The Year so Far

I don't just enjoy making games - I really enjoy playing them as well. Last year I set my sights on playing through at least one game per month for the entire year - making a goal of 12 at least, which I easily beat with my final total of 20. This year, I set myself no goal but set out to play as much as possible, and have already beaten 12 games at the halfway mark. Last year's list was quite heavy on the PC side, so I've spent more time playing my Wii this year, and have really enjoyed playing through a number of titles on it. I also very recently purchased my very first handheld gaming system in the form of a Nintendo DS, and even though I've only had it for a few weeks I've already got a couple of games notched up on the "played through" list, and a few more that I've got my heart set on purchasing.

PC:

Indigo Prophecy - After enduring months of nagging from that Ian guy I once mentioned (I swear I was going to buy it eventually anyway) I finally bit the bullet and bought it. And finished it the same day I installed it. A really nice example of a well told story with some interesting gameplay - both adventure and action. The closest thing to this in my collection is Dreamfall - although this was less linear. Nicely executed, and definitely worth the admission price.

Beyond Good and Evil - I was a little unsure what this one would be like, but after playing for about 30 seconds I was already in love. Beautiful environments, characters, soundtrack, graphics, gameplay and story. I'm really starting to grow fond of action adventures, and with games like this it is easy to see why. Lots of fun little sidequests to do, and some very memorable moments. Why aren't there more games like this on PC?

Nintendo Wii:

Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam - Okay, so I played through all but 2 levels last year, and finished it in the first hours of the very first day of 2009. But I still finished it this year, so I'm putting it here. Very different from the regular Tony Hawk's games - both in terms of game style and control, but still quite entertaining. The characters were all amusing, even if they were shameless stereotypes, and there was enough variety in the game modes that it wasn't just a case of "going as fast as possible" each race. Not too difficult, but a few genuine challenges in there to keep one working for it. A successful twist on an established formula.

Guitar Hero: World Tour - It's a little difficult for me to claim that I've 'finished' this one, as I was too stingy to fork out the cash for the microphone and drum kit. But I've played through the guitar and bass sections, so it's as finished as I can get it. Personally, I enjoyed Guitar Hero 3 (the only other plastic guitar game I own) more than this - both the presentation and the song selections felt a little weaker in this one for me. Still, an enjoyable way to keep one's self entertained, and twice as much fun if you get to have a bash at it with some friends.

Prince of Persia: Rival Swords - The last time I played a Prince of Persia game, our hero was running around in a dungeon in his pajamas, dying. A lot. Skip forward a fairly good chunk of years and he's starred in a whole bunch of sequels and reinventions and whatnot, and people like him enough that Ubisoft have decided to let me own one of his adventures on Wii. I thought this was a very nicely done game - I enjoyed Assassin's Creed last year, and this felt quite similar except that the jumpy puzzles were a lot more focused (linear) and the combat was quite different. Lots of nice boss battles (I love boss battles) and lots of nice variation in levels kept me interested in the story until the end. Very cool!

Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip - I really loved the presentation of this game; the smooth, clean visuals oozed style and colour, and the interface was all very friendly. An interesting control method that took some getting used to but was quite effective once learned, and a whole bunch of likeable characters and levels to unlock kept things flowing the whole way through. Good fun all the way.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - I thought this was a fairly nice game. Lots of graphical variation, plenty of moves and abilities to upgrade and a story which was compelling (especially considering that I have now seen all 6 of the movies). It was fun running around and using the force with the Wii controls, and it all worked fairly smoothly... however, I got bored towards the end due to what seemed like repetitive level design. After about the 3rd level each stage seemed like a repeat of a previous one with different graphics. Even the boss battles weren't varied enough to keep things spiced up. Not a bad game, but I felt it needed more variety to live up to it's potential.

Skate It - Three board sport games on Wii this year, and all very different. Skate It was fun the whole way through - the control scheme worked suprisingly well and it was nice to see a skating game with the focus on getting clean lines (as opposed to grinding cemetaries to wake hordes of undead). Heaps of things to keep me busy until well after the final credits rolled, and some of the tricks and lines you have the ability to try are really quite challenging. Less colourful than the other 2 board sport games for the list, but certainly no less fun.

Lego Batman - I really liked both the Star Wars and Indiana Jones Lego games, so I was very pleased to see that this was the same formula with different abilities and therefore new challenges. This game was absolutely packed with things to unlock, and had tons of missions to play through, so it certainly kept me busy for a while. Brand new setting with the same great gameplay and humorous method of story telling - this one appealed to me from the start!

Deadly Creatures - It's quite difficult for me to express exactly how much this game impressed me. The setting was a great idea, the gameplay was balanced beautifully by switching between the two very different 'characters' at the end of each level, and the story was an interesting two layered plot (told from two seperate perspectives (both of which are on one layer)). It has fantastic environments, huge (but real!) bosses, brutal finishing moves and some really great level design. The graphics, music and sound ooze atmosphere and there's a well balanced mix of exploration, fighting and puzzles (if you can even call them that!) that left me feeling completely satisfied by the end.

Nintendo DS:

Professor Layton and the Curious Village - The first game I played on the very first handheld gaming system I ever owned - this one had it's work cut out for it! Thankfully, Layton delivers the goods, and beautifully. It's unashamedly puzzle based, and proper puzzles at that, but it never gets ridiculously convoluted or dull and the story flows at an excellent pace, with plenty of twists and turns (although if you find the clues, it is quite possible to figure out a number of the twists before they're revealed in game). Artwork and music are very compelling and really set the atmosphere, and the characters are all wonderfully memorable (I particularly liked the guy who was always angry). A very enjoyable initiation into handheld gaming.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass - I played my first Zelda game ever last year (Twilight Princess) and I liked it. I really, really liked it. This is my second, and it changes a lot of things from the first game I tried; it has a completely different setting, different graphic style - hell, even the method of control is not even remotely similar to Twilight Princess. Thankfully, however, the magic is still there. I was a little doubtful about the effectiveness of dragging Link around on a touch screen, but it all works beautifully - both combat and puzzling through the game's wonderful dungeons. Despite being a smaller game, it's thankfully still packed full of dungeons and some of the gameplay design really made me stop playing for a minute and appreciate the creativity and thought that has gone into the game. The graphics are completely different in style but still totally adorable, the music is as sublime as it ever was and the gameplay is easily as enjoyable as that in Twilight Princess - and the story, whilst not overly complex compared to some, is still charming and had me laughing out loud in some places. The Legend of Zelda strikes again, and once more I am left watching credits roll with my breath most definitely taken.

It's been a very enjoyable 6 months of gaming for me so far, and I'm really excited about some of the games I hope to purchase for the second half - as well as some of the ones on my "to finish" list that I'm looking forward to going back and finishing. Here's hoping for an equally enjoyable second half of the year!