The game takes the expected recipe and turns it inside out, forcing you to reconsider all the power trips you've had in shooters before and look into the soul of a man who loses his soul in a power trip of his own. In Spec Ops, you are supposed to feel shame. In most military shooters, those big moments where you kill legions of bad guys or hop behind a turret and mow dudes down are supposed to make you feel like a badass. And if its narrative were to work, it absolutely had to be. How do I position myself to increase my chances of hitting while reducing my chances of being hit? Is it worth taking a shot when I have a 48% chance to hit, or should I get behind cover and activate overwatch? The resulting rhythm of tension-and-release made XCOM a real winner in my book.įrom a gameplay perspective, Spec Ops is just a regular old cover shooter. What I loved most about the game was how I felt at war with percentages. It's important not to confuse unnecessary obstacles in games with depth-just as it's important not to confuse the removal of such obstacles with a "dumbing down." XCOM: Enemy Unknown strikes a great balance: easy to get into, but still complex enough to inspire thoughtful decisions. This consistency made the disparate elements come together wonderfully, and the overall result was fun and absorbing. Developer Vigil Games knew what tone they wished to strike, and understood what they wanted to convey with their world, their combat, and their characters.
It may have looked to other sources of inspiration, but Darksiders II feels like one cohesive vision. This game mixed Diablo looting, God of War slashing, Prince of Persia wallrunning, and Zelda exploration into a moody journey through a dark fantasy world. Planetside 2 has the right mix of risk and reward, which in turn keeps you firing on the opposing faction.ĭarksiders II might be the least original game on my list, but this is one of those times where I don't really mind. You don't need to wait for vehicles to spawn or to invade chat to find a group to buddy up with, and you can jump quickly to major battles-but not so often that you can exploit the system. Obviously, this massively multiplayer shooter deserves attention for its thrilling battles, but Planetside 2's structural successes deserve nods too. Planetside 2 has its downtime, but you need moments of respite in this game, which makes it easy to participate in its massive battles no matter where you are. I liked but didn't love the original Planetside, which at its launch, made it difficult to actually get to the action. Please note: there are minor spoilers within. (And those are only a few examples of my 2012 pile of shame.) If only I had unlimited hours! But of the games I have played that came out this year, these are the ones that made the biggest impact. I am still only halfway through The Walking Dead: Episode 1 - A New Day and Halo 4 I have only dabbled in Sound Shapes and Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward and I haven't even touched FTL: Faster Than Light and Lone Survivor. Of course, such personal lists are always a reminder of all the wonderful games that I haven't played this year. I don't believe that a few of my entries represent the best of 2012, but they nonetheless mean something to me, and sparked a part of me that made that game remain in my consciousness well after I had moved on to others. Mind you, there is a difference between "favorite" and "best," and it's an important distinction to make. Each day this week, we will unveil top ten lists from the GameSpot staff so that we might celebrate our favorite games of 2012. This year, even more of the GameSpot staff participated, and we are excited to share our individual thoughts with you.
It gave a chance for us to speak from our hearts, and allowed the games that meant the most to us take the stage.
Last year, I asked some members of the editorial team to write about their favorite games of the year.
0 kommentar(er)
