Games of the Year, 2004
Although I played many 2004 games, I only really enjoyed nine of them.
List items
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#9
I'm a big fan of action RPGs. There's not so much dialogue that it bogs down the experience, but enough to tell a detailed story. I enjoyed using the summon spells that the Bard gains access to in the game, and I did actually find it humorous from time to time. The game thinks that it's funnier than it is, but I could listen to ol' MacRath spout indecipherable nonsense all day.
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#8
I was somewhat surprised by the glowing reception of DOOM (2016). Critics and players were saying, "This is what we want! Speed, intensity, driving fast-paced music! It's so refreshing - Doom 3 was too slow!" But in my mind, Painkiller easily already fit this bill, and it had 5 freaking expansions. Painkiller's overwhelming enemy waves made the player feel like they were always barely hanging on. Though I enjoyed Painkiller, I later came to prefer slower, moodier shooters. It also featured creative weapons (with multiple fire modes) that were fun to enact violence with.
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#7
A fun, dark romp about a reality-altering cataclysm that occurred at an island penitentiary. The protagonist, a prisoner named "Torque" (that's right), must escape by slaying the grotesque enemies that appeared at the jail shortly after the event. In the meantime, he learns about the island's horrific past. This is the type of experience that was just perfect for my high school self.
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#6
I loved all of the Prince of Persia games, but I do remember having a bit less fun with Warrior Within. I preferred the Persian-influenced music from the previous game more than this title's rippin' rock soundtrack, and I remember disliking the time pressure that I felt when I had to escape the "Shadow." Despite this, the game still featured beautiful locations with compelling acrobatic puzzles, as well as engaging combat. Even the worst Prince of Persia is still better than most of the games out there, especially back in 2004.
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#5
It's difficult to be objective about Bloodrayne 2. Was it a genuinely good third-person action game, or was I just a teenager who liked watching this vampiress run around in a black and red skin-tight leather suit? A little of both? The metascore on this title looks to be a 67, which isn't awful, so perhaps there was a competent game beneath that bodysuit. I had a blast sucking the blood of evil Nazis, slinging around my mounted arm blades, and spraying Uzi bullets all over the place.
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#4
Second Sight had an excellent concept, in which your protagonist develops various psychic abilities such as projection, possession, telekinesis, psi attacks, etc. The abilities were all well-implemented and individually useful, and they paired well together to help you navigate Free Radical Design's engaging encounters. I felt like Professor X, overcoming stacked odds with only the power of my mind.
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#3
Shoutout to user MajorMitch for accompanying me on this charming journey back in the day. Pikmin 2 is very streamlined, making it easy to control your "minions" during the arduous tasks you ask of them. I enjoyed watching my "army" grow, and found it extremely satisfying to reach the critical mass of pikmin necessary to dislodge an obstacle or damage an enemy. The game introduced new units to you at a manageable pace, and featured clever puzzles that allowed you to coordinate with your co-op partner.
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#2
"Naaaaaaa na na na na na naaa..." Katamari was simultaneously elegantly simple and at the same time dramatically different than anything I had seen before. The core gameplay loop is just brilliant:
Pick up items until you unlock the next ball size and the camera pulls back. If you try and pick up an item that is too large, some of your items will fall off. Then, pick up more items until you unlock the next ball size and the camera pulls back again. Rinse and repeat until you hit the level's time limit.
Keep going, and you'll eventually go from picking up socks to picking up islands. Although the game might've been a hit even without it, it's quirky sense of humor and incredible soundtrack put it over the top.
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#1
You certainly knew that it'd be on here somewhere. Half-Life 2 was a juggernaut. It featured brilliantly voiced characters, such as Robert Guillaume's turn as Eli Vance and Mike Shapiro's work as the G-Man, and compelling non-voiced ones such as Dog. The game featured creative gameplay elements, such as the gravity gun and antlion pheropods. The game also manufactured a wonderful sense of place - the areas you traverse, doing excellent physics puzzles with the boat and buggy, and the static-infused demands of City 17's Combine soldiers. The sound work deserves almost endless praise - the "boop" of health packs, the ringing in Freeman's ears after too close of an explosion, the flat-line after a soldier is killed - even if it's been years since you've played Half-Life 2, these sounds instantly come to mind. It's just a magnificent piece of media. Although I wish the next installment weren't VR exclusive, I'm going to find a way to play it!
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