Hope you like!
Time to admit something: I have never played the original Deus Ex and I never played Invisible War either. I know, I know: I bow my head down in shame at this fact. But the truth is that I have never been much of a PC gamer; unfortunately, I grew up a bit poor so I didn't really have funds to afford a really good gaming PC. It hasn't been until lately, thanks to a decent laptop and a boyfriend who is a PC-building-genius that I've been able to really get into it. I feel like I sort of missed out on a lot of really great games because of it, and unfortunately, the original Deus Ex is part of that list. There's very few older PC games that I can go back to today (like Grim Fandago). There was, of course, Invisible War, which was on the original Xbox, but I heard pretty lackluster stories about it and I decided to save my money for other games instead. So that's my life story! Back on topic: as soon as I heard that there was going to be a new Deus Ex I decided to keep up with it. I watched the gameplay trailer recently and it really got me.
See, I'm not one to usually get excited over seeing trailers (unless it's something I'm already a squealing fanboy for, like Harry Potter), but I was legitimately interested the moment I fist saw Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The gameplay looks like a good mix of FPS and RPG, which when done correctly turns out to be pretty marvelous. What is best is that all the previews I have read basically point to the game being open and letting you choose paths. That's a pretty big thing in this day and age where shooters take you from Point A to Point B without even letting so much as look to your left or right. I can't wait for this one to come out.
Here's the thing about inFamous: it's by far my favorite Playstation 3 exclusive, because unlike Uncharted, it actually tries to create something really cool and new. There is something awesome about putting yourself in Cole's shoes and feeling like you're a growing hero; it's almost like you're a mutant in X-Men who is just discovering his powers. I'm not kidding, I felt like I was mother-fuckin'-Storm sending lightning bolts at random assholes trying to destroy the city. The game is also helped along by incredibly smooth controls and a barrage of badass super powers that really make it a joy to play; I dare you to glide over the train tracks with electricity and not say "wee!" at least once! DARE YOU! The game, however, is not perfect: the side-missions are tediously repetitive and the regular missions start to become repetitive toward the end. That might not seem like a big problem, but it can be a bothersome one at the very least. If you don't complete side missions you basically have to deal with goons and being shot at no matter how far into the game you've made it. What's worse is that sometimes you need some of these side missions in order to get certain special powers you wouldn't be able to otherwise (usually related to good/evil points).
I'm eagerly anticipating this one and it shouldn't be a secret why: if the missions become varied enough, inFamous 2 will easily be the greatest thing Sony's internal development teams have made since Shadow of the Colossus. Forget God of War, forget Uncharted, forget most of things Sony's first party has made: inFamous 2 has the potential to not just surpass them all, but to surpass the large majority of today's games any given platform. Keep an eye on this one; you won't be sorry.
It was a given that this one would make the list: I adore the first game, quite like the second, and the trilogy has to be finished. I have anticipated this game since the day I played the original Mass Effect and I can't wait to see how Bioware pulls all the pieces together. You might think that Mass Effect 3 is just a sequel, or just an end to a big series like any other, but you'd be entirely wrong. Mass Effect 3 is a game that, if it ever delivers its promises, will change the face of video games forever. The amount of meticulous detail the development team has to keep in order to make sure the story is cohesive with such an enormous amount of possible scenarios is downright staggering. They cleverly got away with it in the second game by implementing great scenes but also passing hints and comments about your decisions (such as in the case of the Rachni Queen). But Mass Effect 3 has a lot of work cut out for it: it is going to have to deliver on each and everyone of those scenarios and really make the player feel as if his or her decisions actually mattered in the end. The task in front of Bioware with the Mass Effect series is astronomical to say the least.
That aside, I'm waiting to see how the gameplay is improved. I hope they keep all the improvements of the second game but get rid of the things that didn't turn out so well (because, really, probing Uranus for resources is only funny twice...three times if you're the type of person who laughs at "doo doo" jokes like I do.). I want to see more RPG and more exploring, but I also want to see the more streamlined and polished presentation that the second game brought. I'm also hopelessly waiting to see if Bioware will finally let my Shepard sex up another sexy male soldier, but I'm not holding my breath.
Really, if you haven't played the Mass Effect games, go do it now! They're on the PC, PS3 (sort of), and 360, so you have no excuse not to. Play the games and see why it is that Mass Effect is currently the single best thing to come out of a developer in nearly a decade; ingenious game design, brilliant ideas, plenty of risks, beautifully written and told story, etc. Really, there is nothing the Mass Effect series doesn't do. It spins circles around almost everything else in the gaming industry today, with the only series actually giving it any sort of challenge (and sometimes surpassing it) being Dragon Age...yet another beautiful piece of software from Bioware.
I was terribly disappointed with Oblivion. I spent countless and countless hours in Morrowind just having a blast. I still remember the day I discovered that scroll that makes you jump a bajillion feet straight up into the air if you don't know how to use it right (I didn't, ha, ha!). So when Oblivion was announced, I was beyond excited. I actually picked up the game a little later than most did, but to be completely frank, I found it underwhelming to say the least. There is something about Oblivion that just doesn't seem right to me and to this day I can't quite put my finger on it. It's not the broken leveling system (dear God, the leveling system!), or the smaller world map when compared to Morrowind, or even the lack of freedom compared to its predecessors. No, it's not those individual things. I feel like it's missing a certain spark that Morrowind and Daggerfall had. Still, Bethesda seldom disappoints, so when Skyrim was shown recently, my fanboy hope was renewed.
And really, can you blame me? Look at that video I linked. It looks fuckin' spectacular. It seems like it's the best of The Elder Scrolls mixed with a new, smooth battle system and a beautifully detailed world. The previews I have read are also pretty incredible, not least because Bethesda has decided to add all kinds of cool new features like perks (started in Fallout 3). But Skyrim is so much more than just a sequel to an amazing series: it is the epitome of everything that has been, unfortunately, ignored by RPG developers for too long of a time now. Even Mass Effect, as amazing as it is, is a bit lacking in the RPG mechanics. Skyrim, on the other hand, looks that take everything that makes an excellent, old school Fantasy RPG and flaunt it directly in the player's face. That's what I've been waiting for from RPG developers, both Japanese and western. A game that blatantly goes out of its way to be complex even while developers everywhere are looking to "streamline" their biggest hits in order to make money from people who don't usually play games. It's a bold, brave, and beautiful choice Bethesda has made with Skyrim, and I commend them for it. In fact, I will commend them with my buying power, because this is one I will pick up the moment it's out.
11/11/11 can't come soon enough...
Go watch that ten minute gameplay video I linked up there. No, no! Go on ahead! I will just sit here knitting while you have your eyes and ears raped with what probably comes the closest to qualifying as video game porn.
*Knits*
Done? Good. Bioshock Infinite is by far my most anticipated game on the horizon. Bioshock and Bioshock 2 are some of the most excellent games ever made, and this one only looks to improve the formula immensely. Everything about the gameplay video, from the unbelievably stunning graphics (I swear it looks like CG half the time), to the world, to the mystery, to the gameplay mechanics all look absolutely flawless. That's the thing about the Bioshock series: it stands somewhere right between Uncharted and Mass Effect. You might think that's not a good thing, but it is, because the development team has a knack for taking the best of both worlds and turning it all into something glorious. Bioshock, as a series, has the gameplay ingenuity and brilliant story telling of Mass Effect, but it also has the incredibly polished presentation of Uncharted. It's games like Bioshock and Bioshock 2 that remind me why I adore gaming so much, even with Grand Theft Auto doing its damndest to sabotage my love for the hobby by being atrocious and inexplicably well received.
I know the game isn't going to come out until 2012, but I'm already thinking of pre-ordering it, even with the risk of the world ending sometime in December (presumably because Palin will win the 2012 elections in November and the world will implode). Even with this year having a lot of stellar games already out (Bullet Storm, Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Mortal Kombat, Pokemon Black and White, etc.) and all the ones coming sometime in the future, there is no game I want to play more badly than Bioshock Infinite.
What more could anyone ask for than what this game looks to offer? Bioshock Infinite is going to be the game to end all games. Mark my words.
- Kharlo -
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