Tuesday 31 January 2012
Monday 30 January 2012
Personal Thought: 2 more games that deserve mention in 2011
As you've already gathered, I spent plenty of time deliberating what the best games of 2011 were. The more I thought about, the more it became apparent that there really were more than 10 huge titles available last year. This was made more apparent by my Captain Hindsight article in which I could practically forge a whole new top 10 after releasing an initial list.
I am totally ashamed that I forgot two games in particular that really deserved recognition. I still can't believe that even after revising my top 10, I just brushed them aside -- shame on you Igor, shame on you.
The two games that deserve serious praise are Rayman: Origins (multiplatform) and Infinity Blade II (iOS).
Rayman: Origins
It's always nice to see when a classic franchise makes a triumphant return into gaming. It's even more fantastic when that particular game has a long lasting impact on the gaming community. Rayman: Origins is a terrific platformer that really embodies the notion of 'artwork' as the key resource for pushing the game forward. Don't get me wrong, Rayman's controls are precise, level design is fantastic and audio is in tune, but this is game is a testament to how art design can be correctly used to create a truly magnificent game. Ubisoft had a vision and it has certainly come to life through one of the most enjoyable multiplayer games you could get your hands on last year. Infinity Blade II
Perhaps more deserving of recognition than the former, Infinity Blade II has without doubt set a precedent for handheld gaming. I didn't really buy into the whole 'mobile phones as the future of handhelds' gimmick but upon falling ill and the idea of spending a whole week in bed looming over me, I decided to purchase the game. How glad am I that I did wow! Set as an on-rails RPG, Infinity Blade II is visually stunning, technically efficient (considering it's always hard to make any form of coherent control system on a touch screen) and plenty of fun. Infinity Blade II really showed me what hand-held gaming could do on a mobile platform and if this is one of the first steps, then I can't wait to see what the future holds for both iOS and Android markets.So yeah, just a quick thought more than anything. Two more games you need to try if you happened to miss them last year -- trust me, you won't be disappointed!
As always, check me out on Twitter @ss4Igor
Monday 23 January 2012
Saturday 7 January 2012
Elite Gamer - Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 on PS Vita
My friends and I put together some amateur footage looking at the PS Vita version of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
Elite Gamer - Uncharted: Golden Abyss first impressions
My friends and I put together some amateur footage looking at the prologue level for the PS Vita launch title Uncharted: Golden Abyss.
Elite Gamer - PS Vita first impressions
Sunday 1 January 2012
Captain Hindsight's view on 2011's Game of the Year list
Welcome to my first blog post of 2012, how exciting! So those of you who have been following Let’s Enjoy Gaming will of course know that I just finished my list for 2011’s best game. Whether you agreed with me or not, I do hope you all take the time to try all the games I mentioned because above all else, I had a freaking blast playing all of them. But I’m staring at my list now and just wondering whether I’d change anything (the power of hindsight eh?) – the simple answer is yes I think I would so this is really a recap / revision of my list.
So here’s the original top 10:
10] FIFA 1209] Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3
08] Dark Souls
07] The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
06] L.A. Noire
05] Dead Space 2
04] Portal 2
03] The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
02] Batman: Arkham City
01] Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Looking at that, I am pretty happy with what I put down and the order itself as well. I’d like to maybe switch 8 – 5 so order that section like this:
08] L.A. Noire
07] Dead Space 2
06] The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
05] Dark Souls
The reason being is Dark Souls really is one of the best RPG’s available in this modern era of gaming. Both Dark Souls and its predecessor Demon’s Souls are technically special games because the mechanics are pretty much flawless. Comparing these mechanics to the buggy problems Skyrim has had and in my eyes, there’s literally no comparison. I underrated Dark Souls and Skyward Sword while overrated L.A. Noire and Dead Space 2, so I think I’ve decided to stick with that revision.
So now the new list stands like this:
10] FIFA 1209] Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3
08] L.A. Noire
07] Dead Space 2
06] The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
05] Dark Souls
04] Portal 2
03] The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
02] Batman: Arkham City
01] Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Now let’s have a chat about some of the games I’ve omitted entirely. Here’s some other top titles that came out in 2011 in chronological order starting from January; LittleBigPlanet 2, Killzone 3, Mortal Kombat 9, inFAMOUS 2, Bastion, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Gears of War 3, Rage, Forza Motorsport 4, Battlefield 3, Super Mario 3D Land, Saints Row: The Third and Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Looking at the quality of that list you could pretty much make a whole new top 10, which is a testament to how good 2011 really was for video gaming. The 3 games I would of course be inclined to take out of my list are FIFA12, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. If I were to take those games out it would free up 3 slots – but which games would get to jump on board? For myself personally I’d take Mortal Kombat 9, Bastion and Battlefield 3 as they impressed me more than the other titles I’ve listed.Mortal Kombat 9 was just a master class in how to reboot a series properly. Mortal Kombat has suffered ever since the classical era but when this installment came about many gamers were blown away at just how good MK9 really was. A terrific story-lead campaign mode (which is a rarity in itself for a fighting game) coupled with a huge challenge tower made MK9 a whole load of fun. Although not as technically proficient as the Street Fighter series, MK9 was a breath of fresh air away from your conventional fighting game and a result, deserves recognition.
Bastion is more of a fan choice because I actually didn’t play it! In fact, I’m downloading it now but with the amount of applause this game received I wouldn’t be surprised if it did make it onto my top 10 list. So this one is me putting my faith in the community – don’t let me down guys!
Battlefield 3 was epic – that is definitely the best word you can use to describe this particular FPS. The campaign was incredible and although I stuck completely to Modern Warfare 3’s multiplayer, the single player is just not in the same league as Battlefield’s.
Why not choose the other games I hear you ask? Well I spent time with all the other games on the above list bar Star Wars: The Old Republic and although all of them were good in their own individual way (in particular Super Mario 3D Land, which was brilliant), they didn’t grip me or provide me with any change to emotionally invest myself. Deus Ex: Human Revolution in particular was my biggest let down of 2011 because I am such a huge Deus Ex fan but simply couldn’t get into the new one – the vibe and main character just weren’t for me.
So there you have it, a nice little look back using the power of hindsight! I’ll finish off by saying Skyrim does deserve it’s place on that list and I won’t be chucking it off, but those minor changes between 8 – 5 are gonna stay, so here is the final revised list:
10] FIFA 12
09] Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3
08] L.A. Noire
07] Dead Space 2
06] The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
05] Dark Souls
04] Portal 2
03] The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
02] Batman: Arkham City
01] Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Thanks again for reading and as always I’m tweeting @ss4Igor so check me out.
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