Best of 2009

[Lothalis]

Well keep this in mind guys who are getting annoyed with Yahtzee's Reviews, he is not a reviewer he is a critic.

Reviewers will go over a game and point out all the good qualities of a game/movie/book and note where improvements could have been made and rates them. Controversially a critic will point out what is effectively wrong with a game/movie/book and may mention of it looks pretty.

Honestly this is ones mans opinion, form your own. If you disagree with him combat it with facts and post it if you feel the need to share. I'm sure that there are people out there who feel the same way as you do.

I had some reservations about his review a while back about SSBB and Soul Calibur, but that's his opinion and that is why people keep coming back here to watch and read what he has to say. Do I agree with what he said, no not all of it. Did he open my eyes up to faults, no I noticed them myself earlier being a fan of fighting games, even the "kiddie" ones.

I guess at the end of this rambling mess I made my point is if your going to stop listening to a persons opinion about something then simply stop. Don't cry out to the masses in a hope that will change what he wrote or how he feels, because it seems like your just looking for attention.

That all being said, I must agree with the statement for House of the Dead, while it is fun and goofy I wish it was more challenging. The problem I think is that it was on the Wii, I like the Wii (preparing for flamers, arm the cannons!) but the fact this house of the dead has the use of, what amounts to, a light gun in essence you could cram a few more baddies in as yout not limited to the terrible aim with the analog stick format of gameplay.

 

[Rainboq]

Hey, people. Care to explain what does "tanking like a German military commander" even mean in this context?

I know Nazis liked their tanks. I didn't knew what "tanking" means in that context. Don't quote me on this anymore.

I think he meant failing miserably

 

[Your once and future Fanboy]

Ok, normally I'm pretty good at distinguishing sarcasm from truth, but does this mean Yahtzee liked Halo:ODST?

BWHA HA HA HA!

if you don't know that, just take a look at his reviews of Halo 3 and Halo wars, if not see this video: http://spoonyexperiment.com/2009/09/23/halo-odst-in-5-seconds/

 

[Death_Korps_Kommissar]

I've noticed a bit of a rule of thumb with trilogies: the first one is usually fairly tepid, since they're still finding their feet; the second is the best, now they've learned from experience and cut off the unnecessary flaps; and the third is where they get cocky and it starts to go downhill again.

What about LotR? I find the first one the most boring, the second great, but the third...

Wait, stratch that. I can't stand the last 30 minutes of the third movie...

GAAH NOW I MUST GO AND WATCH THE TWO TOWERS AGAIN!! Happy now, you Australian Maniac?

You've got to be kidding? The first was the best. It had more colours, more romping through different environments, and it had actual happy, jolly, pastoral bits as well. I found the other two boring because I couldn't deal with the continuous orc killing and duller hues for so many hours.

I liked all three a lot...

 

[beema]

Great followup. I think it was a good idea to write this. A lot of people seem to have trouble with the idea that your reviews are also about comedy and should be taken with a grain of salt. I don't have any problem with this -- your criticisms are apt but they usually don't prevent me from playing anything or change my own perspective. Mostly I enjoy playing the games you have played and seeing if I get pissed off by the same things, makes it even more fun to know there's a reviewer out there that can empathize with me.

 

[Your once and future Fanboy]

why is yahtzee hatin' on joss wheadon ?

go to youtube and search for yathzee and josh wheadon, there is a video with his argument against one of the guys he did the Gamedamage show with, where he ripps wheadon a new one, verbally that is.

 

[SaintWaldo]

Ahem. It's "JOSS Whedon".

If the bludgeoning hasn't started, here' your cue. If it HAS, consider this my bag of nuts on the teapile.

And yes, I'm with Yahtzee, Arkham Asylum was the best thing last year. Quit crying.

 

[SaintWaldo]

I've noticed a bit of a rule of thumb with trilogies: the first one is usually fairly tepid, since they're still finding their feet; the second is the best, now they've learned from experience and cut off the unnecessary flaps; and the third is where they get cocky and it starts to go downhill again.

What about LotR? I find the first one the most boring, the second great, but the third...

Wait, stratch that. I can't stand the last 30 minutes of the third movie...

GAAH NOW I MUST GO AND WATCH THE TWO TOWERS AGAIN!! Happy now, you Australian Maniac?

You've got to be kidding? The first was the best. It had more colours, more romping through different environments, and it had actual happy, jolly, pastoral bits as well. I found the other two boring because I couldn't deal with the continuous orc killing and duller hues for so many hours.

I liked all three a lot...

That's not a trilogy. It's a 3 (or 6, read on) volume single tale. It was written in installments for his son, collected into one large story, and finally broken up for publication into 3 volumes. There's actually SIX "books" in the series, but since they are not episodic and don't have real internal conclusions, they are not properly called a trilogy. Even if there's three.

 

[Something Amyss]

I hate it when the character reveal at the end of a series brings us back to someone we don't like. I was fine with Vader's redemption until the prequel films taught us that, when it comes to Anakin Skywalker, there was nothing to redeem.

I completely agree with this. The end of Jedi was such an awesome moment the first time I saw it (That I remember...Evidently I was in the theater when it was new as a child). It loses a bit of polish when you see that Anakin has no qualities that really make him "fall" per se.

Anyway, what's out of place with the comparison is that we knew what this trilogy was going to be about. At least going into AC2. I haven't finished the game, but I was reasonably sure it was going to go this way.

Which I agree, sucks. I like Ezio more than I did Altair and much more than I do Desmond. But I figured out that we were getting more Desmond, and it wasn't really greatly veiled. The reveal of Vader as Luke's father did a good job of changing the game in the third movie. The revelation that Desmond, a character far less interesting than Ezio, will be the future of the Franchise, is about as game changing as Jedi happening a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

I also hope Yahtzee's wrong about the whole bit where AC 3 will be the result of a cocky developer who brings the game back down, but I'm betting he's not.

Final comment for this post, I doubt The Beatles: Rock Band will be the swan song of the genre. Not just because I still like slapping my flipper to colourful buttons, but because I'm rather realistic about the future of the genre. I'm also hopeful that the developers and publishers might have gotten a clue from the utter failure that was DJ Hero, though I doubt that. Also, given the evidently lackluster success (such as it is) of Band Hero and Lego: Rock Band, I may be wrong on the future of the genre. Though I hope this may end up being another kick in the ass.

 

[Madmanonfire]

I stopped taking this article seriously when I saw TB:RB on the list. DJ Hero is much more deserving of that spot. Such a darn fun game.
The only two game suggestions I kinda agree with are National Treasure: The Game Uncharted 2 and AC2. Both were very superb in gameplay elements.
Then again, I haven't really played most of the games on the list.

 

[FROGGEman2]

Nice list, but the lack of Dragon Age: Origins is kinda... weird. You loved that game in the review, now I'm supposed to assume it sucks the pus from a burn victim's blistered cock?

~snip~

Your new avatar has the most incredibly impractical way of descending stairs.

 

[Shadowed Intent]

Ok, normally I'm pretty good at distinguishing sarcasm from truth, but does this mean Yahtzee liked Halo:ODST?

BWHA HA HA HA!

if you don't know that, just take a look at his reviews of Halo 3 and Halo wars, if not see this video: http://spoonyexperiment.com/2009/09/23/halo-odst-in-5-seconds/

Hey, just thought there was a slight possibility he could have liked the stealth elements.

 

[SonicKoala]

I definitely agree about Assassin's Creed 2 - I enjoyed the game, but I strongly disliked how it turned out that Ezio was completely IRRELEVANT all of a sudden come the ending; it's literally as if we simply went through his entire life just to get to that one point, and none of it meant anything. Now that I think about it even more, that ending really pissed me off.

 

[WendelI]

Ok, normally I'm pretty good at distinguishing sarcasm from truth, but does this mean Yahtzee liked Halo:ODST?

BWHA HA HA HA!

if you don't know that, just take a look at his reviews of Halo 3 and Halo wars, if not see this video: http://spoonyexperiment.com/2009/09/23/halo-odst-in-5-seconds/

Hey, just thought there was a slight possibility he could have liked the stealth elements.

Halo ODST was a weird take on the series. IMO what makes halo fun is the fact that you can jump 10 feet and take tank rounds to the face. not being a pansy kid that just out of cadet school. we have the whole Call of Duty series for that.

 

[DND Judgement]

i like how he refered to himself as a matriarch...

 

[katsabas]

My nose almost fell off when I red Halo in a list about games that Y actually liked. I then red Uncharted 2 and it DID fell off. Y liked U2? I did not get that impression from his review.

 

[V TheSystem V]

I agreed with a lot of the stuff he said, but I am not sure whether he liked ODST or not. Even though Bungie practically lied about it being a different gameplay experience to Halo 3, I found the story much more interesting and nowhere near as mind numbingly boring. Assassin's Creed 2 was excellent, up until the end, where, upon entering the Vault, the ending ws just unsatisfying. Bringing the future to the past is not a good idea, this as an example due to me actually liking Ezio. Desmond is just a lackey they are trying to give a bigger role to. I am surprised Borderlands isn't on there though. Same with Modern Warfare 2; I loved it, but I also loved the first Modern Warfare. Infinity Ward were definitely catering for the fans with the story, due to all the returning characters and Ghost sounding EXACTLY LIKE GAZ! Even though Gaz is definitely dead...?
Seriously though, Borderlands is an amazing game. I have heard the ending is unsatisfying but I haven't got there yet, as I have been enjoying the game as much as I can. It's an RPG that isn't repetetive feeling. Sure some of the missions are samey, but they're fun, so I couldn't care less.

 

[Awexsome]

Meh.

Yahtzee praises great games. Bashes other good games that he personally doesn't like. Calls it the best of 2009. Nothing different here.

 

[L4Y Duke]

Since when was the second in trilogies the best? Empire is about the only example. Matrix and Metroid Prime both prove that the first installments, with their throwing-paint-at-the-canvas-to-see-what-works methods can speak to the audiences in a much better way.

And in terms of video games, it's often the THIRD title that really kicks ass.

For example: Burnout (back when it was a trilogy). 1 was... mediocre, 2 was good and 3 was brilliant.

Unreal Tournament 2003 (the second one) was generally seen as OK, until UT2004 came along and essentially took everything good about UT2003, fixed all the faults and added things people missed from the original, as well as some things people didn't know they wanted until they got it.

Ask any Devil May Cry fan about the second title, and they'll tell you that the first and third were better, even pre-"Devil May Cry 3: Not Quite So Testicle-Crushingly Hard Edition".

 

[BlackFrost]

Good read!
I always like to read Extra Punctuation for the fun of it, but I though he liked Mario and Luigi: Bowser inside story but is not on the list.