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Shauna
11-29-2013, 04:20 PM
Eyes on Final Fantasy’s
Top Games of Generation Seven

http://i.imgur.com/y3RAmmK.jpg

209 Unique Titles Nominated

420 Nominations from 48 Members

Hello and welcome to the reveal of the games that, you, the Eyes on Final Fantasy community have chosen to be the best of the best across the past generation of games! Which game will claw its way to the top? Guess you will just have to wait and see.

I will be revealing the Top 20 games that you all chose. I would do more, but I don’t really have the time to reveal over 200 games. I’ll be announcing them one or two a day, so to not overwhelm you with the greatness. That and to give you a chance to mull over and complain about any games that have had that many nominations. Because that other game was so much better.

Don’t worry though, if your chosen games don’t make it to the top, you will still get to see how many other people loved it as much as you did. I’ll be announcing those that didn’t make into the Top 20 along with every entry.

I will take this moment to thank all those who helped out in writing the little descriptors for a few of the games! A big thank you goes out to Aulayna, Bolivar, edczxcvbnm, Mirage, Mr. Shauna, Mister Adequate, Psychotic, SirPrizes and Vivi22. I may have chopped and changed a few bits and pieces of what you’ve sent me, but that was to include some of the commentary from our members in their nominations.

So without further ado, I present the Top Games of Generation Seven!





Titles Revealed so far:
Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core - 5 Nominations (http://home.eyesonff.com/general-gaming-discussion/152951-eyes-final-fantasys-top-games-generation-revelations.html#post3334087)
Journey - 5 Nominations (http://home.eyesonff.com/general-gaming-discussion/152951-eyes-final-fantasys-top-games-generation-revelations.html#post3334254)
X-Com: Enemy Unknown - 5 Nominations (http://home.eyesonff.com/general-gaming-discussion/152951-eyes-final-fantasys-top-games-generation-revelations.html#post3334348)
Xenoblade Chronicles - 5 Nominations (http://home.eyesonff.com/general-gaming-discussion/152951-eyes-final-fantasys-top-games-generation-revelations-2.html#post3334456)
Fallout: New Vegas - 5 Nominations (http://home.eyesonff.com/general-gaming-discussion/152951-eyes-final-fantasys-top-games-generation-revelations-2.html#post3334585)
The Walking Dead - 5 Nominations (http://home.eyesonff.com/general-gaming-discussion/152951-eyes-final-fantasys-top-games-generation-revelations-2.html#post3334631)
Red Dead Redemption - 6 Nominations (http://home.eyesonff.com/general-gaming-discussion/152951-eyes-final-fantasys-top-games-generation-revelations-3.html#post3334712)
Final Fantasy XIII - 6 Nominations (http://home.eyesonff.com/general-gaming-discussion/152951-eyes-final-fantasys-top-games-generation-revelations-3.html#post3334953)
Mass Effect 2 - 6 Nominations (http://home.eyesonff.com/general-gaming-discussion/152951-eyes-final-fantasys-top-games-generation-revelations-4.html#post3335121)
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep - 6 Nominations (http://home.eyesonff.com/general-gaming-discussion/152951-eyes-final-fantasys-top-games-generation-revelations-4.html#post3335309)
Grand Theft Auto V - 6 Nominations (http://home.eyesonff.com/general-gaming-discussion/152951-eyes-final-fantasys-top-games-generation-revelations-5.html#post3335427)
Portal - 7 Nominations (http://home.eyesonff.com/general-gaming-discussion/152951-eyes-final-fantasys-top-games-generation-revelations-5.html#post3335624)
Assassin's Creed 2 - 7 Nominations (http://home.eyesonff.com/general-gaming-discussion/152951-eyes-final-fantasys-top-games-generation-revelations-6.html#post3335862)
Demon's Souls - 7 Nominations (http://home.eyesonff.com/general-gaming-discussion/152951-eyes-final-fantasys-top-games-generation-revelations-6.html#post3335958)
Mass Effect - 7 Nominations (http://home.eyesonff.com/general-gaming-discussion/152951-eyes-final-fantasys-top-games-generation-revelations-7.html#post3336147)
Dark Souls - 7 Nominations (http://home.eyesonff.com/general-gaming-discussion/152951-eyes-final-fantasys-top-games-generation-revelations-7.html#post3336392)
The Last Of Us - 8 Nominations (http://home.eyesonff.com/general-gaming-discussion/152951-eyes-final-fantasys-top-games-generation-revelations-7.html#post3336483)
Valkyria Chronicles - 9 Nominations (http://home.eyesonff.com/general-gaming-discussion/152951-eyes-final-fantasys-top-games-generation-revelations-8.html#post3336730)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - 9 Nominations (http://home.eyesonff.com/general-gaming-discussion/152951-eyes-final-fantasys-top-games-generation-revelations-9.html#post3337070)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - 10 Nominations (http://home.eyesonff.com/general-gaming-discussion/152951-eyes-final-fantasys-top-games-generation-revelations-9.html#post3337283)

Jiro
11-29-2013, 04:39 PM
Here comes the hype train. Choo choo, motherfuckers. :jiro:

Denmark
11-29-2013, 05:05 PM
heh 420 nominations

SirPrizes
11-29-2013, 05:48 PM
Can't wait to see where my favorite games ranked, and maybe discover some new titles I haven't played! :)

Pike
11-29-2013, 05:52 PM
:party: I'm stoked.

...and I just realized I forgot to nominate Awesomenauts http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a109/Pikestaff/smiley/negativeman-55f_zps12bc1597.png

Madame Adequate
11-29-2013, 05:58 PM
PRETENTIOUS HIPSTER BULLTROUT

Shauna
11-29-2013, 06:01 PM
Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core
2007 - PSP
5 Nominations
http://i.imgur.com/aOsUqET.jpg



Even if the morrow is barren of promises. Nothing shall forestall my return.

Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core is the prequel to Final Fantasy 7 and sheds some light onto the series backstory, and the mysterious character Zack. Crisis core takes place in several recognizable areas, such as Midgar and Junon and features familiar characters such as Sephiroth, Aerith and Tifa. The story of Crisis Core revolves around the advancement through the solider ranks by Zack Fair. His Goal is to follow his dreams, which is to be a 1st Class Soldier. To do so, you advance through the game following set missions set by Shinra. Following through these missions progresses the story and leads you through one of the more depressing stories in the Final Fantasy Franchise.

Spoilers - Final Fantasy Crisis Core is depressing. Being ordered to kill Genesis when he is fighting against his own mortality, killing your mentor Angeal, the desperate struggle against Horde of Shinra soldiers, and the 88 unopened letters from Aerith are all pretty heart wrenching stuff. It is all made worse when you have the prior knowledge of Zack from FF7, knowing the whole game that he is destined to die. Zack is far livelier protagonist than cloud, which is why it leaves a deeper wound following the final showdown with Shinra.

What makes Final Fantasy Crisis Core so memorable is a combination of three elements: Story, characters and soundtrack. The Story of crisis core is fantastic. As detailed above, it is super depressing. This is made even better by a very relatable cast. This adds to the disparity of Zack’s story.

The soundtrack for crisis core is superb. Remixes of old FF7 Songs such as "One Winged Angel" and "Those who Fight Further" adds that feel of familiarity to help link the two games together, all while adding an amazing metal feel to the battles.

All in all Final Fantasy Crisis Core is a superb addition to the Final Fantasy franchise. With great visuals, characters, story and music, it is the reason that I personally bought a PSP. And I am glad I did.

Hollycat
11-29-2013, 06:16 PM
Love Crisis Core. Definitely deserves noms.

Madame Adequate
11-29-2013, 06:22 PM
PRETENTIOUS HIPSTER BULLTROUT

Pike
11-29-2013, 06:25 PM
I really wanted to write some game blurbs. Quick, send me some runners-up and I'll write blurbs for those!

Shauna
11-29-2013, 06:31 PM
Whoops forgot some runner ups for this one! Here are a few games that didn't make it! The number in the brackets is the number of nominations.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (4)
Tales of Xillia (3)
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (2)
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (2)
House of the Dead: Overkill (1)
Pokemon Heart Gold (1)
Luminous Arc 2 (1)
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor (1)
New Super Mario Bros Wii (1)
Batman: Arkham City (1)

Spuuky
11-29-2013, 06:33 PM
Guess I shouldn't be surprised about this one, given the forum that it is doing the nominating.

Shauna
11-29-2013, 06:36 PM
S'why I got this one out of the way first. ;)

Loony BoB
11-29-2013, 06:43 PM
Yep! And Shauna is doing this from #1 through to #20, folks. ;) But seriously, I was surprised to see this on the top 20, given that it's this forum which is doing the nominating. I'm considered one of the bigger FF fanboys out there, but I can still name a fair amount of games that I would put into a top 20 list than this.

Gutted Drake's Fortune didn't make it through.

Dat Matt
11-29-2013, 06:44 PM
Crisis core was pretty great. If not for the fact that Zack Stopped every 2 seconds to do squats, there was even a minigame about squats. Soundtrack is sweeet

eb6MF0IfsvQ

Madonna
11-29-2013, 07:02 PM
Final Fantasy on a Final Fantasy fan forum?! How can this be!?

Having taken the high road to snootily look down on the expansions of VII's universe, I confess to never playing Crisis Core. Too many angsty pretty men for my tastes!

Edit: The previous thread should have been EoFF's Top Games of the Generation: Brotherhood, in hindsight.

Elskidor
11-29-2013, 07:05 PM
I liked VII: Crisis Core, and thought it was one of the best spin-offs of the series. I really did not play many games this generation to compare it to though. Now that the prices have dropped I'm just getting around to playing this generation, and retrying some games I was more negative about at release. I'm going to use the outcome of this list as a starting point of games to try, lol.


I know..shocker. I love how on my Tolkien message board there are death match up fights and if you vote for anyone other than a Tolkien character it's blasphemy, even if they would totally die a thousand deaths. The power of fans can make anything better than it really is.


Final Fantasy on a Final Fantasy fan forum?! How can this be!?

Having taken the high road to snootily look down on the expansions of VII's universe, I confess to never playing Crisis Core. Too many angsty pretty men for my tastes!

Hollycat
11-29-2013, 07:10 PM
Final Fantasy on a Final Fantasy fan forum?! How can this be!?

Having taken the high road to snootily look down on the expansions of VII's universe, I confess to never playing Crisis Core. Too many angsty pretty men for my tastes!
Crisis core doesn't subscribe to that part of FF, Crisis Core would rather go play some baseball or do some squats than talk to the emo kids. Despite being very depressing, it is also one of the most upbeat ff games at the same time.

Edit: As Mr. Shauna (semantics) put below, Zack is simply the most optomistic and energetic character in the history of FF. He is also a badass, but unintentionally, he's just really powerful.
Even when he has been betrayed repeatedly, stabbed, and shot repeatedly, he remains cheerful, ever looking to the sky.

Dat Matt
11-29-2013, 07:21 PM
It is super depressing for plot sake, but Zack is such an energetic character it balances it out. Esepecially with characters like Arieth

Bipf-BSJA-s

Edit:


Edit: As Shauna put below.

It's taken 7 months, but it's finally happened. I have been mistaken for shauna [lol]

Freya
11-29-2013, 08:09 PM
I've never played it so I that wasn't a vote from me!

Hollycat
11-29-2013, 08:48 PM
It is super depressing for plot sake, but Zack is such an energetic character it balances it out. Esepecially with characters like Arieth

Bipf-BSJA-s

Edit:


Edit: As Shauna put below.

It's taken 7 months, but it's finally happened. I have been mistaken for shauna [lol]
What's my prize?

Shauna
11-29-2013, 09:46 PM
Nah, I'm going purely by the number of nominations a game received. The system doesn't come into play - there may be no games on this list for the Wii, for example, if they didn't receive enough nominations. I was just throwing that information up as well, because why not. :}

Calliope
11-29-2013, 09:49 PM
Bah, you tease. I thought I was going to get the whole list, not one game at a time! I didn't send you my nominations very slowly, drawing out the "reveal" over several days of nominating :stare:

Ayen
11-29-2013, 09:51 PM
Wait, is Crisis Core #1 or #20, I'm confused.

Never played the game and forgot all about it until recently, but I watched all the cutscenes on YouTube. The story was pretty good, until they added Genesis in the reactor scene where Sephiroth goes nuts.

Edit: just saw Jinx's post.

Shauna
11-29-2013, 09:54 PM
Bah, you tease. I thought I was going to get the whole list, not one game at a time! I didn't send you my nominations very slowly, drawing out the "reveal" over several days of nominating :stare:

You could have done so if you wanted! ;) But yes, just a few days. Makes things more interesting this way. BoB never got to me, I was always planning on something like this.

And this is bottom of the list - we will be working our way to #1!

Ayen
11-29-2013, 09:55 PM
He's trying to be like George R. R. Martin. I expect #19 to be revealed in the next six to eight weeks after 25 favorite video game characters are killed in horrible ways and we get some guy on guy and incest in-between reveals.

Shauna
11-29-2013, 10:00 PM
Journey
2012 – PS3
5 Nominations
http://i.imgur.com/EJtUtDW.jpg


Journey is significant for many reasons. Its seamless and anonymous multiplayer breaks down barriers of communication, rather than putting up more as one would expect. When players are no longer able to chat with each other through headsets or communicate in a traditional manner, they begin to improvise, and that's where much of the brilliance of Journey shines. Because players are united under one common goal, which is simply to move forward, most find themselves cooperating and helping each other almost instinctively. When you first come across another player in the game's empty, barren world, a reaction triggers that is almost instinctual. This figure, the only other thing which looks like you on the landscape, piques your curiosity, and you end up banding together to reach your journey's end.

Comrades can die along the way, or you can become separated in some of the game's later levels, and the sense of loss is surprising for a game with no spoken dialogue or character development to speak of. It's human interaction, companionship, and interaction distilled to its purest and simplest level, and for that reason Journey brings something to the table that can touch many people.

The art design and music are fantastic as well, with its soundtrack actually winning a Grammy award (the first video game soundtrack to do so). And though it is very pretty to look at and hear, the gameplay itself is no slouch either. While it is quite easy and it is impossible to truly die in the game, it is the positive reinforcement and encouragement of cooperation that makes the game engaging. By working together, players can help to show each other the way to an out-of-reach object, and collecting these objects becomes yet another shared goal that brings players together. Flying is a delight in the game's world, and a later segment in which you are flying over mountains is one of the most gorgeous seen in a game this generation. The game provides a focus on platforming, with minor stealth and puzzle-solving elements strewn throughout, in a way that feels focused and deliberate.

The game's length is another point where Journey innovates, clocking in at only around 2 hours. However, the game is meant to be played in a single sitting, and because you never know who you will be paired with during your adventure, the experience is different each time, making the game highly replayable.

Overall, Journey is perhaps the peak of indie game design on consoles this generation. Its beautiful visuals and music coupled with its innovative online component and focused design make it one of the most compelling experiences this generation has had to offer, and has brought video games one step closer to being accepted in the mainstream as art.




Some more games that didn't quite reach the threshold:

Tomb Raider (4)
Portal 2 (3)
Guild Wars 2 (2)
Professor Layton and the Curious Village (2)
Football Manager 2012 (1)
Bioshock 2 (1)
Batman Arkham City (1)
Borderlands (1)
The Last Story (1)
Protect Me Knight (1)

Ayen
11-29-2013, 10:02 PM
Never heard of it, but I'm sure the journey getting here, was well worth it.

Gotta love games that offer themselves to puns.

Shauna
11-29-2013, 10:03 PM
I have issues with numbering them, as there are multiple games that share the same number of nominations. So between #19 and #20 it just comes down to whatever one I feel like posting first. To get around this, I decided just to forget about it and ascend through the nominations!

Spuuky
11-29-2013, 10:04 PM
Football Manager 2012, can't even imagine who might have voted for that one.

Freya
11-29-2013, 10:21 PM
I want to play journey but Yeah no ps3 :/

Pete for President
11-29-2013, 11:29 PM
I'm surprised it didn't get more votes, but glad Journey made the top 20!

Shauna
11-30-2013, 12:52 AM
Not too much love for Journey, eh? I have never played it, but it is sitting on my shelf waiting to be popped into the system - it was a special edition that was packed with Flower and Flow.

Del Murder
11-30-2013, 01:05 AM
Journey was fun and certainly unique. I liked it, but I didn't 'Top 20' like it. I played it once and thought 'well that was a cool little game' and had no desire to play it again.

Crisis Core was a fun game and Zack was a great character. The story was just ok and the gameplay got very repetitive, but I loved Zack. And those final scenes were pretty powerful.

So far a PSP exclusive and PS3 exclusive. SUCK IT XBOX AND PC LOVERS

Madame Adequate
11-30-2013, 01:06 AM
PRETENTIOUS HIPSTER BULLTROUT

Hollycat
11-30-2013, 01:10 AM
Journey was certainly a neat experience, but as far as being equal to CC? Not a chance. Crisis core was not only emotionally touching, but also had great replay value and A+ gameplay.

Shauna
11-30-2013, 01:13 AM
It begins.

Slothy
11-30-2013, 01:14 AM
Journey was more emotionally touching that CC. There, I said it.

Bolivar
11-30-2013, 01:15 AM
Still haven't played Journey but expect I will soon now that I'm on PS+. All I know is it won a ton of GOTY so I figured if would be up here somewhere.

Glad to see this start off with a surprise in FFVII:CC, outside of BoB's list I hardly remembered the game existed!

Ayen
11-30-2013, 01:23 AM
It begins.

All right, gamers, I want a nice clean fight. No walkthroughs, no hints, no gameshark, no code breakers, no hacking, no mods. Winners get a lifetime supply of cheese crackers and the losers gets made fun of on South Park.

Scotty_ffgamer
11-30-2013, 01:57 AM
Journey is such a good game. I've played through it quite a few times, including getting all of the little white orb things and getting the white cloak thing for my character. I can definitely see why people wouldn't place it in the top 20, but I found it to be a pretty moving, inspirational game.

Shauna
11-30-2013, 02:06 AM
X-Com: Enemy Unknown
2012 – PC, PS3, Xbox 360
5 Nominations
http://i.imgur.com/WdzTdHD.jpg


If you spend much time online you've probably heard of the original X-Com. You've probably heard about it at great length, whether you wanted to or not. Those of us who played it back in the early 90s remember a game of near-perfect. It's long been lauded as one of the best, if not the best, videogame ever made, and this is not a title that it has no claim to. So, when a remake was announced you could hear the despairing cry of the hardcore grognards all around the world - surely this would be a casual remake, a butchering of a beloved name, a horrible cash-in?

Well, turns out that wasn't the case. Actually it turned out that the new XCOM was a supremely accomplished game and even if it doesn't quite match up to the original, it comes a hell of a lot closer than anyone was expecting. XCOM realized what was most important about the series is, above all else, the atmosphere of tension and paranoia that pervades everything. A mission can go south in an instant, you can lose your best veteran with dozens of xenos killed, because you did something dumb. Heck sometimes you do everything right and still lose, and you just have to roll with it. And you're fighting a battle of attrition you can't win, so you're racing to figure out countermeasures to aliens and their skills, to understand their purpose and motives, and to take the fight to them. This tension is what XCOM aimed to reproduce and it did a truly admirable job of it.

From the base view, you can expand and enhance your headquarters in order to provide more advantages, from better satellite coverage of the Earth to more skills for your soldiers, and you make strategic decisions about which missions to undertake and which must be ignored. Once this decision is made your squad, ranging from four to six people, is deployed into a tactical, turn-based battle scene. Forests, farms, construction sites, highways, diners, gas stations - all kinds of locations are represented, and although it lacks the originals randomly generated maps these ones are crafted well enough, and exist in sufficient number, that this is only a small mark against the remake. As you win you'll upgrade your soldiers with new talents and skills, new armour, and new weapons, all of which will soon be put to the test as the aliens deploy ever-more-dangerous foes.

Very few games understand the importance of atmosphere and the creation of tension and paranoia. The original X-Com did, and that's why twenty years later it's still regarded as a timeless classic. The remake understands this as well, and though it's not quite up to those giddy heights of the Gollop Brothers' original, it comes wonderfully close. There's an expansion out a few days ago as well, adding more of everything, so you may want to check that out as well if a brilliant tactical game sounds like your thing!


There appear to be more games under this space dust:

Super Mario Galaxy (4)
Metal Gear Solid 4 (3)
Europa Universalis IV (2)
Halo 3 (2)
Infamous (1)
Rock Band (1)
Mafia II (1)
Soul Calibur 4 (1)
Eternal Sonata (1)
The Last Remnant (1)

Last one for the evening folks!

Ayen
11-30-2013, 02:12 AM
And another game I never heard of.

I'm starting to sense a pattern...

Mahad
11-30-2013, 02:27 AM
Can't wait to see what the top 5 spots are; probably next month.

Hollycat
11-30-2013, 02:30 AM
And another game I never heard of.

I'm starting to sense a pattern...
You didn't miss much with this one.

Madame Adequate
11-30-2013, 02:37 AM
PRETENTIOUS HIPSTER B... wait actually this game's pretty great :shobon:

Also I see that Pike and I had our votes for EU4 counted! Hurrah!


Those of us who played it back in the early 90s remember a game of near-perfect.

Near-perfect what? :nonono: Whoever wrote this thing is a preliterate savage! Shauna, don't ask halfwits in future!

e; Haha Chie please leave, XCOM is amazing and has been universally lauded.

Hollycat
11-30-2013, 02:43 AM
PRETENTIOUS HIPSTER B... wait actually this game's pretty great :shobon:

Also I see that Pike and I had our votes for EU4 counted! Hurrah!


Those of us who played it back in the early 90s remember a game of near-perfect.

Near-perfect what? :nonono: Whoever wrote this thing is a preliterate savage! Shauna, don't ask halfwits in future!

e; Haha Chie please leave, XCOM is amazing and has been universally lauded.
As a good game, not a terrific game, and certainly not as game of the generation.

Slothy
11-30-2013, 02:48 AM
And another game I never heard of.

I'm starting to sense a pattern...
You didn't miss much with this one.

Don't you make me go medieval on you boy.

Shauna
11-30-2013, 03:01 AM
Those of us who played it back in the early 90s remember a game of near-perfect.

Near-perfect what? :nonono: Whoever wrote this thing is a preliterate savage! Shauna, don't ask halfwits in future!

Don't you worry, I'll not be asking this joker to write anything for me again.

Out of curiosity though, how would you end that sentence? ;P

Hollycat
11-30-2013, 03:02 AM
And another game I never heard of.

I'm starting to sense a pattern...
You didn't miss much with this one.

Don't you make me go medieval on you boy.
Don't make me take you out to dinner.
Wat?
I was just kidding.
Unless you want to do that?

Scotty_ffgamer
11-30-2013, 03:20 AM
I need to get around to playing this one eventually since I actually own it. As a side note, I'm shocked The Last Remnant got any votes. That's another one I own that I need to play eventually, but I don't know that I've heard of anyone that actually thought that game was good.

Del Murder
11-30-2013, 03:22 AM
First game on the list I haven't played, though I have heard of it. I might play it someday. Looks cool.

Hollycat
11-30-2013, 03:25 AM
First game on the list I haven't played, though I have heard of it. I might play it someday. Looks cool.
It was free on PS+ a while back, it's a good game, I'd say if you finish your backlog and find it for $15 or so, you should pick it up.

Pike
11-30-2013, 03:27 AM
Europa Universalis IV (2)


This was 2013 Game of the Year right here.



X-Com: Enemy Unknown
2012 – PC, PS3, Xbox 360
5 Nominations
http://i.imgur.com/WdzTdHD.jpg

Tied with Crusader Kings 2 for last year's GOTY.


As a good game, not a terrific game, and certainly not as game of the generation.

http://i.imgur.com/dnTjV.gif

Madame Adequate
11-30-2013, 03:27 AM
Those of us who played it back in the early 90s remember a game of near-perfect.

Near-perfect what? :nonono: Whoever wrote this thing is a preliterate savage! Shauna, don't ask halfwits in future!

Don't you worry, I'll not be asking this joker to write anything for me again.

Out of curiosity though, how would you end that sentence? ;P

Well if it were me what I'd have said is "near-perfection".

Dr Unne
11-30-2013, 03:32 AM
All three of these games are good so far. It's awfully hard to compare games from different genres into one list though. What's a better game, chess or rugby?

Kinda sad to see games I nominated keep appearing with a (1) after them. :(

Hollycat
11-30-2013, 03:39 AM
All three of these games are good so far. It's awfully hard to compare games from different genres into one list though. What's a better game, chess or rugby?

Kinda sad to see games I nominated keep appearing with a (1) after them. :(

Agree with all of this post but the last line.
I forgot to nom :(

Ayen
11-30-2013, 03:43 AM
And another game I never heard of.

I'm starting to sense a pattern...
You didn't miss much with this one.

Don't you make me go medieval on you boy.

Vivi, no. You don't want to go medieval with HC. This is what he does:

48662

Jiro
11-30-2013, 03:47 AM
I cannot believe there is anybody who doesn't believe that XCOM is objectively an incredible game. The only excuse I can think of was that it was too hard but I would bet my right hand that Dark Souls features on this list. If you haven't played this game I strongly suggest you do; it will likely be on sale during this Steam Sale and it is imperative that you try it. Play it on easy mode, if need be, but the challenge is what makes it marvellous.

Hollycat
11-30-2013, 03:52 AM
And another game I never heard of.

I'm starting to sense a pattern...
You didn't miss much with this one.

Don't you make me go medieval on you boy.

Vivi, no. You don't want to go medieval with HC. This is what he does:

48662
I don't stick it in till the third date.

Spuuky
11-30-2013, 04:36 AM
I cannot believe there is anybody who doesn't believe that XCOM is objectively an incredible game. The only excuse I can think of was that it was too hard but I would bet my right hand that Dark Souls features on this list. If you haven't played this game I strongly suggest you do; it will likely be on sale during this Steam Sale and it is imperative that you try it. Play it on easy mode, if need be, but the challenge is what makes it marvellous.How about the excuse that it is absolutely the buggiest game I have ever played (and I have played some buggy games in my time)?

Look, the game was fun, I really enjoyed playing through it, and I'm glad I bought it. But it suffers from a few things:

1. Awful, literally game-breaking bugs. I didn't really do anything weird or abnormal; I broke my game and had to reload a previous save 3 times before I could finish the game from bugs that didn't let me proceed. What if I was playing Iron Man? That's a game over.

2. "Questionable" (to put it nicely) balance. Well, really, there isn't balance. I guess that's fine, it's not really designed to need balance, but it still would have been nice to not have a few particular strategies and skills be flat-out better than anything else. Good luck finding someone who declines to user a Double Tap Sniper with Squad Sight, for instance, if they know what that actually does.

3. Unnecessary mini-games involving shooting down UFOs. Why? Adds nothing. Guess it doesn't detract either, except for wasting my time.

Again: I liked the game, I'm glad I played it, and I think it is good. But I can easily see why someone wouldn't have picked it for this list.

Shauna
11-30-2013, 11:35 AM
I forgot to nom :(

>Complains about every game on the list
>Didn't nominate
:colbert:

A single set of nominations could have seriously changed how this list looked. What would you have nominated, if you'd remembered? ;)

Now that I am awake, I will be posting another one soon.

Shauna
11-30-2013, 12:00 PM
Xenoblade Chronicles
2010 - Wii
5 Nominations
http://i.imgur.com/vdmAkwN.jpg


Is it any wonder that Xenoblade Chronicles is hailed as one of the greatest games of this generation?

With striking visuals, a great story, compelling characters, an addictive battle system and oh so much more, it is no wonder the game has continues to be highly sought after. It has a wonderful story with great twists, and a great supporting cast. Your team members have a lot of fun customization, keeping them varied yet always in ways that make sense for their character.

I suppose here is a good place to mention that this was one of the games in Operation Rainfall, a movement to get three JRPGs released in the NA region, as for some reason Nintendo decided that Americans wouldn’t want these games. Out of the three that were released, Xenoblade Chronicles seems to be the most highly rated and most highly sought after. The fact that this game has appeared here on this list is proof in itself that they made the right decision in the end, as it is considered by many to be the best Wii game to have come out.

If any game deserves an HD remake, it is this one for the fun and unique and imaginative visuals, which shows that art design is more important to a game looking great than graphics.

Summing it up: it has over-sized everything, in an almost PS2 realm of RPG perfection.



~

Final Fantasy XIII-2 (4)
Crusader Kings II (3)
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (2)
Bioshock Infinite (2)
World of Warcraft (1)
Aion (1)
Wii Sports (1)
Meteos (1)
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (1)
Radiant Historia (1)

Good god, I saw "Journey" at the end of the Dreamfall title and was terrified that I'd messed up the tally.

Loony BoB
11-30-2013, 01:17 PM
Really glad to see the first three make this list. Haven't played any of the Xeno-games, but have heard very good things.

Gutted to see some of my selections not make it, but to be fair, I wasn't expecting them to.

Hollycat
11-30-2013, 01:20 PM
I haven't played Xenoblades, but judging from the fact it costs twice what it did when it came out in stores now, and the only other game I can think of that ever did that was Persona 4, it must be really good.

Slothy
11-30-2013, 01:39 PM
How much collector's will pay for a rare game is a really bad way to judge their quality. Mostly because the typical collector is an idiot.

Note that I'm making no statement on the quality of Xenoblade Chronicles since I haven't played it.

Psychotic
11-30-2013, 01:51 PM
With the possible exception of Halo 3 nothing I have nominated has been mentioned yet :shobon:

I can't remember if I nominated Halo 3 but given how much of my life I wasted playing the damn thing it seems like the sort of thing I should've done.

Pike
11-30-2013, 02:50 PM
Crusader Kings II (3)

HELL YES THREE, THIS ONE WASN'T JUST MYSELF AND MY FIANCE

Aulayna
11-30-2013, 03:24 PM
Guess who nominated WoW.

Me.

Also surprised Dreamfall didn't get more either :(

Del Murder
11-30-2013, 05:35 PM
Hey the first game I nominated to make it (Xenoblade) and the first game I nominated to not make it (Radiant Historia).

Xenoblade Chronicles was the best JRPG of this generation. That's not saying a whole lot, but even in a more prosperous era it would have held it's own. I loved the characters, battles and story. The story in particular took some really interesting twists that I didn't see coming. The abilities of the characters were pretty diverse and made for several unique party set-ups. I'm getting the urge to fire this up now and try to beat some super bosses.

For those of you that like RPGs and didn't play it, give Radiant Historia for DS a try. It plays like a SNES RPG made for this era and it's really fun. There is a time travel aspect to it, but it's done really well and not disjointed like some other RPGs mentioned in that list above... The battles have a unique grid system that allows you to stack enemies and hit them all at once with the right abilities. I had a lot of fun with it.

Shauna
11-30-2013, 05:43 PM
Fallout 3
2008 - PC, PS3, Xbox 360
5 Nominations
http://i.imgur.com/RkspP9E.jpg


http://static1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120421181804/ultradragonball/images/c/c8/TrollFace.png

Madonna
11-30-2013, 06:09 PM
This five-nomination tier is pretty varied. I can accept most of the winners, despite missing some of the cooler nominations (Radiant Historia, Protect Me Knight, et cetera).

Hollycat
11-30-2013, 06:12 PM
Love Fallout.

Del Murder
11-30-2013, 06:39 PM
I tried Fallout: New Vegas but it wasn't my thing. I didn't really like the interface. I assume Fallout 3 is similar?

Also, that was a crap speech for this game!

Slothy
11-30-2013, 06:55 PM
I tried Fallout: New Vegas but it wasn't my thing. I didn't really like the interface. I assume Fallout 3 is similar?

Also, that was a crap speech for this game!

It's a crap game.

Hollycat
11-30-2013, 06:57 PM
I tried Fallout: New Vegas but it wasn't my thing. I didn't really like the interface. I assume Fallout 3 is similar?

Also, that was a crap speech for this game!

It's a crap game.

You must have a crap sense of what is good and what is not.

Del, they both have the exact same interface.

Slothy
11-30-2013, 07:19 PM
New Vegas is awesome. Fallout 3 is boring.

Hollycat
11-30-2013, 07:20 PM
They are both great, the end.

Spuuky
11-30-2013, 07:36 PM
Wow. If I had a heart, this would be a knife through it.

Slothy
11-30-2013, 07:59 PM
A knife through your artificial blood pump then?

RocketMBA
11-30-2013, 07:59 PM
Just for the record: if Super Mario Galaxy 2 doesn't win, everyone who voted is an idiot.

Shauna
11-30-2013, 08:00 PM
ANNOUNCEMENT!

Fallout 3 did not make the list! I was hoping for more scathing comments in regards to Fallout 3 being here, but I guess my silly troll ploy did not work as well as I'd hoped. I will make a note to improve my comedy routine for future events. I would have left this up longer, but I am deeply deeply impatient. x3

I wouldn’t have been so drawn to doing such things if I didn’t see so many livid responses about how Fallout 3 shouldn't be appearing on this list since it is so terrible.

Don't worry, there's only one Fallout game deserving of being in the Top 20 according to you lot.











Fallout: New Vegas
2010 – PC, PS3, Xbox 360
5 Nominations
http://i.imgur.com/oa4sFEm.jpg



So, Fallout: New Vegas. I will admit that I played a lot more of Fallout 3. I found every area in the Capitol Wasteland while boogieing on down to Three Dawg’s radio station. Shortly after I had done this and flattened all the DLC, I started playing New Vegas. Boy, was this a horrible idea. I had entirely burned out on the modern Fallout gameplay and New Vegas played the exact same. If I had one suggestion to make to anyone who wants to play this game it is to not do what I did – if you want to play Fallout 3 first, wait a little while before throwing this one in. I didn’t do half the exploration I could have done simply because I was so tired of the whole thing.

But, despite this, I thoroughly enjoyed playing this through. Which I feel speaks wonders for the game, considering my Fallout fatigue. For the main story, you play as the Courier who is attacked and left for dead. You, however, survive and go out on an adventure to reclaim the all-important package you were delivering. Along the way you find yourself in the middle of a clash between Caesar’s Legion, NCR and Mr House who are all fighting to lay claim to Hoover Dam. Your choices throughout the game determine who you’ll ally with in the end. I went the other route which was allying with none of them and hanging out with Yes Man. I think this was the only option left as I had turned everyone against me. I need to work on my people skills…

The Vegas area was much more interesting than the DC Ruins, and the different faction allegiances were a cool addition – I tried to stay neutral to everyone, but it never ended up that way. This was made painfully clear to me when I wandered into an NCR controlled town, and ended up massacring everyone there. Whoops. In my defence, they shot first and I was not completely aware that the town I had entered had this allegiance when I wandered in. I thought that there was some story-based reason this was happening. Nope. Not at all. I was just looking for somewhere to have a rest and a restock! I imagine that I had just emerged barely victorious from a battle with Deathclaws. I didn’t want to kill anyone.

That is also one of the things I enjoy most about Fallout (as a whole, I guess) – it really is your own story. People may end up making similar story choices, but there are the little things that personalise it, which makes it a wholly original tale to tell for each individual.

So yes, a thoroughly enjoyable game. I suppose the only off-putting thing could be the stories of the bugs. Most of them have been ironed out, but I know it was frustrating when I couldn’t finish a mission because the enemies had spawned inside a rock…

If you want to visit post-apocalyptia, then pick up New Vegas – you won’t be disappointed.


Some more unfortunate titles:
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (4)
Galactic Civilizations II (2)
Fallout 3 (2) See here it is
Infamous 2 (2)
Dead Rising (1)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (1)
Magical Drop V (1)
STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl (1)
Nier (1)
Darksiders (1)

Jessweeee♪
11-30-2013, 08:02 PM
I tried Fallout: New Vegas but it wasn't my thing. I didn't really like the interface. I assume Fallout 3 is similar?

Also, that was a crap speech for this game!

Yeah, it's the same game but in a different part of the country pretty much. Aside from Fallout 3's superior opening, New Vegas is better. New Vegas even has Matthew Perry. But Muggy is my favorite.

Fallout New Vegas: Old World Blues - Muggy - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sWzrmIoCac)

Loony BoB
11-30-2013, 08:17 PM
I had assumed from the 'speech' that this was all just you messing around with us. Glad I wasn't mistaken. xD Not that I dislike Fallout 3 to any major degree, mind you (or have any major opinion on it - only played small portions of the game when Danielle got it for a few months).

Shauna
11-30-2013, 08:21 PM
I enjoyed Fallout 3 as much as I enjoyed New Vegas, and I played significantly more 3. I was the whole who wrote up the speech for this entry, so my opinions are all out in the open.

Judge me as you see fit, EoFF. :3

Psychotic
11-30-2013, 08:46 PM
I downloaded all the DLC for Fallout 3 that I didn't have as there was a sale yesterday. Fallout 3 is actually a very good game and a hell of a lot of fun. But, like, you know FFVII and you're in Midgar for ages and then you get out onto the world map and it's like.... whoa... I... the world has opened up to me. :eek: That is the difference between the two. Midgar was fun, but it was just whetting your appetite.

Madame Adequate
11-30-2013, 08:50 PM
Sorry Shauna I was busy playing videogames so I didn't see your attempted ruse or you may have got the reactions you were looking for :shobon:

Hollycat
11-30-2013, 08:50 PM
I downloaded all the DLC for Fallout 3 that I didn't have as there was a sale yesterday. Fallout 3 is actually a very good game and a hell of a lot of fun. But, like, you know FFVII and you're in Midgar for ages and then you get out onto the world map and it's like.... whoa... I... the world has opened up to me. :eek: That is the difference between the two. Midgar was fun, but it was just whetting your appetite.
That's a very good way of putting it.



One feature that should earn the Fallout games a spot on this list is the Idiot Mode.

Madame Adequate
11-30-2013, 08:53 PM
The thing 3 doesn't have, you mean? :p

Shauna
11-30-2013, 08:54 PM
What is idiot mode? ;o

Hollycat
11-30-2013, 08:57 PM
What is idiot mode? ;o
You set your intelligence to 1 when you choose your special, and everyone will act like you are some retarded leper, no one will want to associate with you, and people will just generally act like your brain is the size of a raisin.

Edit: or was that only in Fallout 2?

Shauna
11-30-2013, 08:59 PM
Ohhh yeah, I know of that. I'm pretty sure that appears in New Vegas.

Spuuky
11-30-2013, 09:25 PM
It's in New Vegas but it's way, way better in Fallout 2.

Ayen
11-30-2013, 09:33 PM
The only game on the list I played so far and it turns out to be a joke.

I was the only one who nominated Darksiders, eh? Shame.

Hollycat
11-30-2013, 09:34 PM
The only game on the list I played so far and it turns out to be a joke.

I was the only one who nominated Darksiders, eh? Shame.

:eeww:

Shauna
11-30-2013, 10:09 PM
The Walking Dead
2012 – PC, PS3, Xbox 360
5 Nominations
http://i.imgur.com/FxdLpiZ.jpg


Unless you've been living under a rock you've probably heard of The Walking Dead. Robert Kirkman's acclaimed zombie apocalypse comic book spawned a hugely popular AMC TV show and more recently a videogame by Telltale Games. As someone who has been into all three I can say that as good as the others can be, it's the videogame where the real magic happens.

Aside from a couple of cameos the game has little to do with the other media except being set in the same universe and in the state of Georgia, and you follow convicted criminal Lee as he tries to survive the zombie apocalypse and to protect Clementine, a young girl he meets very early in his travels. A latter-day evolution of the point-and-click genre, rather than throwing obscure puzzles as you this game relies on forcing you to make tough decisions and to live with the consequences of them. And boy oh boy does it do this well. TWD is that rare game that truly engages the player and makes them care.

Winning some absurd number of awards for its supremely accomplished story, the game is not quite perfect and some felt let down in the final chapter when preceding decisions didn't have as large an impact as they had hoped. But these flaws are easily overlooked in the face such an overwhelmingly superb, engaging, engrossing, emotionally wrenching game. It's little surprise that our members would select this as one of our favourite games, and with Season 2 soon to be released excitement among fans is reaching fever pitch.



Beep boop:
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (4)
Diablo III (2)
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty (2)
Resident Evil 5 (2)
Shadow of the Colossus HD (1)
1 vs 100 (1)
Gunpoint (1)
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (1)
Titan Quest (1)
Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction (1)

And so ends the tier of games with 5 nominations! Taking it up a notch from here on.

Hollycat
11-30-2013, 10:22 PM
TWD being on here is hardly surprising.

Del Murder
11-30-2013, 10:40 PM
Haha, nice troll Shauna. Like I said, I tried New Vegas for a couple hours and it wasn't really doing anything for me. I may get back to it some day.

The Walking Dead, now that was an excellent game. It didn't make my list, but it was a worthy nomination. I don't think any other game has gotten such an emotional response out of me. It's a well-done story and it's really cool how the choices you make affect major outcomes. Can't wait until the sequel! One thing I would hope for is that the puzzles are a little more complex and difficult. I know that's not the point of this game but I do think it would add another dimension to it.

Ayen
11-30-2013, 10:45 PM
The description there makes me think of The Last of Us for some reason. But that's probably because they have the honor of being in the same genre.

Hollycat
11-30-2013, 10:47 PM
The description there makes me think of The Last of Us for some reason. But that's probably because they have the honor of being in the same genre.
The setting is basically the same, but the gameplay could hardly be more different. TWD is the kind of story Beyond 2 Souls was trying to be and failed miserably at.

Elskidor
11-30-2013, 10:49 PM
I heard TWD game was terrible and had 4/10 from game critics. I might have gotten it confused with something else though. It was on sale really cheap on Black Friday, but we passed it up because heard it was that bad. Is there more than one?

Shauna
11-30-2013, 10:52 PM
There's TellTale's The Walking Dead, and there's The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct or something. The former is the one we're talking about here.

Carl the Llama
11-30-2013, 11:20 PM
It is super depressing for plot sake, but Zack is such an energetic character it balances it out. Esepecially with characters like Arieth

Bipf-BSJA-s

Edit:


Edit: As Shauna put below.

It's taken 7 months, but it's finally happened. I have been mistaken for shauna [lol]

He talks about Final Fantasy 7, and then edits in another 7, 7+7 = 14. Take 1 away from 4 and that makes 3 = Half Life 3 Confirmed.

Pike
11-30-2013, 11:37 PM
What is idiot mode? ;o
You set your intelligence to 1 when you choose your special, and everyone will act like you are some retarded leper, no one will want to associate with you, and people will just generally act like your brain is the size of a raisin.

Edit: or was that only in Fallout 2?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure this occurs in all the Fallouts.

Ayen
11-30-2013, 11:49 PM
-insert Activision joke about why Survival Instinct failed here-

Aulayna
11-30-2013, 11:55 PM
Skyward Sword didn't make the cut either, whaddafuq

Wait... Crisis Core made the cut but Skyward Sword didn't!?

I... I...

Wow this must be how Neo and HC feel everytime they look at someone elses top games list and don't see some obscure JRPG on there.

Hollycat
12-01-2013, 12:18 AM
Skyward Sword didn't make the cut either, whaddafuq

Wait... Crisis Core made the cut but Skyward Sword didn't!?

I... I...

Wow this must be how Neo and HC feel everytime they look at someone elses top games list and don't see some obscure JRPG on there.

You have a pretty weird definition of obscure.

Slothy
12-01-2013, 12:19 AM
Skyward Sword didn't make the cut either, whaddafuq

Wait... Crisis Core made the cut but Skyward Sword didn't!?

I... I...

Wow this must be how Neo and HC feel everytime they look at someone elses top games list and don't see some obscure JRPG on there.

I can understand why few people would vote for Ocarina of Time v.3.0 though.

Aulayna
12-01-2013, 12:28 AM
Skyward Sword fixed a lot of the criticisms that have been levelled at the franchise for years. It has full on character development way beyond what the franchise is known for, actively setup a fully fleshed backstory for the land of Hyrule more than ever before, a cast of side characters and side quests with nearly as much emotional oomph as Majora's Mask, made use of the Wii Motion Plus like very few games have and is honestly one of the most refined, delightful and polished Zelda experiences to date.

The only problem was, it was on the Wii. (and this is coming from someone who, for the first 3 hours, couldn't get over how horribly pixelated Wii graphics looked on a HD TV and thought it was going to be crap, solely because it was on the Wii)

Madame Adequate
12-01-2013, 12:42 AM
Idiot Mode is in Fallout 1, 2, 3, and New Vegas, though the NV implementation is a bit lacking and mostly takes the form of shorter, monosyllabic answers to questions, but it does affect a few things significantly (for example you can recruit Arcade by basically saying "I'm too dumb to do this, you're smart, please help"). Contrariwise, in 1 and 2 it completely changes things, locks off most sidequests because who would give this moron a job to do, and makes finishing the MQ much harder, but also opens up whole new vistas of friendship with Torr.

3 just has like three different conversation options and one or two easter egg-type things.

Ayen
12-01-2013, 12:53 AM
Only Fallout game I played was 3 and it was the first game I played after getting a 360. This is the first I heard of the Idiot Mode. It was also the first WRPG game I ever played after a decade of JRPGs so you can imagine it didn't take long for me to get lost...

"What is this place? AHH! Who's shooting at me!?"

Shauna
12-01-2013, 01:01 AM
Red Dead Redemption
2010 – PS3, Xbox 360
6 Nominations
http://i.imgur.com/92fYANG.png


Red Dead Redemption was something new and special. It galloped up out of nowhere - I hadn't seen any hype for this game at all - and it slung a lasso around my heart. It's an interesting juxtaposition - the Wild West is an area that hasn't been frequently covered in games, whereas sandboxes have been done to death and back again. And it worked. Given that it was made by Rockstar, a lot of GTA IV went into RDR, but in every way GTA IV got it wrong, Red Dead Redemption got it right.

The soundtrack was beautiful, the graphics and the environment doubly so, and the gameplay was intuitive and fun. The only downside I can see was that the story sagged a little bit around the middle, which is a shame because the first and last acts had great writing. The character of John Marston as a tragic hero will be one of the stories from this generation that will stay with me.

While the single player was fantastic, the online really kicked it into another level from good game to daily social activity with friends. Possess free roaming the plains hunting bandits, buffalo and you if you weren't careful. Fun and intense co-op missions. Silly gambling games like Liar's Dice and poker. Horse races. Oh, the horse races. Pegging Iceglow from 100 feet with a hunting knife, or the time myself and DK encountered a glitch where 40+ wild boar spawned and kept tramping us to death, with boar coming back from the dead to nail us.

Oh, and there was zombie DLC where you could ride a unicorn. So there's that.


Bayonetta (4)
DotA 2 (2)
Assassin's Creed (2)
Final Fantasy III DS (2)
Injustice: Gods Among Us (1)
F.E.A.R. (1)
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (1)
F.E.A.R. 2 (1)
Nintendogs (1)
Metroid Prime Trilogy (1)

Last one for the night! More tomorrow!

Hollycat
12-01-2013, 01:05 AM
Love that game, it definitely deserves to be on the list.

Ayen
12-01-2013, 01:08 AM
Not surprised, I remember seeing RDR all over the place when it first came out and I hear good things overall about Rockstar. Just never played.

A little surprise Assassin's Creed didn't get more votes with how popular the franchise is overall.

Shauna
12-01-2013, 01:13 AM
Assassin's Creed itself was a super poor game. Boring boring boring.

Ayen
12-01-2013, 01:16 AM
Only thing I remember is people flipping their lids at the twist ending.

Hollycat
12-01-2013, 01:19 AM
Assassin's Creed itself was a super poor game. Boring boring boring.
Agreed. The first good one was AC2, the next brotherhood, and the next good one just came out.

Del Murder
12-01-2013, 01:44 AM
Yay! Another of my nominees to make it. Red Dead was an awesome game with an awesome story and awesome lead character, and the open world was a pleasure to explore. Some of the most fun I've had playing a game for years. There's so much you can do in that game. I'd love to see another one like it.

Scotty_ffgamer
12-01-2013, 01:44 AM
I have yet to play either Red Dead Redemption or any of the Fallout games. Sometime I need to get a hold of those.

I will say that I probably voted mostly for games that definitely shouldn't be on this list (such as FFXIII-2) over games that are probably more deserving. I just haven't played many of those more deserving games this generation.

Jiro
12-01-2013, 03:04 AM
If I had remembered, I would have nominated Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. That was a superb game and really opened up a whole new avenue of gaming experiences for me.

Ayen
12-01-2013, 03:10 AM
Huh, no wonder I was specifically asked to look into Assassin's Creed II.

LocoColt04
12-01-2013, 03:37 AM
Who the hell nominated Nintendogs?

BECAUSE THAT PERSON NEEDS A BROFIST.

One of the top-selling games of the generation. Seriously.

As of March 31, 2013, the combined sales of all versions has reached 23.94 million and it is now second on the Nintendo DS best-sellers list (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_Nintendo_DS_video_games) behind New Super Mario Bros. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Super_Mario_Bros.)IR Information : Sales Data - Top Selling Software Sales Units - Nintendo DS Software (http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/sales/software/ds.html)
It's genuinely good. :3

Pete for President
12-01-2013, 04:42 AM
I'm really surprised about the Uncharted games not making the cut. Is it 2 that is still in the race? Not that I'm a fan, but I thought they were real popular games on EoFF.

Bolivar
12-01-2013, 06:12 AM
Assassin's Creed was good, but there's only so many games in one franchise that you can put on a top games list and ACII is the one that deserves to make the cut.

I'm kinda miffed Dota 2 didn't make it, it's very rare that we get games with this extreme depth of game mechanics and skill but I understand why it wouldn't fit into our forum's niche. It also just officially released a few months ago and it's best days are certainly still ahead of it.

Spuuky
12-01-2013, 06:43 AM
I'm kinda miffed Dota 2 didn't make it, it's very rare that we get games with this extreme depth of game mechanics and skill but I understand why it wouldn't fit into our forum's niche. It also just officially released a few months ago and it's best days are certainly still ahead of it.Also it isn't the best game at what it does.

Point the first: Denying is an actively bad game mechanic. It forces players to do things that aren't fun, because they have to, because it's the only way to compete. Games that are GOOD games make players do the things that they actually like doing; the things that are fun.

Point the second: The game is based on DotA (obviously) but it doesn't fix the things that were wrong with DotA. It doesn't change the fact that there's not enough to do for the first few minutes. It doesn't change even the mechanical choices that were literally nothing but limitations of the Warcraft 3 engine - for instance, Axe's Counter Helix triggers at the beginning of an animation, rather than when he's actually hit. Why? Because that was a coding limitation in WC3. So they copied it and kept it exactly in Dota 2, rather than fixing it. There are many, many more. I don't feel the need to enumerate them.

I loved DotA, I played thousands upon thousands of games of it; but League of Legends is simply a better game, and I'd be very surprised if it wasn't picked to be on this list. Arguably, it's the game that should be at the very top of the list; certainly would be in terms of real world popularity.

Dota 2 isn't something you play through and finish; you're always choosing between it and LoL, unlike a type of game like an RPG where you play one, then play the next one. You could reasonably have 2 RPGs in a personal list; I find it harder to make the case for 2 MOBAs (or 2 MMOs of the same style, or 2 deathmatch-based FPSes, etc), and so the better one gets on the list.

I Took the Red Pill
12-01-2013, 06:49 AM
You should update the first post with a list of revealed games so far.

Jessweeee♪
12-01-2013, 06:51 AM
Assassin's Creed is okay. It's not super great. You only play Assassin's Creed so you can play Assassin's Creed II.

Ayen
12-01-2013, 07:07 AM
Assassin's Creed is okay. It's not super great. You only play Assassin's Creed so you can play Assassin's Creed II.

I was told you didn't have to play the first one to understand the second.

Jessweeee♪
12-01-2013, 09:07 AM
Assassin's Creed is okay. It's not super great. You only play Assassin's Creed so you can play Assassin's Creed II.

I was told you didn't have to play the first one to understand the second.

Desmond's story takes place over the whole series (apart from ACIV I believe) but each numbered title starts a new ancestor's memories. There's a summary for what's going on in present time at the beginning of each game, but I mean you could have just read the wiki page if you were going to skip it anyway. So yeah you don't really have to play the first to get the second.

Carl the Llama
12-01-2013, 11:30 AM
Who the hell nominated Nintendogs?

BECAUSE THAT PERSON NEEDS A BROFIST.

One of the top-selling games of the generation. Seriously.

As of March 31, 2013, the combined sales of all versions has reached 23.94 million and it is now second on the Nintendo DS best-sellers list (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_Nintendo_DS_video_games) behind New Super Mario Bros. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Super_Mario_Bros.)IR Information : Sales Data - Top Selling Software Sales Units - Nintendo DS Software (http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/sales/software/ds.html)
It's genuinely good. :3

Good sales doesn't equate to a good game, not that I am saying Nintendogs is bad as I have never played it, just that because one person likes it and it has good sales doesn't make it a great game.

For example I personally think FFVII is the best game in the series (it's my opinion, please don't try to dissuade me from this) and indeed the most bitter competition often comes from people who hold Final Fantasy VI as the best of the series. Based on sales alone VII would rip that apart with a sales figure of 9.8m (highest sales of any final fantasy game ever).

Source: Top 10 in Sales - Final Fantasy - VGChartz (http://www.vgchartz.com/article/250920/top-10-in-sales-final-fantasy/)

Shauna
12-01-2013, 11:37 AM
You should update the first post with a list of revealed games so far.

Good idea. :}

Loony BoB
12-01-2013, 11:45 AM
I'm really surprised about the Uncharted games not making the cut. Is it 2 that is still in the race? Not that I'm a fan, but I thought they were real popular games on EoFF.
Uncharted 2, generally regarded as the best in the series, is indeed still in the running.

Shauna
12-01-2013, 12:00 PM
Probably gonna get a lot of commentary about this one. So much so that I have two speeches to post up about it! Next up...



Final Fantasy XIII
2009 – PS3, Xbox 360
6 Nominations
http://i.imgur.com/yZzePsB.jpg



It's easy to lose sight of things in a world as wide as this one, but if you keep going you are sure to find what you are looking for sooner or later.

Final Fantasy 13 was perhaps the weakest of the numbered final fantasy games. Many criticised the battle system, the linearity, the lack of side quests and the confusing plot. While all these are true, there is still something about FF13 I find so endearing.

While there are many opinions about the battle system, I for one am a big fan. The ability to jump between 6 individual roles and 3 characters per battle offers over 600 variants of style to choose from for you battle (while it suffers from the same issue FF10 and FF12 had of everyone having the same abilities in end game). Changing up the system mid battle to give an edge leads to the fast paced nature of the battle system and is a change from the traditional turn based systems and leads to a more fluid experience.

One of the greatest joys I received from FF13 was from the monster hunting side quest. Find a stone, locate a tough monster and test your skills. This proved very challenging especially if you were attempting a low level Neochu battle.

One of the main issues with Final Fantasy 13 for me is the plot. To this day, I still don't really understand what happened in the game. I just know that there was a bad dude who needed to be smote and that was enough for me.

The best part of FF13 however is the soundtrack. The soundtrack is glorious.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfu0XBf8kmk
Blinded by Light

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrMbViOhvV8
The Yaschas Massif

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xMJ5Uj_i7E
Desperate Struggle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7km555hZIc
Chocobo Theme


All in all, Despite its flaws, FF13 is next-gen Final Fantasy. It may have been designed to cater to the Call of Halo 2: Bad Company market that developed during this generation which is why it feels so drastically different from previous iterations of the series, however it still has the same core of a final fantasy game: Dumb hair, an adventure to kill a bad guy, and chocobos.

Go on, one more song.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kkz6JwE3xE
The Sunleth Waterscape

And number two...


We've talked about this one to death to be perfectly honest. I've talked about it, WK talked about it, all of you talked about it. Frankly, I'm not going to say anything new about it and I'm sick of talking about it so I'm going to talk about something else:

http://www.hyundaicanada.com/images/HyundaiUSA/Vehicles/Accent_hb/2013/2013/2013_Accent-5-Door_Landing_Page_Intro.jpg

The 2013 Hyundai Accent.

You take one look at it and you think "oh, well this looks pretty sporty," or "I bet this is fun to drive." Just look at it. It's got all of these lines in the body work making it look all sleek and aerodynamic I guess. And it's headlamps look angry like it's just waiting to run over a pedestrian, or at the very least the neighbours dog. But you couldn't be more wrong if you said that insurance companies running healthcare is a good thing.

To start, once you get past the exterior there's just not a whole lot there. You'll be excited as anything when you first jump in and turn that ignition key, but you'll be terribly disappointed when you find that you've put the accelerator to the floor and had time to start and finish reading Game of Thrones by the time you make it to 60mph.

But since it's small and looks sporty, surely it must be fun to drive around a turn? Except you'd be wrong again. The suspension is too soft, and because it's so slow, you'll never be at the edge of your seat wondering if you're going to stick a corner. It won't be a problem because, like so many television dramas, you're not really going anywhere very quickly. And when you do get there you'll wonder why you bothered while wiping away the tears of boredom.

Performance is a no go, but surely their must be something about this car to like. Perhaps the interior is well adorned with all sorts of switches, shiny chrome, perhaps some leather here and there? But there's the final nail in the coffin. Scratch the cars misleading surface and what are you left with? Drab grey plastic interior panels, drab grey fabric seats, and beyond your standard air con and climate controls and iPod connectivity, there's not much else. Underneath that flashy green exterior trying to fool you into thinking this car is something special, there's just not much depth to speak of. No fancy touch screens, sat nav, or leather trim. Just a whole bunch of boring grey.

But worst of all, for such a tiny car, it's fuel economy is just too good. Set out on a full tank of petrol and your trip will last far longer than you will. By the end you'll be begging for someone to syphon your tank while you drain the old gentleman's sausage at the next petrol station, if only so the dreariness will end. But that person, desperate for fuel and short on money never arrives. No matter how many gods you plead to.

So in short, I can't recommend this car at all. It may be a bit pricier, but buy a Ford Focus ST instead. 120 more horsepowers under the hood, 170 more torques, and an exterior that isn't lying to your face.

PS: BoB's stupid.



And some more runner ups:
Mirror's Edge (4)
Kirby's Epic Yarn (2)
Super Smash Bros Brawl (2)
Sleeping Dogs (2)
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Transformed (1)
LEGO: Lord of the Rings (1)
Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions (1)
Dynasty Warriors 8 (1)
Tribes Ascend (1)
Rayman Origins (1)

Gamblet
12-01-2013, 12:02 PM
O
The only game on the list I played so far and it turns out to be a joke.

I was the only one who nominated Darksiders, eh? Shame.

I nominated Darksiders II.


If I had remembered, I would have nominated Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. That was a superb game and really opened up a whole new avenue of gaming experiences for me.

Same here, the game was a bit short though. :(

Dr Unne
12-01-2013, 12:27 PM
I was close to nominating Darksiders.


The best part of FF13 however is the soundtrack. The soundtrack is glorious.

This much is true. Blinded By Light ranks pretty high on the list of best FF battle themes. Not the top, but pretty high.

Slothy
12-01-2013, 12:38 PM
I'm kinda miffed Dota 2 didn't make it, it's very rare that we get games with this extreme depth of game mechanics and skill but I understand why it wouldn't fit into our forum's niche. It also just officially released a few months ago and it's best days are certainly still ahead of it.Also it isn't the best game at what it does.

Point the first: Denying is an actively bad game mechanic. It forces players to do things that aren't fun, because they have to, because it's the only way to compete. Games that are GOOD games make players do the things that they actually like doing; the things that are fun.

Point the second: The game is based on DotA (obviously) but it doesn't fix the things that were wrong with DotA. It doesn't change the fact that there's not enough to do for the first few minutes. It doesn't change even the mechanical choices that were literally nothing but limitations of the Warcraft 3 engine - for instance, Axe's Counter Helix triggers at the beginning of an animation, rather than when he's actually hit. Why? Because that was a coding limitation in WC3. So they copied it and kept it exactly in Dota 2, rather than fixing it. There are many, many more. I don't feel the need to enumerate them.

I loved DotA, I played thousands upon thousands of games of it; but League of Legends is simply a better game, and I'd be very surprised if it wasn't picked to be on this list. Arguably, it's the game that should be at the very top of the list; certainly would be in terms of real world popularity.

Dota 2 isn't something you play through and finish; you're always choosing between it and LoL, unlike a type of game like an RPG where you play one, then play the next one. You could reasonably have 2 RPGs in a personal list; I find it harder to make the case for 2 MOBAs (or 2 MMOs of the same style, or 2 deathmatch-based FPSes, etc), and so the better one gets on the list.

Even if LOL is mechanically better (and honestly, I couldn't get into it and haven't played enough to say one way or the other), it's hampered by falling into all of the same free to play traps a lot of games fall into. I'm sorry, but I can't take a competitive game where the full meta game is locked behind endless grind and pay barriers seriously. There's no good reason for it and it saddens me that the most popular MOBA is the one that forces people to put up with that kind of uncompetitive silly bullshit.

Aulayna
12-01-2013, 01:23 PM
Well when Riot was a fledgling company they didn't really have the existing financial support or an audience the size of Valve's to profiteer off of by drawing in resources from stuff completely unrelated to DOTA2. (Didn't most of the prize money for the International this year come from sales of completely unrelated games?)

The F2P model worked for Riot. LoL is pretty much the most played PC game in the world right now (complete dwarfing the likes of StarCraft in Korea, the place where SC was king for nearly 15 years) and is effectively a license to print money every time they release a new champion. Considering how much money some players have invested into this game, this is a very tricky thing to suddenly change the payment model and game structure of - and Riot, with all due respect, have gone out of their way to refund players when they've re-released limited edition skins etc if players happened to have purchased them when they first went on sale.

And really, to get involved in ranked - where the meta is actually a big deal, you actually have to play it for about 2 months straight to get to max level to unlock ranked. By which point if you're seriously considering taking part in ranked you'll have been able to purchase 2 champions with the RP they give you for free, and will probably have earned enough IP to purchase a 3rd champion and make a full runeset. You also get 7 free champions each week which means even if you never pay a penny, you can still try out a variety of roles.

Whether or not LoL is better than DOTA2 or vice versa, is a different strokes for different folks thing, really.

Slothy
12-01-2013, 02:30 PM
Whether the model worked for them or not doesn't make it a good model. Honestly, their free to play model is outdated at best and definitely bad for a competitive game. Whether someone can buy a champion or three by the time they start playing ranked doesn't really matter. Giving people a few free ones every week and letting them buy a few by grinding is a terrible way to try out over 100 heroes to figure out what you like, and if your tastes or abilities change as you keep playing, well, tough shit. Pay or grind or gtfo.

And the idea of having to play for months before you can play ranked is also ridiculous. If you want to have a tutorial mode for people to learn the ins and outs, do it. But no matter how bad a player is, there's never a reason to lock them out of ranked play unless you're too incompetent to create a decent matchmaking system. And considering player ranking systems were pretty well figured out decades ago, there's really no excuse.

LOL could be the best competitive game in the world. Too bad it's all locked behind some really bad game design and business decisions and is now completely hamstrung by it now.

Arguing that any of these things aren't that bad would be like arguing that it'd be okay if StarCraft only let you play Terran unless you grinded for months or paid a few hundred dollars, and if the only way to play ranked games was to play through the single player on the hardest difficulty, unlock every achievement, and then play unranked until you've got enough games to unlock all of the portraits for each race.

If they'd been serious about creating a great competitive game from the beginning, they might have tried other pay models like selling character skins instead of characters. But their entire business model feels more like they wanted to make money by any means necessary, then kind of realized after the fact that they had a popular competitive game.

Loony BoB
12-01-2013, 02:50 PM
PS: BoB's stupid.
I didn't even nominate it!

Aulayna
12-01-2013, 02:58 PM
Okay Vivi, you're making a lot of assumptions, and in the interests of not derailing this thread from it's actual purpose I'm just going to agree to disagree with you on this one. :)

Bolivar
12-01-2013, 03:12 PM
The only thing new I have to add about FFXIII is that playing FFVII lately, I see where the origins of this game design came from. VII had so many cinematic sequences in unique environments that are all about getting to the end for a plot revelation. It's part of what separated VII from RPGs that came before it, but in making an entire game based on this concept, they lost the faux-exploration of the world map, the town investigating, the puzzle solving, and the story-based mini-games. Still a good game, though and I don't have a problem with it being on this list.


Point the first: Denying is an actively bad game mechanic. It forces players to do things that aren't fun, because they have to, because it's the only way to compete. Games that are GOOD games make players do the things that they actually like doing; the things that are fun.

I apologize, but I get off on denying creeps just before my opponent's attack animation would otherwise have gotten them the gold for the last hit. Exploiting your advantage in skill and mechanics knowledge is what competitive games are all about, and it's incredibly rewarding when you win 45-minute to 1-hour games based on exploiting this throughout. Likewise, the first few minutes of the game didn't need to be fixed - the laning phase can be the most intense part of the game, where you and your opponent lay bare just how good each of you really are at Dota 2.

Vivi summed up how arbitrarily greedy the pay-to-play model is but I'm also turned off as a player. We can go try out any of Dota 2's 106 playable heroes right now if we wanted to; they are all unique to the extent that many of them seem like they belong in other games! This variety is what keeps the game fresh, and there are entire game modes where the beginning consists of each team picking and counter-picking heroes, and the meta game of understanding how to compose and counter a good team is a fascinating aspect all on its own. This is something League players just don't have, not just picking a team with balanced roles, but how one hero pick could completely change the dynamic and outcome of the game. Dota 2 also has a group of heroes which are incredibly difficult to play and learn, and being able to master Storm Spirit, Invoker, and Meepo, regardless of which free heroes I have that day, is such an unbelievably rewarding part of the experience, not only because of how far it shows you've come as a player, but because everyone in the game will understand what you did and why they're losing to you. I'm sure League capitalizes on this same emotion, but Dota 2 just takes it higher IMO.

And not only are your heroes limited in League, but they all share similar qualities - everyone has a heal, a tp, a summon, a skill shot. From what I understand Dota 2 has a much steeper learning curve with more intensity and variety and I would never be willing to give these things up, even if League was a better designed game.

No offence to Aulayna (maybe to Spuuky jk! :P).

Shauna
12-01-2013, 03:15 PM
All this discussion about a game not even on the list. xD

SirPrizes
12-01-2013, 03:28 PM
Kind of surprised this one made it. I found it to be thoroughly mediocre, and there were plenty of better RPGs this generation. The music was good and it looked pretty, but other than that I found it to be pretty lacking. Interesting.

Slothy
12-01-2013, 03:36 PM
Okay Vivi, you're making a lot of assumptions, and in the interests of not derailing this thread from it's actual purpose I'm just going to agree to disagree with you on this one. :)

I'm curious what assumptions I'm making. You can feel free to take it to PM's if you do want to discuss it though.

Ayen
12-01-2013, 04:00 PM
Kind of surprised this one made it. I found it to be thoroughly mediocre, and there were plenty of better RPGs this generation. The music was good and it looked pretty, but other than that I found it to be pretty lacking.

Not to mention it has the slowest start you could imagine for any game ever, so melodramatic you could barf and the battle system was terrible. When it's turn base you should be able to control your allies.

Slothy
12-01-2013, 04:04 PM
Kind of surprised this one made it. I found it to be thoroughly mediocre, and there were plenty of better RPGs this generation. The music was good and it looked pretty, but other than that I found it to be pretty lacking.

Not to mention it has the slowest start you could imagine for any game ever, so melodramatic you could barf and the battle system was terrible. When it's turn base you should be able to control your allies.

20-25 hours really is a slow start. What were they thinking?

Shauna
12-01-2013, 04:08 PM
As someone who enjoyed FFXIII, I didn't hugely mind the "slow" start, and did not find it as much of a gruelling experience as others did. It is probably because I enjoyed the battle system as much as I did, and I enjoyed the character interactions.

Aulayna
12-01-2013, 04:09 PM
The best part of Final Fantasy XIII was when I traded it in for Wii Fit. : pokerface:

Slothy
12-01-2013, 04:12 PM
As someone who enjoyed FFXIII, I didn't hugely mind the "slow" start, and did not find it as much of a gruelling experience as others did. It is probably because I enjoyed the battle system as much as I did, and I enjoyed the character interactions.

I could see not minding the opening as much as I did if you actually enjoyed the battle system, but even then, it didn't really start to open up until about the five hour mark. That's a really long time to go with not much to do other than select auto-battle.


The best part of Final Fantasy XIII was when I traded it in for Wii Fit. : pokerface:

My favourite part was when my PS3 died and I no longer felt compelled to finish it.

Shauna
12-01-2013, 04:15 PM
Eh. I played through FF7 only using the Attack function, it's not that different - Mash X to Win.

The worst section was playing as Sazh and Vanille. Two Ravagers should never be your only option. ._.

Aulayna
12-01-2013, 04:16 PM
To be honest I do bash on XIII a lot but it's usually in jest, it's definitely not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination. I just think it strayed too far from what people were hoping for in the then "next-gen Final Fantasy." And I'm one of the few weirdos that loved XIII-2

Loony BoB
12-01-2013, 04:17 PM
While I didn't include it, I agree with Shauna regarding the battle system. Compared to earlier titles, I felt XIII had me doing a lot more than pressing X to win.

EDIT: And Aul, I wouldn't say that you're one of the "few weirdos that loved XIII-2" because most people that played XIII-2 actually enjoyed it, and a number of people around the forums have noted it's pretty much what XIII should have been. I think it's widely regarded as better than XIII... but not enough people played it to get the attention it deserved because of their experiences with XIII.

Ayen
12-01-2013, 04:21 PM
Maybe I would have lasted longer if they stayed on Lightning and Sazh. When they switched to Snow and the kids I just wanted to get back to Lightning, and by the time I finally got back to Lightning I was already bored of it. I'm just glad I have a strict rent it before you buy it policy.

Aulayna
12-01-2013, 04:22 PM
While I didn't include it, I agree with Shauna regarding the battle system. Compared to earlier titles, I felt XIII had me doing a lot more than pressing X to win.

EDIT: And Aul, I wouldn't say that you're one of the "few weirdos that loved XIII-2" because most people that played XIII-2 actually enjoyed it, and a number of people around the forums have noted it's pretty much what XIII should have been. I think it's widely regarded as better than XIII... but not enough people played it to get the attention it deserved because of their experiences with XIII.

I see your point, but I'm going to counter it by saying:

I liked Vanille.

Hollycat
12-01-2013, 04:30 PM
I wonder if any noms for 13 were people just trolling.
It's really hard for me to believe that anyone would think it was one of the best games of this generation.

Loony BoB
12-01-2013, 04:42 PM
I see your point, but I'm going to counter it by saying:

I liked Vanille.
Me too, but I'll concede we're in the minority on that one. xD

Slothy
12-01-2013, 04:51 PM
While I didn't include it, I agree with Shauna regarding the battle system. Compared to earlier titles, I felt XIII had me doing a lot more than pressing X to win.

Then you were playing XIII wrong. Aside from swapping between 3 different paradigm setups it was just mash auto-battle to win. Even in the toughest boss fights. And to add to that the game had you doing nothing of any value outside of battle.

Sure, mashing X in just about any RPG can carry you through most of the normal enemy battles, but at least in games like FFV, VII, IX, XII, etc. there were options for different character builds, and in tougher fights you had to read a situation and make more decisions than the obvious I need to heal now, I need to use physical attacks now, and I need to use magic now. Or even if you didn't need to make those decisions to scrape by, they were still there so you could play more optimally. You never get that level of decision making in XIII at all. Not even the option for it in fact. At least not until you're already snuggling up to the end game, and making players wait about 30 hours before they get any actual agency in the game just isn't acceptable. Sure, some people might not mind or notice as much as others, but it's still just bad game design.

And all of those previous FF titles also had more going for them than just the battle system and the story. At least if you didn't like one or both very much there was still more to them than those.

Shauna
12-01-2013, 05:06 PM
I blitzed through the entirety of FF7 barely doing anything other than Attacking. The only decision I ever had to make other than Attack was I need to heal now. Which is very similar to what I did in FF13. I never went for the option to do anything else, because I never felt any sort of need to. But, that's just the way I play games, so the fact that there is any other way to do things makes no difference to me. :3

Although, as I have said previous, FF13 often made me think about what I was doing and flat out required me doing something other than simply using the same command over and over. I had to switch to other classes to deal with certain battles, no way around it. I may have had some kick-ass materia in FF7, but I never felt that I actually had to do anything else other than attack to win.

Shauna
12-01-2013, 05:06 PM
Mass Effect 2
2010 – PC, PS3, Xbox 360
6 Nominations
http://i.imgur.com/jSwkJWK.jpg


The universe of Mass Effect is an intricately crafted one of sci-fi, philosophy, sociology and much more besides. At first glance the games in this series might just appear like another cookie cutter entry into the cover-based shooter genre, but that would be far from the truth.

Mass Effect 2 streamlined a lot of the more bulky elements of the first. Gone are the awkwardly controlled driving segments, gone is the weapon manufacturing and deeply customisable ability system. Some fans of the series mourned the loss of such features, but the core gameplay was still there which kept this feeling distinctly Mass Effect.

What better way to introduce this change up by blowing up everything you knew and held dear from the original Mass Effect. As the Normandy was destroyed, a new, more convicted Shepard arose from the ashes.
No longer working officially for the Systems Alliance, our protagonist Commander Shepard reluctantly aids the morally ambiguous pro-humanity group Cerberus. Throughout the 30 hour so journey, you assemble a rag tag bunch of misfits and throw yourself space first into a proverbial space hell.

The beauty of the series as a whole, maybe with the exception of the endings in 3, is that your Commander Shepard is your Commander Shepard. You could toe the line and be the very best by following the path of the Paragon, or perhaps you could do whatever it takes - no matter seemingly how evil or detached, to get the job done as Renegade. Or maybe you'd just walk a fine line between both. Although the central plot may not deviate a huge amount based on your decisions, it still becomes a system that begs multiple playthroughs. In one play through you might choose to take the higher ground in an argument, in the next you could punch that guy in the face - with each decision subtly changing the interactions between characters and ultimately affecting your survival chances in the very last mission of the game, aptly titled the "Suicide Run."

Refinements to the AI and gameplay meant that when firefights did break out, they were a blast, and the streamlined new ability system still left players with enough variation to conjure up some seriously devastating combos.

From intense set pieces, to tear jerking cut scenes - the breadth and depth of what it means to be human, or simply just to be alive in the Milky Way, was explored in a truly memorable experience.


Deus Ex: Human Revolution (3)
Team Fortress 2 (2)
Far Cry 3 (2)
Okami HD (2)
Beyond: Two Souls (1)
Street Fighter IV (1)
Dragon Age: Origins (1)
FIFA 12 (1)
Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! (1)
Hatoful Boyfriend (1)

Ayen
12-01-2013, 05:10 PM
Finally something I nominated made it on the list and is well deserved. It's a worthy sequel to the first one and improve on the factors I didn't care too much for in the first game and the Collectors made their presence felt every time they made an appearance. BioWare losing the rights to make Star Wars games for a while is the best thing that ever happened since that what led to them developing the first Mass Effect.

Aulayna
12-01-2013, 05:11 PM
Oh hey, something I nominated! The write-up was pretty good too *cough*

Hollycat
12-01-2013, 05:16 PM
A very very good game. I personally enjoyed 3 more, but 2 was a 9/10 for me.

Loony BoB
12-01-2013, 05:36 PM
Far Cry 3! Nooooooooo!

Scotty_ffgamer
12-01-2013, 05:37 PM
To be honest I do bash on XIII a lot but it's usually in jest, it's definitely not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination. I just think it strayed too far from what people were hoping for in the then "next-gen Final Fantasy." And I'm one of the few weirdos that loved XIII-2


I will say I love XIII-2 as well. It is way more enjoyable than XIII as well (and I did enjoy XIII quite a bit).

Anyways, I need to get around to completing the Mass Effect series. I did play Mass Effect 1 and 2 when I had a 360, but I sold my 360 before 3 came out. Mass Effect 2 was a great game; though, it's definitely not a top game for me. That's mainly just because I simply don't enjoy shooters of any kind very well.

Shauna
12-01-2013, 05:40 PM
Mass Effect becomes more cover-based shooter the further is goes along the series.

Ayen
12-01-2013, 05:41 PM
Yeah, that's one of the things I like about 2 and 3 over 1. It's easier to duck behind cover and shoot from there.

Del Murder
12-01-2013, 05:43 PM
Wow, I'm shocked ME2 isn't further up on the list. I thought it had a good chance of being number 1! Needless to say, I loved this game and it was on my list. Building your team for the suicide mission was a lot of fun and poking your nose in other planetary business was fun as well. The cast was well-rounded and the story had some interesting decisions for you to make. Combat was fun too, especially for my Sentinel who had a mix of biotic and tech powers.

Final Fantasy XIII was not a terrible game, but it had a lot of flaws I couldn't get over. The pros were the graphics and main cast and maybe the story. The cons were the linearity (which I don't mind in RPGs but not when you are literally running down a corridor for 75% of the maps), lack of interesting side characters, and atmosphere. Unlike others, I didn't care for this battle system either. I thought it was too AI driven and lacked control. I also didn't really like the music as much as some of you.

Gamblet
12-01-2013, 05:48 PM
Finally something I nominated made it on the list and is well deserved. It's a worthy sequel to the first one and improve on the factors I didn't care too much for in the first game and the Collectors made their presence felt every time they made an appearance. BioWare losing the rights to make Star Wars games for a while is the best thing that ever happened since that what led to them developing the first Mass Effect.

Yes, finally...

Spuuky
12-01-2013, 06:50 PM
I'm kind of surprised that Dragon Age only got 1 vote (although I don't think I voted for it, hard to remember these days).

Freya
12-01-2013, 08:05 PM
Nah Mass Effect 2 was better. Yay finally something I voted for! And of course my fav game series.

Ayen
12-01-2013, 08:11 PM
Mass Effect 3 was a little bit of a letdown for me. We've waited two games now to see the Reapers and they're mostly just kept in the background. Cerberus feels more like the main villains in this game because they're a more imposing threat throughout. And the beginning was like, "Oh no it's the Reapers, you know it's sad because a kid died and sad music is playing. Cry!"

I still like it and had fun playing but I can see why people would choose 2 over it.

Del Murder
12-01-2013, 08:32 PM
I'm kind of surprised that Dragon Age only got 1 vote (although I don't think I voted for it, hard to remember these days).
It was probably Jessweeee's vote, though I'm not sure if she voted. We'll know for sure if we see The World Ends with You up there.

Mahad
12-01-2013, 08:59 PM
I'm kind of surprised that Dragon Age only got 1 vote (although I don't think I voted for it, hard to remember these days).

Same here. I didn't vote for it, but it was a pretty good game.

The one problem I had with ME2 is the final battle, particularly the fact that the last boss is just a big robot that was supposed to be a mighty reaper (even if not fully constructed). I was expecting something else, but eh. It was almost 10/10 for me.

Shauna
12-01-2013, 09:00 PM
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep
2010 - PSP
6 Nominations
http://i.imgur.com/RLVbSbf.jpg


Warning! This speech was written by a massive Kingdom Hearts nerd.

Birth By Sleep often gets the title of best Kingdom Hearts game ever. Not that it is terribly difficult to improve upon the slog that we had received beforehand. 358/2 Days, Re: Coded, and Chain of Memories weren’t bad games, they just weren’t as good as the original Kingdom Hearts. Coming up to Birth By Sleep, I was excited because I love KH, but I was also a little bit hesitant. Would I be getting myself into another Days? More repetitive and uninspiring mission based gameplay? BbS took me by surprise when I had a fully fleshed out game, with interesting characters and some cool new worlds to visit.

We follow the story of Ventus, Terra and Aqua as they travel through the worlds under the watchful eye of the totally unsuspicious Lord Xehanort. You do have to play through the game three times to get the full story, as the three characters’ tales intertwine to give us a full picture. Although I accuse Days of being repetitive, the fact that you play BbS three times was not that much of a bother to me. It helps that for the most part you do experience different stories and often different areas of the world in each story, so it doesn’t feel like you’re retreading the same ground again and again. The new Disney worlds were good to see, and it works really well as a prequel. For example, in Enchanted Dominion we see how Maleficent got to where she was in the original Kingdom Hearts.

The new main characters are all fairly engaging. My only complaint is that Aqua, who was my favourite of the three, kind of fell by the wayside throughout the story, not really doing… anything. She just chased after Ventus and Terra, and didn’t really have her “own story”, although she start to come into her own at the end of the game. I am hoping that in future she will have a bigger part to play, as Ventus and Terra have already made a few reappearances. It has been heavily implied along the way that she will be back, so yay for that. Bring on Number 3.
The revamp of the battle system is also a great addition to the game. It streamlines the already existing battle system making it smoother, by adding a whole new layer of customisation to the battles with the command deck. What skills you have equipped determines what special moves you can use.

I wouldn’t recommend starting here if you haven’t played Kingdom Hearts, but if you are a fan you do need to play it. It’s coming in ReMix 2.5, so if you haven’t had the chance to play it because of Squeenix’s inability to keep this series on any one console, give it a few more months and pick it up on the PS3. Unless you don’t have a PS3, then… maybe someday?


Civilization IV (3)
League of Legends (2)
Final Fantasy: Dissidia (2)
Spelunky (2)
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (1)
Distant Worlds (1)
Pokemon Soul Silver (1)
Epic Mickey (1)
Gears of War 2 (1)
Record of Agarest War (1)

Ayen
12-01-2013, 09:06 PM
Spelunky (2)

-high fives whoever else it was that nominated Spelunky-

Not surprise to see a Kingdom Hearts on here, this franchise is crazy hot. I only played the first game in the series. Meant to get around to playing the second but I never got around to it.

Jessweeee♪
12-01-2013, 09:07 PM
The best things about Mass Effect 2:
Charge + Shotgun
Letting all of your squadmates die.



I'm kind of surprised that Dragon Age only got 1 vote (although I don't think I voted for it, hard to remember these days).
It was probably Jessweeee's vote, though I'm not sure if she voted. We'll know for sure if we see The World Ends with You up there.

:shifty:

Pike
12-01-2013, 09:08 PM
Deus Ex: Human Revolution (3)



Mirror's Edge (4)



Civilization IV (3)


I tried so hard and got so far but in the end it doesn't even matter http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a109/Pikestaff/smiley/negativeman-55f_zps12bc1597.png

Madame Adequate
12-01-2013, 09:12 PM
These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase

Spuuky
12-01-2013, 09:13 PM
Your own fault, Civ 4 still had a major SoD problem and square-based movement. I don't care what other flaws it had, Civ 5 is automatically better for those reasons.

Shauna
12-01-2013, 09:13 PM
I'd have liked to see Mirror's Edge hit the top. It was a pretty brilliant game.

If only more of you nerds had nominated! :argh:

Madame Adequate
12-01-2013, 09:15 PM
Your own fault, Civ 4 still had a major SoD problem and square-based movement. I don't care what other flaws it had, Civ 5 is automatically better for those reasons.

-NuONuafxwk

e; and yes Shauna I can't really talk about that one because I forgot to fucking vote for it so :monster:

Pike
12-01-2013, 09:15 PM
Three votes for Civ IV

Lemme guess

Pike, Mister Adequate, Laddy

I'm pretty sure it was Mirage actually if I succeeding in talking him into it in #eoff.

Shauna
12-01-2013, 09:19 PM
e; and yes Shauna I can't really talk about that one because I forgot to fucking vote for it so :monster:

tbf I think I failed to bring it up in my own nominations too... :(

Madame Adequate
12-01-2013, 09:19 PM
Your own fault, Civ 4 still had a major SoD problem and square-based movement. I don't care what other flaws it had, Civ 5 is automatically better for those reasons.

How does it feel to be so wrong?

Ayen
12-01-2013, 09:24 PM
I'd have liked to see Mirror's Edge hit the top. It was a pretty brilliant game.

If only more of you nerds had nominated! :argh:

I guess it couldn't make the jump :cool:

Madame Adequate
12-01-2013, 09:24 PM
Your own fault, Civ 4 still had a major SoD problem and square-based movement. I don't care what other flaws it had, Civ 5 is automatically better for those reasons.

What Went Wrong? (http://www.garath.net/Sullla/Civ5/whatwentwrong.html)

e; ^^^ :negative:

Slothy
12-01-2013, 09:28 PM
Your own fault, Civ 4 still had a major SoD problem and square-based movement. I don't care what other flaws it had, Civ 5 is automatically better for those reasons.

How does it feel to be so wrong?

You mean those things that only affect a single aspect of the game that the series has never been all that good at anyway being fixed doesn't make up for everything else getting worse? Do tell!

Aulayna
12-01-2013, 09:42 PM
I'm fairly sure I nominated Deus Ex too. I got you.

Pike
12-01-2013, 09:46 PM
Actually I completely forgot to nominate Mirror's Edge and I feel bad about it.

Scotty_ffgamer
12-01-2013, 09:46 PM
I... can't remember if I voted for Mirror's Edge. I feel like I didn't, and I am horribly disappointed in myself for it if that is the case. It had been so long since I played that game (and I don't actually own a copy) that I kind of didn't think about it as I was looking through my games to see what I'd vote for.

Pike
12-01-2013, 09:48 PM
RECOUNT: All the people who forgot to nominate Mirror's Edge nominate it now; watch as it wins the entire thing.

Shauna
12-01-2013, 09:50 PM
If all of us had remembered to nominate Mirror's Edge, then it would have been #1 with no competition. I hope we are all pleased with ourselves.

Ayen
12-01-2013, 09:53 PM
It was me. I couldn't get past the tutorial on the game so I made sure you all forgot to nominate it to attain the pettiest revenge in forum history.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNgxyL5zEAk

Spuuky
12-01-2013, 09:55 PM
You mean those things that only affect a single aspect of the game that the series has never been all that good at anyway being fixed doesn't make up for everything else getting worse? Do tell!Making warfare tolerable is pretty important in a game in which warfare is exceedingly prevalent. And I wouldn't say "everything else" got worse, basically only religion.

Slothy
12-01-2013, 10:24 PM
Actually I completely forgot to nominate Mirror's Edge and I feel bad about it.

This.



You mean those things that only affect a single aspect of the game that the series has never been all that good at anyway being fixed doesn't make up for everything else getting worse? Do tell!Making warfare tolerable is pretty important in a game in which warfare is exceedingly prevalent. And I wouldn't say "everything else" got worse, basically only religion.

I believe MILF fielded this one earlier. And I'm really not sure that one unit per tile makes combat more tolerable when enough units makes movement more of a pain, and the combat rarely boils down to more than "build best units I can and throw them at the enemy." Sure, there's a bit more to it than that in pretty much every Civ, but the combat is boring. Always has been, probably always will be unless they're going to turn the series into a turn based strategy with some 4X elements tacked on.

Madame Adequate
12-01-2013, 10:33 PM
But warfare didn't get more tolerable, it got demonstrably worse, as that link I linked explained. 1UPT is the single worst decision Civ has ever made, fundamentally because it's not a grognardy wargame like Gary Grigsby's War in the East, it's a grand strategic/management game with elements of war. It didn't even fix warfare, is my point.

Dat Matt
12-01-2013, 10:36 PM
I'd have liked to see Mirror's Edge hit the top. It was a pretty brilliant game.

If only more of you nerds had nominated! :argh:

I nominated mirrors edge, /smug

Jessweeee♪
12-01-2013, 11:11 PM
You guys Mirror's Edge is great you suck :(

Hollycat
12-01-2013, 11:13 PM
You guys Mirror's Edge is great you suck :(
But can you really convince yourself it was better than Skyrim, Bioshock, GTAV, Persona 4, etc, etc?

Jessweeee♪
12-01-2013, 11:18 PM
You guys Mirror's Edge is great you suck :(
But can you really convince yourself it was better than Skyrim, Bioshock, GTAV, Persona 4, etc, etc?

Maybe not P4 but all of those other games I didn't personally like as much. Especially Skyrim. It's amazing how a game can be so vast and detailed and totally lifeless at the same time. I mean every NPC has this detailed routine and there's so much thought and love put into everything and yet there is no personality to any of it and I got so booooored. I play Skyrim and I'm like, "I could have gone outside today."

Pike
12-01-2013, 11:20 PM
Skyrim actually has a lot more personality than people give it credit for but on the other hand I'm an Elder Scrolls lore nerd so I know the story and importance behind eeeeeeeeeeverything and that gives it a lot of feeling.

Slothy
12-01-2013, 11:32 PM
You guys Mirror's Edge is great you suck :(
But can you really convince yourself it was better than Skyrim, Bioshock, GTAV, Persona 4, etc, etc?

Persona 4 isn't from the last console generation. And yes. Yes it is.

Madame Adequate
12-01-2013, 11:37 PM
You guys Mirror's Edge is great you suck :(
But can you really convince yourself it was better than Skyrim, Bioshock, GTAV, Persona 4, etc, etc?

It's not really hard to convince myself that a game is better than Bioshock or Persona 4. Usually I just need to play the game for ten minutes.

Shauna
12-01-2013, 11:55 PM
Grand Theft Auto V
2013 – PS3, Xbox 360
6 Nominations
http://i.imgur.com/Q4LVjYS.jpg


What can be said about this game, this series, that hasn't already been said? It's a cultural phenomenon the likes of which is rarely seen. It's a moneymaking powerhouse of astonishing scale, rocketing to a billion dollars of sales in just three days - the fast entertainment release in history to reach that. The number of hours sunk into these games is stupendous. From the original top down to the blisteringly gorgeous, entirely remade San Andreas in 5 the series has rarely faltered, and this is one of the most astonishing offerings yet.

First, it's vast. We're used to open-world environments being large. Skyrim is large. But San Andreas is titanic. And every inch of it is packed with Rockstar's trademark attention to detail, care, and irreverence. As if to emphasize the scale you now control not one but three protagonists, long-suffering Michael De Santa, effective but misguided Franklin Clinton, and psychopathic lunatic Trevor Philips - you can switch between them mostly at will, often during missions, offering you the chance to explore the world from different perspectives and making use of their different skills.

There was a lot of criticism of GTA IV due to its perceived pessimism being at odds with the inherent fun of open-world crime games, and V goes a long way to address that. It's no Saint's Row, but the missions are much closer to the beloved, maniacal realm of GTA San Andreas than IV was. And no matter what you want to do GTA V can probably accommodate, whether it's killing sprees, bank heists (and oh how glorious those centerpieces are), tennis, golf, realty, playing the stock market, assassinations, stealing military jets, going submarining, the list goes on. I've heard GTA V referred to as "dress-up for men" and between the different outfits, homes, hairstyles, and gun and car customization options it's a very sound title. There's very, very little reason not to get this game right now.


Mass Effect 3 (3)
Grand Theft Auto IV (2)
Darksiders II (2)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (2)
Just Cause 2 (1)
Final Fantasy Tactics A2 (1)
Mario Party 8 (1)
Super Meat Boy (1)
Path of Exile (1)
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (1)


And so ends the games with 6 Nominations. Up to the next tier for the start of the latter half of the revelations!

Ayen
12-01-2013, 11:58 PM
Mirror's Edge has a unique gaming experience that requires expert timing and precision, a strong female protagonist and somehow overcame the obstacle of being a EA Game. It has my respect.

Skyrim is good too. It takes some effort on my part to get into Bethesda style RPGs, JRPGs and BioWare has spoiled me a lot on that front. Got stuck at the beginning of Bioshock... Never played any of the GTA games or heard of P4.

Edit: Speak of the devil. One of them, anyway.

Hollycat
12-02-2013, 12:00 AM
You guys Mirror's Edge is great you suck :(
But can you really convince yourself it was better than Skyrim, Bioshock, GTAV, Persona 4, etc, etc?

Persona 4 isn't from the last console generation. And yes. Yes it is.
It may have come out on PS2, but that wasn't till 2008, 2 years after the xbox 360. That would at least put it in the time period.

Aulayna
12-02-2013, 12:00 AM
You guys Mirror's Edge is great you suck :(
But can you really convince yourself it was better than Skyrim, Bioshock, GTAV, Persona 4, etc, etc?

Short answer: Yes

Long answer: Yes

Slothy
12-02-2013, 12:18 AM
You guys Mirror's Edge is great you suck :(
But can you really convince yourself it was better than Skyrim, Bioshock, GTAV, Persona 4, etc, etc?

Persona 4 isn't from the last console generation. And yes. Yes it is.
It may have come out on PS2, but that wasn't till 2008, 2 years after the xbox 360. That would at least put it in the time period.

That's not what this thread is about.

Spuuky
12-02-2013, 12:25 AM
But warfare didn't get more tolerable, it got demonstrably worse, as that link I linked explained. 1UPT is the single worst decision Civ has ever made, fundamentally because it's not a grognardy wargame like Gary Grigsby's War in the East, it's a grand strategic/management game with elements of war. It didn't even fix warfare, is my point.It "fixed" warfare for me. It made it a lot more fun. Basically, anything that makes armies smaller makes war more fun. I suppose I'm just biased because it more heavily favors the defender now. I'm indifferent to war in Civ 5. In Civ 4, I actively and desperately hated war and it made me want to quit the game. That's a big upgrade to me.

Del Murder
12-02-2013, 01:43 AM
Why is everyone talking about the games that didn't make the cut?

Birth By Sleep was a wonderful game and my favorite in the KH franchise. It had the most polished gameplay of any KH game and utilized a very fun command system to its full potential. It was also able to make sense and tie up some of the many confusing plot elements that were introduced in KH2 and other spinoffs. I also enjoyed the three character approach and how you got to see the plot of each world unfold from different perspectives. A really great game.

I've never played any GTA game but I knew GTAV would be on the list. The hype and acclaim this game got is probably unmatched to any other game this generation. For me, I prefer more fantastic settings and not being a criminal, so the GTA franchise never really appealed to me.

Hollycat
12-02-2013, 01:48 AM
Why is everyone talking about the games that didn't make the cut?

Birth By Sleep was a wonderful game and my favorite in the KH franchise. It had the most polished gameplay of any KH game and utilized a very fun command system to its full potential. It was also able to make sense and tie up some of the many confusing plot elements that were introduced in KH2 and other spinoffs. I also enjoyed the three character approach and how you got to see the plot of each world unfold from different perspectives. A really great game.

I've never played any GTA game but I knew GTAV would be on the list. The hype and acclaim this game got is probably unmatched to any other game this generation. For me, I prefer more fantastic settings and not being a criminal, so the GTA franchise never really appealed to me.
Agreed with all the KH comments

Ayen
12-02-2013, 01:51 AM
I've never played any GTA game but I knew GTAV would be on the list. The hype and acclaim this game got is probably unmatched to any other game this generation. For me, I prefer more fantastic settings and not being a criminal, so the GTA franchise never really appealed to me.

I get that. It's probably why I never care to dive into the franchise. Don't think I talked to a gamer in the last couple of months that hasn't played this game so no surprise. Would've thought it'd be higher up on the list, though.

Pike
12-02-2013, 02:04 AM
Don't think I talked to a gamer in the last couple of months that hasn't played this game so no surprise.

I haven't played it! But I watched Mister Adequate play many, many hours of it and I came to the conclusion that it's basically Playing Dress-Up: Man Edition. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

Madame Adequate
12-02-2013, 02:08 AM
But warfare didn't get more tolerable, it got demonstrably worse, as that link I linked explained. 1UPT is the single worst decision Civ has ever made, fundamentally because it's not a grognardy wargame like Gary Grigsby's War in the East, it's a grand strategic/management game with elements of war. It didn't even fix warfare, is my point.It "fixed" warfare for me. It made it a lot more fun. Basically, anything that makes armies smaller makes war more fun. I suppose I'm just biased because it more heavily favors the defender now. I'm indifferent to war in Civ 5. In Civ 4, I actively and desperately hated war and it made me want to quit the game. That's a big upgrade to me.

I can't wrap my head around why you feel this way, but opinions is opinions. As long as you're having fun with vidya that's the most important thing!

Slothy
12-02-2013, 02:27 AM
Why is everyone talking about the games that didn't make the cut?

People are going to talk about what they're going to talk about. Personally, I haven't played this KH or GTA5 and I can't say I have a powerful urge to in either case. I'm not going to have a lot to say about games I haven't played and have no interest in.

Ayen
12-02-2013, 02:29 AM
Dress-Up: Man Edition.

That sounds wonderful, awful and scary all at once.

Del Murder
12-02-2013, 02:30 AM
Why is everyone talking about the games that didn't make the cut?

People are going to talk about what they're going to talk about.
Thanks Perd.

Scotty_ffgamer
12-02-2013, 02:40 AM
I need to get back around to playing GTAV. I didn't play it for very long, but I did enjoy some of it. Honestly, I don't think the GTA games will ever be my thing, especially now that I've played Just Cause 2 and some of Sleeping Dogs. Both of those are more enjoyable than any of the GTA games to me.

Pete for President
12-02-2013, 03:17 AM
Deus Ex :'(

Dr Unne
12-02-2013, 03:26 AM
Why is everyone talking about the games that didn't make the cut?

One of the games that made the cut was a Hyundai Accent.

In other news, Spelunky should be on this list. That game is going to be remembered as one of the classic indie PC games of our generation. It does what it does very well.

Denmark
12-02-2013, 03:28 AM
ITT: violent arguments about video games

I completely missed the last generation, barring some PC games I got within the last year on Steam. I own a Wii that I got about 4 months ago that I use to play Gamecube games and watch Netflix. So that's why I didn't nominate anything B)

Shauna
12-02-2013, 10:02 AM
Portal
2007 – PC, PS3, Xbox 360
7 Nominations
http://i.imgur.com/SvpRiHY.jpg



This was a triumph
I’m making a note here
HUGE SUCCESS

What makes Portal stick out the most is probably its originality. Using FPS-like controls for a puzzle game is at least something I personally had never seen before when I picked it up. However, originality alone is not enough to make a great game. Good thing then, that Portal also delivers pretty well in many other areas. Although the protagonist is silent, and there are no other humans around to actually talk with, the game still delivers a lot of humour, and manages to tell you a story, in its own way. The puzzles are also exciting, and the graphics aren't exactly bad either. And lastly, despite some of her, well, faults, how can you not love GLaDOS?

What will probably be remembered most about Portal is the humour that it laced throughout the puzzles. Well, that and the memes that will live forever, just like the Companion Cube will live forever in our hearts, and I imagine that in 10 years’ time the nerds of the future will still be randomly breaking out into song (the nerds I know now do this, is it a thing? Who knows?) with the ever memorable Still Alive. The game itself is fairly short, but when I first played it took me quite a while as I made sure to stop and listen to every word GLaDOS had to say, even to my own detriment in the final encounter. Her cutting remarks were hurtful, but also managed to be completely hilarious the first time round.

The game itself being short is not a bad thing. It feels perfectly self-contained, and there isn’t really anything else like it out there. Except from Portal 2.

The only bad thing about Portal is showing your friends it, and letting them play as you know they’ll have a great time. And you watch as they can’t solve that one simple puzzle. It’s really not that difficult, why can’t they see the solution? They just have to put the portal there and the whole thing is solved, but you know you can’t interfere. …Ah, screw it, just take the controls off them and do it yourself.


Victoria II (3)
Little Big Planet (2)
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (2)
Left 4 Dead 2 (2)
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (1)
Lollipop Chainsaw (1)
Beyond Good and Evil HD (1)
Modnation Racers (1)
Gran Turismo 5 (1)
3D Dot Game Heroes (1)

Work today, so the next one won't be for another 8 hours or so. :)

Pike
12-02-2013, 10:17 AM
Victoria II (3)

I would like to know who the third individual here was so I can salute their excellent taste in vidya :cheers:

Sir Lancealot
12-02-2013, 10:30 AM
Victoria II (3)

I would like to know who the third individual here was so I can salute their excellent taste in vidya :cheers:

That would be me. Didn't nom EUIV because it barely runs on my computer.

Pike
12-02-2013, 10:31 AM
Victoria II (3)

I would like to know who the third individual here was so I can salute their excellent taste in vidya :cheers:

That would be me. Didn't nom EUIV because it barely runs on my computer.

You, my friend, have wonderful taste in video games.

And also I know that feel; CK2 barely ran on my old rig.

Loony BoB
12-02-2013, 01:42 PM
Pretty sure that I was the third Civ IV nominator, and to everyone but us three: You suck. :(

Shauna
12-02-2013, 02:02 PM
I kind of want to dig up all the nominations and call out everyone who says they nominated something, but they haven't. But I am super lazy and don't care that much. :3

SirPrizes
12-02-2013, 02:08 PM
I never really "got" Portal. I played it a couple years after it came out and there was so much praise surrounding it, and it just never really clicked for me. It had some clever puzzles and the story was pretty enjoyable, but overall it felt more to me like a tech demo showing off the portal mechanic than a full-fledged game. I think it may have been the lack of variance in the environments; you can only have so many environments in the same lab, after all. And while the puzzles were fun, none of them really stood out as very difficult or challenging to me, which might be another reason I never got really engaged with it.

There were lots of games this gen that critics loved that I didn't really care for (it seems like 9's and 10's were getting handed out left and right the past 7 or 8 years), and I don't really get why, but, oh well!

Loony BoB
12-02-2013, 02:10 PM
Since you posted that, Shauna, I decided to double check and I wasn't one of the three. So then I got curious as to why... and I noticed that you declared that PC games must have been released "since November 2005" and this is probably why I excluded it (it was first released on October 2005). :( Didn't think it would be eligible. It's safe to say it's in my top ten 7th generation video games if it's eligible for it. D=

Mirage
12-02-2013, 02:24 PM
I never really "got" Portal. I played it a couple years after it came out and there was so much praise surrounding it, and it just never really clicked for me. It had some clever puzzles and the story was pretty enjoyable, but overall it felt more to me like a tech demo showing off the portal mechanic than a full-fledged game. I think it may have been the lack of variance in the environments; you can only have so many environments in the same lab, after all. And while the puzzles were fun, none of them really stood out as very difficult or challenging to me, which might be another reason I never got really engaged with it.
Wasn't there some extra levels pack or something available? I don't remember.


There were lots of games this gen that critics loved that I didn't really care for (it seems like 9's and 10's were getting handed out left and right the past 7 or 8 years), and I don't really get why, but, oh well!
That's mostly due to rating inflation. Back in the day, games were rated on a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 was worst and 10 was best. Nowadays, games are actually rated on a scale from 7 to 10, where 7 is bad, 8 is ok, 9 is good, 10 is great, and 1-6 doesn't really exist.

Slothy
12-02-2013, 02:31 PM
I never really "got" Portal. I played it a couple years after it came out and there was so much praise surrounding it, and it just never really clicked for me. It had some clever puzzles and the story was pretty enjoyable, but overall it felt more to me like a tech demo showing off the portal mechanic than a full-fledged game. I think it may have been the lack of variance in the environments; you can only have so many environments in the same lab, after all. And while the puzzles were fun, none of them really stood out as very difficult or challenging to me, which might be another reason I never got really engaged with it.

There were lots of games this gen that critics loved that I didn't really care for (it seems like 9's and 10's were getting handed out left and right the past 7 or 8 years), and I don't really get why, but, oh well!

You know the lab was maybe half of the game right?

SirPrizes
12-02-2013, 02:50 PM
I never really "got" Portal. I played it a couple years after it came out and there was so much praise surrounding it, and it just never really clicked for me. It had some clever puzzles and the story was pretty enjoyable, but overall it felt more to me like a tech demo showing off the portal mechanic than a full-fledged game. I think it may have been the lack of variance in the environments; you can only have so many environments in the same lab, after all. And while the puzzles were fun, none of them really stood out as very difficult or challenging to me, which might be another reason I never got really engaged with it.

There were lots of games this gen that critics loved that I didn't really care for (it seems like 9's and 10's were getting handed out left and right the past 7 or 8 years), and I don't really get why, but, oh well!

You know the lab was maybe half of the game right?
It's been a while, I remember the whole escape sequence during the latter portion of the game but I thought that was all still in the lab.

Hollycat
12-02-2013, 03:00 PM
Oh man, Portal is excellent. If you haven't played it, I'm pretty sure it's free on steam now, and totally worth the time invested.

Gamblet
12-02-2013, 04:05 PM
Darksiders II (2)

Path of Exile (1)



:mad:

Del Murder
12-02-2013, 04:16 PM
Portal was a pretty good game. Short, but good. Very unique use of physics. Though if GLaDOS wasn't in it I don't think it would have made the list. She's one of the best video game characters of all time.

Shauna
12-02-2013, 04:24 PM
Since you posted that, Shauna, I decided to double check and I wasn't one of the three. So then I got curious as to why... and I noticed that you declared that PC games must have been released "since November 2005" and this is probably why I excluded it (it was first released on October 2005). :( Didn't think it would be eligible. It's safe to say it's in my top ten 7th generation video games if it's eligible for it. D=

I will admit I did very little research on release dates. I assumed that everyone would adhere to my simple rules! I was mistaken, obviously. :( Next time I run anything, I'll probably go that extra mile, and make sure that everything falls in my arbitrary time-scale.

Pike
12-02-2013, 04:43 PM
I triple-checked and I could have sworn it was eligible D: my mistake and I nominate Mirror's Edge in its place.

Shauna
12-02-2013, 04:48 PM
I, show-runner of the EoFF's Top Games, hereby give Mirror's Edge the title of "Honourary Top Game of Gen 7".

Jiro
12-02-2013, 04:59 PM
The range of games nominated is really quite impressive, and it's testament to the quality of this generation that there are so many quite excellent games that haven't made the cut. Plenty of shit and shovelware out there but hey, still plenty of gems too.

Ayen
12-02-2013, 05:17 PM
Never played. I love the song, though.

Del Murder
12-02-2013, 05:52 PM
Never played Mirror's Edge. Maybe I should.

Spuuky
12-02-2013, 05:53 PM
Portal is a great game. And you're right, it wouldn't have made it without GLaDOS, but is that a meaningful statement? Final Fantasy 6 wouldn't have been the best Final Fantasy without Kefka.

Of course the game is pretty short, but is that really a problem? A really good short story is still better than a crappy novel.

Slothy
12-02-2013, 06:02 PM
Never played Mirror's Edge. Maybe I should.

Yes, you should. One of the best games released this generation and I hate myself for forgetting to include it in my nominations.

Psychotic
12-02-2013, 06:05 PM
Half the fun of Portal is the comedy writing, and that doesn't just mean GLaDOS.

Hollycat
12-02-2013, 06:25 PM
Never played Mirror's Edge. Maybe I should.
You can pick it up for about $10 bucks, it's pretty fun and worth it at that price, but I can't make myself believe it would be worth even a $40 investment new. It's short, only has one mode, and has very little replay value. The story is uninteresting and predictable, and the graphics look like Half life 2. BUT- The gameplay is pretty good and there isn't anything else like it really.

It would have been better in 3rd person though.

Scotty_ffgamer
12-02-2013, 06:36 PM
I just went back and looked at my list again, and I'm actually pretty disappointed in my noms. There are a couple of games I've thought about now that I'd rather be on the list, and I also just beat quite a few games in the last couple of weeks that I would have definitely put on my list instead. I also didn't realize HD rereleases counted until right after I sent my list, otherwise ICO HD would have got all of my noms.

Anyways, Portal is great! I need to get around to beating Portal 2. I just got around to the spot where you have that bouncy gel stuff.

Slothy
12-02-2013, 06:39 PM
I paid full price for Mirror's Edge back when it came out and it was worth every penny. It also has more than one mode. You've got the story mode, and time trials at least, not to mention hunting for the different runner's stashes in the game (which sounds like it would be a boring fetch quest busy work sort of deal like every other game ever made, but isn't for the first time in history).

And I have to disagree with it having little replay value. It really depends on what you're looking for. Want to blow through the story as fast as possible? You'll play it once and never touch it again. But if you recognize the game for what it is, a playground that gives you a variety of skills to move through it and have fun, you'll keep coming back. I go back to that game every few months for another play through. There are always segments that can be done faster or more smoothly, places where alternate routes exist to explore and utilize, and the sensation of defying death never really goes away. Nor the sheer terror when you miss a jump and see the ground come rushing towards you.

This game had more replay value for me than most sandbox games with days worth of extra content. This doesn't need it. It's fun in the same way Mario Bros. was fun. Here's your moves, here's your goal, have fun.

Hollycat
12-02-2013, 06:46 PM
I paid full price for Mirror's Edge back when it came out and it was worth every penny. It also has more than one mode. You've got the story mode, and time trials at least, not to mention hunting for the different runner's stashes in the game (which sounds like it would be a boring fetch quest busy work sort of deal like every other game ever made, but isn't for the first time in history).

And I have to disagree with it having little replay value. It really depends on what you're looking for. Want to blow through the story as fast as possible? You'll play it once and never touch it again. But if you recognize the game for what it is, a playground that gives you a variety of skills to move through it and have fun, you'll keep coming back. I go back to that game every few months for another play through. There are always segments that can be done faster or more smoothly, places where alternate routes exist to explore and utilize, and the sensation of defying death never really goes away. Nor the sheer terror when you miss a jump and see the ground come rushing towards you.

This game had more replay value for me than most sandbox games with days worth of extra content. This doesn't need it. It's fun in the same way Mario Bros. was fun. Here's your moves, here's your goal, have fun.
Aren't the time trials DLC?

The stash hunts aren't fetch quests, there are no quests in Mirrors Edge. They are barely hidden at all, most are just behind a fence or something. To find every secret in the game tacks on about an additional 20 minutes, if that.

What alternate routes? For the vast majority of the game that there is only one path that has a few branches that split off but then immediately rejoin. Most "alternate routes" are: should you jump over that object and climb to the roof and then jump off or go around the air conditioning unit and then jump off?

Like I said, most of the fun from the game comes from the fact that there aren't any other games like it.
It would be hundreds of times better if it were an open world where you could take courier missions and choose any route you like besides route A-1 or A-2.

I do like the fact that it takes place in future Arlington, a city which is like 20 minutes from here.

EDIT: I can however respect that you enjoyed it enough to play it multiple time. I've do the same with Freelancer.

Madame Adequate
12-02-2013, 06:51 PM
Never played Mirror's Edge. Maybe I should.
You can pick it up for about $10 bucks, it's pretty fun and worth it at that price, but I can't make myself believe it would be worth even a $40 investment new.

It is.


It's short

It doesn't overstay its welcome and the heart of the game is replaying it to get better and better.


only has one mode

So?


and has very little replay value.

Just flat-out wrong.


The story is uninteresting and predictable

It's no great shakes but it's still decent enough.


and the graphics look like Half life 2

In what world is this a criticism? HL2 still looks good ten years on. And anyway one of the reasons ME is so well-liked is because it has a really cool, unique aesthetic.


BUT- The gameplay is pretty good and there isn't anything else like it really.

I guess the only thing this videogame has going for it is that it's a good game :rolleyes:


It would have been better in 3rd person though.

Ridiculously false, the game rests on being 1st person. Might as well say Gears of War would be better as a top-down twin-stick shooter.

Hollycat
12-02-2013, 06:55 PM
Go compare the graphics of HL2 to any AAA titles that came out the last few years, you'll be flat out lying if you say HL looks better

On your last statement. The problem with 1st person platformers is that you can't see your feet. At the very least, a 1st/3rd toggle would have been nice.
The only parts that hinge on the 1st person are some of the story elements, which are thin to begin with.