Wednesday, January 18, 2012

In 3's, Easy to Please. Game of the Year

Hard to believe this is occurring for the 4th time. Gotta say that 2011 was a little different, though. How so? My "game time" was supplanted by good scotch and scribbles on the Columbus Crew (as opposed what it use to be; gaming and, well... scotch).

Crew stuff towards the bottom if you don't like video games.

Got a mess of games in though. Missed a couple here and there, but for the most part had a good time with what I did play.

There were 3 game franchises that I kinda like that were on their 3rd game. Gears of War, Uncharted and Modern Warfare. I liked all three (still liking Uncharted: Drakes Deception right now).

Also, there were sports games that I picked up: EA's FIFA 12 and Madden 12. SEGA's Football Manager 12 and NBA 2k12.

I'm still collecting old games, and of those - a couple were pretty good. Konami's 2001 MLS Extra Time was interesting. Also a more recent cast away XBOX 360 game called Darkest Days that came out early in the 360s life. Good stuff.

A lot of great games played this year, but a couple stood out. Rockstar's LA Noire and Bethesda Softworks' Skyrim.

LA Noire is the type of game I'd like to see more of. It pulls the player in with familiar controls and feel but then takes them to a slightly different mental place. Slightly, yet boldly.

Skyrim is a fantasy masterpiece. It reaches that magical place between astounding game mechanics / play / artwork and my own imagination. I'm a sucker for games that allow me to create my own script. I read somewhere about a Skyrim player who played the game as a pacifist and only commanded other non-playable characters to fight his battles. In another story I heard about a player never using weapons and using only his fists.

Finally, my favorite. A player claiming to strip down naked whenever he took on a dragon in-game. No weapons, no armor, no magic. In the buff and Beowulf style.

For that? Etch it into Helltown Lore. Skyrim earns it.

2011: Skyrim
2010: Red Dead Redemption / Heavy Rain
2009: Uncharted 2
2008: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

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SPORTING SOCCER Notes and Bonus Crew Stuff

2K Sports and Visual Concepts has impressed me for the 2nd time(the other time being that 2k5 NFL thingy that I spent many hours with Bleeno playing). What 2k12 has shown me is how much further EA can go. I like FIFA 12. But it stands between itself. One side of the game is the ridiculous amount of time spent getting rosters and player ratings correct / balanced and the other side is creating amazing gameplay. Both those things work really, really well. But it is far from bringing them together and forming a deep experience. Insanely fun? Yes. Ultimately satisfying? ... just missing... something. Maybe why I play it so much. Searching for that missing whatever.

For a deep sports experience pick up Football Manager 12 for the device for which you are reading this blog. My Lordy. Interesting to note: FM 12 includes 141,000 players from all over the world. Real players. Meticulously rated and graded.

Players in the Costa Rican (new Crew signing Olman Vargas-es-as former;) league do not make that massive list. I'm excited for any international signing coming to town, don't get me wrong. Just don't make assumptions based merely on the fact they are from outside the boarders of the United States. Can you dig it?

Hope so. Negligible talent washed out in a 'last picks first' system that rewards mediocrity, yet somehow expects greatness. Hm, maybe learn from the Austrailians. Sell them players, MLS. Shake that maker.

Ream, Le Toux, Rogers. I said. Can you dig it.

5 comments:

Bleeno said...

ah. i certainly have missed sitting down for hours and playing games together, the J.

Unknown said...

i can dig it.

again, loving the type style on the graphics here man, think you're on to something.

(of course keep impact in yr pocket...)

Bleeno said...

i, also, like the type style. and not just because smitty said it.
...
i mean, come on, it's not always about what smitty said! I've Got My OWN IDEAS! i've got loads of ideas! like, um, i don't know. ideas about ways to ... make time...saving things. for money. and for vacation. cause i could use a vacation. AND COULDN'T WE ALL. and that's a great flippin' idea right there. Bleeno 1. Smitty 0. well, smitty 1, i guess, for the initial propers he handed out. so that's a tie game 1-1.
rematch?

Unknown said...

whoa whoa whoa, let's make this clear. i (we), like the type style, am/is/are secondary to the incredible content put here (majoratively) by one the j.

also, i'm not much for original anything. i think the powers that be will void my score and give bleeno all three points. mainly because i don't want a rematch, i will have certainly run out of grace-owed-upon-me by then.

Larry W Johnson II said...

impact font. helvetica's miller lite drinkin' bar brawlin' rootin' tootin' older brother. hero. legend. and in my pocket (that little one on the right side).