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So here we are, on the 3rd January 2009, the
tenth day of Christmas. Yes, Christmas seems like a long time ago
now, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still plenty of
bargains to be had in those January sales – and that’s exactly what
The Twelve Games of Christmas is here for! A feature series
running every day of the twelve days of Christmas, in The Twelve
Games of Christmas Electronic Theatre runs through
the greatest achievers in the videogaming year of 2008,
month-by-month. Today being the tenth day of Christmas means we have
reached October 2008, a busy month by anyone’s standards.
October 2008 brought with it a whole host of
multi-format releases, as well as some of the best console-exclusive
titles yet seen on the Current-Generation. My Horse & Me 2,
Crash Bandicoot: Mind Over Mutant, Bratz Girlz Really Rock,
Tak
and the Guardians of Gross, Monopoly, Spider-Man: Web
of Shadows, FIFA 09, LEGO Batman: The Video Game
and Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 may have spread themselves
across as many formats as would be financially viable, yet
platform-specific starlets such as Fable II, Valkyria
Chronicles and Disaster: Day of Crisis were to really
steal the show.
With three Runners-Up this month being what could so easily have
been winners in most other months of the year, October 2008 has
without-a-doubt generating the most in-house bickering as
Electronic Theatre compiled the below standings.
Honourable Mention:
Disaster: Day of Crisis
(Wii)
Valkyria Chronicles (PLAYSTATION3)
Far Cry 2 (Xbox360, PLAYSTATION3, PC)
Tak and the Guardians of Gross (Wii, PlayStation2)
Runners-Up:
Dead Space (Xbox360, PLAYSTATION3, PC)
Like Dark Sector before it, Dead Space
proved that a culmination of “borrowed” ideas can make for a very
enjoyable game – especially if you’re
borrowing from the best. Dead Space has been labelled by many
as the Resident Evil 4 conversion of motion picture Event
Horizon, and it’s easy to see why such comparisons have been
made. That said, the universe created around the project is
staggering, leading the player to uncover more information the
further they delve into the game, anime and online presence. While
the limb dismemberment and Horror classification may not translate
into intelligently devised gameplay to some, those that are able to
overcome the barrier will find nothing less than ten hours of
intrigue.
Fable 2 (Xbox360)
One of the biggest titles of the year, Fable II
had plenty to live-up to. Bar the rather lacking online co-operative
gameplay, Lionhead Studios delivered on all they’d promised, and
quite a bit more. Fable II is an immersive, character world
that ebbs-and-flows inline with the players actions. The game itself
my be a typical The Legend of Zelda-influenced adventure, but
the added ghostly shadow of a world the revolves directly around you
– not matter how easy it is to see the strings – is a special effect
that even Eiji Aonuma should be in awe of.
Saints Row 2 (Xbox360, PLAYSTATION3)
There are some that were disheartened by Gran Theft
Auto IV’s more sombre approach to American life, a question for
which Saints Row 2 is undeniably the answer.
 A
franchise desperately struggling to find itself a character of it’s
own in a world where it’s automatically classed as little more than
a clone, developer Volition decided that more is better, and took
the opposite route to Rockstar Games. While Grand Theft Auto IV
utilised the added grunt of the Current-Generation to refine its
videogame world to a gritty, downtrodden and believable rendition of
big city life, Saints Row 2 has used it to add a smiley face
to its carnage. And clown shoes. And one of those silly glasses/nose
things…
The Insurance Fraud Mini-Game returns, along with an
added assortment of manic time-passers, and with fully-enabled
online co-operative gameplay, Saints Row 2 is unquestionably
one hell of a riot; just don’t expect a social commentary rising any
higher than fart gags.
Best of October 2008
FallOut 3 (Xbox360, PLAYSTATION3, PC)
FallOut 3 to some may simply be a Science-Fiction
rendition of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It may be
second-best to Mass Effect to others. And it may well find
itself being hailed as lacking the spirit of the previous editions
in the series. But none of these opinions have been formed with the
open-mind to enjoy FallOut 3 for what it truly is: a
remarkable example of videogame engineering.
Wholly engrossing from start to finish, FallOut 3
is a game that has created a clutch of conventions that western
Role-Playing Games will undoubtedly refer to for years to come. The
desolate nature of it’s very grey world is softened by the
accompaniment of a bizarre assortment of characters in a traditional
Role-Playing Game sense, but only if you achieve a bond with them
strong enough to persevere in the wastelands. Characters will
attempt to influence you to do their bidding, with the player being
the judge as to which course of action is right for them to take,
and although, as with Fable II, it’s quite easy to check the
right boxes for the outcomes you desire; surely that’s the point?
Technology hasn’t quite reached the position where the
player’s influence can extend between pages of a videogames’ book,
but with FallOut 3 and Fable II, we can see it has
finally attained a narrator. |
