Three games you haven’t played this year and you should:
1. Transformers: Fall of Cybertron – It comes down to whether or not you have a strong nostalgic affection for Transformers. With deep cut like Insecticons and Dinobots, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron know what fans want. What High Moon didn’t realize is that the game designed around the call backs needed something more than standard third person shooting. Attempts were made to freshen things up by bouncing from robot to robot each with a unique special ability, but they became tired and tedious very quickly. The game doesn’t do anything outstanding except for showcase Transformers. If that’s enough, then transform and roll out.
2. Persona 4 Arena – This is another one of those games that require a strong attachment to the source material. It’s a fighting game by the team behind the fast paced Guilty Gear series. Each character has a unique fighting style that even mirrors their abilities in the RPGs they came from. The fighting game is only about a tenth of what Persona 4 Arena is all about. It’s a visual novel telling the story of what’s been happening to the Persona 3 and 4 crews as of late. It’s tons of reading and anime cutscenes (the stuff that made me cool in high school) separated by fights. As a Persona 4 lover, I wasn’t in it for the fights.
3. Dishonored – A sandbox that doesn’t want you to play in it. It’s a brilliantly designed morality system that makes me feel guilty while playing the game. Dishonored give the player a utility belt stocked with the coolest gadgets but all the tools are for killing. Then the game dissuades the player against killing anyone. I enjoy playing the good guy but I felt underequipped for tackling what was thrown at me when I wasn’t dealing in death. If you like to play as the baddie or would rather throw away stealth for bombastic murder then Dishonored will work for you.
1. Mark of the Ninja – This downloadable stealth game might be at the top of many people’s list this year and I haven’t even taken a glance at it. Supposedly, it overhauls clunky stealth mechanics that have plagued the genre since its inception. That sounds like a big deal.
2. Hotline Miami – The gameplay looks like it would be something found on a flash game mega site but when paired with the art style, music, and raw brutality, Hotline Miami is nothing I’ve seen before. I want to experience the craziness.
3. XCOM: Enemy Unknown – Listening and reading about XCOM stresses me out. The reliance on dice rolls, character permanent deaths, and barely keeping your head above water economy makes a knot tighten in my stomach. It’s not a game for me. I do want to at least dip my toe in the water so I can form my own opinion. I just don’t want to stay long.