My Games of the Year – Part 2 – I Suck @ Video Games

I don’t have the time to take all the games I’ve enjoyed this year, line them up and compare them to one another, weighing up the differences in styles and gameplay, then trying to justify reasons as to why one of them is my most favourite. Heck no. So Instead I’m just writing about all of my favourite games this year and why they are awesome! Some of them I have finished and others I haven’t. Most of them I sucked at. Because I am wanting to be unbiased and don’t want to rank one game better than the other, I used a random generator to determine the order of which to write about.

I have no idea where I discovered Antichamber. I think I might have read something about it on a website like Kotaku. I do know that I didn’t watch any videos or read any reviews of the game. I pretty much got the game and started playing.

Without really knowing what to expect, I jumped into Antichamber ready for action. When the game loaded and I was dropped into the black and bright white room I expected a game along the lines of Portal. In terms of being a game, I would catagorise it as being in the same genre as Portal, but the game itself is quite different. Focusing on puzzles, there isn’t an enemy in sight.

The puzzle design is brutish. It’s almost like nothing makes sense. Never ending stair wells, large spiraling alleyways that lead back to where you came from, walls that disappear… Just some of the things to expect when you don’t know what to expect.

Antichamber is one of the games I would play at work when I was by myself, in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do. That was 5 days a week 8 hours a day for about 5 months. I would spend hours trying to work out what I had to do and where I needed to go. Those moments when you finally work out what needs to be done and you actually manage to do it gives you a feeling like nothing else. The accomplishment and joy soon fades as you realise that another problem is right in front of you.

Naturally I got stuck and the game went on the back burner. I also changed jobs and had less time to invest in it. I definitely want to finish the game, hopefully without looking up a guide on the internet…

Should you play it? – Yes

Have I completed it? – Not yet

Do I suck at it? – I do. But you probably will as well.

Bioshock Infinite is one of the few games I have completed this year. It’s also one of the few games that I wanted to keep playing and playing without playing anything else. I think for the few weeks it took me to complete, it was the only thing I played.

I played a fair chunk of the original Bioshock and none of the second, but it was a game series that I always had interest in. Even though infinite took a step away from the horroresqe themes from it’s predecessors it still stayed true to it’s roots. In fact it was more a step to the side rather than away, forward or back. It is a game that exits in the same universe but is different and the same.

The biggest worry I had before playing the game was that it would feel like one giant escort mission when you meet up with Elizabeth. That definitely wasn’t the case. Now when I start the game I can’t wait to reach Elizabeth, as I know that’s when the fun really begins.

The story wasn’t as gripping as The Last of Us but still had me coming back to find out what was gonna happen, all the while trying to guess what was going on before finding out I was way off. A few twists and an ending that was confusing but still made more sense than the end of The Matrix Reloaded.

I’m yet to play the expansion, Burial at Sea and feel a little hesitant to as it’s $20 for a 1 hour experience. Well, probably 3 hours for me.

Even though it’s not the most graphical powerhouse of a game, the art style does wonders to make the game pop and come alive. Mixing this up with the familiar gameplay and awesome story this should be on your must play list.

Should you play it? – Fo sho

Have I completed it? – Yes, on the easiest mode. I tried harder and sucked

Do I suck at it? – See above

So. Grand Theft Auto V. My most anticipated game of the year. The one game I wanted to get my mitts on. The game I wanted to take out for a steak dinner, get it a little tipsy, take it home and ravage it all night long.

My hype for this game was so high I couldn’t help but feel some disappointment when playing this game. I’m not saying GTA V sucks. It’s still a great game. It’s just not all I ever wanted and hoped for. Coming out of GTA IV and having a character to get so invested in and going to GTA V’s three main protagonists, that feeling of wanting to know about the character takes a back seat to the story unfolding in the game. Also for me, this version of Los Santos doesn’t have the same charm as Liberty City in GTA IV, which in itself was like a character. Nor did it have the familiarity of Los Santos from GTA San Andreas.

Still, this does not make GTA V a bad game. It is still one of my favourite games this year and Grand Theft Auto Online is just as good. I have spent whole days just playing online with a friend or two.

The game has a lot to offer. There’s the missions for one. I have more fun doing the other stuff though. The screwing around stuff. The exploring and finding things. Seeing the subtle jokes littered through the state.

I know that Rockstar can’t keep making the same old GTA over and over again. That’s a good thing. It’s just having played GTA IV for so long the differences are very apparent. Just like they were when upgrading from San Andreas.

After the missions are said and done I can see myself spending more time on GTA online, even when I don’t have a friend to join me. Hopefully Rockstar are as committed to it as they say they are.

Should you play it? – Why you gotta be a busta CJ? Of course you should

Have I completed it? – Not yet

Do I suck at it? – Not really

Every time a new Super Mario game for console is announce I think to myself “I hope this is the best Mario game ever, even better than Super Mario Bros. 3!”

It never is.

Super Mario 3D world isn’t even better than Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 or Super Mario Sunshine. It is different though. I love Super Mario 3D Land on my 3DS. It’s one of my favourite 3DS games. It is perfect for the handheld. And that’s where 3D world falls down. I would prefer it on my 3DS.

By any means there is nothing wrong with the game. It’s a great fun Mario blast. I’m enjoying it immensely. There are tons of new power-ups and some awesome, unforgettable stages. It’s a reason to buy a Wii U, when you also consider the likes of NSMBU and NSLU, Pikmin 3 and Wind Waker HD.

Just because I want a new Mario 64 doesn’t mean I can have one and for now 3D world is keeping me happy.

There is not much better than Cat Mario. Well, I guess Tanooki and Raccoon Mario, but that’s nostalgia for you.

Should you play it? – Most Indeed. Won’t be as good as your fav Mario game though.

Have I completed it? – Not yet

Do I suck at it? – Some stages I die and die and die…

If you couldn’t tell I had a pretty good time playing Animal Crossing. There is a good portion of this blog dedicated to the story I wove into my playing of it.

Being a fan of the Gamecube game I was excited at the prospects of meeting Bob and Mitzi, my two favourite cats again. When I loaded my new town they were no where to be seen. I later learned that there are over 300 villagers. I have a pretty low chance of seeing them again.

There was, however, one villager in the town of Meowland that I liked straight away. A wolf named Fang. The story I made up for Animal Crossing Diary ended up revolving around me and Fang hunting an unknown assailant who caused havoc in town.

There was a period of about a week where I didn’t get a chance to play and during that time, Fang moved towns. I didn’t get to say goodbye. I ended up having him killed off in the later part of the diary. I would love to get back into Animal Crossing: New Leaf, but without Fang being there, it really isn’t the same.

It’s quite sad on my part. How stupid is it that the fake death that i made up for a character in a video game makes me not want to play.

Maybe one day I will jump back into it. Maybe I will start a new town. I dunno. I told myself it would be a filler until GTA V came out, but honestly I think I enjoy this more than the new iteration of Los Santos.