Sometimes one list just isn't enough! My first list strongly reflected my personal tastes in gaming, and I stand behind it fully. However, in the tradition of always creating two lists each year, here is a list driven entirely by how weird my gaming habits and preferences can be sometimes. The result is a list that I'm also proud to stand behind, though one with a much narrower appeal and recommendability. That last word was totally a word.
This is, simply, the greatest trucking/management sim ever made. It replaces Rig N Roll as the holder of that crown, though Rig N Roll still has a better story...by virtue of having a story. ETS2 has a massive world, fun driving mechanics, and the compulsive hook of leveling up and building a trucking empire. It also has easy access to a number of streaming European radio stations.
Have you ever played Sid Meier's Pirates? Have you ever played an Ascaron game like Sacred 2? Would you like those guys to make a way more complicated version of Sid Meier's Pirates? Well, they did. And it's great.
Did you think Diablo III wasn't as good as Diablo II? (You're crazy! But whatever). Well here's the game for you! I think this is about as refined as the Diablo formula will ever get in this particular direction of speedy combat and skill trees. Torchlight II is a phenomenally fun game that's made for a rather specific audience. I haven't finished it yet but I've put in tons of hours trying the classes and building up characters. If that sort of number crunching and loot gathering is the thing that appeals to you most about games, this is your home. I am still bummed that it doesn't actually contain the town of Torchlight. Or if it does, I simply haven't gotten there yet. But I don't think it does. And that's silly.
I found this game not-as-enjoyable as the first game. That is, until the Mechromancer class was released. The Mechromancer subverts every convention of the game in delightful ways, and forces you to play a shooter without compulsively reaching for the reload button. I still find the story and humor in this game to bee all over the map, ranging from "This is right up my alley" to "Ugh I can't un-hear the Hey Ash Watcha Playin in this." But the Mechromancer class allowed me to see the refinement that the others did not, and is simply a blast to play. Borderlands 2 is in part relegated to this list for requiring DLC for me to find it fun.
What up BIG BO! This game has the greatest shooting-at-robots of all time, and cutscenes directed with the same facial detail and flair as this team's earlier Yakuza titles. It's great. Big Bo.
I'm specifically talking about the BFG Edition here. This got me to finally finish all of the Doom 3. BFG Edition is a phenomenal package, and with the recent patch to allow control remapping and flashlight shadows on PC, it's the definitive version of the game. What's not to like about Doom 3 running on the Rage engine? Well, the fact that it's not Doom 4. This is still one of the greatest space marine games of all-time.
Somehow this sequel was made, and I'm grateful. It accomplished the impossible of following up the story of the first one, it has the most amazing dark ride level of all-time and...it has a really terrible final level. Aside from that baffling fumble right at the end, this game is great.
Speaking of baffling fumbles right at the end, hey look it's Mass Effect 3. This is actually a really great game, and the bizarre turn the ending took bugs me less as time goes on. Except for that scene with Buzz Aldrin. That moment will forever be dumb, and no amount of re-editing will change it.
This is the greatest spoof of Mad Dog McCree/Space Pirates and FMV games of the 90's ever made. It's also not quite as much of a game as those were. It's also the only spoof of Mad Dog McCree/Space Pirates ever made. You should probably play it/see it once in your life.
Dragon's Dogma is a weird mix of being the greatest RPG ever, and the worst one. It's kind of like a more ambitious Dark Souls, made by Capcom. The lighting engine is incredible. It mixes moments of pure brilliance with moments of pure frustration. I didn't finish it, but it has sat in the back of head hounding me every day, and one day I will go back and complete it. I loved everything about this game, so the moments where it crushed me under its boot were saddening instead of properly challenging.
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