Playing for Fun

Playing games should always be about having fun. I remember reading that the worst thing a game can do is to make you feel like you wasted your time.

I totally agree with that but unfortunately that sometimes means achievements. Or in this case, trophies.

A game can be fun but in the end if I failed to make any progress during that time I would feel like I wasted my time. Like when I’m about to power down the console and realized I didn’t make a new save file, the feeling of wasted effort comes creeping in. It could be a brutally hard action game or an adventure game with a devilish puzzle (Cing).

It could also be a second play through when I need to locate every emblem (RE) or collectible (TLoU) in the game. By then, I would need the help of a guide because I obviously couldn’t locate every bit in my first play through. The problem is the more dependent I’m on the guide, the less fun the experience becomes. I don’t play by my normal instincts anymore and the constant need to check the guide breaks any mood the game creates.

In the end, I don’t feel like I wasted my time because I achieved something. Did I have fun? Probably not as much as I would like to. 

Talking About My Generation Games

Since it's NBA Draft Night and I'm in the mood of compiling my own selection of picks, I thought I shared my choices for IGN Game of the Generation Poll. I loved taking part in these polls and finding out the results even though IGN tend to be doing these Best of list almost every other month.

Now I gave quite a bit of thought as to which three games should make up the top 3 but not nearly as long for the rest on the list. Mostly I just knew the other games had to be there no matter what the order were, most were really early in the generation so no game had the benefit of making the list just because I recently played it. Well, except The Last of Us but I don't think anyone would argue it isn't a game for the generation.

1. Red Dead Redemption - Playstation 3

I wasn't as hyped up for this game when it came out, in fact I patiently waited for the GOTY edition before picking it up and really took my time to play and finish this. But it's pretty apparent this game did everything right even down to the DLC and multi-player mode. I was pleasantly surprised by how good the writing was, now I'm used to playing Japanese games so most of the time the story is just serviceable or sometimes things get lost in translation. Red Dead may be about outlaws and lowlifes but the conversations are never random babbling or meaningless chatters, and you don't have sit through a long cutscene most of the time too.

2. Super Mario Galaxy - Nintendo Wii

Mario 64 was my first 3D Mario game but it was years after release when I finally played it on the Nintendo DS. Let's just say the controls on the DS remake are not nearly as accurate as the original without an analog pad on the handheld. So Super Mario Galaxy was more like my first real taste of 3D Mario platform and the game works so well because Nintendo didn't just do a 3D version of conventional Mario platform levels like how the early 3D Castlevania games were.

3. Catherine - Playstation 3

This was a first day buy for me despite not having played much of Atlus' previous games. I bought this game after being intrigued by  the premise and characters but the only reason I replay this game is solely because of the addictive puzzle/block-climbing. In fact, I wish you could just skip all the evening drinking session because once you played through it once, those nightly sessions can be a chore.

If you look at the rest of my picks, you may think I deliberately left out any Capcom's games but the truth is, most of their game released this generation just weren't very good though Dead Rising is noteworthy exception.

When Being Sneaky Isn't Enough

There was one particular moment in The Last of Us when Joel and Ellie are still trapped in the city ruled by the hunters that I encounter a bug. I sneak past two hunters positioned at the upper floor of a building then took down one hunter in the way of the escape route but when I got to the ladder - the button prompt to lower the ladder didn't appear ! 

I could tell from the Ellie's body language that the two were still in sneaking mode as the remaining enemies were nearby. I had no choice but the proceed back to the nearby building and take care of those hunters on the upper floor before the button prompt would appear. This being a survival game where resources are limited, sneaking is a big part of the game. Unfortunately the one moment when you decide to kill only when necessary, the bug in the game forces you to go out of your way to kill the remaining and waste more precious resources. 

Last of the Generation

Just the other day I was having a conversation with a friend about the games left on our buying list for the PS3 - be it games that are already out or yet to be released. He only named one game (GTAV - GOTY edition) and while I did the same, I can't quite remember which game it was. 

I do remember I left The Last of Us out from my list which I quickly added that it would be nice to own the game when it's all said and done, especially since Naughty Dogs denied rumours of an enhanced PS4 port. Well I have finally added the game to my shopping cart when Play-Asia announced their weekly deals line-up for this week. Now it's just a matter of waiting for the game to ship once the next stock arrives and pretty soon, I will be able to see what the fuss was all about.