Well, NettoSaito had a crazy idea that whoever's active and can
should do this post, so I guess I'll just have to write this one. It's
not the I'm complaining or something, it's just that... well... I went
over the list of games that came out this year. I did so just in order
to know what I can write in here and what I can't.
The entire list of games I played that came out this year is this:
- Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I
- Kid Icarus: Uprising
- Pokemon Conquest
- Pokemon Black 2 and White 2
- Imaginary Range pt. 2
And... that's it. This is the entire list, so don't expect much out of this post. I mostly focus on handhelds, as you can probably see, and even though I played more games than these during 2012, besides these four, all of them came out before 2012. Let me just state a few of them here and say whether or not I enjoyed them, because otherwise, this post will be extremely short.
Portal 2 - This is the first game that came to my mind. This game freaked me out a bit, but I just couldn't stop playing it because of its AWESOMENESS. (And that's saying a LOT) Too bad it came out at 2011, though.
BASTION - A unique experience, great soundtrack, tons of stuff to destroy, a lot of extra content, a great story and a great... uh... monologue?.. What can I say? This game has it all.
Audiosurf - The best music game I ever had the chance to play, and I do enjoy music games. Even has the ability of playing with your own music, and has a high scores table for each song, for competitive purposes. If you enjoy music, games, and/or music games, you should definitely give this one a try.
Ace Attorney 1-3 - Though I enjoyed every second of these games, they are not for everyone. Since this is a visual novel series, it focuses heavily on the story. The characters are easy to get attached to and sympathise with, most of the time. This series has a great humor, too. Too bad I only enjoyed these three games out of the entire series. (I didn't like Miles Edgeworth's investigations, too)
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D - Not much to say. The usual LoZ adventure, as a port for the 3DS. The models were worked on a bit and they call it 'improved graphics.' The game is great, but it doesn't feel like a remake, like they say it would. It was just a port with a 3D ability.
Super Pokemon Rumble/Pokemon Rumble Blast - You get a toy Pokemon. You fight other toy Pokemon and 'befriend' other toy Pokemon. You do it again. And again. And again.
A great time passer, but after the story is beaten, there's not much to do, unless you're a 100%er. If you ARE one, I can't recommend this game. It isn't that easy to 100% it.
And these are the games I focused on this year that, unfortunately, I couldn't put in this list. There are a few more I played, but there's not much to say about them. They were either really boring or too unnotable to actually mention here. Or games like Picross DS and Hikaru No Go for the GBA, that are just thinking games for gaming consoles.
Anywho, it's time for the actual purpose of the post.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 - Episode I:
What can I say about this game? It was one of SEGA's attempts at making a classic Sonic the Hedgehog games for the audience they have right now, in the form of a newer game, while including bosses that actually appeared in older games. They did succeed, somewhat, I guess.. The game itself is so short that it can be beaten in just a few hours. They tried so much making it like the classic games, that even the bosses aren't new. And to top it all, when playing this game, it felt just like a chore for me.
Flame me about this if you like, but I say I didn't like this game. Needless to say, I didn't get Episode II, and I do not intend to do so. Sonic Generations was a way better way to bring back classic Sonic, and even though I only played the demo, it was the first Sonic game I enjoyed ever since Sonic Heroes. (Yes, I didn't even enjoy Sonic Advance 3)
If you're looking for a great New-Classic Sonic experience, you can try this game, I guess. But it'd be better to just play the old games. The stisfaction of playing them are greater, they actually have exploration, and the stages aren't THAT short.
Kid Icarus: Uprising:
I've seen people flaming this game quite a lot because of it's controls and the fact that if you're left handed, you have to buy the extra circle pad. I can get that. The controls aren't as natural-feeling as most other games, where you pick the game up, go through a tutorial and you're ready to play. They actually need quite some time to get used to. The fact that you're given no way of practicing them before being thrown into the game doesn't help much. The only tutorial offered is through videos. Their dialogue may be really funny, but it gives you no feel for the game before you actually start to play. Being an almost right-handed game only doesn't help - I hate paying extra just to be able to PLAY the game, setting aside expansion packs and cash items/characters. I don't think I would've bought this game had I been left handed.
As much as the controls are inconvinient, though, you can get used to them in 3-4 stages, tops. You can even replay each stage and choose the difficulty each time - the greater the difficulty, the greater the reward. In an interview about this game, it was said that the whole system of this game is built on 'challenge' and 'reward,' and I like the idea of that. You can actually beat this game without even trying on difficulty 0.0, but get lousy items, and you can play the stages on 9.9 and be rewarded with great weapons and items. There's also an achievement system with an ingame reward for each, be it an ability, a weapn, hearts, or music.
The dialogues are extremely funny, second only MAYBE to the Portal series and/or Rune Factory 3, the voice acting is accurate and feels just right for the characters, and the gameplay, after getting over the hurdle of the controls, is well-designed. The Mage of Deceit stage gave me quite a headache, though.
Also, this is the ONLY non-MMO game that me and Netto played together through Wi-Fi that actually ran smoothly. With SSBB, for example, by the time either of us did ANYTHING, our characters were usually out of the screen. So great job with that, Nintendo!
Pokemon Conquest:
I, for one, did not see this one coming. Sure, Pokemon's strategic concept is great for a game such as this, but it came out as quite a surprise for me. Was this game a good one, or did Nintendo fail with this spinoff?
This game starts with you being a castle overlord, and you are being attacked by the Fire Kingdom, so you defend your castle and then go to conquer the Fire Kingdom.
After all, there's a story that if someone is able to conquer the entire region, the one who created the region appears. And so you go to conquer each and every kingdom - each kingdom with its own battle ground, goal and obstacles. You can also add more fighters for your army and befriend other Pokemon. (Although, only up to 6 fighters are allowed for each kingdom, and each fighter has only one Pokemon. Some things just never change, I guess)
The game, though surprisingly easy at times, can be prove to be surprisingly difficult, at others. The most powerful attacks usually have a lower accuracy, evolving certain Pokemon can be quite a husstle at times, and for some kingdoms, the hurdles there can be too much at times, so you have to go back and train, just like in any of the regular Pokemon games.
After you beat the main story-line, you can go through different special episodes, which are doing the same thing like the story, mostly. Some require you to conquer 4 kingdoms, some 7, some the entire region, and there's even one where you have to obtain 100 Pokemon. (Not necessatily different ones, though) Although it's quite nice to see different perspectives, they are tiring and when playing them, I felt just like I have to accomplish something that I already did. It's a great game, but don't expect for too much after beating the main story.
Pokemon Black 2 and White 2:
Yes, I did play both of them. And yes, I do realize that they're practically the same game. Then why? I played Black 2 at normal mode, using only Pokemon I got through this game. White 2 I played in challenge mode with Pokemon I couldn't get in Black 2 before beating the game. (Excluding Legendaries, obviously. Besides Keldeo from the Keldeo event that someone was kind enough to give me)
So... what can I say about these games?.. They're the same as every other Pokemon games, but with the graphics of the 5th Generation. They have a few extras such as the Pokemon World Tournament and the PokeStar Studios, but the core is still the same. And there's no need to change it, since the cash just keeps flowing to Nintendo. Not saying that there's anything bad with it, I mean - I love the Pokemon games, but the even the spinoffs usually keep the same core mechanics. I'd like to see a Pokemon hack&slash game just once, for example. It could be nice. But I digress.
This is just like every other Pokemon game, but the thing is... when they decided to put it in Unova again... well... it feels just like how Kanto felt in Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal/HeartGold/SoulSilver. Like some kind of an expansion to the original game. I read in an interview that they tried to make it as new as possible, and maybe they succeeded with their mission. But the thing is, we're so used to a gen per trio, or couple, in this case, of games, that it feels more of an expansion pack than an actual full-retail game. Maybe the problem is with me, I don't know, but that's how I felt.
Imaginary Range pt. 2:
I don't know if you heard of this one or not. It's a smart-phone game by game, that takes the form of a comic book. The story is told through an comic book, and every few pages, you have to go through a mini-game in order to move on. While going through the comic book, you have the ability to take SOME items which might be needed to move on, too. There's also a symbol throughout the pages, and it's hidden really well sometimes. For each part, there are about 25-30, and finding them gives you coins you can use later on in order to unlock stuff from the gallery you get after beating each part. You can also play an endless version of the minigames from the comic book after you beat the game, and you can get coins based on your score.
The first part came out at 2011, the second part at 2012, and I'm still waiting for the third part. The first two were extremely short, but were quite enjoyable, and
the story is well-written and interesting.
Moreover, its completely FREE. Definitely worth a try. At least I think this way.
So, after going through the entire short list, there's one game I have to pick as my best game of 2012:
Kid Icarus: Uprising.
The game, even though it's made mostly for right-handed and the controls aren't that convinient at first, is a great game - the dialogues are great, the story is interesting, the characters are lovable, it offers a great selectiion of weapons for different fighting styles, it has a great replay value and the online mode is really fun and fast-paced. Plus, it feels great to use the super weapon in the online mode to kill the other team's angel and then find out that another one in your team just managed to collect all the parts just to see his hard work go down the drain. =D (Sorry about that, Netto)
My list wasn't long at all, and I did have a few complaints about some of it, but that doesn't mean this game doesn't deserve this place. It's a really great game, and
I'm sure that once you're actually able to play it, you'll be glad you got to try it out.
And that's it for today. Join us next time! Same Game Room time, same Game Room Network! (Just to be clear, I have no idea when that is)
The entire list of games I played that came out this year is this:
- Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I
- Kid Icarus: Uprising
- Pokemon Conquest
- Pokemon Black 2 and White 2
- Imaginary Range pt. 2
And... that's it. This is the entire list, so don't expect much out of this post. I mostly focus on handhelds, as you can probably see, and even though I played more games than these during 2012, besides these four, all of them came out before 2012. Let me just state a few of them here and say whether or not I enjoyed them, because otherwise, this post will be extremely short.
Portal 2 - This is the first game that came to my mind. This game freaked me out a bit, but I just couldn't stop playing it because of its AWESOMENESS. (And that's saying a LOT) Too bad it came out at 2011, though.
BASTION - A unique experience, great soundtrack, tons of stuff to destroy, a lot of extra content, a great story and a great... uh... monologue?.. What can I say? This game has it all.
Audiosurf - The best music game I ever had the chance to play, and I do enjoy music games. Even has the ability of playing with your own music, and has a high scores table for each song, for competitive purposes. If you enjoy music, games, and/or music games, you should definitely give this one a try.
Ace Attorney 1-3 - Though I enjoyed every second of these games, they are not for everyone. Since this is a visual novel series, it focuses heavily on the story. The characters are easy to get attached to and sympathise with, most of the time. This series has a great humor, too. Too bad I only enjoyed these three games out of the entire series. (I didn't like Miles Edgeworth's investigations, too)
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D - Not much to say. The usual LoZ adventure, as a port for the 3DS. The models were worked on a bit and they call it 'improved graphics.' The game is great, but it doesn't feel like a remake, like they say it would. It was just a port with a 3D ability.
Super Pokemon Rumble/Pokemon Rumble Blast - You get a toy Pokemon. You fight other toy Pokemon and 'befriend' other toy Pokemon. You do it again. And again. And again.
A great time passer, but after the story is beaten, there's not much to do, unless you're a 100%er. If you ARE one, I can't recommend this game. It isn't that easy to 100% it.
And these are the games I focused on this year that, unfortunately, I couldn't put in this list. There are a few more I played, but there's not much to say about them. They were either really boring or too unnotable to actually mention here. Or games like Picross DS and Hikaru No Go for the GBA, that are just thinking games for gaming consoles.
Anywho, it's time for the actual purpose of the post.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 - Episode I:
What can I say about this game? It was one of SEGA's attempts at making a classic Sonic the Hedgehog games for the audience they have right now, in the form of a newer game, while including bosses that actually appeared in older games. They did succeed, somewhat, I guess.. The game itself is so short that it can be beaten in just a few hours. They tried so much making it like the classic games, that even the bosses aren't new. And to top it all, when playing this game, it felt just like a chore for me.
Flame me about this if you like, but I say I didn't like this game. Needless to say, I didn't get Episode II, and I do not intend to do so. Sonic Generations was a way better way to bring back classic Sonic, and even though I only played the demo, it was the first Sonic game I enjoyed ever since Sonic Heroes. (Yes, I didn't even enjoy Sonic Advance 3)
If you're looking for a great New-Classic Sonic experience, you can try this game, I guess. But it'd be better to just play the old games. The stisfaction of playing them are greater, they actually have exploration, and the stages aren't THAT short.
Kid Icarus: Uprising:
I've seen people flaming this game quite a lot because of it's controls and the fact that if you're left handed, you have to buy the extra circle pad. I can get that. The controls aren't as natural-feeling as most other games, where you pick the game up, go through a tutorial and you're ready to play. They actually need quite some time to get used to. The fact that you're given no way of practicing them before being thrown into the game doesn't help much. The only tutorial offered is through videos. Their dialogue may be really funny, but it gives you no feel for the game before you actually start to play. Being an almost right-handed game only doesn't help - I hate paying extra just to be able to PLAY the game, setting aside expansion packs and cash items/characters. I don't think I would've bought this game had I been left handed.
As much as the controls are inconvinient, though, you can get used to them in 3-4 stages, tops. You can even replay each stage and choose the difficulty each time - the greater the difficulty, the greater the reward. In an interview about this game, it was said that the whole system of this game is built on 'challenge' and 'reward,' and I like the idea of that. You can actually beat this game without even trying on difficulty 0.0, but get lousy items, and you can play the stages on 9.9 and be rewarded with great weapons and items. There's also an achievement system with an ingame reward for each, be it an ability, a weapn, hearts, or music.
The dialogues are extremely funny, second only MAYBE to the Portal series and/or Rune Factory 3, the voice acting is accurate and feels just right for the characters, and the gameplay, after getting over the hurdle of the controls, is well-designed. The Mage of Deceit stage gave me quite a headache, though.
Also, this is the ONLY non-MMO game that me and Netto played together through Wi-Fi that actually ran smoothly. With SSBB, for example, by the time either of us did ANYTHING, our characters were usually out of the screen. So great job with that, Nintendo!
Pokemon Conquest:
I, for one, did not see this one coming. Sure, Pokemon's strategic concept is great for a game such as this, but it came out as quite a surprise for me. Was this game a good one, or did Nintendo fail with this spinoff?
This game starts with you being a castle overlord, and you are being attacked by the Fire Kingdom, so you defend your castle and then go to conquer the Fire Kingdom.
After all, there's a story that if someone is able to conquer the entire region, the one who created the region appears. And so you go to conquer each and every kingdom - each kingdom with its own battle ground, goal and obstacles. You can also add more fighters for your army and befriend other Pokemon. (Although, only up to 6 fighters are allowed for each kingdom, and each fighter has only one Pokemon. Some things just never change, I guess)
The game, though surprisingly easy at times, can be prove to be surprisingly difficult, at others. The most powerful attacks usually have a lower accuracy, evolving certain Pokemon can be quite a husstle at times, and for some kingdoms, the hurdles there can be too much at times, so you have to go back and train, just like in any of the regular Pokemon games.
After you beat the main story-line, you can go through different special episodes, which are doing the same thing like the story, mostly. Some require you to conquer 4 kingdoms, some 7, some the entire region, and there's even one where you have to obtain 100 Pokemon. (Not necessatily different ones, though) Although it's quite nice to see different perspectives, they are tiring and when playing them, I felt just like I have to accomplish something that I already did. It's a great game, but don't expect for too much after beating the main story.
Pokemon Black 2 and White 2:
Yes, I did play both of them. And yes, I do realize that they're practically the same game. Then why? I played Black 2 at normal mode, using only Pokemon I got through this game. White 2 I played in challenge mode with Pokemon I couldn't get in Black 2 before beating the game. (Excluding Legendaries, obviously. Besides Keldeo from the Keldeo event that someone was kind enough to give me)
So... what can I say about these games?.. They're the same as every other Pokemon games, but with the graphics of the 5th Generation. They have a few extras such as the Pokemon World Tournament and the PokeStar Studios, but the core is still the same. And there's no need to change it, since the cash just keeps flowing to Nintendo. Not saying that there's anything bad with it, I mean - I love the Pokemon games, but the even the spinoffs usually keep the same core mechanics. I'd like to see a Pokemon hack&slash game just once, for example. It could be nice. But I digress.
This is just like every other Pokemon game, but the thing is... when they decided to put it in Unova again... well... it feels just like how Kanto felt in Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal/HeartGold/SoulSilver. Like some kind of an expansion to the original game. I read in an interview that they tried to make it as new as possible, and maybe they succeeded with their mission. But the thing is, we're so used to a gen per trio, or couple, in this case, of games, that it feels more of an expansion pack than an actual full-retail game. Maybe the problem is with me, I don't know, but that's how I felt.
Imaginary Range pt. 2:
I don't know if you heard of this one or not. It's a smart-phone game by game, that takes the form of a comic book. The story is told through an comic book, and every few pages, you have to go through a mini-game in order to move on. While going through the comic book, you have the ability to take SOME items which might be needed to move on, too. There's also a symbol throughout the pages, and it's hidden really well sometimes. For each part, there are about 25-30, and finding them gives you coins you can use later on in order to unlock stuff from the gallery you get after beating each part. You can also play an endless version of the minigames from the comic book after you beat the game, and you can get coins based on your score.
The first part came out at 2011, the second part at 2012, and I'm still waiting for the third part. The first two were extremely short, but were quite enjoyable, and
the story is well-written and interesting.
Moreover, its completely FREE. Definitely worth a try. At least I think this way.
So, after going through the entire short list, there's one game I have to pick as my best game of 2012:
Kid Icarus: Uprising.
The game, even though it's made mostly for right-handed and the controls aren't that convinient at first, is a great game - the dialogues are great, the story is interesting, the characters are lovable, it offers a great selectiion of weapons for different fighting styles, it has a great replay value and the online mode is really fun and fast-paced. Plus, it feels great to use the super weapon in the online mode to kill the other team's angel and then find out that another one in your team just managed to collect all the parts just to see his hard work go down the drain. =D (Sorry about that, Netto)
My list wasn't long at all, and I did have a few complaints about some of it, but that doesn't mean this game doesn't deserve this place. It's a really great game, and
I'm sure that once you're actually able to play it, you'll be glad you got to try it out.
And that's it for today. Join us next time! Same Game Room time, same Game Room Network! (Just to be clear, I have no idea when that is)
