The 8 best games of 2008…

That I didn’t play.

Before getting to my rather long winded thirty favourite games of 2008 I’m going to state the games that will not be included, that probably would have been had I enough time or money to have played them.

That’s right, there were so many video games released in 2008 that I was not able to play all the ones I wanted to!

So here are the eight games that should probably appear highly in my top games of 2008, but won’t.

8- Metal Gear Solid: Guns of the Patriots

Some see it as the most epic storyline in gaming, I see it as mildly enjoyable stealth action sandwiched between cutscenes by a game designer better suited to Hollywood. Regardless of mytentative interest in the franchise I would have quite liked to have seen how the series ended, and some of the gameplay looked fun.

7- God Of War: Chains of Olympus

Kratos is a badass, fighting towering creatures and slaughtering hundreds of pissed off greek monstocities and random innocents all on his bloody revenge fuelled massacres, but the minature 2008 outing for Kratos on PSP never got my cash. Perhaps the fact I always questioned if I knew where my PSP was when I saw it on the shelf, or maybe the way I just question the PSP’s ability to do the franchise justice, but for these and perhaps a few other tight fisted reasons this UMD didn’t find it’s way into my system.

6- Lost Odyssey

I’m not big on JRPGs, but this looked epic, dramatic, and people on forums said it was so emotional and the writing so good it made them cry.

Ok, maybe they may not have said the last part but it sounded good… But it’s still a JRPG.

5- Lost Winds

Quite why I didn’t get this is beyond me, it’s a kooky little download game that uses the Wii mote in interesting ways, is over in a few hours, and was happily compared to games like Portal and Braid. I’d say the reason I didn’t get round to playing this was simply because it was on Wii ware, and my Wii wasn’t as available as other formats when this came out.

4- Boom Blox

See above, less willing access of the Wii meant Boom Blox was overlooked for other games, but the idea is so appealing and I really like the Wii. I’m always shouting its graces to jaded gamers that I feel guilty for not buying this, one to find in the sales.

3- Mirror’s Edge

If there’s one game that I definately overlooked due to the reviews it was DICE’s intriquing free running extravaganza! I say extravaganza, the reason I didn’t pick it up was because it was apparently a bit on the short side. However great looking DLC and cheaper prices mean this is another to grab soon. I enjoyed the demoand think I’d get a lot from the time trials.

2- Professor Layton and the Curious Village

I love the DS, and I play it quite a lot but somehow I missed this game twice. American release? Flew right over my head, forumites talked about it and shouted its graces but I just played other time consuming games like Warcraft and… Warcraft. So several months later the game gets a UK release and advertising blitz! And I turn a blind eye while hundreds of English punters enjoy Layton and his brain straining puzzles whilst I play… Warcraft. Layton is a game I really want to get my hands on, enjoy its quirky presentation, give my brain a good workover… If I can find a copy at least!

1- Fallout 3

Everyone is talking about Fallout, I’ve not played Fallout… I don’t have time for a hundred hour consuming  post apocalyptic Role Playing Game and as fantastic as it may be, I know I won’t be able to give it all the time it deserves. A game I will eventually play but know I will never be able to enjoy to its maximum potential, however everyone else seems to be enjoying it immensely! And that’s why I’d say it’s probably the best 2008 game that I just haven’t been able to play…

New year, new look? New outlook at least.

So 2009 is underway and 2008 has been left behind like an unwanted bag of Walkers Cheese and Onion crisps, because let’s face it, you wanted Salt and Vinager and you forget that Walkers do those two the other way round just to mess with your mind and make you pick up the one flavour of crisp you’re not a big fan of, forcing you to sigh with dismay as instead of the sharp tang of the old S & V, your tongue is unexpectantly hit with the dull disappointment of pathetic artificial flavouring…

So what is there to look forward to? Well I’ve not got on the list bandwagon yet so with 2008 well and truly done and dusted, I’ll be reeling off a generic list of those titles I got most enjoyment out of as well as the games I should have been enjoying but wasn’t. Because I have no money.

This time last year I said I’d strive to update once a day and it went well for a few weeks, but I’m only promising one thing this year and that is to be myself more, you don’t want to hear from wannabe games journo no. 2576, so instead I’m just going to be Dalagonash, like I should have been all along.

The blog isn’t dead, it was just waiting.

While I haven’t posted for a while this was not an impromptu hiatus like the last few times, the gap was due to both Warhammer and my taking steps to ensure that this blog will feature more unique content than before. Less scavenging screens from other websites and posting general views and more of my own videos and stories that interest me.

The blog is improving!

For a little look at the use of my new toy head over to the Three Player blog to see What me and my housemates have been working on or visit Youtube to just watch the first atttempt at the kind of content I’m striving for.

Back for real.

That’s right, I’m back for real. After saying I would be back over summer, I got distracted by the following things:

-My Girlfriend who lives at home, while at University I rarely see her so summer is the greatest time ever, because she is amazing.

-Working for those slave drivers at Tesco, because I need money to buy all the games I want, and food.

-Writing for www.dpadmagazine.com

-Writing content for www.aboutmmorpgs.com (which reminds me, sorry Luke, I’ll write some new stuff soon I promise)

-New PC, Team Fortress 2 is really addictive.

So yes, a new term at uni and I will vow to update my blog more frequently with things that interest me, not necessarily you, and I’ll try and keep it interesting and occasionally funny where possible.

-James

What to expect…

Well, not a lot, but expect something.

Basically, I want to keep up my blog but not with constant writing and out of date, unrequired reviews. Hopefully the content of my blog should be more personal this time. I’m talking a podcast, a focus on my ramblings, my opinions on news and game media as well as detailed opinion pieces on new games. I will try and move away from my previous attempt to post true critique on games and more towards a personal space for those interested.

Like every other blog then. Yep.

Omega Five (XBLA)

It’s not often I buy a live arcade after already deleting it, but I downloaded the trial for this game once and thought it was distinctly ‘meh’.

Then, through the week I noticed more and more people on my friends list dipping into it so I decided to try it again, and I don’t know if I got a better weapon, or I did something special but I suddenly decided that it wasn’t so bad, and grabbed the full game.

Now, I like these types of games, hard, full of enemies, risk reward filled and with bosses big enough to give BFG a heart attack. The David and Goliath feel of beating these games down is amazing. And this one doesn’t look too shabby either.

I guess the real problem I had with my first attempt is that I actually concerned myself with the story mumbo jumbo, which by now I should know is totally nonsensical in this type of game, and I also launched in without reading either the controls or the gimmicks.

However today when I tried it I started to appreciate the way I have to collect the little gems to build up my massive attack, and I realised how awesome the Geometry Wars approved dual stick control is for a scrolling shooter, and after buying it I was able to appreciate the brilliant later levels.

Also, the weapon selection isn’t bad, the massive attacks are impressive and it contains local multiplayer, which I can’t wait to give a blast.

If you like old school scrolling shooters, I think Omega Five is well worth a look, you’ll also be supporting a game that was developed by a mere five people, and that’s awesome in its self.

An apology to Assassin’s Creed.

Dear Assassin’s Creed

I’m really sorry Altair, you see, I kind of got Mario Galaxy on the same day as you and lets just say that he shows you up. I thought I could alternate between the games comfortably but it really doesn’t work. Mario Galaxy is bright, happy, immensly solid and extremly diverse. While your, quite samely. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve really liked what I have played of you, it’s just, Mario is such a good game, it makes most games pale in comparison to its sheer creativeness.

I will return to you and give you a fair chance in due time, just don’t feel disheartened if I run off to play Galaxy, it’s just one of the best games ever, and your going to have to live with that.

Yours faithfully

-Dala.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS)

(Non finalised version)

To understand a critique of Dawn of Sorrow, it is required that one knows the primary factor that will affect any opinion upon the game. Ever since the success of the Playstation’s Symphony of the Night, 2D Castlevania have all been designed using the same template, and in many respects, copying it. For the uneducated, this design copies the Metroid formula of giving the player a location that is littered with items to help the player advance, mixed with some traditional RPG stat crunching and item equipping.

Playing as the emotionally depressed Soma Cruz, you and pretty much the entire cast of the GBA title, Aria of Sorrow, stumble across a plot to revive Dracula at an abandoned ‘base’ that shares a lot of design choices with Dracula’s abode itself. The plot leaves a lot to be desired, and plays much like a DS remake of the GBA title, but it’s enough to keep you moving.

The game looks great on the DS, with some nice sprites and screen filling bosses. The game also plays brilliantly with a nice amount weapons and gameplay so smooth you could spread it on toast. The very classic style of 2D monster slaying may be a tad retro to some, and the levelling and hit points that crop up may seem jarring compared to games such as Metroid where enemies simply take bullets and die. However, by showing the damage you deal to enemies the player gains a steady appreciation for how Soma is increasing in power.

DS specific elements are kept to a minimum, with the main inclusion being one item that allows you to brush away ice that appears within the castle. This seems completely pointless, primarily because it doesn’t make sense that some corridors have ice pilled from floor to ceiling, and thst the move itself feels eerily disconnected from Soma. The other, more practical, use of the touch screen is in defeating bosses. Upon their death, Soma must quickly draw a ‘seal’ to deliver the coup de gras upon the boss. This is a technique that feels good, however, if you miss it the boss will come at you with renewed vigour, so make sure your stylus is handy whenever a boss challenges you.

In terms of dual screen, its use is extremely practical in a game that requires frequent map reference. The top screen constantly displays a map that makes navigation a much less frustrating affair considering all it takes is a glance up, rather than having to bring up a map every five seconds. The only way this could have been better is if Konami had added the ability to doodle on your map so you could remind yourself where to use future abilities, because you will get lost.

Dawn of Sorrow can be a short adventure, if you don’t intend to see the true finale, but the lure of an extended ending, earning all items (including some special weapons) and a small number of alternate methods for replaying the adventure, it becomes a well endowed package for what initially appears to be a short game.

The final word to say on Dawn of Sorrow is simply this, if you have played Aria of Sorrow on the GBA, you have pretty much experienced DoS. DoS does everything Aria did, with an increased level of polish and shine, and in general, it does everything that SotN did on the Playstation. It is a fantastic game, but one you might have played before.

4/5

Line Rider.

Ok, did I somehow miss out on this? Well, thanks to the NGamer DVD, I now know about it and it’s great fun.

Found here, it’s bassically a simple tool in which you create paths for the dude on a sled to follow, it can be really simplistic fun.

I say simplistic, but pop over to the movies page and be dumbfounded. My personal favourites are these two.

So yea, have fun!

300

Well, just got back in from seeing 300 and so I consider it relevant to post my impressions.

I enjoyed the film, to an extent. I have to say that the combat was superb, it was pleasingly gory and stylised brilliantly, the method of using slow down and fast forward gave it a very comic esque feel, as if you were looking from one pane to the next. Couple this with the very comic styled blood, s well as some severed limbs, and the combat felt good and was brilliant to watch. Not only this, but it all felt fairly large, and some of the coreography was brilliant.

So, while the combat was ace, my main gripe with the film was with King Leonidas… At times he was the Spartan leader (wreaking annoyingly of Russel Crowe in Gladiator) and then at other times he would slip into a jokey feel, which was quite jarring for me as a viewer. Not only that, but his jokey language was very removed from the proper gusto of Sparta.

The film did get the feel of the comic very well, the overly glossy feel of the film pronounced features, giving across the feeling of a comic, but also giving the Spartans a very clean feel. The wierd and wonderful creations of Frank Miller were brought to the screen successfully, and give the film a very fantastical feel.

So, I enjoyed the film, but not everything seemed to gel. If you can see it, then sure go ahead. But I wouldn’ttell you to go out of your way to do so.