Do the Evolution

Not much to say but I would like to draw attention to a new page I've created for this blog.
May I present: the Hall of Fame

This function of this new page is to home to a list of games I consider personal favorites.
But this list however is by no means set in stone: With the progression of time and more games being beaten, the list is liable to change and evolve with each passing year.
And for the sake of historical documentation, I will, at certain times, collect the data as it currently stands and preserve it in a new post. This will effectively replace the Hundred Post milestones I've done in the past (and save me coming up with new ides as to what to do for the occasion in future).
Needless to say, it will be interesting to mark a progression of taste with the passing of time.

A Few Good Games

And so, on last night's screening of Good Game, the list of 100 Best Games, as voted by the Australian public was released. And to the surprise of absolutely no one, Skyrim ended up on top. 

Sarcasm aside, two of the three games I voted for made the list (Metal Gear Solid at 52 and Baldur's Gate 2 at 46) so that's not a bad effort.
What is worthy of note though is that, looking at the list, it is dominated by 7th generation and 6th generation games. Granted that may be a product of a large number of gamers younger than me casting their vote but it is kind of interesting that Skyrim comes out on top whilst Super Mario Bros, without question one of the most important games ever made, is relegated to the opposite end of the list.
No doubt about it: Gaming is a platform that is continually advancing at an incredible rate - thus there is something to said about a game having staying power. True Ocarina of Time may exemplify that notion through being at no.3, but many games of the previous generation have been relegated to the first half of the list.
Indeed, one can only wonder if a similar list is done up in thirty years from now - and whether or not Skyrim will still be the king. ......

Fez the Music

And yet another game has been struck down from the Hall of Shame - this time, it is Fez!

The problem with assessing Fez is that one can't really escape the controversy drummed up by the game's creator Phil Fish. Personally, I'm sitting on the fence for this one: I've Seen Indie Game: The Movie and I can't deny the blood, sweat and tears Phil put into his game - but on the other hand, I can't deny that his use of Twitter has...not turned out too well.
Still I think now would be a good time to look at Fez and see if this game can stand up on it's own two feet. And much like Duke Nukem Forever, we should at least appreciate  that this game has seen the light of day after years spent in development hell.

Unlike Duke Nukem Forever, Fez is actually a good game.
I find there is a lot going for this game. I like the mechanic based around rotating the scenery. I like the environments and the moody music.I also enjoyed the retro styling and didn't find it intrusive at all - even to the point I actually found the graphics and sounds had more personality and variety than a lot of Triple-A games. I also really enjoyed the exploration element finding this the type of game one can divert from their original course and go in another direction - exactly the sign one is playing a compelling game.

I thought the ending was a bit weird though. That's the thing with these 'arty' games: They seem to have this need to lay on multiple depths and hidden meanings - as if in the hope that doing so would score big with the critics. But there is a fine line between the player being intrigued and the player being confused & subsequently frustrated.

Nevertheless, Fez is awesome and I hope it manages to have plenty of staying power in the years to come (although the difficulty in finding the anti-cubes may do just that).

Not so Keen

Another game has been cast down from my Hall of Shame - Funny how completing one game inspires you to beat some more.
Anywho, this time it's the Steam release of the Commander Keen Complete pack!

I remember the Commander Keen games when I was a kid - Somehow if you had a PC you had this game (as in at least one of the installments of Invasion of Vorticons). Indeed, I recall being impressed that everyone had this game in one form or another.
It has to be said though that this game has not aged well: I recall the Commander Keen being a big deal because it provided platform action on the PC at a time when the PC was not known for such games - however more importantly, at least for me, was that the game had a sense of personality.
Years later, I see more than a few problems. The difficulty is tough, even to the point where the games commit the ultimate sin of bullshit deaths. Still the games are short and there are plenty of goodies to collect for points and build up many lives - maybe that's why the difficulty is tough but you never know...

Strangely though, I recall enjoying Keen 1-3 but never 4. Maybe there was something about the art direction that I found somewhat hideous. Did I find it glaring when I was used to something more simplistic? Perhaps - but it is funny that whilst I hated the graphics in 4 I did enjoy the similar graphics in Keen Dreams. Work that one out...

And speaking of which, where is Keen Dreams? And Keen 6 (Aliens Ate My Babysitter)? You call yourself a Complete Pack?!

I wanna hold your hand

Some time ago, I wrote a poem about Ico. I liked it enough to do a little video about it:

(all words and original imagery done by me)

Since making this video, it has been submitted to the Good Game Top 100 special.
Don't know if it'll make the show but one can always try...

Sour Grapes

On the weekend, i had the pleasure of striking another game from my Hall of Shame: Simon the Sorcerer 2!

 I have an odd history with the Simon the Sorcerer series: I first became aware of it during the bleak period between the end of the 4th generation and the dawn of the 5th (for me this was 1993-1996). As established before I had an Amiga during this period and found myself with little choice for games - thus leaving me unable to do much bar read the magazines and look lovingly at screenshots of games I could never hope to possess
This is how I became aware of the Simon the Sorcerer. It was a talked up a lot in the gaming press and one particular article revealed a sequel to be in the making. I never knew if this was sequel was eventually completed but apparently it was. And so, I got to play through a game I'd originally heard about twenty years earlier(!).

Unfortunately, as is often the case with sequels, this game seems to be something of a let down. First up Chris Barrie is absent and it is drastically felt - subsequently, Simon has a different voice and less charm. Matter aren't helped with the writing making Simon even more sarcastic than before and thus come across as being more of a complete douche.

Still there is much to admire in the game itself: The jokes are great, the writing is superb and, once again, it is the people that populate the world that makes the game. The backdrops are as gorgeous as ever and the quicker travel method is a welcome change - and one for the better.

But the ending was annoying: A cliffhanger ending? That (eventually) spawned sequels that were pale shadows of the original? And a breaking of the fourth wall that did nothing more than add nightmare fuel? Whoopeee. And considering that games are still doing this - even when there's no guarantee there will be a sequel, you'd think the lesson was already well-learned - but noooo....
Mind you, seeing the credits that followed, I couldn't help but think they came across as being half-arsed in their approach - which in turn adds to the rushed nature of the game's conclusion.

Ultimately, Simon the Sorcerer 2 had it's moments but I've always wondered why it isn't as fondly remembered as it's predecessor. Now however I think I know why...

A Space Big Enough For Any Criminal to Hide In

Lets not beat around the bush: I'm excited for Elite Dangerous and am looking forward to getting my claws on it.

One thing though: It's taken the form of an MMO - meaning I'll be sharing playing space with a whole lot of other players.
What I find particularly interesting about this is based on my experiences with the original Elite: As I recall, the player could build up a criminal record through trading illegal materials (ie slaves and firearms). And at the same time, the player could also make some money through hunting down criminals and claiming a bounty.

So thus lies in the potential for MMO players to engage criminal activities and build up a bounty big enough to gain attention from other players. It sounds like a clever idea to deal with troublemakers that MMOs always attract but then again, if you have a bounty then one would need the biggest, most powerful ship they can acquire (a challenge most people would see as one worth rising up to).

Of course, all this is just speculative so it would be interesting to see how it comes about in the finished product.