I'm so indie. I make Top 11 lists instead of Top 10. You can't control me. This isn't even a "Best of" list. Why don't you go home and cry to the establishment?
Anyway, 2008 was a pretty good year for games. I found a few new favorites (lookin' at you, Fallout). Here, however, are some of the games that slipped through my grasp.
Pure
Why I Didn’t Play It: Sports games, especially ones involving sports foreign to me, are never my cup of tea. Despite
SSX Tricky being my favorite game of all time, other sports games like
Madden and
FIFA never caught my attention. I don’t follow ATV racing in real life, and so that interest never carried over to my gaming.
Why I Want To Play It: I played the demo, and it had a similar
SSX vibe to it. If they just made the tracks a little bit zanier, made the tricks a little bit crazier, and added drivers with much more personality, I might have picked this one up. Of course, I’m still holding out for the possibility of an
SSX 4.
Dead Space
Why I Didn’t Play It: Two reasons: cash supply and genre (though mostly the former). I have never liked, nor played, survival horror. It just isn’t my thing.
Dead Space jumped out at me for some reason, though. Maybe it’s because it looks beautiful, scary, and difficult without being too much of a hassle.
Why I Want To Play It: Aside from getting admirable reviews from publications and the Destructoid community, it would probably be a fun game to have my friend and I play simultaneously. Then we would meet up at lunch and talk about all the “Oh shit!” moments.
No More Heroes
Why I Didn’t Play It: It’s on the Wii, and it didn’t look like a surefire success. I didn’t want to dust off the white paperweight (“Oh no he di-int”). The game looked a bit too quirky for my taste, and I consider myself to be a pretty quirky dude. Word of mouth also informed of some tedious parts that I didn’t want to deal with.
Why I Want To Play It: It is easily the year’s best Wii game among the core gaming community. It looks funny, people seem to love the main character, and it has a cool artistic style. Also, I heard you save by taking a shit.
Persona 4
Why I Didn’t Play It: I don’t own a Playstation 2. In addition, I fall into the “Western RPG” camp. I’ve never completed a
Final Fantasy, nor do I particularly want to. Anime is also one of those things I just don’t find very appealing.
Why I Want To Play It: It is almost unanimously described as one the best games of the year, and a near-perfect RPG. Whereas
No More Heroes looked a bit too off-kilter,
Persona 4 looks just right.
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
Why I Didn’t Play It: Having never played the first two (gasp), anticipation wasn’t high for this one. Additional whining about the series’ change in direction was another turnoff. It seems that popular opinion was split about this one.
Why I Want To Play It: Thanks to Gamestop customer support, I gleaned a free code for the original on XBLA. The game is friggin’ funny, and I’ve heard that the newest iteration upholds that reputation. It looks colorful, and whimsical, and joyous. The $40 price tag certainly doesn’t hurt it either.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Why I Didn’t Play It: Never playing the first three games in the
Metal Gear Solid series is one of my greatest shames. I have never owned any of the three Playstations. Unfortunately, I do not own or foresee myself buying a PS3, so this one is sitting on the “Fat chance” pile of games to play.
Why I Want To Play It: The story sounds awesome, intriguing, and convoluted. Even though I pretty much know what happens, it seems like one of those games that needs to be experienced.
Prince of Persia
Why I Didn’t Play It: The game’s reputation for constant handholding and ease of play made it seem to be unworthy of a $60 investment.
Why I Want To Play It: It looks gorgeous, and its ease is not necessarily a turnoff. I enjoy games more for the experience than I do a challenge. I have no problem turning
Fallout 3 to its easiest setting and then just soaking up the world around me.
Prince of Persia seems right up that alley. Not the same type of game, but the same type of traversal experience.
World of Goo
Why I Didn’t Play It: I didn’t feel like dusting off my Wii, and my PC is shit. In 7th grade, I took a technology class, and I couldn’t design bridges to save my life. From what I’d seen, this looked like the same thing.
Why I Want To Play It: It’s cheap, it looks cute, and Neil Patrick Harris gave it an award. The trifecta.
Boom Blox
Why I Didn’t Play It: Another Wii game. I just couldn’t bring myself to turn on the system. A large component of the game is multiplayer, and no one else in my household plays games. Hence, I play multi online.
Why I Want To Play It: It’s got Steven Spielberg’s name on the box. Plus, Jenga is the shizzit and you can blow up sheep. Need I say more?
Fable II
Why I Didn’t Play It: Despite getting a positive review from my friend, I never played the first
Fable. The sequel never sold me on its own. The artistic direction was bit creepy, in my opinion. It looked like one of those games that I could wait for a price drop on.
Why I Want To Play It: My friend, who is a cheap bastard (read: Jewish), actually bought this game, so I know it has to be good. I might just end up borrowing it. Plus, you can fuck people and make babies and shoot dudes and get fat. That’s a legendary combination of maneuvers.
Eternity’s Child
Why I Didn’t Play It: My PC sucks. Luc Bernard is emo.
Why I Want To Play It: It’s like a train wreck. I’m scared but I can’t look away.
See you in 2009!
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Nice
Great list! Enjoy the pic of sassy Pocahontas.
No More Heroes is pretty damn solid. The dumb mini game work things don't take more than half an hour inbetween levels.
Also, there is a lot more character development than one realizes in that game.
Just beat Dead Space myself today. Thought I wasn't going to play it 'til next year, but it was so damn worth it.
At the top of my list it'd probably be Mirror's Edge. I want to play that so bad.
Hey, BFeld, that picture of you in the wetsuit reminds me of McLovin. Are you really a famous actor?
My list is eerily similar. It's been a while since I've played an RPG but my inner nerd wants me to play P3 and P4. They're becoming hard to dismiss as just time commitments with all the rave for them.
Your PC can't run Eternity's Child? Are you on some Windows 98 E-Machines or something?
Alex
His computer probably doesn't have the room required to fit Luc's ego...
Haha fun list. I am surprised you hadn't played some of those games though O_O;
Wow, never played MGS. I'm outta this blog.
You should play Persona 4 and No More Heroes. Because those games fucking rule. Who doesn't love a murder mystery dungeon crawling RPG and a hilarious satirical action game?
Pure: The tracks are awesome with tons of shortcuts / alternate routes. The tricks can get a little old and you're right the characters have no personality at all. It's no SSX but it's still fun. Try and get it cheap if you can.
Dead Space: I honestly thought of it as a Game of the Year contender. It's an awesome experience all around. The story could be a little more fleshed out and original. It's also only 9 hours though but it's solid enough to be worth a few replays. The presentation however is excellent. Everything from the user interface to the creatures to the locations. The weapons are also a blast to use. I won't really spoil any of them but the game did everything it could to earn it's M rating. I didn't really find it too scary. It's more of a survival action where it's less about things popping out and more about waves of them coming at you or you know... Big ones...
When it drops to $30 it's a must buy. $60 isn't really a bad price but I'm a cheap bastard.
No More Heroes: My overall opinion is skip. I loved Killer 7. It was unique and stylish but at the same time polished and fun. No More Heroes is unique and has the style but it screams rush job and it's just not as fun. The city is empty and runs along at 10 FPS. Half the ranked boss fights felt like they were rushed last minute just to reach 10. The combat is fun at first but get's old after a while... Mash A and waggle the remote... Yay. It's overrated. You can pick it up for $20 so you might want it though really I regret paying $30 for it.
If you really want a good brawler that doesn't take itself seriously, is unique, and makes fun of games in general than hunt down God Hand for the PS2. It may lack the style but it's unique and a ton of fun.
Persona 4: Haven't played it.
Banjo and Kazooie: Nutz and Boltz: Building vehicles is a blast. You can spend hours just screwing around. There's a lot of freedom with what you can build since nothing is pre-programmed. The physics engine takes over your creation. On the negative side there are limited environments and they get kind of repeative. I just didn't enjoy playing the same level with new challenges 6 times.
Overall I enjoyed it because I just screwed around in the overworld and vehicle editor. It's only $40 and it's the best game rare has made since the 64. You should enjoy it as long as you aren't expecting classic banjo though it certainly has fan service. All the classic characters are there.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots: I don't own it but I played it for a few hours. The series has really changed since 3. From my short experience with the game I can certainly say I enjoyed it. I don't know about replay value or if the game drags on though.
Really if you haven't played the original 3 I'd recommend hunting down a copy of the Essential Collection if you still can. It's MGS 1 to 3 for $30. Hell 2 and 3 are even the special editions.
Prince of Persia: Really enjoyable experience. I don't know if it's worth $60 though. The environments are fantastic and I was driven to explore them until I found every god damn light seed. I honestly had a blast while doing it.
The game still has a sense of failure when you die. It's forgiving but it lets you know when you've screwed up. At least that's how I felt. Others seem to need the game to slap them across the face with a "Game Over" screen before the game is considered hard. Combat is a bit weak but it's a minor part of the game. It's mostly platforming and that's where the game shines.
Wait for the console versions to hit $30 or get the PC version now for $30. It even has no DRM though you stated your PC sucks. :(
World of Goo: Lots of fun but only worth a single play and very short. Some of the stages are worth replaying though (Ode to the Bridge Builder). It's really hard to say this but overall it's not worth $20. It's simply a matter of value for your money. If it drops to $10 pick it up.
Boom Blox: Haven't played.
Fable II: Haven't played.
Eternity's Child: After the Dtoid drama with Luc? Never.
Now care about my opinions... CARE!!!
Bahh errors. Should be repetitive* (Banjo section) and "9 hours but" (Dead Space section).
Awesome list.
My only reason for not playing alot of games is my lack of money.
I want to play Boom Blox now.
I actually list my games I want to play next so that I don't forget one. It's a great system but a bit overwhelming when it gets to a queu (sp?) of over 10 games. Still, it makes sure I don't miss shit I really wanted to experience.
Awesome list. You need Dead Space.