Tag: gaming2008

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Gaming 2008: The PS3, PS2, and PSP

With my 360 still on life support, and the Wii not meeting my needs, the PS3 remains the *de facto* platform I did much of my “real” gaming in 2008. The PS2 provided my usual fixes (long RPGs and IIDX titles), while the PSP gradually shrank into nothingness.
I still maintain that PSN is the best download service across all the consoles – not just for a lot of compelling, full-blown titles, but because of a good UI, fair DRM principles, and the lack of space bucks-style currency.

## High Points & Surprises

While I can understand the frustration from those wanting a tight platformer, LittleBigPlanet is the best full-blown platforming experience I’ve had since Super Mario World. The community features are just icing on an already delicious cake.

I have bought nearly 100 songs for SingStar. It is one of my fall-back games, something I can always play to unwind.

I’ve only just started it, but kudos to Sega for Valkyria Chronicles. This – along with Disgaea 3– means I have a nearly endless supply of strategy gaming in my future.

My favorite studio this generation is PixelJunk. Every PS3 should come with PixelJunk Monsters and PixelJunk Eden. (And if you’ve played those two but not played Racers, you really should.)

Metal Gear Solid 4‘s campaign was exactly what I wanted it to be. As someone who played through the previous three games multiple times, it had the same level of absurdity and over-the-top story telling I have come to expect from Kojima Productions. It was worth waiting in line for 9 hours for.

Echochrome has the best soundtrack of any downloadable title I played this year. It provides the right contrast to the brain-rupturing puzzles.

I could sit and start at the WipEout HD UI all day. It reminds me of the best of the IIDX themes, only…you know, actually HD.

We imported Sony’s Afrika once the Chinese/English version came out. I can understand why Sony is hesitant to bring it out in the US – but this game pierces me at the core. It is the ultimate photo-geek game. I can only hope I have enough money for a zoom lens soon, because I’m tired of scaring the animals away. (I also hope they patch in an Export To XMB function, so I can upload my photos to Flickr.)

Almost all of my RPG cravings this year were filled by a game that started with the word “Persona“. All of my button pushing/disc spinning cravings were filled by two more IIDX titles. The PS2 is still good for something, I suppose!

Patapon was the sole shining point on my PSP this year.

After 10 years of playing Gran Turismo on a Dual Shock, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue convinced me I needed to buy a wheel. It’s a different – and much better – experience. Now I just need the final version.

Buzz! Quiz TV finally became a reality, and all other quiz games pale in comparison. Having had a handful of parties where I pulled out the controllers, I can only describe this game as a crowd pleaser.

## Low Points & Disappointments

Hey, Konami – way to bog down the Metal Gear Online with a needless registration process and a completely separate store!

After being a huge proponent of the first game, I had high hopes for Resistance 2 – but ended up feeling let down. It’s not bad, it’s just not gripping. It’s very middle-of-the-road and currently lost in my pile.

Had it been released last generation, SOCOM: Confrontation would have been fine. But with the current expectations of the basics for online play, it is broken garbage. Until it gets patched to a working experience – any day now, supposedly – it is the quintessential “shitty peripheral pack-in” title, and indefensible as a standalone release.

Who greenlighted Jeopardy!? Even at the new reduced $9.99 price point, it’s still $20 too expensive given the horrible presentation.

Final Fantasy: Crisis Core was mindless enough to keep me entertained but a little *too* converted for a portable gaming experience. Is it too much to ask for a proper Final Fantasy game? I’d take a remake of FF8 over Crisis Core.

## Open Questions

Does Sony know how to advertise? Buzz! Quiz TV, Singstar, LittleBigPlanet – do non-core gamers know these titles are out and absurdly fun?

Will anyone still be using Home in a year?

Categories
Enjoyed

Gaming 2008: The Wii + DS

Our Wii got dusty this year – more retail titles than the 360, but less overall purchases. There’s no sign in the coming year that this will change.

Sadly, the same can be said of the DS. A handful of titles that warranted checking out, but nothing that made me say “Wow, 2008 was a great year to have a DS!”. Of course, with the system being four years old, it may be nearing the end of the lifecycle.

## High Points & Surprises

It can’t be argued that No More Heroes was the most enjoyable thing I played on the Wii this year, and the game that pushed the most boundaries this year. Suda51 is a mad man, but like all great mad men, his insanity is society’s gain.

On the DS, The World Ends With You showed that Square Enix *can* do a portable RPG that plays to the strengths of a portable without dumbing it down. Too bad Crisis Core didn’t get the same level of attention.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia finally gives us a tough Metroidvania game, almost to the point of pain. It’s more memorable than the other DS Castlevania titles, that’s for sure.

I played through Professor Layton & The Curious Village. As someone who loved puzzle books as a child, this was a fun nostalgia trip. I can’t figure out what the holdup is on the localization of the other Layton titles.

## Low Points & Disappointments

Super Smash Brothers Brawl failed to pull me in. After clocking endless hours on Melee during college, Brawl featured a slapdash plot, some obnoxious levels, and unplayable networking. It didn’t hook me, and I should probably trade it back.

Mario Kart Wii was more enjoyable than the Gamecube or N64 versions, but I still miss the psuedo-3D of the SNES and GBA titles. Still not quite the level of fun I’m looking for.

Wii Fit caused my most depressing moment of the year: the “fattening” animation after your first weigh-in. Whoever programmed that is a *dick*.

## Open Questions

Is Nintendo ever going to fix the storage issues on the Wii?

Is there any compelling reason to upgrade to the DSi? (I can’t find one.)

Categories
Enjoyed

Gaming 2008: The Xbox 360

Not counting carry overs from Christmas 2007, I played exactly two disc-based games for my 360 this year, largely due to fears of the hardware failing again. One game was purchased in February, the other in November. The number of disc read errors I’ve gotten on the second game have not subsided this fear – even a post-NXE installation needed multiple tries.

But the appeal for me with the 360 continues to be Xbox Live Arcade, which is where most of my (space) bucks went.

## High Points & Surprises

Rez HD made a fantastic translation into an Arcade title. It provided me with a chance to finally work all the way through the game, and it now has a solid place in my heart. I would’ve bought it at retail at full price.

Culdcept Saga finally came out in the US, 15 months after the game came out in Japan. It was worth the wait for those into deep board games.

Braid made a strong statement for indie games on the 360; the story may not have made much sense, but the puzzles were inventive and the experience was a thrill. I wish I could play it with fresh eyes again.

Geometry Wars 2 showed the rest of the gaming industry how to do leaderboards. Hopefully people will follow Bizarre Creation’s lead in 2009.

n+ took my favorite flash game *ever* and turned it into some online behemoth. Bravo, metanet!

I didn’t end up buying it (due to lack of friends with it), but the translation of Ticket To Ride was well done.

## Low Points & Disappointments

Castle Crashers‘s broken network code. Horribly, horribly broken, enough so that I wouldn’t touch the online portion in fear of losing my saved game. It took three months to get a patch out, and in that time the community has mostly died off.

I was so turned off by the voice acting in Blue Dragon I didn’t get much past the tutorial before trading it back.

I was deep into Mass Effect when the year started, and finished it out within the first week. While the core story and plot were enjoyable, my completionist streak kicked up and I did all the side missions. And between the repetitive architecture, the horrible combat controls, and the general lack of variation, they ruined the game for me. Side missions matter.

While there were certainly enhancements to the core functionality, Gears of War 2 felt like more of the same. Another year, I would’ve given it much more attention; this year, it got lost in the pile.

## Open Questions

Why is Netflix now the reason I’m turning on my 360 the most?