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Best and worst of '08. Well?
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by
on 2008-12-25 19:59:22 |
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So what was everyone's favorite games of 2008? Which games that released this year tickle your fancy? Also, which games made you curse at the fact you spent actual cash on them or otherwise just made you think "I wish I had my time back." Please list your top three games of this year, as well as your top three worst games. You can say why you thought so if you like, but it isn't necessary so don't worry if you don't feel like it. Feel free to include any other games you wish to point out for a particular reason or another. My top games of this year are: 1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots(PS3)- I just loved this, and being a fan of the game I can say that the ending is actually gratifying, which is something I was afraid of when they said this would be an end to the story. Didn't know if they could pull off an ending to please the fans, but they did it. Not to mention the unlockables and Metal Gear Online kept me busy after the main game had ended. 2. Valkyria Chronicles(PS3)- Probably the most unexpected title I could have imagined. All I could think after beating this game was "Hell must be frozen over, because Sega actually managed to make an excellent next gen game. It's a little scary how well this was done, too bad it was barely advertised anywhere and Sega released it at the worst possible date for an unheard of game, smack dab in the middle of the Christmas game build up when people were talking about nothing else except Gears of War 2 or LittleBigPlanet. The excellent mix of genres, combined with the orchestral soundtrack by Sakimoto and the beautiful watercolor graphics provided by the CANVAS engine just brought it all to life. Not to mention the extra content on the way and the wonderful story/characters. 3. Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core(PSP)- Yeah, it was made by SE, but despite all the bashing I do on them I still had fun with this game, although I believe it was mainly due to the Final Fantasy VII characters and references. I will say they completely screwed with the story and a lot of the stuff I could have done without (Genesis comes to mind) but it did give me some more story about Zack and filled in that part of the story left out of FFVII. Plus, the cutscenes were real pretty (The one thing Square-Enix CAN do correctly). My worst game of the year: Prince of Persia(PS3, XBox 360)- This game wasn't bad exactly, it was just a complete and utter let down in every way possible except for graphics, it turned out almost exactly like Assassin's Creed (It was made by Ubi-Soft Montreal, same guys, so I suppose this is going to be their trend from now on. *sighs*). Just like AC it looked so awesome, it was hyped up, it got good reviews and people said great things, but when it actually came time to play the same problems came back from AC. Where do I start, well the graphics are great, the art direction at least. It's similar to Valkyria Chronicles and it looks really nice, but once you get past that pretty eye candy (Just like in AC) the ugly problems appear all over the place and continue to haunt you. The game is extremely repetitive, nearly more so than AC. You go to area, get to the center, beat the weak boss of that location (in under 60 seconds most times) listen to some talking about what to do next or some backstory that doesn't matter and then move on to next. There is no challenge at all since it is impossible to die under any circumstance, so there's never any sort of pressure on you to do well or try other than to get through the game faster. The story is utter garbage, starting with the Prince merely stumbling into the game (literally), moving on to giving you some back story, straight into full blown 'nobody cares'. It's presented in a bad way, no real cutscenes with dialogue, just battle followed by a close up of each character as they talk a little and then zoom right out back into gameplay. It also has the most redundant ending I have ever witnessed, making me feel like everything I just did in the game was a complete waste of time since nothing really got accomplished. The battles, however pretty they may be, last anywhere from 15 seconds to 1 minute depending on how many times the enemy wants to counter the start of your attack, and the same attack sequence works on EVERY SINGLE ENEMY. That's all I have for now, hard to concentrate at the moment. lol    |
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Re: Best and worst of '08. Well?
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by
on 2008-12-26 16:15:52 |
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Well on top of that list is of course... 1. Disgaea 3 (PS3) - Of all the games i've played this year this takes the cake in most time spent!!! As of now my game clock is over 200 hours & will rise cause FINALLY the dlc is here. Although not the most graphical pretty game & it does has it's down points (repetiveness) but the overall wackiness & superb voice acting makes me come back all the time!! Definitely my fave of 2008. 2. Little Big Planet (PS3) - Although i have only scratched the surface of this delightful game it is one of the most intriguing, delightful, cutest games i've ever seen or played. The amount of stuff you can do for this game is beyond imagination & the awesome dlc that is arriving almost all the time (the MGS4 stuff is AWESOME!!!) makes this game limitless. In years to come this game will still be played cause of that neverending content. Makes me wonder what LBP 2 will be like!!! 3. Final Fantasy VII - Crisis Core (PSP) - I have to agree with you Jon-san..as much as it pains me to say Squenix actually did a good job on this title. Although the story was a tad corny the characters made up for it...especially Zack. His character made this game what it is. He is a far superior main character than another spiky haired hero...the voice acting was good too. The gameplay did get some use to, it was different & with time was really fun to get into. The music was top notch & of course the cutscenes were the usual. One of the best PSP games one can get. Honorable mentions - Eternal Sonata (PS3) - Resistance 2 (PS3) - Star Ocean: First Departure - FF IV (DS) - Dead Space (PS3) *note* I know MGS4 is missing in my list but i'm one of the few people who have yet to play it. Eventually i'll get it since it is a must have game...once i finish with Disgaea i'll probably get it than. Worst game Infinite Indiscovery & Last Renmant (X360) - Suprise!! Suprise!! never saw that coming did ya? Squenix never does anything bad how come these 2 are on the list? Well where do i start.... First both games feel like they were unfinished. The gameplay felt left out & the overall presentation of the game is definitely lacking. I posted about Infinite Indiscovery in another thread so i don't feel it is worthy of more comments. It's bad!! As for Last Renmant...just like Infinite it's just not fun at all...feels like a poor attempt at being Dynasty Warriors. Their is ALOT of slowdown especially when the screen fills up, the characters are uninspiring with mediocre voice acting. The music is probably the best thing about the game although none of the tracks are memorable. In the end another poor & mediocre game from a once prominent company...how the mighty have fallen.....they better take their time with FF13 (all versions) & make it right for once.  |
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Re: Best and worst of '08. Well?
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by
on 2008-12-29 20:38:39 (edited 2008-12-29 20:52:33)
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Interesting list Izumo. I agree that Disgaea 3 was a very well done game, it's low review scores to me just show that gamers today seem to care more about graphics than anything else. I should touch a little more on that actually. Personally I didn't enjoy Eternal Sonata very much, the musical style and the fact that it's really the dream of a composer on his death bed didn't appeal to me very much (when I'm playing a game I like to think that the characters and actions follow through into the future, like a story has been told and continues on after I have beaten the game, just without me there, not that it's a dream or figment of someones imagination and never really happened). Honorable Mentions: LittleBigPlanet(PS3): I enjoyed this game, and as Izumo said the MGS stuff is really nice, I can only hope that the FFVII stuff is just as good. The only gripe I have with the game right now is that copyright garbage is starting to get in the way of the level designs. Several levels have recently been taken down because they were created (by users) to resemble other games. Really good levels with themes like Mirror's Edge, Super Mario Bros, Galaga/R-Type, Guitar Hero and Tetris are being taken down for fear that they are breaking copyright laws. This I find puts a huge cap on people's ability to create. Some of the best levels I played were ones based on other games (I can't remember their names, but two girls from Japan created the most amazing level of R-Type style space shooter, I can't begin to imagine how long it must have taken and it's a travesty that it can't be played now, they did an amazing job and they were even nice enough to have pictures of themselves up at the start of the level). Gears of War 2(XBox360): I liked it as much as any other shooter. It was far from blowing my mind, too similar to the first one, but like the first one it was solid. I guess I'm just not a fan of steroid junkie space marines. Tales of Vesperia(XBox 360): It was a Tales game, and the Tales series has always produced solid games for RPG fans. The only question I have is why they didn't release this on all platforms, this system exclusivity crap is really taking away from the gamers. Chances are though this will be ported within a year, much like Eternal Sonata, or Namco Bandai will release a Tales game for PS3 to round out it's one exclusive each approach. Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice(PS3): Thanks to Izumo's talk about what a great series it is, I eventually rented the newest release on the PS3, I liked it, I became addicted, I bought it using Christmas gift cards, getting the DL characters tomorrow. . . I can't believe at how fast that was, a week basically. Overall a very good game and very much overlooked, possible because it's a niche game. I enjoy the special attacks, the battles, the DLC support, the 2-D sprites and anime style which I sorely miss in overblown, big budget games that crowd the market these days. Most of all though, I love the voice work/dialogue, the characters and the setting. I only wish that there was more in it, I'm not done the game yet but I constantly get the feeling that all the wonderful voice work and dialogue will be gone in the next hour when I finish the a dungeon, and that makes me sad because I do so enjoy it. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4(PS2): Proof that the PS2 still is the best console you can get right now, this game was another notch in the belt of Atlus software. Well done as always, and thankfully they realized the small annoyance from P3 and fixed it(I refer specifically to being able to control only your character and no others. I have never enjoyed an RPG where my allies were controlled by AI. It never turns out well). |