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2011 GYiR: Sanctum

I’m not much of a strategy gamer. In my entire time gaming, the only real strategy games I ever played were the Age of Empires series, as well as the original Starcraft. As a general rule, they just don’t seem to click with me. Games that need a large time commitment per match usually end up with me bored by the end of it. At heart, I am a ‘twitch’ gamer, enjoying first person shooters, platformers, etc. So, when I heard about a game coming out that was a combination of tower defense and FPS, I was intrigued, but skeptical.

I this game, the mixtures of elements are done very well. You are responsible for creating a maze and setting up defenses like a traditional TD game, but during each wave you can kill the enemies yourself, creating an interesting form of strategy. Do you spend a lot of money on upgrading your weapons because you think you can be Rambo and kill them all, or do you rely on your towers to do most of the killing? A lot of the choices depend on what enemies you get each wave too, since there are some that barely get affected by your weapons, and others in which your weapons are the only reliable way to kill them efficiently.

According to the previous logic, I probably shouldn’t like this game. Matches do tend to be on the longer side, especially if you go pure survival which makes you fight waves until you die. But, the package and wrapping on it just makes it such a pleasure to play. The score of the game is done with hauntingly beautiful and intense music, and the visuals in this game are possibly the best I’ve seen from an indie studio (Another great example of the Unreal engine!). In a game that can run as long as it does, having an appealing experience in what makes the game fun and not a chore.

If that wasn’t enough, since the game’s release they have been very good on DLC, initially releasing plenty of free maps, weapons and towers to tide people over and fill in the gaps now. They have recently started releasing paid DLC as well, but in a very manageable and respectable way.  A couple of different style of towers for different situations, and a couple of niche maps.

For a first game from a new company, the amount of polish on it is fantastic, and if you enjoy either of the two genres this game is made of, you will enjoy this game.

2011 GYiR: Monday Night Combat

This game gets the very sad “Old Yeller Award for premature killing of a product”.

Where do I begin with this game: despite looking like a blatant TF2 clone, this game had considerably more strategy in it, and humor that was much more advanced than silly headwear.  While there were some debatable balance issues, it was still great fun to play.  Whether you were up for shenanigans or a heated battle, this game had it all.  And, for a good solid six months, this was my go-to multiplayer shooter game, which all worked well.

But slowly, like a crumbling relationship, things started to change.  It didn’t behave the way it used to, crucial things started changing, and even new things like maps just didn’t seem as fun as the originals.  Sure, you kept going through the motions and playing, still kind of having fun but thinking to yourself that it wasn’t as good as it was when you first met.  And then, finally, there’s the sad day when you learn that the developers are moving on to a newer game.  You’re sad, but just step away and move on to the three hundred or so other people out there waiting to play with you.  Well, that’s where the analogy breaks down, but you get my drift.

I’ve played over a hundred games in the new game they’re creating, Super Monday Night Combat, and the biggest problem with it is that the game lacks the consistent fun factor.  Every five matches you play, only one will be truly fun.  Sure, you may win all five, but it’s more than likely due to the other team either being terrible and you rolling them, or someone quitting and having to fight a team 5 v 4.  I don’t know about you, but I play games to have fun, not to try to be a champion or stroke my ego or anything, so the sequel isn’t overly for me.

In the end though, the original was the one game I put the most hours into this year, and that says something right there.  It’s a good game, just don’t expect anything new from it.

2011 GYiR: Magicka

If I was actually creating awards or anything, this game would have received the “Rat in the beer bottle award for lack of quality control”.  Quite frankly, this was a game that the developers almost didn’t want you to finish since it was so bug-riddled that there was a section of the game my friends and I needed to download a developer provided save in order to actually move on from that point, and that was at least nine months after the release.

But, what the game lacked in stability, it did make up for in a very well-written and amusing storyline, as well as interesting gameplay.  The main premise of the game was that you could combine various elements together to make spells, and you did that while running around and using them to kill enemies.  Not the most complicated game in the world, but a game in which friendly fire was on and you could get back at certain people who did nothing but “accidentally” murder you was worth the price of admission.  It’s repetitive, sure, but the price point was cheap enough to make it a solid impulse buy, and I did manage to get more than that worth of entertainment out of it.

As of the last patch, they have apparently added real checkpoint saving into the game, which would probably make it a considerably happier experience if you do crash.  I had actually just finished it with a group of people shortly before that patch came out, but what can you do.

2011 Gaming Year in Review

Here’s a challenge for you: try thinking of ten really good games that came out in 2010 for PC.  Don’t worry, I’ve got time.  See how many you can think of, at least.

If you’re like me, you can’t think of many.  2010 was a bit of a weak year for gaming, with the one title that should have came out pushed back to 2011.  But, that meant a year chock full of great things for PC.  In fact, it was so good I even managed to play and beat over twenty games this year.  Twenty!  For me, that’s absolutely stellar.  In fact, in November alone I bought three AAA titles, and finished two of them within a week and a half of each respective title coming out (The third is a coop game in which I’m at the mercy of my partner, but I’ve made good progress with that game too).  And even worse, courtesy of that wonderful Steam sale that happened this month alongside with Christmas, I have thirty or so more games to play too, a lot of which are 2011 titles as well.    Point is, gaming this year has been very diverse and fun, and it’s a good excuse to get me to start writing for this site again.

So, for the next couple of weeks, I’m going to profile each of the major titles that I played and enjoyed this year.  I was tempted to do a Game of the Year thing, but really, all of the games I’ll be writing about are worthy of your money.  After all, everything I actually play and think is good must be good, right?  Right?  Right?

Unethical Game Design

Really fantastic video talking about video game addiction, and how companies are manipulating people into committing more time and money.

5 Inch Floppy: Unethical Game Design

I hadn’t heard of this series before, but I’m going to have to take a look at some of the other episodes he’s done. For more videos, check out the series here.