Title says it all. We have a GOTY thread, a "best/worst surprises" thread, and a "best purchases/worst non-purchases" thread for games that came out this year, but what about the games you pulled off your backlog? These are my standouts: Armageddon Empires (PC indie strategy game, 2007): A brilliant board game/turn-based strategy hybrid -- think a post-apocalyptic Civilization -- featuring humans, mutants and two different alien armies. Notable for solving the strategy genre's biggest problems (micromanagement and the boring late game), and wrapping it up in an emergent narrative about triumphant generals, dastardly assassins, and the genius scientist who managed to whip up an H-bomb a few turns before a rampaging giant mech would have crashed through the front door of your HQ. If you're a TBS fan, you have to at least try the demo. Digital: A Love Story (PC indie visual novel, 2010): A text-based game in which you play a teenager exploring the brave new BBS world of 1988. I described this in the "surprises" thread as "a light-hearted, fun, funny tribute to the Internet, and to communities like these" -- well-written, emotionally affecting, and adept at bringing its world to life, right down to its retro chiptune music. I'm really looking forward to its creator's next project! Persona 4 (PS2 RPG, 2008/09): Take a game with a brilliant concept (one part social life simulator, one part dungeon crawling RPG), stir in memorable characters and great audio (voice acting/music), and serve. That was Persona 3. Now take that same concept but improve the execution in every way - more interesting decisions in the social simulator, more variety in the dungeon crawler - and that gives us Persona 4. More of the same? Yes please! (We actually have a whole thread about this game in Kawaii, but it's a spoiler thread and I haven't looked inside -- I'm "only" 30 hours in! It's gonna take me a while to finish...) Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth (the 2006 PSP port of a 1999/2000 PSX RPG): I originally finished VP many years ago, and I've just started a replay. Man, this is as good as I remember. Instead of pouting emo teens, we get a dark fantasy tale - or, really, collection of vignettes - about a Valkyrie and the fallen heroes she enlists on the eve of Ragnarok. The 2D sprite graphics hold up really well, the pseudo-platformer dungeon exploration makes for a nice change, and the combat system is frantic button-mashing fun. (Also, Motoi Sakuraba was composing music for the Valkyrie Profile games long before you cool kids heard his work in Dark Souls. Rawr!). What about you guys?
Dark Souls! Game of this year, game of last year, game of every year. Apart from that, I had a nice time trying to get better at Contra. I never did end up finishing it (without the Konami code or save states, that is), but I started getting pretty far. Also had a lot of fun rediscovering The Atomic Runner, which I hadn't played since I was a kid and which has held up remarkably well. Saints Row the Third was also good. I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out that I might remember to post later, but those are the ones that come to mind right now.
You know Christine Love has made two more games since Digital, right ? I didn't really like do,'t take it personally (it's free though s no reason not to try it), but Analogue is pretty good. You should grab it during the holiday sale. As far as I'm concerned I haven't played a lot of older games this year, but I played Saints Row 3 in january... That would have made my 2011 GOTY list if I'd knew how crazy good that game is. Oh yeah, I also played Stalker, so that, even if I found the ending very disappointing, and I found the game slightly disappointing compared to Call of Pripyat. Maybe one day I'll take the time to properly try all those GoG games I keep buying.
Yes, I was referring to Hate Plus. :D I agree that Don't Take It Personally is the weakest of the three, and I actually think Analogue is a darn sight better than "pretty good". I've sung Analogue's praises both in its main thread, the surprises thread, and its LP threads. :)
Settlers 7 is really cool, but I kept getting distracted by other stuff. Was Portal 2 last year? I mostly enjoyed that. I enjoyed Skyrim for about 50 hours this years, but I feel like that makes it a disappointment compared to most people. I think I got most of my Dark Souls in last year. Edit: I'm actually not feeling Mass Effect 2 all that much. It's a bit of a chore to get through. I don't know if it's that I don't like sci fi or that it's too linear.
This year I did a surprising amount of game playing for titles that were actually released this year. I guess there are still a couple older titles from years past I picked up and spent some time on, but now that I think about it, not that many stand out as something I'm eager to bring up. Here are a few exceptions: Dark Souls: Finally, an end of the year list where this game actually belongs. Not just one of my favorite older games, but one of the best games I've ever played. Lara Croft: Guardian of Light: First time I've ever played a Tomb Raider game. It came with some $5 game pack I picked up from Amazon which included a bunch of other Steam games like Just Cause 2, Kane & Lynch 2 and Supreme Commander 2 (and one other I forget). I mainly picked the pack up for Just Cause 2 (own it on the 360, wanted it on PC/Steam), but tried Lara Croft on a whim. I fell for the game immediately. Not knowing anything about the franchise, I never put much thought into playing a Tomb Raider/Lara Croft game since I figured they'd be more about jiggly boobs and gutter humor than anything else, and I prefer my games to offer solid gameplay as a selling point moreso than winky elbow jabs (though I'm willing to play games that offer both; hello Dead or Alive fighting games, and hello Saints Row 3). I think it was the Open Letter thread in one of the political forums that inspired me to try it, by informing me that, apparently, traditional Lara Croft/Tomb Raider games don't sacrifice and exchange solid gameplay for stale gutter humor -- and that perhaps I had been judging a book by its cover. Never knowing more about the franchise than what I'd see on posters and video game expo "booth babes", I think I expected something closer to an action packed Leisure Suit Larry game, but from a busty woman's perspective. The game surprised me though, and ended up being one of my favorites in recent memory. I just love the exploration and puzzles, and the action is pretty good too. I have no complaints about this game at all, other than it's really, really, really short (something like 10 hours long start to finish). Civ V: My favorite TBS since Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic. Although the game isn't perfect (not too keen on pretty much every enemy being nothing more than a predictably unpredictable warmonger this time around), it does almost everything else to my liking.
Easy. Dwarf Fortress and Assassins Creed Brotherhood. And I played a lot of M&B:Warband, which I had never touched before.
I'm torn between Settlers 7 and Fallout 3. The former has fantastic gameplay hidden beneath an utterly adorable aesthetic. Frankly, I don't know how it got approved in this age of brown and browner military shooters and the like, but whomever made that call... thank you. Meanwhile, Fallout 3 is quickly becoming my favorite non-Bioware RPG on the strength of its moddability and never-ending supply of interesting places to explore.
Where would you find some good Fallout 3 mods? Just purchased the game and Bethesda being Bethesda, I'll probably need to mod the crap out of it.
I recommend watching this series of videos, produced by a guy who authors a number of great mods himself. He's easy to listen to, explains everything in detail and he hits on all of the most popular mods.
Rayman Origins, which is slightly cheaty I suppose since it only came out in November 2011 and I played it in January, but I love the shit out of it. It's the best 2D platformer to come out in, like, ever.
Skyrim. Missed out on it last year, and despite the usual Bethesda flaws it was still an incredibly fun and engrossing experience. Supreme Commander 2: It's still fucking awesome. The sequel to TA I've been waiting for, unlike the fiddly mess that was the original SUPCOM.
Dark Souls - no qualms about putting that one forward for this category! Anyone who doubles up in this thread and the GOTY thread is a hypocrite. :-) Icewind Dale - played it again with a bunch of mods based on the nostalgia evoked by the Project Eternity kickstarter. The Operational Art of War 3 - Still one of the best computer wargames ever made!
1. Hatoful Boyfriend 2. Persona 4. 3. Portal 2. 4. Advance Wars: Dual Strike 5. Bioshock 6. Conan Kill Everything
Bulletstorm - I had put this game off due to the brosef/frathouse vibe the previews and trailers gave off. Totally not the case at all, and a really great shooter. "I'll kill your dick!" "What does that even mean?!" is the greatest exchange between two videogame characters ever. Enslaved: Journey to the West - Fantastic platformer game I picked up earlier this year for like $10. Highly recommended. Folklore - I got this game when I first bought my ps3, but it sat unplayed (like my ps3) for years. An interesting action/jrpg game with a fantastic visual style. My biggest gripe is that the game isn't fully voice-acted, as some of the characters are really great.
Far too much Skyrim. My BFFWB back in Korea bought it for me for my birthday. Luckily I love crafting and playing sneaking long-range damage characters, which appears to be the WIN combo.
Dominions 3. I've only played/playing 2 MP games so far, yet I feel as though I've learnt that this game has some crazy amounts of detail to it, and it will be a long way before I even get to being any good at it. But the guys I'm playing against in the second game have been incredibly good in providing tips and advice, especially Austen as he kicks my arse. Europa Universalis III I haven't touched this beauty in a while now, but for a time at the start of the year it was a game that I really dove deep in to learn. It is learning about the various systems at play which I like, and by the time I start learning enough of the game to be functional in it, I feel as though I've achieved something.
Oh, one other one: Bastion. I bought it during the Steam summer sale, but never played it. Then I bought it again for iOS for a buck. Played a bunch of it today waiting for my train home this afternoon. Great game.
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri , never played it before and had always heard good things. LOVE IT , and now GOG gave us all the expansion free! :)
This is a good thread, I almost never manage to play all the games I'm interested in during the year they come out so I can never nominate them for any GOTY threads. With the exception of X-COM and Far Cry 3, I spent most of my gaming time on pre-2012 games. I have yet to delve into Dishonored and Dark Souls. Bastion - I first tried Bastion last year, and even though it looked great, the early gameplay felt like random button mashing. I tried it again this year, went further, and used a controller. It turns out the combat is not random button mashing at all, but an actual balanced system with multiple different tools you can use. The upgrade systems are great too (potions, weapon upgrades, skills), and this is probably the game with the best difficulty levels (the idols). Freespace 2 - Another game that I had tried previously but didn't quite "get" the first time. I was initially put off because the flight model tended to feel like Descent and not a space sim. On my second try I started using my wingmen more efficiently, and the game became much better. I still remember the day I got my medal for the liberation of Epsilon Pegasi. Far Cry 2 - I had never really enjoyed the overabundance of patrols and outposts in FC2, but after a few tries I stopped banging my head against the game and realized that on many occasions you are better off avoiding those and that walking is sometimes preferable to driving, doubly so because the savannah in this game is so pretty. Contrary to the money in FC3, diamonds are scarce and valuable in FC2. Every one counts, and that drives the exploration for the briefcases in the amazing environments. I'm still not a fan of how little damage the assault rifles do, but as a good consequence there was an incentive to use the less conventional weapons. It's also a tonally consistent game, and Jackal tapes are great. "They're not biodegradable. Only the dead are biodegradable." Brutal Legend - I gave up hope that this would show up on PC, so I ordered a physical copy for my PS3, and now I have to walk all the way to the other room to play it. It's worth it though, because despite some flaws it has an awesomely creative world. Although you can only give your units general orders, Eddie's abilities and the team-up attacks make the game work. But I wonder if it would be better served with a keyboard for control groups and finer control of your units, like in Sacrifice.
Skyrim - Holy hell this is amazing, so glad I finally got it. Distant Worlds - This became my favorite 4X ever this year, only wish I had more time to play it. Rules of Engagement 2 - Been having a ton of fun with this one for my blog. Burnout Revenge - Got my first PS2 ever, and this is the game I've played the most. Civilization V - With Giant Multiplayer Robot, this game is a blast.
Athough it wasn't the 'best' non-2012 game I had played this year, I really enjoyed Mirror's Edge. Bought it on a lark for $5 on New Years Eve and played through the whole thing in one sitting. Steam tells me about 5 hours of gameplay. Interesting game with moments of nigh-brilliance. However, it also had a number of flaws. The biggest of which was the trial-and-error gameplay and the lack of any clearly defined paths. The other being the forced combat sequences. Yeah, I know you can non-violence your way through them, but I think the game would've been much better without any combat whatsoever. Mirror's Edge gameplay/mechanics coupled with an Assassin's Creed level/world design would be a really incredible thing.
Finally put the time into Resonance of Fate. Far better than Tri-Ace's other current-generation project. We won't talk about that one. The battle system is a nightmare until you learn how to handle it. You will die over and over and over at first; you need to know when to use hero actions and when to take shots manually. You need to internalize the mechanics that determine charge times based on range, in order to make those distinctions. And you need to watch positions closely, to keep dangerous enemies (fuck you Never Crawlers) at safe ranges. Not too close, not too far. If you fail to account for any of this information the result will be a game over. There's a tutorial, in theory. A HUGE one. But it doesn't really help. Once you can manage the information you're given, though, it's one of the best battle systems you're going to encounter. Weird turn-based/real-time hybrid; enemies move in real time, but only when your characters are moving/shooting/whatever. The leader assault system is brilliant, because it lets you end easy random encounters in a single stroke without compromising the game's difficulty curve. Looks cool, too! Equipment customization is... different. As for the script: the interactions between your party are fantastic. That's the good news; these three feel like friends and coworkers. The bad news is that the plot itself is a clusterfuck of epic proportions. The gameplay makes up for it, but don't expect much there. Something about a giant clockwork machine that's also God. And this guy wants to destroy that machine, or maybe control it? And they don't do much more than allude to any of this for 9/10s of the game. I don't even. Probably not the "best" pre-2012 game I played this year, but it's the most interesting to discuss. Oh, and I accidentally selected Metroid: Other M in my USB loader, if that counts. My opinion of that game: piss, fuck, shit, cocks. Yoshio Sakamoto is an otherfucker. This is, and will continue to be, the worst game.
You know, every single time I see that screenshot, I keep thinking that gun could be optimized so much better... remove a barrel or two and you could stick on another set of sniper scopes! Yeah, the plot kinda goes a bit bonkers near the end (in typical Tri-Ace fashion)... but you know what? I really didn't find myself minding all too much, probably due to the character development... Up until that 1/10th (though I'd argue it's more 3/10ths) where shit goes down, the game really has a nice 'slice of life' feel about it; you're just following the exploits of three mercs on a giant tower-city. And then, when things do start happening, the driving force behind the protags getting involved is less "We must save the world because we are heroes" and more "Hey, we just got swept up in this shit, and we have no other choice. Also, you guys are kind of assholes, so we should really beat you down on principle." EDIT: Also? The NG+ dungeon is fucking insane, difficulty-wise. This will not surprise anyone familiar with Tri-Ace titles, but there ya go. As far as my best Pre-2012 Game... well, that was originally going to go to Nier, but I don't think I actually played that in 2012 (I should, I never did get the last two endings, and it's a damn fine game besides). So, I think I'll backup SqueakyFoo's recommendation of Folklore, and for much the same reasons. While the game can get a bit grindy due to the fact you need to do Chapters 1 - 5 twice (once with each character), the way each character plays, coupled with the fact that the stories of the two are intertwined, makes it worth it.
I played about half of Persona 4 before I realized that I was definitely getting a Vita and bailed before I got any further in. Does that count?
This year I started working my pre-2012 backlog but good. The quality games knocked out include: Saints Row: The Third, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Red Dead Redemption, and Dead Rising 2 (not finished with DR2 yet). One nice thing about playing games a year or two after release is you can get a sense of which ones you're really going to enjoy so you don't waste as much time playing shitty games. (Admittedly I did let Assassin's Creed: Revelations through the shit-game filter, but simply because I love the series so much.) eta: damn, forgot quite a few other awesome games I spent quality time with this year: Saboteur, Red Faction: Guerilla, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and Batman: Arkham City. Shit, I had a pretty good year in gaming even if they weren't all brand new releases!
Oh, I also forgot to add Infamous 2 to my list. I loved the first one, and the second one is even MORE fun. Now to getting around to finishing it...
I played that Warhammer 40K Space Marine third person shooter and thought it was pretty great. And Infamous 2. And both I and my daughters went on one hell of a Minecraft bender.
