Want see a prime example of AAA-bias at work? A game like Plants vs Zombies (the second-greatest indie game of all time, and maybe the greatest non-gamer game of all time) got 2 votes.
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Want see a prime example of AAA-bias at work? A game like Plants vs Zombies (the second-greatest indie game of all time, and maybe the greatest non-gamer game of all time) got 2 votes.
Plants Vs. Zombies is a pretty fun game for a while, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it the second greatest indie game ever. And every version I've played aside from the original PC version was an unbearably tedious grind to unlock the bonus levels and such.
I could probably name a half-dozen recent indie titles that I liked more just in my favourites list in my Steam library. And that's without resorting to Valve titles since they're technically independent.
The Mako was BALLER.
You guys are forgetting the best part about Mass Effect's Mako.... The unexpected thresher maw attacks. How come is not battling a giant worm fun?
I use "indie" in the colloquial sense, although yes, Valve does technically publish the games it develops, too.
The PC version is the only version I have played, so I can't really say anything about other versions of the game. And sure, I could name games I personally enjoyed more, but I wouldn't say they were "better" than it, just that they matched my personal tastes or desires for a game more; none of them are games I've seen people around me enjoy nearly as much as PvZ.
A lot of people around me enjoyed Wii Sports but it's not a very good game.
There are a lot of indie games I would say are better games than Plants Vs. Zombies. Certainly not as popular, but I don't factor that into the equation when I evaluate a game. If we're going to debate games based on their level of success then certainly PvZ is up there.
Heavy Rain (3)Quote:
As the spiritual successor to Demon's Souls, Dark Souls had a lot to live up to. Demon's Souls already established a game with an exact and punishing challenge, flexibility in accommodation for a large amount of playstyles, a combat system that rewarded deliberacy and precision, and a seamless multiplayer component. So how would Dark Souls take these established elements and progress them further?
Perhaps the biggest change between Demon's Souls and Dark Souls is the game's structure. No longer do players access different levels through a central hub, but all regions of the world of Lordran are seamlessly connected in a way that evokes memories of Super Metroid and Symphony of the Night. As players progress through the game, they will unlock doors or activate elevators that enable quick traversal through its world, and after a certain point, they can use the bonfires strewn throughout the land (the only beacons of safety and warmth) to warp between locations. Due to its seamless structure, Dark Souls offers even more flexibility in play than its predecessor; just like the aforementioned Super Metroid and Symphony of the Night, players can progress through the game in a large variety of ways and tackle the game's first and second halves in essentially any order. It is this vast freedom offered to the player that makes Dark Souls an even more compelling experience, in many ways, than Demon's Souls was before it.
Besides changes to the game's progression, it feels largely like a logical increment of what Demon's Souls had to offer. Multiplayer has been expanded through the covenant system which, while sloppily executed in some aspects, offers new amounts of depth and replayability for those who like to invade or help others through jolly cooperation. Each covenant also has a rich and detailed backstory contained in Lordran's lore, which leads to another defining aspect of Dark Souls: its storytelling.
Though many will find its story elements lacking because they are not told to the player in the traditional sense they are accustomed to (progress through a gameplay segment, watch a cutscene, repeat), the history of the world of Lordran and the way your story as the Chosen Undead fits into it is unveiled brilliantly, rewarding those compelled to investigate further. Upon closer investigation of item descriptions or the player's surroundings, the player is able to piece together a tale that is much larger than the scope of his own adventure. The tragedies of Seath, the Witches of Izalith, and Priscilla; the decay of the world of Lordran as a whole; the failures of many before you in Sen's Fortress; all are hidden away, left to be discovered by investigative players in a way that further adds to the atmosphere and mystique of the game's world. This indirect method of storytelling through observation and context, inspired by the creator's own experiences trying to piece together English fantasy stories as a Japanese child, is one of the most defining aspects of Dark Souls, and serves to tell a tale of massive scope without once interrupting the gameplay.
With the depth of its combat, multiplayer, flexibility, and lore, it is easy to see why many consider Dark Souls one of the finest games of the generation.
Darkest Hour (2)
The World Ends With You (2)
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (1)
Analogue: A Hate Story (1)
Saints Row 2 (1)
Muramasa: The Demon Blade (1)
Warrior's Orochi 2 (1)
Resident Evil 6 (1)
I will take this moment to announce that Dragon Age: Origins actually received two nominations, but my Excel spreadsheet did not pick this up because I had typed both "Dragon Age Origins" and "Dragon Age: Origins", both with one nomination each. Whoops.
Someone actually voted for RE6? whaaaaat?! That doesn't even make sense silly. Game of the Generation goes to good games.
And preferrably ones you agree with?
Too bad Heavy Rain didn't make it. It was an incredibly ambitious game with an insane amount of polish and overall achieved its goals in my eyes.
I also probably should get around to playing dark souls eventually.
Hurray, I wasn't the only one who voted for The World Ends with You! The other person who voted it gets a high five. As a side note, I lent that game to a friend about a year ago and haven't seen it since =(.
I probably should get around to playing the Demon/Dark Souls games. I own Demon Souls but only played it for a couple of minutes and then kind of forgot that I owned it.
I figured Dark Souls would be up there.
TWEWY is great. I just had some better games to nominate. The DS had a strong lineup in general.
Praise the sun!
To everyone who hasn't played Demon's Souls or Dark Souls yet and is deterred by their image of being punishingly difficult; that may seem true for the first few hours, but there are always people in-game to help you out in it's amazing multiplayer options and with Dark Souls being on Steam sales regularly (it was only $7,50 not too long ago) this might be worth giving a try nonetheless. And to think of it, the game is not that difficult. In this age, yes maybe, but I find the difficulty comparable to games like FFT and Vagrant Story.
I remember being in doubt whether to buy Dark Souls or not for weeks, and when I eventually did I doubted my purchase during the first couple hours of gameplay. With fear talked into me by the things I read online I nervously ventured into the first few levels, afraid of what horrors might await. The feeling stuck until I beat the first boss; the thrill of slaying a demon thrice your size with a trusty shield and sturdy sword after being slain yourself 3-4 times was very intense.
And now it's my favorite game of all time thus far. Praise the sun!
I didn't actually know we could nominate DS games as I wasn't really sure what generation that would be classed as. :(
Dammit, Shauna. Some of the games I love haven't been revealed as not making the cut yet and you're getting my hopes oh-so-high. :(