A look back at 2006… (Games)
Onward!
2006 has been a big year for Games. Unfortunately, I havent played most of the big releases, opting instead to catch up with some classics that I never got around to playing. Beyond Good and Evil is a must-play for anyone who hasnt already! Never-the-less, I have played enough games this year to be able to put together my top 5!
- The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
- Wii Sports
- Lego Star Wars 2
- Trackmania Sunrise
Well, no massive surprises there! Oblivion took up over 120hours of my life, and I still havent finished the thing. It’s almost TOO big. But what a game. I didnt like Morrowind (TES 3), but got talked into trying Oblivion by John! And am I glad he did…no! It meant that I threw nearly a week of my life away to that game! Seriously tho - cheers - it really is a great game and if you havent played it, you should.
Now, i’m nearly 10hours into Zelda, and it is giving me such a buzz. I love Zelda games - there’s just something about the way they are made, about the thrill of swinging your sword about and rescuing the princess (although i’m not actually doing that yet). The Wii control system works perfectly and I just couldnt not put this game in the number two slot, even though of only really just started it!
Wii Sports is a classic - any game that can get my parents playing, and enjoying themselves, and get a competition going between my sister and me HAS to be in this years top 5. It has its flaws, it isnt the most advanced game of all time, but it is great fun. And that’s what matters. Gaming started off with simplicity that is fun, and thats what it’ll finish as, and this fits that boat perfectly.
LSW2… it’s Star Wars, it’s Lego, it’s a fun game in which you cant die, and its better than the last one… Need i say more? I still find the vehicle levels infuriating, but hell, get this game.
Overlook the Starforce Protection (if you can), and Trackmania Sunrise is a great game. A fun driving sim that keeps you retrying tracks over and over again while not getting frustrated, what can you complain about. My only worry is that this may not have been a 2006 release, if not, I apologise! Replace it with the new one which i havent played yet, as I’m sure that’ll be just as good!
So that rounds up my games of 2006. Check back later for my TV shows and music!
January 2nd, 2007 at 11:46
Good list, I applaud you for putting Oblivion above Zelda - most fanboys wouldn’t :-). As for Trackmania, it’s Starforce inclusion makes it null and void for me. I can’t believe they just released Trackmainia United with Starforce at the end of 2006 after most major pubs dropped it.
Lego SW2 was fun (especially the cutscenes) and Wii Sports is definitely a landmark title for its controls. What about Bomberman ‘93 for the TurboGrafx Virtual Console!? Oh that’s a re-release I think…
January 2nd, 2007 at 11:55
I had a feeling you’d say that about Trackmania.
Bomberman ‘93 is a classic
January 3rd, 2007 at 14:51
I’m not sure your comments are entirely fair, John, in “applauding” Andy for placing Oblivion above Zelda. I party agree with your point that some fanboys may brand it the BEST THING EVER simply because it’s the latest in a popular franchise, however I’m sure you wouldn’t think Andy a fanboy even if he had rated TP as number one. Isn’t this list someone’s opinion, after all? One that you or indeed anyone else may disagree with, perhaps vehemently?
Personally, I would have no hesitation at all in telling you that Zelda is by far my preferred game of the two. I’m not producing a list of best games in 2006 since I haven’t played anything like enough to give you a real opinion, but what I do know is that I don’t like Oblivion. I installed it on the recommendations of a few friends, and played it until I got out into the daylight to have a look at the visuals (particularly since I had a brand new PC at the time and wanted to test it out). I was impressed with the way it looked, but I knew from the beginning that it wasn’t a game for me - it’s just not my thing (and, having looked at your version of the list John, neither is Gears of War by the way - that looks fantastic too, but I don’t have the slightest bit of interest in playing it).
So I don’t like RPGs, I don’t like shooters or fighters. That leaves racing games, for which I have a PC and an excellent steering wheel - and I’ve just reasoned myself out of buying a Playstation or an XBox. The games might look nice, but I won’t enjoy playing them for more than five minutes. I’m a Nintendo man because they make games that I find fun to play - the Zeldas and the Marios. Of the fifteen or so games I own for GameCube all but a couple are Nintendo first-party titles, and those that aren’t are GC exclusives (or were until Super Monkey Ball ported to the PS2 and XBox. And yes, I’ll admit that I quite like the bright colours and graphics of some games that some might call childish!
I’m not going to criticise your decision not to buy a Wii on the basis that Twilight Princess “simply didn’t move the genre forward” - that’s up to you and it’s fair enough. A prettier Ocarina of Time it may be, but that’s fine by me for the moment - it’s still different enough to be an new experience and there’s plenty of worse things it could be (like an RPG!).
January 3rd, 2007 at 15:08
Good comments fanbo… i mean Chris
Seriously tho, i see where you’re coming from (and thanks for defending my POV)
January 3rd, 2007 at 16:48
Wow that’s a long one Chris, I feel the urge to reply in detail no less.
I totally agree these lists we are doing are completely opinion based and will differ based on our tastes. I play pretty much anything I can get my hands on these days and feel that innovation is very important. Some people are happy with the same thing over and over but I like to see noticeable improvements in the games that I play. I do find many developers tend to rely on the same game mechanics that their regular players are used to but frustrate others on the outside looking in.
Case in point with Zelda is the lack of voice acting which has become a normal standard in modern games. Reading pages and pages of text is something I expected when playing the SNES or to a lesser extent the N64 not on a game released in 2006 on a brand new system.
That’s just one thing, I could go on but I won’t. Putting aside the new control scheme, Twilight Princess is essentially a good game, it just does nothing new as it’s basically the same Zelda we have been playing since Ocarina of Time.
My thoughts on Oblivion are well known by my friends and readers, of whom some agree and some disagree, but taken as whole complete experience and put side by side with Zelda it offers far more.
Andy has clearly played more Oblivion and Zelda than either of us so I would trust his opinion in this matter, even if he can be a fanboy at times :-).
January 3rd, 2007 at 17:02
Can tell you boys were at work when you wrote these
I, like Chris, wouldnt call myself a Nintendo fanboy, in any more sense than I am a fan of Nintendo, and male!
January 3rd, 2007 at 18:09
Fair enough John - I see what you mean, and it is true that the Zelda format hasn’t really changed since it went 3D on N64 (I guess Majora’s Mask was different, but it was a less enjoyable game to play in my (and popular?) opinion). It would be nice to see some differences none-the-less, before the format gets too stale. Voice acting is an idea, but for me it’s not really worth that much - I don’t think you need it in a video game, but then again maybe that’s simply because I haven’t really come across it yet. Maybe I’ll be a convert!
Despite your acknowledgement that others disagree with your own thoughts, I still think you’re being a little dismissive of the idea that Oblivion could be anything other than absolutely fantastic, confidently stating that is offers far more than other games (although you said this in relation to Zelda, I am inferring from your comments that this can be extended to most games - apologies if this is not the case!).
Please don’t take this as a defence of Zelda - I am aware that Oblivion is widely considered a great game and the fact that I’m not into it doesn’t change that, but I am getting from you a smug sense that you know something that I don’t, that I have somehow missed the point, and that irritates me slightly - again, I’m sorry if you didn’t intend to convey that.
And Andy, I’m not at work actually - I go back tomorrow (is it better that I didn’t waste time writing all this at work, or worse that I wasted my free time doing it?)
January 4th, 2007 at 11:18
I encourage you to try any game with good voice acting such as Psychonauts, Knights of the Old Republic, Neverwinter Nights 2 or most games released in 2006. I didn’t want to focus on voice acting too much, I just feel it serves as a good example of one area where the series has rested on it laurels.
“I am getting from you a smug sense that you know something that I don’t, that I have somehow missed the point, and that irritates me slightly”
Well I’d be lying if I said you haven’t missed out but I understand why you are not interested in playing it.
“I still think you’re being a little dismissive of the idea that Oblivion could be anything other than absolutely fantastic, confidently stating that is offers far more than other games”
I actually said “put side by side with Zelda it offers far more”, lets not bring other games into this as my head might explode. When I compare Oblivion and Zelda fairly on their merits Oblivion offers open world free-form gameplay, mission variety and depth, radiant AI and some stunning visuals. You said it yourself “it is true that the Zelda format hasn’t really changed since it went 3D on N64″ and if you have only played Oblivion till just after the sewers you haven’t even scratched the surface of an incredibly deep game that pushes gaming forward in new ways. It is a landmark title and one of the games of the year.
January 4th, 2007 at 11:26
“It is a landmark title and one of the games of the year.” - THE Game of the year if you ask me
Seriously tho, I think you may be putting a little too much emphasis on voice acting (far from me to say its bad, afterall, i may end up making some money out of it in the future). I love voice acting, but i usually end up putting on subs and skipping a chunk of it purely because it elongates an already long game! I also think that in a way, the lack of voice acting in Zelda is part of it’s charm, as it allows you to imagine the voices in much the same way as when reading a book!
Saying all that, having the option would be nice! Maybe it’ll be in the next one
January 4th, 2007 at 11:49
I shouldn’t have mentioned voice acting, I knew this would happen. It’s just ONE EXAMPLE OF MANY things that need updating in the series.
January 4th, 2007 at 11:52
lol - dont get so worked up! :p
January 4th, 2007 at 19:07
“if you have only played Oblivion till just after the sewers you haven’t even scratched the surface of an incredibly deep game…”
Deep it may be, but it’s still not for me! Which means it’s not a good game in my opinion.
“…that pushes gaming forward in new ways. It is a landmark title and one of the games of the year”
I’m afraid that no number of cliches is going to sell the game to me, John - but I accept your point of view (and the fact that I’m possibly in the minority of PC gamers here).
Regards the games you mentioned to have good voice acting, Psychonauts has been on my list of games to play for more than a year - I shall try to get onto it soon! KOTOR has been recently added to the same list following recommendations from a few people.
One last thing…
“I shouldn’t have mentioned voice acting, I knew this would happen. It’s just ONE EXAMPLE OF MANY things that need updating in the series.”
So if it wasn’t the biggest thing missing from Zelda, why mention it to the exclusion of other, more important things? :p
(Incidentally, I know you said from the beginning that was just one thing and that you could go on (though you haven’t!), and never took it to be the ONE thing that was turning you off.)
January 4th, 2007 at 19:42