snauty on 29/12/2008 at 14:39
I live in Europe with an american Wii. So I'm totally '08.
snauty on 29/12/2008 at 14:47
Twin Peaks btw has always been just as cheezy as brilliant, even back then. That was its original appeal actually.
Scots Taffer on 2/1/2009 at 05:15
I've only played GTA4 this year on the PS3 and it's beautifully realised gameworld in need of something other than chase and whack missions.
I will probably get around to:
Mirrors Edge
Mass Effect
Far Cry 2
Fallout 3
Though it seems opinion is strongly divided on all four with regards to their quality.
Aja on 2/1/2009 at 05:40
If you're willing to put in the time, Mass Effect and Fallout are wonderful. Mirror's Edge, well, everyone already knows how I feel about it.
ercles on 2/1/2009 at 06:48
Forgot to mention that Too Human was easily the worst game I played this year, it was quite disappointing, because in the very few moments where the game worked, it was a shitload of fun. Unfortunately the rest of the game was either a frustrating grind, or some of the worst cutscenes you will ever see in a game. Very pretty looking though.
CCCToad on 2/1/2009 at 17:22
Quote Posted by ercles
Forgot to mention that Too Human was easily the worst game I played this year, it was quite disappointing, because in the very few moments where the game worked, it was a shitload of fun. Unfortunately the rest of the game was either a frustrating grind, or some of the worst cutscenes you will ever see in a game. Very pretty looking though.
I know I'm beating a dead horse, but Too Human is the perfect example of why a game with good graphics and nothing else will always suck to the classics that got gameplay right before they did anything else.
It doesn't help that the Art Direction in Too Human is wretched, which effectively cancels out the benefit of good graphics.
ercles on 2/1/2009 at 18:17
I really don't think anyone will disagree with you CCCToad. Like I said though, the game actually had fun gameplay, it just never allowed you to experience it. Flying around the screen with melee attacks was heaps of fun, the game just implemented very nasty level design very early, making it almost impossible to ever actually do this.
Scots Taffer on 3/1/2009 at 02:51
Quote Posted by Aja
If you're willing to put in the time, Mass Effect and Fallout are wonderful.
Hrr, that's my problem - most of the games I used to like playing were the games that reward a considered approach and a few hours with headphones on, I can't imagine playing
Thief these days. I'm a short-burst gamer who needs some gratification in what I can get done in thirty minutes, if that's all the time I have. RPGs aren't very forgiving in this context.
ercles on 3/1/2009 at 02:58
Well decent sports games basically fulfill that purpose for me, I've already mentioned Madden somewhere else around ttlg, but seriously, it is miles ahead of any other sports game I have played. I'm personally a FIFA fan out of habit, but I've heard it's very similar to Pro Evo nowadays. NBA 2k9 is great, ditto for NHL (IE 2K sports is better than EA for those sports). Unfortunately for us aussies, rugby, and afl games all uniformly suck.
Aja on 4/1/2009 at 11:21
List addendum: Fallout 3, which is possibly (likely) the best game of the year. I haven't played a good five-or-more-hours-per-session game since Okami last year, and I've missed that sense of immersion (STALKER was supposed to be my safe bet, but I can't immerse myself in it to nearly the same extent).
So I'm twenty hours in, with some 80% of the map to explore, and I am really looking forward to the next twenty hours (or forty? this could take ages!). I even kind of want to replay the game afterwards to explore a different character path.
There's no mistaking Fallout 3 for a Bethesda game -- exploration for the sake of it, beautiful landscapes, interesting quests, but for a change: combat that's almost shamefully satisfying (still contemplating Bloody Mess, or would that be too much of a good thing?). I skipped Oblivion but devoted much of my life to Morrowind. It's nice to be back.
(scots need not apply, unless he's prepared to devote at least two hours per session -- anything less just isn't enough time to really grasp the sheer size of the world, not to mention the inevitable addiction)
