Favorite Games of 2005
Just when it felt like it truly began, it was over. 2005 marks the release of the Xbox 360 and the start of the longest console generation yet.
List items
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This is the first game where I earned every Achievement, a feat that required going through the entire game on the hardest difficulty. Achievements have only gotten more difficult, but I’m still damn proud of perfecting Call of Duty 2, a game I loved for showing what the next-generation Xbox 360 was capable of. It presented waves of realistic soldiers charging alongside – or towards – the player. An orchestra of bombs and bullets was incredible and frightening. It was the most realistic representation of World War II we had ever seen. I particularly remember the Russian winters that make up the first third of the game. It felt like I was in a real winter.
Today, Call of Duty 2 looks more than a little modest. The visuals that looked so impressive have been antiquated, the rough edges more obvious. Still, as Infinity Ward brought the series into the future through a fictional conflict, Call of Duty 2 may be the best take on war, simply because it’s based on a real worldwide conflict.
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Bloody hell, this game is ugly. The sprites in the GBA Fire Emblem games had character, especially when it came to critical hits. Path of Radiance is completely lacking in the visual department. It’s a visually boring game with stiff animations. The CG cutscenes – however few there are – are adequate, but the voice acting is mediocre.
But it’s a fun game with an enjoyable story – more political intrigue than past Fire Emblem games. It takes few chances with the gameplay (the introduction of the "laguz" class the biggest addition), but it doesn't need to. At least not for me, since I enjoy this franchise considerable, despite a few frustrations (find my Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn bit to hear some complaining).
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It took years before The Sacred Stones grabbed hold of me – about a month before Fire Emblem Awakening hit, actually. It’s not because it’s a bad game. It plays almost identically to the last GBA Fire Emblem, and that may have been the problem. Fire Emblem was such an enjoyable game that another that’s not quite as good is going to suffer somehow. In this case, it literally took years before I dug deep into The Sacred Stones.
Sometimes that happens, though. I disliked Metal Gear Solid 2 and Mass Effect the first time I played them, and only when I returned that it grabbed hold of me.
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A quirky game in which players draw Kirby’s path through complex levels, released when touch screen gaming was still unexplored territory. Canvas Curse was among the first indications that touch screens could be used for more than gimmicks.
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As someone who finds Tetris boring after about five minutes (and never shuts up about it), I am unsure why I took a chance on Lumines. Surely it’s not something superficial as the slick presentation that keeps me awake, but maybe it’s a combination of that presentation with the sound mechanics. Regardless, Lumines is an addictive little game.
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Irreverent and witty, Ace Attorney displays such a warped version of the law that it’s easy to buy into the numerous oddballs that take the stand, and yet the mysteries surrounding each case are strangely compelling. It helps that protagonist Phoenix Wright is so damn likable, a hero that struggles for every gain and yet is smart enough to reach the truth, even if he fumbles his way there.
Future installment have refined the frustrations by making text speedier and having “game over” be essentially meaningless, which translates into a better game doesn't get in its own way as often. Still, the original is plenty fun.
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Arguably the father of modern third-person shooters, RE4 sees protagonist Leon as an outcast against remote villagers who, as we learn, have been infected by a virus that causes their heads to pop and replaced by giant centipedes. At least that’s how I remember it. Being unable to shoot and move will likely throw people, but RE4 is an otherwise exciting game.
I hear that Wii version was even better. I’m not sure how the more recent HD port was received, though.
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Why would we expect lazy, money-grubbing Wario to change up his own game? That requires work! WarioWare: Touched! includes almost 200 “microgames” that center around the touch screen and, on occasion, the microphone. And, as usual, these 5-second diversions are weird and self-referential, making for a great new installment to a series that Nintendo has since stopped caring about, apparently.
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Using the touch screen to “seal” bosses was misguided – who wants to continue fighting because a slip of the finger? – but the rest of Dawn of Sorrow is an excellent continuation of the gameplay and features introduced in Aria of Sorrow. It’s a shame that Konami marketing saddled the game with such a lame art style, but at least it doesn't impact the sprites.
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Notable for being the first online Mario Kart*, unfortunately ruined by those who mastered a specific mechanic that allows them to travel much faster than by conventional racing. Even so, Mario Kart DS is a solid sequel made better by being on a portable console.
*Using technical trickery play Double Dash!! online through LAN doesn't count.
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It’s easy to feel badass while hauling an assault rifle, but when a spy sneaks up from behind and breaks your neck, then you realize how vulnerable you really are. That’s the beauty of Chaos Theory’s Spies vs Mercs multiplayer mode. Both sides play very differently – spies are Splinter Cell, mercs are Rainbow Six – yet are balanced enough that neither side has an advantage. It’s ultimately up to player skill.
The single-player mode fixes a number of rough spots, making it Splinter Cell’s best campaign at that point. Unfortunately, the story is boring and easily ignored.
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Released well after people stopped caring about skateboarding games, American Sk8land is a perhaps the best Tony Hawk game on a portable console. It was also one of the first games to use Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, which means that the online mode has since been taken down.
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Doom 3’s greatest strength is that it’s a fairly simple shooter taking place within a pretty environment. Being unable to hold a flashlight and gun at the same time can be annoying (which was modded into the PC version and added to later ports), but not as annoying as monster closets. Regardless, Doom 3 is simple fun.
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