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Best Original Games of 2003?
PapaZit writes "It seems like most of the games that I purchase these days are sequels: GTA3 and Vice City , Zelda: Wind Waker, even Knights of the Old Republic and Galaxies built on the Star Wars franchise. What are the best original (not a sequel or franchise) games that you've played this year?"
Viewtiful Joe and Beyond Good and Evil are both excellent.
Later,
Patrick
Eye Toy: Play - it got my parents, my inlaws, and even my wife's aunt and uncle up out of their seats to "Wash some windows"
Awesome fun for the whole family.
is Neverwinter Nights. Not sure if it was *made* this year though. I think you could make an argument for it being a sequel to Baldur's Gate, but in my eyes it's a totally new game :-) Oh yeah, and fantastic to boot :-))))
Simon
Physicists get Hadrons!
Enemy territory kept my days busy...
I gave up with the idea of an useful sig...
By far the most original game I've played this year was Viewtiful Joe. 2d gameplay, best 3d cell shaded graphics since JSRF, slow down/speed up/zoom in effects, amazing puzzles, amazing bosses battles. Overall great mix of old school gameplay and cutting edge gameplay/graphical innovations. Totally original, totally great. My personal favorite game of the year.
Seems like a pretty silly game, but I ran my demo time out and am seriously considering buying the full version. Orbz 2 demo and screenshots can be found here. Seriously, don't knock until you try it out.
Without doubt, the best game I have played all year is Call of Duty. Great game on so many levels.
*ahem*
Xenogears had a book printed with it in Japan called "Perfect Works". This was a strategy guide but also detailed the story. The six episodes of Xenogears/Xenosaga are discussed in this book, and Xenosaga episode I follows the synopsis in the book fairly well.
They did say they were changing things for the Xenosaga series; I assume those will be better known when they get to Episode V (as that's the one that Xenogears is).
But even Fei and Elly's past forms pop up in Xenosaga, albeit briefly...
--Moo.
It's just like The Sims, except with adorable animals, and interior decorating is rewarded! The thing that sucks is I finally bought my own copy recently and now my mom keeps me up until 3:00 am playing it with her character in my town...
I'm on a road shaped like a figure eight; I'm going nowhere but I'm guaranteed to be late.
I can't speak on the PS2 since none of the PS2 games I bought this year were 2D.
-Tom
... is a franchise (Mario Bros.) and therefore a "sequel."
It's overrated. Just another platformer with pretty graphics that you'll tire of quickly. In fact, there's so much eye candy, it turns into a bit of a mess. When you're fighting there's sparks, lens flare, and particles everywhere, you can't even see what you're doing half the time.
But perfect for the A.D.D. generation.
And is based on the (Super) Mario franchise.
I had great fun with the Bridge construction set indy game. Well, the demo, I'm too cheap to buy a $20 game. Of course, I'm also the guy who watches "When buildings collapse".
Amen brother.
I had my girlfriend order Gradius V (it's actually coming to the states!!!... unlike gradius gaiden, which I had to mod-chip my ps1 for....) before Christmas so that I would have something to play over the vacation....
Turns out, their original 4Q estimate got pushed back... In fact, Amazon.com had an original ship date of December 18th... but, when we went to order (a little late) on the 22nd, there was a new delivery date of 01/08...???
Checked out the Konami page. Hmm, 1q04 now. darnit.
I guess 2d scrollers just don't have the same pull they used to. I am glad that they're making this one, however, but I will lament the day that I can't fire up a game on (insert console here) and pilot Vic Viper to victory!
Karnal
By far this was the most fun game I've played at all this year. It's damn well worth the money, and I think there is a demo. Only problem is it is too short, but the sequel I think is out early next year. This game rocks!
That game is just a glorified (mostly)single player mario party (currently mario party has 5 versions out)
so this is definatly not a new concept, just a wonderful variation on an N64 game.
that said, it is not original, just very good.
There was that Viewtiful Joe game.
And that Megaman Network Transmission game.
And that Guilty Gear XX game.
And that Half-Life 2D game.
And Galactic Civilizations.
And Mobile Light Force 1 and 2 (aka Gunbird 1 and Shikigama no Shiro 2, finally ported to North America!).
And Ikaruga.
And Risk.
And Dance Dance Revolution.
Or Disgaea, that game was isometric top-down.
Or even Contra: Shattered Soldier!
Well, gee, it sure seems like the 3D consoles and PC still get a lot of 2D games! This is ignoring the huge amount of 2D games that come out on the GBA, naturally.
--
Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
If you want to play 2D games, get a GameCube with a GameBoy Player. That way you get to play both 2D and 3D games on your TV.
If you do that, I'd also recommend getting a Hori controller from Japan. I think they're about $21 shipped from Play-Asia. It's an SNES style controller for the GameCube. It's absolutely perfect for GameBoy games and for NES games running on the GameCube (i.e. Zelda bonus disc, Metroid 1 on Metroid Prime).
One problem -- GalCiv isn't particularily new or unique. It's been around for a decade now. In fact, the most recent Galactic Civilizations that you're playing is actually the fourth release in the series.
The original release was made in 1993 by StarDock Systems, and was published by Advanced Idea Machines. It was released for OS/2 2.1, and took off in a big way. Many people switched to OS/2 just for this game. It had the dubious honour, however, of having the ugliest box art ever! . It came in 4 diskettes, with a "Shipyards" expansion released later.
Then in 1995, StarDock produced "Galactic Civilizations 2", again for OS/2. They dumped AIM and became their own publishers -- resulting in vastly better box art :).
1998 saw the last GalCiv release for IBM's OS/2 platform -- Galactic Civilizations Gold. Bigger galaxy sizes, an even better AI, and new game elements made it a big hit, but by the time of its release IBM's OS/2 was eclipsed by the vastly inferiour Windows 95 and Windows 98, and the market just wasn't there for it.
I've been playing Galactic Civilizations for more than 10 years -- I was a registered beta tester for the original v1.0 release way back in 1993. It is a fantastic game, and it's designer, Brad Wardell, knows a thing or two about video game AI (when GalCiv 1 was released in 1993, nobody had seen anything like it in the AI department).
The only sad thing is that it's taken 10 years for Windows gamers to realize how amazing this series is. Early on in GalCiv's lifetime, it's developer, Mr. Wardell, was quoted as saying that the game couldn't be ported to the then-current DOS and Windows platforms, because neither had suitable multithreading to support the games design. It's kinda sad that it's taken more than 10 years for Windows to finally catch up to what OS/2 could do in 1993.
Yaz.
LOCK-ON is imo the best game of 2003. It's just awesome..
Easily the most original game I've seen this year (or for quite a while for that matter) has been the MMORPG A Tale in the Desert. Cooperative play, no combat, a player-created society... this game departs from the norm in so many ways that it's crazy - no wonder they independantly released the thing, no publisher would ever support such a complete departure from what MMORPGs really are.
Ikaruga is essentially an unofficial sequel to Radiant Silvergun on the Sega Saturn, also by Treasure, and takes its polarity system from their own Saturn platform/shooter Silhouette Mirage.
Bít, zabít, jen proto, ze su liska!
The only game i've been playing for more than two years now is world war 2 online (www.wwiionline.com). The game is constanly updated and has really come into its own this year. It is a massively multiplayer online war simulation, with thousands of players fighting it out on a single, continuous map spanning hundreds of miles. It has everything - tanks, planes, infantry, naval vessels, you name it; and all in a world with the most detailed physics model yet attempted. If you're tired of the gaminess of BF42, MOH:AA etc and you want a war game done properly, check out wwiiol. The game is AWESOME.
Wario Ware is a fast paced collection of super simple games for the GBA (and soon GC). It's not only original, it can be played for a few minutes at a time, great for a portable system like the GBA. It should also be noted that it contains the wonderful new Pyoro games as unlockables. These are some of the best homages to classic arcade games I've seen recently.
Wario World is a less than steller platform game for the GC. It's the one made by Treasure but that doesn't mean that it's good; it's actually quite mediocre. I love Treasure for games like "Mischief Makers", "Radiant Silvergun", and "Gaurdian Heroes" but this was a letdown.
Nope, it's based off of Ping-Pong which is based off of tennis.
--- If OS were buildings, then the first woodpecker to come around would erase 95 % of civilization.
I thought Savage was one of the best, blending both RTS/FPS together. While you might say that it copied Natural Selection, development for Savage started way before NS. Not only was it a good game, it came with a Linux port right on the CD.
R E Z
That was classic intercourse!
You can have side-view gameplay with real-time polygon graphics. Try Viewtiful Joe for GameCube and be amazed.
I think he's referencing solid-state consoles. Since Nintendo's first major console success was the Nintendo Entertainment System, usually one just refers to this 8-bit system as a Nintendo. It's also used as a reference to difficulty. A Nintendo-hard game requires an expansive memory to beat, due to the many movement patterns used to increase the difficulty (and therefore, replayability.) Of course, I'm a little biased, having grown up on Nintendo, but the point remains semi-valid.
"A group of words expressing something other than their literal intention. Now that... is... irony!" - Bender
Definitly this game rulez: Soldat :)
:)
It's a 2d platform alike multiplayer game that clearly had some inspiration from worms - but is is oh so cool and fun to play in lan with 4 persons, the gameplay is just fantastic
Truck dismount already had a prequal otherwise it would be my choice
The other games I saw really were sequals or non-original things, so I guess there won't be any other...
Notrium is a very good freeware game that is (to me) quite original.
You have crash landed on an alien world, and must survive. You have to monitor your food, as you can starve. You also must watch your body temp...the nights are freezing, so move to keep warm or stand near a fire. The days get very hot, so seek the shade of a tree. Also various weather problems will have you looking for trees to hide under (acid rain).
If that werent enough, you aren't alone. Hostile aliens and robots roam different parts of the planet, and all you have is a tazer to stun them while you run away. You'll probably want to get something better to fight them off, which comes from the other really cool part of the game.
Parts from your craft are spread all over because of the crash. You can collect them and put them together to build new items and weapons. Having trouble finding food? Build a food replicator. How about a defensive turret to guard your "camp" while you rest? Build weapons to kill aliens (then grill thier bodies on a fire for portable food!). The eventual goal is to build an object that will either allow you to leave the planet, or allow you to live there for the rest of your life. Part of the fun is finding out how to do any of them.
Anyway, a terrific game. Well worth the download.
Well, poster, all the stuff you listed is major publishing mainstream content. It is widely known that usually, and even more so in times of low sales, slow economy, etc., mainstream publishers will shun any and all risk and put out nothing but surefire titles, i.e. either sequels or stuff with a movie license.
...) without adding anything new.
So if you look for originality, you're simply looking in the wrong place.
Some of the original games I've bought and/or played (some are free) this year:
(note: I'm Linux-only, so these games are as well, you might find even more in the windos or console world)
Marble Blast
3D roll-marble-around and complete puzzles game.
Originality factor: Combining marble games with FPS and turning it into a fast-paced, thrilling action game.
Bridge Construction Set (only played the demo on this one)
Build a bridge game. Simple, fun, addictive. It is a sequel to an older game of the same kind, by the same guy.
Originality factor: I don't know any other games of this kind, the idea is brilliant.
Orbz
Shoot-yourself-around-the-track game. Somewhat tricky to describe what exactly it is about.
Originality factor: No other game of this kind exists, AFAIK.
Scorched 3D
3D Clone of Scorched Earth.
Originality factor: While the idea is old, this is one of the few games really benefiting from the 3rd dimension, and it was done greatly. It is one of the few "clone" games that are actually more original than most of the "original" games you find which just rehash a basic idea (FPS, RTS,
Savage
A blend between RTS and FPS.
Originality factor: Combining two genres in a unique blend. No, it wasn't done this way before. It's not an RTS with first-person perspective for the commander, it actually is a full-blown FPS for all the non-commander players.
BattleMaster
Ok, shameless plug, this is my own game. I do, however, honestly think that it's quite original.
(it's a turn-based, multiplayer strategy game)
You will note all of these games come from small or independent developers.
Games are really like music in that regard: If you are looking for originality, look to the small and unknown. If you are looking for polished, perfectly produced, know-what-you-get stuff, shop in the mainstream.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
thats not even close to what he's talking about? he was saying that nintendo has 0 load time as in time it takes to load a game, what does that have to do with difficulty? what I was pointing out is that if gta3 was on gc it would take just as long to load as on xbox or ps2