Game of the Year 2010!!

1:

Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, 360):

Final Fantasy XIII was the game I enjoyed the most this year. When I bought my PS3 a few years ago, this was the game which proved the push I needed to plunk the dough for the machine. Fast forward to 2010 and the lead up to the release date was a bit of a frenzy, but the moment I popped the game in the PS3 and the introduction started playing, I was stunned into silence. Here was a game which I had waited for 4 years, was finally mine and for me the wait was well worth it.

Final Fantasy XIII's tale about a band of heroes who have been cursed by the gods and their ordeal in trying to fulfill their goals has all the moments one find in a top tier JRPG. The narrative was really strong, I mean SquareEnix's risky move to streamline everything was also felt in the plot. Unlike previous Final Fantasy games where the story would take it time to develop, in Final Fantasy XIII the plot is fast paced up to the point where I was overawed pretty much the whole game by the roller coaster ride of a plot. Sure the complexity of the storyline from previous games is missing, but the new focused approach is still refreshing, esp in the JRPG genre. By the time the end dungeon loomed over I was emotionally exhausted and right now I cannot wait for the conclusion of the intriguing sojourn.

Final Fantasy XIII is the greatest looking game ever made. No question. SquareEnix has outdone itself in the graphics department as I have never seen a game this beautiful. The attention to detail seen on the characters is mind-bending as the animation and facial expression are phenomenal to say the least. The background of all the locales are exquisite to gaze upon be it the sterile yet foreboding environments of Cocoon, or the vast and wild fields of Pulse, the visual are astounding. The art design of Final Fantasy XIII is just as vivid and totally over the top. Lightning's and Sazh's military outfits, or the unreal look of Vanille's dress are very impressive. The archeiture of both Cocoon and Pulse look fantastic as does the monster designs, but what took the cake was the Sari which Fang supports. Name any game where one of the main character wears a Sari.


What makes Final Fantasy XIII so strong artistically is that the art designs are pretty much original in nature. Most games this year had a template ready from the start for e.g Mass Effect 2's space theme or the Wild West of Red Dead Redemption. In Final Fantasy XIII the brain child of Tetsuya Nomura is at the forefront and all the artistic touches were wonderful, and this little fact makes this game artistically unbeatable.

The other aspect of the presentation which was pretty much flawless was the score, in fact I deem it as the best this year. Many fans of Final Fantasy were bitter when they heard that the veteran Final Fantasy composer Nobou Uematsu was not involved in XIII, but for me the day I heard that the guy who composed majority of the tracks in Final Fantasy X (Masashi Hamauzu) was the main composer for this game I was overjoyed and knew for a fact the score will be great.

I dunno about other gamers but Final Fantasy XIII evolution of the ATB system was a stroke of genius. ATB system is inherently kinda slow but in this game that little annoyance has been taken away completely as the battles are very fast and intense. Final Fantasy XIII system is the upgraded versions of the systems found in X-2 and XII, which I thought were a step in the right direction and in Final Fantasy XIII that system strikes the perfect balance. And then you add in the Job system which you can change mid battles brings about in amazing strategy in battles. The RPG mechanics are solid in this game as always the case in any Final Fantasy game along with customization options for weapons. All these makes for a fine game steeped in RPG tradition, presented in a new perspective.

In the last post I mentioned that Mass Effect 2 was one of two which I would think about constantly, the other game was Final Fantasy XIII. Even when not playing the game I would be thinking about particular battles, how to use the Job system effectively or just thinking about the plot. This game had me pegged like crazy.

As I near the end of this piece there are a couple of things which have bothered me no end concerning Final Fantasy XIII. Yes Final Fantasy XIII isn't the greatest game in the series, but it definitely among my top 10 Final Fantasy games (6th out of the 25 games released thus far in the series), but as a stand alone RPG this game is really incredible. I mean whats there not to like. You have a really involving story line, jaw dropping presentation and a very solid battle system. This a very polished JRPG and if you pit this game against other games in the genre this game will be quite high on my list.

Hence this brings me to my other point of contention. I feel it is very unfair to the game and the developers of the game to always compare Final Fantasy XIII with previous Final Fantasy games. I mean every game is very different from the other. Many elements found in one game is absent from the other, so why put the game through a ringer. As I said as an RPG this game is really amazing and I implore to the fanboys to stop hating the game. I think the fanboys only want Final Fantasy games to be made in Final Fantasy 7 mould (a game which may not even feature in my top 10 Final Fantasy games!!), and that I think is totally pointless. Play the game as its meant to be played, as an RPG!

And so 2010 comes to an end and with it also one of the greatest gaming years ever. Having played a load full of awesome games from many different genres, Final Fantasy XIII emerged as the best of the lot.

So we say adieu to the year 2010 and wait impatiently for the new year to roll in and all signs already point that gamers will have a ball in 2011!!

Games of the Year Awards 2010 Day 9

2:

Mass Effect 2 (360, PC and soon PS3):

I hate WRPGs (Western RPGs). I dont like how their narratives are told, I dont like the usual fantasy setting of about 96% of WRPGs, and I don't like the non-linear exploration. Hence Mass Effect 2 was a massive choice on my list as this is the only WRPG that I actually thought was darn terrific. Something about the space setting instantly clicked with me and I have become a fan (the game series not the WRPG genre). The plot and how it is told makes all the difference as the narrative of the game is Hollywood-esque, the characters are particularly fleshed out and every decision you make has an instant bearing on the flow of the game. Its the reliance on the plot is what separates Mass Effect 2 from other games in the genre. Dare I say it seem to have taken a leaf out of Eastern RPG manuscript on how it handles the story.

And what is story it is, I mean the epic scope is just awe-inspiring. John Shepard's massive quest of saving the Universe from an indestructible threat is treated with panache and vigor as the plot is complete with intense moral decisions and a sense of grandour of the almost impossible situtaion the heroes find themselves in. This is also helped by briallant characters made up of disaprate personalities and backgrounds which makes for intriguing viewing. I consider the character of the blank slate John Shepard to be the best maybe due to how much control I have over his actions but whatever it is John Shepard felt as the complete character. Mass Effect 2 has easily the best story-line and some of the finest characters (Miranda Lawson FTW!!) this year and that says a lot in the face of some great games with stellar plot and characters released this year.

Mass Effect 2 takes the moniker of WRPG very lightly as the RPG mechanics are pretty sparse but that is off set with the feeling of actuall 'role playing' as the player is left to make any choices when conversing with many NPCs or on how the main character reacts to a given scenario which give a whole lot of independence to the player. As I rule I freak out when games give me a lot of options to think about and this is esp true when playing dense WRPGs. but Mass Effect 2 is nothing like that. I felt at ease when making tough decisions and although many decision were really hard to make, I was never over-awed, rather felt as I was IN the game. The game play itself is a major improvement over the original game with Bioware making a lot of tweaks. On a personal level the action bit in the game were awesome as the game felt like an action game even though there is a lot number crunching underneath the hood. The last time I tried a Bioware game (Knight of the Old Republic) I was bored out of my wits as the game play was pretty slow but not in Mass Effect 2.

Another aspect which made me a fan of the game was the entire presentation. The graphics are positively epic. The game uses in game engine in many of the cut scenes but boy the game still looks awesome. Even the characters all look really good (Miranda Lawson FTW!!) with real life facial expressions and animations and all environments lend a lot the the space theme. As I mentioned earlier I dont like WRPG with fantasy setting, so Mass Effect 2 sci-fi strapping just look amazing and this is why this game stands apart from rest of it contemporaries. The sound track is really strong and the voice acting is very easily one of the best due to a) a large number of good actors were hired and b) all the voice performance are uniformly good. Such polished games are not that common.

Games earn full marks from me when a particular game get a hold of my attention and doesn't let go..EVER!. Mass Effect 2 is one of two games this year which I would think about almost constantly. Calculating how to do a mission, on how to be become the best captain/hero for my crew or on how to be become the perfect saint, Mass Effect 2 had my number. This game was epic!

I am very impressed by Mass Effect 2 as the number of improvement made over the first games are so high that in comparison Mass Effect 1 feels broken, buggy and glitchy (which it isn't). Xbox 360 has an awesome game library and Mass Effect 2 is it best game (so what if the game is about to come on the PS3, its still a year late, I mean everyone has played it already!!). It doesn't have online multiplayer nor is the game overly lengthy, but it packs a massive wallop!

So finally we come to the Game of the Year which will be unveiled very soon.

Games of the Year Awards 2010 Day 8

Climbing on to number 3 on my Games if the Year Awards 2010 is the little legendary plumber.

3:

Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii):

Super Mario Galaxy 2 maybe the only perfect platformer ever made. It just evolves everything found in the previous game and raises the bar for all future platformers, its really that good. Shigeru Miyamoto is called a genius for a reason and SMG 2 in my opinion his greatest creation.

The premise is the same: Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach, Mario off to the rescue. The blueprints from the years gone past have remained the same but the game play mechanics have changed and the game designs have been made perfect as evident by this game. SMG 2 game play is very tight, I mean never was I frustrated while playing it with its controls or its streamlined approach and to be honest I was bemused at the level of creativity in each stage and area. The stuff added to the core game play makes sense esp the introduction of Yoshi in the mix. It seems to me that Nintendo told the game developers to go nuts and hence the end product is unbelievable.

Again what bothers me is how little importance this game was given by a large of the gaming fraternity. I mean SMG 2 was the most fun I had playing video games this year. Yes it doesn't have an epic story line, multi layered characters or even a hint of online play, but in terms of pure gaming bliss, SMG 2 was tops. The levels were plenty in number brimming with extraordinary creativity, variable objectives of the levels, the perfect balance of the difficulty (the game was pretty tough but also fair) while the presentation were just awesome with no hint of slowdown and colorful environments and the sound track once again was appropriately epic yet whimsical.

As you can see by now that I have used the word perfect a fews times, and this is how SMG 2..Perfect...Almost (why cant the story lines for the core Mario games be a little different..this is a definite little nitpick..but ah well).

Super Mario Galaxy 2 epitomizes every thing good and holy about Nintendo. SMG 2 and a bulk of other releases in 2010 made this year probably Wii's best in its cycle, and easily toppled the PS3 and the 360 of their pedestal of elite gaming machines. Nintendo also got back their disfranchised fans who were lost due to Nintendo's follies of the past. If the Wii does start to go down in the next year, then 2010 was its incredible swan-song.

Games of the Year Awards 2010 Day 7

Number 4 on my Games of the Year Awards 2010 goes to the wild west epic Red Dead Redemption

4:

Red Dead Redemption (PS3, 360):

Red Dead Redemption is awesome. There is no other way to describe this game. An epic sweeping drama of the wild west and the tale of a man's journey for redemption. The wild west has featured in games before but none have been ever this good. Red Dead Redemption smoked a lot of the competition in the action genre this year, even in the face of heavy hitters like God of War 3 and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, and Rockstar has once again proved that their GTA success wasn't a fluke!

Red Dead Redemption's main draw is exploring the wild west, and the game world is a huge, barren place to visit and reaching each and every new town and place was quite amazing. Travelling in the shade of the setting sun or under the eerie moonlight the game does quite a job in making a immersive experience in a meticulously crafted world. The plot of the game does a fantastic job in providing a believable and a well grounded narrative of the journey of John Marston (the protagonist) as he tries his best to wash his hands of his terrible past and start anew. Like many of Rockstar big games (i.e GTA games) the characters become show stoppers with wonderful personalities (good and totally outlandish) and they all lend into the whole wild west setting. But the main character, John Marston, has to be in my opinion one of the greatest game character of all times. His nuanced yet complex character makes the whole package and as much as I played the game, I always felt connected to his ordeals and the horrors of his past. Its not that he is running away from his past, rather he fully accepts it and tries to make amends. Such human traits are seldom seen in this medium.

If one really wants to nitpick (not that I am in any way), but the game play is basically a little identical to the GTA games where selecting mission requires you check the map regularly and going to different characters who provide the missions. But this is where the similarities ends as the game takes a very solid approach to the action sequences, gun slinging and horse riding. And such a route easily makes it a very different entity from GTA. Nay-sayers or GTA haters will need to shut it and actually play the game, and be amazed how awesome the whole thing is. The presentation of the game is top notch as well and it brings the wild west to life like never before. I mean the barren and hostile terrains look positively harsh and the accompanying sound track puts on a strong showing.

Red Dead Redemption is an easy game to recommend and placing it in among the top honors this year wasn't hard at all. Sandbox games have an inherent tendency of becoming a bit of a slog but this game simply doesn't. I mean who doesn't want to a desperado. Red Dead Redemption simply put is an outstanding achievement in gaming.

Games of the Year Awards 2010 Day 6

Once again 2 games will be sharing this spot at number 5 in my Games of the Year Awards 2010.

5:

Valkyria Chronicles 2 (PSP):

Even after all the trials Sega has had to face in the last 10 years ranging from the demise of the Dreamcast to the myriad of really abysmal Sonic the Hedgehog games, there is one positive that has occurred for them in the form of the Valkyria Chronicles. The original game came out for the PS3 to glowing praises for it innovative take on the SPRG genre and its beautiful water painted look of the graphics. Valkyria Chronicles 2 walks in the path of the previous game, but this time on the PSP. What really surprised me was how Sega bought the game in the portable system without losing any of it visual pizazz and adding depth to the game play. Valkyria Chronicles 2 round off a truly spectacular year of the PSP.

Valkyria Chronicles story was lauded with is fictional portrayal of World War II, and the PSP iteration goes in the same vein but with a civil war motif and a novel high school like/military academy setting. So on one hand the story deals with the horrors of civil war and on the other hand follows a high school anime strapping which ultimately comes off a little lazy. But the game play is still top notch with its hybrid of SRPG and real time mechanics.

Valkyria Chronicles had robust RPG elements, but Valkyria Chronicles 2 had added a lot more depth with 4 news classes to choose from and detailed customization of characters and vehicles. The thing which gets me going that this game would had been awesome for PS3, but I am still NOT disappointed that PSP got this game (even if the PS3 fanboys threw a massive tantrum). The visuals of the original game for the PS3 were really amazing but it was obvious that the graphics would be scaled down for the PSP but that does not mean that game doesn't look good. The game is technically very solid along with a decent art style.

PSP had pretty lousy 2009 and all the sign pointed that PSP had its last hurrah but 2010 changed all that with a string of really good games of major franchises and Valkyria Chronicles 2 stand at the top of the heap.

Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (Wii):

The Wii has be subjected to some very unnecessary and harsh criticism from the so-called 'hard core' gamers who love to point out the shovelware and the casual gamers littering its game library. But the Wii has gone about its business and has garnered a few gems along the way. Fragile Dreams is one of those games. Here you have game which boasts a terrific storyline, some lovely visuals and a solid, slightly flawed game play. On the face of it the 'hard core' audience won't be satisfied but if one keeps their bias on the side and accept Wii has a viable game console, they will get to play some amazing games like Fragile Dreams.

A post-apocalyptic game where all human have vanished off the face of the earth, expect for the main character, Seto. As he starts his journey to find more people like him , he has chance encounter with a human girl and from there the focus of the story is Seto trying to find that girl. Fragile Dream had quite a profound effect on me with is subtle yet powerful plot, beautifully orchestratde sound track and a captivating world. Throughout the game Seto encounters unexpected denizen of the ruined world, and the relationship these characters have with Seto is something to behold. Each relationship is nurtured through the course of the game and each relationship arc is revolved as well which makes up for some really poignant and powerful moments of the game. I mean I still fondly remember some of these moments and to be honest no game this year comes even close in this regard.

The reviews of this game on many game sites are really harsh and that frustrates me no end. I agree that some of the game play elements in Fragile Dreams are strange, but not as broken as the reviews will lead you be believe. This is one of the those games which I remember not for its mechanics but rather for the melancholic mood it creates and how it enveloped me with its multifaceted storyline and its beautiful yet bleak world. The art style of the game for me was one of the most strongest as the world is filled with little artistic touches and many of the characters on show have some bizarre yet inspired look to them and all these things make the art style go off the charts.

Hence for all its worth Wii easily had the best year in terms of pure gaming bliss. A year which was filled with stellar Wii games and the return of some big names to the arena, Fragile Dreams was the 'little game that could'. The game is clearly is a labor of love of the developers and that makes Fragile Dream the game with the most heart. (Just on a side just follow the link and watch a beautiful trailer for Fragile Dream just to get an inkling of why I am drooling all over this game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T08sXdq80dw)

As this list winds down, the games that will be featured were the cream of 2010. So join me tomorrow for number 4 in my Games of the Year Awards 2010.

Game of the Year Awards 2010 Day 5

PSP received one of the best Metal Solid game in recent years in 2010 with Peace Walker which also makes it to number 7 on my Game of the Year Awards 2010

6:

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (PSP):

Last time Snake ventured on the PSP (Portable Ops), it was met with mixed reaction on my part. I could not get used to the camera angles and a few wonky control issues. So when Peace Walker was announced I was a little skeptical, yet excited at the same time, I mean come on, this is Metal Gear Solid!. I was hoping that Hideo Kojima may have worked on the issues from the previous game and to my relief he had which made the game more than playable. Using the 70's era and the Banana Republic phenomena of Central America as a driving force for the plot, Peace Walker became the PSP game to play in 2010.

Peace Walker has a really tightly wrought storyline with the right amount of political intrigue of the 70's and its global ramifications. Peace Walker also puts the ball in motion for the Metal Gear sage and it became fascinatining to see how Snake slowly become the main villan of the future games of series. And thank God for that as MGS series has been know to have pretty convoluted storyline as was evident with MGS 2 and MGS4. But with Peace Walker Kojima kept every thing pretty simple in lieu with MGS 3 and in end the game had the same emotional impact MGS 3 had on me. With the plot centering around the mystery for a certain person from the MGS mythos, you can't help but be impressed by the direction taken by Kojima-san.

The game play is classic MGS fodder and it shows that the developer have put in the effort in making a perfect MGS game. There is sneaking, A LOT of sneaking, more sneaking than found in MGS 4 (which was a bit a mess in my opinion). And the forest environs once again become the perfect setting for the tried and tested stealth action. The camera angles which were a pain to get used to in Portable Ops, have been tuned very well for the PSP and the control schemes felt reminiscent of Syphon Filter games for the PSP. Its an achievement for Hideo Kojima and his team that they have made many small changes to the mechanics but their effects are very clear which made the game shine rather than chruning out the same engine from Portable Ops.

But perphaps the most amazing thing about Peace Walker for me was how it spun such a story which made me actually wiki many of the names and events from the 70s. There are huge references to Che Guevara, the Sandinista from the Nicaragua Revolution and the repercussion of the Cold War from the scary days of the 60's (Cuban crisis and all). I mean this game made me watch some of the best movies based on the Cold War and getting my attention to read Confessions of the Economic Hitman. There aren't many games which feel very relevant to real life events.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is a really well made game with huge amount of content and some great characters. For me MGS 4 kinda killed the attachment from the series with its sterile settings (and the art designs, I mean I am sorry but the MGS magic was missing from the game, plain and simple) and a very (needlessly) complex storyline. But Peace Walker rectified the issues I had with both Portable Ops and MGS 4 and delivered a very bright and tightly woven MGS game.

Game of the Year Awards 2010 Day 4

2010 heralded Platinum Games into the limelight with some awesome games and that is why Bayonetta is at number 7 of my Game of the Year Award 2010.

7:

Bayonetta (360, PS3):

Bayonetta was the guiltiest pleasure of 2010 with its WAY over the top action, a stunning new female lead and some jaw dropping visuals. The plot was pretty much rudimentary with something about good witches and bad witches, a nasty rendition of Angels and some quack wanting the ultimate power but Bayonetta is SO not about the plot and makes no effort in correcting that. Rather the kinetic yet smooth and silky game play and quite possibly one of the greatest main character ever conceived makes Bayonetta linger in the mind even after finishing the game.

Bayonetta game play borrow very heavily from the Devil May Cry series (its pretty obvious as the director is the same guy, Hideki Kamiya), but just..I dunno...multiplied by a zillion!!!. I mean the game play takes the phrase 'over the top' to another level, nay another world, no...another dimension!!. The titular heroine can be made to dish out massive combos, perform outrageous moves, using an assortment of swords, shoot with handguns and heel guns (guns mount of heels!!!), torturing enemies with the use of torture machines! ...and if those antics fail then Bayonetta could summon these huge grotesque beasts from the netherworld to devour anything in her path!!..Yes Bayonetta is that insane. And oh yeah as embarrassed as I am to admit this but I thought the sound track was really catchy, hell I even loved the the rabidly hated battle theme!!

And although I did play the game on easy mode but that did not take away the fun, it actually made me like that game a bit more (after getting my back handed to me by one of the earlier bosses. Mentioning the character Bayonetta is quite important as she is really awesome. For starters her clothes are made from her hair (no funny ideas please), she has a whole librarian/school teacher/military instructor thing going, but with copious amounts of wanton sexuality and who loves to 'spank' naughty demons and all done with a charming British accent. Quite awesome if you ask me.

Platinum Games look set to become the toast of the gaming industry as the developers are not afraid in taking chances. And if you have legendary developers such as Hideki Kamiya and Shinji Mikami taking the reins on the games then you bet your bottom dollar that games are going to be amazing. Bayonetta is a testament of that.