Holy crap! Games!

To say I've been playing a lot of games lately would be a huge understatement. I've been practically breathing them, and I am loving each and every wiff taken. Not all of these games are hot off the shelf brand new but that doesn't make them any less fun, despite what some may think. Here are my impressions of the games I've been playing lately.

First off, I'll start with Mass Effect 3. Having played and liked the first two games, I pretty much knew exactly what to expect from the third game's single player portion. I mean, it's still mainly about Shepard traversing across planets and killing bad aliens. The choices made in ME3 felt like they had more weight in previous games though, which I think will leave me with quite the impression looking back. I was satisfied with the end of the trilogy, even though this is likely not truely the end.

Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City is certainly a game about shooting people, and I guess I was expecting a bit more out of this one. Not that it's bad or anything (at times I thought it was actually pretty good) but it could have used probably another year or so in the oven. The game has some strange graphical glitches, and it just overall has a strange, unfinished feel. The tie-in story to RE2 and 3 has some nice throwbacks (romping through the RPD was neat) but in the same vein, the interactions with Leon and Jill are entirely forgettable and mostly non-canon. Still, a fun game that is best played in co-op and in short bursts.

Moving on, Battlefield 3 was a game I should not have liked. I hated the beta, and felt that it was probably representative of what the final product would be like. I was wrong, and I'm not sure why I was so hesitant in the first place. My favorite Battlefield game up until this point was Battlefield 1943, mainly because of its tight vehicle integration (Note: Yes, that's usually all it takes). Battlefield 3 is a blast, and so much more fun than 1943 in so many ways but I love it because of the class system (harkens back to my Wolfenstein pedigree) and the vehicles that control as smoothly as possible. Doesn't hurt that I also have a lot of friends playing it, too.

For the last part of this blog post, I just want to mention Dead Rising 2: Off the Record. I have played a good couple of hours of the original Dead Rising 2, and found it to be a bit fun but also feeling that it didn't do enough to distance itself from the first game's shortcomings. Mainly, its save system and lack of sandbox mode. Off the Record fixes one of those things and brought in Sandbox mode, with online co-op. That I was not expecting but it is welcome now more than ever. Mowing down zombies with whatever contraptions you can think of is pure bliss, and I can hardly wait to see what happens next. Controlled chaos is probably one of my favorite things about video games. Oh, and the save system is exactly the same as in previous games but with a comforting twist: if you die, you don't have to start over or lose progress, you're simply brought back to your latest checkpoint (usually only a few minutes apart). I'll say this: it's about time.

This isn't even the half of everything I've played, so consider this to be more of a 'highlight reel' of sorts. I'll be back soon enough with more.

Most Anticipated of 2012

Every year, about this time is when I start getting ridiculously excited about the potential games releasing this year. A lot of these games are pure speculation as to whether they even come out this year, but it should be interesting to go through them at least. These are obviously done in no particular order.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City

I don't really think I need to have an explanation listed here, but I am really intrigued by this game. Even if this game turns out to be a turd, I'll probably still enjoy most of it just for the fan service. I like it when companies are willing to take chances with their franchises, so I applaud Capcpom for that at least.

Silent Hill HD Collection

Another no-brainer really. I've loved the Silent Hill franchise, and even played a good bit of Silent Hill 2 on Xbox way back when. I've heard very good things about Silent Hill 3, so I'm thinking this collection is probably be the definitive way to play these games. Oh, and it comes out the same day as Operation Raccoon City. Weird.

Max Payne 3

I loved the previous games, and it's been almost 10 years since we've seen what Max has been up to. Looks to be in a rather different setting, which should prove the series isn't just about abandoned warehouses and city subways.

Diablo 3

Haven't played much of the first two games, but I am interested in this one mainly for possible co-op goodness. That, and it does look really good.

Far Cry 3

Talk about a series I can't stay away from (even though I probably should). My interest in this one is mainly linked to my liking of Far Cry 2, but also thinking it could use a lot of work. Let's just say I really don't want to get my hopes up for nothing here.

Bioshock Infinite

Uh, duh? Bioshock 1 and 2 were fantastic games, but I'm ready to come up for a breath of fresh air with Infinite. Gameplay looks very cool, and the setting sounds just awesome. What more could you ask for?

Assassin's Creed III

Having loved every entry (minus portables) since the original, I am frothing at the mouth just at the thought of digging into this one. Luckily, it seems none of the Revelations changes stuck. The American Revolution is also one of my favorite points in history, so being able to live it out (albeit with a lot of creative liberty) should be great.

Resident Evil 6

If I was to pick just one game for the rest of the year, this would surely be it. Looks like the crew is back, and they just can't stay out of trouble. Gameplay looks a lot like Resident Evil 5 (which I loved), so I am on-board with this one all the way.

Halo 4

Can Halo still be great without Bungie? I'm really hoping it will. The return of the Chief makes me optimistic. 

Luigi's Mansion 2

The original game left a lot of sour tastes in many people's mouths when it came out on the GameCube, just because it wasn't a Mario game. On its own merits, it was a short. but fun game. I'm glad to see Nintendo take a chance by putting this one on the 3DS. 

This concludes the list as of now. Probably going to change after E3 and other points throughout the year, but these will be solid locks for sure. Bring 'em on!

Favorite Games of 2011 (Game of the Year) - Super Mario 3D Land

Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)

A Mario game is my favorite game of the year? Sure, why not. I mean, Skyrim was fantastic with all of its quests and all but it did feel like a chore after a good while of playing. Super Mario 3D Land excels at something that can be overlooked despite its general importance when it comes to interactive entertainment: fun.

Upon immediate bootup of the game, I was sucked into the charms of the game. Taking in all of the classic enemies, power-ups and scenery I knew from all of the classic games and seeing them brought back to life and made into something that feels fresh and new. Other storied franchises have attempted to do this very same thing but tend to rely a bit too much on classic elements, and are too scared to try some new stuff. A good mix of both is what's best, to bring in old and new fans alike. I don't know what gold blender Nintendo mixed the two in this time but the results are marvelous.

I'm convinced it's pretty much impossible for Nintendo to make a bad Mario game at this point. I know some agree or disagree on what's the best one, but isn't that like arguing which car is the best mercedes or which flavor of ice cream is best? I'll stop with the stupid analogies and just say this: There doesn't exist a bad Mario game, and Super Mario 3D Land is absolutely no exception to that.

If you had asked me back in November what my biggest gaming surprise was for the whole year? I'd have laughed and said Skyrim with a smile. I can't say that anymore thanks to Super Mario 3D Land and I don't think I'd have it any other way. If you have a 3DS, you owe it to yourself to own what I consider to be my favorite game of 2011.

Other categories should be coming up soon, so stay tuned! (If you want to, I guess)