Red Dead Redemption:
You know playing Red Dead Redemption is akin to travelling to the countryside after living a long time in the city. It's a breath of fresh air, an escape from the hustle and bustle of city life and the stars at night are a lot more prominent. Not just in a literal sense, but it's wholly refreshing to see the tried and true formula set in an entirely different setting, so points for Rockstar for trying something new. And it's through this that Red Dead Redemption feels a lot more involving than Grand Theft Auto. Where long trips to missions in GTA sometimes felt like a bit of a grind, Red Dead Redemption invites the player to hop on their horse and explore a western, and indeed, entirely new setting. The sun is bright and often the land is often barren, save for random events such as an escaped convict or a fire fight between the authority and bandits. But through this, it allows the player to take in the world around them, making it, in my eyes, a true 'open world game', where you whistle for your horse, hop on and ride off into the sunset. Brilliant stuff.
Valkyria Chronicles
I have nothing but praise for this game. Thanks to my co-op partner Selina for letting me borrow the game, for letting me experience this game because it is awesome. Set in a sort of steampunk setting, gameplay is a hybrid between third person shooter and turn based strategy which results in a load of fun. Depth is evident as well, with different classes of soldiers in order to combat different types of situations. Throw in some awesome cel shaded-water painting graphics and it's the formula for awesomesauce! LOVE IT!!
Super Street Fighter IV
Just a bit of a story before I start. When my family came to Australia in the summer of 1993, they had to live with my cousins for a while until they found their own home. My cousins were addicted to Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, and my dad was always exposed to the soundbites of Hadouken, Shoryuken, Yoga fires and the points noise whenever you won a battle. He always recounts this memory, and adds that 'You (myself Jared) were still in your mother's stomach'. With that in mind, here's Super Street Fighter IV
Super Street Fighter IV, the game which has ignited a passion in me that will never ever be rivalled again. So let's start with the game itself. Online has been fixed somewhat to add new modes, and lag is less present, so playing with Americans halfway across the world isn't something problematic. The addition of ten new characters looked to fix the problem of the usual ryu/ken/sagat matchup but it seems people have been sticking with their guns. Never gets old focus attack dash cancelling through their fireball spams to get in their face and unload a bread and butter crouching medium punch into flash kick. Sweetness!
It may be the same game, but Super Street Fighter IV has grabbed me like no other game has grabbed me before. The day I decided to do a search on guile strategy guides is the day my street fighter experience changed forever. A whole competitive street fighter scene, where an alien like language has now managed to infuse itself into my everyday talk. Let this be a reminder, flash kick has no priority, but linking it from a crouching medium punch makes it all the more safer.
And the scene itself. Names like Daigo Umehara, Justin Wong, Gamerbee and John Choi, players with awesome skills, who for me, are the gaming parallels of sporting legends such as Roger Federer and Michael Jordan. All this would've never been possible, if I didn't decide to pick up Super Street Fighter IV on that day, and expose myself to something that has changed my gaming world perhaps forever. It is for this reason, that Super Street Fighter IV is one of the best games of the year.
Before I end this post however, I'd like to say that my once partner in crime Selina has now become my co-op partner. With this, I hope that our escapades such as fighting mass armies during the three kingdoms era, hopping around the Mushroom Kingdom trying to save Princess Peach, or simply just rocking out to some tunes in Rock Band brings many many joyous times. Thanks a bunch Selina for being my co-op partner!
Jared
