#47: Deathspank – 360/PS3 – 20 pts – 2 votesOfficial Game Site
http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/110/1105775/deathspank_624_1279038731.jpg
Mitch Krpata: Comedy is the hardest thing for a game to do right. DeathSpank does it right.
http://mktplassets.xbox.com/NR/rdonlyres/46C5953E-E7CE-47E1-A5CA-8BBEBCE069F4/0/simDeathSpank01.jpg
Salsa Shark: This game was made for me. All the best elements of a Fable-esque adventure and a LucasArts point-and-click in one game? YES PLEASE. It feels like so much effort and thought and love has gone into this game that I almost felt bad getting it for only 600MP on a sale. However, I don't think this is for everybody; people who grumble at fetch quests and mock unsophisticated combat systems probably won't enjoy it. But for the right person (or for the right gaming mood) this is a swell little game. If I want full-on RPG capabilities I'll play Dragon Quest or any other proper, well-rounded, 80+-hour adventuring saga. Deathspank is for those times when you need a lighthearted, uncomplicated game to fill a couple hours.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jhIawI3mos
Eurogamer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_pWUfd_EUw
http://www.deathspank.com/video/characters/deathspank/image.png
― polyphonic, Monday, 23 May 2011 18:50 (twelve years ago) link
#47: God of War III – PS3 – 20 pts – 2 votesOfficial Game Site
http://bulk2.destructoid.com/ul/157589-gow3.jpg
GM: God of War III is kind of amazing. one awesome set-piece after another. it's not especially cool when you basically have to murder a naked slave-lady, though.
http://www.gamezone.com/images/gamezone/31/3/20/s31320_ps3_1.jpg
Captain Lorax: I just think this is a good game even if I haven't played it yet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm88Blmlwjk
Zero Punctuation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3rgcBaI4v8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C22cgOvxTXY
― polyphonic, Monday, 23 May 2011 20:28 (twelve years ago) link
#47: Little Big Planet – PSP – 20 pts – 2 votesOfficial Game Site
http://electricdethtripmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/LittleBigPlanet-PSP.jpg
a passing spacecadet: "Play, create, share". Uh, actually, it's just a 2d platformer with a really unwieldy level editor. Which is fine by me, since I like 2d platformers. Game of the year? I'm sure it really shouldn't be but it's definitely the game I had most fun playing, new or old.
http://www.co-optimus.com/images/upload/image/Little_Big_Planet.jpg
Autumn Almanac: Not as featureful as the PS3 version but just as much fun. That is, not terribly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOV1uaPqjR8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPlmcVYSOa0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp2YhS0jeCU
― polyphonic, Monday, 23 May 2011 20:44 (twelve years ago) link
#47: Robot Unicorn Attack – Flash – 20 pts – 2 vote - TOP FLASH EXCLUSIVEOfficial Game Site
http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/110/4/b/Robot_Unicorn_Attack_by_love_AND_mayhem.png
silby: Canabalt plus colors plus Erasure plus robot unicorns plus rainbows equals pretty mesmerizing apparently.
http://eyeballgames.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/robot-unicorn-attack01.jpg
Captain Lorax: Fun time waster.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdPXskJBFl4
Abbottt: a friend & I ended up talking about them over the phone and she said, "I was playing a lot of robot unicorn attack so of course I got super into Erasure."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TNHh9dmQHg
http://gerardribas.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/play-robot-unicorn-attack-3.jpg
― polyphonic, Monday, 23 May 2011 20:59 (twelve years ago) link
#47: Valkyria Chronicles 2 – PSP – 20 pts – 2 votesOfficial Game Site
http://www.segashiro.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/header_613_valkyria_chronicles_2.jpg
Will M: Another game I sunk a zillion hours into (at last count, triple-digits) this year. The story's stupid (but all videogame stories are). The battle system, though, is EXACTLY what I've been hoping for/trying to invent in my head for about a decade; a third-person turn-based strategy, like Gears of Jagged Alliance or something.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aPA41-18UDc/Ta5OSVgTsmI/AAAAAAAAALQ/6nUCKdg9j6I/s1600/Valkyria%252520Chronicles_04.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlJ-0Jje1KY
http://pspmedia.ign.com/psp/image/article/104/1044592/valkyria-chronicles-2-20091112080619907_640w.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5h1cXyrD0V0
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4032/4299752130_02e80daa61.jpg
― polyphonic, Monday, 23 May 2011 21:13 (twelve years ago) link
More tomorrow!
The battle system, though, is EXACTLY what I've been hoping for/trying to invent in my head for about a decade; a third-person turn-based strategy
Yeah, I haven't played the Valkyria Chronicles games, but I would really love to! They look like they're designed just for me.
― Z S, Monday, 23 May 2011 21:18 (twelve years ago) link
as a heads-up, Robot Unicorn Attack has an iOS version too so it's not a Flash exclusive
― you penis-curling she-devils (jamescobo), Tuesday, 24 May 2011 17:15 (twelve years ago) link
Did the iOS come out in 2010 or 2011?
I'm going by what forks compiled.
― polyphonic, Tuesday, 24 May 2011 17:17 (twelve years ago) link
late 2010; I distinctly remember because all of my non-gamer friends got hopelessly hooked on it & kept calling it Erasure Horse Running Game
― you penis-curling she-devils (jamescobo), Tuesday, 24 May 2011 17:25 (twelve years ago) link
mea culpa
― crazy donkey winger (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 24 May 2011 17:53 (twelve years ago) link
Three-way tie for 44.
― polyphonic, Tuesday, 24 May 2011 17:58 (twelve years ago) link
#44: Plants vs. Zombies – iOS – 20 pts – 3 votesOfficial Game Site
http://ii.alatest.com/product/600x400/9/6/Plants-Vs-Zombies-Iphone-0.jpg
jamescobo: If this isn't my favorite iPad game, it's damn close (and at the very least it's almost certainly my favorite iPad game which isn't really just a board game). The extra screen space makes the interface just sing compared to the iPhone (which, really, is perfectly fine, just not AS good), and the way everything is presented makes the experience the kind of thing you break out when bragging to other folks about how much fun you're having with your fancy new iPad. Michael Jackson's lawyers can eatadiccup though.
http://iphoneappcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Plants-vs.-Zombies-iphone-app-review.jpg
silby: First platform I played this on. It worked. Frequently experienced slowdowns on my 1G iPod touch due to zombie/projectile density, which felt almost quaint.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1NpU0NwKKk
Autumn Almanac: I can see why games like this rule Facebook.
http://www.beefjack.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/plants1.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N1_0SUGlDQ
#44: Professor Layton and the Unwound Future – DS – 20 pts – 3 votesOfficial Game Site
http://www.duelinganalogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Pheon-Professor-Layton-and-the-Unwound-Future.jpg
Salsa Shark: I think the balance of difficulty of puzzles has been a bit off in the last two prof Layton games; I found many of the ones in Diabolical Box quite challenging (and even somewhat repetitive, ie lots of slidey puzzles), but there weren't too many puzzles in Unwound Future that I needed to shell out my hint coins for. I gave this 10 points because even despite the puzzles being less challenging than I may have liked and parts of the story seeming a bit familiar, I'm still a fan of the way the series never makes anyone purely evil, the cinematic cut scenes, and the minigames included in the main story (that ridiculous parrot minigame more than made up for many of the puzzles being on the easy side). I can always count on a Layton game to deliver 15-20h of good entertainment and my weekly wi-fi puzzle is an added bonus.
http://thumb-culture.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/i_25314.jpg
Craig G: This one might be getting a vote to make up the numbers as, although I enjoyed it, the series seems pretty tired now. It feels like I'm playing the same game with slightly different puzzles, only the puzzles, new as they are, are oddly familiar and therefore easy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks__4i9qPZM
Joystiq review
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/9/2010/01/layfig3.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co73huOq6sU
― polyphonic, Tuesday, 24 May 2011 18:13 (twelve years ago) link
#44: Solipskier – Flash/Android/iOS – 20 pts – 3 votesOfficial Game Site
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2010/12/solipskier599x155pxbodyimgpost.jpg
silby: Fits perfectly on a touch device. Part of the joyful trend of really simple games turned into great experiences with the careful application of graphic design and soundtrack (see Canabalt, Robot Unicorn Attack, Eliss). The in-game tips note: "Sometimes Solipskier goes so fast he loses his headphones. Don't be alarmed, just listen to the wind and ride hard!
http://mikengreg.com/blog/archive/images/solipskierProto_6.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxT4eahjvK4
Touch Arcade review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxQZsW0H7LU
― polyphonic, Tuesday, 24 May 2011 18:24 (twelve years ago) link
unwound future was definitely the best layton game. can't believe i played all 3.
― nuclear power, jet propulsion, radar, laser beams, cordless phone (abanana), Tuesday, 24 May 2011 18:38 (twelve years ago) link
hrm, I gave Solipskier 20 pts, did two other people vote for it with 0 points?
― T.S. Eliot-themed roach fetish porn (silby), Tuesday, 24 May 2011 18:55 (twelve years ago) link
nope, that's a typo and you were the only one to vote on it. Again, mea culpa.Pretend that didn't happen.
― crazy donkey winger (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 24 May 2011 19:10 (twelve years ago) link
#43: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit – 360/PS3 – 25 pts – 1 voteOfficial Game Site
http://gametestlab.com/images/stories/screens/NeedforSpeedHP/Need%20for%20Speed%20Hot%20Pursuit.jpg
Mitch Krpata: Just seeing the name sets my heart a-thumping. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit understands the thrill of the chase. It sets off something primal.
http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/2010/320/reviews/997658_20101117_640screen007.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o17qxESnuxM
Gamespy review
http://coloring-drawing.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/police-car-drawing-to-color.jpg
― polyphonic, Tuesday, 24 May 2011 20:20 (twelve years ago) link
ok i just burned through the single player in split/second, and thinking i need a new arcade racer - this need for speed might be a decent choice maybe?
― Midworst (jjjusten), Thursday, 26 May 2011 17:06 (twelve years ago) link
still nothing i voted for! although a couple of things from my 2009 ballot have shown up #_#
― goon.ru (Lamp), Thursday, 26 May 2011 17:07 (twelve years ago) link
jjusten, I recommend Motorstorm Pacific Rift. Very underrated, and great multiplayer.
― polyphonic, Thursday, 26 May 2011 17:23 (twelve years ago) link
no ps3 :(
― Midworst (jjjusten), Thursday, 26 May 2011 17:29 (twelve years ago) link
THANKS FOR NOTHING STUPID WEDDING REGISTRY
― Midworst (jjjusten), Thursday, 26 May 2011 17:30 (twelve years ago) link
This next one is listed as top Wii Ware but is now available on Steam as well.
― polyphonic, Thursday, 26 May 2011 18:06 (twelve years ago) link
#42: Bit.Trip Runner – WiiWare/PC – 25 pts – 1 vote - TOP WIIWARE EXCLUSIVEOfficial Game Site
http://www.bittripgame.com/images/screen-btr-01.png
silby: One of those games that people who don't know anything about zen will call "totally zen". Subverts the upwelling of anger that comes with a failure by only giving you four beats to yell at the screen before you start each level over again. Curious caterpillars and voxelated 49ers.
http://www.bittripgame.com/images/screen-btr-02.png
Destructoid review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7f7OZpuffM
http://www.thetanooki.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Bit-Trip-Runner-Commander-Video-640x321.jpg
Default Prime review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QZ5NcXzrUI
― polyphonic, Thursday, 26 May 2011 18:07 (twelve years ago) link
jjj, did ppl actually know about yr Target registry? I for one did not until just now
― Tom Skerritt Mustache Ride (DJP), Thursday, 26 May 2011 18:11 (twelve years ago) link
yeah idk, protip - target is kinda bullshit when it comes to registries - case in point despite all my efforts to the contrary, they appear to have decided to ship all our gifts to my house during the week we were on our honeymoon.
― Midworst (jjjusten), Thursday, 26 May 2011 18:14 (twelve years ago) link
so they are all uh somewhere? maybe one of them is a ps3, and i hope the kid who stole it gets electrocuted
― Midworst (jjjusten), Thursday, 26 May 2011 18:15 (twelve years ago) link
i should really get in on all this bit.trip stuff, ive dug the ones ive tried
― just malorted a little bit in my mouth (jjjusten), Thursday, 26 May 2011 18:45 (twelve years ago) link
#41: 2010 FIFA World Cup: South Africa – PS3/360 – 25 pts – 2 votesOfficial Game Site
http://digiex.net/attachments/downloads/download-center-2-0/xbox-360-content/demos/4099d1270738302-2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa-demo-download-985985_20100309_790screen007.jpg
EZ Snappin: World Cup corrected the most broken bits of FIFA 10. Shame they broke new stuff in FIFA 11.
http://ps3.gamezone.com/images/sized/images/screenshots/2010_FIFA_World_Cup_South_Africa_-_360_PS3_Wii_-_4-630x354.jpg
Euler: My son is playing this. We played as Spain and lost to the Faroe Islands, which gave the bitter lolls.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4beVIEEgKM
Eurogamer review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpMMjz4yQPM
― polyphonic, Thursday, 26 May 2011 18:48 (twelve years ago) link
thanks again for picking up the ball and running with it poly. i'm just in over my head right now and ILX has to be a respite, not another project.You saw that I already got most of the top 7 or so finished, right?
― he he he what would i not eat? (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 26 May 2011 19:28 (twelve years ago) link
Yup, I see it.
― polyphonic, Thursday, 26 May 2011 19:29 (twelve years ago) link
hey guys
― just malorted a little bit in my mouth (jjjusten), Wednesday, 1 June 2011 22:04 (twelve years ago) link
Oops, sorry. I'll do a couple now.
― polyphonic, Wednesday, 1 June 2011 22:41 (twelve years ago) link
I would totally be willing to take this on and post 5 a day for the next week. Just throwing it out there. :)
― Z S, Wednesday, 1 June 2011 22:43 (twelve years ago) link
Be careful what you wish for.
― polyphonic, Wednesday, 1 June 2011 22:53 (twelve years ago) link
two way tie for 39
― polyphonic, Wednesday, 1 June 2011 23:05 (twelve years ago) link
#39: Trainyard – iPhone – 25 pts – 3 votesOfficial Game Site
http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/FCKEditorFiles//Trainyard_01.jpg
ledge: Made me realise my favourite puzzle game is one where everything is controlled and determined, not random like bejewelled, or dependent on perfect timing and touchpad control like angry birds or cut the rope. It's all about thinking, not doing. Also a beautifully produced game, with a lovely look and feel and wonderfully tuneful sound fx.
http://c1345842.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/assets/screenshots/images/001/357/540/original.jpg?1276365589
Euler: A problem with puzzlers on this platform is the small screen real estate but this one gets it right.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWtIb7NEYgM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKWJs5huXyY
MattD: A really cute little train puzzle game with a feature I don't see in many; most of the problems have multiple possible solutions. You can upload yours to the online database and see how other solved any given puzzle differently or more / less efficiently. It gives it some sold replay value as well as cutting down on the frustration that often ensues from trying to find the exact right way to solve a problem
Wired review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yYPly3D8Gs
― polyphonic, Wednesday, 1 June 2011 23:06 (twelve years ago) link
If we were voting now for 2010 (heaven forbid!) I'd rate Trainyard much higher yet; I'd only really just started with it at voting time, but it's been a reliable standby ever since (still not quite finished with the bonus puzzles, but close).
― Euler, Wednesday, 1 June 2011 23:07 (twelve years ago) link
#39: Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes – DS – 25 pts – 3 votesOfficial Game Site
http://sfx-360.com/newsite/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/MightAndMagicClashOfHeroes.jpg
Euler: En realidad I didn't play many 2010 games this year but I happily played a lot of this on a bunch of transatlantic flights so it ends up near the top kinda by default. (If this were "best of what you played in 2010" by contrast, the winners would be Pic Pic, Strategery & Civ Rev for iOS, and Assassin's Creed, but you go with the year you have not, not the year you had at some previous date.) But Clash of Heroes was worth the time because leveling! new units! fast improvement! kinda puzzly! plot a helluva lot better than Puzzle Quest!
http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/2009/12/custom_1260900505570_mightandmagicclash.jpg
abanana: puzzle rpgs still struggle with plot. but the puzzles were innovative here.
http://dsmedia.ign.com/ds/image/article/100/1004030/might-and-magic-clash-of-heroes-20090715030430448.jpg
Will M.: I can't wait to try this out against other people whenever I end up buying the XBLA one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wccV45fsoJI
IGN review
― polyphonic, Wednesday, 1 June 2011 23:20 (twelve years ago) link
#38: VVVVVV – Flash/PC – 27 pts – 3 votesOfficial Game Site
http://www.merseyremakes.co.uk/gibber/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/vvv2.png
a passing spacecadet: I have never had so much fun being so bad at a game. Thank you death counter for racking up just how bad I was. Thank you that one trinket with the 3-room-high jump which I spent over an hour swearing at. It was like being 8 and hunched over Jet Set Willy every evening for months all over again. Such beautiful wrist pain.
http://www.creativeapplications.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/vvvvvv05.png
GM: No games hooked me as hard this year as genius throwbacks like ... VVVVVV.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56c9NJO3ASM
Eurogamer revvvvvvview
http://www2.ambientdesign.com/gallery/files/9/8/0/0/vvvvvv_gleeee_original.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E99qxCMb05g
http://distractionware.com/blog/img/2010/nov/vvvvvv.jpg
― polyphonic, Wednesday, 1 June 2011 23:31 (twelve years ago) link
i very nearly voted for that
― nuclear power, jet propulsion, radar, laser beams, cordless phone (abanana), Wednesday, 1 June 2011 23:41 (twelve years ago) link
#37: Final Fantasy XIV – PS3 – 30 pts – 1 vote - 0.5 top game votesOfficial Game Site
http://au.playstation.com/media/DiKtuPTc/FinalFantasyXIV_Hero.JPG
Princess TamTam: a daring reimagining of what constitutes "good" and "fun" gaming... boldly elects to regress in quality from Final Fantasy XI... fearless in the way that all great art is, will one day be seen as a Duchampian lightning bolt that forced a reassessment of the status quo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwk3Ps3Jayw
Kotaku review
http://files.g4tv.com/ImageDb3/242367_S/Final-Fantasy-14.jpg
Wikipedia:
Square Enix has sent at least two apologies to its customers, recognizing the poor quality of the game, asking for patience, and announcing free trial extensions and reshuffles in the development team.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdZ7B2XkzQc
― polyphonic, Wednesday, 1 June 2011 23:48 (twelve years ago) link
just tried out trainyard recently - good stuff!
― Nhex, Wednesday, 1 June 2011 23:49 (twelve years ago) link
i originally tried to give Final Fantasy XIV 100 points, but forks wasnt having it.
― ( . __ . ) . o O ( cum ) (Princess TamTam), Wednesday, 1 June 2011 23:52 (twelve years ago) link
haha! when is it coming out on PS3, do they have a date yet?
― zappi, Thursday, 2 June 2011 00:14 (twelve years ago) link
Be careful what you wish for.― polyphonic, Wednesday, June 1, 2011
― When Zeester Met Koffie (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 2 June 2011 01:01 (twelve years ago) link
The gametrailers video for FFMMO is DAMNING
― When Zeester Met Koffie (forksclovetofu), Thursday, 2 June 2011 01:02 (twelve years ago) link
i'm serious, i'll do it if needed! i can take one for the ilg team
― Z S, Thursday, 2 June 2011 02:01 (twelve years ago) link
I loved watching my friend play Vanquish. I didn't enjoy playing it (not my thing) but it was gorgeous in the hands of someone who was good at it.
― EZ Snappin, Friday, 3 June 2011 18:34 (twelve years ago) link
two way tie for 26
― polyphonic, Friday, 3 June 2011 18:48 (twelve years ago) link
#26: Nier – PS3/360 – 35 pts – 3 votesOfficial Game Site
http://www.gameranx.com/images/updates/1296462823_nier.jpg
so NIER and yet so far: itt "a game from square enix"
zappi: biggest surprise was Nier, has huge flaws but i loved the world & the way it kept switching up the gameplay - at one point it even becomes a text adventure!
http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/gamelife/2010/02/nier-0203_1-660x371.jpg
abanana: decent plot, decent fighting, fast walking speed. that's good enough for me.
http://fourplayercoop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/nier-1024x575.jpg
polyphonic: Nier is reminding me more of Deadly Premonition than I would've guessed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsWZ27odqRQ
lol ny times
"Nier does many different things at such a high level of sophistication and accessibility that I cannot think of another single game of recent years that more faithfully represents the sheer intellectual breadth of modern video games."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYHEBUTNviM
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/750/91057882.jpg
― polyphonic, Friday, 3 June 2011 18:49 (twelve years ago) link
^^ replayed it over xmas and it was still as good as the first time. plus i knew to skip all the dumb sidequests :pthis guy recently discovered some interesting details in the game, huge plot spoilers of course http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=28132837&postcount=7755
― zappi, Friday, 3 June 2011 19:00 (twelve years ago) link
is Nier the one that made one reviewer go insane because of a quest that had him fishing for like 3 hours because he was standing in the wrong spot
― low-rent black gangster nicknamed Bootsy (DJP), Friday, 3 June 2011 19:01 (twelve years ago) link
ya, he didn't look at the big red X on the map.
― zappi, Friday, 3 June 2011 19:03 (twelve years ago) link
tbh I almost bought the game solely because of that review
much lolling
― low-rent black gangster nicknamed Bootsy (DJP), Friday, 3 June 2011 19:03 (twelve years ago) link
#26: StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty – PC/Mac – 35 pts – 3 votesOfficial Game Site
http://www.geek.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/sc2.jpg
Starcraft 2: Mothership Connection
MattD: I can't speak for the single player campaign, as I generally only play RTS titles for the competitive multiplayer. It's the same game it was a decade ago, and it isn't - there are more options, tricks, tactics and polish, but the gameplay is still fast, tense, rewards intensive macro and micro level decision making / planning, and causes severe levels of stress and cardiac palpitations when played at the peak of my skill level. Which is why I stopped, because progressing beyond that point would take an inordinate amount of devotion and probably give me a heart attack. But there's no RTS out there that has such broad appeal or is so accessible yet rewarding. It is possibly the best way to earn the grudging respect of the teenagers your friend teaches; by 2v2 tandem 4-gating them into the dirt over and over and over again.
http://www.thewebtechreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/starcraft2_1.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgyL08nhtkw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kcxg4ylQJ6o
http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/51168115-7e31-49f7-955e-0b3686f250b7.jpg
PC Gamer
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b380/TheHan/StarcraftLove.png
― polyphonic, Friday, 3 June 2011 19:41 (twelve years ago) link
yeah this is ace. but i didn't pick it up till 2011 so no vote from me.
― Roberto Spiralli, Friday, 3 June 2011 19:45 (twelve years ago) link
cozwn's description of Vanquish intrigues me....
― Nhex, Saturday, 4 June 2011 02:23 (twelve years ago) link
surprised that some of the big guns placed this early too
― Nhex, Saturday, 4 June 2011 02:24 (twelve years ago) link
#25: Darksiders – 360/PS3 – 35 pts – 4 votesOfficial Game Site
http://ve3dmedia.ign.com/images/06/19/61974_Darksiders-14_normal.jpg
Lamp: a derivative game made by people who take manga too seriously darkstalkers is also p fukken rad, you get to be a horsemen of the apocalypse preventing a premature armageddon and there some shit with sexy angels and forces of evil and who cares. there's puzzles! and gory-ass swordplay! its zelda with blood!
http://static2.videogamer.com/videogamer/images/xbox360/darksiders/screens/darksiders_80.jpg
Giant Bomb review
jjjusten: Bash dudes, find treasure, bash dudes, retrace steps, boss battle, more treasure, cutscene, rinse repeat. It's better than it sounds, but no point in lying about it. Main character design makes me wish they would take everyone who has ever been artistically influenced by Gears of War and drown them in a well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArHzEGeiMbg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6Cch1QE--w
http://www.freshcharacters.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/darksiders_by_derrickSong.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lORCuR84-_8
― polyphonic, Saturday, 4 June 2011 18:06 (twelve years ago) link
woo!
― Muttley vs. Mumbly (CaptainLorax), Saturday, 4 June 2011 19:36 (twelve years ago) link
#24: Persona 3 – PSP – 39 pts – 3 votes - 1 top game votes - TOP PSPOfficial Game Site
http://gamesareevil.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/shin-megami-tensei-persona-3-1541.jpg
Kids, shoot yourself in the head and gain super powers! The SMT / Megaten / Persona thread
Will M.: I feel weird voting for an old game first overall (one I may have voted for in the past) but this is finally the first version I've completed, and apparently, the best version (discluding its discluding of the epilogue) and goddamn if it didn't actually rekindle my love for jRPGs. Not that any others will make me want to play like this did, but damn. 70 hours and I'm on my SECOND playthrough now.
1up review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB4WyHe-HRM
if: Playing this for the first time after P4, there were a couple of spots where I could see how things were later improved on and there wasn't the same novelty value to its social mechanics or its particular line in lightly gothic weirdness. Despite that, the actually interesting and likeable story and characters (ok, likeable apart from Junpei, but I guess that's deliberate), the perfectly streamlined old school combat, and the endless options to spend your days as you choose and advance both stories and abilities as a result still make it stand out as a class apart from other JRPGs. There's also still the fun of having one bizarro alternate world of Shadows and Personas ('The Midnight Hour') built on top of another bizarro alternate world where you get a day off school to respect your elders and getting high exam marks makes you more popular ('Japan').
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz0R88xG-pc
Lamp: atlus's persona 3 FES is a gothic-tinged rpg that came out in the waning days of the PS2. the player takes on the role of a silent, mysterious transfer student to a japanese high school. on your 1st night in your new dorm you and your housemates are attacked by a slinking inky mass of arms and faces called 'shadows'. after shooting yourself in the head you summon an otherworldy spirit guide - classically allusioned and perfectly art-designed - to defeat the shadows & save yourself and your housemate. all of this takes place after about 35 minutes of introductory cut-scenes, expository dialogue and cryptic visitations.
so persona 3 divides its time btw the world of shadows & the day-to-day life of a japanese high school student. & as you make way through both of these worlds, studying for exams, building friendships, occasionally venturing into the shadowlands to defeat monsters and gain strength the two worlds begin to build inwards upon each other, permeating their counterparts in strange & unexpected ways. like twin peaks P3FES does an incredible job of portraying a mundane world that is constantly under threat from the unknowable & mysterious horrors that underlie our everyday world. but unlike twin peaks the 'regular' existence never feels like an afterthought, the pleasures of simply being in this world & the social link mechanic are equal to the pleasure of dungeon crawling & the story-driven mystery elements of the game that mostly take place in the hidden shadow world.
it seems kinda crazy that a part dungeon-crawler rpg part japanese dating sim game can be summed up using em forster's famous maxim 'only connect' but persona 3 FES is above all about the longing for contact & the terror of isolation. its most meaningful moments take place in the spaces btw how we see ourselves & how the other characters see us. i think its a mistake to want the game's dialogue trees and social interactions to function in the same way as they do in d&d-influenced western rpgs. in a western rpg the focus is on developing a character & so the best games give a sense of true possibility and naturalism. whereas with persona there is always a right answer, a correct path. the point isn't to give the player a blank slate to write his intentions on, to chose a 'good' or 'evil' path & then make descions based upon your character's intentions. in P3FES your character is a mirror held up to the npcs. you reflect their vanities & insecurities, their hopes & fears. and so the player is forced to consider them, who they are & at best you can understand and help that person. your goal, your job is to build relationships, not a character.
finally - finally! - the combat in P3FES is one of the most tactically interesting mechanic of any turn-based rpg. every npc is self-directed and their actions will often - frustratingly - shadow their reallife personalities. as battle leader you can give them directives but you cant control their actions perfectly. so combat begins to double the social link aspect of the game, you're forced to predict the actions of your comrades to know their strengths & weaknesses & so to understand them as people. the difficulty of this makes what is a very grind-heavy game both more fraught and more engaging. never a game to miss an opportunity death literally haunts the game's dungeon & his shadow is always present in P3FES. even regular combats are perilous & you will die. a lot.
the best that i can say for P3FES is that unlike almost any other game the memory of its events stayed with me. although its mechanically frustrating, overlong & exacting it manages to create a plausible, engrossing world like no game before or since.
http://gamrfeed.vgchartz.com/galleries/2010-06-20/persona-3-portable/persona-3-portable_1277089256.jpg
http://visublog.mechafetus.com/system/images//persona3c.gif
― polyphonic, Saturday, 4 June 2011 19:40 (twelve years ago) link
nice writeup, lamp
― Princess TamTam, Saturday, 4 June 2011 20:15 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah really enjoyed reading it, gets at a lot of the best things about the game (meanwhile I managed to confuse the Dark Hour and Midnight Channel).
Since P3P gives the option not to, I didn't play it with everyone else controlling themselves in battle though, that's just too frustrating. Also I was only about half way through the game when I voted (I mean, it is 80+ hours long) and am pleased to say that the rest of it did live up to expectations!
[SPOILERS ahead]
I played as the female main character and was a bit disappointed not to end up daying anyone - Akihiko was kind of boring and Junpei was amazingly even more annoying than Yosuke in P4 so I was pleased when Shinjiro started turning out to be likable, and then he very soon died. Oh well.
― if, Saturday, 4 June 2011 21:31 (twelve years ago) link
im kinda o_O that 3 other ppl voted for darksiders i didnt think anyone else on ILG had even played it!
― SEX-MEN: Worst Ass (Lamp), Saturday, 4 June 2011 21:52 (twelve years ago) link
I played the first hour of it at a pal's house
― polyphonic, Saturday, 4 June 2011 21:55 (twelve years ago) link
its funny that i voted for it i think id probably finished it so recently that i was still pleasurably immersed in the gameworld but five months later its just as forgettable as all the other junk i played last year.
― SEX-MEN: Worst Ass (Lamp), Saturday, 4 June 2011 21:57 (twelve years ago) link
two way tie for 22
― polyphonic, Sunday, 5 June 2011 20:02 (twelve years ago) link
#22: Super Meat Boy – 360/PS3 – 40 pts – 3 votesOfficial Game Site
http://vegetarianstar.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Super-Meat-Boy.jpg
if: Beyond basic functionality, I actually don't really care at all for the aesthetics of SMB (now there's a deliberate acronym). I think I may also, finally, have reached the point where I see '<Item> get!' and 'Sorry but the <person> is in another <location>' and feel absolutely nothing in response. Fortunately the controls, jumping/walljumping mechanics, sense of speed and level design were near perfect. The replays in which you watch a cloud of your failures gradually and harshly narrowed down to your success were also rightly praised. The number one thing above all of that that made this stand out and be so addictive, though, was the simple but ingenious idea to make all the levels so short. Coupled with NO RELOADING TIMES and the aforementioned speed and responsiveness, this meant that the difficulty could be ramped up to the level where winning often feels exhilaratingly like achieving the impossible, whilst barely ever suffering from un-fun frustration. And each level offering multiple routes with rewards for quick times meant that even if you spent twenty goes repeating the same first section of a level: i) it was really short anyway ii) It wasn't time wasted, as it could be used to whittle an extra 0.05 seconds off the time for that part and increase your chances of opening up a more sadistically hard level!
SUPER MEAT BOY!
http://media.rundlc.com/editorial/2010/10/Super-Meat-Boy-33.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQZeQSaXwR8
silby: Only managed to spend a few minutes with this game so far, but since it combines brilliantly designed puzzle-platforming with an insane glut of content, by the time it's finally out on a platform that I have regular access to, I might actually bother to beat it.
MTV review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N874LFeLhYs
http://www.ripten.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Super_Meat_Boy_Dave_Rapoza_Cover-600x539.jpg
― polyphonic, Sunday, 5 June 2011 20:04 (twelve years ago) link
#22: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood – PS3/360 – 40 pts – 3 votesOfficial Game Site
http://www.pwnage.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/acb2.jpg
EZ Snappin: ACII was my game of the year last year. This is better in many ways -- the new additions to combat and collecting things to unlock items spring to mind -- but Rome is no Venice.
Assassin's Creed
http://pinoytutorial.com/techtorial/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/assassins-creed-brotherhood.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzNs4-kRLaE
Gamespot review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qevxWc50yw8
Guardian review
MattD: This is sort of a half-vote, as I havn't touched the single player, but that speaks volumes about the fantastic multiplayer. At its heart it's just a it's simple cat-and-mouse game to see who can sneak up on whom (everyone is simultaneously playing both roles). The better you do, the more people hunting you. It's tense and frantic, and maybe the only competitive implementation of a sneaking mission that works well for both the hunter and hunted.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Leivk4O7_Qc
http://ijustwanttofitin.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Assassin__s_Creed_cosplay_by_Ectheo8.jpg
― polyphonic, Sunday, 5 June 2011 20:18 (twelve years ago) link
#21: Civilization V – PC/Mac – 45 pts – 2 votes - 0.5 top game votesOfficial Game Site
http://www.cyberstratege.com/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/civilization-5-header_38.jpg
Civilization V
Gravel Puzzleworth: I think this will be an amazing amazing game when it's finished (2/3 years from now) but I'm not sure I'll ever love it as much as IV; it's a too little too facebook in a way I can't quite put my finger on - I really & honestly like almost every design decision they took and the 100% unifying thread of them seems to have been 'remove the things that aren't fun' - I'm just not certain I like fun as much as the game's target audience?
http://www.gamingsurvival.com/dev/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Civilization-5-2.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRoYEBfM_3A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBspBEKjTps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCY09s-c41A
― polyphonic, Sunday, 5 June 2011 20:33 (twelve years ago) link
That's it for this batch. My plan is to do 20-16 on Monday. Forks, open invite to jump in!
― polyphonic, Sunday, 5 June 2011 20:35 (twelve years ago) link
can i reserve the top 10? still slammed here (doing a conference call while i type actually) but would like to home stretch.
― When Zeester Met Koffie (forksclovetofu), Sunday, 5 June 2011 20:37 (twelve years ago) link
It's a deal.
― polyphonic, Sunday, 5 June 2011 20:38 (twelve years ago) link
civ 5 was my vote for most disappointing game of 2010 - too easy, and too easy to run out of shit to do. it'll be better after a few expansions though
― Princess TamTam, Sunday, 5 June 2011 20:46 (twelve years ago) link
What if you play it on the tougher difficulty levels?
― polyphonic, Sunday, 5 June 2011 20:48 (twelve years ago) link
two things -- one, Civilization (Danny Kaye + Andrew Sisters) is one of my fave songs ever so awesome. second -- I haven't played Civ 5 yet (tho I've played so many epic campaigns on Civ 4). I've heard the AI is basically totally broken. True?
― Mordy, Sunday, 5 June 2011 21:02 (twelve years ago) link
no, it's not broken. before they patched it the AI didn't seem to understand how combat works when positioning its units, which was a big early gripe, but they fixed that. i haven't encountered anything egregious since.
i disagree with PTT's comments but there is something of an issue with game balancing that i don't think is fixable the way the game is designed. i tried playing a game on slower speeds and you really do end up with nothing to do for stretches. i played one game on marathon - i was on a continent with 2 other civs. early on i had totally explored everything i could access and was still a long way off transoceanic travel. i expanded a bit and conquered one of the other civs, but i reached a point where to do anything more would've killed my civ because of happiness constraints that i was powerless to remedy without access to other civs, luxuries, etc. i did literally f all for a few hours waiting to crawl along the tech tree before i canned it.
but if i play on normal speed, or even better, fast, it's usually p frantic, with plenty to juggle exactly as you would hope. and if you keep to normal or smaller sized maps, the strict happiness-forced restrictions on growth at the highest difficulties levels are mitigated somewhat. but it's definitely contrary to how i have played civ in the past tho.
― Roberto Spiralli, Sunday, 5 June 2011 21:42 (twelve years ago) link
― polyphonic, Sunday, June 5, 2011 4:48 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark
i beat it on emperor, which i could never do with the previous games
the combat is good and the design is good - which is why i think it'll be a much better game with a few expansions under its belt
― Princess TamTam, Sunday, 5 June 2011 23:01 (twelve years ago) link
Which games are you all most surprised didn't make the top 20?
― polyphonic, Sunday, 5 June 2011 23:07 (twelve years ago) link
I thought ACII: Brotherhood would've been in the top. Really one of the best open worlders out there. They've really got a handle on this engine and bugs were few and far between.
― EZ Snappin, Sunday, 5 June 2011 23:10 (twelve years ago) link
we can't tell without seeing the top 20... unless you mean out of games that have already placed... in which case... none of them...
― Princess TamTam, Sunday, 5 June 2011 23:10 (twelve years ago) link
xp all i heard about it really was the PC DRM was atrocious
― Nhex, Sunday, 5 June 2011 23:15 (twelve years ago) link
Games I was at least a little surprised didn't make it to the top 20, given either general popularity, or even just their popularity on this board: Starcraft II, Assassin's Creed, Super Meat Boy, Dead Rising 2, Minecraft
― Nhex, Sunday, 5 June 2011 23:18 (twelve years ago) link
esp. the Crafts, Mine and Star II
― Nhex, Sunday, 5 June 2011 23:19 (twelve years ago) link
observations/predictions looking at the ballot as we move into the home stretch:
- by my count there's four missing heavy hitters from the iPhone alone left: 9 Innings, Angry Birds, Carcassonne, & Game Dev Story (which I assume will set the record for "most quotes & screenshots included with a C&P entry")
- shocked to see Mario Galaxy 2 cracking the top 20, that game seemed completely unnecessary to me after the first one
- looks to me like the big multiplatform titles left are New Vegas, ME2 (listed as 360 on the ballot but wasn't this on PC too?), Bayonetta, Just Cause, Blur (maybe? the only racing series I pay attention to is Motorstorm) and Pac-Man CE DX (which I think will end up placing really high since it was still fresh in everyone's mind when voting was going on)
- looks like a potentially strong finish for the DS - still no sign of DQ9, Picross 3D, Pokemans, Strange Journey, Golden Sun (maybe?), or Miles Edgeworth (ditto?)
- hoping Joe Danger makes it into the top 20, that game is fun as shit and I wish I could have found room for it on my ballot
- lol zero votes for Peace Walker
- I never would have picked Bejeweled 3 to be top PC/Mac exclusive but it looks like the only remaining candidate. ditto for Heavy Rain (COME ON) as top PS3 exclusive.
― you penis-curling she-devils (jamescobo), Sunday, 5 June 2011 23:42 (twelve years ago) link
chatter on the DS thread was pretty low this past year, I have a feeling only DQ9 and Pokemon will show, if even
Peace Walker was last year? feels like much longer ago
heavy rain not a surprise, there are still some fans here
― Nhex, Sunday, 5 June 2011 23:45 (twelve years ago) link
i voted for civ 5 on my truncated ballot this year partly to acknowledge that i spent a bunch of time playing it & partly because it gave me a lot of pleasure. im not really sure how i feel abt the game design itself if only because like 15 years of playing civ has created this impossible mental tangle of 'how a civ game should be' that no civ game every really manages. but i liked the basic feel of 5, the look of the maps in particular, but the interface and the streamlined cityscreen. i had a fair amount of fun playing the game, especially at first, almost uncompetitively & just letting the game wash over me - the simplicity & the downtime were enjoyable to me idk
otoh it is too easy & too neutered - i never really felt the same sense of possibility that earlier civ games gave me, there are really only a few ways to win & only a few ways of managing your empire. its much too limited a game to be truly challenging or worth thinking abt imo
― SEX-MEN: Worst Ass (Lamp), Sunday, 5 June 2011 23:54 (twelve years ago) link
xpost 3D Picross got votes on 2009's poll in import form so there's definitely some sentiment for it
― you penis-curling she-devils (jamescobo), Sunday, 5 June 2011 23:56 (twelve years ago) link
civ 5's ok but its no epic mickey or final fantasy xiv
― Princess TamTam, Monday, 6 June 2011 00:01 (twelve years ago) link
lol i wonder if i can find my 'most disappointing' writeup for final fantz
also iir my ballot c u shld be pretty pleased by whats still 2 cum
― SEX-MEN: Worst Ass (Lamp), Monday, 6 June 2011 00:07 (twelve years ago) link
when are we doing most disappointing?
― Mordy, Monday, 6 June 2011 00:18 (twelve years ago) link
nobody voted for carcasonne btw
― When Zeester Met Koffie (forksclovetofu), Monday, 6 June 2011 01:09 (twelve years ago) link