The lights are on
There have been no shortage of amazing games this generation. Games Like Bioshock, Red Dead Redemption, Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, Uncharted, and so many others are making my top ten list change monthly.
2011 was without a doubt a standout year in video games. From the early hits like, Dead Space 2, and Little Big Planet 2, to the awesome summer releases like LA Noire, and Infamous 2. And of course the highly anticipated holiday titles like, Assassin's Creed Revelations, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, and the long awaited new installment of The Elder Scrolls series: Skyrim. And who could forget the (often heated) battle between Battlefield 3, and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3?
In case my hero image, or my avatar (thanks TurdFurgy!) didn't tip you off, I'm a huge fan of Bioshock. One and Two. One thing I've noticed is while most people generally love the first one, the second one get's quite a bit of hate. Last year I published a blog about my favorite games of this generation (shameless plug here).
Going into Dark Souls, everybody was telling me to be ready. to prepare for an extremely difficult experience, and boy were they right. Dark Souls is probably one of the most unforgiving, brutal games I've ever played. One mistake, one badly timed attack, or missed swing, can lead to your death. And the game isn't going to hold your hand, or teach you zilch. The tutorial basically consists of "R1 attack", "R2 heavy attack", "now go fight that huge boss that can kill you with two or three hits".
In these past few years, we've seen some amazing games. From Bioshock, to Red Dead Redemption, and so many others I don't have room to name, there's been no shortage of awesome stuff to play. However, one thing I've noticed is among all the monster hits, there have been some lower reviewed games I've enjoyed almost as much. (Okay, so maybe not that much, but I still enjoyed them). Anyway...
I've been playing Video Games for a long time. Some of my earliest memories are of playing "Choplifter", and "Outrun" on the Sega Master system. And I've played a lot of great games between now and then. However, there is one legendary series that I've never got around to playing, until now:
I think a lot of us can agree, this has been one annoying year thanks to a certain two games. I'm not gonna name names...but I will show pictures!
Reiner recently did a list of his top 25 favorite games, which is basically what inspired me to do this one. While I don't think I could put together a list of my favorite 25, 10 just didn't seem like enough. So I just decided to throw in 11. Have a look because even if it's terrible, you still get to make fun of me right? #11) Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of The Patriots The Metal Gear Solid series has turned into one of the most confusing stories in the history of man (seriously, I'd pay somebody to explain that to me). But the stealth-based game play has always been a blast. MGS 4 reworks the controls to perfection, tones down the codec chatter, and adds a sad element to the story as we watch Snake fall apart on his final mission. The result is the best MGS title to date and one of the sadder video game stories. #10) Fallout 3 Fallout 3 was my first experience with a Bethesda game, and it was mind blowing. Upon exiting Vault 21 for the first time, the freedom the game throws at you is what really makes it so amazing. If you want to go over that hill and murder everybody in the town (well shame on you!) you can do that. You're completely free to be who you want be, which earns Fallout 3 a spot on my list. #9)The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion In a earlier blog I mentioned that I avoided the main quest in Oblivion due to the Oblivion gates freaking me out. The fact that the game still ranks in my top 11 games really says something about it. With it's fantasy setting, Oblivion goes further (to me anyway) with the freedom than Fallout. The wonder and excitement of the world is what keeps bringing me back, after all what other games let you raid dungeons as a Lizard Assassin? #8) Bioshock 2 Bioshock 2 seemed to receive a lot of negative criticism when it released. To this day I still don't quite understand a lot of the complaints. One of the most common is: players never felt like a Big Daddy. It was actually the opposite for me, even on hard, I felt too powerful. Bioshock 2 may not have brought the same wonder as the original, but I accept it for what it was: another great game set in the Bioshock universe. #7) Assassin's Creed A preview of this game was actually my final push to upgrade to current Gen. And it was every bit as awesome as I expected. Exploring the Holy Lands as the ruthless Assassin: Altair was an absolute blast. The innovative control style made everything from combat to platforming a load of fun. And the graphics really brought the amazing environments to life. The Repetitive game play drug it down a little, but the moment you had your target in your sights, it was all worth it. #6) Batman Abrkham Asylum Let's be honest, Batman has a horrible video game track record. Thankfully Rocksteady came along and surprised us with what was not only the best Batman game, but one of the best super hero games yet. Like Bioshock's Rapture, The Asylum is just as much as a character as our pointy-eared friend. Exploring the haunted halls of Arkham Asylum while messing with it's demented inmates is one of my favorite game experiences. [PageBreak]