Game of the Year

Posted by Steve on January 17, 2003: I, am a geek.

I don't deny that. In fact, I came to terms with it some time ago, and now I'm comfortable with it. That being said, I'm now going to do what all geeks do. I'm going to bitch about video game magazines. Note: if this topic doesn't excite you, you're gonna find this week's strip pretty stupid, (heck, you might find it to be stupid anyway) so you might as well skip it and we'll catch up with you next week. So, let's get to it, shall we?

If you want to follow along at home, the source of this little rant is the January issue of Game Informer. In this issue, is the annual best of the year feature.

Tenth (10) on the list is Metroid Prime. Tenth. So, I guess we'll have to go on with the assumption that nobody at GI has actually played Metroid Prime.

Ninth (9) is Kingdom Hearts. While KH is more Bob's department, he was quite upset when I mentioned it, so I figured it was worth bringing up.

So, let's skip down to the number two spot. Metroid Fusion. Now, I think Fusion was a fine game, and I'm happy that it's in the countdown, but #2? i'm sorry, I love an old fashioned 2D game as much as the next guy, but console games and handheld games are apples and oranges, and I don't see how you rank Fusion ahead of Prime. (see a pattern forming here?)

So, lets get down to the real issue, the number one spot. Vice City. Now, let me just go on record that I am a huge fan of Grand Theft Auto 3. It's a great game, and it was (and still is) Sony's ace in the hole against the Xbox and Gamecube. That being said, I just can't get into Vice City. It just felt like more of the same for me. Yeah, there's helicopters and motorcycles, and you can buy property, (which, to me at least, wasn't nearly as cool as it sounded) but it just didn't hold my interest. I played it the first day it was out, and never went back. I don't even have it anymore.

And the thing that really gets me upset is that I know I'm not the only person who feels this way. And yet you never hear the other side. You never hear a reviewer go "swearing went from 'when it's needed' to 'childish and unnecessary'". Or "the soundtrack is really bad". Everyone just heaps praise on it, then adds a quick "despite some shortcomings", never going into exactly what those shortcomings are. Anyway, to get to the point, I just didn't think it was anywhere near as good as Prime. (or even Grand Theft Auto 3, for that matter)

So, with that in mind, I present to you this week's strip. Sorry if you guys don't like it. We really thought it was right on the line between funny, stupid, and disturbing, and we couldn't decide which one it was. See you next week.

Posted by Bob on January 17, 2003: This one was all Steve I can assure you...And he picks on me for having me dress up as Dr. Frank-N-Furter from Rocky Horror! Sheesh! Anyhow, Steve was talking about Game Informer's Top Ten of 2002, so I figured I'd do my own. So without further adieu..umm...adew..adoo...Without further wait, here it is!

10. WWE Smackdown: Shut Your Mouth (PS2): Yes, I am a biased wrestling fan, it is true, but I spent sooo much time playing this freaking game this year it's not even funny. Is it really THAT good? Maybe not...I might just be overcompensating for the debacle that was WWF Wrestlemania X8...But still, I really liked this one.

9. Aggressive Inline (Xbox): For Everything Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 did, Aggressive Inline did it first, and I think, did it better. Except for the terrible soundtrack, this game is great.

8. DDR Max (PS2): How I love Dance Dance Revolution.

7. Splinter Cell (XBox): Hard as heck, but it's really cool. Total Stealth. Splinter Cell has some of the most amazing lighting effects you will ever see.

6. Jet Set Radio Future (XBox): At some points, this game becomes almost controller throwing frustrating, but it is still amazing.Better than the original, with a really neat soundtrack.

5. Rez (PS2): It came out in early January, so it still counts. Rez is a music/shooter game. It might not be the longest game ever made, but damn if it's not one very fun hour.

4. Hitman 2: Silent Assassin (Xbox): This game is really cool. You want to go total stealth? Go ahead. Want to go balls out and kill anything that moves? do it. Want to kill someone with a golf club? How about you dress up as a doctor and purposely butcher a surgery? It's all in here.

3. Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (Xbox): No surprise here, as I'm a total Metal Gear whore. Kinda like Metal Gear Solid Integral, it's got VR missions, aextra characters, new side stories...Worth checking out for sure. And it's pretty cheap now too, from what I read.

2. Metroid Prime (Gamecube): Everything we were promised and more. Metroid Prime is a bonafide system seller, and a true testament to the goodness that Nintendo has left in them.

1. Kingdom Hearts (PS2): I'm as surprised as you are. A Squaresoft game as MY #1 for the year? I know, I know... But I LOVED this game. Everything about it. Gabe really harped on it for all the jumping, but I didn't have any trouble with anything in the game. To be honest, I bought it for the Nightmare Before Christmas segment I saw in the trailer months ago, but it turns out the game is really, really, really cool. Hence the #1 ranking for 2002.

Well, if you're still with me after all that, then god bless you...that's a lot for me to type for the front page, so if my record is any indication, I won't say anything here for a month or two. Ah well. Oh, one last thing worth mentioning: As of last week's comic, and the Dpad Guest Strip, this comic is created on a Wacom Tablet. That's right, I got a Wacom for Christmas, and I love it. so if things look a bit odd for a little bit, it's cause I'm trying to learn this Wacom thing. It's gonna be fun.

Posted by Bob on January 20, 2003: Happy birthday to Steve, happy birthday to Steve! happy birthday to Steeeeeve, happy birthday to Steve!