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2010 Redo


On 09/30/2023 at 10:33 AM by KnightDriver

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2010 was certainly the year of the Wii even though it came out in '06. The top four spots for world wide sales are Wii games with Wii Sports being number 1. Microsoft and Sony tried to imitate Nintendo's success by putting out motion control devices this year with Kinect and Move respectively. Niether did much for thier respective systems. I started blogging this year at 1UP.com. Here are some stuff I played that I would replay and some stuff I missed I'd like to play. 

Played Back Then:

Pac-Man CE DX: What a great modern version of Pac-Man this was. Other modern takes on old arcade games haven't even come close to this. It's fast, it's eye-popping and, most importantly, it's fun. This is still playable in Pac-Man Museum I believe. 

God of War III (PS3): This is where I kind of lost interest in GoW. Too many QTEs. It felt like a rollercoaster or some kind of on-rails game to me. It looked great though and what fighting could be had was fun. I'd give it a try again to solidify my thoughts about it. 

Halo Reach (X360): I really like this game, the last Halo game by Bungie. My friend Mad Krammer isn't so much a fan though because of the downer ending, but who cares about story really in video games; it's all about gameplay, and this is one of the best playing Halo games. I loved Firefight mode, a PvE online experience. I liked that much better than PvP, but the mode hasn't continued into recent Halo games. This is available as an add-on to The Master Chief Collection, playable on current Xboxes. 

Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment (X360): This is a TRPG I really liked at the time. Few of these style games appeared on Xbox 360, so I was all over this one. I found it difficult last time I returned to it. It's still downloadable on current Xboxes. 

Dante's Inferno (X360): This is sort of a GoW style game using the world created by Dante himself in his Divine Comedy. Plenty of liberties are taken however, but I don't care, it was a fun romp. 

Data East Arcade Classics (Wii): I was always buying collections when I could. I enjoyed Magical Drop III, a puzzle game, and Wizard Fire, a isomentric beat-em-up. Too bad I traded this a while back, it's kind of pricey to reaquire now. 

Endless Ocean 2 (Wii): One of the few games I bought day-one. I was really into this adventure game where you treasure hunt and perform scientific studies in the deep ocean. I still have this too and its previous game. Endless Ocean 2 is also subtitled Blue Ocean. 

Split/Second (X360): This was another racing game in the style of Burnout. Lots of fast driving and destructable environments. I was always on the look out for games like Burnout. Still downloadable on Xbox now. 

Singularity (X360): Had to play this FPS since it was made by the great Raven Software. It has horror elements and a time manipulation mechanic not unlike Quantum Break.

Crackdown 2 (X360): This got a lot of hate for not being much more than a reskin of Crackdown 1, but I really liked it. I especially liked the sonic ping you could do from a helicopter to spot orbs. I was able to find them all with that. I still haven't found them all in the first game. Crackdown and Crackdown 2 are free now in the free-to-play section of the Xbox store. 

Dragon Quest IX (DS): I remember playing this but getting stuck somewhere in it. I still have it and will return. 

Plants Vs. Zombies (X360): This PopCap game came to Xbox Live and I was thrilled. I loved the strategy PvZ games even though I never played the sequel because I didn't have a smart phone at the time. It's still playable on current systems. I wish they'd do a third one. The Garden Warfare series is pretty good, but I liked the 2D ones better. 

Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (DS): Remember Gamefly, the online game rental company? I used to be a member and rented this, my first Prof. Layton game. I really loved it, the art style, music, story and puzzles. I own most of the Prof Layton games now and would love to play one again. 

Etrian Odyssey III (DS): The best recreation of old 80s RPGs like Wizardry. It's turn-based in every way, even movement. It's deep though, and eventually difficult. I haven't beaten a single one of these games. This is now on Switch with its previous two games in a bundle I want really badly. 

Fable III (X360): And we may be finally getting Fable IV in the next year or two, 14 years later! What is up with that! Fable III wasn't as celebrated as Fable II but I liked it. It was more designed to emphasize the action, is how I feel about it. 

Namco Museum MegaMix (Wii): This is a great collection I got mainly for the Xevious spin-off game Grobda. It's a tank battle game instead of a flying game. 

Splatterhouse (X360): I got this because it has the first three Genesis games as a bonus, but I found that I liked the action of the main game quite a bit too. 

Epic Mickey (Wii): Another rare day-one purchase by me. I was so excited for the premise of this game. The dark visual design had me hooked. I found it difficult to play because of wonky camera angles, but I'd love to try my hand at it again. 

A World of Keflings (X360): This was the sequel to Kingdom for Keflings, both made by NinjaBee, a developer I was following at the time. This was a god-game of sorts. You played as your Xbox Avatar and manipulated tiny villagers to build and collect things. In 2018 they did A Handful of Keflings for Steam but a console version hasn't appeared yet. What is up with THAT!

Played Later:

Dark Void (X360): I tried this again on Xbox Series S not too long ago and found I really enjoyed it. I finished it and everything. Jacking into UFOs was the mcshizzle!

Sakura Wars, So Long My Love (Wii): I played several hours of this a little while back but didn't finish it. I liked it a lot. 

Call of Duty: Black Ops (X360): Once I discovered that Treyarch did this spin-off from COD, I decided to check it out and found I liked it a lot. It's hard to describe, but the gameplay was a little more like old school FPS games than mainline COD which leaned towards simulation. I have been meaning to carefully go through all the Black Ops games but they have held their value remarkably well and are still $15 even on sale. 

Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii): This game amazed me with its creativity and visual style. I'd like to finish it. 

Want to Play: 

Xbox: Mass Effect 2, Bioshock 2, Metro 2033, How To Train Your Dragon, Transformers: War for Cybertron, Toy Story 3, Hasbro Family Game Night 3, Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage.

Wii: Super Mario Galaxy 2, Sin & Punishment Star Successor, Donkey Kong Country Returns.

Sony: God of War Ghosts of Sparta.


 

Comments

daftman

09/30/2023 at 05:36 PM

I remember hearing that Singularity wasn't great. More of a "meh" than "bad." What's your opinion on it?

Etrian Odyssey III has such great music! 

I really wanted to like Epic Mickey and I really tried. But I wasn't a fan of the mission-based hub world style they saddled the game with and, as you said, the camera stunk. The dark promotional art translated to a dingy and dull world, I felt, and it just wasn't fun to play. I did pick up the 3DS Metroidvania-style follow up when I found it on clearance but I didn't bother at all with the direct sequel.

I remember those Keflings games being a staple in your blogs for a long time!

KnightDriver

10/06/2023 at 09:24 AM

It's been a while since Singularity. I remember liking it, and I'm constantly interested in returning to it, but you are probably right that it wasn't the best ever. 

I don't really get all the love EO gets for its music. It always sounded like classical-lite or even musak to me. I'll give a close listen when I finally return to those remakes on Switch though. Maybe I just didn't pay attention last time. 

I think you nailed all the issues with Epic Mickey right there. I was in love with the ads for it, but the world was a bit drab. 

Haha. Mad Krammer and I were obessively completing everything in those games. Often kicking Keflings around too, if I'm honest about it. Haha. 

Cary Woodham

10/02/2023 at 03:43 AM

Even though I played the Wii a lot, I actually liked my Xbox 360 more.

The original Pac-Man Championship Edition is the reason why I got my 360.  It's still one of my favorite Pac-games of all time.

I really miss those arcade collections like Data East Arcade Classics and Namco Museums.  I'm impressed you knew that Grobda was a spinoff of Xevious.

I actually liked Epic Mickey and its sequel. Sure they had their problems, but I didn't think they were that bad.

Kirby's Epic Yarn was great, even though it originally wasn't meant to be a Kirby game.  The music in Epic Yarn is fantastic.

KnightDriver

10/06/2023 at 09:31 AM

Pac-Man CE is the Pac-Man I most look forward to playing. 

I've been seeing a lot of digital collections lately like the Tomb Raider 1-3, Metal Gear 1-3, and many others. I did used to enjoy physical collections though. Not much there anymore. 

I enjoyed both EM 1 and 2 up until a point. There was always some technical issue that stopped me. I'll try them again though, always wishing for a better experience. 

I'm so excited to return to Epic Yarn again. I love those crafting themed games. They get so creative. 

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