Games Rebels Play – November 2011
Yes, we’re more than a week into December, and we’re just now getting this article up! You should be used to lateness from us by now. At least we have an excuse this time – we’ve actually been playing games! So many games!
In fact, I’m pretty sure that I’ll be playing November’s new games well into the new year. Shall we go through the list?
On the good ol’ Xbox, I’ve put nearly forty hours into The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and I’ve barely scratched the surface. Someday, I will embrace my destiny and become the fabled Dragonborn, but for now, I’m pretty content to wander the countryside slaying nearly anything that moves. The game is incredibly janky, the graphics alternate rapidly between beautiful and hideous, and the combat is so-so, but wow – something is incredibly compelling about this game. I love the massive world, the huge range of environments, and the freedom that the game offers. It’s an incredibly immersive experience, and I’ve fallen in love with it just as much as I did with the Fallout games that Skyrim so closely resembles.
I’ve also been leaping around the streets of Constantinople in Assassin’s Creed Revelations. There isn’t a ton to say here – Reveations is identical to the last couple of Assassins Creed games. I dig the new setting. I’m always digging into the history of some culture or another, and the early days of the Ottoman Empire have been a recent obsessions of mine. Like with Venice, Rome, and Damascus in the previous Assassin’s Creed games, the best part of Revelations is the glimpse it offers into this great city during its golden ages. The actual formula is a little stale, but I’m still loving the series.
The other obvious game to discuss is The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. While I imagine that I’ll write up my thoughts in a far more detailed form once the dust has settled a bit, I’ll just say that Skyward Sword is fantastic. The game is beautiful, the puzzles are clever, and the combat is the best it has ever been. The storyline is deeper than usual, but it actually works. The story and characters are charming as hell, and while it is definitely a “brighter” game than Majora’s Mask, there are shades of darkness lying just below the surface that will absolutely leave an impact. Skyward Sword is unquestionably fantastic (though, the motion controls are a bit hit-or-miss), and once I’ve completely polished off the game, I intend to write more than a paragraph on the game.
On the 3DS, I’ve been playing a ton of Super Mario 3D Land. My thoughts on it are here.
I was also (probably) the only person posting here who played through James Noir’s Hollywood Crimes. The game is a fairly interesting Professor Layton clone with a cool premise – you’re a contestant on a game show, somebody is killing past winners, and an FBI agent suspects you. You alternate between solving puzzles to win the quiz show and solving them to continue the murder investigation. The actual game is.. iffy. The 3D effects are awful, the writing is amateur hour, and the entire thing is over pretty quickly. The puzzles are pretty decent, though, and I actually loved the cheesy use of FMV. There are some cool ideas in place here, and despite the so-so execution, I enjoyed the game.
Gregory Gay - December 9th, 2011 - 
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the earthbound kid on December 4, 2011 at 4:38 am
Kind of a slow month for gaming, ya know? Really, I’ve only been playing two games…
EdEN on December 4, 2011 at 12:12 pm
November was the month when I finally sent my PS3 in for repairs to the Bluray drive. Second half of the month was packed with work so not much gaming was allowed.
PS3:
Sam and Max Season 2 Episodes 4-5: Did the last two episodes for Season 2. Now I just need to write my reviews for each episode…
Streets of Rage 2: Got it for free thanks to PS+. Liked it.
minis:
Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. Great game based on the Fighting Fantasy series of books. Second release on the minis range.
Persona 2: Awesome port of the PSX classic that we never got over here. Reviews should be up in a week or so.
Secret Agent Clank: Picked this up back when I bought my PSP but hadn’t played it. It’s a fun side-story to the main series. A bit short it seems.
DS:
Final Fantasy IV: Finished it. At last!
Wii:
New Super Mario Bros Wii: Still playing this. World 5 has now been completed.
the earthbound kid on December 4, 2011 at 9:18 pm
Wait, did I write “slow month”?
the earthbound kid on December 5, 2011 at 5:58 pm
I meant MEGATON INCREDIBLE MIND BLOWING GAMES month.
Jody Anthony on December 7, 2011 at 9:53 am
Mostly I played Super Mario 3D Land, in between reading The Hunger Games books. The books were good, the game was great. I also tried my best to play Assassin’s Creed Revelations because I am a sucker for that series, and Skyward Sword because it is amazing and beautiful and oh my god I love it, but I haven’t had very much me-and-tv time to play, so handhelds have been my gaming salvation.
Edgar on December 7, 2011 at 9:53 am
I’ve started the month with Dungeon Defenders, got about 60 hours in it this Month on Steam. Loving it it, it’s the perfect blend of Tower Defense gameplay mixed with Diablo Loot/equipment. I’ve been playing it online with random groups and friends.
Then came Zelda, my focus went towards that for 2 full weeks, i’m a t the 3rd Temple.
But then something unexpected happened…. Terraria 1.1 patch came out, I hadn’t played terraria since August (I was addicted back then). That addiction came back, Zelda and Dungeon Defenders got left behind, and i’ve been playing this every night till 1am…. Thank god for coffee in the morning.
I’ve also been playing some rogue-like on my phone, and Dungeons of Dredmor on my PC. I love the rogue-like genre.
Dave on December 7, 2011 at 11:20 am
I’ve been playing a ton of Skyrim. I really can’t get over how deep that game is. You can play the main storyline, but at any time you can branch off into something totally different for ten to twenty hours. Tired of fighting dragons? Become a thief and elevate the prestige of the thieves guild. Tired of being a thief? Embark on a career picking vegetables for money. The entire game makes it unbelievably easy to make it about whatever you want.
Aside from that I’ve been playing Star Wars: The Old Republic. I got into several of the betas and played a few of the classes up to about level 12. Bioware has done a great job of translating the feel of Knights of the Old Republic into the MMO model. In a lot of ways, they’ve adopted a lot of what works from the latest versions of World of Warcraft but made the story for each character feel more personalized and epic. Occasionally the illusion falls apart (like when there is a crowd of players around a quest giver who is treating you like the single savior of the galaxy) but for the most part, the companion and grouping mechanics make for a good time with just the right amount of social interaction.
i_am_error on December 7, 2011 at 11:41 am
Finished Arkham City… I liked it and sometimes the game is brilliant, but I often feel it is made for people who don’t know much about Batman or maybe I’m not so fond on the art direction, which looks like The Long Halloween on steroids. Anyway, I love all the gadgets and the small open-world design really elevates the game compared to its predecessor.
Also played a lot of Super Mario 3D Land, much more than I thought I would and I’ve been enjoying it much much more than I thought too. The game is superbly designed and looks so stunning in 3D, that I think it is almost mandatory to play the game with the 3D cranked up to the max. I’ve been also toying around with the hilarious FreakyForms, for 8$ this eShop game lets you create monstrosities and put them in a simple quests filled world. My brother and I are currently in a merman creation duel, which is degrading for both men, fishs, mermaids and living things in general.
Then, there is Skyward Sword: beautiful, clever, ambitious, funny… totally Nintendo… aaah, I loooove it.
SeanOrange on December 7, 2011 at 2:30 pm
Well, who the heck hasn’t been playing Skyward Sword? And don’t give me any of that “…but I don’t have a Wii!” nonsense. Buy one! Seriously, they’re only like $100 now (if you don’t care about GameCube backwards compatibility), and BLUE! You’ll need a WiiMotion Plus to play as well, but I imagine (hope?) there are still some gold remote bundles still around.
Because this game is great. It’s probably no coincidence that two of the greatest games this season have the word “Sky” in them.
I don’t want to say that the Zelda series has been getting stale and same-y — mostly because it’s not true; the last three console Zelda games are as different from each other as can be. (I’d say five, but two of them use the exact same engine.) It’s almost quaint to think of what used to excite me about these older games, because what they keep coming up with just makes me smile.
Aside from the story (what I’ve played so far), I really enjoy the upgradeable weapons. That’s something we haven’t really seen this side of Link to the Past, so… oh… about 20 years? Granted, you’re not dunking stuff in a fairy fountain (spoilers?), and there’s actually something of a sense of accomplishment getting all the requisite parts you need to do battle.
I have been getting stuck, and I might have been cheating to get around those spots, but really the answers are nearly always obvious, and there’s an in-game help system that can get you around just about any problem. As is true of past Zelda games, you’re never truly stuck, even if you’re SURE you are. (However I HAVE heard rumors of a game-destroying glitch near the end, so I’ll keep an eye out for that.)
The only other thing I can say is that this game was worth waiting for. Aside from being VERY chatty at the start, I have no complaints.
Now, talking about getting stuck: I tried playing some more Donkey Kong Country Returns with my wife, but we just can’t seem to get past either of two possible levels for advancement in the second world. I don’t know if one of us would have better luck alone than working in tandem. Which does also remind me, since it’s about a year after I got this game, that I haven’t finished Metroid: Other M yet…
I can’t help it! I’m on my second playthrough of Dragon Age 2, and am working through all this DLC I didn’t have the first time! Not sure I want a third playthrough (unlike Mass Effect, but that’s a whole different story).
Nick on December 7, 2011 at 11:46 pm
Skyward Sword, of course. Im getting near the end (probably 5-8 more hours to go) and loving every second of it. Super Mario 3D Land is one of the most joyful games Ive played… well, ever. Loving that.
And finally Ive been playing Castlevania: Lord of Shadow. Super cool. It’s not a perfect game, but damn if it isnt fun with some moments of jaw dropping brilliance.
Oh, I also played a few minutes of both Xenoblade (which I already preordered at Gamestop) and Disaster: Day of Crisis. Both were great and make me hugely anxious to see what Monolith has planned for the Wii U. So excited.
the earthbound kid on December 9, 2011 at 3:06 am
I can’t believe I’ve sunk 43 hours into Zelda… AND 42 INTO MARIO.
Mario is a short game too!
EdEN on December 12, 2011 at 8:30 pm
I’ve listened to the Bonus Orchestra CD that came with my CE of Skyward Sword about 10 times… does that count as playing Skyward Sword?