Game of the Year :: Ni no Kuni

My Game of the Year is the title that brought me the most joy and kept my attention the longest. This early January 2013 title stayed in my thoughts throughout the day, and tugged at my heart strings throughout my time with it. It’s a game that took me to another world while still keeping me grounded with another “real world” to relate to. It gave me the chance to “collect ‘em all” and has kept me a little bit younger.

Trevor doesn't care about my other games

Yea, so that whole post last month about finishing up my unfinished games went out the window, I have been binge-gaming Grand Theft Auto 5 (GTA V). The insane amount of marketing for this game combined with the influence of friends that picked it up finally pushed me to break my game buying hiatus. I’m really glad I did too, because I’m hooked.  

To be really honest here, this will be my first real GTA experience. I played GTA III when it came out, but I didn’t own it. Owning it, is a big difference. Only playing for an hour or two at a friend’s house basically means: I had time to run from the cops and eventually get shot. Some loyal readers may recall a Gamedae GTA III review which I only played on my phone or iPad. I stand by that review because the game is really fun but the tablet novelty wore off quick.

Returning to the Citadel

It’s been awhile since I’ve been captaining the space vessel known as the SSV Normandy SR-2. There is a lot of love shared between me and the Mass Effect series. I’ve spent over a 100 hours with some of these characters. With the PS4 release looming in on November 15, I’ve been feeling some pressure to finish off some of my unfinished and (sadly) still sealed games. This time, I’m finally playing the very popular Mass Effect 3.

I got the Mass Effect Trilogy box set back last December. The trilogy box set was the first chance for PS users (the original Mass Effect was an XBox exclusive). I tried playing through Mass Effect (1), let’s just say I wasn’t really blown away. ME1 is after all a game from 2007 and more the “clunkier cousin” in the franchise. I’ve stoked the fires and even watched the Mass Effect Paragon Lost anime again to get all ready to play ME3. 

resident evil 6

RELEASE: 10/2012 | DEVELOPER: Capcom | ESRB: M for Mature

Capcom brings together survival horror, intrigue and all-out-zombie-action in the sixth release of their popular franchise Resident Evil (RE). This is the biggest, best looking RE title to date. Hours of running, gunning and running and gunning at the same time; which is just one of the new additions making this game even better than the last. Though Resident Evil 6 has a bit of a scarred reputation on the internet, which I choose to ignore and see these zombie-infested streets for myself.

walking dead the game

RELEASE: 4/2012 (Episode 1) | DEVELOPER: TellTale Games | ESRB: M for Mature

Walking Dead The Game is the best point and click game I have ever played. As a fan of the comic book series and of the AMC TV show I felt duty-bound to play. However, I did have my reservations: I’m not super-into point and click style games and I’ve been burned by TellTale games before, see Jurassic Park or Back to the Future. This game has won tons of awards and has been reviewed by just about everyone but you came here for my two cents, so read on, in my spoiler free review below.

need for speed: the run

RELEASE: 11/2011 | PLATFORM: PS3 | DEV: Black Box | PUB: EA | ESRB: T for Teen

Need for Speed: The Run was developed by the franchise’s primary developer EA Black Box, who are responsible for six of the sixteen large Need for Speed (NFS) games. “The Run” for which this game is named is an underground street-racing spectacle. Jack Rourke, our main character, will join top racers heading from San Francisco to New York City with a $25,000,000 payout to whoever gets there first. I really like the idea of having a specific destination to race towards; thinking back, I can't remember a racing game quite like this. This race is more like an actual road trip rather than just getting through checkpoints or marked spots on a map. This is the first game in NFS history to feature quick time events, where the player actually exits their car and travels on foot.

mass effect 2

Traveling across galaxies trying to recruit a band of heroes for a “suicide mission” can be tough work. Commander Shepard, a trained human soldier, is on a mission to save the universe from the threats facing civilization. In Mass Effect 2 the latest threat is from the alien race known as the Reapers. The Reapers, working in conjunction with the mysterious Collectors, are causing human colonies along the fringe frontiers to disappear. In order to face the Reapers, Shepard and crew with have to use the the Omega-4 Relay to reach the Reavers part of space. It’s a suicide mission for one man alone; you will have to make valuable allies along the way both human and alien. Shepard will save the day, that is, before he dies. Because you basically start this action-oriented, role playing game floating in space, dead.
 
WARNING: Slight spoilers on an older game ahead

E3 2012: what we know now

Insights and opinions with Anotherdae, Verdeberg and Zoidberger:

ANOTHERDAE
Had to hold off and let E3 2012 sit in before starting a recap post for this year. My gut reaction (which you can find examples of on Twitter) was disappointment. I knew going in we weren’t getting any new consoles, that we hadn’t previously seen, so there was a lackluster ambiance to the whole event. You could almost see the strain in the G4 and Spike on air staff desperately looking for a story to latch onto that they could use as the headliner. Instead, we saw a lot of cool new games and a few new tech demos that are all very cool but either too expected or lackluster.

E3 2012: playstation keynote by verdeberg

Sony, where to begin! I was anticipating news regarding games such as God Of War Ascension and Naughty Dog's The Last Of Us but I got so much more!

Let me start at the beginning after the jump.

E3 2012: home viewing guide

Once again, it's that time of year to gaze upon the oracle of gaming-to-come, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). My NeverEnding Story of trying to get inside is still being written. The gatekeepers to the kingdom of gaming (the E3 committee Sphinxes') have thwarted even my most “Atreyuian” moves towards the gates.

Nevertheless, E3 2012 is happening June 5-7th with major keynote addresses starting on Monday, June 4th. You're viewing choices have grown (slightly) this year over last, with more network choices and dedicated streams over the Internet. Televised on Spike TV and sister Viacom Media Networks, including MTV2; MTVU; VH1; Tr3s: Música y Másand will all air the coverage simultaneously. Check your local listings for their correct channels. The Microsoft keynote will be airing for the first time on XBox Live through an app called: Playbook 360. I’m starting to wonder if by attending E3 you actually risk not seeing everything; and the best move may be getting all the information in one massive media download.

It's interesting to ponder what's in store and its affect on how the industry is fairing. E3 has high expectations associated with it, namely first look at new consoles. While I personally don’t think we will be seeing any new hardware besides the Wii U, there are some highly anticipated games we can expect to hear about.

The Gamedae E3 2012: Home Viewing Guide is below.

resistance 2

PLATFORM: PS3


RELEASE DATE: 11/2008
DEVELOPER: Insomniac Games
PUBLISHER: Sony
ESRB RATING: M for Mature
Progress: Finished

The Chimera are back! Or, have they been here all along? Insomniac Games fuels the cannons of war once again with the sequel to our Gamedae Fav Resistance: Fall of Man. Four years has passed since we blew up a key Chimera tower and the story picks up from where the after-the-credits cut scene left off. Our hero, Nathan Hale, alien-hater and super-soldier, is captured by some black ops soldiers. Nathan awakes to find his wounds treated and he has been given an inhibitor injection to fend off the Chimeran virus. Hale is quickly drafted into the ranks and sent back into battle. It's time to join the front lines once again.

SPOILERS AHEAD (If you haven't played Resistance 1)

dead rising 2 by verdeberg

PLATFORM: PS3
RELEASE DATE: 09/2010

DEVELOPER: Blue Castle Games

PUBLISHER: Capcom

ESRB RATING: M for Mature

With a tagline like "72 hours to kill... Thousands of zombies... What would Chuck do?", features like building combo weapons from "almost anything and everything" and online co-op, whats not to love... A LOT.

resistance: fall of man

PLATFORM: PS3
RELEASE DATE: 11/2006
DEVELOPER: Insomniac Games
PUBLISHER: Sony
ESRB RATING: M for Mature
Progress: Finished

I don't really want to over-use the term "Gamedae Favorite" but this is a recent addition to the alumni. It has been a long while since a first-person shooter (FPS) has held my attention as sharply as Resistance: Fall of Man has. I've passed up purchasing Resistance until now because it wasn't a co-op game but also because I didn't own a PS3 when it was first released in 2006. With all the hype surrounding the newly released Resistance 3, I got excited and picked up the Resistance (parts 1 & 2) PS Dual Pack. (Side note: Big fan of the dual pack idea--keep'em coming Sony). Seven days later I have trudged through the war-torn European landscape of Britain, defeated the ravenous Chimera, and damn, if it wasn't an awesome game.

infamous

PLATFORM: PS3

RELEASE DATE: 5/2009

DEVELOPER: Sucker Punch

PUBLISHER: Sony

ESRB: RATING: T

Progress: Struggling

As I slowly make progress in this game, I wonder what has made it so popular. Although it is a spectacular looking open-world/sandbox style game, the characters and story line leave me wanting more. Your main character is Cole, who can either be this city's greatest hero or biggest villain, based on the player's choices in the game. The local gangs have turned into mercenaries and are controlling the city. Gifted with the ability to control electricity, Cole becomes a super-powered force trying to retake the city after a terrible accident has left its inhabitants in a state of distress. Sounds like a good set up right?

spider-man shattered dimensions

PLATFORM: PS3

RELEASE DATE: 9/2010

DEVELOPER: Beenox

PUBLISHER: Activision

ESRB RATING: T for Teen

Progress: Finished

I am a huge comic book fan, have been for as long as I can remember; so it stands to reason that I would be attracted to superhero video games. This genre has a pretty ugly track record. Most superhero games are created to supplement a major motion picture and, as every gamer should know, that does not make for a good game. With the advent of the latest generation of systems superhero games have greatly improved with a few standout performances. Spider-man Shattered Dimensions, the latest in the Spider-man franchise of games, takes the often formulaic game play and adds some new twists and turns.

E3 2011: sony computer entertainment keynote

The Sony Keynote was held live at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena and around the world via G4 and the Playstation blog. Pre-keynote questions were being pondered even as the curtain was raised. Sony is still recovering from the biggest cyber attack in history that crippled the Playstation Network for more than 2 weeks, how will they address this? More importantly how will the crowd react? Upon entrance Sony handed out 3D glasses to the entire room as they eagerly awaited the keynote to begin.

How you feel about the Sony event will depend mainly on how you feel about handhelds in general. Gamedae is pro handheld so we eagerly awaited this keynote and any new info on the NGP, Next Generation Portable. Hit the jump for the play by play:

dragon age: origins

PLATFORM: PS3

RELEASE DATE: 11/2009

DEVELOPER: BioWare

PUBLISHER: EA

ESRB RATING: M

Progress: On my second playthrough

I have been growing my Dragon Age: Origins (DA:O) beard again this past weekend. This game is so long you have time to grow a few weekend-warrior-type beards with this fantasy based role playing game (RPG) released by EA. A blight is steering down on the the world of Ferelden. The Humans, Dwarves, Mages and Elven people are all threatened by hordes of Darkspawn. As one of the last remaining Grey Wardens you must unite the people in time to face the blight and the dreaded archdemon behind it.

portal 2 by zoidberger

PLATFORM: PS3

RELEASE DATE: 04/2011

DEVELOPER: Valve Corporation

PUBLISHER: Valve Corporation

ESRB RATING: E10+

Progress: 100% Single Player, 65% Co-Op

I’ll be damned if a lack of baked goods from the first installment was going to stop me from playing the much anticipated sequel to one of the most beloved puzzle games of all time. I was a huge fan of the first-person physics-based puzzle game and had lofty expectations for the sequel. Portal 2 did what most sequels are unable to do with those expectations, surpass them.

batman arkham asylum

PLATFORM: PS3
RELEASE DATE: 8/2009

PUBLISHER: Eidos Interactive

DEVELOPER: Rocksteady Studios
ESRB RATING: T (for Teen)

Progress: 70%

I'm mostly what comic fans call a Marvel Zombie; meaning I'm strictly a Marvel fan but I am also no stranger to Batman. Eidos Interactive and Rocksteady have out done themselves with this latest game by presenting this amazing looking and grown up version of the Dark Knight. This is nothing like the cartoons or previous NGC Batman games that have been very popular; this is a dark, violent and edgy Batman story that is aimed at adults and long time fans.

pixeljunk monsters

PLATFORM: PS 3
RELEASE DATE: 1/2008
DEVELOPER: Q-Games
ESRB RATING: Everyone
PROGRESS: 85%

I am a perfectionist, a bad winner and sore loser, what some may refer to as a "Type A" personality; which is why I became immediately obsessed with PixelJunk Monsters, a tower defense game, by Q-Games. The meditative music, simple but charming graphics and highly addictive yet uncomplicated game play makes this a perfect choice for a novice gamer who does not like to lose.