Mid-Year in Review: 2009
January
January, like most gaming years, was a dead month. skate 2 was released with the fans of the first highly anticipating the new tricks you can do and environments you can travel. Unfortunately, a suspect running mechanic and a “been-there, done that” feel wears down the game after just a short while, leavnig skate fans disappointed in the process. The Maw was a key downloadable release on XBLA, providing a unique character and some good puzzle solving and platforming. For 800MS, it’s a good deal of fun, but it is a short game that will not last you very long. Finally, Afro Samurai was released to fans of the anime and to action gaming fans. With style to spare and a unique art direction, Afro provides what few games in the genre struggle to have: personality. It isn’t enough to overcome the shortcomings of the overall game, however, and Devil May Cry and God of War fans look at this as just a “lite” version of their favorite games.
February
February became a surprisingly crowded month with some key titles being released and some surprisingly good times. Anticipation was rampant for the PS3 exclusive Killzone 2, which featured some of the best looking graphics on any system. The single player campaign, while not the most original, was entertaining to many gamers, but the multiplayer game is the mode that gamers are still playing to this day and it’s quite enjoyable. The long awaited sequel Street Fighter IV was unleashed to the gaming populace as well, featuring a surprisingly strong online multiplayer components and enough new content and great fighting to quench the thirst of diehard veterans and gamers looking to return to the series. Retro gaming had it’s time in the spotlight, with Retro Game Challenge for the DS and Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection releasing stateside. While 40 different Genesis games on one disc is tempting, the overall package and charm of Retro Game Challenge leaves lovers of an older set of games more satisfied. F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin scared up audiences this month, but fans found the game slightly disappointing, especially with the long wait for the true F.E.A.R. sequel they’ve been waiting for. Artistic…or just plain weird…games were a big hit this month on PSN, with the beautiful Flower and the bat-shite crazy Noby Noby Boy. Flower’s artistic and techincal beauty is the focal point of its hidden message, while Noby Noby Boy forgoes the whole “game aspect” for a very elaborate sexual metaphor. Two key JRPG’s released as well: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon brings the Fire Emblem series to the beginning with the remake of the Japanese exclusive first game for the DS, while Star Ocean: The Last Hope was released on the 360 with excitement, but was quickly parred down with mixed reviews and word of mouth. Peggle: Dual Shot made its debut on the DS, where it included both of the addicting Peggle games for the price of one. The two surprising games of the month round out the list: House of the Dead: Overkill for the Wii is one of the funniest, bloodiest, most mature and most fun light gun games to come out in years; fans of Time Crisis and B-Zombie movies will fall in love with this game. Lastly, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand was labeled as a dumb sequel to the horrid Bulletproof, but the implementation of Gears of War controls and mini-game achievements throughout the game makes the game more fun than it really deserves to be. Yo, Fiddy!
March
March featured some key titles, mostly on the Nintendo DS. The biggest DS release was undoubtedly Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. The throwback game may have been deemed disappointing sales wise, but fans of Grand Theft Auto have found tons to love on this handheld version. RPG’s had some serious play on the DS: Suikoden Tierkreis and Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume were released to fans of their classic games, but both left disappointed with their new directions. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time may be the key winner for longest title ever for a game, but it makes up for it’s need in real estate for connectivity on both the Wii and DS version. The fact that the Wii version is just an emulated version of the DS version is a major drawback to some, but DS gaming fans looking for a dungeon hack fix have something for them now. Staying with the Wii, the console version of the DS favorite Rune Factory was released as Rune Factory: Frontier. While the game is the same as the DS version, added graphical sheen and a broader region to travel through makes this Action/RPG a lot more balanced for the Wii. Another key Wii release was the deliriously mature, absolutely crude and bloody Madworld, which features some of the best voice work on the Wii. Finding creative ways to kill your enemies never gets boring, but even if you somehow end up getting tired, the commentary just hits all comic cylinders. On the download front, The Watchmen: The End is Nigh was released on PSN and XBLA. While fans had something to smile about with this fan-service beat-em-up, many found the price to be too steep ($20) and the gameplay too boring to warrant a purchase. Resident Evil 5 will probably be one of the most devisive games this year. Gamers are cut into two groups: Either they love the game and its co-op-centric gameplay or they absolutely hate the old school controls that the game forces on players. Legends of Wrestlemania was meant to be a fan-service for old school wrestling fans, however the simplified wrestling system, 80’s charm and points based achievement system helps make this game more accessible to most who wouldn’t give wrestling games a shot. Tom Clancy’s HAWX made it’s explosive debut on the 360 and PS3 this month and fans of arcade flight combat games had some good things to say, but the game is meant for them and not much else. Halo Wars made its drop this month as well, featuring one of the most popular franchises in gaming going back to its original concept for a simplified, but still exciting game of RTS. MLB 09: The Show may not have changed much from 08, but it’s still the best game of hardball you can find on any console. Finally, the surprising platforming/puzzle hybrid of Henry Hatsworth and the Puzzling Adventure treated gamers to a challenging, yet unique platformer with a charming sense of humor.
April
The beginning of a new quarter generally means a lack of decent games…which is kind of the case here. Ninja Blade makes its 360 debut on this month, however the lack of Ninja-Gaidenesque hacking and slashing with the coupling of constant quick time events rubbed some gamers off the wrong way. The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena amazed gamers with its excellent voice work and its incredible motion capturing work…but the new content didn’t do much to add to Escape from Butcher Bay. The Godfather II sank to the bottom of the ocean in sales and in word of mouth: critics gave it middling to poor reviews and gamers who tried the game came away with a generally bad taste. On the DS, Rhythm Heaven, the ported version of Rhythm Tengoku for the GBA, was released for the first time in the States. You seem to be either two things in this game: Good or absolutely horrible. Guess which one I fall under? On the download front, the first DSiWare games were released with the system and the best one was Art Style: AQUIA, a simplistic but very clean looking puzzler. On XBLA, the emo The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai, the puzzle herding game FLOCK! and the update of the classic racer Outrun Online Arcade. Each aren’t really noteworthy, but if you’re into the types of games they represent, they are worth the 800MS. Finally, the sequel to Excite Truck on the Wii goes into a crazier direction in Excitebots: Trick Racing. Adding all sort of stunts to the racing aspect of the game makes it even more of a frantic, fast and absolutely fun game to play.
May
While May was a slow month, it did provide some key titles that will be remembered by the end of the year. Remakes and reimaginings were a big theme this month, with not one, but four games that offered a different take on some classic games. 2008’s remake of Space Invaders for the portable systems made a big enough splash to warrant an XBLA version in May, with all the great nostalgic blasting fun. It may not quite live up to the handhelds, but if you missed the now rare find of Space Invaders Extreme for the DS or PSP, this is an adequate purchase. Bionic Commando, on the other hand, didn’t hit the right note with many gamers and reviewers, which led to it completely tanking in the sales department. It’s easy, and unfortunate, to see why: frustrating swing mechanics and an almost unforgiving A.I. makes this game not so fun. Klonoa had it’s original adventure redone gorgeously on the Wii. If you missed out on this game on the PS1 era, the discounted $30 price makes it even more worthy of a look. Punch-Out!! decided to do less than most remakes and just stick to the basic NES format….and it turned out to be the best kind of remake: a game that is fun for everyone and has enough nostalgia to please the fans of said game. Going more into the “retro theme”, ArtStyle: PICTOBITS is a puzzle game done backwards, but as a result is one of the more fun and challenging puzzle games you can grab this year. Boom Blox Bash Party took the original game from last year and added different physics and blocks to give a bigger, more diverse game for less money ($40, as opposed to $50). inFamous on the PS3 is a technically impressive open world game with creative uses of its main power (electricity), but honestly, it’s a game that I lost interest in rather quick. It has excellent platforming and movement, but the powers and the “morality” system doesn’t make it that interesting enough. Nominated for one of the biggest titles ever, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon takes the original Devil Summoner (and no, I will not right the entire subtitle) and simply continues with a new story and enemies. It’s basically the same as the last one. The big hit of this month was undoubtedly UFC 2009: Undisputed. The game is at its core one of the most faithful representation of the MMA sporting craze, but it also is one of the most technically sound fighting games you can play. Finally, there is Plants vs. Zombies, which further proves that PopCap is one of the best PC developers out there along side Blizzard. With a great sense of humor and fast paced, but methodical gameplay, this game has become the next Peggle for a great reason.
June
End of Quarter 2 usually ends with big releases to lead unto a VERY dead July and August. Well…usually. Let’s get the bad ones out of the way: Fuel and The Conduit. Both had ambitious and rather interesting ideas (open world racer with the largest landmass ever built for a game and a FPS for the Wii), but both fell ridiculously flat. Fuel is a very bland racer with some of the most barren and boring environments while The Conduit is little more than Goldeneye for the Wii. Yeah, you heard me. Swords and Soldiers is a quality 2D RTS for the Wii that is simple enough to learn for beginners, but will have plenty of humor, charm and great gameplay for any gamer. Trash Panic is a very strange, very Japanese puzzle game involving various objects to throw into a trash bin in order to gain points. Overlord II improves on the first game (yay Minimap!) and puts on more of the funny, but it still feels like a second rate Pikmin. Prototype is much like Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction but with a hard M-rated edge…with kind of a bad story to suffer through. Which the same can be said for Red Faction: Guerilla, only the open world action is more destruction and deformed based. Ghostbusters: The Video Game saw a fan favorite series come back to glorious life…too bad it was a game and not a movie. Fight Night Round 4 can easily be portrayed as a much prettier and finely tuned Round 3, which is far from a bad thing…it’s just too bad it came out after UFC 09: Undisputed. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor brings the vaunted Japan series to the DS as a strategy RPG/turn based RPG with some decent results…but it doesn’t quite live up to the SMT standards. In the WiiMotion Plus arena Grand Slam Tennis and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 were released this month, which ended up making these games some of the best sports games ever made with that peripheral. But two surprise DS games round out this month: LEGO Battles, which is an excellent RTS for the DS, and Knights of the Nightmare, a RPG/SRPG/SHMUP hybrid that has to be played to be believed.
Stay Tuned for the Top Ten of the Mid-Year 2009
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