Wade's Top 10 Games of the Past Generation
Posted by Wade Mendham (follow me @Waderman)
Ahoy Maniacs! To celebrate the end of the current gaming console generation (and to welcome this new generation) each of the editors at Neon Maniacs.com decided to write about their favourite games released during that time! We'll also throw in some discussion of some fun extra stuff, too.
First up, our tech guru (and big time game enthusiast) Wade Mendham gives us his list!
TOP TEN GAMES OF THE PAST GENERATION
10 – Metal Gear Solid 4 – What I want from a Sony exclusive game. Deep, Japanese, ridiculous; I love it.
9 - Gears of War – I can see how most will prefer the second, but the original is what got me first. The formula didn’t change enough between games but that could be because it was already perfect. I feel like it was this generation’s Halo.
8 - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – The game that started the big trend this gen - for better or worse. Too much time has been spent in that multi not to give it props.
7 - Mirrors Edge – Pretty innovative gameplay that I haven’t even seen attempted in other games. It was hard but rewarding and beautiful in its own way. Not as refined as it should be (which should have come in a sequel by now), but it still holds its own.
6 - Dead Space – The RE4 successor we wanted. Best survival/action horror game this gen.
5 - The Last of Us – Shows that games can be more than just ’fun’; they can be rewarding and fulfilling. It really hit me in the feels. The combat is the best I think Naughty Dog has done - due to the expanded options given in those tense situations.
4 - Portal 2 - The story is amazing and while the gameplay is not that much of a jump from the first, it felt fuller and more fleshed out.
3 - Mass Effect – Even though second was technically superior through tightened combat, the story affected me more because it was the first - it had to introduce the world. Simplified combat made it more than just a shooter, made the biotics feel more important.
2 - Assassin’s Creed 2 – What the first game should have been. It had a great world with innovative gameplay. The game is a a major bullet point that has defined this generation for me. It also shows the beauty of Italy in great detail, something as gamers we should be proud of.
1 - Bioshock – Story and gameplay so thoughtfully interwoven. Opening sequence will forever be burned into my memory, timeless, beyond that generation and the medium yet only possible in video games.
Best game from the gen behind
Super Mario Galaxy – Waggle doesn’t compete with HD yet Nintendo made a great game with what it had. It shows that all you really need is an analog stick or d-pad and two buttons.
Runners up
Red Dead Redemption – Exactly what I wanted from Rockstar, a beautiful open world where the adventure can be everywhere, not just at specific points on a map.
Uncharted 2 – Fantastic set pieces with playful and likeable characters. Gunplay was not great and it had simplistic puzzles, but for pure fun and adventure it is hard to beat.
Minecraft – Fucking Notch.
Spec Ops: The Line - One of the most interesting stories this gen, lacking but enjoyably predictable gunplay.
Crackdown – Simple yet addictive. A game that has the balls not to direct a players experience because it knows the core mechanics are fun for hours.
Bioshock Infinite - While some of the gameplay taken from the original doesn’t feel quite right in Columbia (like searching through trash cans in a still functioning world) the relationships and deeply thoughtful narrative made me think about themes not present in games before. The solo version of ‘Will the Circle Be Unbroken’ is not only so relevant but so emotionally stirring - that song is the Bioshock song to me now, not the Carter Family classic.
Speaking of music...
Best Soundtracks This Gen - In no order, personal faves
Fez - Disasterpeace’s masterpiece is a feast. Excellent electronic prog and it fleshed out that world - I couldn’t finish the game but the soundtrack finished me, too many times to count.
DMC: Devil May Cry - I was already a Noisia fan but the OST sets the tone of the world that would have felt completely different without.
Mirrors Edge - Solar Fields created the perfect tone for that bleached out, seemingly spotless society.
Mass Effect - Music is pretty important to me for great games and film, its like a burger without a bun. Jack Wall and Sam Hulick did just the trick with their score.
Shatter- Fantastic electronica by Module that stands on its own.
InFamous - Amon Tobin opened up a new world of music to me through this game soundtrack. Even though he probably didn’t score a lot of this game. I originally missed his score for Chaos Theory when that came out so I got to give it to this OST.
DJ Hero 1 and 2 - While the game will probably be forgotten, and the soundtracks aren’t available legally (the cost for licenses would be too high I’d think), the remixes are still great to get your groove on to.
Hotline Miami - So great. So so great. Makes me want to get my knife on. Killer tunes to shiv to. So there you have it folks! What do you think of Wade's choices? Tell us in the comments below!
--------------------
