Seventh Heaven

And so the seventh generation of console gaming has well and truly rode off into the sunset. So where does this leave us? Well for me this may as a good a time as any to do a retrospective on this generation outgoing.

At first I had no interest in the seventh generation. At the time the seventh generation was dawning, I got off my arse and got a PS2. A bit late to the party true but I didn't care: I merely wanted to find out what the PS2 had to offer - as well as what I'd missed out on with the PS1. And the shaky start of the Xbox 360 confirmed the wiseness of this decision.
True I did eventually obtain a Wii but that was more for the Virtual Console than the actual games the Wii had to offer.

But it didn't take long before something came along that really piqued my interest. The game was Dragon Age Origins - and somehow it being marketed as a successor to the mighty Baldur's Gate  was enough to warrant more investigation. And then, seeing a friend play Mass Effect 2 furthered my decision to fork out for a 360. It seemed a dumb decision to get yet another console when I had a PC, PS2 and a Wii but I don't regret it one bit.

Now. Do I have any favorite games from this last generation. Funny you should say that: I've got a top ten list prepared!
So here's my favorite games of the last generation all arranged in order of preference. All of these games I may have, at one stage or another, already talked about at length on this blog so I'll try and keep this brief.

10. Cave Story
It was made by one guy but damn what a labor of love this was. True the last boss may have prevented me for beating the game (otherwise this will be ranked much higher) but Cave Story has plenty of charm that puts a lot of triple A games to shame.

9. Braid 
I found Braid bogged down by the pretensions towards artiness this game had. But then I remembered this game had fun puzzles, clever mechanics and a lovely art direction. Enough to save it? Damn right.

8. Dragon Age Origins
Say what you like about Bioware but somehow Dragon Age Origins feels like one of their last watermarks. True it is more enjoyable on the PC, with mods, than the Xbox, but there is still a lot going for this game with it's art direction, gripping plot and solid writing.

7. Bioshock
Before I played Bioshock I was feeling somewhat unhappy with gaming - but by playing Bioshock I got the kick up the arse I was needing. Compelling in it's narrative, inventive in it's ideas and a great game all round, Bioshock was all this and more. Now about System Shock 2....

6. Bastion
A lot of games seem to rely on spectacle and explosions - so any game that attempts the 'Less is More' approach is worth nothing less than my interest. Four characters, a glorious narration, and an art direction to die for, Bastion is nothing short of brilliant.

5. Spec Ops the Line
The slap in the face that military shooters needed. It's not a game I'd play for enjoyment but it's a game that is indeed worthy of my respect. It takes balls for a game to critique it's audiences and Spec Ops The Line has the biggest balls of them all.

4. Thomas Was Alone
If the seventh generation proved anything it's the time that indie games truly flexed their muscles. And Thomas Was Alone could well have been the best of the lot. It may have won me over on sheer personality alone but being a great game certainly didn't hurt either.

3. Rock Band 2
I hate to think how many hours i may have sunk into Rock Band 2 but I honestly loved every minute of it. The implementation of the music library was a masterstroke and I've gained a new appreciation for music I wouldn't have otherwise been aware of.

2. Mass Effect 2
Dragon Age Origins may have proven that the seventh generation my be worth my time but Mass Effect 2 truly sealed the deal. It seems to me that Bioware were taking the concept of the Dirty Dozen and putting into game form for the first time. And I personally wouldn't have it any other way, 

1. Red Dead Redemption
Game of the generation? Hell yes. Beyond that I can't really think of much else to say about Red Dead Redemption. It's the game I got the most out of in the entire generation and it looks set to be a favorite in the years to come. Can something top it? Now there's a challenge to rise up to.....

So where am I at the beginning of the eighth generation? Anything but confident.
I'm serious: Nothing has come along that has really grabbed my attention. Indeed I have found, like most people, the seventh generation being truly defined by the presence of indie games on XBLA & Steam. And in particular I've found, much to my surprise, that many of them are more substantial than the games available on the shelves of EB Games. It is indeed telling that the only game I've truly gotten excited over in the past twelve months is The Stanley Parable.

But then again I have no patience for the eighth generation - not while my Hall of Shame continues to exist anyway.

Its been one week since you looked at me

So it's been a week since I made a return to Azeroth. So how do I feel about it?

Well I think the time away has done me well. When I left last year, I wasn't really enthused about playing World of Warcraft and, despite the myriad of things that can be done in it, somehow doing any of them felt hollow and dull. This time however I'm enthusiastic about doing the many activities again. Oh sure the professions have a degree of tedium attached to them but this time I know what I'm doing and as a result I don't find the profession duties at all prosaic. Subsequently I've made rapid progression in getting my skills up.

When I first left WoW I had three characters entering Outlands (plus there's my Death Knight who was/isn't too far away from there). And at that point I realized I'd be treading over the same ground thrice over. Again the threat of tedium reared it's head and was a good excuse as any not to progress further. This time around however, I've sent Beldrath into Tekkohar Forests and whilst Rithendal may have already been there, this time I'm finding the quests fun to do and have made some considerable progress (of course having the benefits from a level-1-guild-turned-level-9 has helped).

And there was my Hall of Shame. Since giving up World of Warcraft last year I've since struck numerous titles from my Hall of Shame - and thus built up enough karma points to justify a return to Azeroth. Only this time I (insofar) haven't allowed WoW to completely dominate my allotted gaming time - Why, I've recently been trying out Cave Story and Eversion (two games that couldn't be more worlds part).

I've heard of some people leaving World of Warcraft only to return some time later with fresh eyes and, having experienced it myself, there is indeed a lot of truth in that statement. Where once I was tired with WoW I'm now finding a renewed freshness. Of course, at my peak last year, I was playing WoW pretty much exclusively - which in retrospect is probably not the best way to go about playing WoW. Now, having spent some time away  and a reassment of the time allocated to WoW, another journey through Azeroth is looking pretty good at the moment.