30 Days of Video Games - BONUS: Why Do You Play Games Pg. 142

[-Robin-]

Day 2 - Favorite Game

I feel like I'm only giving half an answer, since the game is technically Part 1, but ah well. My favorite game is Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

SMRPG may have introduced me to the RPG genre, and Shadow Dragon into the FE series proper, but Path of Radiance really hits all the rights notes for me. Between the assortment of characters you meet and recruit, their hidden depths that can be explored when you support a certain pair of characters, and the feeling that the entire Daein continent is out to kill you (but then again, it is), I really connected with the characters and worked my hardest to keep everyone together and alive to the end.

It also really helps that Intelligent Systems broke the trend of FE protagonists and had Ike be a common mercenary - i.e. someone with just as much humble beginnings as everyone else Ike works with, and so he doesn't feel entitled to any special treatment. It sets up kind of like a standard rags-to-riches story, with Ike becoming a Lord himself halfway through the game, but he still hates every second of it. All Ike is concerned about is becoming not only a stronger fighter to avenge his father against the Black Knight, but also becoming a stronger person in general - accepting the responsibility of guarding Princess Elincia, working alongside the Laguz race that, for the most part, abhors the beorc race, out of a desire to bridge the two races over a racial hatred he never understood even after he was told about it, reaching out to help the Serenes Royal Family that has all but given up on trusting beorc, accepting the position of commander of the unified Begnion-Crimean army on a feeling of obligation, and ultimately confronting the Black Knight on his own terms near the war's epilogue, all these events aptly show Ike's development from a ragtag greenhorn mercenary who only wanted to work for his father to a veteran war hero who followed only his conscience and his own moral, and I loved every minute of it.

Path of Radiance's little brother, Radiant Dawn, goes into the finer points of the entire Tellius mythos and ultimately wraps it all up in such a way that I was tempted to call my favorite game "Fire Emblem: Tellius" and combine the two together, but Path of Radiance's sense of flow with character development along with top-notch tactical RPG mechanics just wins out over RD's Part I/II/III/IV quirk. Fire Emblem Awakening may be the best in the series, but Path of Radiance just has that special place in my soul.

[Phantomime]

It took me all day to think of this, because, you know, "Favorite Game Ever" is a pretty big answer. I was honestly glad I couldn't just say Wind Waker again, but there were still so many great games to choose from! But just 10 minutes ago, I was laying around in bed, idly tossing the closest 3DS game box up and down out of boredom when I realized that I hadn't even considered any portable games! That was the point that I realized there was only one game I could pick now, and that game is...

 

Favorite Game: Kid Icarus: Uprising

 

 

Yeah, I was actually kind of surprised that this one pulled me in so quickly, but it ended up being the most fun I've had in a long time. For those of you haven't played it yet (why haven't you played it yet?) You control Pit, an angel from Skyworld, on his quest to kill Medusa and save the world. Simple enough, but it escalates really quickly. Taking you into space, a palace at the bottom of the ocean, and Pandora's Labyrinth of Deceit, which has to be one of the coolest stages in any game ever. It's also got some other really great stages that I can't talk about without spoiling the game.

 

The gameplay is really fast and awesome, the Air gameplay feeling like an improved Star Fox game, and the ground gameplay being a crazy fast paced third person shooter. The weapon crafting system and weapon variety is complex and great, and adds replayability (but just remember, cool people use claws with speed modifiers for MAXIMUM FAST ). Also, the way the difficulty/risk-reward system works makes playing on the highest difficulty INCREDIBLY tense and exciting, and very high-stakes feeling. I think that's something too many games lack. There's no arbitrary lives system. When you die, the difficulty drops a stage, and you lose money (the harder the difficulty, the more you lose), and any weapons you collected along the stage get downgraded. On the other hand, if you do well, and finish strong, you gain a LOT of money, and great weapons. Plus, it's just about the coolest feeling ever to finish a stage on Nothing Harder.

 

The story is also really great. It's funny, exciting, and it's got some great characters (and a reeeeally great villain!) The music is fantastic, especially Lightning Battle, Dark Pit, and Mysterious Invaders. The whole game is super-incredibly awesome, it's the most creative thing Nintendo's put out in years, and you should go buy it RIGHT NOW.

 

 

 

Also Vizard just said everything I was going to say but better. That's what I get for putting this off until fucking 1:00 AM. 

[The Deleter]

Day 2: What is your favorite video game?

 

 

This baby right here.

 

This game is just so mind-blowing-ly fun, I can't even begin to describe it. The characters are wonderfully quirky, the story is solid, the humor is off-the-walls, the music is grand, the gameplay is deep and satisfying, and good gravy are those boss battles awesome. The superhero parodies are great, too, with tons of Power Rangers winks and nods along the way. But there's one thing that makes this game stand out from the others for me: The bright, cheery brutality of it all. I've never played a M-rated beat-em-up before, and probably never will, so for me, this game left a huge impression on me with how heavy its blows were. When playing a boss battle, I just couldn't help but get into a "YEAH! Beat that sucker up!" mood, and when the finishing blow was delivered, it was very satisfying. Plus, dat final chapter. Ooooh, dat final chapter. I think the last QTE in it was the first time I've gotten so into a video game, I let out a war-cry from the awesomeness of it all.

 

So, yeah. In conclusion, this game right here is the greatest video game experience I've had yet. It might be surpassed in the future, but for now, this game reigns supreme.

 

Day 2: Complete

[Goldenlink64]

Day 2: Favorite Game

 

 

Ah man I love this game, always will. I remember when Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time used to be my favorite game.... yeah used to be. If you're good enough to push my very first game I played off my favorites you gotta be good and Perfect Dark excels in that regard.

 

I remember playing this for the first time in 2006, 2006 and this game was still one of the most advanced shooters I ever played. Even today shooters still don't aim as high as PD did and only have a fraction of what this N64 game had to offer.

 

I mean, just look at any shooter today, can you shoot the guns out of a guard's hands and pick it up before they're able to? Can you shoot the lights out and play through the level using night vision? Can you unlock cheat codes? Do the levels have unique objectives to complete, or are we still just going from Point A to Point B and watching Scripted Events in between?

 

Hell, there was even a full Co-Op and Counter Co-Op mode designed in the game. Shooters to this day STILL haven't pulled off Counter Co-Op. The closest thing I can think of is Rainbow Six: Vegas but still isn't fully it. I even like the completely optional overworld you can explore too (similar to Tomb Raider's home you can explore in the PSX games).

 

THERE'S EVEN CHEESE! YOU CAN FIND HIDDEN BLOCKS OF CHEESE IN EVERY SINGLE LEVEL AND IT'S AMAZING!

 

    

 

It also reminds me of when gun variety was actually a thing in FPSes too. Machine gun? More like Machine gun that also shoots grenades. Oh how about this Machine gun? Oh, this one can turn into a Proximity Mine you throw on the floor to fool/frag other players with. Oh and this Laptop turns into a Machine gun which can also turn into an automatic turret. There's also the Farsight you can Snipe through walls with and hell even GoldenEye 64's weapons and levels like Facilty/Complex make a return return as well.

 

With maybe 1 or 2 exceptions, every single gun in this game does something different. All with unique stylized reload animations and looks.

 

No Online Capabilities on N64? No problem, we have fully customizable bots. If Multiplayer isn't fully your thing, there's a fully fleshed out Single Player that's not a boring Linear Scripted Cover Shooter that holds your hand. There's full objectives to follow and with speed strafing can be quite hectic.

 

The Game-Feel might not have aged as well as I would've liked it to (PD's movement can feel float-y but it still provides a competent FPS to this day despite the frame rate), but either way, modern shooters can learn a LOT from GE/PD's Single Player Design. But ah, oh well, I guess shooters will continue only focusing on Multiplayer only.

 

There's way too much to gush about. I hope Perfect Dark gets a sequel someday. No regenerating health, no loadouts (unless it REALLY works somehow). Just give me my expertly designed and replayable Single Player with objectives, give me my female bond, Joanna Dark (not that American Teenage Brat they retconed in PDZero, Joanna is British!), give me my awesome weapons, my awesome soundtrack, my awesome maps, all in HD at 60FPS. Please Rareware? Free Radical? Someone please... I want a sequel. ;_;

 

Day 1:

Day 3:

[Tornado]

I really, really don't want to say Adventure 2 Battle. My post history demands I don't say Adventure 2 Battle, else I be a massive hypocrite. And yet I can't think of a game that defines my playing dedication when I was of the age that videogames helped define my life; so I at the same time feel obligated to say it.

 

 

It's maddening.

 

 

 

 

[Rey Skywalker-Ren]

MY favorite game?

 

 

I love this game the most for many reasons. I love the replys you can get from this game. You have to Sonics to play with and they are different but it make them fun to play. Modern Sonic have the the fast gameplay and classic has the shelds and spindash thing. also there are fun missions to do with Sonics friends. when you do the missions they help you like they can help you take out a fire ot lunch you in the air. It also have the red rings you can get to earn musics. you can also change the stage music to any musics you earn in the game. you can also play the classics on this game if you earn it with the red rings. you can buy insted shields and even a homing attack for classic Sonic. All and all this game is my favorite.

[DemonShad716]

Day 2: Favorite Video Game

 

Boy, these are picking up in difficulty.

 

I'm going with Brawl on this one. Super Smash Brawl is my fav not only because Sonic is in it, but one of my most favorite Pokemon as well: Lucario. This game is probably one of my most played games on the Wii right besides Sonic Colors, mainly for the online multiplayer awesomeness that you can have with friends with a wider variety of characters than Melee.

 

One thing that spiced up that multiplayer experience tenfold would be an SD card-based mod that allows you to import characters from other franchises that are not originally on the roster. With that, it allowed for custom move sets as well that made the battlefield much more fun and interesting to play with friends, even hilarious. Sometimes with my friends, the hilarity of our battles are very worthy of a livestream or Youtube video.

 

This favorite will most likely change due to the newest installment of this series which many of you already know having Megaman and Greninja, as well as our beloved Blue Blur. This change will start off with the 3DS version, then WiiU.

[Shane]

My favourite game came out a few months ago.

 

 

Yeah, my most nostalgic game was Donkey Kong Country 2, while my favourite game is the series' newest entry.

 

I loved Donkey Kong Country Returns. It probably had the best gameplay in the series to date, but on a superficial level, some things were missing. Tropical Freeze fixes all of this. Tropical Freeze also includes the technical fix introduced in the 3DS version of its predecessor: No more waggle!

 

Tropical Freeze brings back Dixie and Funky, and introduces Cranky as a playable character. The "community" feeling was one of the most important parts of DKC's atmosphere. This was sorely missed in DKCR, but Tropical Freeze's world feels more like a community than ever thanks to the fact that there are three buddy Kongs instead of just the one from DKCR in addition to the return of Funky.

 

DKCR was like a re-explored version of DKC1. This was needed at the time. The settings were mostly based on DKC1 settings and the music was mostly DKC1 remixes. TF feels like a brand new experience.

 

David Wise was contracted by Retro to compose the soundtrack for this game, and it's probably his best soundtrack yet. The few remixes that are in the game actually feel like they're well-integrated and not just brought back for the sake of nostalgia (outside of Twiight Terror's first song) and they all feel like re-imaginings of the originals, whereas most of DKCR's remixes just sounded like modern updates. In my opinion this game has the finest soundtrack ever made. It's not all as melancholy as most of DKC2's music, but the variation is very nice.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA2WjP6sgrc

 

I like the new enemies, the Snowmads, a lot. They may be on par with the Kremlings.

 

Tropical Freeze is the most beautiful game I've ever played, too. It's not as photo-realistic as the SNES classics, but it's not as cartoon-like as DKCR.

 

The game puts Mario's recent outings to absolute shame and I'm upset that the Internet seems to think this game is another Nintendo rehash. It's not.

[Sean]

Super Mario 64 broke new ground, while Banjo-Kazooie refined it to be the best that the genre could be. It was a bizarre fairy tale-like setting in which you explore dimensional pockets in a craggy witch's labyrinthine lair. Each level was expertly crafted, expanding on many course ideas from SM64 and filling them with actual things to do - and they all just get better and better, accumulating into the phenomenal Mad Monster Mansion, the sinister and hard as nails Rusty Bucket Bay, and the grandiose, multilayered Click Clock Wood, making the mere concept of shifting through seasons an entire adventure of its own. With that said, it was a complex game with a simple charm. You can explore each level at your own pace, skip difficult puzzles or solve them out of order. I can play this game any day of the week and be just as hooked onto it as I was when had I first played it. And the more times I play it, the more entertaining it is to attempt to blast through the entire campaign with all items in as little time as possible.

That said, despite my adoration for Banjo-Kazooie, the sequel is an utter mess. Tooie tried too hard to outdo the original in every way with mixed results and the final result lacked every ounce of heart its predecessor had. In contrast with B-K in which you could complete each world 100% in a single sitting (with the exception of the ill-placed wonder wing in a later world), the worlds here were far bigger but not any more fun, and they required you to weave your way between each one and backtrack just to solve a single puzzle. In general, I'm not really a fan of Rare's other games. Donkey Kong 64 was perhaps designed as a parody of the collectahon genre brought to its most logical, ridiculous conclusion, and I just could not get into other popular titles such as Jet Force Gemini, Conker, or GoldenEye. To me, Banjo-Kazooie is an anomaly, whose existence confounds me due to my disinterest in the majority of Rare's catalog. As far as I'm concerned, they struck gold once, and I didn't need Nuts & Bolts to tell me that they just wouldn't have been able to re-capture the same magic in a proper Banjo 3. I'm perfectly content with this lone game being just the way it is.

[Noir]

Day 2 - Favorite Video Game

 

This one was a bit tough. I thought of choosing Metroid Prime or Majora's Mask, but while I'd call them the best games I've played I don't know if they hold such special spots in my heart as these two. I couldn't narrow it my decision down to one, but either way Valve wins.

 

 

I've spent by very far more time with TF2 than any other game, even more than every Pokemon game together. It may have gotten oversaturated with hats and I don't care too much for the focus on Mann vs. Machine with newer updates, but at its core the game is as fun as ever. Almost five years playing it and it still hasn't grown old for me.

 

 

I don't know what it is about HL2 but it's so easy to pick up and play despite being a pretty healthy length. I find myself with the urge to go through it again just about every year but even knowing it like the back of my hand, I think what keeps me coming back is how well it convinces me to care about its world. From hearing the first words out of Dr. Breen's mouth I hated him and the moment I laid eyes on the citadel I wanted to take it down. The game takes you all over the place in between, but starting off as any old citizen of City 17 then finishing the game by storming back in gives such a sense of accomplishment that I still feel no matter how many times I've played the game.

[Thigolf]

Mother 3 (Fan Translation) (might add a Picture later, doesn't seem to work for me right now)

 

Earthbound/Mother 2 is a great experience. It has amazing writing that keeps you talking to everyone and get intrigued in the world, it has a beautiful artstyle and a wonderfully bizarre Soundtrack. And while they don't bother me too much since I'm used to the Standard battle Systems of RPGs, the battles are pretty bare bones, the plot seems like a weird mess sometimes and the characters are not that fleshed out, which pulls it down for me slightly.That's why Earthbound isn't that great of a game for me, it's just a fantastic world to experience with a gameplay build around it just to make it, well, a game.

 

And then Mother 3 came along and Irons out all those mistakes.

 

The battle system added a rhythm element to it, which is a small change, but makes Standard battles so much more enjoyable. There are also more attacks that work without PP, adding more variety. The slotmachine life bar that was added in Earthbound is better implemented here, scrolling down more slowly so you can react better on what happens to your Party members instead of mashing the A button in hope to make your healing work in time like in Earthbound. These makes the battles much more fun and strategic.

 

The Story is a rather deep Story this time, with a lot of plot twists and more characters and cutscenes, fleshing out the world and its plot. The game also adds a lot of tragic elements to the game that weren't present at all in Earthbound, without getting rid of the quirky, silly Humor - it balances itself out perfectly, presenting you so many moments for you to laugh out loud, to be shocked or even tear up. The Story even switches through different characters, giving you new perspectives of the plot, like the protgaonist's father to Showcase the tragic past, or the Slave monkey of on of the villains, showing how the bad guy's plan went down. The characters are also much more interesting this time around, being actual characters this time. I cared so much more for my Party members this time around. The line up is also quite unique - the four peple saving the world are Lucas, a young Boy, Kumatora, a teenage Girl (okay, maybe not those two), Duster, a handicapped thief and a dog named Boney. Each of them has unique attacks that fit their character, like Scary Masks for the thief. All this got added to the fun quirky world that made Earthbound so great, simply adding a whole new Level to the experience.

 

The Locations itself are also diverse and don't have a rather similar theme like earthbound did, with simple Locations like towns or futuristic cities, or attics with haunted bass guitars, a Cinema dungeon or even a toilet dungeon - and the Soundtrack of the game is just as enjoyable as the one in Earthbound.

 

There are also other small changes that I like, for example, I like the enemy design much better in this game, I love how the true villian stays in the shadows the whole time and other small changes. But simply put: Mother 3 takes everything I loved about Earthbound, makes it even better, and gets rid of the gameplay annoyances, making it not only a fantastic experience with a superb Story, great Humor and Drama, but also a damn fun game to play.

[TheOcelot]

My favourite game is Metal Gear Solid (PS1)

 

 

 

I remember the first time I played MGS. I borrowed the game from a friend. I had never heard of it and to be honest it sounded like total rubbish. A bit preempt to judge on my part. It would have been rude not to at least try the game, so I played it. I died a few times in the very first (warehouse) section, and got to the top of the elevator where Mei Ling explains how the radar system works and you see the Hind D take off.................I then realised I was falling love.

 

There are so many things I enjoy, from the engaging and dramatic story which made me really like and care for both the good and bad guys. It made me question are the enemies really bad guys and is Snake (and his codec team) really the good guys. The codec conversation are extremely interesting and fun to listen to. The cut-scenes, dialogue and voice acting makes it one of the most fascinating and enjoyable stories IMO. People often joke that MGS games are like an interactive movie. All the characters have interesting personalities and back stories. I like how when the story finishes there's no happy ending, it's more about that Snake managed to survive. It's thought provoking.

 

The idea of saving your game by using codec frequency 140.96 was neat. Those Japanese proverbs from Mei Ling <3

 

For me the winning factor is the gameplay. Don't know why, but there is something about being spotted by an enemy - which causes an alert phase and the enemies to chase you - which is both incredibly exciting and frightening. Almost exhilarating. I find the idea of successfully sneaking past the enemy without being spotted rewarding. 

 

The level design is complex, designed to catch you out. I like the idea of the methodical approach, taking my time not rushing through an area. Having to learn the enemy patrol routes so that I can find the safest and quickest routes. There are tons of collectibles and weapons, some which are either well hidden; like the camera or needing to meet special criteria to obtain items like the bandana and stealth.

 

Every single boss in this game is unique and offers a different type of combat which keeps things fresh. Be it the;

 

- Enemies soldiers which ambush Snake and the disguised Meryl

 

- The gun fight with Ocelot 

 

- Using grenades to take down a Tank.

 

- Hand to hand combat with Gray Fox

 

- Plugging your controller into port 2 so that Psycho Mantis can't read your mind

 

- Back tracking to obtain a sniper rifle so you can take on Sniper Wolf

 

- Ascending the tower whilst fighting off endless numbers of guards

 

- Ab-sailing by rope whilst avoiding gun fire from the Hind D

 

- Using Stinger Missles to take on Liqiuid in his Hind D

 

- Snake being ambushed in the lift by the soldiers using stealth camouflage

 

- The second fight with Sniper Wolf

 

- The hide and seek fight with Raven

 

- The battle with Metal Gear REX

 

- The fist fight with Liquid

 

- The high speed chase when Snake is escaping the base 

 

There's tons of replay value. Different difficultly setting to get your teeth into. I like playing Hard mode because there is no radar, and Extreme mode to try and obtain the Big Boss ranking which consists of no alerts, no continues, max 25 kills etc. 

 

Put simply there is nothing about this game I don't like. It's a game I keep coming back to time and time again. Whilst there are many more Metal Gear games with better graphics and better game-play mechanics, I think I prefer the dark and depressing atmosphere of MGS1.

 

For me this game gets 10/10.

[w00tkins]

With the amount of hours I've put into it, I'd have to go with:

 

 

 

I jumped in to TF2 in 2009 and I've never looked back since. It's the only FPS I've ever really loved.

 

Gameplay is addictive, with highly polished mechanics and a diverse set of play styles. If I'm in the mood for fast paced, twitch shooting, I'll go with Scout. If my team seems to be dying a lot, I'll go Medic. If I'm bored and want to piss the enemy team off: Mini-sentry Engie!

 

Valve has been updating the game with new game modes, weapons, maps, cosmetic items and balance patches since it's inception. For free. Well beyond anything I've seen any developer do.

 

The visual style and humour is truly distinct for an fps. How many games allow you to throw jars of piss at your enemies?

 

The community is (most of the time) friendly and amiable. There's nothing quite like connecting to your favourite server and engaging in trash talk with your friends 

[Exploder]

Day 2: Favorite Game

 

Man, this is a tough one. But looking through everything I've got, I guess I'll have to go with...

 

 

Borderlands 2 is a game that really hits the sweet spots for me. I'll try to break it down:

 

Gameplay: You've got four playable characters (up to six with DLC), each with a special ability, and three sets of skill trees that revolve around that ability as well as the general theme of the character. Whether its a deployable gun turret, trapping one or more enemies in place, going berserk with two guns or turning invisible, they're all really satisfying to use, and it's amazing how flexible they can be in many different types of combat situations - more on that below.

 

Then there's also the sheer number of guns, weapons and items in the game. It was advertised as having 'bajillions of guns', and in a way they weren't kidding - while there are several fixed types of guns and names, they can come in many, many different combination of parts and stats, so two randomly obtained guns with the same name are very unlikely to be the same. This allows for some really nice variety in weaponry, as they can fire anywhere from mundane bullets, to flaming, burning, acid, shock or even explosive bullets, to unique guns that shoot in wild ass patterns such as the shape of a bird or a freaking tornado, or bullets that split into many bullets...it goes on. And the variety of items such as shields (which can either absorb bullets, explode upon depletion, boost your damage, launch spikes upon melee attacks, etc), grenades (black hole grenades, cluster bomb grenades, bouncing betty grenades, etc) or class-specific upgrades (which offer different stat boosts while being thematically appropriate) is perhaps even greater.

 

Then there's also the enemy variety. Courtesy of the game's setting of the planet Pandora being rather wacky, you have everything from bandits like normal armed goons, shield-bearing goons, melee psychos, suicide-bombing psychos, to an advanced private military force that has professional soldiers and many types of robots, as well as dangerous alien creatures such as giant earthworms, giant insects, cloaking quadrupeds that can launch spikes, and the planet's equivalents of wild dogs of various sizes...you name it, they've got it.The additional bonus comes from how they are clearly segmented by faction (bandits, military, wildlife and others) as seen above. And one of the DLCs even features a whole new group of fantasy-inspired enemies such as knights, dwarves, skeletons, wizards, golems and others, which you fight with the same crazy arsenal you have from above. Yeah.

 

And finally there's also the four-player co-op. The single player mode of the game can be at any time be turned into multiplayer, allowing anyone to join according to your settings (free, invite-only, etc). And getting into some wild battles like raid bosses or just screwing around with some friends is great fun, let me tell you.

 

Graphics: The game uses a comic-book-like cel-shaded appearance for its graphics like the first Borderlands, allowing it to stand out rather than blend into shades of brown or gray. It works wonderfully with the setting and its various locales such as icy mountains, deserts, military facilities, bandit strongholds, alien wastelands, even a Western-themed small town, and many others.

 

Writing: One of my favorite aspects of the game overall! It has a very strong focus on humor and absurdity, both in the main story but especially in the side missions, particularly dialog, situations, and even places like unique item descriptions, names of challenges (Death, Wind and Fire for example), or small things like the way bandits name their guns (redy Launcher, Bombarbarbardeer, Marxmans pistal, Ratatater), they don't leave anything that could possibly be made funny out. And of course, there is this:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVpg0vws10Y

 

Despite that, however, they also know when things should be serious, especially when it comes to the deaths of major characters, as well as occasionally more somber but heartwarming moments. So there is a great balance of drama and comedy, and I really appreciate that.

 

Then there's also the characters themselves, both the playable and non-playable ones. Every one of them has highly distinctive personalities, styles, abilities, dialog and appearances, so there's no way to confuse between them. It's no surprise that the playable characters and others, like the (brilliantly written and portrayed) villain Handsome Jack, the psychotic Tiny Tina or the Sheriff of Lynchwood, are a frequent choice for cosplayers at conventions.

 

Audio: Music comes in a wide variety and is pretty awesome. In general, the voice acting is also pretty good, but high praise goes especially to that of Handsome Jack as mentioned earlier, voiced by Dameon Clarke. The way he can change between being a dickish troll and truly menacing tyrant is amazing.

 

Conclusion: One hell of a funny, awesome and just fun experience. It's been a while since I played it, since as good as it is I'd been through it 300+ hours already, but that doesn't mean I didn't have a damn good time with it the whole way.

[SuperStingray]

God damn it, I just discovered my day 1 post didn't submit...   oh well, hope this one works.

 

Day 2 - Favorite Game : Dark Souls

 

 

This was a close toss up between Dark Souls, Demon's Souls and Metroid Prime.  The lore and atmosphere of Demon's Souls and Metroid Prime is slightly stronger than Dark Souls' in my opinion, but Dark Souls is the best of both worlds with the openness and sense of discovery of Prime with the challenge and depth of Demon's.

 

But where to begin with this game?  Dark Souls is a testament to the human spirit.  Where most other games see failure simply as a consequence, Dark Souls understands it is part of the greater experience.  The more you build your muscles, the less your burdens weigh.

 

The way Dark Souls delivers a sense of accomplishment is sublime.  There is a difference between difficulty and challenge.  Difficulty is merely resistance.  Challenge is the satisfaction of overcoming that resistance.   Carrying hundred pound boxes across a warehouse is difficult.  Trying to bench press a hundred pounds is just as difficult, but much more challenging.  Challenge is built on context- the context of human motivations.  And Dark Souls gracefully touches upon all corners of motivation.  That feeling of mastery when you destroy a primordial beast a hundred times your size.  That feeling of security when you reach a new bonfire after a long and tedious road.  That feeling of freedom you get when you acquire the ability to warp across the game world.  That feeling of purpose you achieve as you uncover the untold secrets of Lordran.  That feeling of connection you get as you help, warn, join and fight others who face the same challenges as you.  That feeling of victory when you first see the awe-inspiring Anor Londo after the long and tedious road you faced to get there.

 

And then there's the lore.  Dark Souls is a true landmark in environmental storytelling.  I've always seen the use of cutscenes as the primary method of delivering story in games to be very cynical.  It shows that the creator isn't invested in the potential of the medium he has chosen to work with.  But Dark Souls knows what it is and what it can do.  You will find history everywhere- in the descriptions of items you find, the few words and actions of the occasional traveler, the weaknesses of bosses.  Dark Souls knows how to make a lot out of a little.  A tale that is barely there yet all too present.  Part of what tends to hold games back in terms of storytelling is that the creator never knows what players will do left to their own devices- what will people miss, what will they look for, what order will things be encountered in, what will they find that wasn't meant to be found?  The creators of Dark Souls were very brave in that they knew that they were putting a TON of effort into things most players weren't likely to find.  And it worked.  People only and always found as much of a story as they were willing to look for, and it delivered exceptionally however large your thirst for narrative may be.

[Sami]

Day 3 - Best Cover Art

Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance

I'm a massive fan of Yoji Shinkawa's work on Metal Gear. The culmination of it, to me, is this cover right here. The style itself is very wispy and almost ghost-like, reflecting the themes of the series perfectly. It's eye catching and flashy, but also full of detail and has a very mysterious air to it.

You'll be hearing a lot more about this series from me in the coming days. For now, I'll just appreciate the damn fine artwork.

[Gabz Girl]

Day 3! Best cover art!

Definitely the cover art for Kingdom Hearts.

It looks beautiful and yet so mysterious, What's with the heart shaped moon? Who are those three Final Fantasy rejects (lol jk)? Why are Donald and Goofy there? Because it's such a strange yet awesome looking cover it makes you want to play the game just to find out more. I also like how the box itself has a shine to it, which the second game also had on the box, but I think the shine here looks a lot nicer overall.

[TheOcelot]

 

Day 3 - Best Cover Art

Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance

I'm a massive fan of Yoji Shinkawa's work on Metal Gear. The culmination of it, to me, is this cover right here. The style itself is very wispy and almost ghost-like, reflecting the themes of the series perfectly. It's eye catching and flashy, but also full of detail and has a very mysterious air to it.

You'll be hearing a lot more about this series from me in the coming days. For now, I'll just appreciate the damn fine artwork.

 

 

 

I agree. The art style has a unique feel to it. My personal favourite is the MGS3 box art which just looks so detailed. It catches your eye/draws you to it.

 

 

 

[Jin.]

Day 3

 

Over the cloooouuuuudddddsssss

I love me some God Eater Burst, but what instantly caught my eyes was the cover. A guy and a chick with huge weapons fighting a bigass monster in a destroyed city? COUNT ME IN. My only gripe is that it's the boss from the Burst section, not the one from the original "God Eater".

[ImPantsAtThis]

Yeah, even though that dreamcast badge looks sweeeet, I have exams to prep for. Hence why I was lazy and missed the first two days.

 

Day 3: Favourite Cover Art? 

 

 

L.A. Noire.

 

Where do I start? Best thing here? The lighting. Light and how it is cast on an actor has always been a big part of Film Noir, and this art is a perfect example of it. Consider Cole Phelps, the protagonist of the game and feature of the cover. His right side (our left) is covered in a stark white, pure light, similar to that of the day. His left side, however, is covered in red light, likely a residue from the neon sign of a grimy back alley café. Cole is, in effect, caught between the bright light and the dark, red light. This is indicative of his position in the game: a detective stuck between the bright lights of L.A.'s global image and its seedy underbelly; a man caught between the purity of being a police officer with a duty and the dark rewards of the corruption that infests the force. His walking the line between the public image of Hollywood's golden age and the grim realities of its vices and crooked denizens is central to the game's plot. The lighting here is a superb symbol of the game's themes, subtly illustrating them in such a visually appealing way.

 

Oh yeah, it looks pretty cool as well cuz hes holdin a gun pew pew

 

Honestly, all the art on the box here floors me -- from the shading and colouring to the actual drawings to the font for the title, it's all good. It's just a shame the lighting is the only thing I can make insightful comment about; maybe that woman's face and those cops mean something deep, maybe they don't. I haven't figured it out yet.

[Dr. Homem]

The choice seems clear to me:

 

 

 

I'm kidding, of course. My actual favourite cover is Wasteland:

 

 

I like the covers that are simplistic and don't try to show a bunch of different aspects. Nothing is worse than a cover that tries to show multiple scenarios/scenes awkwardly placed together. At the same time, they have to be representative: some game covers feel more like they belong on a book than on a game, because game boxarts have to be descriptive of what it's about, in a basic form. Wasteland accomplishes both of those. That's the kind of cover that catches your attention, it's simple and appealing while also evoking emotion.

[Spin Attaxx]

Favourite box art? Oo-er, this is gonna be a difficult one. But I guess...

 

 

I like the way this looks handpainted. I also like how it emphasises the environment over the characters. Gives you a feeling of... mysticness, I guess?

 

...I'm sorry I can't write more, but I don't have a particular favourite box art, and quite frankly I'm grasping for straws enough as is. It's not something I think about a lot.

[Lady Soniko]

Day 3 - Best Cover Art

 

this is such a hard one not to pull Sonic up for with Adventure for me aghaghaghhh

 

 

Metal Gear Rising.

 

Something about Metal Gear Rising's box art literally encapsulates the entire game in one image, yes you're a cyborg, yes you cut stuff, yes you look good doing it and HOLY SHIT LOOK AT THE PARTICLE EFFECTS AND SPARKS AND ASDFGHGHJKJ

 

The logo is electrified and super charged, just like this game, the render is awesome too and I'm not normally one to defend 3D renders but the guys a Platinum know how create a captivating box art that makes you want to pick it up and check it out.

 

 

I'm cheating here because Rising got a plethora of Steelbooks and various different pre-order bonuses with it's launch from different retailers, this steelbook from Futureshop is unbelievable as it's fantastic concept art of Raiden and Blade wolf, the back is minimalistic too but bold with the Zandatsu slash marks, again capitalizing on the game's crowning feature "Blade Mode". But that's not all, Konami seem to carry the trait through to their other franchises too.

 

 

 

 

 

Castlevania Lords of Shadow's standard release has a simple but bold box art with Gabriel Belmont standing there like a badass with his combat cross and Dracula's castle looming behind him but... 

 

 

Look how different the Limited Edition is! It's concept art again! A trait Konami is known for, but damn does it make you want to reconsider paying more out for a slightly sexier case, it's marketing at it's smartest.

 

And Konami Just Keep.

 

on

 

Doing IT.

 

Also a nod to Mario Kart 8's unbelievable box art... and not forgetting the Magnum Opus of Mario boxarts...

 

 

3D World's box art has so many hidden details, have you seen the full image it's based off?

 

 

 WOAH MAMA MIA

[MamboCat]

Day 3 - Mambo's Favourite Cover Art (that's not Sonic!)

 

I think it has to be this one:

 

 

OMG it's both Raziel and Kain kicking ass and both of them have fuckin' Soul Reavers yeeeeeeeeeeeeah!

 

Seeing this cover was so awesome. IIRC it's also the loading screen of the game itself.

[Senator NinjaShark]

Day Numbero 3: Serperior Eater, Ninja's "Kami's pick is worse than American Mega Man 1 Boxart" Favourite Cover Art ever!

 

 

first and foremost, I echo the Sentiments about Yoji Shinkawa work on the Metal Gear series, his very unique and stylized....style works very well for the series, and always manages to fit the tone and style of each game very well.

 

 

 

now for my other Picks

 

 

 

I am a Huge Fan of 2D Box Artwork and Smash Bros being one of my favourite series makes this Doubly sweet of course, it shows what the Game is all about: Nintendos Best beating the living shit out of each other, No Regrets, just Up-B's.

 

 

 

 

Easily one of the most nonsenical Covers ever to exist and yet its Perfect.

 

I mean, I dont know what this game is? Do you know what this game is? Does anyone even know what this game is? thought so!

 

 

but really, the oly reason this gets mentioned here is because I find it plain hilarious to have an Old Man playing the Banjo on the cover to a Shoot 'em up, but who knows, maybe he is the Pilot of the Space ship thing you are controlling

 

 

besides, old Men playing the Banjo improve every Game Cover, Observe

 

 

now I like Box Arts that actually tell me what the game is about, and God Hand does just that

 

you Punch People, no compromises, you Punch them. and thats why I like it

 

 

 

Honorable Mention goes to (much to my own suprise) Metroid Other M's Japanese Boxart, whilst the game itself was terrible the Cover Art is actually really cool, I like that, next time for a good Metroid game please