Best of the Rest: James' Picks of 2008

In FC2, I was observing an enemy base for awhile. My plan...to use the strong winds to push a fire into their camp, flushing them out. To my surprise an enemy had already sneaked up on me "MGS-style".

Freaked me the fuck out.

Yeah...was it during the day? Enemies in FC2 get solar powered implants that allow them to spot you from miles away and aimbot from 5AM to 10PM but that leaves them incredibly dull at night.

stealth suit wasn't to helpful either. I learned the best technique, is to shoot (AND KILL) at least one person, then run to another cover, and repeat. Not to useful when there's no cover of course.

In far cry 1 and crysis, stealth actually works, and I don't mean the stealth power in crysis. You can use bushes or prone. It's also more realistic in that enemies will never find you if you shoot from a certain distance with a silencer. And you don't have to be so far away. Even if you're not using a silencer, they'll just run to you're location until they're much closer before they actually see you proned. And usually you can take out most of them before they reach you and finally see your muzzle flash.

I don't remember ever proning in far cry 2, and bushes are fucking useless. The only way to not get spotted and be able to stay in one spot is using the tranquilizer gun... that holds 3 rounds. Otherwise, you have to slide all over the place to dodge bullets, and the environment does too good of a job to hide the enemies. You think you're running to a safe spot, and you end up alerting another enemy patroling there that hasn't spotted you.

In FC1 and Crysis, it's MUCH easier to spot enemies, esp with the binoculars, and it's more difficult for them to see you. in FC2, it's the exact opposite. I'd rather set it somewhere in between. Or maybe i should stop trying to play on the hardest difficulty.

I (think) I ran into a bug a little after the 50% mark in the game.

Enemies somehow knew my exact position at all times. They cars full of dudes would appear out of nowhere while I was traveling, enemies would appear outside of a building I was in, and continuously shoot the building. When I tried to exit, I would meet a wall of bullets.

I once fled into a safe house as a bunch of enemies rolled up. They began shooting the house. I decided to see what would happen if i slept for 12 hours. The enemies shot at the house (I could litterly see them doing it at the day/night cycle view went on) without stopping.

Sneaking up on enemy encampments was impossible as I was immediately spotted no matter where I was.

The bug basically broke the game for me.

Is it worth getting? The more and more I read about it, it sounds like a sweet game

Mario Kart has always been my favorite multiplayer game, and after the sublime DS iteration I was going into Mario Kart Wii with high hopes, but I absolutely agree with James; it is hands down my least favorite Mario Kart. The one thing they did right was actually having a decent online system, but then they ruined that by somehow managing to make the balloon fight terrible. It's the only first party Nintendo game that I've ever been disappointed with, and the first game I've ever traded in to Gamestop.

Item balance. Mario Kart's gameplay lives and dies by its items, and many people complained that Mario Kart Wii completely destroyed the item balance.

Anyway, I completely agree with this list. The winners all deserve it (none of this GTA4 hype skewing the results), the runner-ups are all great games in their own right, and the disappointments are all disappointing for the mentioned reasons.

(I'm also glad that I'm not the only one who thought Ninja Gaiden DS was great for what it was and Ninja Gaiden 2 was surprisingly bad compared to the perfect Ninja Gaiden Black)

Double Dash and DS were pretty bad for the item balance as well, but the Wii version is just ridiculous. You can be in first place for most of the race and lose at the very end because of a blue shell - which just means the person in 2nd will sin. Alternatively, you can be losing for the whole thing, until the last three seconds were a decent power up puts you straight into first.

It was completely random who wins races, there's no skill or even challenge left.

Yeah, the item balance and rubberband AI completely ruined Mario Kart Wii for me. Fighting some AI driver for 1st place throughout the entire race, only to pull out ahead near the finish, just to get raped by blue shells and shit until you finish in dead last is NOT "keeping the race exciting". It ruins the excitement.

I really don't know how you could be more wrong. The only problem with Mario Kart Wii was the crippled battle mode, period. Complaining about item balancing just shows an ignorance of the whole point of Mario Kart, like those people who refuse to play with items in Smash Bros or something

The point of Mario Kart is to be raped in the ass by blue shells?

"How did Nintendo ruin the fundamental gameplay of Mario Kart Wii?"
In my opinion there were oo many powerups and the controls aren't that great unless your using a GC controller.

Mr Khan Mario Kart wii is a game that punish you for playing well.

if you are in first place you will only get bananas and other crap, while the other players get blue shells and the overpowered rocket.

You know what the awesome thing is? Use the track glitches that allow you to skip 90% of a lap and they'll still catch up to you!

I'd have to agree with Mr. Khan on this one, actually. I've been raped by a blue shell more than enough times to know that, sure, you can easily lose first place in the last couple of seconds in the race, even after hitting every turn and jump perfectly. The beauty of it is, in my opinion, that this doesn't happen every race. The people with the best skill still take the top spots overall. Just play the game online. You'll see people with better scores taking 1st place more often than people with lower scores. They get the best items in the game, yet they still lose. And who plays Mario Kart for fairness anyway? It's meant to be played for it's chaotic nature. If you want fairness, play Super Smash Bros. Melee with no items on Final Destination.

Nobody here is asking for total fairness, especially not to the level of the Smash Brothers nazi's. But the balance *does* need to be fixed. Randomness and chance is all well and good, but the frequency of blue shells is just too much, and they're totally unavoidable.

I don't know about totally unavoidable, but I haven't found a way to dodge 3 of them fired off in quick succession followed by a lightning bolt followed by a Bullet Bill with fake item boxes and Bob-ombs raining down from the sky.

samfish concurs that Mario Kart Wii's item balance is absurd and awful.
Between every race feeling like a slot machine and the crippled battle mode, I lost interest in the game after about 2 weeks at the most.

But not before I unlocked Rosalina. So at least I was happy about doing that.

Actually you can...to a degree although that'll require you to play with the completely different mindset and equipment then if you were playing stealth.

That's how I started playing and that's how I intend to finish the game when I get my 360 fixed, but I can already tell that Stealth approach is much more fun...which is why I can't wait for my second playthrough.

I used:

Mini-grenade launcher
Sniper Rifle (preferably the .50 cal, you can no-scope and use it semi-auto)
Machinegun

Worked fine for run and gun. Just get the relevant accuracy, ammo and health upgrades. But I did use mouse + keyboard, not sure what the console controls are like.

@Mr Khan

Items are fine, they can introcude some degree of chance and that makes it more fun. However, as others have said that's not the problem, they were completely and utterly broken.

At least in MK64 the blue shells were some what uncommon. Final lap on Wii, it's basically the only power, it makes the rest of the race pointless and winning becomes completely random, usually the person who gets a blue shell closest to the finish line.

yeah but after i read that i thought to myself that would have made this game all the better.

more content.
less deletion.
not as strict policies.
optimized software with fewer glitches.
better online.
better co-op.
would have sold more copies generating more user content.


its sad but true IMO and HQ's too..

where'd u get the idea that there would be "less strict policies" if it were on the 360? Give me a 360 game that allows ip infringement in user generated content? Better yet, name any game on the 360 that's anything like LBP with user generated content, that supports your "less strict policies" assumption.

"optimized software with less glitches" that still depends on the developers. Explain all the glitches in gears 2 despite being exclusive to the 360.

"better online"
be specific. You can play online with no problem in LBP. And you don't get stuck on the scoreboard screen for half a minute than completely kicked out to the main menu after a game.... gears 2.

"better co-op"
like? so being able to play co-op online lag free in levels is not good enough?

"would've sold more copies generating more user content."
There's already so much user generated content for anyone to play through in their life time. They're not all good, but you get the point. And you want more?

I'm not here to bash the 360. Just arguing against you baseless conjectures.

You made it known that you enjoy your ps3, but your attitude is very inconsistent. Sometimes you express satisfaction, and other times you say garbage like this.

I'll give you one game, Banjo Kazooie Nuts & Bolts. Asshole

How about anything on XNA? In particularly two RPG/Game maker programs that are soon to be released for that.

Nuts and Bolts is the perfect example though. I've been flying around in a Mario shaped vehicle since November.

That perhaps doesn't take it to the same degree as LBP, but the censorship and restrictions in the game are just ridiculous.

First off, I don't much care for LBP in the first place, but there's plenty of levels with gross copyright infringement in them that are still around. I'm getting the feeling nobody's actually played the game and instead are just spewing bile from the sidelines.

OH SNAP, ICE. you single-handedly destroyed my entire argument with that one bold statement. You don't even have to explain yourself.

"derrrr what about banjo and kazooie?! I can fly in mario planes. *picks nose*"

Okay, you and snowblind can have fun building yourself planes based off other IP's. Mommy MS will SURELY protect you if owners of those IP's start bitching. I wish Media Molecule would follow Rare's lead and remove the feature to let people create entire levels. Just vehicles.

Sometimes companies care, and sometimes they don't. Sometimes they want a cut, and sometimes they just want to protect their IP. You want Sony to start paying license fees to protect their users, cause that's exactly what MS does. Oh wait, MS doesn't?

Snowblind, there's no need to exaggerate. Does that mario vehicle really compare to entire mario levels. Besides, many still don't get deleted. Sony and MS still reserve the right to remove them to avoid liability.

RPG makers have been around since the ice age. When the XNA one releases, go ahead and recreate mario rpg from snes. IF it ever gets popular enough to get attention from Square and Nintendo, and they want it down, I'd like to see you and MS hand in hand work to keep it up. Then again, it isn't impossible. MS's infinite funds should help them infringe IP's if they really cared to.

get the fuck outta here! (meaning: don't be ridiculous!)

and there's still the rest of sk8's arguments you didn't care to defend, (not that i blame you for not trying.) Let me remind you, and try not to giggle. If LBP was on XBL then it would have...:

"optimized software with fewer glitches.
better online.
better co-op.
would have sold more copies generating more user content."

and don't forget about my equally silly responses to them. It may have those things, but it wouldn't be because of XBL.

Ice, if you've read my other posts, you'll see that I'm not against personal attacks. The spice up the conversation. However, if you want to insult people you should keep it separate from the argument, and not use the insult as the basis of the argument. And now that i've made my points...
please enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A7tLVIsuNw

LBP is more than just custom maps, when you consider how robust the level editor is for a console game. It's just like when xbox live first came out. Online gameplay was nothing new at the time, either, but it was never implemented to that degree for consoles, not considering dreamcast, i guess.

In n+, can you create boxes that releases "coins" when u bump your head on it, or use textures you'd find in a mario game, or create your version of a goomba. The most you could do is create a map that LOOKS like mario's face in monochrome. That'll hardly be considered for IP infringement lawsuits. I'm not saying LBP IS THE BEST ONLINE GAME EVER AND THERE'S NOTHING THAT COMPARES.

All I'm saying, (AND MOST IMPORTANTLY) IN RESPONSE to sk8, is that LBP will not be SO MUCH BETTER if it were on XBL. If anything, it may not even make a difference.

You guys aren't even trying to defend sk8's point. You're just arguing with me now as if I brought up the topic. I'm the one defending the game and PSN.

Why don't you guys just... back off. :)
Or quote something sk8 said and SUPPORT it. not just argue against my point. So far, the only thing you guys debated was sk8's "less strict policies" point, which he really just listed and not explain. He listed OTHER ridiculous things that i'd love to see someone defend in those same terms: LBP + XBL = better LBP.

GO.

J why dont you ask the joystiq staff and HQ why they thought it would have been better on xbox live..??

it seems the general consensus out there is that game is just not that great and did not live up to its hype at all except for a small group of LBP fanboys, which happens with every game.

u might want to think instead of getting mad and blabbing.

socom was a disaster. its funny the game was not even mentioned as a contender, top game , or bad game. probably because joystiq completely forgot about it like most of the united states has except for a few remaining fanboys playing the messed up game.

its not hard to wonder why a game would be better on xbox live. we dont pay $ 5 a month for nothing when we could buy most of these games on the ps3. (those of us with both consoles)

"less strict policies"
yes i guarantee it. example. when i turn on any ps3 game i have to press X button becuase of the warning disclaimer.. trust me sony is much more legal than MS about things and stricter about policies.

"better online"
yeah i enjoy xbox live online over ps3 anyday.
1) faster download of content.
2) no install of content.
3) less lag
4) better friends and party set up functions
5) less disconnects
6) in game music
7) etc

enjoying my ps3 has nothing to do with the disappointment i feel towards some games. even gears 2 on the 360.
does joystiq staff hate their ps3 because they were let down by LBP?

u dont have to get mad because we have a different opinion than you...
its not hard to believe this game would have been better on xbox live. i didnt even think that before reading the comment though. it just makes you think.
socom would have been better on xbox live also.

j your slow.

james and joystiq staff had that running joke going around about LBP.

why dont you ask them and contest your fanboy crybaby debate with them??

we all have our own opinions.

it just made me think also...
why do you have to act like I made this stuff up and nobody agrees?

sometimes you have to take off the fanboy shades to see the light.

sk8,

Socom is a fucking joke. I was in the beta, and was disgusted. A developer that made a game solely around multiplayer should've done a MUCH better job. Yes it was a first party developer, and NO it wasn't because of PSN.

Here's a good example that should help you understand why Socom's demise is its own developers fault and NOT PSN ....................................
............................................
............................................
RESISTANCE 2 60 ppl multiplayer.
If Insomniac can make a game with a single player campaign and robust multiplayer, I dunno how you're blaming this on PSN. Kinda illogical, no?

Less lag? Let's just say, no that as well.

You went from [agreeing that LBP will be better ON XBL] to [XBL IS BETTER THAN PSN IN GENERAL, (latter of which i can agree, anyway)].

All the features that make LBP fully functional is already in the game, and doesn't rely on the XMB or PSN's features. The only other point that you can make that's just as moot is the ingame music, lag free, and less disconnects.

There's no game on the 360 that lets you use your own collection of songs for a level you created and SHARE it. You can pull it up from your own hard drive, but you canNOT share it. That won't change if LBP were on xbl, though once you d/l the level, i guess you could play your own songs if it were on the 360, which is neat. But that's a 360 feature, nothing to do with the online infrastructure of XBL.

Lag free is not because of XBL. It depends on who's hosting the game. Developers can use tricks to limit host advantage, but it's always there to some degree without dedicated servers. So if someone is hosting a game on a slow DSL connection, can I blame XBL for the lag?

"4) better friends and party set up functions"
again, XBL didn't MAGICALLY make gears 2 online functions more, well, functional.

You admitted your disappointment with gears 2, but you didn't admit that XBL doesn't help keep users from being kicked out to the main menu after a game. Should I blame XBL for that, or the developers, EPIC. If i used your logic, I should blame XBL.

Please... don't ever use socom as an example. That along with lair is Sony's blacksheep. It's not PSN's fault. Maybe the socom developers know how to design good maps for strategic multiplayer, but I'm guessing they don't know how to program. Every gameplay mechanic that's been used well in other games were butchered by this developer - from leaning and peaking to proning, to changing weapons. Crappy online is the least of its concern.

You use socom to try and prove PSN is worse, which isn't fair when it's the fault of the game developer. There's no lag in R2's 60 man MP. I use gears 2 to explain that XBL doesn't keep a game safe from a horrible multiplayer interface or lag.

And SO WHAT if Sony seems to use more legal disclaimers. Sony can't afford lawsuits to the same degree that MS can, and you should know exactly what I mean by that.

AGAIN ^ has nothing to do with PSN.

Do you even remember your original point?

damn, sk8. I didn't even insult you the way I normally do. I can't anymore after knowing that you're an MGS4 fan like I am.

But you just had to call me slow. :(

What a cruel world.

j i was just backing up all the things that i feel make xbox live better than PSN and could have helped out.

heck i didnt make the comment anyway.

pretty much all these games have fell short in some respect.
r2 i have loved the single player aspect.
but co-op was a complete let down from r1 if you know what im talking about, local and/or split screen play.
in r1 the single player campaign could be played co-op and split screen in widescreen with story.
in r2 they dropped the story, campaign, and widescreen for full screen, lower quality graphics.
IMO r1 campaign beats out gears 2 campaign.
gears 2 horde mode has been very fun though online with no lag or issues.
i think thats only the online multiplayer right?
honestly i dont play gears 2 online, its more a shotgun, roll fest i dont like.

killzone no co-op at all?
fable 2 had issues.

none of these games have been perfect, but they have been fun.
even LBP.

nobody said it was bad even, the comment could have been better on live doesnt discount the game. disappointment sometimes has to do with hype too. LBP still scored in their top 10.
i just think a lot of people were thinking # 1-3 before the game was released from what we were expecting.
same with spore too though.

yeah its funny halo 3 cut out big team battle which was 8 on 8 for 5 on 5 max.
not many xbox live games have many online players over 20 ever in a match.
some PS3 games have achieved a lot yes. like no loading in uncharted. funny when you see so much loading in other games with lower quality graphics.
the PS3 will develop over time and games will get better and beter.
i think the 360 will rely on unreal engine 3 which is great yes but is limited especially what EPIC hands out.

wouldnt more legal disclaimers and watching your tail also have to do with stricter policies and more content deletion?
somtething you quoted from me and disagreed with?

j its funny when people pick apart my comments because they only think i like my 360. i also enjoy the ps3.
maybe i expected more.
heck i expected the ps3 to have passed the 360 in consoles sold by 2009, but that is not promising at all now.
a lot of ps3 games have let us down and there has not been a lot to choose from.
there have been a few gems.
but i have found many more on the 360.
i am fortunate to own both consoles.
if i had to choose 1 it would be hard.
if only for gaming though it would be the 360.
if for all around HD media player and gaming it woould be the ps3.
sorry bout the name calling im just used to getting ganged up on by ps3 fanboys it seems.

Thank you bigfat.

The first on your list has nothing to do with XBL or PSN. But it's true. But, again, nothing to do with how XBL will improve LBP

I agree with you're second point. Um, and that's it I guess.

You made good points with your 3rd on the list. In R2, the party feature is built in to the game. When I want to invite ppl into a party, it pulls up my PSN buddy list. However, those people have to be playing R2 already for me to invite them. And it's disappointing that not everyone has a mic, but games like R2 that gives you no way of texting your buddies in-game like a chatroom encourages a lot of people to get mics. The funny thing is that sometimes everyone in the room has a mic, but no one is talking. But point taken.

It would be nice if it sold more copies, for the developers sake. As for content, the amount already in LBP in just a couple months since release is already enough to not need anyone's concern. Unless you eat, sleep and work LBP, of course.

Speaking of work, my 2 days off is over =(. Anyway, sorry for being meanspirited with your comment against MGS4. It's just... well you understand.

"r2 i have loved the single player aspect.
but co-op was a complete let down from r1 if you know what im talking about, local and/or split screen play.
in r1 the single player campaign could be played co-op and split screen in widescreen with story.
in r2 they dropped the story, campaign, and widescreen for full screen, lower quality graphics."

I agree with this... passionately. What happened to the crazy weapons? no split screen because of cutscenes? bullshit, insomniac. Its saving grace was the 8 player coop that I played almost 2 months straight, 24/7, before finally getting sick of it after unlocking all the upgrades.

And I understand their arguments against not being able to save the stats of the 2nd player online, but like someone mentioned, they should let the 2nd player load up his or her own PSN. That way, they can save and load up their own stats.



Whoa.
We're not so different after all...
*eyes start to well up*
*breaks down sobbing in guilt*

I'm so sorry... I in fact WAS being belligerent, and feigning innocence. Johnny giving me the benefit of doubt made me feel so guilty.

It's so easy to start judging ppl here. I think we should turn our aggression towards Joystiq, instead. Stop inciting hate, Joystiq! *waves fist at James.*








MGS4 FTW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DON'T BAN ME PLEASE!!!!

I haven't seen anything in this reply chain that would indicate the game would be better on Live. It's all more of people passing their opinions off as if they are actual facts. The sad part is that I feel the reasons are because of nothing more than a bias.

As for the SOCOM Confrontation thing ... It really has nothing to do with the PSN as J said. The launch/post-launch have to be put squarely on the shoulder of the developer Slant 6. I don't see how anyone can even try to make that connection. I must also say that even though Confrontation had a rough launch the game is now exponentially better. I also believe the game has only launched in the North American region. It's sold about 510,000 copies since it launched and I would bet when it's all said and done the game will probably generate around 1.25 million copies world wide. Especially when the current version launches in the EU & Asia. Essentially they will get the bug free experience from day one.

In the latest podcast from Giant Bomb is basically a deliberation for what game they thought deserved to get their GOTY award (it was GTAIV btw). It was basically between GTA IV and MGS4, but GTA slightly won out. Its pretty interesting to listen to, and their arguments for and against GTA IV are were pretty compelling.

GTAIV is not my GOTY, and I was pretty surprised that the guys a giant bomb thought the game deserved it. It was nice to hear a reasoned deliberation of the game though and it made me think about why the game appeared on so many year end lists.

www.giantbomb.com

There is a stream for the podcast on the main page.

Seems not enough people were able to find copies before the avalanche that started back in August.

I'm not sure what you mean. The only availability issues I've heard of were when Amazon ran a sale and they were out of stock for a couple weeks or so.

Both Gamestop and Amazon had some stock shortages, and I was just making a lighthearted jab at that. Don't read too much into it.