The Escapist Staff's Five Faves of 2009: Russ
- Thread starter Russ Pitts
- Start date
Agreed.Nurb said:ugh...Russ Pitts said:
I had a huge post earlier on why it's getting bad press, but I think it has fallen on deaf ears.
There'll be one new list every day. Keep checking backswaki said:brutal legend would have been so much better if all the songs where unlocked from the beginning so i could have used even more time driving around listening to metal.
also i think theres a problem with the link, i already read russ's list but this time i pressed "The Escapist Staff's Five Faves of 2009" and its still the editor in chief's, hierarchy much?.
edit:
oh and my lists because i just know how your all dieing to know my top 5s.
and in no particular order i present my AAA top 5;
Dragon Age.
Batman : AA.
Brütal Legend.
Prototype.
L4D2.
and the indie top 5;
Machinarium.
Zeno Clash.
Braid. (pc, i know it came out on xbox live in 08)
Torchlight.
Foreign Legion: Buckets of Blood (the only game here who didn't try something new or had an unique style, but dammit i love it)
also im uncertain where to put flowers vs. zombies, its not an AAA game and its not indie either, but great game, it belongs somewhere.
Sad part is that all of what you said was true, and all of that long rant was 100% true but that merely gouges the surface, there is still alot more wrong with it. And hell I am in some regard an Infinity Ward lover, they made all of these great PC games, and now they go and fuck it up. (I'm an Ex-Infinity Ward lover since they released info on the PC version of MW2)RogueDarkJedi said:
At first when I saw you ranting on MW2, and then looked at your Avatar before I read it I sighed and said "Ugh Halo fanboy ranting on CoD what's new" Glad to see it was full of logic and truth
Good to see I was wrong on that part
.*Edit
I...uh... just wow. (-1 to the EIC)Russ Pitts said:
Maybe you know... that a games just BAD? A downgrade from it's predecessor? Such things happen you know. >_>
Oh well, 'tis your opinion, and you know what they say about opinions.
I pretty much agree with this list ,except for godfather ,i haven't even played it and i'm not going to. I don't have a console so i didn't have the chance to try brutal legend ,but it looks fun on the trailers ,except for the strategy part..
My list:
1.Dragon Age: Origins ( I already finished it 2 times and want more!! )
2.Batman Arkham Asylum ( Great game ,but i was a little dissapointed with the final boss )
3.Modern Warfare 2
4.Borderlands ( It's awesome online ,but i would never play it by myself. )
5.No idea ,There aren't that many games for pc these days.. maybe Dirt 2 ( it's not the best racing game or the most realistic but it's fun. )
"I wouldn't call Dragon Age brilliant and perfect.....it has plenty of problems. I love it, but when I can go through the whole game with an invisible Ogren appearing in cutscenes but NOT ever in my party...yeah, they need to work on some stuff."
I didn't have any problems with the pc version ,except for long loading times after few hours of playing.
My list:
1.Dragon Age: Origins ( I already finished it 2 times and want more!! )
2.Batman Arkham Asylum ( Great game ,but i was a little dissapointed with the final boss )
3.Modern Warfare 2
4.Borderlands ( It's awesome online ,but i would never play it by myself. )
5.No idea ,There aren't that many games for pc these days.. maybe Dirt 2 ( it's not the best racing game or the most realistic but it's fun. )
"I wouldn't call Dragon Age brilliant and perfect.....it has plenty of problems. I love it, but when I can go through the whole game with an invisible Ogren appearing in cutscenes but NOT ever in my party...yeah, they need to work on some stuff."
I didn't have any problems with the pc version ,except for long loading times after few hours of playing.
Nice list Russ, I really want DA:O now, you mentioned that it has sex it's perfect, and damn I didn't know people were waiting years for that game.
As for MW 2 yeah I disagree, hated the multiplayer, single-player didn't entertain me enough.
Haven't played Brutal Legend but I will, though I have been against it even before it came out for two main reasons:
[HEADING=1]Jack Black =/= Metal
Some of the bands in the soundtrack =/= metal[/HEADING]
I played the demo for Batman: AA and thought it was badass, though I didn't play it all the way through, though I'm still getting the full game.
And finally, I'll give Godfather 2 a try, but based on your summary of it I'm kinda sure I won't like it so much.
As for MW 2 yeah I disagree, hated the multiplayer, single-player didn't entertain me enough.
Haven't played Brutal Legend but I will, though I have been against it even before it came out for two main reasons:
[HEADING=1]Jack Black =/= Metal
Some of the bands in the soundtrack =/= metal[/HEADING]
I played the demo for Batman: AA and thought it was badass, though I didn't play it all the way through, though I'm still getting the full game.
And finally, I'll give Godfather 2 a try, but based on your summary of it I'm kinda sure I won't like it so much.
Agreed. I loved DAO, but frankly the whole game is glitchy, especially the combat, and the side quests get tedious. But, I guess I cant complain after spending 50 hours beating it and still wanting more.veloper said:
Also, no AC2? I guess its time to make my fav 5....
My fav 5(+2)
1. Assassin's Creed 2: story is still a bit lacking, but hey, it's actually fun to be an assassin this time. REALLY FUN.
2. Modern Warfare 2: No plot, but it appeals to that VRROOM VRROOM BANG EXPLOSION side of us all (the guys, at least).
3: Dragon Age: Orgins: Good story, if generic. Lots of fun sequences and quests, and it definitely feels open choice from the get-go. The choices system isn't so black and white as in other games, and the consequences aren't so clear. good step forward in gaming, and a fun game to boot.
4.: Uncharted 2: Good story, good graphics, good gameplay, good multiplayer. Good game, but nothing spectacular.
5: Batman: Arkham Asylum: Combat system rocks, and some really great voice acting. Lots of fun, but very little replay value. A rent.
6: God of War Collection: Remember God of War? God of War and God of War 2 on the PS3 with smoother graphics and framerate (yeah, it's noticeable) and trophies to give you even more incentive to play it again(and again and again).
7. Borderlands: Only other game I even remotely enjoyed this year.
Russ wasn't kidding when he said it was a quiet year. In my opinion, three great releases (AC2,MW2, and DAO) and then a few average ones. Only seven worth checking out (including the God of War Collection).
I actually don't like Dragon Age that much. The story and interactions are nice (awesome in some occasions), but the combat is incredibly frustrating until you figure out tactics, and after that it's boring. None of the abilities are interesting or fun to use, and few of them are really useful enough to use often.
My favorites would probably go something along the lines of:
1. Torchlight - I might as well be a zombie while playing this, and it takes frightfully little concentration, but it's incredibly addicting.
2. Burnout Paradise (PC) - Released in January for PC, I think I kept playing it until October-ish.
3. Batman: Arkham Asylum - I AM BATMAN. Loved the atmosphere, the combat, everything.
4. Prototype - Perfect and excellent stress reducer, so long as you ignore the at times blatantly moronic and predicable story.
5. League of Legends - Like DoTA, but lacking the annoying community and some of the more 'hardcore' aspects that made it so difficult to get into.
My favorites would probably go something along the lines of:
1. Torchlight - I might as well be a zombie while playing this, and it takes frightfully little concentration, but it's incredibly addicting.
2. Burnout Paradise (PC) - Released in January for PC, I think I kept playing it until October-ish.
3. Batman: Arkham Asylum - I AM BATMAN. Loved the atmosphere, the combat, everything.
4. Prototype - Perfect and excellent stress reducer, so long as you ignore the at times blatantly moronic and predicable story.
5. League of Legends - Like DoTA, but lacking the annoying community and some of the more 'hardcore' aspects that made it so difficult to get into.
The icon is from my gamerpic on XBL. I use it because:dududf said:Sad part is that all of what you said was true, and all of that long rant was 100% true but that merely gouges the surface, there is still alot more wrong with it. And hell I am in some regard an Infinity Ward lover, they made all of these great PC games, and now they go and fuck it up. (I'm an Ex-Infinity Ward lover since they released info on the PC version of MW2)RogueDarkJedi said:
At first when I saw you ranting on MW2, and then looked at your Avatar before I read it I sighed and said "Ugh Halo fanboy ranting on CoD what's new" Glad to see it was full of logic and truth
Good to see I was wrong on that part
A) it's somewhat rare
B) there are no good gamerpics of elites
C) I like Bungie.
The community is lame in all online shooters I've ever played. And I've played a fair few in my small 21 years in this 'verse. FPS games seem to attract the most immature rtards in gaming, unfortunate but that's the way it is.RogueDarkJedi said:
The only game which I've found to be ok is TF2, strangely enough. The worst people I've seen in that was a mod and a griefer. The griefer opened a spawn door and let an enemy spy in, I was playing as pyro and flame as a nervous twitch now sooo... The mod just kicked someone because he wanted their name.
Everyone else has been surprisingly good. L4D was ok, but I've had quite a few TK'ers in that so I prefer TF2.
Estate is not a KOTH map. I go around the side and watch snipers with thermal scopes make the house a death trap. No way am I ever camping that house. =P I play Combat Arms and some of the maps and stories in MW2 look like a direct rip off, but I like those maps so it's all good.
Spawning I'll go with. But spawning sucks in all games. You can camp spawn if it's a static point, if it changes according to a pattern you can mine it, etc, etc. It's one of those elusive features, like a challenging AI.
Rifles, well.. Check out all the perks you get for guns. Stopping Power combined with Steady Aim gives people botting skills. But they still aren't one hit kills unless it's a headshot. And since Steady Aim or the soft aim button (tap L1, then hold) will go for the chest, it isn't game breaking or 1hit wins. If it's a headshot, then all guns will do massive damage or 1 hit kills, same as in all games.
Glitches.. Well, CS:S is generally regarded as the best multiplayer shooter ever in most circles, and that has so many glitches that rules for tournament play involve where you're allowed to look. =P
Yes, MW2 has some issues. No, they aren't that bad. Yes I hate them for taking out dedicated servers, but it's still a fun and popular game on the console. It's also very much like Halo, it's a fun console game that receives a lot of flack for no good reason. I've played it on PC and Xbox and loved it both times, the game was a perfect console game, so more like Serious Sam than Counter Strike, but fun. Second was as good, third was better.
MW/MW2 weren't just hype. They were decent shooters done by a company that makes decent shooters, but this time it wasn't in the cliched and old WWII setting. Everyone wanted a different enemy to hate than Nazi's, they got it and loved it. And still do. Just check out the Shi No Numa maps for WaW. The zombie maps were more popular than the game itself was, just because it hadn't been done in a while, and it was done well.
Oh, and I like Ninja classes. =P
tl;dr
Don't bag out Ninjas, don't bag out games that have the same faults as others with more redeeming features without good reason, don't bag out Ninjas, the Shi No Numa song is awesome, Ninjas are awesome, don't take life too seriously, take Ninjas very seriously.
*considers listing flaws, thinks better of it on a oldie gaming fanatic site*veloper said:
Although.. It's like comparing the first mario to the latest one released on the Wii. Anyone who played it way back when, will call the new versions lame and a clone, and the original the best thing to hit gaming. If you've just played it on the Wii, you'll love it and think the old version sucks.
First: Estate easily becomes a KOTH. Everyone always rushes for the mansion. The reason is because it has easy cover and you can snipe anyone anywhere from it.Cyberjester said:
Second: Spawning is pretty bad in MW2. The fact that you can spawn near an enemy is a bit unsettling. And by this I mean, you can spawn near an enemy, so long as a teammate is near by it. If the teammate is taking fire, MW2 doesn't care. It will spawn you right into the gunfight for you to die.
Third: Glitches. Yes, these are a big problem, but do you get banned for performing a glitch in CS:S? I rest my case.
Fourth: "Don't bag out games that have the same faults as others with more redeeming features without good reason" - What the hell? I'm pointing out flaws that should be fixed at this stage. For a game that was advertised with a gigantic budget, tons of development time and all these "improvements", you would think they would take the time to put the damn thing through QA before releasing it. MW2's multiplayer has been riddled with bugs that WOULD HAVE been picked up during QA (and because they weren't, it either means that IW is really bad at programming, IW/Activision's QA is retarded and/or that the game never went through QA).
Fifth: For the player experience, I'm not talking about griefers in this game. I'm talking about the attitudes that most of the players have in MW2. Have you played it on the Xbox? The experience really goes down with all this poor sportsmanlikeship, harassment, bullying and constant hate speech.
Sixth: I said that MW2 was hype, not MW1. MW2 is somewhat good, but it's not at all great as game reviewers are making it out to be.
Seventh: Rifles. Yes I know perks can easily change the damage. But even without such perks, some weapons are WAAAAAAAAY overpowered. Raffikas, for example. On more than one occasion have I been killed by them with only one shot to the body (this was in Wasteland [another map that can become a KOTH map]) when I had full health.
Assassin's Creed 2 isn't that great, sure they improved a good deal of things but it still doesn't address some of the series flaws mainly the pacing is quite slow, entirely too slow.Donrad said:solid list but im surprised assassins creed 2 wasnt in there..
I dont exactly agree with his list but it's still better the Gamespot's mockery of a best of 2009 list.
Again, snipers with thermal scopes mean I never go near the house. You'd be surprised at how many good players won't touch the thing. It's much easier to surround the house and kill anyone daring to get in line of sight of a sniper. Inexperienced players will of course rush the house, christmas seemed to get in a fairly large batch. But pro's will still just pick 'em off from outside.RogueDarkJedi said:
I agreed with spawning, but I don't like spawning in any game so see no point to make that an issue.
Yes you can be banned for glitching in CS: S.
And see above. Yes it has flaws, quite major ones in fact. But it's still one of the better shooters to be released.
Only played it on the PS3, but see above. The community in FPS games is atrocious. Everyone that has a mic on consoles, or a keyboard on the PC seems to be a stereotypical guy. Complete jerks, basically. Kind of ruins my point whenever I try to argue with feminists that have touched shooters.. And I'm talking normal people, griefer was an example of one of the 2 bad people I've come across in TF2 which I said had less rtards than usual. Better convo quality, less swearwords, less trolls, more intelligent people. Or maybe it's just USA army bots..
MW2 is a continuation of MW1. They're both stupidly popular, they both have a vast range of glitches, they both are visually amazing in single player, they both have an extremely large multiplayer community which is more than you can say for most shooters.
Haven't tried that gun, I love the Scar, friends like the M4 or the Scar. You're talking about assault rifles, right? I've never seen a single shot to the body from an assault rifle kill in MW2, unless I've already been shot quite a few times by someone else. They just aren't that powerful, even with stopping power.
Granted, if you make 10th prestige it could be different, I only know people up to 5th/6th prestige. But still..
haha he really had it with "If there's anything pretentious about MW2, it's you, for taking it too seriously" or the way he put it in the videoHiphophippo said:
despite what has been said, I'd give Wolfenstein a playthrough if I get the chance, but Arkham Asylum is the one big game I really still need to play but have not had the chance to
The house: This might be true on the PS3. On the 360, this is a totally different story.Cyberjester said:
Ban glitch: Since when? I've seen it for tempering, as in you change some skins or something. But that's modifying files out of the game. I don't think you can get banned in CS:S for throwing a grenade and then quickly switching to your gun.
PC: I tend to have a great online experience on the PC. Granted, I've only played Valve games online. Almost all my games go extremely smooth. I've seen footage when CS:S had lots of jerks playing, but it was no where as bad as it is on MW2 right now on the 360.
Raffica: It's a submachine gun. Guaranteed kill in less than 3 shots to the body.
On top of this, the leaderboards in MW2 are hacked. It's really easy to fake your prestige level in the Xbox360 game. It's kinda sad, being a console and all you would think you could make the hack not as accessible, but as long as there are memory units and things that can hook into the harddrive, it's never an inhackable device.