Games of my Teenage Years - 2011

2011

And so we are finally here, the last full year of my teenagedom. And by the time this is posted I will have officially entered my third decade of living. So, what did 18/19 year old me love to play in 2011? Well, both games are hardly obscure, though the latter one is more of a cult classic then anything else...

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Of course. It was, in my opinion, the best game released last year. Between this game's release and New Year I managed to clock up over 70 hours of gameplay, and yet by the time I decided to take a break I still felt that I was barely halfway through the on-disc content. Skyrim, if you haven't played it (why?) is HUGE. And yet one of my favourite parts of the game? Going from one place to the next. It is a beautiful game. I'm not as familiar with the Elder Scrolls series as I'd like (100% Oblivion (not including expansions), played a little Morrowind and that's it), but I knew that this game would pretty much blow all other games I'd play in 2011 as soon as it was announced. I really don't need to say much more, most of you reading this should know all about it. So instead, I'll leave you with pretty much the best thing I've seen this year:

Macho Dragon Mod - YEAH!

Deadly Premonition

To call Deadly Premonition a good game would be lying. It's not. At least the combat stages aren't. Combat is long, it's boring and there's very little variation in it until you get to a boss. Which you don't get any until near the end of the game, where you get four or five. The other side of the game, the exploring and questing can be just a tedious, yet it's worth it. You see Deadly Premonition may not be a great game, but it is a hell of an experience. 

You play as FBI Agent Francis York Morgan (I'll just call him York. That's what everyone calls him) and you're investigating the murder of a teenage girl in the otherwise quiet town of Greenvale. Much like Alan Wake, this game is influenced by Twin Peaks. Unlike Alan Wake...this game IS basically Twin Peaks (from what I've heard). In fact at one point they had to change aspects of the game in fear of a lawsuit. The combat in the game is very survival horror, except you're never really in much danger of dying or running out of bullets (since no matter what you'll always have at least your starter gun, with it's infinite ammo). Some enemies get harder later on, but 'harder' in this game means 'takes more hits'. However, in between all that, you spend most of your game driving around Greenvale doing various side-missions of the eclectic inhabitants of the town. 

Of the best details of the open-world section of the game is that each character has their own daily routine, if you're just driving around you will see various characters driving place to place. In fact the in-game map let's you see where they are at all times. Their routine and dialogue also changes as you progress through the game. This game did not have a large budget, so it is impressive that they put in so many little details to really flesh out the town. "Swery", the game designer who judging by his Twitter account is the nicest person in the world, wrote a story that was charming, funny and at times pretty damn creepy. But if you let yourself be absorbed by the story and the characters then the game will provide a surprisingly great experience. The end-game in particular is where everything goes bonkers but by then I was completely hooked and emotionally invested in what was happening.

The game was very polarizing, but for me, it was pretty much close to perfection. Rubbish as an actual game but an amazing experience. Isn't that right, Zach?

Conclusion

So, for the past week I've rambled on and on about all of my favourite games I've played as a teenager. As I've gotten older though, I haven't quite had the same excitement about video games. I'd been stuck in a rut of sequels and 'safe purchases'. Sure, I already knew before I bought it that I was going to love it, but Deadly Premonition exceeded every expectation I had, purely by being an experience. This blog may have started as a way to amuse myself, as a way to whittle away at my games collection. But I hope that one day this will morph into a way where I can have more of those kinds of experiences, share them with other people and maybe play some damn fine games along way.

So sure, this is about justifying all the money I've spent on video games in the past by playing as many of them to completion before I stop, but more than that, I hope that this blog will be my little tribute to gaming. 

So long, and goodnight!

Games of my Teenage Years - 2010

2010

We enter a new decade and I become an 18-year old. Alcohol and bitches become my life and I no longer have time to play video games.

Is what I'd want to say, but instead here's the three (!) most important games to me of this year...

Mass Effect 2

This series probably is my favourite game series of the past five years, I really cannot find much fault about any of the games (though after playing '2' I find it hard to play through the original now). This game came out near the start of the year and it was another case of a game I refused to put down until I had completed it. I never 100% it like the first game, but I was damn close. The "suicide mission" felt like a suitably epic way to end the game and I made it through with only one causality (Mordin, you will be missed. Well, until I played through the ending again to make sure he lived for Mass Effect 3...sigh).

I also absolutely loved the fact that decisions you made in the first game made a difference in this one, I'm not sure if any other series has done that so far but even for a feature mainly used for 'fluff' it was really nice. I love games that put a lot of time and effort in creating a world of characters and Bioware are pretty damn good at that.

I always say this game's in my top five games of all time, but it's been two and a half years since I last played it and honestly I cannot think of much to say. I do think it's better than ME3, though ME3 came close until the last couple of hours which let it down (though I'm not one of the people who absolutely hates the ending either). Personally, I'd like to see more games in the ME Universe. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if it would be the setting to any future Bioware MMO...

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

Travis Touchdown is a nerd's fantasy of themselves in human form. Let's check the facts: he wields lightsabers? Check. He's obsessed with Anime? Check. Also obsessed with professional wrestling? Check. Lives home alone with a cat. Check. Yet he's completely bad-ass and awesome and he gets the chick. Yup, definitely a fantasy, but hey, it made for an absolute cracker of a game.

Suda 51 is one of my personal favourite game directors. His game's are usually rough around the edges, but they're usually original, fun and completely bonkers. I'm not going to lie, I kinda bought a Wii just to play this (and the Metroid Prime Trilogy...which I haven't finished...the first one...). You play as Travis as he attempts to become the number one Assassin in Santa Destroy yet again. This time it's personal...really, his best friend was killed by the No. 1 ranked Assassin. That's about as serious as this game gets.

In between fights there's a number of side-missions you can do including extra fights, buying clothes and exercising your cat whose gotten fat. You can also upgrade your stats by training in the gym and earn money by doing jobs. These 'jobs' take place in mini 8-bit games, and most of them are bloody awesome.

Most, if not all the Assassins you fight are unique and have more character in the short time you know them than some video game characters have in an entire game. Fighting with the Wiimote is also incredibly fun and I don't think I ever had much issue with it. In short, this game is pretty much excellent. Hell, take away the anime and Travis really is a more bad-ass awesome version of fantasy me...

Alan Wake

I was going to leave it at two, but then I remembered this game and I simply couldn't leave it out. It was a game with an unfortunate release date (same day as 'Red Dead Redemption'), and I got it pretty damn cheap just two months later. I played an episode a night until I finished it. This next part is probably a bit embarrassing to admit, so please don't judge me...

Every time I played this game, turned it off and went to bed I could not stand being in the dark. This game trains your mind that "dark = dangerous". In the dark, enemies will spawn and be invincible (or really strong, I can't remember which) until you shine a light on it, or lure it into a light spot. The game is very Stephen King/Twin Peaks inspired...apparently, I'm not overly familiar with either of them (though I want to be). You play an author, Alan Wake, who's suffering with Writer's Block. He and his wife go to a quiet little town called Bright Falls for a vacation. As you probably imagine it doesn't go too well, but I don't want to say any more. I want you, reader (yes, all one of you) to play this if you get the chance. Don't go in with a cynical mind, don't go in with any preconceptions and hopefully you'll enjoy this game as much as me. It was easily one of my top games of 2010.

Honourable Mention: Say what you will about Heavy Rain, but the "game" was a hell of an experience. Granted, I have had no temptation to go back to it ever again so it probably wasn't worth all £40 I spent on it.  

Next time: We celebrate the death of my teenage years! We'll go on a very epic journey and investigate a murder. Isn't that right... Zach?

Games of my Teenage Years - 2009

2009

2009 was the first year I could pretty much start buying any game I wanted, as little Stu gets himself a job. And yet I really struggled to think of games I felt were important to me that I got in this year. But after a lot of soul-searching I finally decided on another game...

BioShock

It was a complete impulse buy. Usually that means I play it once or twice then forget about it for about a year. Not with Bioshock. I bought it for about £8, popped it into my 360 and by the next evening I had finished it. BioShock is probably the last game I can think of that had that effect on me, usually I get distracted or self-aware of how long I spent playing a game at a time. But I was just so enthralled at the world of Bioshock, the story and character development, the music, the atmosphere and just everything about it was just great. Even as Mr. I-Don't-Like-FPS' (though that just applies to multiplayer ones...), I thought the gameplay was excellent with the 'plasmids' offering a nice variation.

Rapture remains one of my favourite settings for a video game, honestly I can't think of much more I like better. I was excited to re-visit Rapture for Bioshock 2, but alas, it didn't have the same effect. For me, that's just a testament to how good Irrational Games handled the first game. If you haven't played it, you can probably get it pre-owned for a few quid. I assure you, it's worth every penny.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

One of the most polarising games ever to be created. One person may think it's an over-written abomination of a game, while another person may think it's one of the best games available for the Playstation 3. I'm in the second camp, this is still my favourite PS3 game. Though I couldn't afford to not like it...I bought a PS3 just to play this game. Let me explain...

I was six years old when I got a demo of the original MGS along with a football game. I tried playing it and I just couldn't. I didn't know how to kill the baddies, I was running around like an idiot and I declared it to be impossible! This was the first room of the game. Eventually an older friend (by two years) showed me what to do, but I still didn't touch it. No, it wasn't until I was eleven when a friend of mine lent me MGS 2: Sons of Liberty. I probably played on Very Easy, but that was fine because I actually loved the game. Except near the end when the 'Colonel' goes mental...that part legitimately freaked younger me out. Eventually I braved through the rest and finished it.

I got Snake Eater not long after it came out in 2004, and it is still my favourite MGS game. Again, Very Easy, but I wasn't good at games then (I'm still not, but I can get away with Normal now!). Not long after this I FINALLY got the original and played through it. Metal Gear Solid was on it's way to replacing Final Fantasy as my all time favourite game series. And yet I had to wait two years after it's release to play MGS 4. In that time I managed to avoid 99% of the story spoilers (and I misread the other 1% anyway). And you know what? It's a great game. Yes, the cutscenes get a bit ridiculous and the story is Hideo Kojima at his most...uhh...Kojima-ish. But the actual game is loaded with features and little details that most players won't even notice. 

For all the crap the MGS, and Kojima's team, get, they do put a lot of effort and time into making the actual gameplay a rewarding experience. In this game they just throw weapons at you, meaning by the time you play 'New Game+' you'll have at least twenty ways to incapacitate your enemy. I'm going to stop here before this turns into a thesis on how good I think MGS 4 is.

Basically, fans of the previous games (including 2) should like it and people who don't like MGS won't be convinced otherwise.

Next: We save the galaxy, shine a light on some demons and put a ban on heroes again. Wait, that's three games, what the hell, Me?

Games of my Teenage Years - 2008

2008

Ah, this year was a great one. Good games, good times and good EVERYTHING. It makes sense that the following two games are probably in my top ten games of all time.

Rock Band (2)

Being a music fan who is musically inept, I obviously loved the Guitar Hero games. They were great games to just pick up now and again and have fun with. Eventually Activision gave their newly acquired Guitar Hero, due to their purchase of RedOctane, to Neversoft while Harmonix, who were bought over by MTV Games, would create a brand new music game. The result was 'Rock Band'. Instead of being limited by just playing with a guitar, you could now play drums (and annoy your neighbours) and sing (and annoy your neighbours). I bought the first game in the summer of 2008, though I only had the GHIII controller and a crappy headset. It quickly became my obsession for a few weeks. I even managed to almost complete Hard, which I wouldn't dare to do in GH due to my crapiness at fake-guitaring.

But that was the fun of Rock Band, you didn't need to practice the songs millions of time just to pass it. It understood that it was, before anything else, a party game. The game also had so many brilliant songs, from my favourite band Nine Inch Nails ("The Hand That Feeds") to Weezer ("Say It Ain't So"), Soundgarden, Nirvana, Faith No More, Pixies and a whole heap more.

But it was the second game, released late on in the year, that truly became an instant classic. With the option to export (most of the) songs from the first game, plus the select songs I downloaded, Rock Band 2 pretty much featured the greatest licensed soundtrack in video game history. The "endless setlist" (where you play all the songs from the disc in one go) provided a whole day worth of fun for me and my friends, though we had to stop at song 50 because we had to go home for tea. Hey, we were still sixteen at the time!

I would eventually blow £100+ on Beatles Rock Band for the PS3, but by then the music rhythm genre's momentum collapsed. Plastic instruments have ceased to be cool. But every time I see a cheap copy of Rock Band 3, I'm tempted. But for now, may the great memories that Rock Band provided for me, lay to rest.

Though, to be fair, I blame Guitar Hero for being crap.

Grand Theft Auto IV

I'm going to point out one thing; I absolutely adore this game. I don't care that people think it wasn't funny enough, it wasn't over the top enough or all that stuff. I've heard people say they preferred Saint's Row 2, but while that game was pretty fun, as a GAME, GTA IV blows it out of the water. 

Never was I more excited for a game to be released. Then it was released...and I had to wait two weeks to get it. Two weeks of pain and excitement, only made easier by one of my friends going through the same thing. And then, on my 16th birthday, my sister delivered it to me. I would then spend the rest of my birthday, in a room, playing this game, pausing only to taunt my friend that I got it.

When you are so excited for something, one of two things will happen...bitter disappointment or OH MY GOD THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER.

Obviously it was the second option with me. Sure, in retrospect, it could have used a bit more colour and fun ("The Ballad of Gay Tony" DLC provided exactly this). Do I care though? No. Every time I start a new game I get transported to four years ago. When this song plays as you take control for the very first time...

The magic hits me again. 

Multiplayer is extremely fun also, and I'm actually good at it which is a rarity. All in all, this game is probably the most important game of my teenage years. It came right in the middle of them, so in a way it's like a bridge from my childlike days to the more recent adultlike (and incredibly pretentious) days. Hopefully GTA V will bring back some of that childlike excitement when it comes out.

Next: We buy a console just to play the end-game of a story and then take a dive.

Games of my Teenage Years - 2007

2007

Ah, 2007, a fantastic year. It is the year that I entered the current generation of consoles with the purchase of the Xbox 360. It was also in this year that my "music elitist prickness" was at it's peak. The next two games corresponds with both of those things happening.

Tony Hawk's American Wasteland

Yeah, it was released in 2005 but this was still before I could just buy any game I wanted. I've always been a fan of the Tony Hawk series (well...sadly I missed out on most of the 'Pro Skaters'...), but this one marked a slight change in me. For one; it still has one of my favourite licensed soundtracks of any game ever. I was heavily into my Punk at the time and there is plenty of that to enjoy. It even had some original covers by modern punk bands, such as Rise Against, Dropkick Murphys and Alkaline Trio taking on songs from old Punk bands like Black Flag, The Adolescents and many more. 

There's some absolute gems in the other 50 or so songs on the soundtrack though. Although I can't list all the one's I like, it would take too long, I will at least link to three of my personal favourites from the game:

Everyone is Someone in LA - Felix Da Housecat

California Über Alles - Dead Kennedys

Los Angeles - Frank Black

It is the last one that makes this game important. Los Angeles is probably one of my favourite songs ever, but it had a more important effect...it lead me to the Pixies, my second favourite band of all time. So thank you Tony Hawk and your kick-ass game soundtracks. 

Oh yeah, the game's okay too.

Halo 3

I'm not one for First Person Shooters. In fact, I'm pretty damn bad at them and I don't enjoy them enough to learn how to become a god at them either, unlike seemingly EVERYONE I PLAY AGAINST (grr). But Halo 3 is different, I can't hate it. I never had an Xbox, so I've never played any of the previous ones (and I never played any since this one), but it was the first game I ever played for the 360. Not only that, it remains the only FPS game I ever was good at online (mostly...if I was lucky to avoid any of the people who play it way too much). 

I even managed to complete the single player (twice!). It has been ignored for the past four years or so and I doubt I'll be picking up number 4, but I'll never forget the first time I played it. "LOOK AT THE WATER, LOOK HOW GOOD IT IS! OH MY GOD!". As far as introduction to the current gen goes, you can't get much better.

Next: We ROCK OUT with some buddies, and then shoot them in the head to get our money back.

The Games of my Teenage Years - 2006.

2006

So, it's now 2006, the year I turn 14 years old. It was a year of discovery for young me. I rediscover a love of professional wrestling (don't judge me) that would never again go away, I find my favourite band of all time and my favourite movie. But what were the two most important games I played in this year? Well...

WWE Smackdown! vs RAW 2007

There are two reasons why this game was one of the most important games of 2006 for me. For one, it coincided with me getting back into wrestling (don't judge me). So, naturally, it became my most played wrestling game since 'Shut Your Mouth!'. Also it was the game I got when I bought a new PS2, after my old one died. After five glorious years, my original PS2's laser broke whilst doing what it loved...playing the 'Man With the Golden Gun' DVD. Not only that, it actually happened on Christmas Day. 

So this game was the first game I ever played in my new slim PS2 and honestly it was probably one of the best "Smackdown vs RAW!" games. At least it was the last WWE game I actually unlocked everything legitimately. So this entry pretty much sums up most of my teenage years: video games and wrestling. It also had a story where Candice's wand had legit magic powers and it was awesome and all that.

Kingdom Hearts

Yeah...this game. Four years after it was released I finally got this game (it was a sympathy present as I was off school with a pretty bad illness). I loved it, though that could be explained by me being completely out of it for most of my playthrough. For the one of you who don't know, this game combines Final Fantasy and Disney. The alternate title was "DeviantART's Wet Dream". 

I'm not going to lie, even now, I love travelling through Disney worlds, with Disney characters, and kicking ass with a...big key. It's a strange game, but it was successful enough to spawn a number of sequels. In fact I still have two KH games I've never finished...

So why is this game one of my most important games of 2006, considering it was released in 2002? Well, because...erm...'cause...it reminds me of...err...

Next: We enter the current generation! And we do it with a kick-ass soundtrack!

Smells Like Teen Gamer: The Games of my Teenage Years - Intro/2004

Intro

In five days I'll be twenty years old. No longer will I be able to blame my immaturity on being a teenager, now people will expect me to start acting a little bit older. HAHAHAHA, no chance. But since I've been busy video making instead of actually playing the games I said I would, I thought that in the week leading up to my birthday I shall talk about my most important games of the last seven years, two per year. I'll be going year-by-year, but that doesn't mean that the games are from that year. This is not a "favourite" game list either, it's all about the games that are most important to me. So without further ado...

2005

Football Manager 2005

I may have bought this when I was twelve, but no other game series has taken away as many hours (no, days. No WEEKS.) of my life then this one. To non football (or Soccer) fans, it's just a glorified spreadsheet with silly little dots instead of players. But to actual football fans those dots have given us some of our favourite gaming moments. 

Like this little gem I found. Ah, the days when I'd insist on making Quinton Fortune a first team regular.

Over the years I have changed from a big nerdy child into a big nerdy almost-adult, but one thing hasn't changed and that is my love for those little dots (or faceless 3D players as they are now). It doesn't matter if I'm leading my local Aberdeen to the Champions League Semi-Finals, winning everything with Man Utd or challenging myself in the South African leagues, each instalment of this great series will provide many new memories and weeks of my life I'll never get back again. No regrets.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Slightly cheating with this one, my sister bought me this for Christmas 2004. BUT I was still playing it an ungodly amount by 2005. Also, it's probably my all time favourite game. Even now, nearly eight years after it's release, it's still fantastic to play. San Andreas has so much you can do and much potential for just causing mayhem. In fact the only things I can think that could make it better would be if it has GTA IV graphics and the ability to ride through the desert on a horse with no name.

OH THANK MOD, you can!

While Vice City maybe my favourite setting, it only just beats San Andreas. Even driving in the countryside or the desert feels good, as long as you've got the radio on. The soundtrack is on par with VC, and the fact that the radio shows change as you progress through the game blew my mind when I was twelv...I MEAN EIGHTEEN I WOULD NEVER CHEAT THE RATING SYSTEMS! But yes, in my mind the closest thing we've gotten to a perfect game (though I'd love to be proven wrong. Maybe GTA V?).

Next: 2006, where we revisit many worlds from my childhood and maybe incur the wrath of a chick with a magic wand.