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Slater's Top Console Games of 2004

post #1 of 20
12/31/04 at 3:01pm
Thread Starter 
Linky-winky.

First off, great article, nicely laid out, with some fun (and accurate, in my humble) picks.


I still haven't finished Halo 2 single player (frankly, I may never finish it), and I don't have the desire to devote much time to the online portion. I think Splinter Cell's multiplayer was much more fun, and hell, I think Riddick easily beats Halo 2 single player. Of course, I realize I'm in the minority, but all my immediate gamer friends feel the same way. Maybe it's something in the water in Georgia...

You almost have me convinced to try GTA:SA and Metroid Prime 2. I know, I know, I've read all the glowing praises, yadda yadda yadda, I just can't seem to get excited about either property. I have a feeling that the way you described the first hours of GTA would be my feelings throughout.

On the console front, I think I had more fun with lesser-hyped games like Riddick, Psi-Ops, The Suffering, and others than I did with any of the big end-of-season games.

Glad you had Sly Cooper on that list, though.
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post #2 of 20
12/31/04 at 3:15pm
Thanks, Singer.

I've got a second article waiting in the wings with random awards for 2004, and The Suffering is my guilty pleasure pick of the year. It's certainly not a good game, but damn if it wasn't a fun one.
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post #3 of 20
12/31/04 at 3:17pm
Oh, and I agonized over giving the #10 spot to Katamari or Riddick. I don't think it holds a candle to Halo 2, but it was *this* close to making my list. Such a cool game.
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post #4 of 20
12/31/04 at 3:25pm
I'd have to agree with Jacob - even with the relatively short singleplayer and lack of multiplay, Riddick just runs circles around Halo 2 for me. Great list overall, Slater. Can't wait for the next list.

Quote:
Why it didn’t rank higher: The game’s only real flaws were an occasionally buggy online experience and a certifiably lame soundtrack packed with whiny emo ballads and a horrendously annoying deejay. Xbox owners had the option of creating their own custom soundtracks, but Gamecube and PS2 gamers were stuck with some of the worst music of the year playing on a continuous loop. Ouch.
Music-ripping on Xbox is someting I wish more game developers would invest in. One of the small things I enjoyed in such a wonderful racing game.
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post #5 of 20
12/31/04 at 3:37pm
Good list, Slater.

By the way, I'm curious to hear your feelings on Prince of Persia: Warrior Within for some reason.
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post #6 of 20
12/31/04 at 3:38pm
I think if you would have played Snakeeater it would have been in your top 5 games of the year. Honestly its that good.

but I'm glad you added Katamari Damacy.. surprisingly I have a friend who has never heard of the title and I plan on letting him play this gem of a game this weekend.
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post #7 of 20
12/31/04 at 3:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gumble2gumble
By the way, I'm curious to hear your feelings on Prince of Persia: Warrior Within for some reason.
From the aforementioned article:

Quote:
Worst Sell-Out: Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
On the other side of the spectrum we have Ubisoft’s Prince, the star of my biggest disappointment of 2004.

See, the original Prince of Persia was brilliant. The game was drenched with an aura of pastel colors and soft focus light, and the soft-spoken Prince’s clever narration and the castle’s gorgeous architecture combined to create a game that felt like a genuine storybook fable come to life. Although the combat was frustrating and more than a little repetitive, the massive environmental puzzles and winning characters more than made up for any problems. All in all, it was one of the best games of the year…that nobody played.

While I initially applauded Ubisoft’s decision to forge ahead with a sequel, I didn’t expect them to completely rape the franchise. Yet that’s exactly what happened with Warrior Within, which feels like less of a game and more of a big, fat middle finger aimed directly at fans of the original.

The likeable, charming Prince? Gone, replaced by an arrogant, angsty little bastard who likes to curse and belittle his enemies constantly in battle (if you think “I’m the Prince of Persia…and the King of Swords!” is a lame-ass quip, wait until you hear it for the ninety-third time). The focus on fantastic acrobatics and intelligent exploration? Gone, replaced by hours upon hours of generic hacking and slashing. The lighthearted fantasy tone? Gone, replaced by geysers of spouting blood and women whose ass-cheeks hang out of their ridiculous metal corsets. The haunting atmosphere and memorable art direction? Gone, replaced by generic grim-n-gritty dungeons and squealing buttrock from awful bands like Godsmack. The surprising and moving story of a kid trying to set the past right in order to save the future? Gone, replaced by the tale of a whiny little douchebag who is only out to save his own neck.

Seriously, Ubisoft, you’re one of the best development houses on the planet. This kind of blatant pandering to the Mortal Kombat crowd is a slap in the face of anybody who played and enjoyed the original game, and this kind of nonsense is way beneath your talents. Grow up.
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post #8 of 20
12/31/04 at 3:48pm
It's like you reached into my mind, pulled out my exact thoughts about Prince of Persia, added a few references to anal raping, and then posted them. wow.

in related news i completely ignored every new game released after HL2 and bought Morrowind to play over the holidays, which i am now horribly addicted to. it's wonderful (and my pc finally has the power to play the fucking thing).

Good to hear that stuff about Riddick. i shall pick it up after a couple hundred hours stat gathering.
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post #9 of 20
12/31/04 at 4:42pm
Great article, agreed with everything except Spidey 2 and Paper Mario, I don't think they would even make my top twenty. GTA gets my number one, but I sure spend a lot more time playing Halo, and I don't even have Live.
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post #10 of 20
12/31/04 at 7:04pm
Great article, great writing. You are my favorite CHUD writer and pants shitter.
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post #11 of 20
12/31/04 at 10:37pm
Mother flippin' Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater should've been on the list

Pity you didn't play it so you could have used it Slater, oh well.......

Hell yeah NY should learn to hold balloons......
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post #12 of 20
12/31/04 at 10:57pm
GTA San Andreas was good, but for some reason I found its replay value to be sufficiently decreased from Vice City. I must have spent two months after I beat Vice City just driving around running over people. When I beat San Andreas, that was pretty much it. I haven't really touched it since.
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post #13 of 20
1/1/05 at 1:43am
Replace Spider Man 2 with Snake Eater or Riddick, and you have a truly excellent list. Also, great take on Prince of Persia. Exactly my thoughts. A friend of mine does not understand why I don't like it. I'll have to send it to him.
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post #14 of 20
1/3/05 at 1:35pm
You're damn right Katamari Damacy is one of the best games of the year. Great work, Slater. I really, really want Burnout 3 now even though I have my big pile of Christmas games to get through.
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post #15 of 20
1/3/05 at 2:52pm
I read the list over the weekend but I didn't take the time to comment on it. It's very well put together and very diverse and slater definitely knows his stuff. Great list. I'm glad Paper Mario made it on there. It really is a pretty special game. Of course, like most other games I own I have yet to finish it. Eventually I will... I hope. I also agree that the tune ripping is one of the best things to happen to console gaming in a while and helps the xbox stand out a bit more when lumped in with the others. Not once have I played Burnout 3 with the built in songs. Blech!

After reading the little warrior Within tidbit I'm really looking forward to checking out the next article when it shows up. Should be a fun read. I'm one of the nobodies who never played the Sands of Time. I'll get around to it eventually... I hope.

Great work once again Slater. Here's to hoping that CHUD Gaming has a happy and healthy 2005. With you at the reigns we'll all be in for a treat.
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post #16 of 20
1/3/05 at 4:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gravedigger
You're damn right Katamari Damacy is one of the best games of the year.
Used a Christmas gift card and picked this up yesterday, what a fucking strange, neat, bizarre, fun, colorful, freaky game this is.
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post #17 of 20
1/3/05 at 5:50pm
I must be sick, because I'm actually sort of enjoying the old-school charm of LOTR: The Third Age. Maybe it's because I never played a Final Fantasy game before. Well, I played about 30 minutes of Final Fantasy 7 on the original Playstation years ago, but that was it. This is bringing back warm fuzzy memories of the original Bard's Tale and Shining Force. I like turn based combat.

It really does have issues:
1. Save points. I hate save points. Let me save anywhere. Please. I was up way too late last night at Helm's Deep simply because once the battle starts, you're in for a LONG haul before you get a chance to save again.
2. Weird shoehorning of dialogue taken directly from the films coming out of rendered characters mouths in a completely different setting.
3. No economy/shops. Semi-random accumulation of new weapons and armor instead of planning for and purchasing them.
4. Character advancement moves at a pretty good clip, but it's taking forever to unlock the more powerful abilities.
5. Playing as completely transparent and pale imitations of the Fellowship. Your plot is so much lamer than the real plot.
6. The special effects, while great, tend to become frustrating about the 10,000th time you have to sit through a "Murder of Crows" attack.

Pros:
1. No long loading times. KOTOR2, I'm looking at you.
2. Evil Mode, while much more could have been done with it, is a fun diversion.
3. Some pretty spectacular special effects. Love the Balrog.
4. McKellan's narration. Okay, sometimes he sounds bored to tears and is obviously there because of the paycheck and/or contractual obligation, but he still exudes class.

But, strangely enough, I can't stop playing the damn thing. I put KOTOR 2 back on the shelf where it will probably stay until I beat this.
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post #18 of 20
1/3/05 at 7:15pm
holy jesus...I just may avoid Prince of Persia 2 after reading that article. At least I still got my copy of 1 stashed away. nice read slater.
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post #19 of 20
1/3/05 at 7:30pm
RE: Prince of Persia

You know, the saddest part of this is that in the month or so it's been out, Warrior Within has already outsold the original. Sell out of the year indeed.


RE: Katamari Damacy

YES.


RE: Spiderman 2

Good, i'm not the only one still playing that game JUSt for the webswinging.

Probably my favorite bit of fucking around in that game past the point of missions and challenge points and whatnot is trying to make my way to the Statue of Liberty, and watching the sun rise from the torch. Pointless, yet so satisfying.


RE: The second 2004 Year In Games article

If I can make a suggestion, old-school gamers really should thank Capcom for last year. Packaging every Megaman game, every Street Fighter (in a roundabout way), and a treasure trove of bonuses for each one for $30 a pop was a digital love letter of the best kind.

I still wish Konami would get off their DDR whoring asses and do the same for Castlevania.
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post #20 of 20
1/4/05 at 5:25pm
"Solid Snake’s silly 'avoid the evil cone of vision' style of gaming".

If you haven't been convinced to give MGS 3 a chance yet Slater, I think you might be a little surprised...

Personally, I like both series (MGS and Splinter Cell) - I'm just not sure which I like more at this point. They both have their positives and negatives.

I don't (like to) play online games, so that aspect of SP:PT is lost on me. Also prime reason #1 why I don't care for Halo 2. Let's just say I'm not too happy with the recent trend of some developers spending seemingly 90% of their time on online play, and only 10% on the actual story, single player mode, offline multi-player, etc.
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