The End of a Generation - My Favourite Games of the 7th Gen: 10-8
I'm writing a series of posts about the games and consoles of the seventh generation (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PSP and DS). It includes a Top 20 countdown, thoughts on the industry, silly pictures and lots more.
There was very little in it between numbers ten to seven,
and I was still reorganising five minutes prior to posting. Seven and six
will follow in the next couple of days.
20. DJ Hero
19. Wii Sports
18. Journey
17. No More Heroes
11. Mass Effect 3
10. Uncharted 3:
Drake's Deception
9. Yakuza 4
8. Assassin's
Creed II
Uncharted 3:
Drake's Deception (2011) was never going to live up to my expectations, but
it came bloody close. No other developer pushed the limits of the PS3 as consistently
as Naughty Dog, and Uncharted 3 was another outstanding achievement of
technical and artistic design.
Uncharted 3 played as good as it looked. The linearity of
the platforming was countered by the relative freedom of combat, and the transition
between the two could not have been smoother. It was more challenging than the first two
games when played at higher difficulties; run-and-gun became a necessary skill,
as enemies seemed more aggressive, unwilling to let you hunker down behind cover
for any great period of time. You could not allow yourself to be surrounded, which
encouraged head shots, stealth kills and more all-around skilful play. There
was also more focus on brawling, creating a more versatile combat model, and
the greatly expanded multiplayer component meant that there was plenty left to
do once I'd gotten the Platinum.
Uncharted has always been a character-driven series, and
part three was no exception. I love to moan about subpar writing in games, but
there was nothing to complain about here. I appreciated the small moments between
Nate and friends even more so than in previous episodes, and hung on their
every word. I liked spending time with these people, even if they were slightly
genocidal.
The more I play of Toshihiro Nagoshi’s Yakuza series, the
more I fall in love with it. Yakuza 3 was excellent; zombie spin off Dead Souls
was a tiny bit rubbish, yet I still had no end of fun with it, and it is a
crime that Five will almost certainly never leave Japan. My fondness for Yakuza 4 (2011) has grown considerably since
my first playthrough, and I now consider it the highpoint of a series that is
fast becoming an all-time favourite.
Whereas previous entries followed only Kazuma Kiryu,
Yakuza 4 successfully introduced an ensemble cast, a trick that would be
repeated in Yakuza 5. The Dragon of Dojima was joined by charismatic loan shark
Shun Akiyama, convicted murderer Taiga Saejima and renegade cop Masayoshi
Tanimura, and this foursome were as likeable as they were dangerous. They would
only break someone’s face if they really deserved it, practicing a very honourable
form of super violence. While the savagery sometimes wore thin in Grand Theft Auto
V, I was cheering these men on as they stomped their way through a city of badly
dressed shits, and that made it all the more enjoyable. Trevor Philips would shoot a bitch; Kazuma
would take her out for dinner and then karaoke. He also wouldn’t call her a
bitch, though he might hospitalise her ex-boyfriend.
These men are all drawn to Kamurocho, a fictionalised
version of Tokyo’s real-life entertainment district, Kabukicho. It was my
favourite place to visit this generation, and not just because I desperately
miss Tokyo. It is a city that you want to get lost in and it is the real star of
Yakuza. The neon-lit streets were home to an unsavoury element that was always
spoiling for a fight. These brawls managed to be both brutal and ridiculous;
bones break and blood was split, but you couldn’t help but laugh when Kaz
picked up a motorbike and wielded it like a lesser man would a baseball bat.
The street thugs never died, no matter how thorough their beating, and always
apologised profusely once I’d finished scattering their teeth across the
pavement.
As you can see, Yakuza 4 didn’t take itself too
seriously. Even in its darkest moments, it was still gloriously over the top.
When a younger Saejima attempted to wipe out a restaurant full of mobsters, he
did it with a revolver clenched between his teeth. Side missions and activities
were a constant distraction and could easily turn a twenty hour game into a 100
hour romp. Arcades, karaoke, bowling,
baseball, golf, fishing, hostess bars, hot springs, casinos…. it’s a wonder
anything gets done in Kamurocho! Fortunately, every crisis would wait, so you
didn’t have to feel guilty about playing one more game of table tennis while
the city went to shit. Yakuza 4 was unabashed, indulgent fun, and I loved it.
Assassin's Creed
II (2009) was the perfect sequel. It improved upon the original in every
way, introducing new and interesting features without diluting the experience. Uncluttered
and unrushed, this was Assassin's Creed at its most irresistible.
Instead of one sprawling city, as seen in Brotherhood and
Revelations, Assassin's Creed II featured a number of smaller, but no less
spectacular settings. Renaissance Florence, Forli, San Gimignano and my
personal favourite, Venice, were cities that I wanted to explore, and I would
curse the Animus barriers that brought an end to my wandering. Travelling
through a miniature Venice in my Renaissance hoody, I could pick out many
of the cities iconic landmarks, though I couldn’t get a Bellini for love nor
money.
Assassin's Creed II had a wonderful sense of time and
place. This came from the characters you encountered, including historical
figures such as Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolo Machiavelli and Rodrigo Borgia, men who
fit effortlessly within the Assassin's Creed narrative. It was in the period
architecture that demanded your attention even when you should have been concentrating
on something more deadly, and in the artwork that hung on the walls of your
Monteriggioni villa. Ubisoft Montreal's ability to bring historical periods and
places to life is the reason why I will never completely give up on the series.
Ezio Auditore de Firenze is one of my favourite
characters of this generation. His parkour and combat were simple and graceful;
there wasn't a huge amount of skill required in controlling Ezio, but the
action was engaging throughout. For me, ACII was more about what you were doing
rather than how you did it. Scaling a church tower demanded little in the way
of thought or input, but there was magic in the act and considerable pay-off
upon reaching the top. Hidden tombs were a little more challenging in their
platforming, and locating and solving Subject 16's puzzles added even more
depth.
Considering my love of history, Assassin's Creed should have appeared more than once in my Top 20.
Unfortunately, Ubisoft squandered much of AC's potential, rushing through
sequels and putting too much emphasis on motherfucking Desmond. Assassin's
Creed II had everything I wanted from an AC game and I hope the series will one
day see a return to form.
I'd definitely have Uncharted 3 and AC2 on my list as well. It is too bad the series could never top or even match AC2. I had such a blast with that game and like you preferred its multiple city setup to the Ezio sequels.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. I really enjoyed Brotherhood, and to a lesser extent Revelations, but they weren't quite the same as AC2. I do wonder if much of my fondness for AC2 may be due to the fact that the series felt really new and unique at the time. That and Venice, of course.
DeleteCheers