Monday, December 26, 2005
My 2005 Game of the Year Awards
Well it is about that time again. Time when I go over my collection and decide what I feel was the best of what I bought for 2005. Yep. Me. This year I bought 22 games spanning 4 systems including 2 new systems: my PS2 and Nintendo DS. This year may have been a record for me in terms of money spent on videogames. Though I do intend to buy/receive 3 more games before the year is through.
My Top System: PS2 - This is mostly to note that while I got 11 games for the PS2 since buying it in February, 8 of them were released prior to 2005. But either way I got more PS2 games than any of my three Nintendo systems combined (which will change a little bit since my next three games include one for each N system). The PS2 was well worth the money I spent and though it is on its last legs there are still some games that I will be getting for it.
Top 10 Games of 2005
1. Resident Evil 4(GCN): It was tight but in the end RE4 ended up as my favorite game of 2005. Awesome graphics, intense action, pretty good RE story, etc makes it arguably the best RE yet. The game represented a necessary change in the series which had been getting stale but put the camera behind Leon not only allowed for faster gameplay it made the tank controls work almost perfectly. The game took the classic RE gameplay and shifted gears to give it a new yet classic feeling all at once.
2. Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap(GBA): The best Legend of Zelda developed by Capcom's Flagship company yet. Great art, very good music, classic Zelda gameplay mixed with some great new weapons and techniques, excellent dungeon design, hell even the fetch quest thing was pulled off extremely well. TMC kind of dulled the pain of Twilight Princess being delayed (knowing I got at least one excellent Zelda game in one year is still okay) and makes me even more interested to see if Flagship will do with 2D Zelda in the future.
3. Shadow of the Colossus(PS2): Quite possibly the pinnacle of what the PS2 can do in terms of landscape size. It was, outside of the some very obvious techincal faults, one of the best looking games this year in both the artistic and technical sense. The game eschews most conventions of adventures games and puts you in a rather barren wastleland with nothing between you and the Colossi you hunt. Amazingly it works extremely well and with the amazing job of rendering each Colossi, you'll almost feel like they are going to crush you under their rather large limbs.
4. Mario Kart DS(NDS): Bought this just over a week ago and it quickly shot up my list. Quite possibly the best Mario Kart yet it takes some of the best parts of the previous games adds some new stuff and puts it online for the first time in MK history. The Wi-Fi, while not fully featured, is exceptional still and should hopefully keep my interest for a long time. Now if only they'd balance out that damned blue shell.
5. We <3 Katamari(PS2): The first Katamari was a quirky blast. The 2nd one expands it totally throws in more mission variety and is just a truely better game. It may not hold the originality of it's predecessor but that doesn't mean it isn't as good.
6. MVP Baseball 2005(GCN): The last of EA's exceptional baseball series for 7 years (this is your fault EA). It provided in my feelings the most robust baseball experience ever and addicting gameplay. It is too bad that EA won't be able to add-on to the pro experience but thankfully with their College Baseball title they'll be able to continue to tweak the great game that this was.
7. Killer 7(GCN): Surreal and violent are probably the best two words to describe this cel-shaded thriller. Featuring an eccletic cast of characters, a story that makes little sense, and gameplay that while old-fashioned is still well pulled off I'd recommend it to those who like a little weirdness. Also it shows that cel-shading has more uses than just making games look like cartoons.
8. Battalion Wars(GCN): Kind of surprised me with the rather high praise this Advance Wars spin-off received. It features Nintendo's own unique take on the war game which provides some very intense RTS action and relatively entertaining cast of characters. Easy to pick up, but tough to master (a Nintendo trademark) this game is great in that it is war but isn't nearly as serious as your average war game.
9. God of War(PS2): Probably the most violent game I've played in years. For a beat-um type game it features lots of variety in moves, some very good puzzles, and plenty of mythological beasts for you to unleash your wrath upon. Ripping the wings offs a harpy have never felt so good.
10. Meteos(DS): Ending a rather long drought for me in terms of puzzle games it provides another intense, fast paced puzzler and that lets you shoot rocks at your opponent in ways that only a Tetris-style game could provide. Makes great use of the DS touch screen to. If only it was on Wi-Fi.
Well that is that. I also got Mega Man Zero 4 awhile back (just beat it actually) and Dragon Quest VIII for Christmas but seeing as I am about 2 hours into it I really couldn't justify putting it in here considering it is an RPG. So far I am liking it in hopes that it'll start to pick up some momentum. I also plan on owning Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Animal Crossing: Wild World, and Final Fantasy IV Advance before the year ends but I obvious can't have them on here since I don't own them.
And finally:
2006's Most Wanted
1. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess(GCN) - I'm still a tad miffed about this game's delay. I really wanted to have it for Christmas break but I'm sure with the added time and rumors of Revolution compatibility it could be the best Zelda yet.
2. Okami(PS2) - Looks absolutely stunning to say the least. Excellent use of cel-shading.
3. Mega Man X Collection(GCN/PS2) Another one of Capcom's oft-delayed Mega Man collections. I really want to get this and catch up to a series I haven't been with since 2.
4. Nintendo Revolution - The controller looks like it may be great and the press and hype from 3rd parties is looking promising. Hopefully Nintendo will be able to pull it off.
5. Chibi Robo(GCN) - I'm sure you might be thinking "huh"? But this game has held my interest since it was introduced a few years back and Nintendo is bringing it here. Hopefully it'll be worth the wait.
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My Top System: PS2 - This is mostly to note that while I got 11 games for the PS2 since buying it in February, 8 of them were released prior to 2005. But either way I got more PS2 games than any of my three Nintendo systems combined (which will change a little bit since my next three games include one for each N system). The PS2 was well worth the money I spent and though it is on its last legs there are still some games that I will be getting for it.
Top 10 Games of 2005
1. Resident Evil 4(GCN): It was tight but in the end RE4 ended up as my favorite game of 2005. Awesome graphics, intense action, pretty good RE story, etc makes it arguably the best RE yet. The game represented a necessary change in the series which had been getting stale but put the camera behind Leon not only allowed for faster gameplay it made the tank controls work almost perfectly. The game took the classic RE gameplay and shifted gears to give it a new yet classic feeling all at once.
2. Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap(GBA): The best Legend of Zelda developed by Capcom's Flagship company yet. Great art, very good music, classic Zelda gameplay mixed with some great new weapons and techniques, excellent dungeon design, hell even the fetch quest thing was pulled off extremely well. TMC kind of dulled the pain of Twilight Princess being delayed (knowing I got at least one excellent Zelda game in one year is still okay) and makes me even more interested to see if Flagship will do with 2D Zelda in the future.
3. Shadow of the Colossus(PS2): Quite possibly the pinnacle of what the PS2 can do in terms of landscape size. It was, outside of the some very obvious techincal faults, one of the best looking games this year in both the artistic and technical sense. The game eschews most conventions of adventures games and puts you in a rather barren wastleland with nothing between you and the Colossi you hunt. Amazingly it works extremely well and with the amazing job of rendering each Colossi, you'll almost feel like they are going to crush you under their rather large limbs.
4. Mario Kart DS(NDS): Bought this just over a week ago and it quickly shot up my list. Quite possibly the best Mario Kart yet it takes some of the best parts of the previous games adds some new stuff and puts it online for the first time in MK history. The Wi-Fi, while not fully featured, is exceptional still and should hopefully keep my interest for a long time. Now if only they'd balance out that damned blue shell.
5. We <3 Katamari(PS2): The first Katamari was a quirky blast. The 2nd one expands it totally throws in more mission variety and is just a truely better game. It may not hold the originality of it's predecessor but that doesn't mean it isn't as good.
6. MVP Baseball 2005(GCN): The last of EA's exceptional baseball series for 7 years (this is your fault EA). It provided in my feelings the most robust baseball experience ever and addicting gameplay. It is too bad that EA won't be able to add-on to the pro experience but thankfully with their College Baseball title they'll be able to continue to tweak the great game that this was.
7. Killer 7(GCN): Surreal and violent are probably the best two words to describe this cel-shaded thriller. Featuring an eccletic cast of characters, a story that makes little sense, and gameplay that while old-fashioned is still well pulled off I'd recommend it to those who like a little weirdness. Also it shows that cel-shading has more uses than just making games look like cartoons.
8. Battalion Wars(GCN): Kind of surprised me with the rather high praise this Advance Wars spin-off received. It features Nintendo's own unique take on the war game which provides some very intense RTS action and relatively entertaining cast of characters. Easy to pick up, but tough to master (a Nintendo trademark) this game is great in that it is war but isn't nearly as serious as your average war game.
9. God of War(PS2): Probably the most violent game I've played in years. For a beat-um type game it features lots of variety in moves, some very good puzzles, and plenty of mythological beasts for you to unleash your wrath upon. Ripping the wings offs a harpy have never felt so good.
10. Meteos(DS): Ending a rather long drought for me in terms of puzzle games it provides another intense, fast paced puzzler and that lets you shoot rocks at your opponent in ways that only a Tetris-style game could provide. Makes great use of the DS touch screen to. If only it was on Wi-Fi.
Well that is that. I also got Mega Man Zero 4 awhile back (just beat it actually) and Dragon Quest VIII for Christmas but seeing as I am about 2 hours into it I really couldn't justify putting it in here considering it is an RPG. So far I am liking it in hopes that it'll start to pick up some momentum. I also plan on owning Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Animal Crossing: Wild World, and Final Fantasy IV Advance before the year ends but I obvious can't have them on here since I don't own them.
And finally:
2006's Most Wanted
1. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess(GCN) - I'm still a tad miffed about this game's delay. I really wanted to have it for Christmas break but I'm sure with the added time and rumors of Revolution compatibility it could be the best Zelda yet.
2. Okami(PS2) - Looks absolutely stunning to say the least. Excellent use of cel-shading.
3. Mega Man X Collection(GCN/PS2) Another one of Capcom's oft-delayed Mega Man collections. I really want to get this and catch up to a series I haven't been with since 2.
4. Nintendo Revolution - The controller looks like it may be great and the press and hype from 3rd parties is looking promising. Hopefully Nintendo will be able to pull it off.
5. Chibi Robo(GCN) - I'm sure you might be thinking "huh"? But this game has held my interest since it was introduced a few years back and Nintendo is bringing it here. Hopefully it'll be worth the wait.
