Damn I hate lists so much. Especially top 10 lists of "favorites."
So of course, I made one.
1. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (DS)
1. Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
3.
4.
5. Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! (DS)
6. Psychonauts (Xbox)
7. Mario Kart DS (DS)
8.
9.
10.
11. Lumines (PSP)
Yes -- I only played five games this year that I found to be worthy of my top 10 (seeing as Lumines really didn't make it).
Animal Crossing: Wild World and Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow (both for the DS) could have ended up on the list... but well.. I got them both in 2006. TOO BAD 2005, you have to suck.
That would have made the DS domination of 2005 all the more obvious, though.
I also enjoyed Gitaroo Man more than is healthy for a human, and it would have been on my "Best of 2002" list (had I been as misguided then as I am now) but I didn't play it until this year. Alas, it gets mention here for totally rocking my 2005 more than nearly everything else.
My list also noticeably lacks some BIG games, but that is due to two things: graduating from college (lack of time) and having no job (lack of money). But alternatively, many of the games the rest of the world loves I would forgo anyway.
I could care less about Resident Evil 4 and FEAR -- sorry Dave, but Horror/Suspense is just not my bag. God of War never seemed important enough to spend my time on. I have a distaste for MMORPGs so World of Warcraft is right out. Burnout Revenge, Guitar Hero and Soul Calibur III were good enough for me to play my friends copies, but where no where near worthy of purchase or placement on a top 10. GTA:Liberty City Stories and Battlefield 2, both games I purchased and which I thought I would love, have instead been completely neglected because neither could retain my attention.
And with that, I figure I've given you all plenty of reasons to hate me.
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#1 D. Riley Jan 18, 2006 08:26am
God of War sucked. That game was awesome for 30 minutes, then it was the same 30 minutes for TEN HOURS.
You don't make me happy for talking down to RE4 and FEAR, though. :( Go play some weird puzzle game with anthropomorphic fish karate kicking rubber blocks into dykes to save Holland.
YOU KNOW YOU WOULD.
#2 Glenn Turner Jan 18, 2006 02:22pm
Pish, I rather liked God of War, despite containing crap like that sex minigame (which I missed while playing the game). Sure, it was a bit redundant at times but I thought it moved at a good pace, and had a suitably unique sense of scale & grandeur to it.
That said, if I were to create such a list, God of War wouldn't be anywhere near the top 10.
And you're really missing out with RE4 - it's more action oriented and not too terribly fright-inducing, if that helps.
#3 hobbie Jan 19, 2006 03:03pm
I'm going to BURN all of my Gyroids to spite you, since I got AC in DECEMBER like the rest of the normal world.
#4 breakbread Jan 19, 2006 06:14pm
I agree: God of War was a great action game in my opinion. What really kept me rolling with it was the combat system and the flexibility that it offered. Unlike most 3rd person action/adventure games where you seem bound to the same 3 hit combo type mechanics for the entire game, God of War offered a nice move system that scaled along with the game pretty nicely.
Plus, the first boss was easily one of my most memorable boss fights ever. It doesn't top the end of Serious Sam, but it was definitely intense.
As far as a top 10 list goes, 2005 sucked pretty hard for me as well.
Yes, I played WoW after succumbing to my friends demands that I give MMO's another shot, but like LeFeuvre I have a strong disliking of the entire MMO genre as a whole. Until someone can create a truly open-ended universe I will not be playing anymore MMO's.
F.E.A.R. offered some of the most amazingly intense firefights I have ever found myself engaged in, but the story didn't quite live up to the hype.
I really want to love Battlefield 2, but I only love it when I can fully exploit the great teamwork that the game insists upon. It's a fun game, but I still find myself satisfying my online FPS needs with CS:S : /.
I have still yet to play RE4, but I really do want to.
Soul Caliber 3 was good, but it just doesn't expand on SC2 enough for me to warrant a $50 purchase. Maybe when the price drops significantly.
Meh. I've become so critical of games that it's increasingly more difficult for me to immerse myself into a game and complete it. I beat God of War, F.E.A.R., and several other titles this year, but there were others that I didn't. Sometimes I wish I could go back to the days when I could pick up almost any decent game and play through and not writing a review in my head on the way.
#5 DeadParrot Jan 19, 2006 09:04pm
Prince of Persia: Two Thrones should be on that list.
Because, you know, I know what you like better than you.
#6 breakbread Jan 19, 2006 11:19pm
I actually haven't gotten around to playing Two Thrones just yet. I loved Sands of Time, but was turned off by the whole attitude "let's play rock tunes to pump you up" aspects of Warrior Within. I understand that the Dark Prince was part of the story and all, but I just didn't care for the change of direction.
#7 D. Riley Jan 20, 2006 07:52am
I didn't find the combo system nearly as complex as something along the lines of Devil May Cry. By the end of the game I REALLY got tired of it and killed every enemy with repeated mashing of the square button.
And it worked! Whee!
Blah.
#8 breakbread Jan 20, 2006 11:21am
DMC's combo system was complex, but I didn't feel it was as fluid as GoW's. God of War's combo system flows like the controls in Prince of Persia (not just the combat, but his abilities as well). You can do some much, so easily, and it feels great.
To each is how though.
#9 KillerTeddy Jan 20, 2006 01:12pm
I can never come up with good top 10 lists, because I always end up putting dumb ones on it.
If anything, I would have to say CoD2 for the 360
#10 DeadParrot Jan 20, 2006 01:35pm
I never played WW, but I can guarantee you that you will not be disappointed with TT. Rent it though, because it's beatable in about six hours.
#11 DrJones Jan 20, 2006 01:39pm
So was Sands of Time. But I've played through it a few times. It was worth the 30 bucks.
#12 R. LeFeuvre Jan 21, 2006 04:13am
Sigh.
Okay, so I'll try Resident Evil 4. I don't see myself getting that far (the farthest I've been in a Horror game was in Eternal Darkness, and I made it to the bathtub)... and no one I know owns it... but when I get the chance I play it.
Also - I really need to play Two Thrones.. BUT! I haven't played the first one all the way through (I don't own any of them). What does it do to the story to play the third? Totally ruin the first?
#13 DeadParrot Jan 21, 2006 04:41am
Two Thrones is the only one I've played all the way through. It probably helps to know the backstory from the last two games, but I wasn't ever ohsolost.
#14 breakbread Jan 21, 2006 12:19pm
Resident Evil 2 is one of my all-time favorite games. Hands down.