Your Top 10 Games of the 7th Console Generation (360/Wii/PS3)

[Bolivar]

This generation was, for the most part, awful when you're not a very action-oriented gamer such as myself. Making me not include handhelds or PC on this list was downright cruel. Yes, I am a gaming curmudgeon, but I was thoroughly angry that games felt the need to become so overwhelmingly cinematic and action-based, largely throwing out the innovations previous years have made in the industry in the hopes of making an interactive Hollywood.

^ I don't know how I'd feel about this generation if I didn't have handhelds to sustain me earlier on and PC towards the end.

[Laddy]

6. Heavy Rain: In retrospect, a very flawed game. But I enjoyed it and few games come along that attempt to innovate the industry such as this.

I would highly recommend playing The Walking Dead since you enjoyed Heavy Rain.

The Walking Dead looked closer to the ideal experience Heavy Rain was going for, I was definitely hoping to try it out.

[Aulayna]

I've barely played many console games from start to finish this generation. Largely because I became hooked on World of Warcraft and some other PC games. So my list is probably substantially different:

1. Mass Effect 3 - Regardless of the ending this was an amazing journey and after the extended cut ending I was happy enough that 5 minutes at the end of the game weren't going to ruin the culmination and closure the rest of the game provided. The multiplayer was great fun too!

2. Fable 2 - By the numbers it may have been but it's wit and charm made this a great adventure.

3. Rock Band 2 - The high point of the series for me. Fixed all the issues with the first installment and 3 just felt like an unnecessary graphical update where the keytar and pro guitar were very hard to find in Europe.

4. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - it's a Zelda game. I love Zelda games.

5. The Last Story - Proof that JRPGs can be modern, yet traditional without feeling tacky or gimmicky.

6. Assassin's Creed Series - If I had to choose one, it'd be Brotherhood. But I love this series and whilst it isn't without it's flaws they are always still a brilliant story.

7. Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Mainly for the story, even if the ending really didn't provide any sense of fulfilment. The combat was quite fluid at higher difficulties too.

8. Bastion - Sublime. I could write more but that one word sums it up.

9. Eternal Sonata - This was such a cute and quaint RPG with a really cool premise and introduced me to some classical musical pieces I never would've thought to have listened too otherwise.

10. Tomb Raider - A reboot done the right way. Combining the best elements of classic TR with Uncharted and Assassin's Creed.

(admittedly 4 of those games I played on the PC but they were on consoles too so pssh)

[Wolf Kanno]

This was much harder than I thought it would be, largely because I honestly have not enjoyed as many games this generation as I would like. The other issue is that I haven't had a chance to start some games either, Uncharted and Journey won't be showing up cause I just have not had the time to play them between school and work. So this list will definetly be weird for some of you.

10. Demon's Souls
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I really do enjoy this little action RPG survival horror title, my one regret this console generation is that I just don't have the kind of time to really put into this game. Its brutal difficulty and steep learning curve makes it a very fun old school style arcade game but my lack of time to put in a serious effort has prevented me from ever getting very far, but in terms of lore and atmosphere, this game is pretty damn amazing. Maybe I'll try to tackle it again over summer break.

9. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
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I'm a bit uneasy putting this one up, but I have to remind myself that MGS4 isn't necessarily a bad game as much as it was just a disappointment to me. The heavier emphasis on third person shooter elements wrecked the delicate balance of the game for me, not to mention I feel Kojima did a few too many ass pulls in the plot, but to be fair, he was trying to rectify the superior written MGS1 and MGS3 with the mind screw MGS2, and that wasn't going to be easy. Course I would also say he deserved the anguish since he did write MGS2... It is still my least favorite canonical MGS game but its still better than some of the games that came out this generation.

8. No More Heroes
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This game was just quirky as all hell and I loved every minute of it. Its pretty much what I would expect if Quentin Tarentino made a vidoe game with lots of gore, humor, and a bitter satire about gaming culture. I also found it to be a really fun motion game and I just don't feel it could have been as special without motion controls. It struck a nice balance for me, creating what feels like a normal gaming control experience but utilizing the motion controls for the big moments or side elements. It never dominates, it only adds to the enjoyment and I appreciate the design. I still haven't played the sequel though, maybe something to do between bouts of rage quits from playing Demon's Souls.

7. Catherine
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Oh god this was a treat, I really loved Catherine, a strange game that combined a hectic puzzle game that is as intense as any modern shooter combined with a mature but well crafted story about relationships that often went into some very uncomfortable territory. This game is exhausting and relentless. If the puzzles and boss fights are not making you sweat bullets then the story exploring the issues of cheating and relationships are not exactly the calming "down time" you may want. In true Persona team style, the game is very humorous and the social aspect of the game gave a nice heads up of what to expect from Persona 5 but in reality Catherine is a great game on its own merits. Probably one of the best written games I've played this generation.

6. Assassin's Creed III
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I'm surprised this is on here as well but quite frankly its a game I keep finding myself talking about. For all its flaws I feel this game did a lot of things right and for me it counterbalances the unintuitive convoy system, the downplayed factions, the jumpy narrative, and the myriad of glitches that made several of the missions nigh unwinnable. Despite all that, in terms of recreating a historical period, writing a compelling narrative with a new cast in the shadow of the fan favorite Ezio, and the addition of several great missions, a new and incredibly intuitive combat system, and of course the new sailing sections which were a hundred times more fun than expected. ACIII really did deliver a new direction and flavor for the annual series and its opening section of the game is one of the coolest plot twists played on the player themselves since Raiden in MGS2. It was also just nice to finally get a less bias perspective on the Revolutionary War and the Founding Fathers and I really appreciated that because the game breathed new life and interest into one of my favorite historical events. Also, smurf Desmond.

5. Batman Arkham Asylum
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Holy crap, a good Batman game! Its like the 2000s are all about taking super popular franchises and finally making decent games for them. I have not played Arkham City, its sitting in my To-Do Pile but I really enjoyed this game. Basically taking Batman, putting him in a Zelda style game with a fun and intuitive battle system and some great stealth. Rocksteady did a great job exploring the lore of the franchise and extra kudos for hiring the Batman: Animated Series voice cast to reprise the characters. Pretty much proves they did their homework on what fans love about Batman. Now if only the character designs weren't so damn ugly this game would have been perfect.

4. The Last Story
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I'm a bit iffy about putting this at number 4. Partly because the game's major flaw is kind of bad, but on the other hand it does so many things right... The Last Story has a very nice and interesting story with some really well done moments and really brought back that Final Fantasy feel that I've missed. The issue is that the game's two leading protagonist are some of the most two-dimensional beings I've dealt with in a long time and the hold the story back greatly. Some of the better moments are kind of ruined or misfire because plucky noble hero Zael and noble wallpaper Yuna wannabe Callista don't really mesh well with a story that is more Suikoden Lite than old school 16-bit JRPG. The supporting cast is excellent though and they all are instantly likable and fun to watch, recreating a sense of Tantulus from FFIX. Where The Last Story really shines is in its game design. While its combat system feels anything but JRPG, it is a very fun and engaging system that stresses strategy and being aware of what's going on in the battlefield. The boss fights themselves are more Zelda like than typical JRPG, involving you needing to figure out a key strategy to turn the tide of battle while also keeping the creatures from murdering your party. The quests are all story based to the point you won't realize they were optional until after the fact. The game doesn't really subscribe to the mini-MMO style that most modern JRPGs have been emulating so no "kill 5 of x" or collect enemy drops, the few fetch quests like it usually involve items you find on the ground or buy in shops in the game's convulated trade game. In truth, The Last Story reinvents a lot of the old RPG design cliches and gives them a decent face lift or revival. Despite its flawed story, I really enjoyed playing through it and I have my fingers crossed that a The Last Story 2 is in the cards for Mistwalker because the originally just needed a better writer and some polishing to make it a standout hit.

3. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess


Damn straight I'm going to cheat! To be honest, I like the Wii version better than the Gamecube one but that's largely because the Wii mote made stuff like aiming weapons much easier. Even though the motion controls were shoe-horned into this game, I can't help but feel they did a fantastic job of balancing them out so the motion controls don't feel too dominating. I daresay I feel TP has better motion control design than Skyward Sword which was kind of designed around showing off the motion controls whereas TP kept them practical. Besides this, I feel that TP just has one of the best stories in the franchise with Midna easily beaing the best side kick character in the series. Wolf link was tastefully done even if some of his quests felt like padding but the dungeon designs and puzzles are really good in this game and I adore how they took some old standby items in the series and found new ways to use them for puzzles, Death Mountain is still easily one of the game's coolest dungeons both visually and mechanically. The game was meant to be the "dark and edgier" Zelda and I can honestly say Nintendo delivered. I can't really fault this game and its easily my favorite of the 3D Zelda games I've played. Plus that ending... I mean damn...

2. Assassin's Creed: Revelations


Yes, I'm placing another AC game on my list, and yes I'm going to snub AC2. Assassin's Creed has probably been the only new franchise this generation that I really liked. It combined my love of stealthy murder with history and even though it tries to derail it with Sci-Fi elements its been a grand series to play. While AC2 was certainly an amazing game, I feel that AC Revelations is just a better crafted experience. This game finally nailed both the ability to make missions feel extremely cinematic but also finally got the writing down. Going through no less than four different plot threads tying up the loose ends in three different main protagonists no less. I really enjoyed getting to play Altair because I always felt he was an interesting character who had the misfortune of being in a bad game but Revelations and AC2 both went to great lengths to redeem the character. It was also nice to see Ezio as an older and wiser character finally dealing with a more complicated story instead of his rip roaring revenge quests that are AC2 and Brotherhood. Instead, Ezio is dealing with the direction of his life in his waning years, regret, the ambiguity of what makes the Templars and Assassins so different, and watching the final days of the Assassin's Orders greatest member. Meanwhile, we finally get some serious character development for Desmond, some closure with Subject 16 and its the one game that doesn't try to shove the Precursors in your face. The Desmond puzzle missions should get special mention because they really did a great job of combining a tricky but fun platforming puzzle with narrative. It was like playing something from the Indie scene and it was used to great affect. The addition of bombs and the hook blade also opened up options for dealing with missions and the game's various enemies and the A.I. got a serious boost in the head making you think twice about blowing your cover. The Marco Polo missions are also well done tour de force, combining the ingenious puzzles of AC2 with the cinematic elements of Brotherhood. The Brotherhood itself finally came more into prominence giving you a more meaningful side mission that added to the world and made the Brotherhood feel like an actual group of people and not just nameless drones you call to do your bidding.

The jump to Constantinople was also great and made me really excited because its the first time the series tackled a historical period and place I had absolutely no knowledge of. It might be different in Europe but in the U.S. no World History course I've taken has ever dwelled much on the Byzantium Empire or the Ottoman Empire. They tend to briefly mention a split and then focus on Western Europe, so Constantinople was an absolute treat and the games art direction was stunning. Its still my favorite entry in the series because it combined the best elements of the previous games and made them more functional or just plain smooth to play with. the Tower defense game being the only glaring blemish in the game but hey, at least its optional.


1. Xenoblade Chronicles



Not as much of a surprise as my second entry. Xenoblade Chronicles is an amazing game and one of the first truly splendid JRPGs this generation. In some ways its hard to describe what makes this game so amazing but people who have played it will know. Xenoblade takes the MMO model and carefully transforms it with the sensibilities of the JRPG genre, in many ways its the next step after FFXII. While it does suffer from an overabundance of MMO style missions, the game actually does a lot to change how you approach missions and ties it into expanding the world and lore of the game. Its also incredibly user friendly about everything so its much easier to forgive some of these elements if they are not your cup of tea but the game has a great battle system, story, cast, and world, but seriously its the game design that deserves the most praise. After the novel that was Xenogears and the interacive films that were Xenosaga, Tetsuya Takahashi finally delivers to fans a masterpiece in the form of an actual game. Its easily one of the best games JRPGs of this console generation and I'm not saying that because it lacked competition, its easily one of the best JRPGs released since Squaresoft's "Golden Age" and I would love to send a copy to Kitase, Wada, and Toriyama with a note saying "This is how you make a smurfing good JRPG".

[Night Fury]

I haven't played many games for the PS3, but I have really, really enjoyed Mass Effect 2 and 3, Tomb Raider and Bioshock 2.

[Loony BoB]

If you like Tomb Raider, you should get into the Uncharted series, Locky. They're very similar.

[Night Fury]

If you like Tomb Raider, you should get into the Uncharted series, Locky. They're very similar.

I've been meaning to buy them! I only recently got back into gaming, well I was gaming before but all PS2/PS1/DS stuff, I've only just gotten into the PS3 games as they're sooo expensive, even when you buy them pre-owned!

[Loony BoB]

Surely only £10-15 for either Uncharted or Uncharted 2?