I have played most of the major games of this year and still got a number of them I still need to play (ala Dishonoured, Call of Duty 9 and Hitman 5) but I should have a clear winner here :)
lets start:
10. Need for Speed: Most Wanted (PS3, 360, PC)
Developer: Criterion Games | Publisher: Electronic Arts
After the lackluster Need for Speed: The Run, I was really really looking forward to Criterion's next Need for Speed outing. Thanks to their 2010's amazing Hot Pursuit entry (i still played it at the start of the year), it looked like Need for Speed was back on track and I was sooo not wrong! Adding upgrading elements into the mix was something that Hot Pursuit fans really wanted and thats what they got and really added some strategy into the mix for some fast-paced action!
Autolog was very well implemented...maybe a little too well that everything you did; such as speed through traffic cameras to how long you were being chased by the cops for were all recorded and placed online for you and your friends to see. Sometimes I found it intrusive but was actually quite fun to beat my mates at especially the racing times! For some reason I could not connect with my friends to race though so lost some points there.
Hopefully this year's entry will be just as good or EA can just give Need for Speed a rest and work on their Burnout franchises since Most Wanted is close to perfection!
9. Nintendo Land (Nintendo Wii U)
Developer: Nintendo | Publisher: Nintendo
Yes I know this is just a launch title for the Wii U and is bundled with the Premium Set of the console but it really was a very good game to be played with friends and to show off what the Wii U GamePad can be used for!
It is also the only Wii U game I play especially when theres a drought and when my friends and relatives are over. Extrememly fun and competitve and just wishes there was DLC for the game to add more attractions (mini-games) and extras! And extra points for Nintendo to allowing the good'ol Wii Remotes (MotionPlus-enabled prefered) and Nunchukas to be used on the successor. This not only saved me money but also allowed for five player gaming goodness (four wiimotes and one gamepad)!
Being a dedicated Nintendo fan also helped me enjoy and immerse more into the attractions that includes The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, F-Zero etc. and really gives you a hint of what these franchises have in-store in the future!
8. Resident Evil: Revelations (Nintendo 3DS)
Developer: Capcom | Publisher: Nintendo
Given that I am a Resident Evil fan and dying for deep console-like game to play on my 3DS, this was a welcoming and doesn't disappoint! Sadly it needed the Circle Pad Pro accessory to fully enjoy and that cost me an extra $22 >=[ Also with currently only seven compatible games for it, seems a little steep when Nintendo should've added it into the console itself.
Anyway this game I wholeheartedly enjoyed and actually drained my battery a few times when other 3DS games have never done that. Including full voice-acting with an option for Japanese voicing was a plus when I have never heard the Japanese voice counterparts for Chris and Jill! Heading back into spooky dark territories from pre-Resident Evil 5 is a welcome coupled with enchanced gameplay (I can shoot and walk at the same time now!) and a story that explains what happened inbetween 4 and 5 gives this a must play for all Resident Evil fans!
Also did I say the graphics and sound are the best on the portable console? Looks better than the 3D games of the PSP I must say!
7. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U)
Developer: Namco | Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Tekken! You guys definintely have your hits and misses. I always found the odd-numbered Tekkens are awesome while even-numbers are lacking. Tekken 6 while was a solid effort, just lacked polish and coupled with long load times was just annoying to play. And forcing you to play the awful story mode was just torture!
Tag has always been a favourite of mine since getting the first one on the PlayStation 2. While not a main-entry title, its more of a fanfare entry for all Tekken fans alike. Giving you up-to-4-player gaming fun, 59 characters and a young black-hair Heihachi, this is the biggest fighting game yet and everyone should play as its very easy to pick up and play!!!
6. Tales of Graces f (Sony PlayStation 3)
Developer: Namco | Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
Waiting three years for a game to come to English territories is a long time but I guess it wasn't as long as Tales of the Abyss as that took five years to come to PAL countries! This is an enchanced HD port of the same title created for the Wii back in 2009. That never came out outside of Japan so we got the better version now!
The game starts off like any JRPG, I'm a little snooty-kid that thinks he can take on the entire world until reality sinks in and have to take life seriously. This game's story is one of the strong points of the game. It deals with growing up, being accepted and responsible for your actions. It really related to me as I was one of those annoying kids that would fight against my parents but now that I am a lot older, wiser and mature, I can see from an older person perspectives that Asbel (the protagonist) was parallel to my own growing ups and I'm sure to other gamers too!
Mix in an awesome soundtrack by series composer Motoi Sakuraba, slick cel-shaded graphics and damn good voice-acting, this is one JRPG everyone has to play!
5. Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3, Xbox 360)
Developer: Square-Enix/tri-Ace | Publisher: Square-Enix
Everyone is saying that Square has lost the plot with Final Fantasy and that the series is doomed. While XIII-2 isn't as super awesome as back in their glory days, its still a very solid JRPG. Critics complain about JRPGs being linear but thats how JRPGs should be. JRPGs always places story first, helping you get immersed into the parties plight and how to overcome them to save the ones they love or the world.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 keeps that in-depth story-telling but mixes up the predecessors gameplay formula a lot with its crazy timelines and monster catching elements.You only have newcomer Noel and Lightning's sister Serah in the party and the third member is a monster that will help you take down Caicus from throwing the world's timeline into disarray!
Final Fantasy X and XIII's composter Masashi Hamauzu is back with his best and the graphics seems to have gotten a kick into overdrive. This game has so many things to do that I think i put in over 70 hours just to complete it satisfactory.
4. Paper Mario: Sticker Star (Nintendo 3DS)
Developer: Intelligent Systems | Publisher: Nintendo
What guys? another portable game makes it to the list? Why yes it does!
I have always been a fan of the Paper Mario series starting with The Thousand-Year Door on the Cube to backtracking to the original on Virtual Console. The artistic style of this game shows you that Nintendo is always innovating and knows how to draw in a crowd. I even showed this game to my girlfriend and she enjoyed playing it too (though she sucks at this game)
Thanks to the 3D imaging of the 3DS, the game looks like a pop-up book and is utterly amazing! Usually I will turn off 3D for most games but I found myself turning it on just to see Mario hammer a Goomba to the background and then having it bounce straight back into my face! Its quite a sight!
Just with any Mario RPG game, the humour is damn funny especially stuff that involves Bowser, Peach and Luigi and the music is very catchy with tunes that will have you humming the day
away!
3. The Last Story (Nintendo Wii)
Developer: MistWalker | Publisher: Nintendo
This really is the last story for the Wii and totally lives up to its name as it was the last game I played on the Wii and what a game it was. The Last Story is the first game directed by Final Fantasy's creator Hironobu Sakaguchi since 1992's Final Fantasy V and shows he still has the stuff in town!
Graphic-wise it doesn't look as good as other RPGs on the more powerful consoles but it makes it up with a grand story, one of the most exciting battle systems ever, best English voice acting since Dragon Quest VIII and a score to die for by Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uemetsu.
Back to the battle system: most JRPGs have me dreading combat but this one was actually very engaging and so strategic that it had me coming back for more! You have to play it to believe me or see all the other reviewers that praised it for catching up tired-old turn-based battle systems and brings in something new and fresh but also fun!
I really wish MistWalker will make a sequel and not let The Last Story really be the last!
2. Sleeping Dogs (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
Developer: United Front Games | Publisher: Square-Enix
Another new IP and this one is from Square! Being a lover of all things Hong Kong action movies and Grand Theft Auto, a blend of the both was a real blessing to me! And I loved it enough to Platinum it and put it in my number two slot!
I have never been to Hong Kong but I really felt I was right in the thick of a Triad war in the middle of Hong Kong. Painstakingly recreated, Hong Kong is live and vivid and authentic with people shouting obscenities in Cantonese, illegal underground cockfighting down to how Westerners are treated in Hong Kong.
With so many things to do (karaoke anybody?) and a Hollywood voice cast (includes Lucy Liu, Tom Wilkinson, Kelly Chen, James Hong, Edison Chen and more!), United Front Games and Square has a winner on its hands and I hope for more in the future!
1. Assassin's Creed III (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PC)Developer: Ubisoft Montreal | Publisher: Ubisoft
While the "present day" story never interested me in previous Assassin's Creed outings, this one actually made me sit up and pay attention. With the upcoming Mayan apocalyspe getting nearer with each entry and it being 2012 when I played it, it howed what would happen if Desmond didn't stop it by reliving his ancestor's life.
You control Connor, a half white half red neck dude that goes a long assassinating political (Templars) people to bring order to the world. While this game was DAMN DAMN glitchy in every way possible (I heard most of the glitches are fixed now via patch) I still came back for more and more. I have never played so many minigames since The Wind Waker that I just had to play over and over again just to get 100% Sync.
The story starts out slow but once the action starts, BAM! Everything is out the window and you just feel you are in the American Revolution. My American history isn't very strong (I'm from Australia) and most of my history comes from movies but this take on the Civil War and how red necks are treated helped me learn and understand more.
This game kept me coming back for more and I really didn't want to stop playing but had to to play other games. Its as big as the latest GTA game and oh those Naval Battles mini-games can have their own standalone game, I don't care! I want a giant wooden ship taking down pirates and finding treature to loot!
This is my Game of the Year guys!
