Post by Matt on Jul 5, 2006 22:00:41 GMT -5
OK, gamers. Here's an article from the very non-gamer friendly Yahoo.com:
(I think Blaw is gunna love this!)
[glow=red,2,300]Best Games of the Half-Year[/glow]
We've hit the year's halfway mark! See what the Y! Video Games editors picked as the best titles released so far.
By YVG Staff
2 Jul 2006
They Keep on Rising!
2005 saw a very early contender for Game of the Year in the GameCube's Resident Evil 4, which arrived in the second week of January. Does 2006 have a similar story? Well, no, January was very quiet this time around. But it's been a solid start to the year nonetheless -- my esteemed colleagues list out a bunch of top games below, but I have two standouts. Both games received mixed reviews among professional critics, so make of that what you will; I consider them both stunners as multiplayer experiences (albeit less thrilling solo affairs), and that can be very hit or miss among reviewers.
THQ's The Outfit is a WWII action game unlike any other WWII action game; don't hold the mundane theme against it. If straightforward deathmatch bores you to tears, this is the Xbox 360 tactical shooter you need to check out. (There's a free demo on XB Live Marketplace.)
Meanwhile, eking out the spot for my best pick so far is the awkwardly named Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends -- it takes all the innovative mechanics of its predecessors, refines them, and then adds fascinating fantastical races and beautiful art design. This is the best RTS I've played for a long time and the first one that has thought of d**n near everything when it comes to an interface that works for the player and not against them. A post-release patch has also solved the early matchmaking woes, so there's no better time to get online and see what a battlefield of clockwork spiders, sun idols, and glass dragons looks like. -RG
[glow=red,2,300]Lost in Oblivion[/glow]
Although 2006 has seen a fair to moderate number of decent games, I'm still trying to put Oblivion down, and failing. Badly. So far, this year has nothing that touches it -- while it's certainly not without its flaws, it's so monstrously huge, deep, and absorbing that it's capable of swallowing all the free time I can throw at it, and then some. The highlight for me has been the Dark Brotherhood guild, which displays some of the most imaginatively designed and best written quests I've ever seen.
Still, in between Oblivion sessions I've somehow managed to check out some of the year's biggest highlights. And while I couldn't say I put any great amount of time into it -- it's only four or five hours long -- Half-Life 2: Episode One deserves to make an appearance on any best-of-2006 lists, thanks to its awesome "single-player coop" approach that Valve implemented so beautifully.
Titan Quest deserves a mention too, although I wish it had a more robust online mode. Still, you can't have everything, and with great games like Prey and Battle for Middle Earth II 360 just around the corner, it's good to have an excuse to move on. -MS
[glow=red,2,300]One RTS to Rule Them All[/glow]
It's been a great year so far, across many genres and platforms. Oblivion, Titan Quest, Rise of Legends, Chibi-Robo, Syphon Filter, Monster Hunter: Freedom, and even Drill Dozer and the latest Yu-Gi-Oh card game on the GBA are all top-notch titles that would normally make the choice of the half-year difficult.
But for me, there's been one game this year to marry almost perfectly technology, gameplay, innovation, pacing, and sheer knock-you-back-in-your-seat awesomeness: Electronic Arts' real time strategy masterpiece, Battle for Middle Earth II. It's one of the most beautiful games I've ever played, of any genre. It makes incredible use of sound, from the rumble of Rohirrim, to the skitter of spiders, to Aragorn's stirring call of 'Elendil!'.
Battle for Middle Earth II plays out with slickly integrated economics, with spectacular reversals, and with a shrewd balance between heroes and hordes, special powers and brute force, strategy and tactics, hardcore tactical micromanagement and casual 'drag-select-and-attack' simplicity. It's perfect for new players as well as seasoned veterans. This is -- for now at least -- the mother of all RTSs.
And here's the clincher: I wasn't a big fan of the movies until the game made me curious to watch the Extended Editions. Whoa! So that's what I was missing? I may end up actually reading those books one day. Oh, look, Battle for Middle Earth II just arrived for the Xbox 360. So much for a slow July. -TC
[glow=red,2,300]Can't Put Down the Elder Scrolls[/glow]
It's been a pretty weak year for games so far, but in a way that's good, because it's left me more time to play one of the standouts: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Other people have loved Ghost Recon (and it's a great game) but for me this is the only game other than Live Arcade releases that's kept my 360 running. (Going against the grain, my arcade loves are Zuma and Mutant Storm, though Geometry Wars is undeniably beautiful.) While Oblivion arguably has many weaknesses that pervade the RPG landscape, it's also got so much detail and more surprises that I'd ever expected. All of the major guild quests are supremely entertaining, and touches like the possibility of becoming a vampire are wonderful. All this time, and I still have barely touched the "real" storyline.
Does it live up to the early hype? Almost, which is good enough, considering how intense that hype was. It's also the first game in a very long time where the console release has made me want to double-dip and get the PC version, because as good as the 360 version might be, I want all those user-created mods.
My honorable mentions would be New Super Mario Brothers, which speaks for itself, and Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror, which totally came out of left field to instantly become my favorite PSP game. I can't wait to see what they do with this series next, and I hope it's on the PSP, rather than the absurdly expensive PS3. -RS
[glow=red,2,300]Still not Burnt Out[/glow]
As the first of three next gen systems out of the gate, the Xbox 360 has had an impressive start this year, though the two games that have kept me the most occupied are, oddly enough, multi-platform releases. Io Interactive's Hitman: Blood Money requires a bit of patience to appreciate, but if you have the nerves, it's a decidedly cunning game that really does force you to think like its namesake. When I'm not busy killing the unworthy, my time is often spent breaking a few road rules behind the wheel in Criterion's Burnout Revenge. To be fair, it is mostly just a prettified version of the Xbox game, but if you have an HDTV, the visual upgrades are a treat and the new Live modes are a great way to hone your skills.
When I'm on the road, my DS always finds a place in the bag and the past few months have seen Tetris DS living and breathing inside the cart slot. Nintendo did a fine job of retooling the gameplay and creating new modes, while still maintaining the purely addictive force of the original game. And for those moments when I'm without a system? I don't often admit it, but the N-Gage version of Civilization has gotten more than its fair share of play. -AP
Check the article out here:http://videogames.yahoo.com/ongoingfeature?eid=467992&page=0
(I think Blaw is gunna love this!)
[glow=red,2,300]Best Games of the Half-Year[/glow]
We've hit the year's halfway mark! See what the Y! Video Games editors picked as the best titles released so far.
By YVG Staff
2 Jul 2006
They Keep on Rising!
2005 saw a very early contender for Game of the Year in the GameCube's Resident Evil 4, which arrived in the second week of January. Does 2006 have a similar story? Well, no, January was very quiet this time around. But it's been a solid start to the year nonetheless -- my esteemed colleagues list out a bunch of top games below, but I have two standouts. Both games received mixed reviews among professional critics, so make of that what you will; I consider them both stunners as multiplayer experiences (albeit less thrilling solo affairs), and that can be very hit or miss among reviewers.
THQ's The Outfit is a WWII action game unlike any other WWII action game; don't hold the mundane theme against it. If straightforward deathmatch bores you to tears, this is the Xbox 360 tactical shooter you need to check out. (There's a free demo on XB Live Marketplace.)
Meanwhile, eking out the spot for my best pick so far is the awkwardly named Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends -- it takes all the innovative mechanics of its predecessors, refines them, and then adds fascinating fantastical races and beautiful art design. This is the best RTS I've played for a long time and the first one that has thought of d**n near everything when it comes to an interface that works for the player and not against them. A post-release patch has also solved the early matchmaking woes, so there's no better time to get online and see what a battlefield of clockwork spiders, sun idols, and glass dragons looks like. -RG
[glow=red,2,300]Lost in Oblivion[/glow]
Although 2006 has seen a fair to moderate number of decent games, I'm still trying to put Oblivion down, and failing. Badly. So far, this year has nothing that touches it -- while it's certainly not without its flaws, it's so monstrously huge, deep, and absorbing that it's capable of swallowing all the free time I can throw at it, and then some. The highlight for me has been the Dark Brotherhood guild, which displays some of the most imaginatively designed and best written quests I've ever seen.
Still, in between Oblivion sessions I've somehow managed to check out some of the year's biggest highlights. And while I couldn't say I put any great amount of time into it -- it's only four or five hours long -- Half-Life 2: Episode One deserves to make an appearance on any best-of-2006 lists, thanks to its awesome "single-player coop" approach that Valve implemented so beautifully.
Titan Quest deserves a mention too, although I wish it had a more robust online mode. Still, you can't have everything, and with great games like Prey and Battle for Middle Earth II 360 just around the corner, it's good to have an excuse to move on. -MS
[glow=red,2,300]One RTS to Rule Them All[/glow]
It's been a great year so far, across many genres and platforms. Oblivion, Titan Quest, Rise of Legends, Chibi-Robo, Syphon Filter, Monster Hunter: Freedom, and even Drill Dozer and the latest Yu-Gi-Oh card game on the GBA are all top-notch titles that would normally make the choice of the half-year difficult.
But for me, there's been one game this year to marry almost perfectly technology, gameplay, innovation, pacing, and sheer knock-you-back-in-your-seat awesomeness: Electronic Arts' real time strategy masterpiece, Battle for Middle Earth II. It's one of the most beautiful games I've ever played, of any genre. It makes incredible use of sound, from the rumble of Rohirrim, to the skitter of spiders, to Aragorn's stirring call of 'Elendil!'.
Battle for Middle Earth II plays out with slickly integrated economics, with spectacular reversals, and with a shrewd balance between heroes and hordes, special powers and brute force, strategy and tactics, hardcore tactical micromanagement and casual 'drag-select-and-attack' simplicity. It's perfect for new players as well as seasoned veterans. This is -- for now at least -- the mother of all RTSs.
And here's the clincher: I wasn't a big fan of the movies until the game made me curious to watch the Extended Editions. Whoa! So that's what I was missing? I may end up actually reading those books one day. Oh, look, Battle for Middle Earth II just arrived for the Xbox 360. So much for a slow July. -TC
[glow=red,2,300]Can't Put Down the Elder Scrolls[/glow]
It's been a pretty weak year for games so far, but in a way that's good, because it's left me more time to play one of the standouts: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Other people have loved Ghost Recon (and it's a great game) but for me this is the only game other than Live Arcade releases that's kept my 360 running. (Going against the grain, my arcade loves are Zuma and Mutant Storm, though Geometry Wars is undeniably beautiful.) While Oblivion arguably has many weaknesses that pervade the RPG landscape, it's also got so much detail and more surprises that I'd ever expected. All of the major guild quests are supremely entertaining, and touches like the possibility of becoming a vampire are wonderful. All this time, and I still have barely touched the "real" storyline.
Does it live up to the early hype? Almost, which is good enough, considering how intense that hype was. It's also the first game in a very long time where the console release has made me want to double-dip and get the PC version, because as good as the 360 version might be, I want all those user-created mods.
My honorable mentions would be New Super Mario Brothers, which speaks for itself, and Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror, which totally came out of left field to instantly become my favorite PSP game. I can't wait to see what they do with this series next, and I hope it's on the PSP, rather than the absurdly expensive PS3. -RS
[glow=red,2,300]Still not Burnt Out[/glow]
As the first of three next gen systems out of the gate, the Xbox 360 has had an impressive start this year, though the two games that have kept me the most occupied are, oddly enough, multi-platform releases. Io Interactive's Hitman: Blood Money requires a bit of patience to appreciate, but if you have the nerves, it's a decidedly cunning game that really does force you to think like its namesake. When I'm not busy killing the unworthy, my time is often spent breaking a few road rules behind the wheel in Criterion's Burnout Revenge. To be fair, it is mostly just a prettified version of the Xbox game, but if you have an HDTV, the visual upgrades are a treat and the new Live modes are a great way to hone your skills.
When I'm on the road, my DS always finds a place in the bag and the past few months have seen Tetris DS living and breathing inside the cart slot. Nintendo did a fine job of retooling the gameplay and creating new modes, while still maintaining the purely addictive force of the original game. And for those moments when I'm without a system? I don't often admit it, but the N-Gage version of Civilization has gotten more than its fair share of play. -AP
Check the article out here:http://videogames.yahoo.com/ongoingfeature?eid=467992&page=0