CrashPrime
Member
It's "Game Of The Year" discussion time in the gaming corners of the internet. Everyone is tripping over themselves to praise Mass Effect 3, Halo 4, Borderlands 2 et al. I'm a sucker for best of lists, so I really do get drawn into good healthy discussions about which AAAA titles worked the best, and which deserves the praise. I also think it's great that the discussion for GOTY has included some awesome downloadable games this year, with Journey winning tons of deserved praise, and The Walking Dead reinvigorating an entire genre.
What I am always MOST intrigued with in my own personal gaming life, is getting into the games that for whatever weren't hits. Stuff that's too weird for the mainstream. Games that might be a little broken but have a lot of charm to them. Games that maybe didn't deliver on their promises, but ended up offering a fun experience none the less.
I think my top candidates would be first and for most Scribblenauts Unlimited.
It arrived late in 2012, but it packs an amazing amount of charm. Scribblenauts Unlimited might be the first "complete" game offered in the series. It came out on some not-so-mainstream platforms (3DS, PC, Wii U) which kept it out of the hands of your mainstream audience. It offers up a lot of the "same" that can be found in the other games. Judging by the official thread which only went to something like 6 pages, nobody played this.
Why I liked it, and you will too: It's simplistic "hand drawn" art style is easy on the eyes. When you play Maxwell (the loveable protaganist), it isn't about 60fps 1080p gameplay, it's about using your imagination. Without giving a 3-page gameplay description, it basically boils down to typing in objects/items, giving them to various characters in a level, and solving the puzzle. You do it in the easiest/most complicated way you want, and it's all limited by basically the depth of your imagination. The original got a lot of buzz here on NeoGAF when early descriptions of the game leaked out (Dinosaurs, Time Machines, and Shrink Rays oh my!). Then it came out, and many feel as though it fell short on gameplay, and wasn't the "must own" title that early impressions might have given. This one isn't perfect either, but with the new Object Creator, it's enough of a game changer to merit a buy. Anything that isn't there can be created, and it adds a lot to the overall game knowing you can put basically ANYTHING in there. And for the low price of entry on Steam/PC and the ability to share awesome creations, it's my top pick.
My other pick for GNPOTY (Game Nobody Played Of The Year) would be Lollipop Chainsaw.
This one hit during the early summer, and for whatever reason just never seemed to catch an audience. It seems every game Grasshopper Manufacture has ever put out could be a GNPOTY: Killer7, No More Heros 1/2, Shadows of the Damned. I think Goichi Suda might be the David Lynch of video games. Always missing the ingredient to make it palatable for a mainstream audience. Always missing the key components to be considered great. Always finding a cult following willing to swallow the bitter pill with a smile.
I swallowed.
Why I liked it, and you will too: Zombies. Busty Cheerleaders. A disembodied head protagonist. Seriously need I say more? Ok, so the game play might be a little slower paced than I would prefer, it still feels like it's working more than it's not working. It's a satisfying hack and slash game that offers up more humor and smiles than it does gratifying tight game play. I could try to compare it to a very beloved game in a similar style, with a similar lollipop eatting female badass, but I won't. Lollipop Chainsaw isn't Bayonetta. And I am sure there are more twitter posts talking about this game with a hashtag #1reasonwhy than most, but I guess I have a sense of humor. If you do too, you're gonna crack more than a few smiles.
I have plenty more GNPOTY candidates in my own head, but I am interested to hear what everyone else feels as though deserved to be put into the hands of more people.
What I am always MOST intrigued with in my own personal gaming life, is getting into the games that for whatever weren't hits. Stuff that's too weird for the mainstream. Games that might be a little broken but have a lot of charm to them. Games that maybe didn't deliver on their promises, but ended up offering a fun experience none the less.
I think my top candidates would be first and for most Scribblenauts Unlimited.
It arrived late in 2012, but it packs an amazing amount of charm. Scribblenauts Unlimited might be the first "complete" game offered in the series. It came out on some not-so-mainstream platforms (3DS, PC, Wii U) which kept it out of the hands of your mainstream audience. It offers up a lot of the "same" that can be found in the other games. Judging by the official thread which only went to something like 6 pages, nobody played this.
Why I liked it, and you will too: It's simplistic "hand drawn" art style is easy on the eyes. When you play Maxwell (the loveable protaganist), it isn't about 60fps 1080p gameplay, it's about using your imagination. Without giving a 3-page gameplay description, it basically boils down to typing in objects/items, giving them to various characters in a level, and solving the puzzle. You do it in the easiest/most complicated way you want, and it's all limited by basically the depth of your imagination. The original got a lot of buzz here on NeoGAF when early descriptions of the game leaked out (Dinosaurs, Time Machines, and Shrink Rays oh my!). Then it came out, and many feel as though it fell short on gameplay, and wasn't the "must own" title that early impressions might have given. This one isn't perfect either, but with the new Object Creator, it's enough of a game changer to merit a buy. Anything that isn't there can be created, and it adds a lot to the overall game knowing you can put basically ANYTHING in there. And for the low price of entry on Steam/PC and the ability to share awesome creations, it's my top pick.
My other pick for GNPOTY (Game Nobody Played Of The Year) would be Lollipop Chainsaw.
This one hit during the early summer, and for whatever reason just never seemed to catch an audience. It seems every game Grasshopper Manufacture has ever put out could be a GNPOTY: Killer7, No More Heros 1/2, Shadows of the Damned. I think Goichi Suda might be the David Lynch of video games. Always missing the ingredient to make it palatable for a mainstream audience. Always missing the key components to be considered great. Always finding a cult following willing to swallow the bitter pill with a smile.
I swallowed.
Why I liked it, and you will too: Zombies. Busty Cheerleaders. A disembodied head protagonist. Seriously need I say more? Ok, so the game play might be a little slower paced than I would prefer, it still feels like it's working more than it's not working. It's a satisfying hack and slash game that offers up more humor and smiles than it does gratifying tight game play. I could try to compare it to a very beloved game in a similar style, with a similar lollipop eatting female badass, but I won't. Lollipop Chainsaw isn't Bayonetta. And I am sure there are more twitter posts talking about this game with a hashtag #1reasonwhy than most, but I guess I have a sense of humor. If you do too, you're gonna crack more than a few smiles.
I have plenty more GNPOTY candidates in my own head, but I am interested to hear what everyone else feels as though deserved to be put into the hands of more people.
