I played a lot of games this year but not nearly enough new ones. But still, I played a good number of new games and so here goes my best of list.
5. Prey (PC)
All right, I’ll admit that I didn’t play the full game but I needed something in 5th place and the demo was long enough to give enough of a feel for the game. I didn’t get it because this was right about the time I started having all my PC troubles and that is why there is no other PC game in this list. Prey is well-done as far as shooters go. Gorgeous graphics (built on the Doom 3 engine, pales in front of GoW), solid gameplay, some weapons innovation and a good soundtrack make this game a must-have for FPS fans with machines that can handle this game. Of course, you could also get it for the Xbox 360 but I haven’t tried it out on the 360 as yet.
4. Big Brain Academy (Nintendo DS)
Think you’re smart? How about you beat my brain weight of 1774g! Big Brain Academy is essentially a collection of mini-games that get your brain working fast, or so they claim. You can practice any of the mini-games or jump into a full-scale test that takes about 5 minutes to complete. You are tested on various things like your Computational skills and in the end, your score is tabulated in the form of the weight (mass!) of your brain. The average human brain weighs 1400g so anything above that number is a job well-done. A great pick-up and play game and with wireless support, you can slug it out against 1 or more opponents to see who has the biggest brain!
3. Castlevania: Portriat of Ruin (Nintendo DS)
The 20th Anniversary Castlevania game is terrific. Last year’s Dawn of Sorrow, also for the DS, set new standards for the DS is terms of gameplay and graphics and this year’s PoR applies some tweaks to shake things up a little. You can now control two characters with abilities split between the two: Jonathan is the weapons guy while Charlotte is the magic girl. Together, they can be a handful for the enemy. You need to combine their skills in order to beat the game. I’m still trying to beat it and it had so far provided over 25 hours of thoroughly engaging gameplay. The side-quests and secrets really stretch the life of this game. If you liked Dawn of Sorrow, this one’s a no-brainer. Pick it up and relive the experience again. While some might be disappointed that there haven’t been significant improvements, it’s important to realize that Dawn of Sorrow was already a brilliant game.
2. Wii Sports (Nintendo Wii)
The game that changed the way we play sports games! It’s the one game that gets people up from their couches and jumping around like idiots trying to beat the simply setup but extraordinarily addictive games. While Tennis, Baseball, and Bowling are extremely enjoyable, the Boxing and Golf are not quite up there. Still, the different gameplay modes including Fitness and Training let you have fun while working those lazy muscles. Everyone knows you don’t quite have to move the Wiimote quite as much as the real-life equipment, but it’s infinitely more fun that way!
1. Gears of War (Xbox 360)
A few posts back, I did a long story titled Finals. No, it wasn’t about my final exams except for that postscript at the end. It was about Gears of War. It is THE game to own for the Xbox 360 and you’d be silly if you haven’t already played it in spite of owning a 360. Mind-blowing graphics coupled with excellent gameplay make this game the shooter to beat in the coming months. Single-player is short on Casual difficulty but try Insane if you want to spend more time with the game. I beat it in Casual mode over 3 days of scattered gaming sessions (interspersed by restlessness and an incurable itch to get back) and managed to clear two Acts on Insane before finals took over. Of course, right now I’m back home with no 360. So beating the game in Insane will have to wait a few weeks. But beat the sucker I will. And oh yeah, multiplayer on Xbox Live is great. Make sure you have a headset so you can coordinate with teammates.
Yes, I know what some of you will say - Where’s Zelda? Sorry Nintendo fanboys, but I didn’t play the game. I watched my roommate and a friend play it and I was impressed with the gameplay. But never having owned a Nintendo console, I haven’t played any Zelda games and as such, they don’t hold much attraction for me. But, I can clearly see why so many people like the game so much. Within its genre, I don’t think many games come close.
The only game that could have also made it here was Mario Hoops 3-on-3. It was fun until you got to the harder difficulty and realized how clunky the passing system was. It was a nightmare on some stages and as a result, Mario Hoops is not on my list. Damn, I didn’t play too many PC games this year, did I? All thanks to my ever-unstable system. It seems to have stabilized now but needs more looking-into before I come to any conclusions. I did mange to get through FarCry and play a lot of FIFA 2006 and UT2004 before my PC went bonkers. I hope 2007 brings a better year for PC gaming - I still need to get through Quake 4 and The Chronicles of Riddick which are gathering dust in a drawer in my dorm room.
Movies are up next. That will be a good list to compile. The Music post now has an entry at #5.
