by zombaholic
It was harder than I thought it would be to organize and categorize my thoughts on the topic. Sure there are recent favourites that I can immediately call on, but if I wanted to be honest with myself I had to really examine what I grew up with. I removed a lot of games that had micro-transactions in them, and went for games that were ready out of the box so to speak. Expansions I allowed, as long as the game itself was complete without it. I also tried to juggle experience with actual gameplay so that's why there's some real narrative driven games juxtaposed to more action oriented stuff.
That all said, here's my list for anyone who is curious!
Showing 1-10 of 10 items
As my username entails I am a huge fan of zombie media. Well, to a point before it got really boring. That said, this game hits that perfect feeling of being overwhelmed yet if you have the creativity you can get out of a jam by using a parasol, or throwing cd jewel cases. It has a pretty inspired message for what its worth, and some incredibly memorable characters that range from heart warming to haunting. It really was the first game I played on my new xbox 360 that I saw what the next generation of gaming could and would be.
A game that really taught me true fear, and yet taught me to push through that fear so I could see the true beauty of its universe. I have so many memories of flying in and around the small simulated system feeling like a cool spaceman. I also have a lot of memories of dying terribly and horrifically when I wasn't careful, but I'd always wake up to see the stars again. The music is also beautiful and something I keep on rotation to this day. I speak more about it on a pod I guested on if you want a more thorough discussion. https://podbay.fm/p/crt-soundsystem/e/1708293600
My first foray into turn based strategy so it has a larger bias for me than the previous entries. I loved the colourful and imaginative units and their abilities. How a lot of them had more than one function and could be used in clever ways. I was never smart enough to grasp the whole of it or really place in any tournaments, but I kept playing it again and again. The singleplayer is also an absolute delight. We have such a memorable cast of weirdos and oddballs that are put in charge. I mean, Tim Curry as the russian premier is an unforgettable performance that everyone memes. Hell, JK Simmons as the president of the united states who then puts giant lasers inside of mount rushmore is such a great turn. And who can forget Hell March I mean honestly?
War. A tale as old as time. Yoko Taro's dire walk through the ruins of humanity yet life still thrives. You grow stronger as you literally slash through different schools of thought from the old world, and find only more questions and a lot of death. Hooh boy are there people just dyin' all over the place! And oh boy you better believe a lot of them have something to say about how things are! I never was smart enough to get the proper chip sets I wanted, but I made do and it seems the game was okay with that. Oddly enough I did enjoy the fishing minigame. Combat Pipe, my beloved.
The story of a boy who wants to be a big tough man, but the big tough man says, "Nah bro this sucks". Then the president has tentacle arms, and there's a bisexual vampire, and that bald big guy can sure rollerblade! Look man, I'm just here to shoot tranq darts into peoples crotches, get my grip strength to level 3, and save humanity from the La Li Lu Le Lo. And I'll do it again, and again and again.
Ah! A quality game! Finally! A real charming, if at times, frustrating adventure into not twin peaks. The characters are so memorable and unique in their own goofy ways. The story has twists and turns that kept me engaged (though some of the later stuff is questionable). Heck, at some point I got really used to the world and could find my way around Greenvale without using the map as I really was smitten by the town with its low poly charm. I just wish I could get the pc version running properly. Ahh well As with Outer Wilds I guested on another episode of a pod talking at length about the music. If you're curious check it out: https://youtu.be/Xmnx31WPVE0
It's about pain. Scratch that. It's about understanding pain. No, in fact. It's about finding the beauty in our painful existence and finding reason to move forward. An incredible psycho analytic narrative rpg that cracks into the darkness that is your mind and explores so many topics about this world we inhabit. Such colourful portraits that show the faces of a worn down populace that talk with weight and significance. All awaiting the big change that many of them may never see. It really is an enriching journey that is well written. I still boggle at the elegance of how lines are written. "I'm a deeply flawed individual, but I bring joy to the world."
It's time to split! A really fun and goofy cartoon of a game. I found the single player story to have me smile a lot of the time while the multiplayer had me engaged. There's an absurd amount of weapons, characters, modes, and hell the level count is almost darn near infinite with how you can create your own maps in the map maker. The aforementioned map maker was one of my first times I tried creating something in 3D which I'd bring to my animation career to this day. So, thanks for that Time Splitters! Like a monkey, indeed.
I have a real soft spot for this one, as I grew up in a real rural town in the middle of nowhere and this game helped me at least imagine a world beyond it. I fell in love with the character designs which harken back to more retro anime, and I swear I could feel the breeze of the sea on my face as the sails flapped in the wind. Such a mood of a game, and a sold enough story of adventure that you can expect from a zelda game. You can, however, feel the cut content at certain points. Like how a whole dungeon is just missing and it's because, 'Ganon destroyed it" which is a shame. i really wanted to spend more time here, but as the games ending says, we need to explore that horizon. Throwing piggies in the sea.
Thanks to shows like Reboot, and Beast Wars growing up I really fell in love with robots. So a game about robots where you shoot, and save robots from a robot dictator is right up my alley! The cast of the game is also pretty insane with some real top tier voice talents that are putting in a heck of a job. The multiplayer was really fun too with you being able to take over various robots around the maps, having various vehicles, and one secret level having it so you can control the end game boss and terrorize your friends! Shame we never got that sequel that was promised, but thems the breaks.
