Because you can never have too many lists!
I wanted to make this so that I actually have some sort of record of what I have played through, come the years end. That way I won't have to scramble through my game lists via XBL & PSN again, like when it comes to compiling a GOTY list for example. To this end I will be providing (myself) with a brief summary of my thoughts, if only to aid my ailing memory.
Bought to you by the word, Acronym!
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I was promised interesting locales, along with a twisted assortment characters, and that's exactly what I got. The combat was fairly interesting, and even had a puzzle element to it, once more enemies where gradually thrown into the mix, it started to shows it depth. The platforming was solid, so along with the aforementioned combat it should have been a solid game, right? Well it was, but the game drags a little by the end, due in no small part to the length of the whole thing. It's a good thing that the story compelled me to see this through. Speaking of which, it was genuinely dark, more so than I was actually expecting, with some genuinely unsettling moments.
This encounters an all too familiar problem, in that the gameplay feels as though it is in service of the story, and not the other way round. The game goes a little overboard in trying to deliver once more on the perfect popcorn moment, many scenarios descending into trial and error until you realize what the game expects of you. For every frustration however, there was usually a genuinely impressive set-piece or sight to balance the whole thing out. Its technical merits leave me feeling a little torn, for as much as they should be lauded, its failings are all the more apparent, and only drag the whole experience down.
This was a Steam sale get! I never got round to playing it until very recently. I didn't think I'd find it much fun once I realized the company this game keeps, that's to say it belongs with one of those masochistic lot. But to my surprise I had completed more or less all the levels in a couple of sittings. The game expects precise timing, but I felt like it got easier as the stages progressed, which I'm not entirely sure whether that's down to my improving skill, or the game itself. I often like everything that goes along with a retro aesthetic, but the music just grated on me, which is a shame as it tends to make the stages easier when you learn to play by the rhythm. The bosses are an exercise in evil!
Who would have thought it? a Suda game that suffers from playing it too safe! I was expecting Shinji Mikami's involvement to compliment the aformentiond lunacy, but what you're left with, is a game which never really kicks into high-gear. It never really capitalizes on its concept, having some funny moments, which are sadly all too brief. As always, there is certainly some style to the proceedings, this being a very unique take on hell and its inhabitants."EVERYONE knows that goats are a natural source of light." The game itself is pretty much a pushover, even on the hardest difficulty. The boss battles are the weakest part of this equation, being uneventful and formulaic, and far too long. As much I love No More Heroes, it was an acquired taste, and I thought SOTD had the oppurtunity to make that formula more palatable for a wider audience. It makes a great first impression, but it sadly plateaus after the first couple of hours. With that said though, its solid, it just gets a little repetitive when everything becomes all too familiar. I can't help but feel it was a missed opportunity, which is why this reads negatively. All the elements are there, they just don't come together the way they should, at least for me.
Vanquish is a quintessentially Japanese attempt at creating a game that appeals to Western audiences; But as a pastiche of these well worn tropes, it inherits a few of its bad habits along the way. It feels like it should be an outright parody, but other than the dialogue being unbelievably cheesy, it rarely steps out and makes use of this platform. That aside, I wanted to get that brief complaint out of the way, because the rest is golden. For someone who is tired of cover based shooters, the fact that I finished this game over the course of a weekend speaks volumes. Its an amazing polished gameplay experience (as one might expect from Platinum games), and injects a familiar formula with a breakneck pace that never lets up. Its a spectacle that actually takes you along with it, an outright game that doesn't hide its nuances away behind padding. It's a brief experience, but when it is of such high quality it doesn't really matter. For as hectic as this game is, it still manages to look great, the animation specifically has a real weight to it. All things considered, its not quite at the level of Bayonetta (but what is), although it is definitely amongst my favourite games of this generation.
This game is something of a contradiction, in so much that it has a steep learning curve that is punctuated by an easy difficulty. When you've finished wrapping your head around that nonsense, you'll realize that in a roundabout way I'm trying to explain that the game has flaws. At its core the mechanics are great, except that you are rarely put into a scenario where strategy is necessary. Any difficulty that the game manages to throw up often feels forced, the random element feeling anything but in boss encounters. It manages to live up to the Metal Gear moniker, if only through the sheer fan-service it provides, the card collecting element kept my interested just long enough so that I could finish the story. Narratively speaking its status as a spin-off game is plain to see, the story being the weakest part of the package. Say what you will about Kojima's abilities as a storyteller, but his absence is keenly felt here.
Finally, an induction to this list that was actually released in this calendar year! As one of the few who actually liked XIII, and appreciated that it actually tried to do something differently, I was eager to see what happened with the sequel. The time travel aspect is interesting, and In fairness the game does a relatively solid job of keeping the whole thing cohesive. In fact I think it plays it almost too straight, they could have done some wacky things with it, but Flans aside (YES!) there isn't too much out of the ordinary. Most will no doubt prefer this over its predecessor, it more or less includes most of what was missing from XIII, and the additional monster taming compliments the already sharp battle system. The presentation is still second to none, and the localization is fantastic, even if I personally disagree with how they chose to interpret Mog. And truth be told, the ending didn't bother me, in fact I appreciated just how dark it went, especially when you consider its Final Fantasy that we're talking about here. The game is relatively brief by RPG standards, the main storyline took me around 30 hours to get through. That said, you can easily double that if you want to gather all the fragments for the 'true' ending. If you're still on the Franchise train at this point, I will have no doubt that you will be satisfied with whats on offer.
My first foray into the series, and to be blunt, it was a baptism by fire! here was no tutorial and I was confused from the start, and to think this was supposed to be aimed at a new audience! I usually consider myself to be competitive at rhythm games, but I'm not ashamed to say that I really struggled here. The button mapping was my first issue, the default setup just didn't feel comfortable to me and I messed around with the configuration for a while, but to no avail. I can make progress but I do want to feel at least halfway competent whilst doing so! I will continue to push forward on my trips to University, but the highest difficulties might just be a step too far.
These two games came as part of a set, so I at least felt like I had to get my money's worth here. To my surprise I found this much more accommodating. The tutorial was a welcome addition, and even with the garbled English struggling to fully explain certain aspects, it still did a more effective job than the manual for Fever. Its certainly a more forgiving game, but I'm starting to see its teeth now that I've made a decent amount of progress. I find myself liking a lot about these games, not least the music, but they just don't seem to like me!
Was the ending disappointing? And Was it bad as everyone (the internet) likes to make out? Well, yes and no, and I'll let you decide which order those go in. But all things considered, its a little sad that this series goes out with something of a whimper. Bioware had a predicament on their hands the moment they put their weight behind the main concept of player agency. While its not a total triumph, the core of what ME achieves is an engrossing, fabulously put together piece of work, in spite of the dumbfounding ending.