This week, gamevain is back! We’re doing things! How exciting is this!?! We’re publishing a Nintendo Podcast this time!

Expect conversation about Fire Emblem, Harvest Moon, and the future of the Wii U, direct to you!

Staring: Mike & Tom

Direct download here!

Subscribe on iTunes here!

We start a podcast, and are already late on the next episode. We banged out two solid weeks of content, and are never seen again. We promise new and nifty features, and give you nothing. Gamevain.com is the Wii U of blogs, and like the Wii U, the man responsible is issuing a deep bow, a healthy dose of humility, and a sincere apology.

But, also like the Wii U, the features on the horizon might actually end up being worth the wait. In the coming months we are going to be comitting to a more regular podcast schedule in hopes to make sure there’s at least podcast content every week. I am taking the time to delegate site’s work to give you a larger variety of content, so expect to see video series, micro podcasts, and some more regular features.

Finally, we’re going to be placing a greater focus on the meat of the indie blog: the content creators. Lets face it, there’s hundreds of other options on the internet to get gaming news from. You don’t need another, and you probably don’t want one either. So while we are not going to be doing news features again, we’re going to use this as an opportunity to help you, the reader, get to know us better. Our focus will be at a more community level: so expect to see more podcast reachout and possibly gamevain game nights.

The internet is a huge ocean, and we may not have made a huge splash, but we’re hear to stay no matter what.

Most other shooters leave Dust in the dust.

So with the release of the PSN’s newest Free-To-Play first person shooter Dust 514 in-bound, I thought I would make my sentiments on the game very clear.  Here’s my general summary sent to the developers of Dust 514 after filling out my survey of the beta.  Because the game hasn’t officially been released yet, I can’t give a full-on review of the game (it wouldn’t be totally fair).  However, the beta does give players an accurate description of what the final game will be like in terms of the core gameplay and control mechanics.  So without further ado, here are my thoughts:

The controls feel incredibly stiff and lack the polish and refinement seen in many shooters on today’s market.  The graphics are also very sub-standard for a late entry into this generation of console shooters, with textures being bland and character models unimpressive.  The microtransactions do not give the player a sense of accomplishment, especially when the whole idea of dropsuits is to make the player not only lose their items and augments that they have purchased either with in-game currency or real money upon death, but to waste time grinding up to better gear – only to lose it all over again when faced with a player who is at a higher skill set and equipment level than you.  The inter-connectivity to the EVE universe is a very unique and promising metagame, but unfortunately it’s hampered by poor controls and gameplay decisions.

This is no Killzone – the graphics should have been your first clue.

There’s really not much else to say.  I gave the game poor remarks overall when filling out the survey, and would probably have blasted the game even more if it were a retail game rather than F2P.  That being said, making the game into a retail game would probably have been the better option, as gameplay decisions like microtransactions and the idea of losing equipment upon death in any given match would not have been implemented since the developers wouldn’t have had to find some way to make more money.  Still, the game is inexcusable in it’s crummy control and gameplay mechanics even if it is F2P.

If you’re looking for a good sci-fi multiplayer shooter, you’re barking up the wrong tree here.  Do yourself a favor and download the free Killzone 3 multiplayer mode where you can level to level 14 at no cost, and then buy the thing outright for $16.  You’ll find a much better sci-fi shooter experience than this pile of garbage.

We’ve been at this for a while now actually

You guys never asked me for a podcast, but you can sure as hell bet I want to do one.

So here it is: the first episode of Gamevain The Podcast I felt we could submit to your ear holes.

You can find it available for a listen here

Or subscribe on iTunes here!

OR just listen to it in your goddamn browser (but lets face it, who the fuck does that?)

The countdown has already begun!

Starcraft II:  Heart Of The Swarm isn’t even a month old, but that didn’t stop Blizzard from detailing the last expansion in the Starcraft II trilogy – Legacy Of The Void.  GameVain has the scoop (along with the rest of the video game news world) and I’m happy as a pig in shit to detail it with you since I love the series.

*WARNING -  Paragraph ahead contains minor plot spoilers to Heart Of The Swarm*

Picking up where the Heart of the Swarm campaign left off, Sarah Kerrigan – now an even more powerful Queen of Blades than before – sets off with her Swarm to hunt for the mysterious Amon, an ancient Xel’Naga being that supposedly predates the first Overmind and has been resurrected to take control of the entire universe.  Well, at least the guy has ambition I’ll give him that much.  To be honest, I’m rather excited to see the resolution to the whole story and the history of the Xel’Naga.  Zeratul’s missions in Wings of Liberty, and his cryptic messages to Kerrigan have provided clues about what lie ahead for everyone in the upcoming expansion, but there are A LOT of unanswered questions with this race and Amon.  Kerrigan supposedly has a role to play in Amon’s destruction, that much is known from Wings of Liberty where Zeratul himself told Raynor to spare her life else the entire universe is destroyed.  My concern though is the main character for LotV – Zeratul.  Whereas Raynor and Kerrigan had a lot of character development to support their actions, little is known about Zeratul save the fact he’s a badass Dark Templar who can go toe-to-toe with Kerrigan and live to tell the tale.  Outcast from his race for reasons unknown, his story might be interesting, except half the entire Starcraft storyline has been about the relationship between Raynor and Kerrigan.  It’ll be interesting to see where Blizzard takes it.

Zeratul’s turn in the spotlight finally.

Blizzard’s creative director Ken Levine wasn’t exactly forthcoming about any plot spoilers either, although he did assure gamers that Zeratul would make for an interesting main character.  “I understand people have this view of Zertaul that, while he’s a cool fighter and is so mysterious, he has the emotional capacity of Keanu Reeves”  Levine said.  “When you look at his backstory, you realize how much he was shitted on by his own race, and we’re confident gamers will gravitate towards him just like they did Raynor and Kerrigan.”  Hey, as long as there’s more of him leaping in the air and kicking some Xel’Naga ass, I don’t mind!  And speaking of the main bad guys you’re going against, what races exactly will be your enemy this time around?  “Well the Xel’Naga used to actually subjugate all of the universe’s races, which is why they were after the Zerg to begin with.  So in the main campaign, you’ll be seeing enemy forces with a mix of Terran, Protoss, and Zerg all in one”  Levine explained.  “This will actually make players really think about tactics in the campaign, as opposed to just going A and Right-clicking their way through the singleplayer campaign.”

But what about multiplayer?  Here’s where things get a little annoying for the gaming community in general it seems.  “We are doing a separate multiplayer and single-player release for this game” Levine stated.  “I know fans are going to be angry, but we feel it’s best for the community as a whole.”  Asked to elaborate, Levine went on the say, “We’re seeing HotS [Heart of the Swarm] sales doing alright, but when we take a closer look at the numbers, we’re actually seeing a massive discrepancy to the people who are online and playing, and the actual number of units moved.  Basically, HotS turned out to be a very heavily pirated game despite what the sales figures tell you, so we’re making the shift to separate releases in order to have the multiplayer component require a constant internet connection [editor's note: aka DRM].  The singleplayer game won’t.  We felt this was a nice compromise for players as opposed to them getting fucked over the way they were with Diablo 3 and SimCity.  The pricing will reflect a change in the content, so each release will only cost $30 a piece as opposed to $40 for HotS.”

Shot of a yet unnamed Protoss unit similar in style to a Carrier.

Unfortunately, that means people who want to buy both versions (and that includes pretty much everyone) will have to pony up $60 for the entire package.  “Well console games cost $60 now, so why not this game?  People will still buy it”  Levine emphasized.  Yes, people will still buy it, but that’s still a crappy way to market the game.  Oy, I digress.  That’s another topic for another day.

Asked about changes to multiplayer and release dates, Levine was more noncommittal.  “Well we’re still working on tweaking the units and adding in new ones.  We’re getting a lot of player feedback from HotS, especially with this expansion being Protoss-specific, we’re actually focus-testing the units first with Team Liquid”  Levine stated.  For those of you who don’t know, Team Liquid is a top-tier Starcraft clan whose players primarily specialize in Protoss strategies for online play.  “We know they’re a huge group of dedicated, core players, and they’re the ones we want to appeal, not really anyone casual.  So we’re taking their suggestions really to heart.”  One of the newest confirmed units on the Protoss side apparently will be the Xel’Naga Fanatic, an evolved form of the Zealot.  It looks like it’s Blizzard’s way of making the Zealot a viable late-game unit, as they are effective against both light AND armored opponents – something not really seen in the unit list very often.  They will also have the ability to teleport to their target from long distance, enabling them to act as blitzing units and bounce from target to target in the blink of an eye (no pun intended).  I guess we can officially say goodbye to that annoying MM ball the Terrans use…but probably not.

Template for the new Xel’Naga Fanatic perhaps?

And finally here’s the kicker – the game is set to release in a year!  “When we made the announcement several years ago that Starcraft II would be split into three games, there was a lot of negative emotion to say the least *chuckling*.  Once we finished WoL, we set to work on the next two installments Peter Jackson-style and pushed to make them released within a year of one another.”  When asked about giving gamers time to enjoy the game and the impact it would have on tournament scheduling, Levine just shrugged his shoulders and said, “Fuck it we just want the money.”  I think he was dead serious too.

So all in all, the game sounds interesting, but I do have my reservations with the whole split package deal of the game.  In my opinion, because that’s what you came here for, Blizzard needs to be careful about the timing of the game, especially the multiplayer.  They could very well release the game, but only the singleplayer portion gets bought as the competitive players stick to HotS for a little while longer before diving into LotV.  I guess time will tell though.  Until then, we’ll be left until E3 of this year wanting for more details on units and gameplay.

In the meantime, check out the announcement trailer and full interview with Ken Levine in the link below.  En Taro Tassadar baby!

http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/games/lotv/

Edit:  If you haven’t figured it out by the link, yes, this is an April Fool’s joke.  Rick Roll aside, Ken Levine is actually the creative director of by Bioshock franchise, the above template is actually for the Starcraft II Dark Templar, and the “unknown ships” in the picture above are in fact earlier models of the Carrier Protoss unit.  And no, Blizzard wouldn’t be so stupid as to split their game into singleplayer and multiplayer packages…yet.

I am using this post to announce that I’m going to be taking a break from hardcore gaming for a while. Not gamevain.com, but just hardcore gaming. While games are certainly a huge part of my life, and will continue to remain so, I think there comes a time when you need to step back and look at the big picture of what you want to accomplish in life. For me, I dream big. I want to develop a game, and it’s nearly impossible to develop a game when you can’t stop playing the fucking things. It’s also impossible to spend any amount of timing writing for a proper gaming blog if I can’t pull myself away from 11 hour marathon sessions of FTL. Where the fuck I even found 11 hours is beyond me, but I’m on a massive sleep deficit, I work 40+ hours a week, and I have too much else I want to do with my life at the moment.

That said, my desire to take a gaming break for a bit also comes from a desire to enjoy playing games again. If you saw my games of the generation article (please read, I measure my self worth by your page views), you will probably notice that my tastes are a little odd. This is because I have spent too much time playing games to the point where really good, highly polished, AAA experiences have become less fun for me. Nowadays I tend to be only entertained if a game is doing something new and interesting, regardless of the actual polish level of the product. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but when I can sit on a game like Bioshock Infinite and have no freakin’ desire to even load it up because I’m jacking off my beam saber in No More Heroes 2, something is going wrong.

Of course, maybe this is just a permeant change in my tastes of games. Who really knows. What I do know is that I have books to read, languages to learn, and scripts to write, and I can’t do any of that when I have four consoles on hand at any given time.

Into the unknown I ride

Two weeks ago, I asked the Gamevain staff to write up their picks for games of the generation. Per my usual, I gave as little restrictions as possible, because I will publish anything. The result has exceeded my expectations. Mark kicked us off with some amazing titles that will be remembered for years. Anne Marie reminded us that influential can come from the most humble origins, and Austin removed generational barriers to bring us a fantastic lineup that will continue to shape how games are made.

So what does that leave me with?

I’ve been called a video game hipster before, and by looking at my list, I would be hard pressed to argue against that accusation. My own personal tastes in games does tend to fall into the indie territory. Even for my non indie picks, they certainly are not mainstream. I think this has less to do with my love of indie and more for my love of retro games. I enjoy arcade style games that want you to dump more quarters into it because they’re unfair. I adore old style graphics because of the range of emotions that can be expressed with pixels. I especially am fond of demonstrations of putting fun before all other aspects. With those ideals in mind, lets look at my personal picks for the games of the generation.

Either way, Lollipop Chainsaw is pure throwback arcade fun. Points are given for just about everything, style is more important than practicality, and chopping up tons of Evil Dead style zombies with a chainsaw will paint a smile on your face while the game kills you over and over again for being stupid. Plus the pop soundtrack is too freakin’ good. If you want to only enjoy it on that level, you certainly can.

Or you can acknowledge the fact that the game’s heroine is a hot girl who is being treated like a piece of meat, the male love interest is objectified (he becomes a powerup), and the first boss shouts sexist insults like “whore” and “cocksucker” and uses those words as literal weapons. The result of these two styles blended together is a unique experience that proves you don’t have to sacrifice fun to make a statement.

When you take history into account, you’ll see remarkable things that seem to pop out of nowhere or that things happen all of a sudden that will shape how the future generation lives. Those things happen in the video game industry too. Games like Pacman, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, and etc. were so big, they were like shouting at the whole world with a blow horn. They made this huge impact to kids everywhere, even making them decide how they see themselves in the future. Well, it’s the 21st century, and boy how things have changed. Sure enough there isn’t just one game that really stood out. For the console generation, there are hundreds and maybe even thousands that could fall under the category of forever imprinting itself in our psyche. With everyone having their own games that changed their lives, I’ll show you 5 games that made a difference to me.

Tekken Series 

First up, we’ve got the massively well-known arcade style fighting game Tekken. Now, Tekken, the very first one, came out way back in the mid-’90s where Sony just released its own console for the first time generating a number of buzz for being cheaper than its rivals. Tekken was originally released as an arcade game, but was soon made into a port for the Sony PlayStation. The difference between Tekken and other arcade games of the time is that it was entirely in 3D. Tekken gave us its famous(or maybe infamous) line-up of playable characters such as Paul Phoenix, Marshall Law, Jack, Heihachi and Kazuya Mishima. Although these aren’t your run-on-the-mill characters like the ones in Street Fighter or Marvel vs. Capcom, but they were as popular their competition. Tekken would grow into a hugely revered franchise in the future, creating 5 sequels and a handful of spin-off series.

One of the earlier sequels, Tekken 3, was so popular, it became the more notable Tekken game in the entire series. It introduced so many characters that you literally can’t pick a favorite. Only a few characters from the two previous games were kept and a whole new lot was introduced. Characters like Eddy Gordo, King, Forest Law, Jin Kazama and so many more. Ultimately, this series of games just had you fighting your brother, girlfriend, bestfriend, and even total strangers (if you’re into that sort of stuff) with their two-player game mode. I know, other arcade games are like that but for me, Tekken had me on my controller and just moving around like an idiot trying to dodge whatever attack was being made in the game.

Tekken would even go as far as to merge in a crossover with its rival, Street Fighter, in the 2012 game Street Fighter X Tekken. Basically pitting 55 characters from both series plus guest characters against each other in an absolute chaos of a game, in a good way.

Resident Evil

Resident Evil scared the piss out of me and pretty much every kid that first put this game in their console. It basically created its own genre that future games would follow it in its footsteps. Survival Horror games immediately became popular after the release of Resident Evil in 1996 by Capcom. Sony PlayStation had first dibs on it for sometime then ports were made for Sega Saturn and Windows. When someone says Resident Evil, its synonymous with zombies. Zombies. How awesome was that? And at the same time, the most terrifying notion in a video game ever.  Gameplay was simple, 3rd-person view running around in a mansion shooting(or if you were like me, avoiding) every undead, zombie dogs, and all manner of grotesques that the mansion you are in is throwing at you.

Obviously graphics has changed a lot, but clearly at the time, it was the best. All the way to the details such as the blood splattering on the screen. Let me tell you, it was better than in Mortal Kombat. The best part is when the realization that you have no ammo comes in. Your goal now after figuring that out, is to look for some in surprisingly well-hid areas AND they sometimes drop from defeated enemies. Like zombies know that you’d be looking for ammo and they just picked it up. But really though, you’ll agree with me that even a box of 9mm will get you through a lot in this game.

Call of Duty: Black Ops

First-person shooters have been around since the arcade era where you would have to point a plastic gun to the screen for you to be able to shoot. But for those who are part of the console generation, you can remember the few first-person franchises that cast a shadow over the ones not fortunate enough to be as popular. Top 2 would have to be the Call of Duty series and the Medal of Honor series. Now, the Call of Duty series has obviously been making games prior to Black Ops, but they weren’t as interesting or as fun. When Black Ops was released on November of 2010, it wasn’t until sometime when the whole world was in on it. Everyone thought it would be another flunk, until they played multiplayer.

Every person from every country was playing Black Ops on their PlayStation 3 or their XBox 360 and it just grew from their. Normally, it would be just guys between the ages of 15-35, but when Black Ops was out, kids, and girls of different ages were into it, even celebrities. Something was definitely different that set Black Ops apart from its predecessor and its competition. You know what, just watch some gameplay videos here with some commentary from one of the game designers. You probably don’t even have to watch it, most likely you’ve played some Black Ops yourself.

Grand Theft Auto III

Rockstar North is famous for its Grand Theft Auto series that introduced the notion of open world games where literally you get to explore a never-ending space with almost actual people in it that reacts to what you do. Rockstar North did not introduce this though, not until 2001 when they released a 3rd sequel to their already successful GTA series for the Sony PlayStation 2. Regarding the first two GTAs, it was not in any way a 3D third-person shooter, unlike the GTAs of today. They were just top-down view games that also had the same elements as the 3rd Grand Theft Auto but lacked 3-dimensional aspects.

Grand Theft Auto III also gave us the lovable Claude, whose story greatly intertwines with the lives of future protagonists in the Grand Theft Auto games within the Sony PS2 “canon.” At the very beginning, you an already decide if you want to go and play the story, diverge a little to see what else you can do, or just completely get off track and run amok hitting pedestrians, getting into car chases with the police, shooting everything that moves.

Grand Theft Auto III was highly criticized as being too violent with images of gore and the constant cursing in the dialogue. Developers, Publishers, and Fans alike just ignored it and kept making more sequels with better quality and story

The Walking Dead: The Game

By now, everyone has heard of The Walking Dead, be it from the insanely priced comic books from Image Comics, the award-winning tv show of the same name from AMC, or even when you played this game courtesy of our buds from TellTale Games. First thing you need to know, it’s all about zombies. Not like Resident Evil though, it isn’t the zombie that matters, its how the characters deal with what has happened to the world and how they react to everyone else that survives the zombie apocalypse.

The comic book follows a man waking up from a coma and finding out that his world has changed dramatically, same thing for the tv show as it was based on the comic books. In the game though, we see a new protagonists whose story unravels as you progress through the game. The game is divided into 5 “episodes” as done in previous games from Telltale. As each episode ends, you are left guessing the fate of the characters. As you play the game, you get attached to certain characters that you’d eventually cry after finding out some or all of them may die.

The game is focused on character development through the progression of the story, what you decide or not decide to do in the game will ultimately have consequences in future episodes, some small and some would get you killed. The Walking Dead: The Game delivers so much detail and emotion that it has fans all over the world wanting more. Eventually winning the game of the year award.

There is a fine line in the sand when it comes to casual and hardcore gamers, the definitions of both are almost finite with very few occasions where both can play a game and find great amusement out of it or both sit there and say at the same time this is shit. Usually a game has to be basic enough and take as minimal time as possible for the casual to get hooked, while have complexities and planning to grab the hardcore gamer and leave them highly addicted.

1. Farmville by Zynga

Farmville was an overnight success, not a terrible game, just not a challenging game. Created for Facebook users to have something to do other than stare at their walls for posts, Farmville was highly addicting and a level playing field for gamers of all ages and experiences. It requires you to play with friends, meaning if you need a pail to milk your cow you have to ask for it and someone has to be kind enough to give it to you. You also perfect time management as you prepare to wait how ever long your plants, animals, and trees take to be ready for harvesting. Yes, I know players who have their days literally planned around how long it takes for their roses to bloom, in conjunction to their cows ready for milking, and lets not forget the sheep need shearing. It’s addictingly adorable graphics and it’s user friendly interface allows casual gamers to figure out the game as quickly as the most hardened and advanced hardcore gamer.

2. Angry Birds by Rovio

Phones and tablets everywhere have at least one version or one demo of this game at one point in time. There are several different versions of Angry Birds, they’re rumored to be scheduled for the consoles, and they have a plushy toy line that could make anyone but the Teddy Bear envious. It’s literally a game where you slingshot little birds of varying “powers” at horribly made bases filled with green piggies to retrieve their eggs back. Kiss was used heavily when developing this game! (Kiss= Keep It Simple Stupid!) You can earn stars and bonus points for saving as many of the birds as possible, taking out as many piggies as possible with one bird, and all kinds of craziness.

3. Fruit Ninja!

Fruit Ninja is one of the few games that makes declaring war on delicious and healthy fruits as much fun. On your phone or tablet they shoot fruit and bombs in the air, you must slice across the screen cutting the fruit and missing the bombs. If a fruit does not get sliced you get an x, three x’s and your done. My current score is 354 sliced fruits and yes, I’m quite proud of this. Now, this isn’t a game I’m going to tell you to stop playing Call of Duty for, I’d do that without a replacement game, but it’s definitely fun for when you’re on the road (not driving of course) and need something to do. This is probably one of the most casual games on the list.

4. Words with Friends by Zynga

When we were younger, who didn’t love a game of scrabble? Now the game has gone electronic and the addicting fun of out witting a person with 7 selected letters has returned. So, the real question to the gamers, hardcore and casual alike, what words can you make with Q W R E T Y A? This game is a beloved challenge by all in who is the smartest.

5. Song Pop by Fresh Planet Inc.

What do you get when you mix a challenge and music together? That’s right, SongPop! Challenge not just your friends and family, but people from anywhere to a game of who knows more music than who! Which, while it’s fun to see the various music selections they have (and there is a very long list), the novelty runs thin very quickly because not all the music played is necessarily good music (I hate Glee even more because of this game now). It’s not a terrible game, but it’s very easy to memorize the lists that you receive of songs for each genre and win on pure speed alone. Very much a casual gamer game, definitely not something to keep the attention of a hardcore gamer by any means except the good music and the video game music genre.

As the sun sets on this generation, Minecraft takes top honors.

With the dawn of a new generation looming, GameVain writers will take a moment throughout the week to share their thoughts about the games and franchises of this console generation.

Minecraft

This is probably one of the easier ones for me to list, considering everyone who’s played it has walked away somewhere around 9 hours later has realized the ingeniousness of this game.  Minecraft is a game that calls to mind a time when video games were simple and drew you in with your imagination.  The hardest tool that this game makes the player use is their imagination; to escape from or fight undead monsters nonetheless!  You want a venerable fortress to protect yourself and your possessions from hordes of skeletons and zombies?  Build it!  You want to live like a dwarf in a mountain during the day and hunt for creepers at night?  Go ahead!  To be able to do these things in an online community with your friends is the icing on the cake.  The game, being already addicting during the beta, has seen enormous growth since it’s official release, complete with objectives and an end game that is still being expanded upon and updated.  Minecraft is a sandbox game to the truest form of the word, letting players use their imaginations to create their own world that they see fit, and should quite honestly be in the consideration for the top ten games of all time, let alone this generation.

A universe for the saving? Sign me up!

Mass Effect

Science fiction is a genre normally seen as being too convoluted for its own good.  Because it involves heavy doses of a thing called “science” (go figure), writers need to balance crafting a believable story in a world that plays by different rules than what we’re used to.  When its done to great effect, you have franchises like Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, and Halo.  Poor science fiction exists in much greater quantity, and listing it all would take up too many lines for this article (although special consideration has to be given for Anarchy Online, which is somehow still alive, albeit with a very small community).  So when excellent science fiction rears its head, and obtains more than just a cult following, it’s something to be considered. The Mass Effect series has done just that for this generation – bringing in players of all types with a believable, well-crafted universe and a storyline that will have players talking about for years.

Mass Effect started off special because from the very beginning, players were told their decisions in the game would matter, and not just in a karma good/evil sort of way, but individual choices that would impact things from the smallest details to the ending itself.  While some people still cry foul over the ending choices presented to them – get over it, after the endings were patched and updated, they made sense and gave much needed closure – it’s because the players genuinely cared about the universe they participated in for three separate installments.  For a majority, their Commander Shepherd was a personification of themselves.  Their decisions were ones they may have made themselves if given the opportunity.  The crew Shepherd commanded became as known to them as their friends – so much so that players would replay the ending sequence to the second Mass Effect game not because they just wanted to get the perfect ending, but so that their favorite character wouldn’t permanently die.  And that’s not even talking about the gameplay, which was a brilliant combination of RPG and shooter elements that made players enjoy firefights rather than see them as a hindrance to the story.

Hacking and more multiplayer game types are prominent in the Mass Effect series.

The writing for video games has come a long way from the days of the NES, and the Mass Effect series exemplifies this evolution.  The whole “save the universe” plotline suddenly seems like a giant burden when your home and the lives of your teammates are at stake.  Character development goes a long way towards making players want to invest in the story, and just like another game being covered by a member of this staff, Mass Effect does it brilliantly.

Call of Duty takes this generation’s top FPS for its fast-paced 60 fps gameplay and addicting multiplayer.

Call Of Duty

Call of Duty started out as a fresh face in the tired world of WWII shooters at the tail end of the last generation.  It gave players a cinematic action-packed experience that previous shooters were lacking, and when Call of Duty 4: Modern Warefare came out, it took action and online multiplayer to a whole new level.  Running at sixty frames per second, Modern Warfare created a new standard for the FPS genre, and has somehow managed to surpass the Halo series the go-to shooter.  Of course, it helps that a new installment comes out every year, but that’s besides the point, and a whole different article.

Packing more scripted action sequences than a Michael Bay film, the Call of Duty series redefined FPS storytelling, and its installments have even made gamers stop and take note of their actions in one memorable sequence involving a Russian airport.  But more importantly than that, the Call of Duty franchise has changed the way online multiplayer is handled with its introduction of leveling and perks – a system designed to keep players coming back for more matches and give them a focus.  While not exactly fulfilling the tactical shooter category, twitch gamers everywhere have found Call of Duty to be this generation’s shooter of choice.

The gang’s all here for some incredible platforming and ass-kicking.

Assassin’s Creed

If Call of Duty redefined first-person shooters, Assassin’s Creed redefined platforming and stealth.  No longer did players have to hide around corners and wait for guards to turn their backs so they could move in for the kill, instead hiding was done in plain sight.  As the Assassin’s Creed series progressed, so too did all of its gameplay elements.  Blending into crowds and pulling off the perfect assassination became just as fun as leaping from rooftop to rooftop and engaging in combat with a legion of guards.  With the release of the third installment, gameplay was taken to an even different level with the wilderness offering new stealth opportunities and combat continuing to evolve.  Hard to forget the storyline either, with every installment providing both questions and answers, and giving quite an interesting take on the Templars, Assassins, and even certain story written about the Book of Genesis.  The Assassin’s Creed series also redefined platforming, as players no longer had to time jumps or watch for flying medusa heads (and if you don’t get the reference, shame on you).  The puzzle wasn’t trying to figure out how you were going to get from point A to point B, because all the player now had to do is push a few buttons and the assassin of choice in the game did all the work for you.  Suddenly, you were flying through the air, burying your hidden blade into the target, running through a crowded market to evade guards, and jumping into a hay pile all within minutes of each other, and with very little thought given to the controls.  Platforming and action will never be the same.

Open world gameplay, character customization, and tons of sidequests provide endless replayability.

The Elder Scrolls

Ten years ago, the JRPGs were the established tried-and-true format for quality RPGs.  Final Fantasy was king of the hill and turn-based combat the accepted norm.  Western RPGs existed for sure, and the Elder Scrolls series had a solid following behind first Arena and then Daggerfall on the PC.  Morrowind, when it was simultaneously released on the Xbox, began to stir the the pot in the RPG market and make gamers aware there was something different than the linear follow-this-path-and-beat-this-boss mentality.  It wasn’t until Oblivion hit though, that Western RPGs became a force to be reckoned with.  Oblivion, and later Skyrim, gave players numerous ways to play the same game, and become the character they created.  A stealthy assassin?  Go join the Dark Brotherhood.  A noble knight?  Follow the main questline or join the Fighters Guild.  Prefer magic and crafting your own spells?  There’s a Mage’s Guild of some kind for that.  Robust stealth elements, combat that isn’t decided on the basis of a dice roll and the latest gear you could obtain from the town were all breaths of fresh air compared to the standard formula that has been used time and time again since the days of the NES.  Skyrim alone continues to be enjoyed by thousands of players across platforms, especially with the release of new content a full year after its release, and as any RPG fan will tell you, it’s for good reason.

This guy was actually one of the easier bosses in the game. Ugly as sin though.

Demon Souls/Dark Souls

I hesitated to use a platform-exclusive for my final game of choice this generation.  Minecraft at least was eventually released on the Xbox 360, and all the others are multiplatform releases.  Demon Souls however is just too good to pass up, if anything because its release and sales figures show there is a need for a game that is – quite essentially – a kick in the ass.

Understand, there are games that are difficult because they are cheap.  Some games are difficult not because it tested player’s skill in finding a boss’ weakness or overcoming a difficult platforming segment, but by making them ungodly at being able to block and dodge a player’s attack, having players take damage when they’re on the ground and unable to move, or ramping up the damage, health, and number of enemies.  Demon Souls is difficult because every death is marked by a mistake the player made.  Every single enemy faced in the game can be overcome with a little planning and even memorization – just like in the old-school days.  Death is to be a frequent and inevitable thing, and failure to learn from your mistakes will cost you precious experience needed to progress.  To help players through all of this, a brand new way of online play was introduced in the form of fellow players who will help you through the level and take on the boss.  You are rewarded with progression, they are rewarded with experience and their body back, which for them can open up different areas.  The catch?  Other players can invade your game and kill you as well, and none of these players can communicate with you aside from gestures.

With publishers trying to bring in more and more “casual” gamers with games tailored to easier gameplay, it’s refreshing to see a series like the Demon Souls series emerge on the market and have a dedicated following.  It harkens back to the retro days where games were meant to be difficult and require patience, practice, and skill.  Not only that, but it provides a unique co-op experience that shows players are just as willing to work together to achieve a goal as opposed to be locked in a constant state of deathmatch.  This is one of only a very few games of this generation that provides the feeling of accomplishment, of seeing a gigantic boss fall at your feet because you found his weakness and had the skill to exploit it.  Beating the games in this series is a reward in itself – it’s no easy feat, and that makes it all the better.