We have one last item to mark the end of 2009. As the year came to an end, I prepared a list and dispatched it to our Creativity Team members. I asked about their opinions of the games released in 2009 and any other games they happened to play during the year. Since some of us don’t buy as many games, we included any free browser based games and games we bought from previous years.
I should point out that these are choices based on the games we have played and may not explicitly reflect the overall quality of the game. If you buy nothing but great games, then the worst game in the bunch will still be great. And all of this is our individual opinions anyway.
We’ll begin with multiplayer. We’ve seen a number of good games for mp gaming since the fall of 2008. But which stand out? Tell me what the worst multiplayer game was that you played this past year?
Syrus: Borderlands – The multiplayer was horribly broken right out the door, and I still can’t play with most people without a third-party application. This is what those in the industry call COMPLETE FUCKING BULLSHIT. How do you do this? It’s a four-player MULTIPLAYER game. How do you fuck up the MULTIPLAYER part of that? And why would you use Gamespy?
Radu: Frontlines: Fuel of War – While the intro cinematics were good, the game was very disappointing. The multiplayer was even shittier. Almost all the maps need to be played using a futuristic chopper, plane, or tank because of it’s huge size and objective. It’s really a pain in the ass to learn to fly those things. I bought the game for a classic FPS fight and not for a simulator.
The Wildcat: Well for me, with the limited selection of games I bought this year, nothing was more disappointing than Call of Duty: World At War. I tend to be very careful about the games I buy. I only buy when I am sure I will like the game. And for the most part World At War is fun, when not lagging and dodgy, or outnumbered by people with higher ranks and more perks.
There always seemed to be some form of issue with this game for me. There was no reason for the lag I encountered and it genuinely harmed my otherwise “simply average” abilities. Having foes spawn directly behind me or off to my side during battle also really ticked me off as it gives THEM an easy kill.
That plus a lack of player customization and the need to unlock most of the better weapons really broke my will to play a game I bought specifically for the multiplayer. I can’t play often enough to keep up with the die hard fan-boys that prestige three times in a week. I know that some of these issues were patched, but you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.
Having described those issues, we should next discuss the good. Which game offered you the best multiplayer experience?
Syrus: Left 4 Dead 2 – There’s really nothing quite like facing down against a mess of zombies with three friends. Need I say more?
Radu: Left 4 Dead 2 – What happens when you add a bunch of melee weapons, hordes of zombies and a 4-player coop possibility? You get the perfect multiplayer game. Nothing’s more refreshing than shooting a load of zombies or using your chainsaw to clear the path.
The Wildcat: I’m going to have to go with Left 4 Dead 2 as well. It’s a great game with a running story throughout the multiplayer. If you don’t want to play a story mode, you can play versus, scavenger hunt, or survival. There’s even the so-called realism mode now to challenge the most dedicated players. And in the end, it works “out of the box”. That’s important for any game these days since so many rely heavily on patching to fix their bugs.
We still aren’t finished with gameplay discussion at the moment. Outside of multiplayer, which game offered the worst gameplay experience in your opinion? Particularly with regard to single player or coop mechanics?
Syrus: Tony Hawk Ride – It has to be said; Tony Hawk Ride is terrible. It feels clunky and unresponsive, and the skateboard controller is a pain in the ass to use properly. If I wanted to kill myself on a skateboard I would buy an actual skateboard. It’s cheaper.
Radu: The Path … you can’t do anything in it, except walking and walking to find out the story.
The Wildcat: Despite my full enjoyment of this game, I’m going to need to say Fallout 3 for this one. Fallout 3 is a spectacular game, but some of the RPG elements really don’t fit well for my tastes.
Now, this says a lot about my choice in games when I pick Fallout 3 as the “worst” gameplay. Nevertheless, I took issue with matters like dice-rolls for weapon damage and bullet spread as a head-shot is a head-shot on any living creature unless it is just genuinely that big and thick skulled.
And I also had issues with a few bugs as the game progresses such as enemy spawn errors and NPC reactions. Also, some of the game dialogue seems almost incomplete. When you talk to someone, take a job, return to be paid, and from that day forward you have nothing to talk to them about or they repeat the same dialogue every time the game feels unfinished.
It’s actually a great game and mods make it even better. But much of the game seems to have been developed specifically with selling their DLC packs in mind. And that troubles me enough to rate this lower then World At War.
With that said, which game offered the best gameplay?
Syrus: Skate 2 – Kind of funny that both “gameplay” sections go to Skateboarding games. Not a whole lot changed from Skate to Skate 2. However, the formula still works very well.
Once you get the hang of the controls Skate is a lot of fun, and it feels very rewarding to pull off a complex series of tricks. Even if you do fuck up (and you will,) it’s fun in itself to watch your character rag doll down a set of stairs or off a building. Skate is undeniably more fun than any of the Tony Hawk games have ever been. There’s a lot of fun to be had in the Skate series.
Radu: Released in May, Zeno Clash uses a modified Source engine specially re-coded for hand to hand combat.
The gameplay was great, from my opinion. It’s not like the other games, where you get weapons or melee weapons and just simply shoot or hit an enemy. No! In Zeno Clash your main weapons are your hands and feet. You can do a lot of combinations while fighting your adversaries.
And just to make it complete, they added a few long range weapons which can also be used to hit your enemies when they get too close (throwing the weapon in your enemies face).
The Wildcat: Even older then Fallout 3, ironically enough, I must choose The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for the best gameplay. It does everything that Fallout 3 does in regard to dice-rolls for damage and so forth. However, such matters seem to make more sense here.
Since the game involves swordsmanship and archery and magic, there is more room for calculated damage in this manner. Considering that most of your foes are also supernatural in origin, this is even more fitting. After all, who knows what a sword head-shot would do to a demon or monster of some kind.
I did dislike the similar dialogue issues as I feel more could be done to fill out such a game, even if it was with DLC for profit. But overall, I really liked this game.
Let us now move on to story. In the past, story-lines were limited to singleplayer games. However, with titles such as Borderlands and Left 4 Dead 2 on the shelves this category could go to any title. So which game offered you the worst story?
Syrus: Borderlands – Now, I love this game. It’s a lot of fun, despite it’s flaws. However, I like my games with a bit of story. In Borderlands, there is no story. You don’t know who the characters are, why they’re there, or why they do the things they do.
Radu: Alpha Prime – While the music and sounds annoyed me, the story was even worse. The intro cinematic was long and boring, making me feel bad that I even bought the game.
The Wildcat: Left 4 Dead – I must admit, World At War came close for this title. Single player in that game is a bit simple at best, but the Russian story line was actually pretty good. For me, the worst story would have to be the original Left 4 Dead as there was obviously supposed to be some inter-connecting plot.
But the game was basically rushed. The four campaigns consist mostly of running rampant on some zombies and getting to a pre-defined goal. Not much plot there. And each of the four original campaigns skips wildly leaving our heroes escaping in a chopper and suddenly dropping them in the middle of a road with no sign of their prior airlift. Valve started to make a little DLC to help that factor, but in the end this story is just too broken to count for more then a fun diversion.
Now, what was the best story you played this past year?
Syrus: Dragon Age: Origins – This bears repeating: Dragon Age is great. While the basic premise isn’t particularly inspired, BioWare pulls it off very well, with like-able characters, a very interesting setting, and (perhaps too) copious back story.
Radu: If you’re into survival horrors and puzzle games, then Penumbra: Black Plague is the right game for you. In a quest to find his father in the Northern Greenland, our hero uncovers mysteries and reveals the human nature. The story was simply “impressive”.
The Wildcat: There were some pretty great stories this year, but one really stands out because it stayed true to its source material. And it also carried the plot along with excellent pacing such that you may really discover the secrets and plots as you investigate.
Batman Arkham Asylum runs beautifully through a Batman graphic novel or movie and handles the main characters with maturity and depth. It’s a great plot and worth playing more then once.
I think we should now move on to the category of sound. Sound design is both critical to a game and easily dismissible in the face of pretty graphics and an engrossing story. So which game do you think had the worst sound design?
Syrus: Bit of a departure from the mainstream, here. Men of War isn’t really a well-known game. It ranks among my favorites, though, especially in RTS titles. As a very hard WW2 RTS, it does it’s job well. However, the voice-work is abysmal. It features some of the most laughable voice-acting I’ve heard in a long time. It’s stilted and awkward, and in some places the voice-actors sound incredibly disinterested.
Radu: Alpha Prime – No comment. The sounds were from my opinion unrealistic and the music was really annoying, especially the menu music.
The Wildcat: Battlefield Heroes. Most of the games I played offered an excellent array of sounds. And I hate to take this category and apply it to a free game, but Battlefield Heroes earned the worst sound title simply because they tried too hard.
The intention was to make a TF2 style cartoon shooter, but the use of cartoon sound effects in-game is horribly misguided. Explosions are accompanied by weird springy sounds and shooting enemies is dumbed down by goofy grunts and bonks and other odd ball mix. The overall experience is just too awkward for my tastes.
The look of the game would have been plenty cartoon influence. But even then, the use of cartoon sounds could have been applied convincingly if handled correctly. These developers really needed to watch more Wyle E Coyote cartoons rather then just tossing sounds into the game at random.
So which game had the best sound design?
Syrus: Left 4 Dead 2 – A good zombie game requires good sounds. L4D2 more than has those sounds, as the screams of the horde of undead really make you feel like you’re about to get ripped apart. And though they tend to take a back-seat to the zombies, the survivors’ voice-work is generally great. Also, a game which features RE: Your Brains can do no evil, in my mind.
Radu: Bioshock 2 wins this section without any question. It’s orchestral and atmospheric soundtracks were and still are excellent. Like the first Bioshock, released in 2007, I knew this one would be as great as it’s older brother.
The Wildcat: Again I think I’ll have to go with Left 4 Dead 2 also. From the gong of a frying pan to the slice of a katana or machete, getting the sounds of violence required for a zombie game like this is no small feet.
Valve accomplishes this barrage of noises and combat and groaning quite well. Deafening rain and thunder and wind. A roaring roller coaster. Even a rock band’s concert. There is a lot to enjoy in the sound design of this game.
We have only two best and worst categories left. And this next one is easily one of the most glaring for most gamers. Graphics are almost critical to the average gamer in this day and age. Each new game wants to have the best and most powerful look. So which game didn’t live up to the highest standards for you guys? Which game had the worst graphics?
Syrus: Sword of the Stars – Yeah, this is a bit of a low-blow. The game’s not really about graphics. It’s a space 4X game, graphics aren’t really required. However, they would have really made it more enjoyable. As it is, I have no idea what the hell is going on; The main star-map can be really confusing to navigate.
Radu: The Path – For a game released in 2009 I was expecting a bit better graphics and models too. The game was pretty nice, but it could have used a lot more work.
The Wildcat: Left 4 Dead – This category is actually a big challenge for me. Most of the games I played are older then the new and breathtaking titles of this past holiday season. And yet, each are top of the line in their own special way.
For me, I have to choose the original Left 4 Dead simply because the engine is now dated. Source is getting older and very little was done to improve it for that first game. Just look at the second game. It still suffers from an overuse of fog, but the characters are more detailed, damage is reflected on the models in interesting and grotesque ways. Even the fire and smoke effects were updated. But not so much for the original. I think this is more proof the game was a little too rushed.
Now, among all the more recent games, there are many with very impressive graphics. So, considering the games that you actually played, which had the best graphics?
Syrus: CoD Modern Warfare 2 – Out of all the games I’ve played this year, this one was the prettiest. It has a nice cinematic feel to it which, while not quite making up for the other flaws, at least allows me to have a bit of mindless fun. Which is fortunate, because I’m really bad at it.
Radu: Shattered Horizon wins this category very easily because of it’s DirectX 10 support, making the game look very realistic. The bad thing about it is that it doesn’t support DirectX 9, so you mainly need Windows Vista or Windows 7 in order to play it.
The Wildcat: Again I have to give this one to Batman Arkham Asylum. It uses Unreal’s tech and uses it well. Batman looks like a bad ass with flowing black cape and detailed seams in his body armor. The joker is… well… ugly as hell.
All of the characters have personality in appearance alone. And the layout of the island is great. Dark, dank sewers and caverns. High bluffs overlooking the Gotham skyline. And even a plant infestation that slowly changes the look of the world around it. But probably the biggest hit for me was seeing this with Nividia’s 3D vision. THAT was epically awesome.
So at last we have come to the big conclusion. The final choices for best and worst games we played this year. What was the overall worst game you played?
Syrus: Wii Sports Resort – Fuck this game. It’s almost as bad as the original. It’s just /boring/. I’m not against Wii games. I have a Wii. A game like this just boggles my mind, however. What is the point?
Radu: Frontlines: Fuel of War is the worst game ever. As I mentioned above, the gameplay is really shitty and the story even worst.
The Wildcat: Given my feelings regarding Modern Warfare 2, you might expect it to make this list. However, true to my word, I have not purchased that game and have no plans to do so in the future.
So instead, I have to give this honor to another Call of Duty title. World At War may be a better game now then when it first released, but I honestly have no further interest in playing it. I was sorely disappointed in this game. More so than any other game I have ever purchased.
I had high expectations and was looking forward to a new World War II title. Especially after playing COD 4 a few times and really enjoying that take on modern warfare.
I first played the single player and found the divisions in the two or three main stories to be unnecessary. One full game about the Russian characters would have been a great game. But the American story starts with shock value gimmicks and then jumps to a sea plane battle and then back to combat elsewhere. What the heck happened there?
Zombie Nazis could have been fun and probably IS in coop mode, but in single player it just feels dull and, pardon the pun, lifeless. The fact that you had to originally unlock that game mode made it even more disappointing.
The multiplayer coop sounds like a good game, but I never bothered to play. And the standard multiplayer (and my entire reason for buying this game I might add) was laggy, choppy, unbalanced, and unenjoyable for a leisure gamer such as myself.
Again some of these issues have been patched, but I haven’t played the game since it first released. I just don’t want to play it.
Now that we’ve probably irritated some game developers, poor babies, lets look at THE big event. What was the best overall game you played this year guys?
Syrus: Dragon Age: Origins – Dragon Age is by far my favorite game of 2009. Holy fuck this game is awesome. It has interesting gameplay, like-able (Or at the very least least interesting) characters, and a fun (If cliche) story. It has it’s problems (For example, I had a hard time activating my DLC,) but it’s well worth it for such an excellent game.
Radu: Star Wars: The force unleashed was from my opinion the best. Why? Maybe because it’s something different, something unusual. Featuring the Star Wars universe and a nice story, this game made my day.
The Wildcat: With two other “bests” on this list, I have to give this title to Batman Arkham Asylum. I absolutely love this game. I’m a big Batman fan and was thrilled to see an actual “good” Batman game.
But there is more. I was tempted to give all of the bests on my list to this single game because it plays as an overall great title. I’m not usually one to play third person adventure games, but this is different. Dynamic free-form fighting and a true to the canon storyline makes this an experience worth playing.
There were negatives of course. For example, I couldn’t give this game the best gameplay title simply because it suffered from too many game specific problems. Like the Riddler’s Challenge. I really wanted to catch the Riddler, but spent most of the game saving people. That meant a return to the island after everything was over and all the police had departed.
No more villains to fight, no more reasons to take death-defying leaps and explore. Simply go around and pick up everything you missed earlier in the game. It’s boring… and I do have to ask, how did the Riddler manage to plant all those trophies behind all of those old crumbly walls in the first place? Some of them appear to be stone cliff walls.
The sound also lacked a little and I often find myself hearing a villain but unable to see them. They sound like they are to my right but appear to be at the end of a hall on the other side of the gigantic room I’m standing in. These sorts of errors really stood out compared to other games, but in the overall big picture they were not enough to reuin a spectacular game play experience.
We’ve chosen some interesting games now, but we still aren’t finished. This list needs one last item. I want to know what game you are most looking forward to in 2010.
Syrus: All Points Bulletin – An online, massively-multiplayer, insanely customizable GTA-style game. What more can you want? I’m really looking forward to trying out the character builder; One of my favorite features, customization is more than enough to get me interested in a game. If they pull this off, I might never play any other game ever again.
Radu: Natural Selection 2 – Why? Besides the fact that it combines Real Time Strategy and First Person Action, you get to play as either the Frontiersmen (Marines) or the Kharaa (Aliens). The main goal of each side is to wipe out the opposite team.
The levels can change as you play. A good example is the alien infestation that can deform hallways and cause power failure, halting all lifts. You can destroy a catwalk’s supports to cause it to fall.
Besides the fact that you have unlimited gameplay variations, you get an awesome level editor specially made to save time and very easy to use. The game uses the Source engine, heavily modified. From my point of view, it will be something revolutionary to the Source engine and it will definitely teach Valve a lesson.
The Wildcat: I’m going to say that Battlefield Bad Company 2 is my most anticipated game. In the absence of another Portal or HL2 episode 3, or the forever in development Duke Nukem Forever, I return to the battlefield franchise.
This game should be awesome. It’s Battlefield at its best with destroyable environments, vehicles, good old fashioned Battlefield-style gameplay… and dedicated servers.
I do dislike the fact that this is yet another PC game that was developed for consoles and then ported to the PC. I, like many Battlefield PC fans, want to know when the next big PC title will be released and sorely dislike the lack of mod tools. But in the end, I expect this game to be incredibly, if not mindlessly, fun.
With that, our look back at 2009 is concluded. It was a fairly average year with a few sparkling exceptions in various fields. This new year promises to be bigger and better in every way in both gaming and for our site.
Happy New Year once again everyone.
