With the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 era nearing its twilight, we saw a number of high-profile franchises stumble over themselves with one entry too many. God of War: Ascension came and went without a care. Gears of War: Judgment I felt was a huge disappointment, as it played like a shameless cash-grab. After playing an hour or so of Batman: Arkham Origins, I’m disappointed to also toss Bruce Wayne’s latest into that pile.
Aside from one attempt at a Need For Speed iPhone game, I’ve never played any of the games in this franchise. I’ve never held any sort of grudge against it, though its particular brand of racing action hasn’t really grabbed my attention, either. With Rivals, EA caught me at just the right point where their latest entry built up a lot of positive word-of-mouth during a weak console launch. Is this the game that hooks me in for good?
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Wolverine is my second favourite comic book character of all-time. I’ve always been a fan of his lone wolf mentality, heart-driven decisions, and adamantium claws that he liberally uses to slice foes into confetti. Upon the release of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, I picked him up right away and haven’t looked back. Even if he sucked, I’d probably find a way to make use of him, though he just so happens to be awesome in this series. In a modern world of Zero, Vergil and Dr. Doom players, here’s why I use Logan.
The fighting game genre had been left for dead long before the release of Street Fighter IV. After Super Street Fighter II, I left the genre because the games got too complicated, the competition among players got too fierce, and as a Nintendo-only console owner, the fighting game options completely dried up.
Street Fighter IV did way more than just provide me with a fun blast from the past. It marked the beginning of me falling deeper into a video game rabbit hole than I’d ever fell before.
Rock Band at face value is the logical next step from Guitar Hero. With the inclusion of drums and vocals, it took a rather solitary experience and made it one of the biggest multiplayer phenomenons of this generation. As a franchise, Rock Band has set the standard that all rhythm games should aspire for. Based on its merits alone, this game would have made my list regardless. However, it appears so high up because of the life-changing impact its had on my life.
Commander Shepard has the best of friends. While there are so many wonderful aspects to Mass Effect 2, from its great combat, to its wonderful story, this is a game that I feel is defined by the relationships you make with your crew.
For me, Borderlands was the ultimate ‘don’t know it til you try it’ game of the generation. Leading up to its release, nothing about it sounded like something I wanted to play. However, after all of the positive buzz, I figured that I should get around to it eventually for academic purposes. By the end of my 100-plus-hour run, I might as well have been rewarded with a Ph.D, as I explored every nook and cranny of that game.
I’ll never forget my first foray into Rapture. Before the game came out, I hopped into the demo with no idea of what I was getting myself into. From the moment that bathysphere went underwater, I was hooked. Below the ocean was the world of Rapture; an underwater dystopia that was beautiful in a way I’d never seen in a video game before. Once inside, the story that unfolded rose to a dramatic crescendo…and stopped. When that promo screen enticing you to buy the full game appeared, I just had to have this game.
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Up until its release, I’d written off Catherine as a niche porno game. While there’s nothing wrong with that if you’re into that scene, that style of game is not for me. As it turns out, this is not that type of experience at all. Instead, it’s equal parts puzzle game and dating simulator. It’s also one of the most unique and awesome games to come out of this generation.
Just before playing Skyrim for the first time, I watched my brother play Oblivion for an hour. We had a copy that was given to us years ago that we just decided to crack open. Man, that game didn’t age well. Besides the obvious degradation in graphical fidelity, its take on the middle ages appeared very rote and the mechanics looked like Dungeons and Dragons to a fault.
Skyrim blew the doors off of its predecessor and pretty much every other game out there. There wasn’t a game with a world as big, graphics as pretty, or an experience as immersive. For dozens of hours of my life, I thought the game was damn near magical.
In Third Person 