Best of the rest: Justin's picks
by Justin Murray 
{ Jan 1st 2007 at 1:30PM }
Company of Heroes (PC)
Bringing the most gritty and realistic view of World War 2 yet, Company of Heroes managed to give the glut of WW2 game made over the past decade a new breath of life. Company of Heroes managed to build a RTS that didn't focus on traditional resource gathering but on capturing and holding strategic points. The atmosphere of the game is, bar none, the best produced, ranging from fully destructable environments to excellent sound production.
Additional picks (no particular order):
Viva Piñata (Xbox 360)
Viva Piñata is a surprisingly addictive game that easily fills the "relaxing game" niche. Putting together gardens and attracting colorful piñata is serene. Plus, the game is absolutely beautiful to look at.
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PC)
The Elder Scrolls series has always been a personal favorite, and Oblivion does not fail to impress. Sporting a huge, open world and free-form gameplay that still manages to build a story kept this gamer hooked to the PC for over 200 hours. That level of replay makes Oblivion an excellent addition to any RPG fans library.
Medieval II: Total War (PC)
Medieval II: Total War brought the Total War franchise back to the European middle ages. Sporting an updated version of the excellent Rome: Total War engine, Medieval II brings the feel of mass-scale combat to the PC. The variety of nations and incredible battles featuring thousands of men on each side is an incredible sight to see.
Suikoden V (PS2)
Suikoden V brought the Suikoden series back to its roots built up by Suikoden and Suikoden 2. Featuring a traditional battle setup and mass army modes, Suikoden V is a classic RPG fan's dream. The story is well developed and there aren't any lengthy cut scenes or movies in sight. The ability to weave an excellent story without ripping the control from the gamer makes Suikoden V an instant classic.
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army (PS2)
The newest addition to the SMT series brought us to the world of 1920's Japan, an age where the old ways and the modernizing Western ways are clashing and bringing up demons from another realm. SMT follows the exploits of Raidou Kuzunoha as he plays detective and combats demons. The game features an excellent real time combat system that includes summoning a demon sidekick. SMT also wins the "Longest Name of the Year" award.
Disappointing:
- Okami (PS2) - I simply don't understand the attraction to this game. Sure, it is incredibly beautiful and has an excellent musical score, but the game is beyond easy to play. Furthermore, Clover managed to destroy the wonderfully developing storyline by (WARNING! SPOILER!) turning a classical Japanese legend into a B-grade SciFi movie.
- Final Fantasy XII (PS2) - The combat system idea was on the right track, but it simply didn't pan out. The idea of a self-running game simply isn't interesting and micromanaging every character is just as bad. There just didn't feel to be a good balance. Plus, too many movies.
- Gears of War (Xbox 360) - Yes, the game is gorgeous and a blast to play, but it is over way too quickly. Combine that with a personal aversion to the online gaming crowd (the word "gay" is used far too frequently) turned this game into a 3 hour title. Had the game been 7 times longer, there wouldn't be an issue.
- Elite Beat Agents (DS) - Color me crazy, but a single song CAN ruin a rhythm game, especially if you're required to play it multiple times. That song in the otherwise addictive Elite Beat Agents is ruined by La La (in all its rip-off glory) by Ashley Simpson. Anything by Ashley Simpson turns an otherwise fine music score into junk. Plus, the horrid rendition of Rock This Town didn't help much either.
- Phoenix Wright: Justice for All (DS) - Badly put together storylines, hackneyed evidence chains and the lack of a DS exclusive case featured in the original turned this sequel into something less than impressive. The first Phoenix Wright was an addictive and excellent title. The second ruined the momentum the first developed. Still, kudos for this being able to import this from Japan without having to understand Japanese, though the couple of months savings wasn't worth it.
- Prey (Xbox 360) - I wonder what the design team was thinking. "Hey, lets make a game that you can't lose!" That is what Prey is all about, you simply cannot lose. The cakewalk Prey wasn't worth the 10 year wait. The age absolutely shone through with the simplistic shooter gameplay and boring level design.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mitsuo @ Jan 1st 2007 1:35PM
ok wow...this guy must hate every single good game ever. Since they're all on this list! I'm sure he's going to go play Hello Kitty Roller Rescue after this.
Rusty Shackleford @ Jan 1st 2007 1:39PM
If you have such a big problem with other people's opinions why don't you make your own list?
ben @ Jan 1st 2007 5:32PM
i completely agree with the prey remarks, and i dont see why people liked it. although i do like gears of war quite a bit, the story was fairly short. i love the additional picks of justin's though. viva pinata is one hell of a game. i like killing the pinatas and watching the other ones eat up the remains. yay cannibalism!
Erec @ Jan 1st 2007 2:04PM
Justin, GET OUT OF MY HEAD!
I haven't played either of those PC games, and I'm just digging into Devil Summoner, but otherwise those are almost my thoughts exactly. That was weird to read.
Frankie @ Jan 1st 2007 2:27PM
Switch Prey for Oblivion, and "Best" with "Disappointing", and I'll agree completely.
Neebs @ Jan 1st 2007 2:31PM
Justin, you sir, win. On someone else's list's comments i remarked about the lack of Company of Heroes, and you pick it #1. Well done.
Jonah Falcon @ Jan 1st 2007 3:29PM
Viva Pinata? Relaxing? Hah. I'm constantly dealing with Sours and angry Pinatas beating the shit out of each other. Rainbow Six: Vegas is a nice calm afternoon in comparison.
Joe @ Jan 1st 2007 3:30PM
Diss on Okami if you want, but... !!SPOILERS!! The sci-fi element you mention actually ties into one of Japan's oldest legends.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tale_of_the_Bamboo_Cutter
"That summer whenever Kaguya-hime would see the full moon her eyes filled with tears, for she knew that on such a night, she would be forced to leave this home forever. Though her adopted parents worry greatly and question her, she is unable to tell them what was wrong. Her behavior becomes increasingly erratic until it is revealed that the princess is not of this world and must return to her people on the moon. In some versions of this tale, it is said that she was sent to the earth as a temporary punishment for some crime, while others say it is because she was sent to earth for safety during a celestial war."
Clover didn't just make up a "moon tribe" and "celestial war" just because they got bored with doing a game based on mythology. !!SPOILERS!!
Sieg_15 @ Jan 1st 2007 4:04PM
THANK YOU! Finally someone gets why Final Fantasy XII was disappointing! Nailed it right on the head. And except for EBA being disappointed, I agree with ya. Oh and Obilvion being good. Ok but not really great.
LordMinogue @ Jan 1st 2007 4:20PM
Being a little hard on Prey, aren't you?
The game had more HOLY S**T moments in the first five levels then both Halo 1 and Halo 2. I concur that the game wears thin towards the end, but everyone should enjoy renting Prey for one playthrough.
Pete C @ Jan 1st 2007 6:08PM
GoW may not be a long game, but calling it a 3-hour game is bullshit. The game takes the average person 8-10 hours to beat. I can't see anyone beating it in 3 the first time through.
32_Footsteps @ Jan 1st 2007 6:28PM
Joe, as someone who minored in Japanese, as soon as you can come up with the Japanese legend that talks about how Amaterasu, Orochi, and *every single evil monster in the game* is an alien from an advanced civilization from the moon, then you can take a shot at Justin for his reasons for not liking Okami. Until that actually happens, which would require you to travel over 2000 years in the past and reseed Shinto's basic beliefs and stories, then the complaint is valid.
Though to make myself look really foolish, I'm going to point out that it's Ashlee, not Ashley, Simpson. Funny thing is, that's not the song I really take issue with in EBA - Good Charlotte's "The Anthem" is the song I'd most like to get rid of. "La La" is second, though.
Joe @ Jan 1st 2007 9:14PM
32_Footsteps: I think you're misunderstanding me? By no means am I taking a shot at Justin's reasons (or yours) for disliking the game or it's story. I'm pretty sure it doesn't take a Japanese minor (or a time machine to go back 2000 years) to know that Okami isn't a 100% factual representation of Shintoism and Japanese Folklore. Obviously Clover Studio took some liberties with the legends as they carved their own story - the whole "they're all aliens" being a pretty big one. I won't even bother defending it - to be honest the sci-fi stuff threw me for a loop too when I saw it. So much so that I ended up researching it. I thought I'd just help Justin and/or other readers without Japanese degrees know the context of why Clover put that stuff in the game.
Justin @ Jan 1st 2007 11:25PM
I appreciate the context, Joe. However, the idea is somewhat of a stretch. I do agree that many religions placed scientifically verifiable actions into the realm of the spiritual, but taking the bamboo-cutter's daughter story and making it out to be an advanced alien race destroys the concept of mysticism. It was as if Clover was trying to tell everyone that the Shinto belief is bogus and all of the events in the stories are done by a very real, very non-spiritual alien race. All Okami reminds me of are the various "scientific" groups that are Hell-bent on eliminating the divine from society. The worst book I ever read was a scientific dissection of The Odyssey. They went around, found the whirlpool, a rocky place that sounded like singing and explained how elephant skulls were the basis for the cyclops. Absolutely destroyed the story for me as any subsequent re-readings caught me thinking that Odysseus was just some back-woods chump easily freaked out by a dead elephant and confused by winds gushing through rock and not a regal, brave and wise king.
By stripping the Shinto religion, something I am not well versed in at all, of its mystic feeling, the entire wonder of the story was destroyed. All we have now is a science fiction film set in ancient Japan. Because the Shinto religion is such a foreign concept to the western world, Clover should have adjusted it to simply tell the stories to us as they were intended, and done so through the eyes of Amaterasu. The as-is format is acceptable for Japan, as many of them are familiar with the stories and a ho-hum retelling wouldn't do them any justice. As it stands now, I may never be able to look at Shinto for what it should be if I ever do read the actual stories. Because of Okami, they'll always be tainted by alien races and space ships. That is why I was dissappointed with it.
James @ Jan 5th 2007 12:44PM
I'm amazed that a single human being could manange to be so off on so many counts. Okami was GotY, hands down. FFXII is only crap if you suck at coding, which generally means you're not too bright. "Too many movies" -- WTF? You've got somewhere to be, you can't sit around for an extra 5 minutes and revel in gorgeous CGI? I could go on, but I'm just too shocked by putting the year's two best PS2 games on the "disappointing" list to keep going.