A Gaming Diary
PC
Best Games Ever
Jan 6th
Okay, so I suppose it’s the right time to do this. Some surprising omissions, which show how my gaming tastes seem to be changing. Mostly gone are the games that are wonderful but which I only played once. Portal, last year’s number ten, was the hardest to cut. Super Mario Galaxy I played for a while, loved, but then never went to back to, so that was a hard cut, but one that I didn’t have to agonise over. Oblivion is a victim of Fallout 3. Fallout’s clearly the better game, but I’ve not played it nearly enough to put in the top ten. Halo 3 I forgot about until writing this paragraph. What’s left are, with a couple of exceptions, games that have kept on giving over a number of years and fewer of the brilliant, short-lived explosions of gaming.
(I’ve also resisted the temptation to add Little Big Planet, but I wouldn’t be too surprised to see it in here next year.)
10. (NE) Peggle (PC/iPod) – If you added up all the hours I’ve spent on games over the last couple of years, I think Peggle would probably come out on top. You might think it’s completely random, but the fact is that you can get better at it over time. Impossible challenges become possible not simply through luck, but also through your increased knowledge and skills. Which is to say, it’s a game. A real, proper game. Fearfully addictive, impeccably designed, incredibly polished. It is, I think, pretty much perfect. And I love it. The iPod version isn’t quite as good – there’s the odd bit of weirdness with ball movement and the lack of a “speed up” button hurts it – but it’s still Peggle.
9. (NE) Animal Crossing: Let’s Go To The City (Wii) – My heart will probably always belong to the DS version, because that helped me through the long distance stage of my relationship with my now-wife. However, the Wii version is just better. It’s the same, but more so, with more items, characters, dialogue, activities, etc. There’s just something wonderfully relaxing about having a Crossing town to pop into after a hard day and I hope the series keeps on being updated and I hope it never changes too much.
8. (NE) GTA IV (360) – The best GTA game – though Saints Row 2 gives it a run for its money – with the best characters in any game, ever. Sure, I’m so pathetic that Suikoden 2 made me cry back in the day, but never have I cared for characters as much as I cared for Niko Bellic and chums. But the game was also incredibly good. The cover system made shooting people a joy, the car handling was new, different and fun and Liberty City was am amazing place to have adventures. Still, if it wasn’t for Niko, this wouldn’t have quite made the top ten.
7. (8) Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness (PSP) – I don’t play it as much as I think I should, but that doesn’t stop it being one of the best games ever made. It’s an SRPG sandbox, with depths I’ve never reached. In all the years I’ve played, I’ve still only skated on the surface. The PS2 and DS versions are excellent, excellent games, but the PSP version gets my vote. I miss the DS version’s map, but it’s a lot smoother. It shouldn’t matter in a turn-based game, but I find the technical issues in the DS version very distracting. I’m just shallow like that sometimes.
6. (4) Mr Driller: Drill Spirits (DS) – I still play this fairly often, years after I first played it. I would really, really like a sequel please, Namco. But I don’t really need one, as there are still several stages in the main game that I’ve yet to clear. The 1500m stage has kept me going for a couple of years so far.
5. (5) Crackdown (360) – Same place as last year, despite the fact that I’ve not played it. I always think about it, though, and it’s never getting traded or sold. I will go back one day. I keep nearly playing it, but instead play newer games. I think I need to set a day aside soon, reset the city and go for it. I’ll jump around, shoot lots of bad guys and maybe even drive a car or two. The layout of the city is imprinted into my brain. I can run round it in my head even now. The best superhero game ever made.
4. (NE) Hitman: Blood Money (360) – I can’t quite believe this has never made my top ten before. Maybe it’s only in the last year that I’ve come to fully appreciate it. Each level is a puzzle with multiple solutions. Even if you’re going for a Silent Assassin rating there are different ways to approach levels. It’s an amazing balancing act, to give you so many ways to do things without making the game too easy. Also, very importantly, the game’s great fun when things go wrong, as well as when they’re going right. When your disguises work, when you stroll through levels unnoticed and untouched, you feel amazing. When you’re caught and the guns come out and you have to salvage something from the situation, the panic rises, the rag-dolls fly and, well, normally you die. But sometimes you don’t. It’s such a shame that the demo was just the tutorial level, as showing people the controls and rules of the game doesn’t show them the game itself. It doesn’t help, either, that the fist real level is easily the weakest of the bunch. I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it – this is the fourth best game ever made.
3. (RE) OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast (Xbox/PSP) – Dropped out of my top ten last year, because I’m an idiot. A game I’m still playing after it’s been out for years. A small selection of short stages. A small selection of cars, many of which feel very similar indeed. And the PSP’s analogue nub to contend with. Yet it’s still absolutely brilliant to play and feels fresh and exciting every time you start it up. How good must the two first levels be, to still be fun after all this time? Third-best-game-of-all-time good, that’s how good. There’s a version coming to Live Arcade and the Playstation Network any time now. I can’t wait.
2. (3) ICO (PS2) – Every year this seems to climb the top ten, despite me not having played the game. I should play it through again sometime, to make sure it’s worthy of this high praise. I know I’ll get annoyed by the combat. I know I’ll get stuck on some puzzles I should remember how to complete. I know I’ll get incredibly frustrated… but I’ll be back with Yorda in that lonely castle. I’ll see the sun again, the trees, the windmill, the great crumbling towers and bridges, the halls, the caverns… the beach. Yes, yes. I need to play this again.
1. (1) Doom (PC/360) – No surprise to see this year, what with it being the best game ever and all. It’s never been bettered. It’s looking likely that it never will be. The perfect combination of controls, weapons, enemies and level design. But can we have Doom II on Live Arcade please?
Defcon (PC/Mac)
Sep 30th
Some chaps over on BETEO have been playing this so I dug old my registration code and joined them for a game last night.
I was the USA and allied with South Asia. This alliance lasted the whole game, more due to having more important targets than any real sense of loyalty, I think. I started the game and failed to notice that South America was actually in the game, so had a bit of a surprise when I was attacked from that direction – having already lost most of my navy to the Russians.
The guy playing the Russians then dropped out due to a bad connection and a CPU player took over. Which was a bit annoying, as the CPU then went on to win handily against the four remaining human players. Only South America put up a proper fight.
I ended up coming third – a huge strike against Russia from my fleet of subs in the North Sea saw to that – but that third was a long, long way behind the top two players.
Denver and Memphis were the only two American cities not to be hit with nukes. I think I ended up losing eighty percent of my population, but at least I did some damage.
Excellent fun and I hope to play again as soon as possible.
Spore (PC)
Sep 7th
Well, I got through the Creature stage without looking up and down. Made a few friends, but I mainly just ate everyone.
Then did the Tribal stage, which involved me killing and eating most species, but just killing the sentient ones. I’d have eaten them happily if the game had let me.
I am not a very nice species.
I’ve just got to the Civilization stage. The game wouldn’t let me save my City Hall until I just stacked three simple blocks on top of each other. Any doors, windows or extra stuff and it gave an error message. Nothing useful, just an unhelpful one saying the building couldn’t be saved. It did let me make an excellent car after that, though.
And then I had to stop playing.
If anyone wants to see my stuff, add “therev” to your buddy list.
Spore (PC)
Sep 6th
Please tell me there’s a way to invert the y-axis in the Creature stage! Please!
(Apart from that, I’m enjoying it.)
World of Warcraft (PC/Mac)
Jul 25th
Played this for the first time in ages at lunchtime. Didn’t do much, really. Had a quest to slaughter some peasants, so went off and duly killed them. Died twice, once because I got surrounded, once because I haven’t played for so long I’d forgotten where I put “Sprint”. No real problems, though. Didn’t find any good loot, didn’t do anything very interesting, but I had fun.
World of Warcraft (PC/Mac)
Jul 7th
Today I killed some farmers and got a few measly silver coins for my troubles.
I need new daggers. I’ve had my current ones for many levels now and I’m sure I should be doing more damage.
World of Warcraft (PC/Mac)
Jul 1st
You know you’ve set a buyout price too low for your auction when someone grabs it before your six feet away from the auction house. Bother. I guess that staff I just sold for eighteen gold could have gone for a lot more if I’d priced it correctly. It’s all guesswork, though.
Anyway, I’m happy, because after two days of looking for Jailer Eston I finally found and killed him. Hoorah.
World of Warcraft (PC/Mac)
Jun 27th
Rogue poisons quest – finished! Hooray!
Also, I desecrated another bonfire.
World of Warcraft (PC/Mac)
Jun 26th
Oh for pity’s sake!
I tried my rogue poisons mission and this time I managed to get all the way to the top of the tower and by some sort of fluke I managed to kill the boss. I had no visible health left when he was died, it was that close.
So all that was left was to open the chest and remove the MacGuffin inside. Except – gnnnnnng – apparently my lock-picking skills are too low to even let me attempt to open the chest. Nothing I could do. I had to leave. So near, yet so far.
Sometimes I really, really hate this game. Now I have to remember where I found some locked chests so I can grind my lock-picking skills. Sounds like fun, eh?
And will I ever manage to beat that boss again? Doesn’t seem likely, at least not for a while.
World of Warcraft (PC/Mac)
Jun 25th
I did quite a lot today, but my abiding memories will be of desecrating an Alliance bonfire and catching torches.
Happy Midsummer Fire Festival everyone!