If analogies were to be drawn between gaming and movies, shooters would surely be the equivalent of big budget blockbusters. Being the greatest proponents of the modern day rage that is online multiplayer gaming, a great shooter can be a big contributor to the console’s overall success.
In fact, the emphasis on multiplayer often leaves the developers guilty of ignoring the single player component of shooters. 2009, however, was unique by featuring a lot of diversity in the genre, and each of the nominees had its own unique claim to fame. Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood grabbed eyeballs through its Wild West setting and a strong story. The cooperative shooter space was filled admirably by Left4Dead 2 and Borderlands, designed from the ground up to bond with friends by sharing beautiful moments of bloodshed and destruction in a zombie-infested world and a hostile alien planet respectively.
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2009 was a good year if you’re an RTS fan. The sheer amount of variety we had in different RTS games that were released last year was amazing to see. And nowhere was this reflected better than in our nominees for Strategy Game of the Year.
Both Anno 1404 and Tropico had great city building mechanics. They were easy to get into and almost impossible to get out of. Empire: Total War and Hearts of Iron focused on historical combat at a larger scale than any other game released. Halo Wars merged the tried and tested formula of Age of Empires with the Halo universe and threw in some stunning CGI cutscenes to make it stand out. But it was Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War II, with its mixture of RPG and RTS elements, which came away with the majority of the votes and won our Best Strategy Game of 2009 crown.
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There are some games that are built around co-op, some that offer co-op as a secondary option, and others in which co-op is included as a game mode separate from the campaign. 2009 had fine examples of each of those, allowing us to enjoy these great games in more ways than one.
The IVG popular vote went to Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, which is impressive considering the first game had no multi-player options whatsoever. While it didn’t include a campaign co-op option, it did have a somewhat story-driven three-player co-op mode that allowed you to play many of the story mode levels in a new way. The missions featured cutscenes and an (if somewhat basic) narrative packed in with several set pieces similar to those that made the single-player campaign so enjoyable. There was also a Survival mode similar to Horde mode in Gears of War 2, as well as Gold Rush, a similar survival mode, but with an objective (other than simply surviving).
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When you have a year full of great games, you no doubt have many epic moments spread out amongst them. So even selecting a list of nominees for this category was a daunting task. Arguably the biggest heart-stopping moment in a game this year came in Batman: Arkham Asylum. Each Scarecrow encounter in the game was a memorable one, but the third one in particular really stands out because (without spoiling it for anyone who is yet to play the game) it made you question what you were experiencing in a way games seldom manage to do.
The stunning opening cinematic from Halo 3: ODST deserves a mention as well, as do the final level from Flower and the conclusion to Assassin’s Creed 2, which raised as many questions as it answered and set up the third instalment in the series rather well. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was a game where you just seemed to jump from one epic moment to another and we could very well have filled up all the nominations from this game itself. But we finally decided on two that stood out the most, and these were the two nominees that picked up the most votes.
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There’s no way to sugar coat this one – 2009 was not a good year for sports games; at least not the kind we play in India. While MLB 09: The Show, NHL 10, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 and the NBA games from EA and 2K were all great, no one cares for those games in these parts. So for us, the picture wasn’t quite as rosy.
The nominees this year in the IVG poll for Best Sports Game included NBA Live 10 and Pro Evolution Soccer 2010, which not more than a handful of IVG members would have played, so they never really stood a chance in the poll. Fight Night Round 4, while a fairly good follow-up to the brilliant FNR3, again didn’t find too many takers around here. So it was a two way battle between Ashes Cricket 2009 and FIFA 10.
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2009 wasn’t the best year for new IP. Like most experts, let’s just blame it all on recession and assume that publishers felt they were better off investing in existing IP rather than risk new ones and lose money. Jokes apart, new IP are the backbone of the gaming industry, because not only is it important to remember that every Goliath in gaming started off as a David, but new IP are a perfect way to bring new ideas and a fresh perspective to the table.
And IVG’s pick for the Best New IP of 2009 is the perfect example of a fresh perspective on a license that has been ailing from a steady stream of poor to mediocre games. Rocksteady created what is arguably the best Batman (and superhero) video game in Batman: Arkham Asylum and kicked off a series which could very well set the standard on how to make superhero videogames. The near perfect realisation of characters from the Batman universe, coupled with a brilliant atmosphere that rivals Bioshock in execution, and immaculate pacing gave gamers the most authentic Batman experience till date.
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It’s always good to be home again. And 2009 was homecoming for a number of franchises with a mammoth line up of sequels. Newer franchises such as Uncharted, Assassin’s Creed and Left4Dead followed up with stellar sequels last year, along with new additions to older franchises such as Call of Duty, Street Fighter and Ratchet & Clank .
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was the runaway success in the IVG polls for the category, and for a title which blew away gamers all over the world with top of the line presentation, gameplay, graphics and voice acting, it comes as no surprise. Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune had the potential for greatness, but it’s the sequel which not only realised it, but surpassed it and kept going with no signs of letting up.
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Written by IVG Staff in News
As another two months go by, we bring you our list of the most discussed games on the IVG forums. It’s a big shake up in the list this time, and 11 of the 20 most discussed games over the last two months weren’t even on the list last time. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 tops the list by quite a distance and it was discussed more than Dragon Age: Origins and Assassin’s Creed 2, placed 2nd and 3rd respectively, combined. And we’re not even including multi-player discussions here.
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Written by IVG Staff in News
Welcome to 2010, the year that will see the release of many games that were too scared to release in 2009. It’s going to be a big year for gaming. In fact, it’s going to be a huge first quarter. And while things will really start to pick up in Februrary and March, we do have a handful of quality new releases this month too.
Starting things off is Platinum Games’ very well reviewed Bayonetta. The game is already in India and on course for a Day 1 release on Xbox 360 and PS3 for Rs 2,499. It’s been getting great reviews everywhere, including a perfect 40/40 in Famitsu and a 9.5/10 from IGN (for the Xbox 360 version at least). Look for Bayonetta in stores on January 8.
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2010 is home to some major heavyweights such as God of War 3, Halo: Reach, Bioshock 2, Gran Turismo 5 and Duke Nukem Forever (heh, see what we did there?). However, like every year there are always a handful of titles with little or no hype behind them that end up astounding us with their superlative quality or the sheer awesomeness of a new (and well-executed) idea.
And leading the pack in our member voting is none other than the highly unconventional PS3-exclusive crime thriller Heavy Rain. The game promises to be a whole new beast when it comes to story telling, and will feature gameplay which is truly unique with a heavy emphasis (with implications) on the choices the player makes. With Indigo Prophecy, Quantic Dream has already demonstrated their flair for bringing new ideas to the table, and IVGians can’t wait to lap up their latest effort.
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