The Fourth Annual Coint and Plick Video Games Poll - Part Four: #21 - 52

#44: Plants vs. Zombies – iOS – 20 pts – 3 votes
Official 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 votes
Official 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

#44: Solipskier – Flash/Android/iOS – 20 pts – 3 votes
Official 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

unwound future was definitely the best layton game. can't believe i played all 3.

hrm, I gave Solipskier 20 pts, did two other people vote for it with 0 points?

nope, that's a typo and you were the only one to vote on it. Again, mea culpa.
Pretend that didn't happen.

#43: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit – 360/PS3 – 25 pts – 1 vote
Official 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

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?

still nothing i voted for! although a couple of things from my 2009 ballot have shown up #_#

jjusten, I recommend Motorstorm Pacific Rift. Very underrated, and great multiplayer.

no ps3 :(

THANKS FOR NOTHING STUPID WEDDING REGISTRY

This next one is listed as top Wii Ware but is now available on Steam as well.

#42: Bit.Trip Runner – WiiWare/PC – 25 pts – 1 vote - TOP WIIWARE EXCLUSIVE
Official 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

jjj, did ppl actually know about yr Target registry? I for one did not until just now

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.

so they are all uh somewhere? maybe one of them is a ps3, and i hope the kid who stole it gets electrocuted

i should really get in on all this bit.trip stuff, ive dug the ones ive tried

#41: 2010 FIFA World Cup: South Africa – PS3/360 – 25 pts – 2 votes
Official 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

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?

Yup, I see it.

hey guys

Oops, sorry. I'll do a couple now.

I would totally be willing to take this on and post 5 a day for the next week. Just throwing it out there. :)

Be careful what you wish for.

two way tie for 39

#39: Trainyard – iPhone – 25 pts – 3 votes
Official 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

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).

#39: Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes – DS – 25 pts – 3 votes
Official 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

#38: VVVVVV – Flash/PC – 27 pts – 3 votes
Official 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

i very nearly voted for that

#37: Final Fantasy XIV – PS3 – 30 pts – 1 vote - 0.5 top game votes
Official 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

just tried out trainyard recently - good stuff!

i originally tried to give Final Fantasy XIV 100 points, but forks wasnt having it.

haha! when is it coming out on PS3, do they have a date yet?

Be careful what you wish for.
― polyphonic, Wednesday, June 1, 2011

The gametrailers video for FFMMO is DAMNING

i'm serious, i'll do it if needed! i can take one for the ilg team

ffxiv was my most disappointing title of the year iirc

Z S, I'll let you know but I think I'm fine for now.

#36: Kill God – PC – 30 pts – 1 vote - 1 top game vote
Official Game Site?

http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/killgod.png

Bamcquern: kotm entry that may be my favorite bullet hell shmup because I don?t really play bullet hell shmups but also because I like the bullet patterns, the copy-paste aesthetic and that I can tell how good I'm doing based on how far through I've gotten through the Japanese song made up of three or four apparently not disparate musics

http://www.dumb.com/god/images/god.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZGIMNplzAQ

http://neterubookstore.com/images/canmankillgod.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3eTsNEgmL8

http://www.shelleytherepublican.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/target.jpg

If you can find a still from the game be my guest.

haha, damn.

Two way tie for 34

#34: Sonic Colors – Wii – 30 pts – 2 votes - 1 top game vote
Official Game Site

http://cdn.gamerant.com/wp-content/uploads/Sonic-Colors-New-Trailer-Old-School.jpg

Autumn Almanac: Finally a good Sonic without filler. 3D Sonics always had tremendous potential; this is the closest the franchise has come.

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2010/11/sonic_colors_review.jpg

silby: Tolerable while muted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa6-fzXlf8c

Wired review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAadsAR8rH4

Destructoid review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VonhgARLb5U

is this "kill god"?
http://www.glorioustrainwrecks.com/files/WAHT.png

#34: Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 – PS3 – 30 pts – 2 votes
Official Game Site

http://www.latinogamers.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/image_pes_2011-12749-2028_0001.jpg

EZ Snappin: Huge step forward from 2010 that still has some issues but I'm playing at least one game a day.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MIlG9bZpU0U/TVocfsT5ELI/AAAAAAAAAQo/mZTq4vg2RfY/s1600/PES_2011_12.jpg

Daily Mail review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8FNkit3wBc

PESFan review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-hVGx29IkI

Eurogamer again

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT2qctMWl40

just finished playing 2 games. Still fun.

#33: Rock Band 3 – 360/PS3/Wii – 30 pts – 3 votes - 1 top game votes
Official Game Site

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/rock-band-3-keyboard.jpg

JimD: I was out of practice by about five years until I got this and the pro keyboard. Now I can play again. So that's a pretty huge gift to get from a game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AAy-NGf2VQ

Joystiq review

http://cdn.gamerant.com/wp-content/uploads/Drum-Rocker-Pro-for-Rock-Band-3.jpg

Mitch Krpata: The best music game of all time just got better. But did we see its death throes?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAaRPYKdkTM

Game Informer

http://bulk2.destructoid.com/ul/166366-134551-RockBand.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_Qxuw8C16s

#32: Costume Quest – PS3/360 – 32 pts – 3 votes
Official Game Site

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/costumequest_preview.jpg

Mordy: I really only played this for one night - the evening of Halloween - but what a night it was. Costume Quest is colorful and cute and just long enough for a single extended evening of play. Though it's hampered by a rushed third act and gameplay that is about as challenging as you'd expect (not very) it's really fun and irrepressible.

http://www.thatgamerpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/costume-quest-2010-08-11-01_173jv-1024x614.jpg

litel: Costume Quest is really, really fantastic.

forksclovetofu: Okay, I just beat Costume Quest and knocked out 100% of the trophies; it's actually three worlds, not four. It's a very likely one-sitting game, so be aware that you're plunking down 15 bucks for a short, sweet adventure that's wonderfully done but is NOT going to keep you busy even through halloween.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Npbz3ZER0UU

polyphonic: Much more fun than Brutal Legend.

stevie: just hit the french fry costume bug in costume quest. and so now... the game is broken? don't think i'll be buying any further doublefine games, tbh. this is bullshit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M49wErmsdQ

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Ae0Pt6UDPgw/TLybnJZhXHI/AAAAAAAAB5c/53yPw85GIo4/s1600/costume+quest+double+fine+contest.jpg

woo!

#24: Persona 3 – PSP – 39 pts – 3 votes - 1 top game votes - TOP PSP
Official 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

Eurogamer

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

nice writeup, lamp

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.

im kinda o_O that 3 other ppl voted for darksiders i didnt think anyone else on ILG had even played it!

I played the first hour of it at a pal's house

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.

two way tie for 22

#22: Super Meat Boy – 360/PS3 – 40 pts – 3 votes
Official 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

Giant Bomb review

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

#22: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood – PS3/360 – 40 pts – 3 votes
Official 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

#21: Civilization V – PC/Mac – 45 pts – 2 votes - 0.5 top game votes
Official 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

Eurogamer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBspBEKjTps

PC Gamer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCY09s-c41A

That's it for this batch. My plan is to do 20-16 on Monday. Forks, open invite to jump in!

can i reserve the top 10? still slammed here (doing a conference call while i type actually) but would like to home stretch.

It's a deal.

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

What if you play it on the tougher difficulty levels?

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?

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.

What if you play it on the tougher difficulty levels?

― 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

Which games are you all most surprised didn't make the top 20?

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.

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...

xp all i heard about it really was the PC DRM was atrocious

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

esp. the Crafts, Mine and Star II

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.

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

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

xpost 3D Picross got votes on 2009's poll in import form so there's definitely some sentiment for it

civ 5's ok but its no epic mickey or final fantasy xiv

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

when are we doing most disappointing?

nobody voted for carcasonne btw