Favourite Games of 2018

God of War

God of War is my bet for the game that will most impact the game industry going forward. The idea to make a game as a single continuous story with no breaks may occur to some game designers, but almost everybody would immediately recognise it to be too much trouble. This was not true of Cory Barlog and those around him who, in the face of many seemingly insurmountable challenges along the way, not only achieved this vision but made what many have regarded as the best game of the generation.

Spider-Man

As for the the funnest game of 2018 my fight would be unhesitantly for Insomniac's Spider-Man. How it is that they developed a swinging mechanic that immediately makes sense and doesn't get boring even after 20 hours is beyond my comprehension. There was so much love poured into this experience and it easily has any of the Disney Marvel movies beat for a compelling and well told story.

Red Dead Redemption 2

When it comes to the deepest and most immersive game this year I'd have to storngly propose RDR2 because never before have I felt this close to inhabiting another life outside of my reach. No movie, book, TV show, or other game in my knowledge has better approximated the 1900-era America as an outlaw. I simply cannot conjure to mind there a better piece of Western entertainment, nor have I played within a richer or better-crafted world.

Here I am to confirm that your unconditional love for Psychonauts is understandable, you can thank me with chocolate. I finished it a few days ago, and yes, this is a good game. In fact, I was, genuinely, shocked with how much I enjoyed the experience. As ever, I still had a lot of problems with various aspects of it, but for the most part it has held up remarkably well, gameplay-wise anyway.

Straight away I would like to say; Raz is a damn respectable protagonist, and Double Fine actually nailed all of the characters in Psychonauts. The interesting, quirky and fleshed out nature of the people in this game are what give it such a loveable personality and endearing appeal. The 3-dimensional platforming for the most part is just as frustrating at times as any other 3D platforming game, the combat is satisfactory, and the adventure game characteristics of using the correct item at the correct time have their attraction. However, it is the world in which Rasputin exists that is the major draw to be found here, at least for me.

Playing a few years on from it's release, the game itself manages to not look overly dated. One thing that does seriously age Psychonauts though are the pre-rendered cutscenes. Without exageration, these could be nauseatingly terrible (maybe a little exaggeration). As more and more games rely on in-engine cutscenes, my dislike for these pre-rended videos increases exponentially. I suppose whilst I'm being negative I may as well also mention how tedious I found the last hour or so to be. There is a certain point near the end of the game where if the credits had just rolled I would have been perfectly happy. Admittedly, once I did get to the very final section, I saw the value to be found in it. Nonetheless, it could have very easily been made to be a far tighter experience.

As videogame stories go, especially ones from seven years ago, Psychonauts has a rather captivating one. I've already harped on about how great the characters are, but they bring a relatively silly tale to life, allowing me to actually care about what's going on. This is just a game where somehow the whole thing comes together and manages to make you happy in a really unique and almost innocent way. This is the exact reason why I start by saying I understand the love, because I do, I really get why people are so desperate for Psychonauts 2. This is an example of a special game conjuring emotions other than a lust to kill more random military guy because yes, videogames can do that.

max payne 2

Now, 'I don't know how I feel about it' usually indicates some sort of uncertainty as to the quality of the game, and in my opinion, I can categorically say that this was a well made, fun game. I can also share that I whole-heartedly enjoyed my time with it. The only apprehension that I have with just outright saying that I loved the whole experience lies in the fact that I don't think it did as much to impress me as it's predecessor.

In some ways, the story was less convoluted and better explained than that in the first Max Payne, but in others, it felt ever so slightly more contrived and less playful. The ending was quite empty in some ways, and the retelling of various parts of the narrative for dramatic effect didn't work quite so well here as before. However, that's not to say it wasn't humourous, silly in the way that I adore, and dark in the ways that create what a Max Payne game should be. A big positive in my mind about this sequel is that this was without a doubt a Max Payne game.

As much as I relish the opportunity to be critical, I also take pleasure in praising a game. This is where I do just that. The graphics and art style is such a massive step up from the first game. Whilst I recognise I'm living in 2012 where incredible demos of Unreal Engine 4 and Unity 4 can be seen on YouTube, for it's time I imagine that Max Payne 2 was very impressive. As well as this, the additional details in the animations provide a subtlety to the characters that I appreciated. The weapon system, whilst largely very similar has been ever so slightly tweaked, and the bullet time feels good but not over-powered.

To end this seemingly unfocussed rant, I'd recommend that people who have enjoyed other Max Payne games take a look at Max Payne 2, because it offers quite a lot. It's an amusing slow-motion look back at what made a great game just 9 years ago.