Skyward Sword became one of my favorite games as soon as I beat it for the very first time. (Maybe earlier then that.) Almost everything about it is well-done. But I think I'd rather get the bad out of the way first, before the good. I would say that the motion-controls work well, for the most part. But what about them doesn't work? Believe it or not, the sword-fighting has several flaws. No matter how much Nintendo tried, they couldn't perfectly match up the player's movements to Link's swiping and slashing. The sword never quite moves in sync with the player. It isn't noticeable 3/4ths of the time. But there were many times I'd try to slash in one direction, only to swipe in another. Using the nun-chuck to shield bash also failed more times then I liked. It made it that much harder to avoid getting hit and killing enemies. Other control problems include flying, swimming, mine carts, the bug net, and some other things. There were additional flaws that had nothing to do with the controls, as well. For instance, the level design in these temples did not match the likes of OoT or Twilight Princess. That's not to say that Skyward Sword had bad dungeons. It didn't! They were lacking, that's all. Same goes for the music. One of the giant complaints I see all the time is for “padding” or things in the game that seem to make it go longer for no good reason. I will admit, there is a little truth to that. The sequence on the mountain to fetch the giant water jug is one example. Finally, there's too many notifications on tutorials, rupees, bugs, and other collectables. Let me play the game, Nintendo, and figure things out on my own!
Oh, that's right. I did play the game. And I loved it! For all of the things Skyward Sword gets wrong, it makes up for it, twice over. Let's talk about the story. Wow, was it good! It introduced several great and enjoyable characters. Zelda was an interesting female companion, instead of the simple damsel in distress. Groose started out as a bully, but learned to become a good friend instead. That guy is flippin' hilarious, lemme tell ya! Then the villains show up, and they have good, strong personalities. It's very easy to hate them, and love doing it. The places the story goes, and the plots it uncovers are creative, gripping, and enchanting. It's far and away the best story in a Zelda game. Although I ragged on the sword-fighting a second ago, let me be clear: Using the Wiimote as Link's sword is strongly enjoyable! It makes the game unique, and brings excitement and challenge to every single battle. But Link's sword wasn't the only good tool in his arsenal. Skyward Sword had absolutely fantastic items! The Beetle is one of the best ideas in any videogame of this entire gen. It was so much fun to just fly that thing around, and scout out the area. Add in the fact that you could drop bombs, cut apart far away things, and everything else, and it was a joy to use in almost any situation. Other stellar items include the bow, bombs, and the return of the glorious double clawshots. I completely approve of the way this game set up the events of every other Zelda game. It was done well. It may be cliche and cheesy, but I've gotta say that Skyward Sword is a magical game, and it is a legendary addition to this list.
4) Batman: Arkham City (Xbox 360)
I love Batman. You love Batman. Everybody loves Batman! This tortured and vengeful little ragamuffin of the night is adored all over the world! And why wouldn't he be? Everything he stands for is everything gamers love. Beating up crooks. Using flashy gadgets. Solving problems with logic and intelligence. Getting around in sweet rides. Being desirable by beautiful women. Doing something without getting caught. Righting the wrongs of the world with your own gosh darn hands. Becoming a hero to everyone who knows you. Batman is awesome! He's perfect for video games! So it makes you wonder why he didn't show up in good games for years and years...until generation 7 came along. Rocksteady Studios took our little bat friend and crafted a game to remind us all of just how amazing Batman is. They showed us how amazing it is to BE BATMAN. Batman: Arkham Asylum was a great game that brought together everything we know and love about Batman, and combined it just right. The result was a fun, exciting, tense, clever, and enjoyable romp around the Asylum. The game didn't have many flaws, and has some unique benefits that haven't been in any Batman game before, or since.
And then Arkham City swung onto the scene and outdid Asylum in almost every single way. This game hits all of the same notes the first game played, only twice as loud as before. The combat is more brutal and versatile. The stealth works better, and allows for more maneuvers. The gadgets are more plentiful, useful, and entertaining. The world of the game is bigger, and holds more excitement and more secrets. We get to enjoy more appearances from the Batman baddies we know and love. These appearances aren't just a simple meet-and-greet either. No sir! They're one of a kind, and bring engaging moments that are a pleasure to play. Kevin Conroy as Batman, and Mark Hamill as the Joker both deliver stronger and more memorable performances. The Riddler trophies return, and are more numerous and tricky to collect then last time. Catwoman is a playable character (for some) and provides her own unique and enjoyable style of play. There's more stuff to do in this City in general, then there was in the Asylum. The story has higher stakes, more twists, and the strongest ending to any video game I've seen in quite some time. Again, and again this game exceeds expectations, and makes it look easy!
It's not always about having as many check-marks on the so-called improvement list as possible. Care and attention has to be put into every decision made for a game. Once again, Rocksteady understands this, and makes sure to implement this for the many parts of the game. Not just for big events, either. But the little moments, as well. From Batman's emotional and genuine visit at his parent's scene of death, to the frighting encounter with the Mad Hatter, up to the result of all of those discoveries of those faceless bodies, there is no part of this game that does not reward you for exploration and dedication. They even came up with a fantastic prize for finding every single Riddler trophy, solving all of his riddles, and saving all his captives. Not many games give a reward for that, nowadays. Usually they throw us some gamerscore and that's it. This was different. Much better, as well.
I can assure you that finding flaws in a game this good isn't easy. I suppose the music is easiest to single out. The soundtrack is well-produced, for sure. But like many other games of this generation, it's more about sounding like epic orchestra music, and less like a unique and memorable song in a game. Something like that can sound good in the background of whatever Batman is doing. But it won't stick around once the credits roll. Another nitpick would be the negative side of having so many villains in one game. All these faces take up so much time, that it takes away from the ones we want to see the most. Joker got the shaft, in a way. It makes sense, but it isn't ideal. The last thing to mention would be the difficulty in pin-pointing Riddler trophies. The map makes it simple to locate them, most of the time, but the biggest problem happens when the trophy happens to be above or below ground. It can be confusing. No matter. There is no flaw in this game that can take away all of the good things it does. You can bet this game will be remembered. You can bet it inspired thousands of new people to become bat maniacs. And you can bet I'll be returning to this masterpiece of a game once more.
3) Kirby's Return to Dreamland (Nintendo Wii)
12 years ago (or is it 13), Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards was released for the Nintendo 64. This was Hal Labs' compromise with the world, on creating a new Kirby game in 3D. It didn't use all 3 dimensions for gameplay, but it looked like a 3D game, visually. And that was the best adventure fans could have with Kirby in 3D. Which was fine. I sincerely enjoyed the game. It's one of my top 50, actually. But once a couple years went by, fans couldn't help but hunger for another Kirby game that worked in the same way. So we waited...and waited...and waited some more. We had plenty of other fun Kirby games to occupy us in the mean time. Even a remake of the best Kirby game ever made. But nothing like Kirby 64 appeared on a home Nintendo console. No matter how much Hal promised us, or teased us with game footage that never came to be, we never got it. Instead, we got a new Kirby adventure on the Nintendo Wii called Kirby's Epic Yarn. Was it a bad game? No, far from it. But it walked away from what many fans look for in the Kirby franchise, all in the name of a random theme (yarn) that came and went. I liked the game, but I wanted a new, traditional console Kirby game more then anything. It seemed like it would never happen!
Then along came Kirby's Return to Dreamland. We've got another boomerang, folks! This brought everything back that fans cherished with Kirby. Copy Abilities are the most important part of a Kirby game. After their absence in the previous yarn game, they were back, and better then ever! Almost every fan favorite ability came back (including the almighty Fighter), but several new ones appeared, and they fit in perfectly with the others! The gameplay, in general went in line with everything past Kirby games used to do, and did it just as well. There were good secrets to uncover, nefarious bosses to beat down, and plenty of exciting moments. The Super Abilities made sure of that! Other parts of the game made the grade, as well. The story was small, but perfect by Kirby's standards. The multiplayer adds a lot to the over all game, while taking away little to nothing in the process. One of the game's most commendable features is the amount of replayability it presents. Beating the game is only half of the totally experience! You get to play the whole game with new bosses and more challenge. You get a boss rush mode that brings new surprises. And there's all of the ability time trials to keep you endlessly addicted to beating them in faster and better ways.
When you think about it, Kirby's Return to Dreamland is kind of a simple game, and it's kind of difficult to describe why it resonates so well with me. Compared to other games on my list, it doesn't have as many things going for it. There's not much voice acting. The writing barely exists. This wasn't the conclusion of an epic trilogy. I'm not sure if this game even managed to sell over a million copies. But I recognize this game as a true treasure for the people who love and enjoy Kirby the most. People like me. Gaming fans that have been with Nintendo from the very beginning. When you consider that other fans and I were waiting for a Kirby game like this for over 10 years...and then this game not only met expectations that developed from that patience...and then exceeded them?! That is truly astonishing. I can say for certain that this game was a dream come true for people who love Kirby and his games.
2) Borderlands 2 (Xbox 360)
This thing that I'm about to say may come as a surprise to you, my reader. But believe it or not, different gamers actually have different tastes in their gaming...Hold on a sec, I think I just heard the entire world take a gasp of shock and awe. Sounded like a hurricane...anyways, yep, it's true! People like different game consoles. They prefer different game genres. They even choose from different games in those genres! Strange, isn't it? I just don't understand why people don't all like the same games I do. Sometimes that makes me so mad! Hmph! Ok, sorry, I'll stop. The point I'm trying to make, is that it can be incredibly difficult to find a game that everyone likes to play together. In my experience, it almost never happens. I can count the amount of games me and my friends unanimously enjoy on one hand. With that information, imagine a game that goes so far to make that happen...for hundreds of hours. Hundreds of glorious, violent, hilarious, exhilarating, liberating, enervating, hula-hooping, loop-de-looping, tax-saving, diner rating, salivating, dodo-saving hours! What game am I talking about? What was in the title? Come on now! Everybody yell it out at the top of your lungs!
BORDERLANDS 2!!!!!!!!!!!
Yaaaay! Borderlands 2. Fun. Lots of it. Lots of fun. You could find fun in very large quantities in this game. And guess what? I did! I loved every part of this game, from conception to the rolling credits, and beyond. The wait for this game was electrifying! I was chomping at the bit to get my hands on this game. It's arrival was like getting a present from an angel. But the best part was when everyone else got this game. No, seriously. All of my friends got this game. Some of you are reading this. You know I'm right! That pretty much never happens. But this time, it did. And I'm so happy it did. Some of my best memories of 2012 come from the time we all spent together. Seriously, it was great stuff. And the reason we could all have such a good time with each other, is because of how many things this game got right.
I'm having a rough time making my praise of good games sound original. Once again, I'm gonna have to talk about amazing gameplay. The kind that allows for well over a hundred types of player choices, and it all works in a valid way. The writing, as you can tell, was full of quality, and full of comedy. If you're like me, you will hang on every word that every character says, just because you're waiting for the next punchline, or the next non-sequitur. A wait that almost always has a great pay-off. The story was well-done, and hit all the right notes. There is so much creativity in Borderlands 2! Some of the ideas included in the game I've never heard of before. The music, while not the best thing I've ever heard, fit the scene perfectly every time. If you compare this sequel to the first game, BL2 outdoes BL1 in every single way, while preserving everything good the first game did. We can even thank Gearbox for creating a better ending then BL1 had (not that it would be difficult to do that). I love the characters. I love the setting. Enemies, vehicles, the boat-loads of references, the loot and XP system, I could go on and on and on. Definitely one of the best games I've ever played........Butt Stallion.
1) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Xbox 360)
Is it bad to get on the bandwagon, sometimes? Ever had those times when all of your friends are enjoying a book/movie/game/whatever, and you didn't really want to try it because you didn't think you'd enjoy it? I don't know about you, but sometimes, I just don't feel like doing what everyone else is doing. It feels like I'm just going along with peer pressure, instead of thinking for myself. You know what I mean? Eh, I don't know, maybe I sound like a hipster right now. But there were a few games from this gen that had me feeling that way. Skyrim was one of them. I saw people jumping for joy during the original trailer, parody videos on youtube, and all kinds of shenanigans. But I wasn't into it. I'm not a big “fantasy” guy, I'm more into sci-fi. Bow and arrows are kind of boring, to me. Besides, I had never played an Elder Scrolls game before, so I wasn't up to date on the lore, and I didn't know anything about the games whatsoever. It just didn't feel like my thing. Nevertheless, as time went on, my interest transformed. I went from mostly uninterested, during the trailers. I was slightly more curious when the game came out. I first began to want to play once my friends showed the game to me. Finally, by the time most of them had beat the game...I was broken. I went out, and got the game.
Boy, was I in for a treat.
Skyrim burst into my psyche like a dragon smashing through a rock wall! Probably a week after I started the game, I was already obsessed. I was spending hours researching character builds, story details, and finding the locations to the places with the best loot or the prettiest scenery. I did not expect the game to get such a strong grip on my life. I could play the game for like 3, 4, 5 hours a day like that! *snap* It was nothing. Gamer fatigue? What fatigue? I just wanted to keep playing, and playing. It was almost scary. I wanted to enjoy everything the game offered me. The main story was just a start. There was leveling to do, armor to craft, weapons to forge, dragons to slay, magic colleges to attend, items to collect, ancient daedra to consort with, etc, etc. As those of you who've already played the game can attest to, that isn't even scratching the surface! There's soooooooo much to do. The best part is, it's all fun! Varying degrees of fun, of course, but all of that can be enjoyed. Most of it jumbled together all at once. I spent over 180 hours playing my first file in Skyrim, playing nothing but the vanilla game (no DLC). It is both frightening and exhilarating to know that I haven't even done half of the things Skyrim has available. Nor have I yet purchased a single DLC, which add many hours of content on their own.
Obsession. Addiction. Compulsion. Engagement. These are Skyrim's greatest strengths. The game's charms are simple. You want to play, just because. You want to be in this world. You want to kill dragons. You want to throw fire balls at stuff. That's all there is to it! It can be more complicated then that, but it doesn't have to be. The simple things in this game are the best things in the game. Once again, let's note that like all good games, Skyrim gives players many different choices to decide from, and almost all of those choices are fun and valid decisions that bring an equal amount of fun benefits. Like being a warrior? Go all out! Don't want anyone to see you? Go full stealth. Do you want to be a better wizard then Gandalf the Grey? Grab that staff and start casting! Can't decide which choice is better? You don't have to, you can do them all! The world of Tamriel is your oyster, and you're free to conquer it as you see fit. You can be anyone you want, and go anywhere you want. That is true freedom, my good reader. What could possibly go wrong?
Oh...wait...it seems not even the proud and glorious Skyrim attains perfection. We all know about the glitches, so there's no reason to really go into detail on that. The writing isn't very strong in many areas, and one person is almost the same as the next. The weapons and armor you find begin to become worthless as you gain more power in the game. Especially once you can make your own. One of the worst faults I can talk about is the lack of variety the game presents, after a while. There are many times you'll need to go underground into tombs and catacombs. You'll solve the same puzzles, kill the same draugers, and pick up the same ancient nord armor again, and again, and again. Repetition is this game's biggest downfall. Of course, no game can escape that. Yet Skyrim suffers to much from same-y-ness. How many bandits did you kill with the exact same spell, who screamed using the exact same voice, and left behind the same fur armor to loot? Too many to count, I can tell you that much. I suppose you can't have such a large world as Skyrim, without running out of unique content to fill it. Still, let's not rag on the game too much for that. In such an expansive setting, we can still find many instances of special events and memorable people. Did you enjoy catching Gleda the Goat? Destroying Alduin? Strolling with a giant underground? Chatting with Paarthurnax? Eating with Ysgramor's Soup Spoon? Becoming a horse? Diving off of the Bard's Leap? Gazing into the night sky, mesmerized by the dazzling northern lights? I know I did. We all did. Skyrim is an incredible game. Special in every sense of the word. And, for once, it was a great reason to jump on the bandwagon.
