Showing 1-10 of 10 items
Even though I'm still not anywhere near up to competitive snuff at this game, there's still no denying that I come back to this game more than anything else. Capcom has made a great game better, with the new characters and ultras adding tons of new depth and fun into a game that I already loved. Kudos.
Wow, did this come out of left field. Like most other people, I wrote this off initially as a multiplayer game that wasn't worth too much from a single-player perspective, and wasn't really interested. When I started to hear good things, I tried it out, and I loved every minute of it. Assassin's Creed 2 was one of my favorite games of last year, and Brotherhood improved on that game in every way. Also, the multiplayer is actually pretty fun, so that's cool too.
If this game was just one of the most adorable video games ever released, it might not be so far up this list. However, the fact is also there that Epic Yarn is a very tightly designed platformer that is also quite fun in co-op, with extremely well-made levels that stretch across several different environments. It's not difficult by any means, but it's an incredibly pleasant experience from start to finish, and there's something to be said for that.
I feel like I'm in a similar place to two years ago here, almost like I'm looking at GTA IV again. I'm thinking back on a Rockstar game and remembering how I fell in love with a cast of incredible characters who are well-written in their abject shittiness, and more importantly a protagonist who is immensely likable in the way that he deals with all of these terrible people and situations. John Marston is probably my favorite character of the year, and the game is well made too.
I've always been an unabashed Rock Band nut, and this game is pretty much the perfect Rock Band game as far as I can figure out. The keyboard has put me back at the point of learning a new instrument for the first time in several games, and my lack of piano experience made trying to learn pro keys challenging but interesting. The setlist is varied and well-made as always, and Harmonix has supported the game well already with good DLC. The UI improvements made to the game might not be super-noticeable right away, but they streamline the experience in a lot of ways that add up. I didn't get to try pro guitar or drums, but had a great time nonetheless.
I didn't make it through Mass Effect. I didn't like the way the game felt, despite the fact that the story was interesting. However, I never got close to the point of giving up on Mass Effect 2. Bioware made the shooting feel much tighter and more fun, which made getting through the missions and seeing the great characters and storyline that they crafted an experience to remember. Despite the fact that I made some dumb decisions and some of my crew members didn't make it, and my slight disappointment in the last boss fight, I loved my time with ME2 and am looking forward to 3 to see where all of this goes.
I have to admit it: I didn't see the true ending of Super Meat Boy. I didn't finish the Dark World levels, didn't get all of the bandages, couldn't manage to accomplish any of those crazy goals. I did, however, beat all of the main level set, and was incredibly satisfied when I did that much. The game is punishingly difficult but fair, and never did I fail in a way that I felt was the game's fault. The controls are so tight that when I died it was because I made a mistake, and the immediacy of the level restart on death made it hard to get frustrated. The bonus characters I managed to unlock change up the game interestingly, and the PC version added even more. Very fun, classic platforming.
How far can an injection of complete craziness take a game? Pretty far, if the game is as well put together as Bayonetta is. I didn't, by any means, play this game very well, I fumbled my way through it without any of the grace that one might attribute to the protagonist, though I developed as a player and learned the workings of the combo system which, unlike the ways that other character action games have been, actually works smoothly and feels like something skillful is actually being done rather than pure mashing. Add in references to games all over the place, and total insanity being put in at every turn, and Bayonetta was a fun time all the way through.
There's nothing that I can say that will surprise anyone about Super Mario Galaxy 2. The game is pretty much what would be expected out of a 3D Mario platformer, but as always Nintendo has come back to incredibly tight design and delightful creativity to make a game that is simply fun to play. It makes no bones about being a game, but it is a damn great one. The levels in the original Galaxy were super cool and creative, to the point where it seemed like it would be hard to top. However, Nintendo proved yet again that they know video games better than we do, and can make them incredibly well.
I love Mega Man, the games in this series are tied strongly to my childhood game experiences. I liked Mega Man 9 last year, but there was something about it that wasn't quite right about it. However, this time around Capcom made a better game, with more interesting boss and level designs and extremely catchy music that fits the pedigree of the NES games. Similar to Super Meat Boy, this is a challenging platforming experience, but one that was very satisfying to play from start to finish, especially upon putting the controller down at the end and feeling like something has been accomplished.
