SatelliteOfLove
Member
I have a...fraught relationship with this generation. It was totally different from what was before, and what came after it. After the PS2 went off into that long, gentle night for a well-earned victory rest, the generation kinda ground to a halt for me for almost 2 years with very few offerings that caught my fancy on current machines I owned (PC/360/DS). It didnt help I was going thru some personal issues and had recently switched jobs to a more stressful, hours-heavy position which killed my energy level during this mid-generation phase.
But then I got ahold of a PS3, a new rig, a PSP, and a Wii and started taking chances again as my career settled into a groove that wasn't so intense, with indies, defiant iconoclastic action RPGs, and delving into genres I had avoided up till then reignited my lust for playing more than a bit.
Note how many of these are evolutionary lines from Gen 6 or the trailblazers of Gen 8.
1. Minecraft (2011)
Minecraft is one of the most monumental games in the medium's history since Street Fighter 2 and Doom 1. It not only codified a genre, it had a simple-yet-powerful creation functionality, allowing a 3yo-93yo age range that had an almost staggering ammount of modes, mods, and playstyles. You can build cities with friends, modded RPG quests, delving into dangerous caves, long jaunts across virgin lands to the minimalist soundtrack, or even making games within this game.
Whether it was alone in my sky island homebase encircled with with waterfall elevator-connected Nether portals to forward bases miles from home or building neighborhoods with GAF or other acquaintances on servers, I loved and respected my two years with this game.
2. Spelunky (2012)
Forgot this cuz I played it a year later on Ye Old PeeCee.
Like Minecraft above, Spelunky is one of the very, VERY few games I'd dare call "flawless". Everything aimed to make the game super-tight makes the game better...everything aimed to make the game super-CHAOTIC also does! Shopstorm? Ghosting for gems? Eggplant runs? How to get to Hell? Killing the Ghost? On and on and on, both an outstanding platformer and outstanding Roguelike in one. Just magnificent.
3. Demon's Souls (2009)
This game. It's hard for some to remember the time when this game came out and the sheer clutching of pearls that its systemic, indifferent title elicited as much as love in others. Dark, difficult, mysterious, and blessedly yet cruelly fair, DeS was some of the deepest atmosphere, largest (true) secrets, greatest level design, and most variety I have ever been witnessed to. I have never gone from 0-60 in sheer intensity on a game before this or since.
4. Portal 1 (2007)
I didn't get to this till much later, but the lean, clean design of this is nearly flawless. Never overstays its welcome, gives you fun toys to play with, has just the right amount of dark humor, and simply delivers on creativity in every minute.
5. Ghost Trick (2011)
Like Portal, this is lean and clean but has an endless charm to it instead of psychotic AI business. Like Portal, it gets by with a very limited toolset that gets brilliance wrung out of it for its perfectly brief length.
To be frank, this was much lower on my 2011 GOTY list, but only went up since. More than a few of these did this or the reverse since playing them, I've found.
6. Trails in the Sky: the 3rd (2007)
Calling an audible on two things: number one, this is the date it originally released on PC, and two...I played it only this month! shhhhhhh
The same monumental worldbuilding, characterization, quality conversation, music, and clever simple battlin' that Trails is delivering its best here with the highest consistancy of the series that I've played. I can't go into much without spoilers, but the fact the game could pull off such extremely different substories under one roof without a hitch is highly worthy of praise.
7. Etrian Odyssey II (2008)
Has some of the best dungeons I have ever had the pleasure to enjoy. Fun character building with restriction up front and center like a boss. Gorgeous Yuzo Koshiro soundtrack of amazement. Brutal, indifferent labyrinth. Man this was amazing.
8. Trails in the Sky: Second Chapter (2006)
Some pacing issues and playing a plot hand too early are this game's only flaws. God-tier soundtrack. God-tier protagonist. All of the great stuff from the above 3rd fills out the rest of this package.
I had waited on this game for 4 and a half years with absolutely no guarentee that it would fully exist on these shores. That's some dedication huh? Yet here we are with 5 under our belt now in 2 years; it's no wonder the original name of "kiseki" also means "miracle".
9. Dark Souls 1 (2011)
The breakout hit that blew wide the crack Demon's had wrenched open. More weapons, more secrets, an added bonus of intertwining levels, and one of the best expansion packs in history land this one as a stone-cold classic. If it wasn't for some of the backstretch, it would be fighting for number 1.
I remember salivating over this one, eagerly rewatching trailers and discussing it here and elsewhere. Being part of a wave of humanity enjoying a landmark event is wonderful from time to time, huh?
10. Ys Origin (2006)
One of the cleanest ARPGs out there. It's all movin', and slashin', and rockin', and fightin' like a boss with nothing but forward to go and more fun to be had. Gets away with just the right amount of exposition without wearing out its welcome, and MUH GAWD that soundtrack.
Honorable Mentions:
X. Witcher 2 (2011)
A game by adults for who they percieve as adults that appreciate gray morality for more than a nihilistic thrill. Excellent worldbuilding, nuanced characterization, and a sense of deftly placed whimsy and quiet time give this a laser-focused way about it that I still respect to this day.
X. Valkyria Chronicles (2009)
Another that just missed the cutoff. Never had this on the PS3 but the mighty fine PC port was a delight. So damn gorgeous and full of the ability to do Stupid Things.
X. Catherine (2011)
Another "game by adults for who they percieve as adults" and one of the oddest collections of parts to come together in a complete whole I think I've ever seen.
X. Dragon Age: Origins (2009)
Bioware back just before too many necessary parts rotted off. Just a few quibbles with some enemies hold back some great dialogue and modest branching of one's party; a good blend.
X. Super Street Fighter 4 (2010)
One of the most balanced Fighters alongside VF5 (which sadly was from that "no PS3" era of mine). Just needed to get rid of that Skill Wall and it'd be much better and a top 10 easy.
X. World of Warcraft: The Burning Legion (2007)
Played ENORMOUSLY too much of this during raiding's high point. Excellent variety of specs, boss mechanics, balance of QoL vs Restriction, and activities. Too bad about early raid balance, dungeon design became hallways, and later Arena balance though.
X. Pokemon Black 2/White 2 (2012)
Huge, huge, HUGE endgame. Nice selection of mods and where Pokemon felt truly "modern" with all the basic mechanics in place. Good music too.
X. Dragon's Dogma (2012)
Like with VC above, it is more complete and better for it, but this was WAY wonkier in its original form and needed those extras and more horsepower. Still, one of the best magic systems in existance, and you get to climb up on huge monsters and stab them in the face and neck.
But then I got ahold of a PS3, a new rig, a PSP, and a Wii and started taking chances again as my career settled into a groove that wasn't so intense, with indies, defiant iconoclastic action RPGs, and delving into genres I had avoided up till then reignited my lust for playing more than a bit.
Note how many of these are evolutionary lines from Gen 6 or the trailblazers of Gen 8.
1. Minecraft (2011)
Minecraft is one of the most monumental games in the medium's history since Street Fighter 2 and Doom 1. It not only codified a genre, it had a simple-yet-powerful creation functionality, allowing a 3yo-93yo age range that had an almost staggering ammount of modes, mods, and playstyles. You can build cities with friends, modded RPG quests, delving into dangerous caves, long jaunts across virgin lands to the minimalist soundtrack, or even making games within this game.
Whether it was alone in my sky island homebase encircled with with waterfall elevator-connected Nether portals to forward bases miles from home or building neighborhoods with GAF or other acquaintances on servers, I loved and respected my two years with this game.
2. Spelunky (2012)
Forgot this cuz I played it a year later on Ye Old PeeCee.
Like Minecraft above, Spelunky is one of the very, VERY few games I'd dare call "flawless". Everything aimed to make the game super-tight makes the game better...everything aimed to make the game super-CHAOTIC also does! Shopstorm? Ghosting for gems? Eggplant runs? How to get to Hell? Killing the Ghost? On and on and on, both an outstanding platformer and outstanding Roguelike in one. Just magnificent.
3. Demon's Souls (2009)
This game. It's hard for some to remember the time when this game came out and the sheer clutching of pearls that its systemic, indifferent title elicited as much as love in others. Dark, difficult, mysterious, and blessedly yet cruelly fair, DeS was some of the deepest atmosphere, largest (true) secrets, greatest level design, and most variety I have ever been witnessed to. I have never gone from 0-60 in sheer intensity on a game before this or since.
4. Portal 1 (2007)
I didn't get to this till much later, but the lean, clean design of this is nearly flawless. Never overstays its welcome, gives you fun toys to play with, has just the right amount of dark humor, and simply delivers on creativity in every minute.
5. Ghost Trick (2011)
Like Portal, this is lean and clean but has an endless charm to it instead of psychotic AI business. Like Portal, it gets by with a very limited toolset that gets brilliance wrung out of it for its perfectly brief length.
To be frank, this was much lower on my 2011 GOTY list, but only went up since. More than a few of these did this or the reverse since playing them, I've found.
6. Trails in the Sky: the 3rd (2007)
Calling an audible on two things: number one, this is the date it originally released on PC, and two...I played it only this month! shhhhhhh
The same monumental worldbuilding, characterization, quality conversation, music, and clever simple battlin' that Trails is delivering its best here with the highest consistancy of the series that I've played. I can't go into much without spoilers, but the fact the game could pull off such extremely different substories under one roof without a hitch is highly worthy of praise.
7. Etrian Odyssey II (2008)
Has some of the best dungeons I have ever had the pleasure to enjoy. Fun character building with restriction up front and center like a boss. Gorgeous Yuzo Koshiro soundtrack of amazement. Brutal, indifferent labyrinth. Man this was amazing.
8. Trails in the Sky: Second Chapter (2006)
Some pacing issues and playing a plot hand too early are this game's only flaws. God-tier soundtrack. God-tier protagonist. All of the great stuff from the above 3rd fills out the rest of this package.
I had waited on this game for 4 and a half years with absolutely no guarentee that it would fully exist on these shores. That's some dedication huh? Yet here we are with 5 under our belt now in 2 years; it's no wonder the original name of "kiseki" also means "miracle".
9. Dark Souls 1 (2011)
The breakout hit that blew wide the crack Demon's had wrenched open. More weapons, more secrets, an added bonus of intertwining levels, and one of the best expansion packs in history land this one as a stone-cold classic. If it wasn't for some of the backstretch, it would be fighting for number 1.
I remember salivating over this one, eagerly rewatching trailers and discussing it here and elsewhere. Being part of a wave of humanity enjoying a landmark event is wonderful from time to time, huh?
10. Ys Origin (2006)
One of the cleanest ARPGs out there. It's all movin', and slashin', and rockin', and fightin' like a boss with nothing but forward to go and more fun to be had. Gets away with just the right amount of exposition without wearing out its welcome, and MUH GAWD that soundtrack.
Honorable Mentions:
X. Witcher 2 (2011)
A game by adults for who they percieve as adults that appreciate gray morality for more than a nihilistic thrill. Excellent worldbuilding, nuanced characterization, and a sense of deftly placed whimsy and quiet time give this a laser-focused way about it that I still respect to this day.
X. Valkyria Chronicles (2009)
Another that just missed the cutoff. Never had this on the PS3 but the mighty fine PC port was a delight. So damn gorgeous and full of the ability to do Stupid Things.
X. Catherine (2011)
Another "game by adults for who they percieve as adults" and one of the oddest collections of parts to come together in a complete whole I think I've ever seen.
X. Dragon Age: Origins (2009)
Bioware back just before too many necessary parts rotted off. Just a few quibbles with some enemies hold back some great dialogue and modest branching of one's party; a good blend.
X. Super Street Fighter 4 (2010)
One of the most balanced Fighters alongside VF5 (which sadly was from that "no PS3" era of mine). Just needed to get rid of that Skill Wall and it'd be much better and a top 10 easy.
X. World of Warcraft: The Burning Legion (2007)
Played ENORMOUSLY too much of this during raiding's high point. Excellent variety of specs, boss mechanics, balance of QoL vs Restriction, and activities. Too bad about early raid balance, dungeon design became hallways, and later Arena balance though.
X. Pokemon Black 2/White 2 (2012)
Huge, huge, HUGE endgame. Nice selection of mods and where Pokemon felt truly "modern" with all the basic mechanics in place. Good music too.
X. Dragon's Dogma (2012)
Like with VC above, it is more complete and better for it, but this was WAY wonkier in its original form and needed those extras and more horsepower. Still, one of the best magic systems in existance, and you get to climb up on huge monsters and stab them in the face and neck.