So the last generation is coming to a close, though the next generation isn’t done with kickoff quite yet, and I’ve spent a lot of time in the past few weeks looking back at games that I’ve enjoyed from this generation. I wouldn’t really rank last generation as the greatest I’ve experienced, but it’s been the one that I’ve been the most versatile in. I’ve had the time and funds to play most of the major games on every system, and I feel like I’ve come out of my comfort zone quite a bit to enjoy some games in genres that I normally wouldn’t give the time of day to. You may note that some genres are absent from this article, which is my way of politely saying I haven’t spent enough time with the genre to weigh in on it. I may have dabbled with some of the games, but I’m in no way qualified to say which one is the best. Without further ado, here’s my list of bests from last generation, and let me emphasizemy list, not to be confused with any sort of definitive list available.
Action: Bayonetta (360)
This genre is definitely my favorite. Usually, when I talk to my friends about this they like to clump this together with adventure games, but the two really stand apart for me. It’s something about that feeling of constant strife that you’re faced with, with less focus on puzzles and exploration, and more focus on the finesse of fighting and chaining the combos, which is not to say that the two can’t be integrated well. Bayonetta took me by surprise from the start. I was very hesitant to purchase a game with a character who looked modeled after Sarah Palin, but once I got past the box art, I learned that there’s much more here to be offered than her looks and sex appeal. The combat kept me intrigued from start to finish, the game didn’t end in a short span, and the fights and abilities were artistically unique. Seriously, when’s the last time you saw someone ride a motorcycle into space and punch a god? I have to give a quick nod to Devil May Cry 4 as well. Though it didn’t hit my number one spot, I was definitely a fan of the direction they took with Nero.
Adventure: Tomb Raider (PC)
This choice may be a bit skewed. I absolutely love Tomb Raider, enough to buy it twice, and though it’s a bit more action-y than a typical adventure game, that’s definitely not the part that drew me to the game. There are a lot of great adventure games on the market, and most of which I’m ashamed to admit that I missed out on. The only other adventure game that sticks out in my mind from all of this is The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, but I have a difficult time naming this amazing since they reused an already existing map for a majority of the game. Tomb Raider kept me digging through all of the zones looking for GPS caches and hunting animals for so many hours. I really enjoyed the feel that they developed for Lara.
RPG: Mass Effect (PC)
There is not a shred of doubt in my mind that this is the greatest RPG that was created since the dawn of the last generation. It envelops everything I love about gaming and sci-fi. I single handedly get to explore every survivable planet across the accessible galaxy, deciding who lives and dies by my hand, get the option to cause the genocide of a species, all while controlling each dialogue decision and controlling this in the third person. This all goes beyond saying that the story to this game in particular had my jaw on the floor for near an hour at the end of the game. I know, you could easily argue that there are plenty of games who have done aspects of this better, but try getting in a time capsule and going back to the month this came out and point out a game that covered it better than this did. It hit all of the high points in a single game and it was done well.
Shooter: Gears of War 3 (360)
If you’re reading this or you’re someone who knows just a little bit about me, you’ll know that I have never played a game as much as this one in my entire life. It’s a bit ironic actually, I wrote a blog about this game during the first month it came out criticizing its differences from Gears of War 2, saying it’s no were near the same caliber of game, but after the development team spent some time working on the title updates for us, this turned into an incredible experience. The storyline is gripping, the gameplay is sharp and intense, and the online multiplayer is an experience that cannot be match by anything else currently on the market. To this day, I continue to get online multiple times a week and play this, as it’s gruesome displays of violence and extremely intricate defensive and offensive mechanics make this a game that cannot be replicated or replaced right now. Here’s to hoping that Black Tusk can redeem the series after what Judgment has done to it.
Simulation: Animal Crossing New Leaf (3DS)
If you’re ever in the mood to just relax and play a game that’s entirely stress free, try giving this game a shot. I don’t play many simulation games, but I’ve toyed with The Sims 3, Train Simulator, and even Goat Simulator (does this count?), but I couldn’t fine the little hook that I needed to keep playing this. Animal Crossing New Leaf takes the formula from the previous installments that I enjoyed, and really just added on some great new features. Jumping on the train with 2 other friends and visiting someone’s home was just too fun. It may sound like something irrelevant, but it really is a good time. I look for just about any reason to sit down and play a game with my friends, and this was the first good opportunity to pop up since either Gears of War 3 or Pokemon.
Puzzle: Tales from Space: When Mutant Blobs Attack (PSVita)
This is another genre that I missed some big hitters on, but this little gem here came to me free from PlayStation Plus. It’s not a highly sophisticated game; your only real goal is to eat everything you can in a side scroller fashion, and inevitably enact revenge on your captor for imprisoning you in a laboratory. The highlight of this game was eating the whole planet. You’ve managed to not only get revenge on the captor, but his entire race in a cutesy way. You even get a trophy for eating all of the ships that try to escape Earth before you get to finish it off.
MMO: World of Warcraft (PC)
There’s really no other option in my opinion. Rift was a great idea, but it wasn’t very different from what WoW has. The Old Republic added voices to everyone, but its endgame was quite a bit lacking, and the content didn’t roll out too quick. Final Fantasy: A Realm Reborn is probably the closest competition to WoW as of right now, but it’s still young and needs time to catch up to the juggernaut. World of Warcraft has gone through so many different peaks and troughs with each expansion that I can’t say at no point has it waivered as the champion of MMOs to me, but it’s definitely got the content required to keep anyone going for, potentially, the rest of their lives. If I were to point out a time where I found it to be at the highest point for me, it would be the Burning Crusade expansion, as that’s where I found the perfect balance of difficulty and progression.
Call of Duty Game: Modern Warfare 2
It’s pretty sad when I feel that a series needs to be sifted for the best one, but I’ve played every one of these annually. I’ve enjoyed some, hated others, but Modern Warfare 2 is the shining star to me. Fantastic storyline, the return of Price, the tale of Soap, the knife throw heard around the world. All of these moments make the game the greatest setup for single player to me. Add in the additions to the online play and you’ve got a golden disc here. The first time I called in an AC-130 gunship I felt tears swell in my eyes. This isn’t to say that there weren’t things I’d like to remove from the game, but each game a developer makes is a learning process along the way, and they took a great step forward with this one.
Co-op Game: Gears of War 3
I remember running home with my new Gears of War 3 Xbox, lancer, epic edition of the game, regular edition of the game, and new controller (Gears of War 3 edition of course) and hooking it up to my TV, while my friends grabbed their copies at other stores (so I could buy the character codes from them), waiting for them to show up at my house so they could connect to the other three TVs lined up. We stayed up until the early hours of the morning playing this game, and finished it multiple times over the next few weeks. Then we turned to horde mode for an intense co-op fight off against the waves and new bosses. After that, we spent weeks playing beast mode, tearing the humans apart one by one. Not one time since have I found a game that brought us together this much. My wife even has a copy for her 360 so we can play this together when she’s in the mood. The tagline of “Brothers to the End” couldn’t be more accurate.
Game of the Generation: Gears of War 3
I won’t continue to rant about my love for this game, but I’ll say this. If you haven’t tried this game, please treat yourself. If you want to get online and shoot other people, don’t be discouraged by repeated death, as the community is smaller and very talented. If you ever need a friend to help you along in the game, look me up on xbox, I’m always a fan of tearing up my enemies in this game. Lastly, don’t enjoy this game alone, it’s designed to be played with friends. The people online are mostly respectable players, and the hate speech thrown around is drastically less than you’ll see in a Call of Dutymatch.