DAY 365 / GAME 365
Mass Effect 3
Three-hundred-and-sixty-five games later and I still haven't covered all the great games I've played. But I certainly covered the vast majority of them. Some games I didn't feel I played enough of to warrant a post and some games were sequels so close to the originals that they didn't need to be written about. Nevertheless, the 365th and final game of the year is the final piece to a trilogy of games who's characters are as close to me as some of the best novels I've read and the best movies I've enjoyed. Mass Effect 3 was the ending to one of my all time favourite pieces of sci-fi fiction I've ever played.
A trilogy of games that spanned a five year release date, Mass Effect, from Canadian developer BioWare, is a series that has touched a huge audience. An inventive sci-fi third-person RPG shooter, it's gameplay allowed you to developed relationships with characters across space in an attempt to end what is revealed to be the cyclic demolition of the universe as we know it. As this massive war, full of in-fighting amongst races, your crew helps band together all intelligent life from the great to the small in what culminates in a last stand against the Reapers.
By the end of this journey, you've met and hopefully made a difference in a number of different characters. All from different backgrounds, with different hopes and dreams, beliefs and pasts. BioWare wrote these characters with depth; you aren't meant to like all of them, or hate all of them. When you make you decisions they become less logical and more heartfelt as you progress through the game. At least, if you played it anything like I did, which sounds like the consensus amongst gamers.
Mass Effect 3 is like so many other great titles in that I could sit here and write about it for hours. But at this point I'm sure you've either heard it from me or someone else, it's simply a fantastic series and an amazing game. It's visually stunning, has an incredible score and with the right sound system, incredible audio cues. The writing is top-notch and the gameplay is both engaging and solid. Mass Effect is a series I do plan to play through from the start again soon, just to enjoy it all over again.
That's it. I've covered a full 365 different games from the day I started playing games to as recently as yesterday. This are 365 games that I honestly enjoyed and many of them I still own or have re-purchased while writing this blog. There are many more games I could discuss and there are many more I plan to play. In fact, next year is the year where I play what I own, and don't buy anything new. That will be over 30 games. Quite a feat.
Shortly after this post, I'll post a summary. Kind of an addendum, covering what didn't make it in, and what I plan on doing for next year. I'll also try to post a little infographic on which games were covered this year. Until then, thanks for sticking with me for this project, it was one of the bigger things I've completed.
DAY 364 / GAME 364
Never Alone
Never Alone, or Kisima Innitchuna is a real first in gaming. At least, so far as I am aware. I stumbled across Never Alone while browsing games on the Humble online store and happened across it on it's release day. (Just about a month ago.) I was attracted to this game instantly for it's beautiful visuals, but was especially excited for what it offered alongside.
Never Alone isn't simply a game; it's a game combined with a documentary alongside a story from ancient Inuit folklore. You see, Never Alone was created by a small team of Inupiat Inuit from Northern Alaska in association with an American publisher. Based on Inupiat artwork, scrimshaw and tales from tribal elders; Never Alone represents one of the few games which is a game first and yet is equally informative. I guess you could compare it to Assassin's Creed 2, where you can read up on any major piece of architecture as you wander renaissance Italy. But Italy isn't so hidden away from us as the Inuit are.
As you progress through Never Alone, you follow the story of a young girl who gets lost trying to find the cause of a blizzard which is burdening the village. She quickly gets lost, but is guided by a snowy arctic fox. At this point you can switch between either character and often need to in order to complete most puzzles. Likewise, each character can be controlled individually if you have two controllers (and players.) As you make your way through the game, you unlock short pieces of video which form a much larger documentary. Exploring everything from the history of the Inupiat people, to their involvement in the game, their culture, survival in the harsh wilderness and their connection with the world around them.
There's so much to enjoy about Never Alone. The Inuit perspective is unique and refreshing, (Though not too indifferent from other native american cultures.) the artwork is beautiful and the game makes great use of the Unity engine. The documentary alone is engaging and informative, a real eye-opener as so many of us are consumed in our 'modern' lifestyle.
Never Alone is an inexpensive indie title sitting at about $15 and I highly recommend it.
DAY 363 / GAME 363
Atari Star Wars Arcade
One of the few downsides of video game arcades is simply that you can only fit as many game in your location as you can comfortably fit cabinets. And so, sometimes you find that one game that is at an arcade nowhere close to where you life and playing that game ends up becoming a rare treat; like a unaffordable delicacy.
On one, maybe two occasions as a young child I visited Toronto's theme restaurant The Organ Grinder. (Which no longer exists, to my knowledge.) This restaurant which existed as one giant pipe organ was a popular pizza house for kid's birthday parties and thus, contained a half-decent arcade.
My brother discovered it first, this arcade housed one cabinet that stood out above the rest. So much so I recall no other games existing at this venue. This was likely in the mid-to-late 80's and we found what seemed like the best thing we've ever seen. A Star Wars flight simulator, specifically emulating the famous trench run scene from A New Hope.
The visuals looked exactly like something out of Tron. (The 80's flick, obviously.) Which at the time, felt like the future. Red, blue and green outlines forming three-dimensional shapes, allowing for a the feel of truly moving through a virtual space. The cabinet design, closed in like a ship's cockpit really added to the experience and let you block out the world around you. Even if that included a hyper-noisy pipe-organ restaurant.
It's unfortunate that I would have only had the opportunity to play this game a few times at most, and yet it's an experience I haven't forgotten. Even if it has been almost thirty years later. It's one of those games that was not only fantastic at the time, but having played leaves you with a benchmark for which you can appreciate just how far games like this have come over time. From Tron like visuals to well, Tron Legacy visuals. All in a portion of my lifetime. I can only imagine what the future holds.
DAY 362 / GAME 362
Panzer Dragoon: Orta
After the demise of the Dreamcast console, Sega dropped out of the home console business and divided itself up with different focuses on software and arcade hardware. When this happened, there were no more Sega 'exclusive' titles anymore. Suddenly you started to see Sonic the Hedgehog showing up on the Nintendo Gamecube of all things. Soul Calibur on the PlayStation 2 and Panzer Dragoon on the original Microsoft Xbox.
This latest Panzer Dragoon, Orta, seemed to included a huge jump up in graphical quality, even though the Dreamcast was pretty much the same generation of console as the Xbox. I keep forgetting that Orta wasn't actually an Xbox 360 game. Of course, part of this would be because it was one of the few titles that was supported with backward compatibility and so I played this most recently on my 360.
Though I swear I beat this title, reading up on it now so much of the story seems unfamiliar. Either the story was told in a manner unclear enough that I don't remember it well, or I simply never beat the game. There's also a good chance I just really have to pick it up and play it again someday soon. Perhaps there's a story in there that I just glazed over and somehow missed out on.
As interesting as the Panzer Dragoon series always have been, for me it's always been about the incredible design, unique worlds and the simple gracefulness of the rail-shooter mechanics.
Panzer Dragoon is a series that I always wished got more attention. Though perhaps that was never a problem, at the very least I wish it were more widely released and certainly continued into current day. Unless you own a Sega Saturn, I don't think you can opt to play parts 1 and 2. Panzer Dragoon Saga, the RPG released on the Saturn was impossible to find and went for well over $100 on Ebay for years after it's release. The series seriously deserves a reboot, and at the very least an HD collection. Especially one that includes the elusive and highly recommended Panzer Dragoon Saga.
DAY 361 / GAME 361
Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped
I had almost forgotten how more Naughty Dog put into Crash Bandicoot 3 until I did a little digging to refresh my memory. I played Crash 2 the most to this day and so, it's still the one I'm the most familiar with. But Crash 3 could easily be considered the better game.
Completed in just over 10 months, Naughty Dog built 3 additional game engines to accommodate the new level designs incorporated into this new title. Warped contained some motorcycle racing levels out in the desert, some WW1 air combat levels and some new revamped jetski levels. Of course, the developer was careful not to abandon the traditional core gameplay and so the majority of the levels still use the original engine and feel very similar to Crash 2.
Crash Bandicoot 3 uses the same gem collecting system for the basis of the game, mainly to add some replay value, leaving you with something to search for to truly complete the game. In the new story however, you find yourself traversing time to defeat the evil witch doctor Uka Uka. You ride a motorcycle across the 1950's desert, shoot down zeppelins in a WW1 biplane, ride a Tyrannosaurus Rex across a Jurassic swamp, dodge knights and frogs in medieval times and ride a tiger across the Great Wall of China. More levels include visiting Atlantis, ancient Arabia, a future underground New York City and ancient Egypt.
All this and instead of just controlling Crash this time around, they included levels in which you take control of his brainy sister Coco instead, making her a bigger part of the story. The visuals were as fantastic as always in the series, Naughty Dog seriously pushing the limits of the now aging PlayStation console, but continuing to make a lasting game that is still playable today and not just a mess for your eyes.
Plus, as was the case I believe with Crash 2, the soundtrack was produced in part by Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo fame. This guy just about does everything, but it of course explains why Crash has always had this fantastic background soundtrack that will always make it that much more special.
Naughty Dog, in all their glory, really should return to this original trilogy and re-release it in HD for all those who missed it the first time around. But, since the series is still being released (I believe) and it's no longer in the hands of Naughty Dog, I suppose it's completely up to Sony. And at the very least, they have made it available online for purchase on your PSP portable or PlayStation 3. (Which I have) and it functions quite nicely.
DAY 360 / GAME 360
Shenmue
Once again the Sega Dreamcast pulls through with another bizarre Japanese import. Though not entirely as strange a game as Seaman or Crazy Taxi, Shenmue was definitely seated in Japanese culture and didn't appear to pander at all to American audiences. The portion of the game I had completed, felt like some kind of Asian soap-opera filled with weird time-wasting mini-games.
Shenmue is a tale about a young man's revenge against an unknown assailant who he witnesses kill his father. Ryo recovers after a few days of grieving to start tracking down this man and claim vengeance. Shenmue is a fairly open-world game, allowing you to walk about mid-80's Japan, questioning people and looking for clues. Similar to Grand Theft Auto, it's full of mini-games that add action between the story; from fight sequences to motorcycle races, bar fights and less exciting small jobs. Though, I'm pretty sure I spent most of the time buying and drinking pop from a vending machine, buying collectible toys from a quarter machine, and petting a local cat.
Though I didn't realise it quite so much at the time, Shenmue was a very complex game. I always appreciated how real it felt. How the Japanese suburbs were alive with people and you were in no rush to do whatever you wanted. But Sega went much further than just that. Turns out it has an incredible weather system that worked at random, based roughly on the time of year and included everything from rain to snow and shine; which could change at any moment. Even more incredible though, was the fact that the game was set at a specific time period between 1986 and 1987 and in the options, you could tell the game to use the actual recorded weather for that location during that time period. That fact alone blows my mind.
Though I may not have completed Shenmue and definitely didn't spend the time on it I think it deserved, it was certainly a game I'm glad I had the chance to experience. It was also one of those games that I've grown to appreciate more and more as time passes and I think, like a lot of the games I've discussed over the past year, I should make the time to go back and try out again.
DAY 359 / GAME 359
Diablo III
For Christmas I thought it would be nice to post about a holiday themed game, but the truth is there's only one I can think of that I've ever played and I posted about that already. (James Pond 2, which takes place at the North Pole.) So whatever, I'll just talk about Diablo 3 instead.
Though Diablo 3 didn't stick with me quite the way Diablo 2 still does. It did certainly earn it's title in a lot of ways as a proper successor in the series. I remember keeping a close eye on Blizzard's outgoing info regarding D3 as it slowly inched it's way towards release. Having been over a decade since Diablo 2 was released, I was more than excited to get back into that dark and delicious territory that created so much nostalgia 10 years ago. The brilliant Matt Uelmen score and the rainy ruins of Tristram full of undead beasts, the Eastern Desert, Jungle and the Halls of Hell itself. There was nothing quite like that game.
As I awaited Diablo 3's release Blizzard teased us with details on the new classes and world we were going to encounter, along with tidbits on the overall graphical look of the game. I was so excited about this new Diablo game I even preordered the collector's edition version. This version came with a hardcover artbook (the main reason I bought it) as well as a special Diablo skull with a USB key that included Diablo 2 on it and a couple game keys to share with friends for a trial run.
Diablo 3 looked absolutely gorgeous in the end. I went out of my way to buy a new video card for my Mac Pro tower just for this game (though in hindsight, a poor idea) and so it ran great. I'll always appreciate that Blizzard decided to keep the same isometric camera and tried to maintain the overall graphical look while switching from a prerendered platform to a fully 3D one.
Though I certainly didn't invest as much time into Diablo 3 as I had with Diablo 2 in the past, a lot of that simply had to do with the amount of free time I had in the past. Now that I've got a new PC, I've been dying to reinstall this and seeing how incredible it will look; I'm sure I'll do that someday soon.
DAY 358 / GAME 358
Tomb Raider: Underworld
After Tomb Raider Legend was released on the Xbox 360, I was very excited to see that Crystal Dynamics had continued with this new hold on the series and produced another new title, this time geared specifically towards the new generation of consoles; the PS3 and Xbox 360.
Underworld took everything that was done right wit the Legends reboot and applied it, plus some. Adding a few new gameplay features including a sonar mapping system, a grappling hook and a new dual-targeting system when using a pistol in each hand. Underworld was more polished and more perfected than Crystal Dynamics had achieved with Tomb Raider: Legend and was definitely another step towards achieving what they have with the most recent 2013 reboot of Tomb Raider.
Tomb Raider Underworld's story continues right where Legend leaves off. Making the two games great for playing back-to-back. I don't think it took me long to grab a copy of Underworld after I had finally played Legend and realized what a great job Crystal Dynamics had done with the series after they had taken it over from Core Design.
The biggest issue with Tomb Raider Underworld was simply that I had played it after Uncharted 2. And the thing with Uncharted 2 is that it's basically Tomb Raider re-invented with a male lead. Only Naughty Dog managed to code better gameplay mechanics for everything from climbing to shooting, plus deeper characters and better overall writing. So technically Tomb Raider now paled in comparison. And yet, Lara Croft still had her place, and even with Uncharted doing pretty much everything better, Tomb Raider Underworld was more than enjoyable in it's own right.
So, Lara Croft is still Lara Croft; untouchable in a way, that female gaming protagonist that is so needed and yet somewhat underdeveloped at this point. Underworld is a great example of a fantastic Lara Croft game that has come a long way since the original back in the mid-90's and certainly paved the way for future Tomb Raider games as we see them now.
Plus, I dunno, there's just something simply fun and simple about Crystal Dynamics Tomb Raider series that I love and it's great they ended up with it in the end.
DAY 357 / GAME 357
Tomb Raider: Legend
After Tomb Raider 3, the series really fell of the map for me. I loved Tomb Raider 1 and 2, but both were really difficult. Too difficult to complete for me. But 3 was so difficult I couldn't make it past the second level. I give up on few games, but I felt dumb for paying full price for this game. So with that, I pretty much ignored the series as it continued. Three more games were released, The Last Revelation, Chronicles, and Angel of Darkness, before a major change took place. Core Design, who handled development switched over to Crystal Dynamics and Tomb Raider: Legend was released.
I may not have even bothered with this game, but I did hear tell that Crystal Dynamics had taken a new angle with Tomb Raider and essentially rebooted the series. Since I was trying out every new demo to pop up on the Xbox 360 anyway, I figured I'd give this a shot.
Turns out Crystal Dynamics is exactly what the series needed. The graphics were incredible, the game handled a hundred times better than previously and all the basic game mechanics from shooting to climbing felt revamped. It didn't take me long to go out and grab a copy of this new Tomb Raider, and like that I was back into the series like it never left.
Tomb Raider Legend upped the pacing considerably, pushing for more action on top of the already classic puzzle platforming gameplay. Though I'm not sure this is new, Crystal Dynamics included cutscenes which featured Quicktime Events; which some people despise, but I appreciate at times since it can allow for action sequences that can't normally be incorporated into the game, but you feel a part of rather than just sitting back and watching.
In general, Legend was a terrific, spectacularly polished revamp of what I considered a dying series. Bringing back Lara Croft into the small number of powerful female leads and eventually bringing the series into it's current state which includes the most recent 2013 reboot which has received very high praise.
DAY 356 / GAME 356
Lost Planet
Somehow, during the course of almost an entire year I had forgot about one of my favourite games of our last generation of consoles. When the Xbox 360 was first released, just like any other newly released consoles there was a initial gap before it's library got truly fleshed out. During this period almost any new game that was announced seemed worth getting excited about. Bioshock, Alone in the Dark, PGR4; I remember counting down dates and downloading demos left-and-right because keeping up with the existing library was not difficult.
One game in particular that I had my eye out from the time it was announced was Lost Planet. Capcom's obscure sci-fi action game that featured an absolutely beautiful frozen landscape and snow FX unlike anything before it.
Lost Planet had a bizarre Capcom story, like a snowy Metal Gear Solid not a lot seemed very clear at first. The protagonist wakes up with memory loss after being frozen for 30 years on a frozen planet Humans set out to colonize after making a mess of Earth. The trouble is that the planet is practically inhabitable due to it's freezing temperatures and to make matters worse, crawling with bug-like aliens termed the Akrid. Turns out the Akrid stay alive because they have thermal energy for blood, termed T-ENG. After discovering this, we've all decided to blow them up and harvest the T-ENG and use it to survive the Hoth-like frozen world.
So, the whole time you're running around in the game, you've got to watch a timer on top of the screen. As it counts down you're running out of T-ENG and risk freezing to death, therefore you must attack and kill every Akrid you see in order to stay alive as you make your way through the game. A game which has beautiful FX and is full of swirling snow, pieces of frozen, destructible landscape and incredible looking explosions that truly compliment the snow.
Lost Planet will always stick with me as a unique title that features one of my favorite environments in a videogame; snow. When I first bought it I battled a bit with the controls which were, fortunately, very adjustable. Which was great because I almost stopped playing because the defaults were sluggish and hideous. I wasn't quite as happy with the second game in this series, but mainly because it focused primarily on multiplayer and lacked most of the snowy environments. The third installment, which was released over a year ago gives me hope however, and I plan on giving that one a try, when I have time.
DAY 355 / GAME 355
Brothers: a Tale of Two Sons
Brothers is yet another downloadable title that could have passed for a full fledged AAA release a decade back and sold at a full $60. Not having to spend time on a new game engine and probably kickstarting this project during studio downtime, Starbreeze, who was responsible for game like The Chronicles of Riddick, must have figured this game was too much of a gamble to sell physically. Even though in the end, Brothers turned out to be award-winningly amazing.
Brothers, uses the Unreal Engine from Epic, which is commonplace amongst developers. In this case it served them well since it allowed them to focus simply on gameplay, which, alongside some absolutely tasty graphics is what makes this game stand out amongst the lot. Brothers, is this fantastic game where what makes it so different is that you are controlling two characters at once. You quite literally control the movement of one brother right the right analog stick and the other with the left analog stick. It can be trying at times, but the payoff is unique.
As you set off to search for a cure for your ailing father, you travel across a Fable-esque world, set in a similar fantasy timeline with similar visual cues. You cross forests and towns and smiths and waterfalls, lightheartedly interacting with various townsfolk. In your search as your characters mime and mumble all the would-be dialog in a very similar manner as the characters of Fable. I'd almost imagine this game was made by Lionhead instead of Starbreeze.
Puzzles typically require the work of both brothers together. One may give the other a boost so he can climb up and let down a rope. Two levers may need to be pulled at once or one brother may distract a vicious dog while the other one sneaks past. The puzzles really are fantastic.
Brothers is one of those games I always highly recommend. It's appealing to a wide audience and can be appreciated on many levels. It's also dirt cheap and is frequently on sale. In fact, if you don't have it yet, watch for it to show up on Steam's current winter sale. Just be sure to have a controller with dual-analog input.
DAY 354 / GAME 354
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
There was a fantastic bout of time just after I purchased my Xbox 360 where a friend of mine, Jesse, was almost always good for an online match in whatever game we had to be interested in at the time. I think it started with either Gears of War or Splinter Cell: Double Agent; both of which we played with each other online for an untold number of hours. We were always trying something new and eventually we ended up playing the newest Call of Duty game when it was released. Modern Warfare.
Like Halo, the console crowd online can be really hit or miss. Since Counterstrike, I lost most interest in any online community that consisted of strangers. Especially a bunch of murderous children who would leave me at the bottom of the leaderboards like it was as easy as eating their MacDonalds hamburgars. Jesse and I however, ignored everyone else anytime we got online. We simply set up a chat between us and turned off everyone else. I'm sure people were complaining about our ability to play the game. But we'd never know.
Modern Warfare at the time featured some of the best looking graphics I'd seen in a while for an FPS game. I played most all of the single-player campaign and though I actually enjoyed it quite a bit, I really did get this game, like most people, for the online multiplayer. I was depressingly bad in comparison to every other player online, but I never let it bother me. The fun was simply in competing, or working with Jesse and ignoring everyone else; because there was never any chance of us being number 1 on the charts at this game.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare isn't the kind of game I sit back and wish I could go back and play again. It's more of a game that was great at the time and offered a fantastic multiplayer experience between friends. I can see why so many people continue to buy into this series and series' like this, it's just an experience in and of itself.
DAY 353 / GAME 353
Bomberman 64
Ok, 11 days more to go and I am totally phoning this one in. It's 12:45am and I'm tired, I was out with workmates, most of whom are on vacation next week while I have a December 24th deadline. No I'm not upset, this is pretty much the same every year. But I'm tired and this post will be short. Though, last time I said that I still ranted for longer than I expected.
Anyhow, I've never been a Bomberman fan. Having never spent much time with Nintendo classics as a kid I never really heard of this, and the weird looking dude who was supposed to look like a TV with legs or something? I never got it. But my friend Mike bought this for his Nintendo 64, and since we were always on the lookout for the next great 4-player game, this made it into our cycle.
Now here I may sound like I didn't like Bomberman at all. And the truth is, the only Bomberman game I played was this one, and at that only the multiplayer. But the multiplayer on this game was addictive as all hell. I mean, I remember having a blast (no pun intended) playing this game with the four of us, bombing the heck out of each other, running out the clock and forcing the Sudden Death mode and generally enjoying the very Japanese bizaareness of the whole thing.
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I can hardly remember how the game worked, but I remember having a lot of fun playing it. I also remember watching Mike playing the single player campaign and seeing that it was completely different from the multiplayer. Like the difference between Mario Cart racing and Mario Cart battle mode. I almost think I may have enjoyed the single player game had I taken the time to explore it. Nevertheless, the multiplayer is what we were down for. And I'm pretty sure this game made the rounds a number of times after we had exhausted a particular N64 title. It would always pop back up as the one game that was easy to jump into for a few round of hilarious fun.
As it tends to be, single player games that I experienced on my own are some of my favorite. But thinking back to simple multiplayer games like this that we all sat around the TV and played together brings back the best memories. I think I will always miss the local multiplayer that has so quickly and quietly been abandoned over the years in lieu of internet gaming.
DAY 352 / GAME 352
Virtua Racing
The wheels may have looked like something out of The Flintstones but at the time, Virtua Racing was better looking than any other racer on the 16-bit Sega Genesis platform. Originally designed as a tech demo of sorts for future racing platforms, the results were so pleasing that Sega fleshed it out as a full fledged title for both the Sega Genesis as well as a twin-arcade cabinet.
Virtua Racing was based on F1 style racing, with open wheel cars and Formula One style tracks. As with future Sega racers like Daytona USA Virtua Racing featured three difficulty levels, each featuring their own circuit. Beginner, Intermediate and Expert which run on the Big Forest, Bay Bridge and Acropolis tracks respectively.
Virtua Racing featured fully 3D graphics; which wasn't necessarily a first at the time, but it was definitely one of the most polished fully 3D titles on any platform at the time. It ended up paving way for essentially every other racing title to follow afterwards, from Gran Turismo to Need for Speed. The engine even allowed for switching between 4 different VR views. Views which included your standard in-car view, a behind-the-car view as well as a nose-cam view and a very unique sky-camera view which I've never seen in any game since.
I remember playing this quite a bit, but I have no idea where it came from. I though I owned a copy, but if I did I can't find it now. There's a chance I may have rented it, or borrowed it from my uncle, but that doesn't seem familiar. So if I did own it, I wonder where it went. I also realised I no longer have my copy of The Immortal, so, maybe I lost a few games over the years. Though I seriously miss The Immortal more than my copy of Virtua Racing.
Virtua Racing is another one of those games that certainly doesn't look exceptional. But if you were gaming at the time, it was a glimpse into the future. Like Doom, it was one of those games that is historically important. Even if it's not as exciting to look back on now.
