Board 8 > transience's top 10 games of the year -- and some other stuff.

(+) Yeah! (+)

it's that time again

This is probably going to be seen as a weird list. I kinda fell out of mainstream gaming this year, even moreso than before. I played a bunch of games but had a hard time getting into most of them. Many of the games on this list are clearly not on the same level as the AAA games, but my weird tastes liked the smaller, quirkier games despite their limited scope and collection of flaws. They were a lot easier to get into than the complicated big-budget games.

But I definitely did enjoy these ten games and thought it was a pretty decent year for video games. I'll also talk about the other games that I played and why I didn't bother to finish them. I'll probably also say a few words about the older games I got around to playing this year.

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xyzzy

tag

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"hell yeah I'm a ****ing furry" - Mer
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10. Ghost Trick (DS)



This is my pick for "most overrated game of the year." Good start to a list, huh?

Of course, my definition of 'overrated' doesn't mean 'it sucks'. It just means it gets undeserved love. Ghost Trick is actually a pretty cool game (hence its inclusion on this list). The best thing about it, by far, are the animations - the characters just move around in the most over-exaggerated, Japanese way. All of them are super quirky and every one is awesome. Usually I'd want to play a story-driven game like this to see the characters and the narrative, but for Ghost Trick it was all about watching guys dance around.

-- the best part of the game.

The story itself starts out pretty cool, too. You're dead and are moving around through object manipulation in order to figure out how you died. Sissel, Lynne and Missile are all really likable and the side characters are like Phoenix Wright when it comes to being goofy and fun. A couple of the puzzles early on are really fun too. Ghost Trick is pretty addicting.

And then it starts to go downhill. The puzzles start out fun but get really unintuitive as you go. Many of them require you to restart. There's a 'stealth' sequence that's kind of miserable and requires you to start over a lot. Moral of the story: non-stealth games should stop having gimmick stealth sequences. Urgh.

But I think the thing that got me the most with Ghost Trick was the plot twist. The whole game has one major question to be answered -- who is Sissel? -- and the end answer is just so underwhelming. The intuitive puzzles and the ehhhh conclusion -- which some people liked, so maybe it's just me -- ended up souring me on what was a pretty cool game. I love the music, the look and the style of it. It just doesn't hold up on the gameplay and narrative ends.

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xyzzy

ending was awesome

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What do you call people who are afraid of Santa Claus? Claustrophobic!! LOLOLOLOLOL

Tag

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You saved science!
Call me numbers.

I saw Ghost Trick new in a bargain bin a couple weeks ago for $10. I should go buy it.

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XBL / PSN: lol im ahkmed

Ill get it when I get money

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Nice catch BlAcK TuRtLe.
But too bad your ass got SAAAAAAAAAAACKED.*tackles*

ghost trick more like gross trick

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I wish I could wear skirts and dresses :( -GMUN

tag

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GT: Waluigi1
PSN: Waluigi1

stealth sequence the worst

at least it had a checkpoint

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thelefty for analysis crew 2008 imo -tranny
I have a third degree burn in flame-o-nomics -Sir Chris

-- the best part of the game.

cabanela has nothing on this:



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2011 Game I liked but didn't beat #1: Monster Tale (DS)



Monster Tale is a cool little hybrid game. It's a classic Metroidvania-type game with a ton of charm. Its one major gameplay hook is that you have a little monster that you can evolve in a way that's not unlike Pokemon. It's addicting to get your little dude stronger and the game is one of the shining examples of dual-screen gameplay that only the DS can do.

Despite its cutesy appearance, the game's got a surprising amount of combat depth. You gain lots of abilities that let you navigate a nonlinear maze, just like you'd want from a Castlevania-type game. Simple traversal is fun in the way that those kinds of games are, and fighting enemies is fun because your little monster dude gets to progress.

But the level design is sorely lacking. It's very linear and the amount of backtracking is just insane. Get one item, backtrack 10 minutes, go through 3 minutes of new content, backtrack another 10 minutes back to where you were, repeat. There's a really fun game in here with good enemy and boss design, but the backtracking grinds you down until you just give up and stop playing.

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xyzzy

already a hipster list

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9 spots too low.

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Not today

9. Mortal Kombat (360, PS3)



yeah, a hipster list

MK9 is super creative. I give it full credit for going for it in every situation possible. Every fatality, every throw animation, every cutscene has a ton of effort and heart put into it. I can't think of a game where throw animations are exciting to see. I played MK1-3 in the arcades when they came out and the fatalities were never this awesome. There has never been a story mode in a fighting game as cool as this one. Sure, the scenes are stupid and everything ends up with two guys beating each other up, but what can you do? SF4, as awesome as it is, has nothing on the sheer content of MK9.

The actual fighting isn't as fun as previous games, but it's a nice try. It's got a lot of depth due to all the chain combos you can do. There are about ten for each character and they can link together in various ways. MK9 is also fast with special moves that are all overpowered to the point of sometimes feeling cheap. It's broken in a mostly good way though. They made an odd design choice to change the button configuration around and it throws me off so hard. All of the linked combos makes for a game that requires a ton of learning to really master, even if you can play mindlessly and be somewhat competent in a short period of time. MK is mash-friendly, hard to master and with a ton of character.

Two complaints: one, the character models take damage in a very not-good looking way. They end up looking dirty due to all the gore splattered all over them instead of actually battle-worn. Complaint #2 is so much worse: Shao Kahn. My god. Story mode ends on the most ridiculous difficulty spike ever and in not a fun way whatsoever. That pretty much killed the game for me.

I can't really comment on the balance or the multiplayer aspect of MK9. If I want to play a multiplayer fighting game, I'll play SF4, not a laggy, spammy game like MK9. I just liked this return to form. MK diverges so hard from Street Fighter that it's a good game to play.

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xyzzy

List alert. Haven't played any of these so far!

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"When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it."

Ghost Trick came out this year? Huh.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Shao Kahn. My god. Story mode ends on the most ridiculous difficulty spike ever and in not a fun way whatsoever. That pretty much killed the game for me.

I've been thinking about that Shao Kahn fight. Compared to another well-known cheap boss (Gill in 3S) he's kind of harder and kind of easier. He'll beat almost anything you can do, and nothing that worked before will work against him. You just gotta master a very specific set of steps and repeat them until you win.

Compare that to Gill, where the boss character has to mostly follow the rules of the game, he just has a lot of overpowered weapons at his disposal. You're more likely to be able to damage him, but there's nothing abusive available. You pretty much have to beat Gill legit, where there's really no way to beat Shao Kahn legit. There is no "teleport when he attacks, uppercut" equivalent strategy for Gill.

I think Shao Kahn will feel harder at first, until you figure out what to do. I think Gill is actually the harder boss, though.

I'm sure there's a bunch of KoF games I've never played that make them both look fair.

More on topic, MK9 was alright but yeah it feels too mashy. I think having a list of preprogrammed combos goes against how combos should work ideally. SF is just a smarter game in general. They're looking a little silly changing the basic gameplay mechanics with patches as well, and that's having an effect on the community.

man, remember when PORTAL KOMBAT day was still the biggest day of gaming releases so far in the year?

HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED.

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oh Portal 2 probably won't be on this list

that's sad

tag i guess

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2011 Game I liked but didn't beat #2: Portal 2



Portal 2's probably an objectively better game than the original - more stuff, smarter puzzles, longer, some genuinely excellent moments - but I just don't like it nearly as much.

There's a lot of reasons why. The first, most obvious reason is that it's not as fresh as the original. Chell and Glados are back again, doing science again, shooting portals again, being witty in much the same way again. Sure, the writing is better and the game isn't stupid easy like the first one, but that's not why I liked Portal.

I like Portal because of the portals. I like zipping around, flinging myself and doing crazy things. Portal is kinda more of an action game than a puzzle game. Portal 2? Totally a puzzle game. You've got all these precise puzzles that are focus tested and immaculately designed. but they never feel natural. It's been overstated, but you've got all these levels that are predicated on finding the one portalable surface and going from there. It's counter to what I like about Portal. It feels a lot more rigid.

Then there's the new mechanics. I just don't like most of them - they're not really about portals except for the light bridges (which I like a lot, mostly because the level design opens up on those test chambers). They just kept adding more layers instead of giving me fun things to play with. By the time I hit the gels, I was pretty much checked out.

That's not to say there aren't great parts of Portal 2. The buildup to the Glados fight -- shutting down the turrets, disengaging the venom, the actual fight and dialogue that goes along with it -- is a gaming highlight of the year.

But then you fall a mile, end up in this large desolate area where you can't shoot your gun anywhere and the plot slows to a crawl. You're walking in a straight line for a minute at a time.

It kinda defines how I feel about Portal 2 - an obviously good game and one I can't really get behind.

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xyzzy

Aw man, you have to get to the last part of Portal 2, even if it means slogging through the kind of slow-paced Cave Johnson bits. It's absolutely brilliant.

I've watched it on youtube - are you talking about the ending?

nothing made me feel as good as the Glados bit, though that could be because I was actually playing it.

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xyzzy

Taggin' dis.

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Vote for this guy in every contest: War

I think the story is pretty interesting during the second half of Portal 2. The gameplay though, is definitely less good there and a lot of people have commented on how that section takes forever and isn't as fun.

the ending of portal 2 is not only the best moment in gaming of the year, but one of the best in gaming history. I'm so sorry you had to miss out on experiencing it for yourself, because the fact that you were the one causing that to happen really added a lot to it. Everything just "clicks" at once and you do the coolest thing ever.


Also Ghost Trick rocks, the ending rocks, tranny sucks, ugh list, get out

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transience | Posted 12/17/2011 5:20:12 PM | message detail | quote
I've watched it on youtube - are you talking about the ending?

I mean the last two chapters in general. I think the level design there really steps it up, both mechanically and thematically. Wheatley is hilarious.

From: AppIekidjosh | #028
the ending of portal 2 is not only the best moment in gaming of the year, but one of the best in gaming history. I'm so sorry you had to miss out on experiencing it for yourself, because the fact that you were the one causing that to happen really added a lot to it. Everything just "clicks" at once and you do the coolest thing ever.

Agreeing with this. In fact, I say one of the best things about Portal 2 is how you go about solving a lot of the puzzles and you don't even realize it. You're just doing what comes naturally, you are truly a part of the world and its story.

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It will launch for $350 with some Wii Sports s***. I bet my life on it. Damn, that KoolAid guy is awesome - NGamer64

I do understand a lot of the criticisms of Portal 2 though. Portal does feel like the more "natural" game to me, whereas Portal 2 does feel like it's holding your hand a bit more, so I don't really agree that Portal 2 feels like you're solving puzzles naturally. Portal 2 has the better overall narrative though, so I sort of forgive it. The pros and cons in Portal and Portal 2 sort of balance out.

Portal 2 is amazing up until chapter 6. It's downhill from there, a mix of good and bad, with a nice payoff near the end. I think it's overall a much better game than the original, and I like it a lot more, but it overstays its welcome near the end with some padding and white gel is kind of terrible. Really got into the story and test chamber puzzles, though.

Co-op is the real highlight of Portal 2 for me. Better than the SP.

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"When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it."

If you didn't play Co-op, you basically missed out on Portal 3

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I worship Utli's wang - LtM

Portal 2 is great the whole way through tbqh. Granted, it drops off a bit due to lack of Wheatley, but still!

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I wish I could wear skirts and dresses :( -GMUN

Portal 2 co-op is the best thing.

Portal 2 >> Portal

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"The great GF...Bahamut."
"...GF? I...? Using my powers...It is you humans...I fear..."

I really enjoyed Portal 2. I thought the first Portal was a little overrated to be honest (it's an 8/10 game with some great humour).

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you just can't live in that negative way...make way for the positive day

Portal 1 has more novelty, the puzzles feel more organic, and it's really efficient and never gets boring. Portal 1 is probably the better game but that doesn't take away from Portal 2 being really good. Judged on it's own merits I think it's the best game of the year.

8. To The Moon (PC)



To The Moon is a visual novel made in RPG Maker with very little gameplay. You walk around hitting a couple of trigger points and then put together a puzzle to unlock a memory. Beyond that, there really isn't anything here. You are watching a story from beginning to end -- all 4-5 hours of it. You don't have dialogue options or combat or anything like that. It's probably the most linear experience ever conceived.

So why is it on here? Well, the story is pretty good, of course. It's not god tier or anything, but it tells a remarkably mature story about a man wanting his last wish granted and going backwards through his life to grant him that wish -- to go to the moon.

But the real reason is for the music. To The Moon has these swooping soundscapes that are beautiful. Combine that with some melancholy writing and you have a very "indie" kind of game -- relaxed, introspective, willing to go for it all. This isn't a game that was focus tested or crowd sourced for ideas. It's a game made by one guy who wanted to tell a story, and he really goes for it.

The game itself is kind of not that noteworthy, but I really admire a game like this. Despite its lack of gameplay and, quite frankly, bad pacing, it's an addicting trip that I played through in less than 24 hours. I think there are many flaws to be recounted and that the indie hype behind this game is a bit off, but with that gorgeous music and some great backwards character development, To The Moon is memorable if nothing else.

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xyzzy

Portal 2 co-op really is the best thing. You really need to give it a shot sometime.

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You saved science!
Call me numbers.

I don't own Portal 2 -- and besides, you're all on the ps3/pc!

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xyzzy

I have it on 360

...though it probably loses some of the fun when one of the two players knows all the answers already

I actually haven't played Portal 2 co-op, but I've heard great things. Maybe I can convince my brother to play it with me over the holidays.

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you just can't live in that negative way...make way for the positive day

OmarsComin posted...
...though it probably loses some of the fun when one of the two players knows all the answers already

Not as much as you'd think!

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I wish I could wear skirts and dresses :( -GMUN

I wouldn't even mind if somebody walked me through it. to be honest, I am terrible at Portal puzzles and that's part of the reason I don't like 2 so much. if somebody was there to nudge me along I wouldn't lose much.

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xyzzy

Getting stuck in Portal/Portal 2 definitely sucks. I thought Valve did a good job with the puzzles in Portal 2 - most of the time I would figure out the trickier puzzles right before I was ready to give up. There were a few times though where I had no idea how to solve a problem so I had to look up the answer on youtube. I didn't want to sit there for hours trying to figure it out because that's no fun for me.

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you just can't live in that negative way...make way for the positive day

Portal 2 co-op is still a blast both playing with someone who had played before -- zfs played with me -- and your own second time through!

I might've enjoyed it more the second time through, really. Helped that the co-op DLC was incredible

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You saved science!
Call me numbers.

Portal 2 SP is great, Portal 2 co-op is GOTY tier. It's definitely worth checking out, even if the other person already knows the solutions -- provided they don't just rush to solve everything right away.

I thought some of the SP puzzles were bad, though. Anything that made you hunt for the one wall that would take a portal was bad.

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"When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it."

My friend wouldn't let me look it up on Youtube, there were a couple times we got stuck for a long time and neared real frustration before figuring things out.

I did check Youtube a few times when we thought we had done it "wrong" though. You do something wonky or unusual then go check Youtube walkthroughs and see if that's the way you're supposed to do it. it's a point of pride to come up with an unusual solution though I feel like that was more possible in Portal 1 than in Portal 2 where they lay out everything pretty narrowly in front of you.

That's another weakness of 2 compared to the first, I think - it's so rigid and on some of the more complex ones there's an exact set of steps you have to take. You can get the same feeling you get when trying to play a point and click adventure game and wondering why it won't let you use the crowbar to open the door. Just trying to figure out whatever moon logic was in the developer's head at the time.