Here's the thing about me and the Prime series: the Prime series is a harsh, harsh mistress. At times it's cold and dead on the inside, and at others, it delivers above and beyond what I wanted. I find myself absolutely hating Metroid Prime, and though Echoes is an improvement over the first, I still find it horribly boring. I've already discussed this subject endlessly; Prime and Prime 2: Echoes are some of the most overrated games of all time (especially Prime).
Enter Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Everything that was ever wrong with the first two is completely fixed. The game has a lot more action to balance out the exploring, the environments are incredibly well made/creative so that the backtracking is never tedious, the bosses are better designed, the enemies are smarter, etc. But what really gets me is two things that Corruption does over its predecessors: for one thing, it has a cohesive, action packed, and focused story. I never felt like I was wandering aimlessly around places because I always had some level of direction and a story-related reason to do what I had to do. Furthermore, the story was not delivered through pages and pages of text that took hours to scan. The story delivery in Prime and, to an extent, Echoes, is very weak. One of the issues I had with Prime is that the story is never properly developed and is never really given a strong narrative. Corruption goes the opposite way and provides a story with excellent pacing.
The second thing that was a wild improvement over the first two is the controller scheme: the addition of motion controls fixed the problem of Samus moving like a tank in Prime and Echoes, and it made the game more challenging. The lock-on in Corruption is not nearly as useful as actually aiming, but aiming itself isn't enough when the enemies don't ever bother to stand still. It strikes a bit of a perfect balance, and if you don't believe me on this point, go play the Metroid Prime trilogy and watch how vastly the Wiimotion controls improve the first and second game (though not enough to save them from being bore-fests).
What baffles me above everything is that Corruption improves on the first two games tenfold, but its scores don't seem to reflect that. It's mind boggling that some critics gave the game a lower score "for not being very different from the first two," which is bullshit on unprecedented levels. I don't remember God of War III getting lower scores for lacking any level of gameplay evolution, despite the fact that it actually needed to evolve. But this would matter if Corruption had actually not changed, but it did evolve the series into something infinitely better. Seriously, read all my points above on how improved Corruption is over Prime and Echoes. It's bullshit reviews and scores like that which make me question the validity of game journalists throughout. Just because someone can write, it doesn't mean they have the mindset to be a proper critic of something. I think gaming websites forget this sometimes.
Either way, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is a work of art.
This is a good game. A really good game; one that strips everything down to its most essential gameplay core. It is enjoyable, deep, and horribly addicting. You'll have moments where you will laugh (Michael Jackson zombie), moments where you will rage (again, Michael Jackson zombie), and moments where you will feel like you achieved a lot (when you kill the Michael Jackson zombie). It's amazing that such a simple concept can turn out to be so damned good. In fact, the game is so good that Blizzard asked for PopCap's permission to recreate Plants vs. Zombies as a quest/minigame in World of Warcraft. The reward? A singing sunflower pet. It's kind of awesome on all levels.
Go play it! Now! You only have so much time before the zombies break through your screen door!
Of course this one would be on my list: I'm an unabashed Portal fanboy, and I can't help but be one. I've gushed about this one enough, so I'll keep it short and sweet (like Portal itself): ingenious puzzle design, incredible level design, excellent story, good pacing for said story, excellent exposition, amazingly memorable characters, innovative gameplay design, etc. It's probably one of the most interesting gaming experiences out there; you won't find any other game that can offer what Portal offers (except for its sequel, of course). So buy it, play it, and love it.
Left 4 Dead 2 is probably the best online experience this side of Team Fortress 2, with an ingenious co-op system that forces the players to work together, whether as survivors or zombies. There is something incredibly enjoyable about finding a talented group of people to play L4D 2 with and then cleaning house through every level. Even more enjoyable is finding a talented group of people to play with as zombies in games of Versus. It's incredible entertaining to watch as the Charger in your team smacks one of the group members into a wall and the Smoker in your team pulls the survivor trying to defend his friend. It's dastardly and unimaginable amounts of fun.
The best part is just how different it is from the typical FPSs of today. Left 4 Dead 2 and Portal (and Team Fortress 2, to an extend) only accentuate my absolute disdain for Half-Life 2. It's unfathomable to me that the same company who could make something as fascinatingly interesting as L4D 2, something so refreshing in a gaming industry where 99% of all FPSs involve a Marine of some type, whether space or otherwise, could make a game as boring HL2 is. But enough about that! Left 4 Dead 2 is a completely different experience that mixes the heart-pounding moments of a good survival-horror game with the uninhibited action of an FPS. It also succeeds in many other aspects: the characters are all great, the story is not half bad, the level designed is varied and interesting, and the addition of melee weapons place it clearly above its predecessor.
Pick this one up if you want something fresh and original.
Funny thing about this game is that I didn't even know it existed until the demo for it released a few weeks before its launch. I don't mean that I had heard of it briefly before and not paid attention: no, I simply didn't even know it existed. I downloaded the demo and enjoyed it a lot, so I picked it up when it came out. Needless to say that I was incredibly impressed: Bayonetta is the greatest action game ever made, full of an insane amount of battle options, an incredible level of balance, and an overall refined engine that puts everything in genre before it to shame. It's all incredibly entertaining and the game also pulls off the rare quality of being immensely deep but not being unfriendly to inexperienced players.
But there is so much more to Bayonetta than just that: the story is ridiculous and horribly written, but it doesn't stop it from being entertaining. Everything about the story, from the scenes to the insane characters, is fascinating to watch. This is especially true of Bayonetta herself, who is an amalgamation of the best stereotypes about women wrapped in pure self-empowerment. You might think this isn't possible but this is what Bayonetta, as a game, does: it creates paradoxes by being two things at once and being both things with absolute expertise.
Don't even get me started on the bosses: every fight is difficult, fun, and incredibly pleasing. Every boss is about the size of a dwarf planet and you will often find yourself in some of the most intricate, well designed, and most entertaining boss battles of all time.
Bayonetta is an incredible game all around. I can't wait for the inevitable sequel.
*Note: Technically, Bioshock 2 should be number one, but because I mentioned it already in the last list, I don't see a point of doing it twice.
- Kharlo -
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