January 19, 2010 by Derrek Lucas
Everyone seems to be doing a TOP 10 BEST GAMES OF THE DECADE list. At DownWriteFierce, we have no authority to make such bold claims. We can’t qualify whether Ico is better than Prince of Persia or worse than Halo. Instead, we’re opting to share our opinions on each of our favorite ten games since 2000, in no particular order.
The following is Derrek Lucas’s favorite games of the past ten years, in absolutely no order
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
I am a Metal Gear fan boy, I’ll be the first to admit it, and will say it with pride. I’m relieved and happy to say that none of the games in the series have disappointed me. Sons of Liberty is still one of my favorite story-driven games ever. Yes, like most Solid Snake aficionado’s I was disappointed when the 90 minutes of actual Snake-time was up and I was introduced to a feminine nobody by the name of Raiden. However as the game progressed the character became more and more likable, especially when you met his hottie girlfriend. With a rapidly progressing storyline, and a decent amount of running around naked, Sons of Liberty was an easy choice here.
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Tags: Dynasty Warriors, Harmonix, Metal Gear Solid, Stranger's Wrath, Street Fighter
Posted in Games, Thoughts | 6 Comments »
January 18, 2010 by Mitchell Dyer
Dear haters,
I get a lot of guff, perhaps rightfully so, from folks who think I’m a plain hater. I’m not a negative person, but I happen to be very vocal about things I don’t like. As a result, people get the impression that I simply dislike everything. This isn’t true, but I can certainly see why they would get that impression: the things I don’t care for happen to be the same things everyone goes ga-ga for.
I also catch crap for disliking what’s popular for the sake of being cool. Not true. I just happen to think that Metroid isn’t fun; that most Final Fantasy games are garbage; that God of War is boring; and that Grand Theft Auto gets way more attention than it deserves. So sue me.
I’m not advocating my correctness or anything when I explain to an irate reader or peer that I don’t like the combat in God of War. No matter how many times I’m told that it’s incredibly deep, I can’t get past the fact that I finished the entirety of Chains of Olympus with square-button combos and insta-kill circle-button grabs. It’s not like I’m trying to bash something you love — it just does nothing for me. Even when you tell me that Heavenly Sword has depth, it doesn’t make it less-true that I finished it using heavy attacks and nothing else. And no, I’m not “making the game boring on purpose.” It’s simply the most effective means of completing the game. Why should I bother with crappy combos? That sucks.
This does not mean your favorite Final Fantasy game sucks (even though I think Final Fantasy VII totally sucks). I’ve tried to love a ton of things people are into. A lot of it just isn’t for me.
This does not make me wrong.
Love,
Mitch
Tags: Final Fantasy, God of War, Heavenly Sword, Metroid
Posted in Blog, Games, Thoughts | 5 Comments »
January 8, 2010 by Meghan Watt
Everyone seems to be doing a TOP 10 BEST GAMES OF THE DECADE list. At DownWriteFierce, we have no authority to make such bold claims. We can’t qualify whether Ico is better than Prince of Persia or worse than Halo. Instead, we’re opting to share our opinions on each of our favorite ten games since 2000, in no particular order.
The following is Meghan Watt’s favorite games of the past ten years, in absolutely no order at all.
Suikoden III
Honestly, I don’t even remember Suikoden III that much (blame my terrible memory). All I know is that it left a passionate little spot in my heart where many games have only tried to venture. Great story, good graphics (for the time, of course) and lots of little things to do. I’m always a sucker for customization, so I really liked the ability to make a bustling kingdom with lots of shops and friendly residents too.
You can also recruit 108 characters — some through the story and some in your spare time — each with a history and interesting personality. If you get all of these “108 Stars,” there’s a super special epilogue. I’m not generally a completionist, but this was so very worth it.
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Tags: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Halo, Kingdom Hearts, Knights of the Old Republic, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Mass Effect, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, Suikoden III, Super Paper Mario
Posted in Games, Thoughts | 1 Comment »
December 28, 2009 by Mitchell Dyer
Some things stay the same no matter how much you see it, hear it, or are around it. Mass Effect is such a thing. In preparation for its sequel, I blazed through it today (for the fifth time) so I had an end-game save file to import. I wanted to ensure that the council survived along with Wrex and Ashley Williams. Mass Effect is one of my all-time favorite games in spite of its technical issues, but there’s so much about that game that sticks with you, even after your fifth run.
For instance:
David Anderson, actor Keith David’s character, is a relentless badass. He headbutts a turian in his feline face, then takes a bullet to the back, to ensure I escaped a hostile politician’s grounding on the Citadel. Hell yes this man is my Council correspondent.
The writing in this game is friggin’ incredible. There’s a line spoken by Sovereign in the latter part of Virmire that goes, “We impose order on the chaos of organic evolution. You exist because we allow it, and you will end because we demand it.” It’s haunting coming from this as-of-yet still-unknown enemy with unthinkable power. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: BioWare, Dragon Age, Mass Effect
Posted in Blog, Down Write Daily, Games, Thoughts | 1 Comment »
December 27, 2009 by Mitchell Dyer
I’ve played Dragon Age: Origins for almost 60 hours at this point, and have yet to come across anyone resembling this woman. So I ask:
Who the hell is this?
Posted in Down Write Daily, Games, Off Topic | 4 Comments »
December 24, 2009 by Mitchell Dyer
You can knock Dragon Age: Origins for a lot of things (muddy visuals, difficulty spikes and repetitive level design being the most offensive faults). In the grand scheme of things, I didn’t care. These trivial flaws are overshadowed by brilliant character interaction, engaging narrative hooks and an appropriately morose setting — rather than relying on genre clichés, DAO’s brutal, refreshing take on fantasy digs into racism, slavery and genocide. Heavy. With unique stories tied to specific races and classes, each with numerous branching paths based on heart-wrenching choices, brief moments of frustration and tiny grievances were buried beneath 40 hours of role-playing bliss.
Rating: A
Tags: BioWare, Dragon Age: Origins
Posted in Games, One Paragraph Reviews, reviews | Leave a Comment »
December 23, 2009 by Mitchell Dyer
I started playing Ico a couple years ago because I’d heard nothing but good things about it. I hated it. Since the release of Shadow of the Colossus, Ico’s pseudo-sequel, critics, journalists and other enthusiasts have been trumpeting the wonder and beauty of Team Ico’s maiden voyage. Everyone I know, whether they’re smart forum-goers or friends in the press, keeps talking about how incredible it is. So I thought I’d take another stab at the renowned PS2 classic.
These people forgot to mention one thing: charm can be everlasting, it can also be overshadowed. I’m writing this having finished two hours and 35 minutes of Ico. And as I write, I’m wondering if I will ever go back to it. The adventure game has me at odds with myself, but I think that one side is outweighing the other. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Ico, Shadow of the Colossus
Posted in Blog, Down Write Daily, Games | 6 Comments »
December 23, 2009 by Mitchell Dyer
Shadow Complex. Man, that was so summer 2009. We’re deep into the holiday releases and 2010 is looking hot. Who has time for this XBLA nonsense? Actually, I kinda do. I keep finding myself going back to Shadow Complex, not necessarily because the story is riveting, but because the world is so cool.
What makes that universe? It all came from the Creative Director of Entertainment’s melon. Donald Mustard’s ambition for a single story told in parallel time lines is certainly unique, and thinning that media out over multiple mediums seems like franchise suicide… but it’s working. Empire, the novel SC is based on, was huge, and a follow hit this week. I wanted to find out straight from the horse’s mouth where the ideas came from, how they executed on them, and where the franchise is going.
And, yeah, it’s goin’ places.
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Tags: Chair, Empire, Shadow Complex
Posted in Games, News, Thoughts, discussion | Leave a Comment »
December 22, 2009 by Mitchell Dyer
It’s been a long time since I’ve written up a Daily, but I’m trying to get back into the habit of it. I’ve got plenty to say, I assure you. Just no time to say it. Now as we approach the eve of a new year where I’ll have significantly less time to dedicate to blogging, I’m pledging to do it more. Great.
I’m going to school in January, so I wanted to cleanse my current backlog of new games before I’m too poor to afford anything new. As a result, I sold my DJ Hero, am ditching Brutal Legend and a few other little things. Clearing that stuff gave me time to finish Dragon Age: Origins this weekend, which promptly sucked 40 hours of my life away in just five sit-down sessions. For a game I hated so vehemently when I saw it at E3, I’m shocked that DAO was able to captivate me so thoroughly. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: BioWare, Dragon Age, Mass Effect
Posted in Blog, Down Write Daily, Games | 1 Comment »
December 2, 2009 by Mitchell Dyer
It’s been a long time coming, but I swear we didn’t forget about you. We still love you. We love you so much, in fact, that we’re giving you some free games just in time for the holidays. Merry Whateveryoucelebrate!
We put out the call for super-genius-artists to remake a trio of videogame box art for one of our favorite DWF features, Box Art Betterment. Man, you guys really pulled through.
After a painful judging process, we’ve come to the conclusion as to who the lucky three winners are. Their phenomenal Box Art Betterment submissions have changed the way the DWF staff thinks about box art. This is why. Ladies and gentlemen, your winners…
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Posted in Box Art, Games, News | Leave a Comment »
