Thoughts on games, work, and… well, mostly games

I finally found time tonight to catch up on X-Play, though I had to jump past three episodes I haven’t had time to watch yet to get to their Best of 2009 Awards Show.

I’m sad though, because I haven’t been able to play most of the games mentioned.  Oh well.  Gotta make a living.  Right?

Best Original Game: Glad Borderlands won this.  Hehehehe… HEYOOOOOO!  I have a review and code ideas in me for that one.  I’m gonna try putting together a generic random loot generator as a thought experiment.

Best Gameplay Innovation: I have great respect for X-Play’s acknowledging exceptional tech and gameplay with their Best Gameplay Innovation award.  Haven’t played Demon Souls; curious to see what makes the multiplayer so good.  I’m anxious to play MW2 for no other reason than the Death Perks.  Innovation?  Eh…  maybe not really, but still, why has it taken so long for FPSs to get these?

Best Sports Game: Pass.  But yes, its sweat tech is cool.

Best Expansion: Fallout 3′s tech provides so much potential for expansion that I wonder how other games might compete.  Operation Anchorage was great, and Point Lookout breathed new life into the world.  Broken Steel was a bit of a let down because of the stealthy way I play Fallout 3, and I’ve heard The Pitt was a downer, too.  My brother called Mothership Zeta “weird”, which I thought was encouraging.  I’m working through The Ballad of Gay Tony after giving up on Lost and Damned, which was just too damn frustrating.  So far, it reminds me of the things I liked about San Andreas that I missed in GTA:IV, most of which involve the game not taking itself too seriously.

Best Downloadable Game: I was addicted to 1 vs. 100 for a few hours, but the novelty wore off quick.  I’ve wanted to play Flower for a long time, as fl0w-like games have a nice, calming effect on me.  But Shadow Complex is the best of the lot by far.  I’ve never played a game through three times, not even the 2D Metroids that inspired it.  And I still get itches to play it even now.  Just a work of art.  There is absolutely a market for more of its ilk.  (By the way, Orson Scott Card’s Empire—the book in which the game’s events are framed—is good, too. Don’t bother boycotting it. Card is probably set for life.)

Best Shooter: I really like Borderlands’ tech, but the game overall is lacking.  The pacing, the difficulty, and the enemy variety all needed work.  And the randomization algorithms missed a critical bit: consider the player’s level.  My wife and I never pick up any loot any more.  The weapons we got 4-8 levels ago remain superior to anything we find now, even in the face of the first Iridian weapon that just dropped.

Best RPG: Haven’t played any of these.  (RPGs, time, duh.)  Demon Souls looks good, and I’ve got it on good authority that Dragon Age: Origins is good, too.  I’m thrilled that Mythos was reborn as Torchlight, and would like to find time to play it.

Best New Character: Borderlands’ Claptrap should have his own series of games.  (He has a great pair of videos on YouTube.)  I really liked watching Eddie Riggs in the Brütal Legend demo; Jack Black did him justice.

Best Art Direction: Borderlands’ art direction is indeed compelling.  Given the choices, and despite having not played any of the competition, I think I’d still rank it tops.   Brütal Legend was fun and whimsical, but I think what really sealed that game’s visual style were its sight gags, not the art itself.  I thought the art itself seemed flat and lacked depth.  Fun demo, though.

Best Self-Deprecating Humor: Sorry, Blair.  Maybe next year.

Best Animation: can’t really speak to this one; didn’t play the nominees.

Best Writing: I’m trying to get back to Batman: Arkham Asylum if for no other reason than its story.  The Ballad of Gay Tony’s story, after 4 missions or so, doesn’t seem that much different than the rest of GTA’s canon.  *sigh*  Need to finish that one, too.

Best Original Soundtrack: had a feeling Flower would win this one.  Original or not, I think Braid’s soundtrack remains the best in recent memory.  (It got me to subscribe to Magnatune.)  Those indie games have surprisingly good soundtracks.  I found Machinarium’s soundtrack (which you get bundled with the game) worth buying, too.

Oooh… X-Play marathon coming up.  Kudos on 1000 episodes, guys.

Best Action/Adventure Game: why must this be only one category?  There aren’t nearly enough adventure games anymore.  I would say Batman: Arkham Asylum deserved this one hands down, but I haven’t played Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

Best Racing Game: played the demos for Dirt 2, Forza Motorsport 3, and Need For Speed: Shift, and thought they were good, but Fuel hooked me in a funny way.  I bought it within a day of playing the demo and spent hours driving around that incredibly large–albeit uneventful–landscape.  I’ve been itching to pick it up again, too, despite having found a lot of the races frustratingly hard when played on a time budget.

Best Music/Rhythm Game: Pass.

Best Handheld Game: I don’t own a handheld system! I’m amused that they brought back the overhead GTA play style in Chinatown Wars and am glad they were able to bring Little Big Planet to a smaller format; it’s made for it.

Game of the Year: Borderlands, my current addiction, didn’t deserve it.  I’m confident in that assessment having not even played the other contenders.  Borderlands suffered just a few too many execution problems to stand out, and didn’t compare to previous years’ winners.  But you can tell what my sensibilities are: it’s the only one I own.  But the more I see of Uncharted 2, the more I want to try it.