Brace yourselves because VGH is getting political! In this week’s show, we’re taking on the SOPA debate. Spoiler alert: we’re against it. Also: Paul likes Mario, Randy likes Rayman, and D.J. dabbles in The Troll Class. It burns my ass!
5 CommentsTag: Super Mario 3D Land
#5: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors
Although this actually came out towards the end of 2010, 999 struck such a chord with me that I’m happy to feature it alongside the best games I played this year. I haven’t played many visual novels (the closest maybe being Hotel Dusk: Room 215), but I loved that the game took its time building up an elaborate mystery which, despite the many unexpected twists, all seemed to make sense in the end. The ways the creator managed to incorporate genre tropes and even the DS format into the story and gameplay were nothing short of genius and had me scrambling to play the game over so I could experience it again from a new perspective. It’s like The Prestige of video games—the deception is right under your nose the entire time, but you’d never in a million years suspect it.
Comments closedWhy 14? There were just so many games that I enjoyed in 2011 that the standard 10-item list couldn’t contain them all.
14. Gears of War 3
I like the Gears series in a way that surprises even me sometimes. This installment brings some of the best new elements to Delta Squad’s seemingly never-ending war against the Locust, including refined shooting and cover systems, smarter enemies and a longer, more complex story line. It’s easy to dismiss Gears of War for simply providing more meat for the meatheads (which it definitely does), but I’ve always felt that there’s way more going on here: Gears 3 has a sense of finality and depth that’s hard to find in most games, let alone one about hulking soldiers mowing down hordes of alien foes.
13. L.A. Noire
We certainly did our fair share of complaining about L.A. Noire here at Video Game Hangover but it still stands out as one of my favorite gaming experiences of the year. The investigations and characters at the heart of the game are utterly unique, as is its 1940s Hollywood setting. Try to overlook the frustrating interrogations, strangely empty game world, or oddly-anticlimactic pacing and you’ll find something truly uncommon being attempted here. I can only hope that the inevitable L.A. Noire 2 addresses these foibles and delivers the game that this aspired to be.
It’s our Best of 2011 show! To kick off the new year, we’re recapping our favorites of last year!
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Stuff this down your chimney! This week, we’ve assembled the Ultimate VGH Holiday Shopping Guide for the obsessive gamers and pop-culture geeks on your list. We’ve also got Viewer Mail, our weekly Hangovers, and we’ll wrap things up with Last Call.
Keep an eye on the blog throughout the next week or so for details on all of the items we talk about, including links and pics.
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Thanks but no thanks? This week, we’re talking about the things that make us thankful to be gamers. This is also the episode where it sounds like Randy could drop dead at any moment. Sorry ’bout that. Plus: Mario, Saints, Skyrim, Queen and Muppets!
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D.J. has returned from PAX Prime in Seattle with a cornucopia of new and exciting games to share (as well as a virulent new strain of the PAX pox). We also discuss Deus Ex, Xenoblade Chronicles, fine Canadian comedy and football games that nobody buys.
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