I had a lot of fun getting pulled into the fiction of Mortal Kombat. Sure that might be kinda messed up to admit but as fighting games go, Mortal Kombat has set the bar for story telling. I liked being put into the roll of a Kombatant for a few matches only to switch to the next as the story saw fit. The constant switching ensured that the fighting never got stale. The way the camera seamlessly swung from cinematic to fixed fight orientation was just perfect. Though MK isn’t my favorite fighting game, it is fun and has done a lot for the fighting game genre.
Dark Souls I shouldn’t like Dark Souls. It’s unclear, unfair, and broken. Even with all those flaws there was something about Dark Souls that kept me hooked. Taking the plunge into the game, I knew immediately I wouldn’t be able to tear myself away from the flagellation. Dark Souls has that skill based trial and error of a Mega Man game with a light RPG wrapper providing incentive to keep going by measuring growth and dolling out loot. Dark Souls is a novelty and highly addictive but without others talking about their path through it I have felt my interest tapering off.
As I’ve said before, I enjoy cyberpunk. I also like RPGs, shooters, and the Deus Ex franchise. Holy crap! There is a prequel to the series and it takes all those things I like and packages them all together. Human Revolution had quite a large pair of shoes to fill as the series is so revered and, well, it did an okay job. The biggest flaws were the boss fights and how easily the sneaking can be exploited, but what kept me continuing to enjoy Deus Ex was the setting. A cyberpunk sci-fi world is hard to come across these days as the sci-fi space has been dominated by brown apocalypse worlds and bald space marines. Deus Ex: Human Revolution has a immersive setting wrought with conspiracy to keep pulling you in. I got sucked in and had a great time.
If video games are designed as wish fulfillments then Portal 2 is the I wish I were a genius wish. Portal 2 gives you a small set of tools and rules and presents you with a preposterous task. You know it is solvable but it sure isn’t obvious and when you do solve it, jumping up and shouting, “I am the smartest person in the world!” is involuntary. It has witty writing and memorable characters. Even the Space Sphere’s one note joke is still hilarious. Portal 2 is a great ride.
It’s back! Though with You Don’t Know Jack for this generation of consoles it almost feels like it never went anywhere. The trivia is poppy, the objective is simple, and the jokes are as sharp as ever. Dis or Dats, Jack Attacks, and my new favorite, Who's the Dummy, are all spins on the classic trivia game formula. You Don’t Know Jack offers so much in such an inexpensive bundle and is the ultimate goofy party game.
Not since I read Transmetropolitan have I encountered such exotic mastery of curse words. Bulletstorm revitalizes shooters by rewarding the player for creating combos with the leash, kick, and gun. Each firefight seems like an opportunity to try out wackier combos instead of an obstacle that needs to be surpassed. Bullestorm has made the shooting part of shooting games fun again.
Once again I was reluctantly drawn into a game for too much time. I was skeptical about Batman: Arkham City since the only substantial merit it held was it is a sequel to Batman: Arkham Assylum. I finally let Batman sweep me away on another roller coaster ride of mystery. Arkham City has all the great features of a high quality sequel. The combat offers more opportunities for diversity and complexity and as majority of what’s happening in the game its good those improvements were made. When not introducing thug’s faces to the Batfist most time is spent gliding around the city solving really simple riddles by taking pictures of collecting trophies with by solving gadget puzzles. Once the side quests and main story are complete the tedium of this open world is exposed. The story is fascinating and fantastic in the truest sense of the word. Batman: Arkham City is fun and proves that lightning can strike twice.
On the whole this year has been full of games that grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. I got hooked on The Skyrim and it took a long time to shake it. Much like it’s predecessors, Skyrim offers a plethora of things to do. From the first few steps out of the starting area locations start popping up just begging to be investigated. Even while maintaining a straight course through the main story, Skyrim presents many opportunities to fork away from and dive into another side story that seems just as deep as the main. That sad truth is that Skyrim can stymie itself by suddenly ratcheting up difficulty to prevent the player from going to an area they aren’t ready for yet. This serves only to shoot the game in the foot as it dissuades investigation and perseverance. It was that and the repetitiveness of each cave that derailed me that dulled Skyrim for me. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed Skyrim massively and want to go play a little more.
There is just something magical about Bastion that can’t be described. There is something more than the sum of the parts. Bastion has familiar action RPG controls that make playing the game feel like the warm handshake from an old friend. The world it is set in is vibrant as it grows around you as you explore and that exploration is driven even more by the dynamic narration. Bastion tells a concise story about a that begs further investigation. Bastion is just one of those game that everyone needs to play.
Just go play it. Don’t like the game you’re currently playing, go try out Saint’s Row: The Third. That isn’t to say Saint’s Row some sort of rebound game. Saint’s Row: The Third is pure fun. It has gone in the opposite direction of the series it initially sought to emulate. Now it is a sort of impossible fusion of so many games with the major design tenant being is it awesome. Saint’s Row doesn’t throw all comedy at the wall to see what sticks, the gags are clever. The game is still an open world with side missions and a main story to keep the player invested but it’s crazy, embracing absurd weapons and upgrades that eventually turn the world into a sandbox that few other games can match.