Reason: here. Short summary: Texas lawyers apparently think it's ethical to sleep with their clients. The issue might be a bit more complex than the headline suggests, but it's hard to argue that this wouldn't often lead to some strain in the attorney/client relationship.
Just finished Two Worlds II (for the PC) yesterday. My feelings on it are fairly complex, my review goes into it in more detail here. I also just downloaded the new Back to the Future episode. I'm about 45 minutes into it now, and it feels more or less like the last one, so I expect I'll like it just as much (review here). I've been playing Magicka some as well. I haven't beaten it yet, but that's not for lack of wanting to. The game is a blast to play with friends. It's a lot of fun just blowing each other up, reviving, and repeating. Well worth the cost.
I've been waiting anxiously for Dead Space 2 to come out (I loved the first one enough to watch the related anime movie and read the related graphic novel), and I just couldn't take it any longer. I needed to get my horror-in-space fix, so I loaded up Doom 3 to try to play through it for the first time. As a gamer, I grew up on Doom; I played Doom, Doom II, and Quake all through high school, and Quake II and Quake III in college. I was a big fan of id Software, they always seemed light years ahead of other FPS games at the time (especially when you compared them to console FPS games). Id games were the reason I could never get into Goldeneye. Why would I ever play that when Quake III is so much better?
Anyway, I got it recently on sale from Steam (I think $5 or so), and it's definitely been worth it. But I've been pretty surprised with what I've liked and what I haven't liked so far. I've liked the story (which is funny, because as far as I know, past Dooms and Quakes basically didn't have plots). The voice acting is also done reasonably well. But the visuals and the combat are pretty so-so. The graphics haven't aged well for a game that isn't really that old (it came out in late 2004). And the combat feels pretty similar to past Doom games. There's no cover system, bullet time, or anything else more advanced like that. In that regard, it doesn't really measure up favorably against, say, F.E.A.R. But, like in the old Doom games, the level designers can be proud of the various "jump" moments throughout the game, both in terms of quality and quantity. I haven't seen another game as good at making me react at something popping out behind me. So good job on that.
Now that I've had a little time in 2011 to get perspective, I want to put up a list of my top 5 favorite games from 2010. Why top 5? Because the bottom of top 10 lists are pretty boring. Who cares what the 8th best game was? No one, that's who. I have to mention a caveat: because I'm not a professional video game player (yet), I haven't played a number of presumably great titles this year ( Red Dead, I'm looking your way). But I did get through a lot of them, particularly those on the PC. Without further ado, here's my list.
Alpha Protocol. I read all the negative reviews about this game before getting it, so maybe that did something to set the bar low, but I loved almost every second of this game. The dialogue mechanics haven't been done better in any other game, and it really makes you feel like you have some control over the story. The RPG elements are likewise terrific, and the plot is (at least for a while) pretty strong. The combat isn't third person shooter quality, which I think frustrated a lot of people, but the game is intentionally billed as an RPG. So if you play it as an RPG, you shouldn't have too much of a problem with that (at least, I didn't).
Amnesia: The Dark Descent. I've been pretty clear about my thoughts on this game (and this developer) in the past. The story and atmosphere are terrific, the puzzles are well thought out, and the gameplay mechanics are very solid. The only downside to this game is that it's short and has limited replayability. Survival horror at its finest.
Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty. Terrific update to an already terrific series. Probably the best RTS game ever made, and I've gotten a ton of value out of this already (and expect that to continue).
Mass Effect 2. Everyone else's favorite game of 2010 still cracks my top 5 list. Much of the game is really well done. The graphics, choice, dialogue, and combat are all fun. But the planet scanning is absurdly tedious, the ammo packs are silly, and the RPG elements have been stripped down way too far. Plus, the plot really feels like filler in between the epic story of the original and the (presumably) exciting conclusion in ME3.
My next task might be to come up with a bottom 5 list. I try to avoid playing shitty games for more than a few minutes (with a notable exception), so that might be a bit harder.
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Looking back on the big Steam sales over Thanksgiving and Christmas, I found a huge library of games at my disposal and not nearly enough free time to work my way through them all. Since returning to Europe after a month back in the United States, I've discovered some free time (work has been busy, but there are a lot fewer friends and social engagements for me on this side of the Atlantic). So I've managed to get through a few games, and here are my thoughts.
VVVVVV. This is a fun little game with a neat concept. It's basically a throwback platformer with essentially two gameplay mechanics: 1) traditional left/right movement, and 2) reversing gravity using the space bar. That's really it. There's a cute little story, but the real joy is playing a platformer in its purest, simplest form. It's definitely worth checking out, even if the graphics are (intentionally) retro. I don't necessarily think it deserves all the acclaim it has gotten (for indie games, Braid and Super Meat Boy strike me as much better), but it's very solid.
Metro 2033. Just finished this one today. I didn't have the guts to play through on the hardest difficulty setting the first time through (I hear bullet management can be a real pain). That's probably for the best, because I still encountered several parts that I had to replay 10 times to get through. The game can fluctuate its difficulty level wildly. I can play for an hour without having any serious problems, then a five minute sequence can last me 30 minutes. The graphics and atmosphere are absolutely beautiful, and the story is very intriguing. I'm a sucker for both post-apocalyptic (S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Fallout) and survival horror (Amnesia, Penumbra, Dead Space, Eternal Darkness) games, so this was right in my wheelhouse. I do wish they had explained a bit more of the backstory, but I'll take it. I recommend it, especially if you can get it for like $5 like I think I did.
Back to the Future: Episode 1. I wrote a review for this game recently, here. Shorter review: if you like adventure games and Back to the Future nostalgia, you should really like this game (with the possible exception of one annoying puzzle).
Swords and Soldiers. I bought this game during the Steam sale with almost no idea what it would be like. It's more or less a simple, cute RTS game played as a 2-d side scroller. It's got a very cutesy plot with three different "races" to choose from (each with different units and tactics). It's not anywhere near as complex as Starcraft, but it's more something that you can dive into for 30 minutes and not have to think too hard. Again, if it's selling for $5, I recommend it.
Just Cause 2. Beat this a couple of weeks ago. It's an open world, GTA-style game where the goal is essentially to cause as much chaos as you can to reduce the stability of a third world dictatorship. While my heart is with them, the gameplay can get pretty old after a while. The first 20 hours or so are pretty fun, but at a certain point you realize that you're doing the same three or four things over and over again, and the fun quickly fades. So while I enjoyed it almost all the way through, I have no desire to dive back in and pick up remaining achievements (and there are a LOT of things to do in the world, so I can imagine spending easily another 20 hours there).
Team Fortress 2. I already own this for the XBOX, but I haven't used it in over a year since I've spent most of my time in Europe sans console. I picked it up again, and it's just a really well put together multiplayer FPS. Really fun. Whenever I start getting a little bored, I just start playing as another class and my interest picks up again. Great game.
A fellow Giant Bomber recommended this game to me, and I just completed it. I'm sure I'll have more thoughts on this game (from the same guys that made Samorost 2), but for now my reaction is very positive. The game is extremely cute, the puzzles are generally not ridiculous (my biggest problem with adventure games), and the art style is very appealing. Plus, it includes an in-game hint system that largely precludes the need for looking online for hints, while at the same time being just cumbersome enough to use to make me think twice before using it. Just really well put together, with a nice little story delivered completely without dialogue.
It was already free (but required DosBOX) but now you can just download it on Good Old Games. It's a really well made top-down shooter in the vein of Raptor: Call of the Shadows that I loved when I was in high school. Get it!
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