Game of the Year from The Elitist!

What? 2011? Riiight.. okay "sure" it is! *laughter*

Happy New Year lovely people, from your friend The Elitist!
Here is the deal, in the following letters that fill this page, you will read words, made up of said letters,  that create these categories, announces their topic, and will describe how such decisions were reached. The word will create Game of the Year, Runner up (because picking one game is too damn hard), and the biggest disappointment, from 2010!
So without further adieu, I bring you the Game of the Year article from yours truly, The Elitist!

Game of the Year: Mass Effect 2

Note: A few spoilers from ME 1 ahead. I try to be careful with ME2 but come on... go play it. 


So, this is a challenge for me, because I could talk about this game all day, and I'm going to try to not just gush over how much I love it (too much). So let us see. Why is Mass Effect 2 so awesome? I suppose a good place to start is at the center, with Commander Shepard. He is such a badass. Disagree? Well you are wrong, and I will explain to you why I am unquestionably wrong with no bias what so ever. He destroyed hundreds of Geth with only the help of his crew, who he gathered through his charisma. He destroyed a Reaper, a thinking machine as big as a space frigate. Yea he killed it. He killed Harbinger, the hive-mind of the Collectors (of whom he killed hundreds). Before that, he himself was killed by the very same Collectors and, quoting the game, all it did was piss him off. He is a man (or a woman..?) definitively being the smoothest talker out there, and being the center of desire for all the babes (studs?). He's the epitome of Hero and is cooler than that action hero you like.

Obama Shepard will fight. For Change.

(Also, he can be President Barak Obama. [This is supposed to be funny, okay internet?]) Although Shepard would be nothing without his crew. Who are the next jewel in the crown of this game. They are perfect characters. Whether you hate the character or love him/her you cannot deny the fact that they have a set, solid, and substantial personality. Each and every person in the game feels like someone you could meet. They are unique have quirks talents, likes and dislikes. The members of Shepard's crew all have personalities that are built and displayed in such a flawless fluidity as the relationship between Shepard and the character grows, the player gets a very real feeling of friendship, hate, or even love, from the members aboard the Normandy. That's not so say that this happens only on the Normandy. Every single person the Commander encounters is different. They are solid, real characters and they make the game feel so much more personal, and much more enjoyable. Finally, taking the broadest step we can, the game is all tied with a bow of the perfect setting. The universe in which Mass Effect takes place is so expansive. I don't mean the physical universe, but the atmosphere, the setting. The rules, the ideas, and characteristics of the world in which Shepard live. BioWare has created an enormous expansive canvas, on which only a portion has been painted. There is so much potential in the Mass Effect world, that I will not only be surprised to see the franchise end with ME3, I would also be deeply disappointed in the failed grab at the raw potential.



Game of the Year Runner-Up: StarCraft II

This was literally one of the hardest choices for the blog I have ever had to make. StarCraft 1 was the first video game I really got into, thanks to my father who was a huge RTS fan (Command and Conquer being his personal favorite). So I literally grew up playing StarCraft. I had been waiting for SCII for years. A majority of my life. It's release was what I had been wanting for a long time... a long time. The game was everything I wanted it be. Updated campaign modes, newer objective with game mechanics not seen in an RTS ever before. A story line that left you wanting more, anticipating the next installment, and most importantly; A near perfect multi-player. That is where the excitement is for me. Head to head with another human.

Protoss: "I think we are in trouble, sir."

Testing out strategy, trickery and skill with our race. Utilizing your units to their full potential to out maneuver your opponent. Controlling the map, or simply wiping them out early. Coming back from a major defeat to win.These are the reason I love this game so much. I have never ever had a game give me an adrenaline burst, but during the heat of an epic offensive, or during crucial scouting runs, or harassment campaigns, I get so into the game, it's almost like tunnel vision. I absolutely love every minute of it. So, why runner-up? Well, I realize while this game was my perfection, it does not meet the quality of ME2. It's close. Damn close. In some ways in reserves GotY over ME2, but I could not find enough wrong with either game to make a clear decision. So, my decision is based on core game creation quality. In which, the lack of repetitive styles of play give ME2 a slight boost, due to a quirk in how RTS' are played, to no real fault of their own. It's just the way it is. I must defer to the detail involved in ME, that is lacking to a small degree in SC.

Disappointment of the Year: Metroid: Other M

I am made sad just thinking about it. I was so very excited for this game. I have played (maybe not beaten) every Metroid game made. I love the franchise, it is a classic that will live in my heart with alien/pirate busting joy (Samus would someday be my wife, were she real). I wanted this game, so badly, to be excellent. It let me down, left me in the restaurant alone. Team Ninja... you stood me up. 

Now that I have made a humorous introduction, the game is not bad. The Ninja Gaiden style suites Samus quite well and added some new charm to the combat typical of a Metroid game, while still holding the side scrolling fascination. The first problem in game play come in when you start having to utilize the rockets. Uggghhhhhhhhh. For some reason, game designers for the Wii have this weird supernatural urge to utilize the Wii's ridiculous motion control nonsense and ruin an otherwise perfect control scheme. Shoot rockets.. you have to aim at the screen, and it moves into first person mode. This would be fine, except you can't freaking move.

Oh hai! Go ahead, I'll wait!

So if you ever want (need) to shoot rockets, you better hope that big mean boss who wants to rend you in half and eat your insides will sit patiently and wait for you the launch a volley of missiles at him. I bet you can guess how often that happens.  They try once again to use this aiming balderdash by creating moments in the game that require you to search for something. You scan it, and are allowed to move on. Stupid stupid stupid. Often you have literally NO EFFING IDEA what you are looking for, and end up just looking online because you think "This is absolutely ridiculous." Finally, the character development, story line, and voice acting are mediocre at best. I, from the beginning, supported Samus' voice actor giving her the benefit of the doubt, and creating theories as to why she sounded so uninterested in some of her narrations. As it turns out, she just is not very animated as a voice actor. Samus' character was shallow, her relationships with the other characters were superficial and without much substance, save for some flashbacks and past happening. It all seemed a little slapped together, lacking the care needed to create a truly alluring story. A decent game otherwise. Bastard hard at times, and like I mentioned above, barely skin deep. Worth a rent, but certainly a disappointing game. Although... Team ninja did do one thing right. (spoilers in that link, by the way)