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2004's Most Creative Games
Gamasutra.com has the first in a new series of opinion gathering articles, where individuals can pipe up with their responses to a question of the week. The first query was "What was the most creative game of 2004?" From the article: "Katamari Damacy, hands down. Unique concept. Unique gameplay. Solid execution. And most important of all, it was _fun_."
At first I was questioning a lot of games on that list. A lot of people talked about Half-Life 2, and then I realized that it was creativity we were looking at for 2004, not originality. That one change in word opened the door for all the sequel games that came out last year. No sequel is going to be loaded with originality since it's the second (or third or fourth or bazillionth) rendition of something that has already been done.
They have a good choice of games in the creativity department though. Too bad I don't have time to play them all!
I'm a fan of Katamari Damacy and it's nice to see so many people enjoying such a unique game. It makes me wonder why no company has made it their priority to translate and bring over more unique games from Japan for the American gamer to enjoy.
Fresh Games (the branch of Eidos) did bring over a few special games (Mr Mosquito, Mad Maestro!) but they pretty much stopped there. Maybe the demand just isn't there....or these games were not quality enough.
Taiko Drum Master for PS2 is a welcome addition as well but it would still be nice to see Vib Ribbon, Vib Ripple, Mojib Ribbon, Beatmania, Guitar Freaks, etc. I know most of those are music/rhythm style games but some of them are great fun and it's a shame they can't be enjoyed by those limited to playing only games without a modchip
My Xbox Live Gamer Card
Nope - it stands for troll tuesday.
Katamari Damacy deserves this award. I won't argue with that.
:-)
But take a look at a little gem of a game called Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater that also happened to be released in 2004.
Kojima's series has always been innovative in each incarnation, but I think this time he and his team outdid themselves.
Hunting for food, using trapped animals to distract or attack enemies, feeding enemies poisoned food, interrogating guards, holding them hostage, slitting their throats if you are so inclined... not to mention the new camoflague system that allows you to blend into the environment to prevent being seen.
Playing this game just feels so badass. I've never played anything like it in my life.
I felt as though this game deserved a mention in this thread, since in my opinion it's one of the more innovative titles to come out in recent memory
Karma police, arrest this man, he talks in maths....
Disclaimer: a friend of mine worked on it.
Nonetheless, it's a nice game that manages to stand out from the field of paramilitary/commando games.
You play a soldier with psychic powers ranging from telekinesis, to pyrokinesis, to mind control. You're fighting a clandestine group of Very Bad People who are also dabbling in the same field.
What saves it from being Metal Gear Psychic is the gameplay and the engine.
The controls are built around being able to use your psychic powers, and they work really well for that, while being very unlike your standard shooter controls. The levels are generally centered around puzzles that involve using your powers in creative ways. There is a nice balance between puzzles that involve stealth, and out and out combat. And the boss battles rock.
The engine features a very nice physics engine. When crates and boxes are being thrown around, they hit things and tumble around in a way that just seems right. This really grounds everything in reality, which is good for a game with a fantastic premise.
At any rate, I liked it, and it got solid reviews. I say give it a rental at the very least.
All opinions expressed herein are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled.