this is a long but incredibly worthwhile journey in a fantasy, Lord of the Rings-esque setting. Like Bioware's other games, the story and characters are all great, and the world they created for the game is very good as well. I dont want to post any spoilers here (especially because this game hasn't even been out that long), but let's just say that the way you interact with other characters (especially the ones in your group) and how your actions affect what they do is incredible. Bioware has said that this game is a "spiritual successor" to the Baldur's Gate series (Baldur's Gate II being my favorite game of all time), and they are correct in saying that. Playing this game took me back to when I was playing Baldur's Gate II and I remembered what it was like to control a character whose actions really matter and affect the other people and world around him (Mass Effect 2 does an even better job of this, but that game will have to wait for the Greatest Games of 2010).

As for the other aspects of the game, the graphics are good, though many of the facial models aren't anything special (especially on the console versions). I really enjoyed the soundtrack, and the dialog and voice acting is all top notch. The combat is more turn-based and slow paced (like the Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and KotoR series), which I dont mind, but some people who aren't used to it may not like it. They do a good job of adding in lots of special moves you can perform during battle to give it more of an action-game type of feel. Character creation is great, and each race and class has their own "origin story," which means they start the game in a completely different area of the world with a different story of what's happening around them. This adds a lot of replayability to the game and actually made me want to make every different type of character just so I could play through their origin story. As always, leveling your guy is fun, and each class (Mage, Warrior, and Thief) has 4 different speciality classes you unlock once you reach a certain level, which adds a lot of customization to what kind of character you want to play.

There has also already been a good amount of DLC for this game, and an expansion pack is on the way next month. I would definitely recommend this game to any RPG fan who has enjoyed any of Bioware's previous titles. The PC version is slightly superior to the console version (mostly in that you can control the camera angle of the game), so if you have a computer that can run it you I suggest you get it for that. If not though, the console versions are still excellent (I have the game for my 360, and I still loved it).


Honorable Mentions:

Madworld (Wii)- One of the most mature games I've played, and it's on the Wii! What are the odds? Anyway, this is a third-person brawler that is a lot of fun. It also uses the motion controls very well, which is rare for games on the Wii. The graphics and art style are also very unique and cool too. This game did well critically but unfortunately sold very poorly.

Red Faction: Guerrilla (360, PS3, PC)- A good third-person action/sandbox style game, but what really made this game special was the physics engine it ran on. You could destroy pretty much anything in the game. Seriously. Buildings could be taken down piece by piece, floor by floor, however you wanted. Not just some buildings. Any building. This really makes the game a blast to play; even if you're not doing missions it's fun to just run around blowing stuff up.

Wii Sports Resort (Wii)- Basically Wii Sports 2 (but with a lot more games), this game comes with a lot of fun mini-games that take advantage of the Wii's motion controls. This game was also the first to use Wii-Motion Plus, which is an attachment that adds additional sensors to the remote that lets it pick up your movements much better. If you enjoyed Wii Sports, you'll like this game too.

Batman: Arkham Asylum (360, PS3, PC)- Not only the best Batman game I've ever played, but also the best superhero game. If you want to know more about why I liked this game, check out my review here.

The Beatles: Rock Band (360, PS3, Wii)- I will admit my bias right away: the Beatles are my favorite band of all-time, and have been since I was a kid. So I obviously loved all the songs in the game. What makes this game so great though is not just the music, but the way they really captured the spirit of the Beatles in a game. The art direction and graphics are great. Often times I've done poorly playing because I stopped looking at what color notes to play in order to watch the "dreamscapes" (background images) that go on while the song is playing. Also, the addition of three part harmonies for singing really added an extra element to the game that allows more people to play (especially at parties). If your friends can sing well, it actually works very well too. I hope to see Rock Band 3 and any following Rock Band games add that in too.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)- So much has been said about this game that there's really nothing left for me to say here. It won almost every Game of the Year award for 2009. Everything about it is great. If you have a PS3 and haven't at least checked this game out yet, then you dont deserve to have said PS3 (I'm looking at you, David Slaght).

Demon's Souls (PS3)- Another great PS3 exclusive, you really have to play this game to understand what makes it so great. It's a third-person action game in a very dark fantasy setting that is incredibly challenging but still a lot of fun. There are some really cool multiplayer elements that make this game stand out as well. If you have a PS3 and are looking for a challenge, definitely check this game out.

Borderlands (360, PS3, PC)- A great mix of first-person shooter and RPG. The people who design the game refer to it as a RPS (role-playing shooter), which is a pretty accurate description. The shooting/combat feels great (it's very similar to Call of Duty), and the role-playing elements are fun and helpful while not being overly complicated. The art direction and graphics are really cool and unique too. This game is really meant to play co-op with friends, but even by yourself it's still fun to play.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (360, PS3, PC)- Another game that there is nothing left to say about. If somehow you haven't heard much about this game (which is doubtful), you can check out my review here.


Biggest Disappointment:

The Conduit (Wii)- For most of my other "Biggest Disappointment" sections, I usually start off by saying that this game wasn't terrible, it just didn't live up to my expectations. That is not the case here. The Conduit is a pretty terrible game. In retrospect I'm not sure why my expectations were so high, as most games on the Wii not made by Nintendo usually suck. But still, The Conduit holds a special place in my heart as a game that failed me miserably. Live and learn, I guess. Also, if you want more detail on why The Conduit sucks so bad, check out my review here.


Well, that's all of them. The last ten years of my gaming experience in a nutshell. From looking at the lists, it seems to me that as time goes on developers start to more clearly see what makes a good game and what doesn't, which is why we see more and more good games every year, and less really terrible ones. To anyone reading this- I hope you enjoyed these posts and maybe even took something from them. As always, feel free to comment and post your own opinions. Now that I'm done this series, I'm not sure what I'm going to do next, if anything. I'll probably still do reviews and the like once in a while, but if you have any ideas for anything else you'd like to see feel free to let me know. Thanks!

The Greatest Games of the Decade: The Year 2005

Near the end of 2005 we saw the launch of the first next-gen console, the Xbox 360, but for most of the year the last-gen consoles (Xbox, Playstation 2, and Gamecube) were still the major players. In 2006 the Wii and PS3 both launched, completing the next-gen trifecta. This leaves 2005 as an interesting sort of transition year, but nonetheless a few great games came out this year. The greatest game of the year is a haunting survival-horror game that combines a tense atmosphere, terrifying enemies, a good story/characters, and great action and gameplay.





Resident Evil 4

Platform: Gamecube (originally); PS2, Wii, and PC (later on)
Genre: Survival-horror, Third Person Shooter
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom, Nintendo
Release Date (NA): January 11, 2005 (GC)
Rating: M


I still haven't played through the entire game, but I've played through enough to understand why so many people love it and why it's so critically acclaimed. Like I said before, the atmosphere is tense and the game keeps you on your toes. The level design, enemies, and gameplay mechanics are all great (except maybe Leon's inability to shoot and move at the same time, but that usually gets a pass in this game). The story and characters are solid, and along with fighting/running for your life, there are lots of really good puzzles. Almost all of your guns and equipment are upgradable throughout the game with the money you collect. Ammo and health is scarce (at least the levels I've played), but that's the point of the survival-horror genre - you have to be smart with what you have to stay alive. The different weapon types are fun to play around with too (when you have ammo), and there are lots of different guns to suit different playing styles. All in all a great gaming experience. The motion controls on the Wii version work well too, and it's very inexpensive nowadays.


Honorable Mentions:

Jade Empire (Xbox, PC)- Another great Bioware title, unlike Resident Evil 4 I have played through this game a couple of times. This is actually probably my favorite game out of 2005, but because I've already picked so many Bioware RPGs I decided to do something different this year. This game was not only a great RPG, but it was a great action game as well. Unlike Bioware's past games (BG2, NWN, Kotor), in this game you didnt just pick who you wanted your character to attack and sit back and watch them do it. While you could level your guy and collect experience and items just like an RPG, the combat was very much like an action game, somewhat along the lines of a game like Fable. This was a departure from what Bioware had done in the past, but the controls and live fighting actually worked really well. This game had a great story, another amazing plot twist, and great characters, all to go along with the great gameplay. If you've never played/heard of this game, I would highly recommend it. The Xbox disc is compatiable with Xbox 360, so you can buy it used and play it in your 360, or you can download the full game in "Games on Demand" right off Xbox Live.

Madden NFL 06 (Xbox, PS2, GC; NOT Xbox 360)- In my opinion, this is the pinnacle of all Madden games. This was the last Madden game (excluding the 360 version, which sucked) before they made the switch to next-gen Madden, and although the new Madden games finally seem to be getting better each passing year, they can never match the perfection of 06. The graphics on the new ones are obviously better, but I have played countless hours of countless fantasy-draft franchises in Madden 06, across Xbox, PS2, and Gamecube. The only flaw of this game was that they tried to introduce "QB Vision," but that mistake is easily corrected by turning it off in the options menu.

Star Wars: Battlefront II (PC, PS2, Xbox)- A great Star Wars game, this one focused very little on story. This game was great for multiplayer. This was a class based domination-type third person shooter, and what made it really great was the ability to have large scale battles where people could be fighting on foot at the same time as people flying around in vehicles or in space. Add in being able to occasionally play as a jedi or some other Star Wars hero, and you've got a really fun multiplayer game.

God of War (PS2)- Haven't played this game or the series very much, but it's undeniable that it set a new standard for the action genre.

Guitar Hero (PS2)- This game actually had some trouble finding a publisher at first, because the large game companies weren't sure if the whole plastic instrument "music game" thing would catch on with the public. Boy were they wrong. While this game itself isn't really amazing anymore (most of the songs were covers), it was incredibly innovative, and eventually led to all the Guitar Hero sequels and to Rock Band, which took it from just a guitar to a full four (and now even six in Beatles Rock Band) person band.


That's it for 2005. 2006 will be coming sooner or later; hopefully sooner rather than later. And now, because it is so cold in my apartment that I can barely feel my fingers anymore as I type, I bid you adieu.

The Greatest Games of the Decade: The Year 2003

The list for 2003 is a short one for me. In fact, out of all the years of this decade, this one has the fewest games to make the list. I'm sure there were other good games that came from this year, but looking over a few different lists of major releases from this year, there were only two games that caught my eye as ones that I played and thought were great games. The greatest game of this year is one that I only played for about a week (in which time I beat it and played through all of the optional content), but it completely enthralled me while I was playing. I would play all day and into the wee hours of the morning (I was home for break from college and didn't have a job at the time). So even though I only played this game for a week, I put a lot of hours into it. It was a short, but very hot, fling.





Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Quick Facts:

Platform: Xbox, PC
Genre: RPG
Developer: Bioware
Publisher: LucasArts
Release Date (North America): July 15, 2003 (Xbox)
Rating: T


Another great Bioware title (noticing a trend in my favorite games here?) with a great story and cast of characters. I wont give away too much here (though anyone who hasn't played this by now probably isn't going too), but this game has one of the greatest plot twists ever, and I'm not just talking about in video games. I'm talking about any form of media, including movies, TV, books, plays, etc. That's how shocking it is. And of course, a plot twist cant be great unless it has a great plot to twist, so like I said the game has an amazing story. The game takes place a few thousand years before the movies do, during the reign of the fabled "Old Republic" (hence the game's name) and their conflicts with the Sith Lords and other various factions. While fantasy RPGs (Baldur's Gate, NWN) are great, there's something about the world of Star Wars that seems to make things even cooler. That may not be true for everyone, but for someone who fell in love with Star Wars as a little kid from the first time they saw it on VHS (thanks, Mom!), having a game take place in that universe and being able to use things like the Force and lightsabers is even cooler than a game that takes place in some fantasy world (no disrespect to Faerun of course).

The character customization in the game was also great, with lots of different classes and jedi classes to suite your play style however you like it. And, like Baldur's Gate II before it, this game was notorious for your decisions affecting the world around you and even the characters that traveled with you in your party. Of course, being a jedi, you could eventually choose to follow the Light side or the Dark side, and whichever path you picked would greatly effect the outcome of the game. And certain characters in your party liked you better depending on whether you were good or evil. If you were evil enough, you could even permanently kill people in your party to intimidate the others and set an example. Stuff like that is still deeper than a lot of the games that come out today.


Honorable Mention:

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy (PC, Xbox)- The only other game that I truly loved from this year also happens to be a Star Wars game, though a far different one. While Kotor (Knights of the Old Republic) was an RPG, this game was an action game (I believe you could switch between a first person mode and a third person mode). Also unlike Kotor, this game is part of the Jedi Knight series of games (that started with Dark Forces and Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight), and this series takes place a few years after the Return of the Jedi. Jedi Academy was a lot of fun, with lots of cool weapons and force powers, great levels, and a decent story.


So 2003 was short but sweet. That's the way it goes sometimes. Comments are always welcome, and stayed tuned for 2004!

The Greatest Games of the Decade: The Year 2002

The game of the year for 2002 is a game that is very dear to my heart, being the game that I've probably put the most time into in my whole life, and the only game that I actually made a few "friends" online playing the game that I had never met in real life (think The Guild, even though I never actually met these people and stopped talking to them once I stopped playing the game). It's the most customizable game I've ever played, and had my favorite multiplayer ever, even though it wasn't actually made by the company that made the game.





Neverwinter Nights

Quick Facts:

Platform: PC
Genre: Role-Playing Game (RPG)
Developer: Bioware
Publisher: Infogrames/Atari
Release Date (North America): June 18, 2002 (PC)
Rating: T


All aspects of the game included, Neverwinter Nights is probably the game I've played the most time in my life, especially once you factor in the all the expansion packs that came out for it. The single player game throughout the series is good and definitely worth playing. The characters in the game may not be the most memorable (besides, of course, Deekin), but the story and gameplay are very good. But that's not the only reason I love this game. The multiplayer for this game was amazing.

The game came with a full toolset that let people create their own mods and even whole worlds and then host them online using their own computers as dedicated servers. The toolset that came with the game included most of the things Bioware used to create the actual single player game. For people that actually get into coding and all that stuff, you can really do a lot with the world you want to create, and even for people that dont know how to do all that stuff (like me), it had an easy enough interface that you could learn some tricks and make some areas. And once someone created a mod and put it online as a server, they could log in not only as a player but as an all-controlling Dungeon Master (a D&D term) and play along with or even against the players by spawning monsters, items, and many other things all while staying invisible to the players (if they wanted to). It's really hard to explain the awesomeness and all-encompassingness of this game to someone who's never played it. To people who have played some other Bioware games but not this one, it plays and looks a lot like an earlier version of Knights of the Old Republic or the recently released Dragon Age: Origins. You can still go online in Neverwinter Nights today, more than seven years later, and find online communities that are still playing user-made mods. I started playing online in the same worlds with the same people and became part of a large community back when I used to play this. This is where I put the most of my hours playing this game, logging on to the NWN servers every night and seeing where my online friends were playing. There were some awesome servers and mods online and a lot of cool people to play with, and best of all, it was all free. Looking back, the online component was a lot like World of Warcraft before there was World of Warcraft, but it was free, and players could create their own worlds and stories and control them on the fly as people played them.


Honorable Mentions:

Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (PC, Xbox)- Not a perfect game by any means, but a very ambitious and good game. The game is in a completely open world, even more so than its successor Oblivion. There are even fewer area transitions, and for its time the world was very well made and detailed. It's not perfect though, as the combat is not very good and there were a lot of glitches/problems with the gameplay. Still, this was a big game for this year, and laid the foundation for Oblivion.

Warcraft III (PC)- An RTS that I still occasionally play, it has great gameplay, great online play, and a great story and characters (something unusual for many RTSs).

Kingdom Hearts (PS2)

Metroid Prime (GC)

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (Multi)- I only played this one a little (I'm not a big fan of stealth games), but I've only really ever heard good things about it, and it laid a foundation for several Splinter Cell games to come afterwards.


Thanks for reading, and as always feel free to comment/post. Stay tuned next week for the best games of the year 2003!

The Greatest Games of the Decade: The Year 2000

We start our countdown with the first year of this decade: 2000. Unfortunately, because this was so long ago (I was only 13 at the time) I dont have a great memory of which games came out this year. But upon thinking back (and checking older websites) there are a few games that stand out from this year. But first, let me award my Game of the Year for 2000:




Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn

Platform: PC
Genre: RPG
Developer: Bioware
Publisher: Black Isle Studios, Interplay

This game is actually my favorite game of all time, so it's not very surprising that it is also my favorite game that came out of the year 2000. The game is hard to explain to someone who's never played/heard of it (which is most of my friends), but it is the most expansive single player game I have ever played. It is also the best single player experience I have ever had. The way your decisions affect other characters and the world around you are way ahead of their time. Much newer games like Mass Effect and Fallout 3 (both of which I also love) are still introducing that to players (and BG2 was 9 years ago). The story is great, all the dialogue is excellent, and the characters that travel around with you (if you dont screw up your relationship with them) are hands down the best in any game I've ever played. They just have so much personality. The game world, while not technically an "open-world", is huge, well crafted, and a lot of fun to explore. There's so many things to do in this game in just one play-through, let alone the many play-throughs that it deserves. The graphics were good for its time, but you can imagine that 9 years later it's not that much to look at, but that was never the point of this game. If you like RPGs and are ever looking for something great to play on your computer, check this game out. Also, its expansion pack, The Throne of Bhaal, is an excellent addition and wraps the story up nicely. I think you can get both the game and the expansion for pretty cheap on Amazon now.


Honorable Mentions:

The Sims (PC)- This game was a lot of fun and started a whole chain of games that are still popular on the PC (The Sims 3 came out pretty recently and was met with great sales and good reviews). This game broke the chain of controlling a whole city and focused in on just one person or a few people, with lots of customization for both them and where they live.

Perfect Dark (N64)- While this game owes a lot to Goldeneye (N64) for its base, this game took everything Goldeneye did great and ran with it. The 4 player split-screen was great for its time, and this game featured both co-operative play and counter-operative play (something most games still dont offer). The weapons were crazy, the levels were good, and so was the story. Also, you could add bots to play against in this game, a nice feature which many games still lack. I put many hours into the killing of bots in deathmatch with my friends, and I didn't even own an N64. (Turtle sim was my favorite to kill.)


So that's all I have for the year 2000. If there are any glaring omissions (I'm sure there are many), or if you agree/disagree with my list, please feel free to comment. Like I said, it's hard for me to remember that far back, and I didn't play as many games then as I do now. Hope you enjoyed the first installment of the Greatest Games of the Decade, check back next week for the next installment: the year 2001!