Electro UK
Can't all be for nothing
- Joined
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Okay so I'm sitting around waiting for the VGA's to start, and I figured I'd do a little excersize in writing to fill the time. Feel free to read through, post your own thoughts or disagree with mine, honestly, I'm just happy when I'm writing about stuff...
Christmas 2007 was a happy time. Uncharted, Guitar Hero 3, Super Mario Galaxy, Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops Plus, and Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions. I thought I'd never need to buy a video game ever again I had so much to play.
...by Febuary I'd already ordered 2 more PS3 games.
You see looking back on 2008, it is alway going to be MY year for gaming.
Let me explain, I've always been interested in video games, but as a kid, it was the usual crap. You know, the Star Wars games, Spiderman, stuff like that. I played some quality titles, Metal Gear, Crash Bandicoot, and Legend of Zelda for example, but all the way through my SNES, Gameboy, PS1, PS2, N64, and Gamecube years, I'd been a bit of a bad gamer really.
It wasn't until the end of my PS2 days, I started getting interested in real quality games. MGS3 and MGS2 were the prides of my collection, but there rest was littered with crap. The PS3 was a fresh start for me, a real chance to get into gaming.
Of course, 2007 was utter crap for the PS3. A handful of good games, sure... but I had a PAINFUL summer of nothing to play.
No no, its very fair to say that 2008, was my year. The year I truly became, a gamer, no matter how much people around me dissaproved. The PS3 really did me proud this year, and I considered myself to become something of a unique gamer, not always following with what other people got.
The first time this was proved to me was a few weeks ago actually, when Gametrailers said one sentence about a game I'd bought all the way back to the second month of the year. According to them, if you'd bought "Condemned 2: Bloodshot" then you "Really knew and understood games.". And the fact that a game like that doesn't get much of a spotlight proves what a great year its been for the industry.
While others were raving about Devil May Cry 4, (Spoilers for Condemned 2) I was cracking heads open with a toilet seat and (due to the games rather unfortunate twist towards the end), taking down a cult that secretly controlled America with metal implants in their voice with my own super powers...
Yeah... Condemned 2 didn't end on a good note, but was a great game overall and got my year off to a good start. The other game, was the sadly ill fated Unreal Tournament 3. Awesome, awesome game. If only more people had known it. I finally found something to turn me away from CoD4. It was a fast paced fury of lasers and tanks. Never a bad thing. Just a shame no one played it.
Then there was the small matter of a game called GTA4, hyped beyond belief. I myself, didn't fall into the hype... as a result I didn't find myself dissapointed or overjoyed. It was okay. Just what I was expecting. It had way too many frustrating points for it to be anywhere near the 10 so many crowned it, but refined gameplay made it actually playable. I could never get into the old GTAs either. It was a shame, but these 3 games were just time fillers, for something much, MUCH more important to me.
I remeber eaxctly where I was sitting, how I was feeling, and what I was thinking the night I completed MGS3, 2 days after release. My first thought when the credits rolled "Well, the wait beings again." And I tell you now, I had literally thought about MGS4 every single day of the 4 year waiting period. The last few days of counting down were the most painful, but my Collector's Edition arrived a merciful full day early, courtesy of Play.com.
I got home from school early, I took the next day off sick. I played the game for a straight 16 hours, and despite lack of energy come the final 30 minutes I managed to hop, skip, shout and sing as the final twist rolled onto my credits screen. It had been a 10 year wait to get here after MGS1, and I was 100% completely satisfied, something I never thought would happen ever. The game was incredible. It didn't manage to knock MGS3 off of my favorite video game of all time slot, but it sits comfertably at 2.
I could rant on about MGS4 all day, but I shan't.
To add a little variety, and actually make this a year in review rather than me retelling my experience this year, let's look at a few things besdies PS3 games.
I'm not a God of War fan. Do you know what that means? It means that I have no bought a single PSP game this year apart from 2 games from last year and Patapon for Christmas. Good god, the handheld sucked this year. Final Fantasy is the only other thing slightly appealing to me, maybe LocoRoco 2 as well. I mean sure, I'm a bit of a Sony fanboy, but UGH, could this be any worse. Lets hope the MotorStorm PSP rumors are true, or bar Resistance, the PSP is going to have another bad one next year too.
Its not all roses for the PS3 either, HOME is one big embarressment in my opinion, and some games haven't seen the sales they deserve. The Wii... don't even get me started on that. Bar Super Smash Brothers Brawl, Nintendo have made a royal joke out of themselves in the hardcore gaming community. I have 3 Wii games to get: Sam and Max: Season 1, Okami, and Zac and Wiki. Aside from that, Mad World is the only game that holds my interest on that next year, and Dragon Quest 10.
The 360 is a console that had impressed me this year though. But I find myself more jealous over the more low key exclusives. You guys keep Gears 2, I want Ninja Gaiden 2 and Fallout 3 expansions please. In fact, I spent a week with my cousin who has a 360 last Summer. I completed Gears 1 and Halo 3. Loved them both, so its nice I got to have a little taste of what's going on over the other side.
After MGS4, there was a gap in retail games for me, bar Brawl. So I got into a load of games I want to spend a paragraph or two talking about now. Original downloadable games are the business. Pixel Junk Monsters, Eden, The Last Guy, and Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty, all of these are strong reasons for a hardcore gamer to take a dip into the Playstation store. And for XBA, gthere was stuff like Braid while both places got fueled with amazing 3rd party content.
Its almost too easy to spend money on this stuff, but Pixel Junk Monsters cost me £3... and I've spent about double the amount of money on that than I ever have done with F.E.A.R., which cost me a full £40 back in the day. If the industry is headed this way, no complaints here. Quest for Booty, Siren Blood Curse and others are there to prove that retail quality games can be downloaded.
So anyway, out of the Summer drought, and on to the first game in a period of 5 weeks where I'd get a new one every 7 days, BioShock. Oh man was I looking forward to it, finally I'd get to sink my teeth into something I'd been drooling over for a year now. Presentation wise, I wasn't disapointed. The game presentended more atmopshere, and quality story than I'd seen in most. Gameplay wise... it just didn't live up to expectations for me, but still a great game all in all.
Next week? Dead Space. My second favorite game of the year. In-credible. The game shocked everyone with its quality, even those of us who were anticipating it (me for example). It was a shining example that innovations doesn't necesserily make or break a game, and that attention to detail and setteling for nothing but the best can make for a game just as good as the years most hyped.
After that, a game I'd been waiting around 10 years to play. I felt priveliged to be one of the few who played Fallout 1 and 2... so 3 was a BIG deal for me... I haven't finished it yet, and it may not touch the originals... but its really is very, VERY good.
LittleBigPlanet was next. A game I was very mixed about, even considered cancelling my pre-order a few times. I wasn't dissapointed in the end. Its tremendos fun to play around in and proved now that there is a community invested in it. Its something that I'll be able to play in 2009, heck 2011 and find new stuff to do.
Finally, it was MotorStorm 2, which went heavily underrated in my opinion. It improved upon the incredible original game in every way... but managed to score lower. Its a great shame because its the best racer out there in my opinion.
So this is me then... an hour to go before the VGA pre-show, waiting for Resistance 2, and Valkyria Chronicles for Christmas. Its been a fantastic year. I've been fortunate enough to play some really great titles that few others have. The PS3 has come into its own, with trophies, in game XMB, and some incredible exclusives.
It really has been a year where I've learnt to express myself and think individually as a gamer, learn that there's more than the hyped up releases, and that those releases themselves arn't going to be everything I hope for.
I'm looking forward to going into 2009 with my head screwed on as a gamer. Looking for variety, ambition, and not in the places everyone else looks. The first 3 months? Street Fighter 4, Killzone 2, Resident Evil 5 and Resistance Retribution. I'd say I'll never need to buy another game again... but last time I said that, I ended up writing for an hour about all the games I'd got this year...
The circle continues, friends.
Christmas 2007 was a happy time. Uncharted, Guitar Hero 3, Super Mario Galaxy, Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops Plus, and Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions. I thought I'd never need to buy a video game ever again I had so much to play.
...by Febuary I'd already ordered 2 more PS3 games.
You see looking back on 2008, it is alway going to be MY year for gaming.
Let me explain, I've always been interested in video games, but as a kid, it was the usual crap. You know, the Star Wars games, Spiderman, stuff like that. I played some quality titles, Metal Gear, Crash Bandicoot, and Legend of Zelda for example, but all the way through my SNES, Gameboy, PS1, PS2, N64, and Gamecube years, I'd been a bit of a bad gamer really.
It wasn't until the end of my PS2 days, I started getting interested in real quality games. MGS3 and MGS2 were the prides of my collection, but there rest was littered with crap. The PS3 was a fresh start for me, a real chance to get into gaming.
Of course, 2007 was utter crap for the PS3. A handful of good games, sure... but I had a PAINFUL summer of nothing to play.
No no, its very fair to say that 2008, was my year. The year I truly became, a gamer, no matter how much people around me dissaproved. The PS3 really did me proud this year, and I considered myself to become something of a unique gamer, not always following with what other people got.
The first time this was proved to me was a few weeks ago actually, when Gametrailers said one sentence about a game I'd bought all the way back to the second month of the year. According to them, if you'd bought "Condemned 2: Bloodshot" then you "Really knew and understood games.". And the fact that a game like that doesn't get much of a spotlight proves what a great year its been for the industry.
While others were raving about Devil May Cry 4, (Spoilers for Condemned 2) I was cracking heads open with a toilet seat and (due to the games rather unfortunate twist towards the end), taking down a cult that secretly controlled America with metal implants in their voice with my own super powers...
Yeah... Condemned 2 didn't end on a good note, but was a great game overall and got my year off to a good start. The other game, was the sadly ill fated Unreal Tournament 3. Awesome, awesome game. If only more people had known it. I finally found something to turn me away from CoD4. It was a fast paced fury of lasers and tanks. Never a bad thing. Just a shame no one played it.
Then there was the small matter of a game called GTA4, hyped beyond belief. I myself, didn't fall into the hype... as a result I didn't find myself dissapointed or overjoyed. It was okay. Just what I was expecting. It had way too many frustrating points for it to be anywhere near the 10 so many crowned it, but refined gameplay made it actually playable. I could never get into the old GTAs either. It was a shame, but these 3 games were just time fillers, for something much, MUCH more important to me.
I remeber eaxctly where I was sitting, how I was feeling, and what I was thinking the night I completed MGS3, 2 days after release. My first thought when the credits rolled "Well, the wait beings again." And I tell you now, I had literally thought about MGS4 every single day of the 4 year waiting period. The last few days of counting down were the most painful, but my Collector's Edition arrived a merciful full day early, courtesy of Play.com.
I got home from school early, I took the next day off sick. I played the game for a straight 16 hours, and despite lack of energy come the final 30 minutes I managed to hop, skip, shout and sing as the final twist rolled onto my credits screen. It had been a 10 year wait to get here after MGS1, and I was 100% completely satisfied, something I never thought would happen ever. The game was incredible. It didn't manage to knock MGS3 off of my favorite video game of all time slot, but it sits comfertably at 2.
I could rant on about MGS4 all day, but I shan't.
To add a little variety, and actually make this a year in review rather than me retelling my experience this year, let's look at a few things besdies PS3 games.
I'm not a God of War fan. Do you know what that means? It means that I have no bought a single PSP game this year apart from 2 games from last year and Patapon for Christmas. Good god, the handheld sucked this year. Final Fantasy is the only other thing slightly appealing to me, maybe LocoRoco 2 as well. I mean sure, I'm a bit of a Sony fanboy, but UGH, could this be any worse. Lets hope the MotorStorm PSP rumors are true, or bar Resistance, the PSP is going to have another bad one next year too.
Its not all roses for the PS3 either, HOME is one big embarressment in my opinion, and some games haven't seen the sales they deserve. The Wii... don't even get me started on that. Bar Super Smash Brothers Brawl, Nintendo have made a royal joke out of themselves in the hardcore gaming community. I have 3 Wii games to get: Sam and Max: Season 1, Okami, and Zac and Wiki. Aside from that, Mad World is the only game that holds my interest on that next year, and Dragon Quest 10.
The 360 is a console that had impressed me this year though. But I find myself more jealous over the more low key exclusives. You guys keep Gears 2, I want Ninja Gaiden 2 and Fallout 3 expansions please. In fact, I spent a week with my cousin who has a 360 last Summer. I completed Gears 1 and Halo 3. Loved them both, so its nice I got to have a little taste of what's going on over the other side.
After MGS4, there was a gap in retail games for me, bar Brawl. So I got into a load of games I want to spend a paragraph or two talking about now. Original downloadable games are the business. Pixel Junk Monsters, Eden, The Last Guy, and Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty, all of these are strong reasons for a hardcore gamer to take a dip into the Playstation store. And for XBA, gthere was stuff like Braid while both places got fueled with amazing 3rd party content.
Its almost too easy to spend money on this stuff, but Pixel Junk Monsters cost me £3... and I've spent about double the amount of money on that than I ever have done with F.E.A.R., which cost me a full £40 back in the day. If the industry is headed this way, no complaints here. Quest for Booty, Siren Blood Curse and others are there to prove that retail quality games can be downloaded.
So anyway, out of the Summer drought, and on to the first game in a period of 5 weeks where I'd get a new one every 7 days, BioShock. Oh man was I looking forward to it, finally I'd get to sink my teeth into something I'd been drooling over for a year now. Presentation wise, I wasn't disapointed. The game presentended more atmopshere, and quality story than I'd seen in most. Gameplay wise... it just didn't live up to expectations for me, but still a great game all in all.
Next week? Dead Space. My second favorite game of the year. In-credible. The game shocked everyone with its quality, even those of us who were anticipating it (me for example). It was a shining example that innovations doesn't necesserily make or break a game, and that attention to detail and setteling for nothing but the best can make for a game just as good as the years most hyped.
After that, a game I'd been waiting around 10 years to play. I felt priveliged to be one of the few who played Fallout 1 and 2... so 3 was a BIG deal for me... I haven't finished it yet, and it may not touch the originals... but its really is very, VERY good.
LittleBigPlanet was next. A game I was very mixed about, even considered cancelling my pre-order a few times. I wasn't dissapointed in the end. Its tremendos fun to play around in and proved now that there is a community invested in it. Its something that I'll be able to play in 2009, heck 2011 and find new stuff to do.
Finally, it was MotorStorm 2, which went heavily underrated in my opinion. It improved upon the incredible original game in every way... but managed to score lower. Its a great shame because its the best racer out there in my opinion.
So this is me then... an hour to go before the VGA pre-show, waiting for Resistance 2, and Valkyria Chronicles for Christmas. Its been a fantastic year. I've been fortunate enough to play some really great titles that few others have. The PS3 has come into its own, with trophies, in game XMB, and some incredible exclusives.
It really has been a year where I've learnt to express myself and think individually as a gamer, learn that there's more than the hyped up releases, and that those releases themselves arn't going to be everything I hope for.
I'm looking forward to going into 2009 with my head screwed on as a gamer. Looking for variety, ambition, and not in the places everyone else looks. The first 3 months? Street Fighter 4, Killzone 2, Resident Evil 5 and Resistance Retribution. I'd say I'll never need to buy another game again... but last time I said that, I ended up writing for an hour about all the games I'd got this year...
The circle continues, friends.
