Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Best of the Rest: Mike Suszek's picks of 2012]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2013/01/01/best-of-the-rest-mike-suszeks-picks-of-2012/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/01/01/best-of-the-rest-mike-suszeks-picks-of-2012/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/01/01/best-of-the-rest-mike-suszeks-picks-of-2012/#comments Joystiq is revealing its 10 favorite games of 2012 throughout the week. Keep reading for more top selections and every writer's personal, impassioned picks in Best of the Rest roundups.

FIFA Soccer 13
I'd argue that sports games haven't quite accomplished what EA Canada managed to do this year with FIFA 13: Mix in a subtle sense of unpredictability that you'd expect from the sport the game represents. FIFA 13's first touch controls forces players to calculate their decisions on the field more carefully than ever before, as one bad bounce can create an opening for your opponent. Layered with that unpredictability and an always-improving AI is the EA Sports Football Club Catalogue, which builds on the XP system pervasive throughout the game by offering players in-game rewards for their efforts. FIFA 13 is a complete game, and is unquestionably my favorite sports game of 2012.

Continue reading Best of the Rest: Mike Suszek's picks of 2012

JoystiqBest of the Rest: Mike Suszek's picks of 2012 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 01 Jan 2013 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>best-of-2012Best-of-the-Rest-2012EAEA-Canadafifa-13frog-fractionsftl-faster-than-lightgame-of-the-year-2012GOTY-2012iosiphonejellyvisionmicrosoftmobilenew-super-mario-bros-unintendopcplaystationps3subset-gameswii-uxboxyou-dont-know-jackTue, 01 Jan 2013 11:30:00 EST<![CDATA[How RPGs colonized some of 2012's best games]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/19/how-rpgs-colonized-some-of-2012s-best-games/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/19/how-rpgs-colonized-some-of-2012s-best-games/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/19/how-rpgs-colonized-some-of-2012s-best-games/#commentsThis is a weekly column from freelancer Rowan Kaiser, which focuses on "Western" role-playing games: their stories, their histories, their mechanics, their insanity, and their inanity.
2012 may not be remembered as a fantastic year for pure western role-playing games (especially without a Skyrim to sweep the end-of-year awards) but it's been a great year for me as a video game fan. Why? Because many of the "best games of the year" may not be RPGs, but they've adapted some of the best components of RPGs to become stronger games.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown, for example, is one of the best-received games of 2012, due in part to its use of RPG mechanics. Tactics games are often associated with RPGs (especially Japanese-style tactics games) but the connection isn't always so concrete with "western" games. For example, I don't really qualify the original X-COM: UFO Defense as an RPG, due to its too-large squads filled with personality-free squaddies, whereas Jagged Alliance 2 certainly fit the mold.

XCOM tweaks the initial game's form in ways that align with traditional role-playing games. The squad size is limited to 4-6 characters, traditional RPG numbers, and only having one base means you rarely need large numbers of squaddies - I never had more than 15 at once, and even that was high due to playing on "Classic" difficulty. It also slightly decreases the importance of the strategic decision-making level, putting the focus on the characters in the field.

Continue reading How RPGs colonized some of 2012's best games

JoystiqHow RPGs colonized some of 2012's best games originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 Oct 2012 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>2K-GamesFiraxis-GamesmicrosoftOpinionpcplaystationps3Subset-GamesTelltale-GamesThe-Walking-DeadxboxXCOM-Enemy-UnknownFri, 19 Oct 2012 16:30:00 EST<![CDATA[The Joystiq Indie Pitch: FTL: Faster than Light]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2012/09/19/the-joystiq-indie-pitch-ftl-faster-than-light/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/09/19/the-joystiq-indie-pitch-ftl-faster-than-light/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/09/19/the-joystiq-indie-pitch-ftl-faster-than-light/#comments Indie developers are the starving artists of the video-game world, often brilliant and innovative, but also misunderstood, underfunded and more prone to writing free-form poetry on their LiveJournals. We believe they deserve a wider audience with the Joystiq Indie Pitch: This week, Justin Ma and Matthew Davis of Subset Games describe their quick rise to space roguelike-like fame with FTL: Faster than Light, which recently launched on Steam for PC and Mac.
The Joystiq Indie Pitch FTL Faster than Light
What's your game called and what's it about?

Justin Ma: Our game is called FTL: Faster than Light and we've been describing it as a "spaceship simulation roguelike-like." The focus is on managing a spaceship and her crew as they explore a randomized galaxy. Combat requires you to control the crew to keep your ship running and fight off intruders, balancing your power distribution, and trying to wreak havoc on the enemy ship. In between fights the game is filled with "choose your own adventure" style text-based events with many possible outcomes.

Matthew Davis: The core game can be compared to something like Weird Worlds or Flotilla where the player is travelling to various star systems, encountering events and upgrading their ship. But the combat is focused on the ship interior as opposed to "dogfighting" in space.

What's the coolest aspect of FTL?

Justin: Each element of the game is pretty simple on its own: Blast doors can restrict enemy movement on your ship; oxygen can be vented by opening the airlocks; fire spreads through open doors. When all of these interact you can get some amazing and unpredictable situations. Your crew might be trapped putting out a fire in the weapons rooms while at the same time boarders are trying to break the doors down because they're suffocating after mistakenly sabotaging your oxygen system.

Gallery: FTL: Faster Than Light

Continue reading The Joystiq Indie Pitch: FTL: Faster than Light

JoystiqThe Joystiq Indie Pitch: FTL: Faster than Light originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ftl-faster-than-lightIndiejoystiq-indie-pitchjustin-mamacmatthew-davispcroguelikespacesubset-gamesWed, 19 Sep 2012 19:00:00 EST