CerebralDebris

Well, another year has passed. 2008 was a busy year for me (and largely a good one!) — I took a new full-time job, I got engaged, I went on my first cruise, I visited Switzerland, I moved to Brooklyn, I redesigned cDebris,  I adopted another cat, I helped plan my wedding, I got married, and I began looking for a house.

Somehow between all of this I managed to play more games than I have since probably 2004. I kept track of what I played this year (not including things like solitaire), and my thoughts on them.

First off, here are my top 3 games of the year. Let it be known that there were several titles that came out this year that I haven’t played yet, but I don’t think any of them would’ve replaced anything on this list.

#3: Rock Band 2 - Yes, it’s essentially a level pack, but none of my friends nor I ever purchased Rock Band, so getting the sequel at the Crispy Gamer offices was a revelation. We’ve enjoyed it so much that Charlotte and I, not to mention our friend Gabe and his wife, have gone out and bought it for ourselves. I’m sure my downstairs neighbors are thrilled with all the drumming …

#2: Professor Layton and the Curious Village - You may remember that one of my first posts after the redesign was about Professor Layton. Well, I still think it’s one of the best games I played this year, and it’s one of only three titles that I’ve put any significant time into on my DS (the others being My French Coach and True Swing Golf … which we’ll discuss in a bit). Just a pleasant, charming, enjoyable title.

#1: Fallout 3 - No huge surprise here, if you read my full review a few weeks ago. Fallout 3 was just a fantastic game from start to finish, and I recommend it to anyone who plays games at more than the most casual of levels. It’s big, it’s engrossing, and it’s fun. Can’t ask for much more than that!

If you want to see my thoughts on everything I played, you can find them after the jump!

Still here? All right, here we go:

NBA 2K8 [Xbox 360] (Jan – Oct)

Liked: The overall gameplay and controls are great, and the depth is pretty good as well, allowing you to play all sorts of hoops scenarios, from street shootouts, to their association mode. The NBA 2K series is the best of the available basketball series. However …
Disliked: The atrocious UI, which is a crime against humanity. Also the X-Box Live implementation is weak … it’s way more difficult than it should be to just fire up a game with a buddy where you’re both on the same team, and sometimes it’s too laggy to play.

Re-Played Oblivion [PC] (March – April)

Liked: Basically everything. I think Oblivion’s a fantastic game, although it does have a few issues …
Disliked: The difficulty scaling is totally wacked out. You basically have to game the hell out of your stats unless you want things to rapidly become too hard, even with the difficulty slider set at only 50%. Also, I understand it’s hard writing dialog trees for a zillion NPCs, but having many characters never change what they say, through dozens of hours of gameplay, makes the world feel a bit stiff.

Mass Effect [Xbox 360] (Jan – April)

Liked: The visuals were awesome, the storyline was compelling and enjoyable, and the voice acting was some of the best I’ve ever heard in a video game. I also enjoyed the new approach to dialog UI, which wasn’t really that different in terms of end result from previous RPGs, but felt a lot smoother.
Disliked: Shooting the same smugglers in the same generic base fifty thousand times across the galaxy got a little repetetive and boring. Also, the planetary exploration is kind of goofy and probably terribly boring for people who aren’t completionists. Finally, the weapons were uniformly bland and uninteresting, and working with the inventory was like a journey directly to the inner circles of hell.

Assassin’s Creed [Xbox 360] (April – May)

Liked: The gorgeous visuals, for one. AC is a fantastic looking game. I also came to adore the controls, once I got used to them. Going back to other third person games is going to be hard. I also thought the setting was unique and enjoyable, and the story was interesting, if not particularly groundbreaking. Looking forward to the sequel, and I’d also really enjoy a medieval japan game using the same engine.
Disliked: Sometimes the controls were wonky, especially in the early going before you learn to anticipate the problems you’re going to have. Also, stealth-assassinating your main targets is incredibly difficult … I think I only managed to get a stealth credit for one of them. The game also kind of runs out of steam and lacks direction in the later acts, which are basically exactly like the earlier acts except with more obnoxious beggars getting in your way. Also, Altair’s voice acting is some of the worst I’ve heard from a triple-A title in quiet some time. I mean, it’s really terrible.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village [DS] (May – July)

See above …

True Swing Golf [DS] (June – Nov)

Liked: The gameplay’s great – unlike a lot of golf games, you can really start to understand how wind and weather affect your play, and adjust for it. It’s fun to go through the tournaments and work your way upward in equipment and skill. There’s a ton of variety to the courses and each has its own unique characteristics. Also, the suspend feature is genius, making it super-easy to pick up where you left off.
Disliked: The later courses are so difficult, especially the putting greens, that it feels basically impossible to ever master them. Also, the CPU players obviously aren’t hindered by weather — no one is going to get a 3 on a par 5 in the middle of a torrential downpour, let alone do so regularly.

Penny Arcade: On the Rain-Slicked Precipice of Darkness [Xbox 360] (June 08 – Aug 08)

Liked: The story is very entertaining and humorous. The art and design are fun, the dialog is well-written and really captures the Penny Arcade flair, and the overall gameplay is enjoyable and just addictive enough that it’s hard to put down the controller. I’m looking forward to getting to the sequel.
Disliked: It’s a very repetetive game, and is sometimes rather frustrating … I’m not a huge fan of semi-realtime combat, especially when you’re trying to rapidly control three characters. Also it was generally not as varied as I’d have liked … I would’ve rather seen more-but-smaller areas and a larger total enemy count.
Read My Full Review

The Darkness [Xbox 360] (Aug – Aug)

Liked: The Darkness is a fun, good-looking game. Shooting mobsters pretty much never gets old, and ripping their hearts out so the giant leeches coming out of your back can eat them is also pretty fun. The voice acting is pretty excellent throughout, and there’s a pretty good balance of action and puzzle-solving. Also, there’s boatloads of profanity, which is always a good way to score points with me.
Disliked: Christ, can’t we have a game that doesn’t have any nazis, zombies, or nazi zombies in it? Ok, ok, they’re WWI-era German zombies, but still … come on. Also, the action is sometimes repetetive and the story is confusing as hell and barely coherent in places. If you’re not familiar with the comic books (and I’m not) you basically have no idea what the hell is happening, why this dude has giant eels growing out of his back, or why he doesn’t care.
Read My Full Review

The Witcher [PC] (Aug 08 – Ongoing)

This game is huge and I had to pause on it to play Fallout 3. I’m back to it now. Look for my full review soon!

Peggle Nights [PC] (Oct 08 – Nov O8)

Liked: Basically all the stuff I liked about Peggle. Fun gameplay, cute characters, enjoyable story … just an all-around addictive and enjoyable game.
Disliked: Seems a bit pricey for a level pack that only adds one new special ability. Though it went on sale almost immediately after coming out, so perhaps that’s not a huge deal.

Fallout 3 [PC] (Oct 08 – Dec 08)

My game of the year. See above, and my full review, for complete details.

NBA 2K9 [Xbox 360] (Oct 08 – Ongoing)

Also put aside for Fallout 3 … expect a review in the next couple of months, once I get in depth with it. Early impressions: It’s basically 2K8 with some minor improvements, most of which, sadly, do not affect the terrible UI.