After roughly 42 hours of adventuring and multiple attempts at a battle that lasted over 35 minutes, the archdemon is felled. And with it, my best friend and greatest companion. It is a very bittersweet victory for this lone Grey Warden and for Ferelden.
What an incredible game.
Somehow I failed to realize Phantasy Star 0 ever released stateside! I guess it managed to slip under my radar amidst all the other amazing fall titles by which I’ve been engulfed.
Looking at screenshots, the touch-screen utilization seems like it could bring so much to the gameplay I already know I love; let the hundreds and hundreds of hours I spent farming red boxes and raising MAGs in PSO and PSU attest. On the bottom screen, you’ve got your health and PP and your party’s status, a loot/enemy box, a map, and even a built-in pictochat-esque function so you can communicate with any human allies you may have. PS0 also has full-blown Nintendo Wi-fi play, meaning you can actually team up over the internet—a feature that so many co-op DS RPGs have been sorely lacking. If it works, it could be potentially awesome.
I’m ecstatic to see Borderlands is getting so much love! Best original game, best gameplay innovation, best multiplayer game, best shooter, best new character, best art direction—I’d give it all of them except best gameplay innovation. The loot system and random drops are great, but they’re also tried-and-true. I don’t know if I could pick Eddie Riggs over Claptrap as best new character, no matter how awesome of a job Jack Black did bringing him to life in a game that was basically dead after the demo. Sorry, Double Fine.
It’s cool to see BlazBlue nominated for best fighting game, I thought for sure that would have been overlooked. Street Fighter IV was fun against people I know personally, but over Xbox Live…my friends and I refer to it as Ken: the game, haha. Shoryuken!
Best music game is probably going to Beatles Rock Band, and now that I’ve played it, I’m more than okay with it. I really liked how lighthearted and whimsical the cartoon cutscenes and dreamscapes were. DJ Hero is really fun and original for 2009 and most of the mash-ups are great, but that inside blue button is just way too hard to hold whilst scratching. Frankly, I’m a little bummed to see LEGO Rock Band isn’t a contender; I think the two elements blend together perfectly, and the result is a really fun, feel-good game you can enjoy with your friends and family—even your mom who doesn’t understand the concept of strumming (o hai super easy mode)!
Somehow, I’ve only played one of the five games up for best RPG—I better get on that, haha! I guess I’ll vote for Dragon Age: Origins by default, but it’s definitely deserving of some praise.
I’m hoping Rockstar takes home the best DLC award for their excellent GTAIV episodes, although the fact that Criterion has shown unprecedented support and released masses of free DLC for Burnout Paradise is making me second-guess myself. That’s a really tough decision!
So you’ve seen how I feel about the G4 shortists and now I’m probably going to be late for work—what do you guys and gals think? What’s your GOTY?
