Favourite Games of 2012 So Far

During the summer months, there are not a lot of big games that come out.  While there is a steady stream of great downloadable games that come out in the summer, not many big retail games come out in the summer as they stick to the overcrowded winter and spring seasons.  With this evident drought of games, there are some weeks when yours truly has to think of different things to write about when no actual games release said week.  This week I decided to look back on the my favourite games of 2012 so far.  The games will be listed in order of their release not how much I like them and I am only including games that I have either beaten or have played a considerable amount of.  I hope that everybody enjoys this list and maybe finds a game in this list that they may have overlooked.

Run Roo Run
There is no other iOS game that I have found released this year that is better than Run Roo Run.  Charming graphics, simplistic yet intuitive controls, satisfying gameplay and a plethora of levels that test both your mind and reflexes, Run Roo Run is the complete package for only one or two dollars depending whether you get it for the iPhone or iPad respectively.  5th Cell's first game for iOS is a game that no iDevice owner should miss.

Mass Effect 3
If you have been following this blog for a while now, you would know I full how much I love the Mass Effect series and in turn Mass Effect 3.  While some jaded people got hung up over all the supposed controversy with the ending and the Day One DLC, I found Mass Effect 3 to be an incredible game experience that serves as a worthy finale to this grand video game trilogy.  Mass Effect 3 is a game not to be missed this year as it is quite possibly the best game of 2012 and the best RPG from this side of the world.

Journey
Journey is easily one of the most unique experiences I had playing a game this year.  There are no tutorials, no real instructions.  You are just dropped into a seemingly baren desert with this profile of a mountain in the distance.  The controls are simple yet incredibly intuitive, the graphics and art are just jaw dropping, the music is beautiful and the puzzles, while simple, are very charming and engaging.  Journey is a soothing and relaxing experience that can be finished in one sitting.  If you missed out on downloading this gem for the PSN, you can pick up the Journey Collector's Edition that comes out at the end of August.

Kid Icarus: Uprising
Nintendo may have took 20 years to release a new Kid Icarus game, but Uprising makes the time fans waited well worth it.  Kid Icarus: Uprising is a labour of love from Masahiro Sakurai and Project Sora that brings Pit to the 21st century in style.  While the controls can get in the way from time to time, the fast-paced action, witty fourth wall breaking banter, exciting story and fun multi-player experience sure make up for it.  Kid Icarus: Uprising is easily the best 3DS game of 2012 so far that 3DS should not miss.

Xenoblade Chronicles
One of the last great games for the Wii, Xenoblade Chronicles is a grand RPG adventure from Nintendo and Monolith Soft.  Xenoblade Chronicles has an incredibly gripping story, fun real-time combat and an enormous world to explore with a huge amount of side quests to keep you occupied.  I have played at least 25 to 30 hours and I barely scratched the surface of all the content in this Wii RPG.  For a system that has been starving for RPGs, Xenoblade Chronicles stands tall as the pinnacle of RPGs on the Wii and for Japanese RPGs in this console generation.

Kid Icarus: Uprising Review

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”  The first line of dialogue in Kid Icarus: Uprising is an apology to fans that have been waiting close to 20 years for a new Kid Icarus game.  Uprising serves as one hell of an apology from Nintendo.  The fast-paced action, witty banter, fun story and solid multi-player far outweigh Uprising’s few shortcomings to create one of the best games available for the Nintendo 3DS.

Medusa is back and it is up to Pit and the Goddess of Light, Palutena to stop her and the Underworld Army.  Kid Icarus: Uprising’s story mode is one hell of a ride containing some great twists and turns that keep things fresh and exciting.  When you think Uprising is over, Nintendo and Project Sora throws an amazing twist that has to be seen to understand how great it is.  Every character in Uprising is completely voiced and unlike Nintendo’s other attempts of adding voice acting to their games, the voice acting in Uprising is superb.  The almost constant banter each of Uprising’s levels, which may be a turnoff for some, is highly enjoyable as it breaks the fourth wall early and often, which makes for some truly hilarious and memorable lines.

As an aid to fight Medusa and her Underworld Army, Palutena grants Pit the “Power of Flight”, which allows Pit to fly for five minutes at a time.  This story element plays right into the gameplay as each level is broken into sections, air battle and land battle.  Air Battle plays much like an on-rails shooter such as Sin & Punishment as you control Pit’s projectiles and position on the screen while he flies through the environment.  Land Battle is fairly linear, but offers Pit more freedom to move around the environment and battle enemies.  This simple formula might get tedious in lesser games, but Uprising’s levels are so diverse and unique that it keeps things from getting repetitive.  Plus playing on higher intensities, which can be adjusted by offering hearts (Uprising’s currency) to the Fiend Cauldron, opens up new rooms to explore and better items to collect thus creating many reasons to replay Uprising. 

Aside from the story mode, Kid Icarus: Uprising includes a full-on multi-player that is much more than tacked on.  You can play locally with friends or online over the Nintendo Network in either Free for All or Light vs. Dark.  Each multi-player mode plays out much like the Land Battles in the single-player, but in a big non-linear arena.  Out of the two modes, Light vs. Dark is the most compelling.  In Light vs. Dark, you are split into two teams, the aforementioned Light and Dark.  Each time a person dies on either team, you lose a portion of the team life bar.  Once a team’s life bar is completely gone, one member of said team becomes either Pit or Dark Pit, depending on if the team is Light or Dark.  Once Pit or Dark Pit loses their entire life bar, the match is over.  Overall, the multi-player is just as fun and frantic as the single-player and ran without any hitches for this writer.  Like some have said, you initially buy Uprising for the story mode, but stay for the multi-player.

The biggest polarizing feature of Kid Icarus: Uprising is the game’s controls.  You either love them or hate them.  For veteran handheld gamers, Uprising’s controls are very similar to those of Metroid Prime Hunters for the original DS.  You control Pit’s movements with the Circle Pad, the camera and aiming reticle with the stylus and attack and/or fire projectiles with the L Shoulder Button.  It takes a bit of getting used to and might cause a few hand cramps if you play for long periods of time.  The key point is that you can play Kid Icarus: Uprising, even in 3D, without the stand that comes packaged with the game.  After a little time with the game, I adjusted to the controls and found them very intuitive even if the few instances they do make things a little more complicated.  Other than a few shortcomings with the game’s controls, the game’s Augmented Reality features feel tacked on and more or less completely useless.

While Kid Icarus: Uprising has a couple of shortcomings with the controls and the useless AR Card Battles, the fast-paced action, witty fourth wall breaking banter, exciting story and solid multi-player sure make up for those shortcomings.  It is one of the best games you can find for the 3DS and one incredible apology to those who have been waiting for a new Kid Icarus since Game Boy days.  Hopefully Nintendo won’t make us wait another 20 years for the next entry in the Kid Icarus series.

Launch Station: Kid Icarus: Uprising

It has been 19 long years since the lovable angel Pit has starred in a game of his own.  While it has been many long years, Kid Icarus has been one of the most requested series that Nintendo revisit.  After Masahiro Sakurai and his team at Project Sora finished work on Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Nintendo had them put on this revival of the Kid Icarus franchise.  Since Kid Icarus: Uprising was first shown at E3 2010 along with the amazing unveiling of the 3DS, it has been at the top of many 3DS owners list including yours truly.

After 25 long years, Medusa and her evil Underworld Army has been reborn and seeks to destroy all of mankind.  The only person able to stop Medusa is our angelic hero, Pit, an agent of the goddess Palutena.  To aid in his battle with Medusa, Palutena grants Pit the "Power of Flight", which allows Pit to fly for five minutes at a time.  Kid Icarus: Uprising is a huge departure from previous entries in the series.  Built from the ground up with the 3DS in mind, Uprising is mainly a frantic third-person shooter.  Each level is broken up into two sections, an air section and a land section.  The air sections play much like an on-rails shooter as you control Pit's projectiles and positioning on the screen while he flies through the environment.  The land sections offer more freedom as Pit can freely move around the environment and battle enemies.  The controls for Kid Icarus: Uprising are very similar to those of Metroid Prime Hunters for the original DS.  You control Pit's movements with the Circle Pad or D-pad, control the camera and the aiming reticle with the stylus and attack and/or fire projectiles with the L Shoulder Button.  Being that Masahiro Sakurai is known to be a perfectionist, him and his team have packed Kid Icarus: Uprising to the brim with content.  There are hundreds upon hundreds of weapons to collect and combine, you are encouraged to replay levels on higher difficulties in order to get better loot and there are tons of achievements to complete, which give you other rewards.  Last but not least, Kid Icarus: Uprising includes a full-on multiplayer mode.  You can play locally with friends or online over the newly christened Nintendo Network in Team Deathmatch or Free for All match types.  Kid Icarus: Uprising also includes a pack of AR cards, which can be used to play minigames with the 3DS' augmented reality features.

Personally, I have been looking forward to playing Kid Icarus: Uprising since Pit appeared on screen at Nintendo's E3 2010 press conference to apologize for keeping all us waiting.  It is the game that I bought my 3DS for and I have patiently waited a year for this game.  Now that I am done Mass Effect 3, I will be spending a whole lot of time playing Kid Icarus: Uprising and I cannot wait.  If you own a 3DS, there is no reason not to pick up this game.