Game Update 17: DLC Round-Up 4

Surprised it's been over a year since I've done this. But I guess that happens when you don't buy any new games for almost a year.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood: The Da Vinci Disappearance

Review at Player Affinity

Costume Quest: Grubbins on Ice


This add-on to Costume Quest was roughly one third the length of the original game at one third of the price, which made it a nice way to extend the experience a little for fans. It takes place after the original and has a winter theme, though the gameplay is pretty much the same - you trick or treat until the area is clear, fight simple turn-based battles, find some collectible costumes and upgrades, and find stuff for people. The boss fight at the end was the most challenging encounter they've made so far, although it still wasn't terribly difficult. The ending teases more content on the way, though I suspect at this point it will be another stand-alone game rather than a small five dollar chunk.

Left 4 Dead 2: The Passing/The Sacrifice


Originally, the intention was to release The Passing for L4D2 and then The Sacrifice for L4D1, tying the two games together and killing off one of the original characters. The Sacrifice ended up also being released for L4D2 though, which allowed players of that game to play with the old characters using the equipment and enemy upgrades from the sequel, as well as starting the release of all the old content in the same way. So while the two campaigns are kind of short and don't add a whole terrible lot in terms of new twists on the series, they're still pretty fun and helped Valve experiment with new ways to roll stuff out to players. The online comic that preceded The Sacrifice's release was interesting as well.

Mass Effect 2: Arrival

Review at Player Affinity

Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare


Pretty darn meaty for ten bucks, Undead Nightmare completely changes Red Dead from a western-themed shooter to a game all about scraping by against a horde of zombies. Ammo is limited, enemies charge at you in groups and only go down easily from headshots, and there isn't a lot of help to be found. You'll usually divide your time between doing missions to advance the lengthy and surprisingly funny story and rescuing and defending outposts from invasions, which is more fun than it sounds. Most DLC doesn't come close to changing the game as much as this one, and it's a lot of fun. There are a bunch of other supernatural extras like side jobs involving horses of the apocalypse and sasquatches. One of the best DLC packs for the money I've ever played.

Best Games of 2009

I don't see why so many major publications give out their awards before the year is even over. I mean, yeah, pretty much everything that belongs there is already released by that point, it just seems a bit hasty. Anyway, this is definitely one of my best years for gaming in a long time. It's not that there were definitely more awesome games to come out, it's that, at least in the last few months, I actually managed to play more of them then I usually ever do. You know it's a strong fall season when I can't even be bothered to finish a Tim Schafer game because there's too much else I'm interested in. All right, let's begin.

Best of 2009

9. Halo 3: ODST (360)


Most years that a Halo game comes out, seeing it this low would be weird, but it seems like I liked this one about as much as anyone. It's an interesting experiment that does some new things with the formula, but either people were turned off by the expansion pack nature or are just getting tired of the franchise. I guess we'll find out next year when the slightly more hyped already Halo: Reach comes out.

8. Left 4 Dead 2 (PC)


I didn't play this nearly as much as I would have liked, but that's what happens when you experience significant lag issues and have a handful of single player games you'd like to get through. Still, I could tell with the time I've already spent that this quick sequel manages to add a lot of new things to the series without taking away any of the sense of fun playing it through with a group of friends provides. And with some DLC already on the way, we know Valve's going to continue supporting the franchise. I just hope they show a third installment of a different one of their series instead this year.

7. inFamous (PS3)


This is probably the most flawed game on the list, but it's so much damn fun to run around and explore the environment that I had to put it here anyway. Few games make you feel as powerful as you do in inFamous, and it still managed to be challenging without ever getting too frustrating. I'd like to give it a go as a bad guy some time, just to see how the other half lives. If only Sucker Punch didn't feel the need to get all gritty and dark and nonsensical with the jump to new hardware.

6. Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time (PS3)


It's getting harder for this series to really blow me away anymore, but A Crack in Time was probably the series' most complete installment to date. I'll probably never love a game in the series again like I did the proper PS2 sequels, but as I've said before, I could play games of this quality for a long time without ever getting sick of them.

5. Batman: Arkham Asylum (Multi)

It's still a bit amazing how Rocksteady came out of nowhere and made one of the most complete single player games in a while with a superhero that almost everyone has to at least like, though I do think it's in that rare position of being a great game but maybe a bit overrated by the world at large at the same time. I mean, how can a game really be that good when the bosses suck so universally? Still, that's mostly a quibble when the unique combat and stealth are both so well executed.

4. Flower (PS3)


Despite all the huge budget, lavishly produced games I played in 2009, this small, two hour piece of art probably hit me the hardest of anything. I know not everyone is going to be affected by something the same way, but at least for me, it was an experience that was at different times relaxing, distressing, and profoundly moving. And probably my favorite use of sound in any game last year as well.

3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Multi)


I didn't expect to be swept up again, but if nothing else, Infinity Ward is a group of professionals who know how to make a tight, engrossing single player experience, and can throw some good online play on top of it. I've had a chance to check out the two player Spec Ops missions as well, and they help extend the life of a game that's campaign can be finished in only 5 or 6 hours, but has plenty of moments worth revisiting and enough other content to keep shooter fans happy for a while.

2. Assassin's Creed II (Multi)


I already really, really liked the first game despite its faults in some areas, so a sequel that fixes pretty much all of those was a shoe-in to appear high on this list. With a much more varied and thoughtful progression through the game, improved storytelling, more incentive to explore, and movement and combat systems that stand out from the rest of the world's open world action adventures, it's an extremely rewarding and fun game that does everything a sequel should.

1. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)


This is the king of good sequels though, and I suppose my favorite game of this generation of consoles. I have a bit of an "I liked Uncharted before it was cool" thing going on, but it's nice to see the second attempt take it from being an interesting, genre-spanning gamer's game to a genuinely successful and nigh-universally praised technological marvel. It's not flawless, but the single player campaign is a stunning, immensely fun, beautifully paced near-masterpiece and the online multiplayer ain't half bad either. Anybody who owns a PS3 or has easy access to one and hasn't given it a shot is only robbing themselves of something pretty special.

Game Update 14: DLC Round-Up 2

So I've played some more downloadable content. It was mostly pretty fun I guess! This is the significant stuff.

Fallout 3: Broken Steel


I liked Fallout 3, but the ending was, well... irredeemably stupid. Without spoiling anything, finishing the main quest ends the game immediately with a cheap cutscene instead of wrapping up the story nicely and letting you keep playing as your character, and makes some giant logical leaps to pack it all into some sort of nice dramatic wrapping without earning it. Broken Steel fixes that by rewriting that portion slightly, still moralizing your actions pointlessly but at least keeping the plot going with a few more missions, raising the level cap to 30, giving you some new equipment, and disabling the switch that basically kills the game. The scope of the new quests feels more like an actual climax to the plot, though in a way it still feels like they're stretching something that's already resolved itself. Still, it's the most essential of the five add-ons Bethesda's released for the game, letting you do whatever you want without worrying about having to load old saves.

Fallout 3: Point Lookout


Broken Steel is the most important add-on, but Point Lookout might be the most interesting. It takes Fallout to a different setting, the mutated wastes of Maryland, infested by monsters, a dangerous cult, and irradiated versions of offensive Southern stereotypes. I haven't played the other DLC packs for the game, which apparently whisk you to other areas which are very linear and guided, leaving Point Lookout as the only one that resembles the actual Fallout 3 experience in smaller form. There's a fair amount of wandering you can do to see what's up, or you can just do the main quest line which features some glitchy action (I can't tell if the game is acting up because I've been playing this character for 30 hours or what), unique moments, and interesting if not overly difficult choices to make. It's not exactly classy, but still enjoyable.

Left 4 Dead: Crash Course


I'm glad I got this for free on the PC instead of paying for it on the Xbox 360, but it's still a neat addition to the original game that was made not too long before the sequel came out. It's a quick little campaign designed to be finished in half an hour in versus mode, so it's not the most substantial thing ever, but the two chapters here add some unique and entertaining twists on the formula. It fits in between two of the existing campaigns, explaining what transpired between them, which on one hand is interesting but on the other just makes me want them to do the same for the entire story, and I don't know if that's going to happen with them already announcing add-ons for the new one. Still, no new Left 4 Dead content is bad Left 4 Dead content, and it's worth a trip if you're not already spoiled by the sequel.

LittleBigPlanet: Metal Gear Solid Level Kit


I think this would have been a bit better for the value if it included the Metal Gear Solid-themed costumes as well, but it was still a good time with my brother for somewhere around an hour. Most of the DLC for LBP is packs of outfits and stickers to throw in your game, but once in a while they do a themed one that adds new gameplay elements and trophies (a Pirates of the Caribbean-themed one just came out this week, I think), and I like MGS a lot, so I finally decided to give it a whirl. We probably had the most fun with the paintball gun which you get to use pretty frequently, shooting each other as much as the enemies, and it definitely adds something new to the game. There's some pretty clever boss fights and special events they put together, and I'm always impressed how much people can do with the simple tools at hand, especially the developers. The LBP/MGS cross-over plot was a nice touch too. A bit short, but as cute as anything else in this game.

Left 4 Dead 2

This is an unusual prospect for Valve - a full sequel, actually featuring more content than its predecessor did at release, being put out only a year later. Given that the Half-Life 2 episodes were supposed to be a quick way to continue the story yet we're still waiting for so much as a teaser trailer for the third one five years later, it definitely seems kind of weird. Still, the game is here, and improves on the first in a lot of ways. I wouldn't say it's better, because a lot of it comes down to personal preference. The new campaigns and characters are interesting, and the expansion of abilities to go along with the myriad new ways the ravenous zombie hordes and AI Director can screw you over are nice. It's the sort of sequel that sort of makes playing the original obsolete, though you can still make an argument for the things that make either unique creating a stronger experience.

The new survivors are a likable group, although maybe less even than the original group. Those guys all had some good lines and didn't stand out too much individually, whereas in the new game Ellis and Coach are clearly the "funny ones". Nick has an occasional good zinger but is generally just kind of a jerk, while Rochelle is hardly noticeable. There's an increased sense of story as more things like how they all meet and what connects each of the campaigns together are made obvious through dialogue, to go along with the background details that filled in so many gaps the first time. For some reason though it seemed like the grafitti was more functional instead of entertaining this time, painting a picture of the infection spreading rather than making you laugh. Speaking of the campaigns, they felt pretty good the first time or two through. They didn't have as much time to be refined as the first game's, but they still have a high standard of quality in terms of variability, memorable set pieces, and setting themselves apart.

The new special infected feel a bit less iconic and even a little like rehashes, filling similar gaps to the returning ones, although they are all designed to help split the players up more, which is the key the game uses to up the challenge for experienced players. New scenarios that force you to run somewhere to escape a never-ending onslaught of enemies do this too, and really shake up the feeling of going through. Besides the special enemies, there's a new kind of foe called uncommon infected that act more or less like the standard kind but look unique and have special properties based on which campaign you're playing that help give each one more of a unique feel. You just generally feel less safe, and the game honestly seems to be trying a bit harder to spook you once in a while. An unexpected charger appearance can be startling, especially the first couple times, and special events like the increasing thunderstorm in one area were a bit unsettling. There's tons of new ways to fight against the zombies too, with a bunch of new weapons including a whole class of melee tools that can replace sidearms and are a hell of a lot of fun to bash faces in with, new options for each equipment slot, and a bunch of little things like the pipe bomb now causing its victims to go flying through the air gloriously.

I haven't had enough time to really tell if this game will stand up to months of replaying like the first did, but I see no reason why it shouldn't. The co-op has more opportunities to change from game to game, versus is still a bunch of fun (though the new infected might take even experienced players a bit of getting used to again), and the new scavenger mode is a blast too. Obviously, the game doesn't match the original's impact after having played it off and on for a year. The new southern setting has a lot of personality (I love the way that comes across in the music especially), but personally I prefer the original game's cast and think its areas were maybe designed a bit better. Still, there's plenty of game here to dive into and it's totally worth it if you're a fan of taking on hundreds of the undead with a few of your friends.

Best Games of 2008

I guess I'm making it a tradition to start these lists on the second Monday of the new year. I thought it was a good year for games, a lot of people were disappointed by some of the bigger games but I didn't have much of a problem with any of them. A couple big ones I didn't get around to included Gears of War 2, Resistance 2 (still gotta play the first!), and Mirror's Edge. Sam and Max had the second straight year of funny, enjoyable episodic adventures, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames was fun but sadly unpolished, and Price of Persia was an interesting reboot that didn't quite live up to its heritage.

Best of 2008

7. Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty (PS3)


Many faulted it for its brevity, but that's really the point - I'd love to see more of my favorite series have more manageable and economic installments now and again, especially when they're so affordable and allow newcomers to get a taste without a huge investment. Not as good as a full, "real" Ratchet game, but not many things are.

6. Bionic Commando: Rearmed (Multi)


I don't even have nostalgia for the original NES game, but I didn't need it - the arm makes the combat and platforming some of the most fun I've ever had with a side-scrolling game, it looks and sounds awesome, and it's pretty funny too.

5. Fallout 3 (Multi)


Did we ever get official word from Fallout's insane fanbase on whether Bethesda's take on their favorite series really was the abomination they assumed it was from the beginning? Whatever the case, even though it may just have been The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion with a coat of post-apocalyptic paint, that's enough to keep me interested for a long time.

4. Braid (360)


Lots of download only games were great this year, but this one definitely takes the cake. The combination of wonderful production values, unique and mind-bending gameplay, and at times brilliant storytelling make it definitely worth playing however you find a way to.

3. Left 4 Dead (PC)


I haven't played it as much as I would have liked, although that always seems to happen with me and primarily multiplayer games. But when you are playing it, it can be one of the most thrilling shooter experiences imaginable, and the presence of your friends backing you up just makes it better.

2. Grand Theft Auto IV (Multi)


These last two games both got a lot of backlash, but screw that, they helped make for one of the best non-Fall gaming seasons ever. A lot of people prefer GTA's freedom and wackiness over their attempts at something more, and for them there are games like Saints Row 2 and Crackdown. But the direction they took with the first current gen entry in the popular series was probably the one they needed to take to keep it ahead of the curve. It's still a lot of fun to screw around, but it's nice to see someone trying to do more with the medium.

1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3)


Yeah, Kojima went a little overboard trying to explain every loose end, turning nanomachines from an interesting plot device into a joke. But for the most part it's the most fun to play that MGS has ever been, it's nice to see a famous game character's story actually come to a real end, and it really doesn't hurt that the game looks amazing. I'd be lying to myself if I said it wasn't my favorite game of 2008.

Notable Exception

LittleBigPlanet (PS3)

I was enjoying this game quite a lot and it most likely would have made the list, but under absurd circumstances I accidentally broke the disc and couldn't get a new one in time, and I don't like speaking definitively on a game when I haven't seen all it has to offer.

Left 4 Dead

A slight lack of content and a few connection issues are the only things holding back one of the most enjoyable shooting experiences I've had in years. The normal gameplay isn't particularly deep; there are only a few weapons and a few types of enemies. They're not particularly smart. There's only four "movies" to play, none lasting even two hours on normal difficulty. But none of that matters. Holding off a ravenous horde of zombies with a few friends, desperately huddled together and waiting for rescue, is an extraordinarily exciting and memorable experience. The key to the game is how well the cooperative aspect of it works. In most other games, you can split up and do okay. But in Left 4 Dead, sticking with your teammates is vital. The game rewards you for protecting your buddies as much as yourself, and if you get knocked down or attacked by certain foes, it's impossible to survive without a friend giving you a hand. It's best if you're playing with people you know and constantly communicating, but even with a group of strangers you can develop a camaraderie before the campaign is over. Tearing into a horde with a mounted gun, taking out a bunch with a homemade pipe bomb, working together to bring down a tank - everything is scientifically designed to be as satisfying as possible.

And when did Valve become so funny? Earlier games had occasional humor, but starting with The Orange Box they've had consistently great writing, and the graffiti on the walls and dynamic conversations between the survivors are always worth experiencing. That dialogue is part of the game's pretty impressive technology that keeps the experience fresh, with the locations of supplies and bad guys always changing so you don't know what to expect. It prevents the experience from being too sophisticated, but makes it extremely replayable, which is the real goal here. Normal is fun, but my group probably had a better time playing on Advanced, making the experience much more intense but still manageable. It can get a bit frustrating when the same place kills you over and over, but we got markedly better as a team just playing through all of the maps once, and I bet it won't be long before we try Expert. Versus mode is also a blast, where teams alternate between playing the survivors and the infected, seeing who can get farther before usually getting wiped out. Playing in the infected takes some getting used to, but is also a unique and extremely gratifying experience when you get it right. Setting up the perfect ambush to screw over the other team is pretty damn awesome.

Hopefully Valve works on some of the online stuff, though. The first time we played, it took at least half an hour before we could get a game going, and games will crash once in a while. Also, sometimes the achievements don't seem to unlock when they should, a couple friends didn't get the campaign completion ones when they should have. Overall, it wasn't that bad for a game that just got released, it was just frustrating to see happen when we just wanted to be. And I do wish there was a bit more to play with. We can count on Valve coming out with some new stuff, hopefully an entire new movie or two, but I'm certainly glad I got it for $45 on Steam instead of $60 for the Xbox. Still, that doesn't matter that much. A couple nights ago we were playing Versus on the last map of No Mercy, waiting for the helicopter to arrive. Louis just got knocked off the roof by a Tank, and after we remaining three killed it, rescue came. We raced towards the landing pad, but on the way I was grabbed by a Smoker and pulled off the ramp. My teammates freed me from its grip, and I ran back towards the ramp, desperately shoving the ravenous horde away from me, slowly carving a path towards the exit. I limped as fast as I could for the helicopter, bullets whizzing past my ears as my buds who were already on board picked off the creatures trying to stop me. Just as I reached the vehicle, a Hunter pounced and knocked me on the ground. Before it could incapacitate me my friends saved me once again, and with 3 health left, I got on the helicopter just in the nick of time, and we escaped. It was completely amazing, and this type of thing happens in Left 4 Dead all the time.