Games of 2008
Company of Heroes (PC)
Premise: Real time strategy game set in WW2. Resources are not harvested, but rather gained by controlling strategis points on the map.
Single player was alright. Even though later in the campaigns, I'd abandon strategy in favour of massing tanks. The real meat of the game is most likely in multi-player, but I never did explore that realm.
4/5
Farcry (PC)
Premise: First person shooter. Huge sandbox environments.
One of the best shooters ever. Compared to your typical corridor based FPS, the huge levels are very refreshing.
5/5
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC)
Premise: A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... 4000 years prior to the Empire to be exact while employing D&D 3rd edition-esque rules
A tad formulaic and a bit dumb down compared to other cRPGs, but still a great game. Both of the endings are lacking though.
4/5
Resident Evil (Gamecube)
Premise: Abandoned mansion filled with the undead and bizarre item puzzles.
Solid game. I found that I needed to take FAQ-esque notes while playing the game. Not as engrossing as Resident Evil 2, but I may be blinded by nostaglia.
3/5
Shadow of Colossus (PS2)
Premise: 3rd person adventure game. There are no towns or dungeons to explore, no characters with which to interact, and no enemies to defeat other than 15 colossi. This is a puzzle game in that each colossus' weakness must be identified and exploited before it can be defeated.
Innovative, great soundtrack, great presentation. Great game period.
It irks me when people always dismiss the current generation of video games in favor of games from previous generations. Not that old games are bad, but people unfairly compare the average game today versus the cream of the crop from yesteryear. Improved graphic engines provide more options for developers because this game wouldn't be possible on older consoles.
5/5
Metal gear solid 3 (PS2)
Premise: In cold war Russia, “Naked” Snake has to defuse a potential international incident utilizing a combination of gun play and stealth.
Why I hate Hideo Kojima
There's a point in the game where Snake has climb up a long ladder. It's straightforward enough, you just hold up on the analog stick/control pad. However, the ladder climb is purposely long just to force you to listen the snake eater theme song.
There are some other equally stupid-ass moments in this game (notably the boss fights with the sorrow and the end) to detract from an otherwise good game. Script wise , this series has become more and more unplausible since the momentum killing 20+ minute penultimate cinema in MGS2.
I can't say I'm dying to play MSG4 at this point.
3/5
Dragon Quest 8: Journey of the Cursed King (PS2)
Premise: Japanese RPG. A king and princess have been cursed and it's up to you to reverse the curse.
There are two major flaws with this game: the lack of experience and gold earned from random battles. Online FAQs provide decent solutions to these problems.
Beyond these flaws, this game is awesome. Nothing radically new, but everything is executed well. 3rd person view for the large overworld map is a nice touch and it makes exploration fun. The first ending is solid while the second ending (available after finishing the game once) is very satisfying and it does an excellent job of tying up loose ends.
5/5
Dragon Quest 1 (Gameboy Advance)
Premise: Japanese RPG. One of the first jRPGs for the NES.
Compared to the NES version, this version had better graphics, no old English dialogue, more gold and experience from random battles. It amazes me that jRPGs became popular inspite of games like this: hours of level grinding, minimal direction on what to do next, extremely limited saving options, hidden walls, etc. With a FAQ and emulator turbo key, this game only lasts a couple of hours.
Recommended only for historians, masochists, and completists.
1/5
Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition (PS2)
Premise: Third person action with guns and melee weapons.
Think games today are too easy and gamers are babied too much? DMC3 kicks it old school revisiting an era where games were brutal, unforgiving and completing a game deserved a pat on the back.
Luckily for me, I bought the special edition of the game which offers a revised save system that makes the game far more beatable. Very good game once you get past the vertical learning curve.
4/5
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Gamecube)
Premise: First person adventure. Space pirates are up to no good and it's up to Samus Aran to squash those plans.
It's metroid. You know what to expect. The only surprise: the heavy dose of backtracking. Frankly, I was sick of the game by the end and based on the reviews, I'm not overly thrilled of Prime 3's more of the same + wii mote.
3/5
Doom (PC)
Premise: First person shooter gold standard
15 years later, it still kicks ass.
5/5
Doom 3 (PC)
Premise: Modern remake of Doom 1
Uninstall this garbage and play Doom 1 instead. Great graphics engine. Horrible gameplay.
2/5
Indigo Prophecy/Fahrenheit (PC)
Premise: Interactive film. The protagonist is momentarily possessed and commits a brutal murder. It's up to the protagonist to figure out why and how this happened.
Like most jRPGs, this game lives and dies by the quality of the story. What boggles my mind are the reviewers that laud the “great and realistic plot”. The plot was somewhat intriguing and just as the mystery started to unravel, the protagonist somehow transforms into Neo from the Matrix and the plot goes completely downhill.
Avoid.
1/5
Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo DS)
Premise: Typical Zelda game except it can be controlled through touch screen alone
A direct sequel to 2003's Windwaker. Excellent game that make excellent use of the DS hardware (some puzzles even use the DS microphone). The story is decent with some memorable moments, but the game was a tad on the short side. However, I still regard Link's Awakening (Gameboy) as the definitive handheld Zelda game.
4/5
Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
Premise: Mario with some crazy suits (ala Mario Bros 3) and wacky gravity.
This game is even better than Mario 64. This is why I play video games.
5/5
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas (PC)
Premise: Tactical first person shooter with a Gears of War-mowover system and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter command system.
The game is a tad repetitive, but still very enjoyable. The game offers two difficulty levels: normal and realistic. I'm currently playing through the game on realistic difficulty. Much like how Halo was meant to be played on Legendary difficulty, I believe Vegas is best experienced on realistic difficulty.
4/5
posted by Edward @ 1:47 AM
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