Bite Size 2008 is my wrap-up of moments in games from the past calendar year. This is the grand poo-bah of the series with my memories of my favorite games of the year. All of these experiences comprise some of the most fun I’ve had playing videogames in the year, and roughly the most of my gaming life. These aren’t in any order, because if you were to ask me to pick just one, I could not. Check out this listing for the rest of my Bite Size 2008 posts!
Reloading!
The Left 4 Dead demo did exactly what a demo should do for a game: it got my friends and I excited to play it. The day the demo hit the marketplace, the first question on everyone’s lips was to ask whether the rest of us had downloaded the demo. We spent a night that weekend playing the demo on split-screen, passing around the controllers. Everyone got a turn, and everyone loved it. I know the game is primarily made for online multiplayer, but a social multiplayer event like we had is something to show the game’s merits. It’s just as much fun to watch as it is to participate in a scenario. Although only one of those friends and I ended up ponying up the cash for the full retail game, it’s still fun to have a couple of people over enjoying the game and the entertainment that it is able to provide.
Welcome Back to Your Old Home
I’ve already written about Fable II, and so have tons of other people across the web.I’ve commented on the narrative and the characters and the matter of choice. Nowhere did the matters of choice become so prevalent as they did when I swung off the market square in Bowerstone and headed for Bowerstone Old Town. (Spoiler ahead) When my character was simply Little Sparrow, I made the choice to return the deeds, and help the police officer clean up the area. When I returned many years later, I found that the city was bright and sparkling, and the envy of all of Bowerstone. The vendors all cut me significant discounts (which I abused thanks to a General Store shortage), and I was glad to see that the deeds that I did had ramifications that changed an entire city area. It was because of this I saved up until I could buy my first house in the game in Bowerstone Old Town, just because I felt like it was where my character belonged. These were his streets, his people. It gave me a sense of belonging in the world that few other RPGs recreate.
Peace Out Playboy
The theme of the year was freedom of choice in videogames. It was a mantra we heard so many press events and developer interviews spout, we hardly had a choice but to hear it. In a year where narrative really took center stage, and allowed the players to shape their worlds in their own manners, the role of the characters in games became even more prominent. Some of my favorite characters of the year came out of Grand Theft Auto IV. My friends and I still quote lines from Roman and Little Jacob, even though most of us finished the game months ago. Almost all of us picked it up on release day, or shortly thereafter. However, I still remember the night we all gathered at our local diner and the conversation came to GTA. Most specifically, whether we killed Dwayne or Playboy X. While we were split (and some of us going so far as to say there was a “right” answer), it showed that games could create a real sense of realism in how we believed these characters. Niko Bellic and company showed us what some real human emotion can do for a story, and it brought my friends and I back to these same discussions every time we had to make a choice like this in the game. Despite some frustrating missions, this was truly one of the best gaming experiences I’ve ever had.
Breaking into the Shed was a Bad Idea
I’ve already mentioned that I almost hated Fallout 3. Then, I turned around and showed my love for it by creating an in-depth character planning sheet. I may have knocked it a bit when comparing it to Fable II, but when it all comes down to it, I have nothing but love for Fallout 3 and it is easily my #1 game of the year. The world had a lot to see and a lot to do, and it really rewarded players who had that little bit of gumption to color outside the lines, as Mitch Krpata pointed out recently. What I enjoyed was stumbling a little town on the map called Andale. Located in the central Southern area of the map, Andale is a small town with a few buildings, and a couple of families worth of inhabitants with an extremely bright outlook on life. To them, Andale is the best place in the world. However, you realize how far wrong they are once you enter the shed in the backyard. It gives you a glimpse of how people are surviving in the Capital Wastelands, and what it takes for some of them to make ends meet. At that point, you feel sorry for them, and for everyone else in the Wastes since you see how hard it is for people to survive. Moments like these made Fallout 3 an engaging game, and my game of the year.
Next: What 2009 will bring for me, if nothing else.
