***DISCLAIMER***
This little list was originally posted to my blog. It was made with that audience in mind and so there's a bit of assumed knowledge here and there. Bear that in mind. And in case it wasn't obvious enough, any list like this is merely the author's opinion and I'll never claim otherwise. If you disagree with me on something, good for you, but don't be a dick about it.
***FEATURE PRESENTATION***
Slight problem: I barely played anything that came out this year. Too busy playing all the classics of old, mostly, not to mention being in Winchester and thus not having access to the PS3. There were certainly a few things I meant to get round to, like Uncharted 3 and about a thousand other sequels, but that?s about it. Even so, I?ve managed to trawl through my memory banks and come up with an assortment of games released this year that I feel you should all investigate.
***THERE IS NO ORDER OTHER THAN ALPHABETICAL***
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
It may just be Oblivion with some cool additions and most of the incredibly stupid design decisions fixed, but that?s still some damn juicy meat to get your teeth into. Though not revolutionary in the slightest sense, it still marks a new highpoint for Bethesda in terms of technical achievement and recognition of problems to be solved. I have little choice but to call it my favourite game of their making. Yes, I like it more than Morrowind. Anyone who asks why need only compare the two?s gameplay and see which one is horribly stiff and clunky.
Minecraft
How my perspective of gaming changed that fateful day I first heard of what was fast becoming the most insanely successful indie game ever. Demonstrating without a doubt that creative thinking and fun can make up for technical limitations, Minecraft should be held up as evidence that the masses can be made to buy things other than blockbuster shooters. The ?make your own fun? concept is an acquired taste, but I attached myself to it like a limpet and proceeded to get thoroughly addicted. Seriously, about three months of this blog?s archive is made up of Minecraft. I once said that building Castle Smeghead was some of the purest gaming fun I?ve ever had, and I stand by that. How the smeg Notch can ever follow this up is beyond me.
Mount&Blade: With Fire and Sword
Mount&Blade (sic) is probably among the most criminally overlooked franchises of recent years, being almost entirely unique. It?s got a bit of Pirates! in it and perhaps a dash of Total War, but I can?t think of anything else that qualifies as a role-playing real-time strategy RPG simulation. Warband?s medieval setting makes it my favourite, but With Fire and Sword somehow manages to introduce guns without totally breaking the series? precise balance of weapon choices. It totally turns it upside-down, certainly, but the new balance seems as fine as the old. Not many big-name franchises have such success in mixing up an established formula. The gunpowder-era Eastern European setting failed to grab me, but this is still a potentially huge time-sink and an absolute bargain at the price Steam sells it for. Many thanks to TotalBiscuit for first introducing me to it.
Portal 2
I was very skeptical as to how Valve would continue the story of what I would call by far their greatest product, but Portal 2 is genuinely one of the best sequels I can think of, particularly of late. The story mode itself is great, expanding on the original?s ideas without feeling like a rehash, but the highlight for me is the truly unparallelled co-op mode, in which the pair of you have to negotiate increasingly fiendish chambers while a subtle little relationship grows between your robot avatars. There was cursing, trolling and threats to look up the answers, but all that made the ultimate satisfaction of beating each puzzle that bit sweeter. Truly one of the best co-op games ever and an absolute must-try for those not afraid of headaches.
Terraria
The endless Minecraft comparisons are only valid to a point, as this charming trip back to the 16-bit era is just as brilliant in its own right. Less about construction and more about collecting loot with which to conquer ever-more-ridiculous bosses, Terraria costs almost nothing and provides countless hours of deceptively challenging entertainment, particularly with a mate. Only people who?ve never played it call it a Minecraft clone, as the two really are greatly different, especially since Terraria?s semi-regular updates continually add genuinely massive chunks of re-playability. The last one, for instance, introduced an extra-hard mode, just in case you?re feeling especially masochistic. The mere presence of actual challenge immediately makes Terraria a wildly different beast to a certain other immensely popular indie title.
Honourable mention: Ace of Spades (beta)
It wouldn?t feel right to include an unfinished game in my list, but I still want to ensure you?re all aware of this one?s existence. Quite simply, Ace of Spades is an incredibly ugly shooter with the ability to build and destroy things in the midst of battle. There?s not much to it and there?s also a serious idiot infestation, but it?s mindless entertainment and it should be interesting to see what the final incarnation ends up being. Some sort of visual upgrade would be nice, too.