Slashdot Mirror
Slashdot's Games of the Year
Not everyone who works on Slashdot plays games. Enough of us do, though, that I thought it would be interesting to tap my co-workers to see what folks would call their 'game of the year'. Below are comments on the best gaming of 2006 from Chris Nandor, CmdrTaco, Chris Brown, Scuttlemonkey, and myself. Then, once you've read that, we need your help in the comments. What was the game you couldn't put down? Perhaps it was over quickly, but you know you'll be thinking about it in the future? Was it a next-gen title, or something for the good old PlayStation 2? In your opinion, what was the best game of the year?
I've been a fan of the Tomb Raider franchise since the PlayStation days, but sitting down to Legend was like taking a step in a fresh and new direction. I found every aspect of this game wonderful. The graphics and sound engines are stunning, the the plot is well-written and executed, and the controls have been completely redesigned, eliminating the clunkiness found in past installments. My experience was sheer, unadulterated fun. My only gripe is the game's length. I blew through it in a weekend, and the ending cliffhanger left me hungry for more.
- Chris "Entweichen" Brown
Full Tilt Poker is my best game of the year. Basically, all online poker programs are kinda lame in one way or another, but Full Tilt has done a good job of fixing problems, adding features, and generally keeping the site and program running smoothly. And they have a wide variety of games to play, and usually plenty of people to play against. The biggest problem, other than being Java and eating up most of my CPU, is that it pretends to need a password to install, and doesn't even tell you why. That's very lame. And no, I don't play in the "real money" games. Because that is a felony according to both state and federal law, and I would never do such a thing, even though it's perfectly legal for me to go a few miles down the street, never leave my own residential neighborhood, and play poker for real money in an Indian casino.
- Chris "Pudge" Nandor
This year there were quite a few games to snag my interest, however, the one that was the most surprising to me was the MMOG, Eve Online. The game has been around since 2003, but I had always resisted since it looked like another time sink a la World of Warcraft, but a friend finally talked me into playing. While at first the game seemed like nothing more than a passing novelty I promised to give it 6 months, even if all I did was skill train and log out (unlike most MMOs skills can be trained while offline). However, once I had a better handle on all the nuances of the interface and a few skills under my belt the game started to unfold into this vast universe of possibilities unlike any game I had ever played before. The game starts off slow, very slow in fact, but if you have the patience to make it through the tutorials (dear god do NOT skip the tutorials unless you have your own personal guide) then there is plenty to keep you busy for months at a time. Of all the things that make Eve great, the skill system is certainly the most unique. Only being able to train one skill at a time and having a fixed time until it is done, you know exactly when it will finish (whether you are online or not). This allows people with real lives to at least keep up with the power curve in terms of skills, but ensures that the "veterans" will always have the edge. Many people complain about this fact, but I think it adds to the realism that pilots who have been doing it for years get to be the ace while you, the new pilot, get to play the rookie for a while. It doesn't take long (in terms of most MMOs) to at least be a contributing member of a large corporation (Eve's guild equivalent) and really get in on the fun. With all of the different possibilities in Eve it is no wonder that it is the only MMO still growing (and has been steadily since 2003 from what I hear). Whether you are a fan of casual solo play and just want to be the captain of a mining ship or are a meticulous power gamer who craves vast space battles and PvP, Eve has something for everyone, just give it a few months to grow on you.
- Patrick "Scuttlemonkey" McGarry
What can I say? I'm a Final Fantasy junkie- I even liked X-2, so take me with a grain of salt. Final Fantasy XII's new gambit system takes the tedium out of the game but still lets me control what I want. The ability to see mobs and avoid random encounters is fantastic. The graphics, the story, the gameplay. You don't often see a game worth of any sort of perfect rating but this one is it. My only complaint is that the traditional FF victory theme music plays only over the larger fights... but the other occupant of my living room would tell you that this fact makes this game an upgrade (as she humms the tune over and over again, each time with more fury). I'm not the sort of person who needs to go collect every last esper, so I guess my only complaint is that it's over, and it'll be awhile before I get to see a Final Fantasy on the PS3, which is probably what it will take for me to buy the damn thing.
- Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda
From the moment the soaring orchestral theme to Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion began playing, I was hooked. Bethesda landed me like a gaffed fish, and while I've played a lot of games this year, Oblivion is always going to be my 2006 game of the year. As I said lo these many months ago in March, the story is great, the graphics are amazing ... but what made Oblivion special then and has kept it special all the way through to December is the trust the developers have put into the player. They don't put you in a little car, lower the safety bar, and make you ride through their experience the way they intended. You're at the controls, and they've made the effort to make every nook and cranny worthwhile to explore. Part of what has made Oblivion so compelling is that my preferred character from Morrowind has finally gotten his full due. Playing a stealthy character in Elder Scrolls III was fun, but in battle it was often quite a challenge. Oblivion's critical system has allowed my Khajit Assassin the punch he needed to make battles turn his way. A character now an embarrassing 75 hours old, I've run him through the main quest, the Thieves guild, the Dark Brotherhood, the Arena, 'The Collector' chain, and dozens of smaller quests. I've been across the length and breadth of Cyrodil, and in all of those 75 hours I have never, not once, found myself bored. It's hard to find the words to give a game higher praise than that.
I also want to give Half-Life 2: Episode One a quick nod of the head. For a little slip of a game that only lasted a few hours of my life, the time players spent with Alyx Vance this year will (I think) weigh heavily on gaming as a whole for the near future. Her wit, charm, and intensely personable nature are a high water mark that every other NPC now has to live up to. The promise of Episode Two has made PC gamers more than a bit cranky at Valve for the constant delays. It's not just the humor of Team Fortress 2 or the brain-bending of Portal that has us looking forward to Valve's next release; Half-Life players are very much looking forward to the next time we can have real backup in an FPS.
- Michael "Zonk" Zenke
- Chris "Entweichen" Brown
Full Tilt Poker is my best game of the year. Basically, all online poker programs are kinda lame in one way or another, but Full Tilt has done a good job of fixing problems, adding features, and generally keeping the site and program running smoothly. And they have a wide variety of games to play, and usually plenty of people to play against. The biggest problem, other than being Java and eating up most of my CPU, is that it pretends to need a password to install, and doesn't even tell you why. That's very lame. And no, I don't play in the "real money" games. Because that is a felony according to both state and federal law, and I would never do such a thing, even though it's perfectly legal for me to go a few miles down the street, never leave my own residential neighborhood, and play poker for real money in an Indian casino.
- Chris "Pudge" Nandor
This year there were quite a few games to snag my interest, however, the one that was the most surprising to me was the MMOG, Eve Online. The game has been around since 2003, but I had always resisted since it looked like another time sink a la World of Warcraft, but a friend finally talked me into playing. While at first the game seemed like nothing more than a passing novelty I promised to give it 6 months, even if all I did was skill train and log out (unlike most MMOs skills can be trained while offline). However, once I had a better handle on all the nuances of the interface and a few skills under my belt the game started to unfold into this vast universe of possibilities unlike any game I had ever played before. The game starts off slow, very slow in fact, but if you have the patience to make it through the tutorials (dear god do NOT skip the tutorials unless you have your own personal guide) then there is plenty to keep you busy for months at a time. Of all the things that make Eve great, the skill system is certainly the most unique. Only being able to train one skill at a time and having a fixed time until it is done, you know exactly when it will finish (whether you are online or not). This allows people with real lives to at least keep up with the power curve in terms of skills, but ensures that the "veterans" will always have the edge. Many people complain about this fact, but I think it adds to the realism that pilots who have been doing it for years get to be the ace while you, the new pilot, get to play the rookie for a while. It doesn't take long (in terms of most MMOs) to at least be a contributing member of a large corporation (Eve's guild equivalent) and really get in on the fun. With all of the different possibilities in Eve it is no wonder that it is the only MMO still growing (and has been steadily since 2003 from what I hear). Whether you are a fan of casual solo play and just want to be the captain of a mining ship or are a meticulous power gamer who craves vast space battles and PvP, Eve has something for everyone, just give it a few months to grow on you.
- Patrick "Scuttlemonkey" McGarry
What can I say? I'm a Final Fantasy junkie- I even liked X-2, so take me with a grain of salt. Final Fantasy XII's new gambit system takes the tedium out of the game but still lets me control what I want. The ability to see mobs and avoid random encounters is fantastic. The graphics, the story, the gameplay. You don't often see a game worth of any sort of perfect rating but this one is it. My only complaint is that the traditional FF victory theme music plays only over the larger fights... but the other occupant of my living room would tell you that this fact makes this game an upgrade (as she humms the tune over and over again, each time with more fury). I'm not the sort of person who needs to go collect every last esper, so I guess my only complaint is that it's over, and it'll be awhile before I get to see a Final Fantasy on the PS3, which is probably what it will take for me to buy the damn thing.
- Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda
From the moment the soaring orchestral theme to Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion began playing, I was hooked. Bethesda landed me like a gaffed fish, and while I've played a lot of games this year, Oblivion is always going to be my 2006 game of the year. As I said lo these many months ago in March, the story is great, the graphics are amazing ... but what made Oblivion special then and has kept it special all the way through to December is the trust the developers have put into the player. They don't put you in a little car, lower the safety bar, and make you ride through their experience the way they intended. You're at the controls, and they've made the effort to make every nook and cranny worthwhile to explore. Part of what has made Oblivion so compelling is that my preferred character from Morrowind has finally gotten his full due. Playing a stealthy character in Elder Scrolls III was fun, but in battle it was often quite a challenge. Oblivion's critical system has allowed my Khajit Assassin the punch he needed to make battles turn his way. A character now an embarrassing 75 hours old, I've run him through the main quest, the Thieves guild, the Dark Brotherhood, the Arena, 'The Collector' chain, and dozens of smaller quests. I've been across the length and breadth of Cyrodil, and in all of those 75 hours I have never, not once, found myself bored. It's hard to find the words to give a game higher praise than that.
I also want to give Half-Life 2: Episode One a quick nod of the head. For a little slip of a game that only lasted a few hours of my life, the time players spent with Alyx Vance this year will (I think) weigh heavily on gaming as a whole for the near future. Her wit, charm, and intensely personable nature are a high water mark that every other NPC now has to live up to. The promise of Episode Two has made PC gamers more than a bit cranky at Valve for the constant delays. It's not just the humor of Team Fortress 2 or the brain-bending of Portal that has us looking forward to Valve's next release; Half-Life players are very much looking forward to the next time we can have real backup in an FPS.
- Michael "Zonk" Zenke
I received Elite Beat Agents as a gift, and it's surprisingly fun. I don't play many rhythm games, mostly because buying otherwise-superfluous accessories seems silly, but it really works on the DS. It's a little silly, a lot cheesy in places, but it's challenging and amusing enough to keep me involved.
how to invest, a novice's guide
Man, I completely misread this. I thought I missed a cool new strip poker game.
Mario Bros. (NES): Not, I feel, the best title to bundle with the NES. Once the novelty of the side scrolling wears off, you realize pretty quickly that this game is essentially just an exercise in pressing buttons and timing. I've not played an electronic game yet that's really convinced me of this new form of entertainment's merits.
I feel your pain.
My first time through Wii Sports disappointed me as well, as I was expecting more than the controller could give. I had expected perfect tracking of the orientation of the Wiimote when it was not pointed at the screen (to make lightsaber games possible), faster response time to movement (a relatively low upper limit to how fast you can punch in Wii Boxing), as well as finer sensitivity to minute motions when it was required (short putts in Wii Golf show my frustration off perfectly). Rayman's Ravening Rabbids did a good job of using the controller in many ways, including a limited "on-rails" FPS that got me hooked. After I saw it's potential in RRR, I went back to Wii Sports and enjoyed the game a lot more.
In short, don't give up just yet. I've already gotten my $250 out of it. Now I'm just waiting for improved online support.
Interestingly, Wii Sports Tennis does care. In addition to forehand, backhand and how or high balls, it's possible to slice the ball. How to do it is not immediately obvious. I first saw this when the better computer players started doing it, and I've figured out how to do it: You turn the controller while hitting the ball as if you were to slice it in real tennis. Well... D'oh.
It takes a bit of trying, but it works.
It's pretty funny to shoot balls like that, because they curve, and when they hit the ground, they change their direction - sometimes dramatically, which makes it really hard to time returns.
Similarly, when first playing Wii Sports Boxing, most people start flaying the controllers in every which direction. Sooner or later, one player goes down and doesn't come up again, and the other declares himself the winner. At first, I thought this game sucked, but after playing it for a bit, I figured out that there's a huge amount of tactics and precision involved. Covering and evading is a lot more important than hitting. Avoid the other person's hits and hit back when he lets his cover down. Hit with precision: If you move your body sideways and your hands up and down, it's possible to hit very specific parts of the other person's body, thus going through his or her cover. When I play the game with my brother, nobody ever goes down since if the other player knows how to avoid being hit, it's very hard to knock him out. It's a lot of fun to play the game like that, lots of tactics and precision involved.
Oh, and by the way, Wii Sports is my personal Game of the Year. Yeah, Zelda is a much better game in every way, except... Playing Wii Sports against a few pals is the most fun I've ever had with a console. Nothing comes even close. No Dance Dance Revolution, no Guitar Hero, no Bomberman, no Mario Party, no Donkey Konga, no Super Monkey Ball. Nothing.