My Favorite Gaming Moments of 2008; What Are Yours?

Nathan Grayson — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 19:43:27 -0600

If you’re reading this right now, it means that 2008 just settled into its final resting place inscribed across its own grave stone, and that you’re reading this right now. I think we both have reason to celebrate. How to celebrate, though? Well, that’s your call. If you want to know which game – of the thousands released this year – is quantifiably GAME OF THE YEAR, then go here, here, or here (then everywhere else) and have a few repair hammers standing by for your reading glasses. However, if your 2008 -- like mine -- was defined by a number of exemplary moments in your favorite games, then why not get your gears turning with my favorite gaming moments of 2008? Enjoy!

Left 4 Dead’s Opening Cinematic – Sure, L4D is a meticulously sown-together Frankenstein monster of moments that both bring players together and blow them apart, but snuffing out Smokers and playing whipping boy while my buddies tangoed with Tanks wasn’t what impressed me most about the game. Instead, it was L4D’s subtle, yet utterly potent opening cinematic that really snuck its hand into my cranium-shaped cookie jar. As pointed out by the always fantastic Offworld blog:

“It wasn't until I actually started playing Left 4 Dead about a week ago that it all clicked for me. I popped the disc into my 360, decided to watch the opening cinematic again, and found myself just as unimpressed as I had been the first time. But when I actually started to play the game, I discovered that I somehow already knew how to play the game. I knew what abilities the zombies I had. I knew what strategies were effective. I knew that a pipe bomb was good for getting the horde away from your group; I knew that when I heard crying, I should shut off my flashlight; I knew that I had to help up fallen team mates, and that I wasn't surprised that I could should my guns when disabled.”

“Without once having booted up the game, I knew how to play it. “

Metal Gear Solid 4’s Second to Last …Wait, No, Third? Fourth? Cut-Scene – (WARNING: SPOILER-BEAST LURKS HEREIN) Fans can’t get enough of ‘em; detractors wish they could just toss a shoe at the screen and put an end to all the chit-chat. But if there’s one thing everyone knows about Metal Gear Solid, it’s that the game is loaded with lavishly produced cut-scenes. So I guess it’s only fitting that my favorite MGS4 moment involves series director Hideo Kojima giving the puppet strings a few final tugs as a farewell to his breadwinner. Well, kinda.

See, near the end of MGS4, Old Snake is tasked with dragging his rusty bones through a hall filled with microwaves (sci-fi death rays, basically – not my personal chef) in order to Save The World. Of course, it’s heavily implied that slithering across biazrro Wal-Mart’s home appliance section will leave our legendary hero soggy and useless, so maybe the kitchen allusions aren’t so far off.

Now, it’d be painful enough watching one of gaming’s greatest icons die a horrible death (that you didn’t intentionally cause), but Kojima takes things to the next level. As it turns out, Snake won’t move unless you give the action button its best workout since Track and Field. Minutes, then, feel like days as every fiber in your entire arm cracks and tears under the strain of Snake’s grim mission. I never knew a game could force me into immersion, but MGS4 certainly did an amazing job of it.

Lost Odyssey’s Walls of Text – As far as Japanese role-playing games go, Lost Odyssey was serviceable. Decent, if unspectacular battle system, suitably epic plot, etc. – you know the drill. The game did, however, include one aspect that hoisted it above the rest of the crowd: the time-honored tradition of short stories. Yeah. Reading. Lost Odyssey’s narrative shines a steam-powered spotlight on Kaim Argonar, an immortal amnesiac. As expected, his present (i.e. the part you’re playing) is filled with danger and pantsless princesses, but his past is where the game really shines.

Every time Kaim unlocks a memory from his thousand-year journey, it’s presented in the form of a beautifully written short story. Are these pieces of Kaim’s storied past interactive? Not in the least. But they’re undeniably captivating and express emotions that videogames – on their own – just haven’t figured out how to tap into yet. Really, it raises the question of whether or not gaming’s current trend of “Total Player-Driven Interactivity” is the best road to travel. Heavy Rain, what say you?

Fable 2’s Canine Calamity – (My spoilers, let me show you them) See Spot run. See Spot fetch. See Spot’s fur color change to reflect your moral standing. And finally, see Spot sail headfirst into the bullet that was meant to splatter your gray matter. When a game can make you choose a four-legged pile of pixels over saving the virtual lives of thousands of people – people with fictional families! – you know its developers did something right. Congrats, Mr. Molyneux, you can now cut another notch into your heart-shaped bedpost.

Fallout 3’s Hive of Scum and Villainy – Fallout 3’s main quest could be better, its characters aren’t exactly memorable, and Dogmeat is to Fable 2’s dog as Pluto is to Goofy. So why, in Atom’s great name (may he rest in peace), do I love it so much? Simple – the game world. The devil's in the details, and they're everywhere. Charred notes and voice snippets from decadent days long past, playgrounds and baseball fields made obsolete by a time where people can't be bothered with trivial pursuits like fun -- Fallout 3's wasteland overflows “Woah” moments both large and small. Your character, then, is just another ant making tiny footprints on the back of something much older and greater than him/her. Or so it seems, thanks to the Bethesda’s near-omnipresent attention to detail.

Not only that, the sheer diversity of Fallout 3’s nuked-out nooks and crannies instills the game with an almost-magical quality. As you spend more and more time getting to know the wasteland, its creator – the proverbial man behind the curtain – fades into the background. What you’re left with, then, is a world where it seems that anything can happen. No longer do you take Quest A in order to get on Quest B’s good side; you do it because you’re living your life and splattering your personality across the canvas of another world.

So yeah, miles upon miles of real estate may be stretching the meaning of “moment” a little, but Bethesda’s address is stamped on this impassioned love letter, and they sure as hell deserve it.

Sparkly, futuristic 2009 information is a little lacking at the moment, so why not spend your first “FIRST!” of the New Year telling us about your favorite gaming moments of 2008?

Daily News Brief: PS3 Fans, Are You Ready to Ruuumble?

One4yu2c — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:15:02 -0600

New Playstation Goodies, Get Ready to Rumble

Now that Blu-ray has emerged as the victor in the high definition format war, we expect to see renewed interest in the Playstation 3 as consumers look to kill two birds with one stone. But just to make sure, Sony plans to up the ante. Come April 15, Sony will finally make available the DualShock 3 controller to North American gamers. The vibrating controller will also find its way into a new $499 bundle in late 2008, which will include an 80GB console and Metal Gear Solid 4. And not to be overlooked, the PSP will get a "Deep Red" makeover this June, with Kratos from the God of War series branded on the back.

New Buzz at Yahoo

Yahoo's jumping into the social media scene, and they've created a Buzz along the way. Literally. Like Digg, Del.icio.us, and Reddit, Yahoo Buzz displays user ranked articles from across the web, creating a one-stop repository of the most popular news items. But unlike the other social media services, casual readers are unable to submit articles to the Buzz network, leaving it up to Yahoo and its team of publishers to keep content interesting. Read more here.

iHaptic

The iPhone's touch screen continues to woo consumers, but the lack of force feedback prevents the trendy phone from currying favor among critics. Not content to wait for Apple to offer haptic feedback, a pair PhD students from the University of Glasgow designed their own prototype application utilizing the iPhone's "vibrotactile actuator." The application creates different vibration patterns to simulate what it feels like to push a "smooth rounded button," the feel of a key snapping back into place, and locations of keys. For now, the team's feedback technology only works with their HapticKB application and can't be used with other apps.

Microsoft Fined $1.3 Billion

According to the European Union, Microsoft charged "unreasonable prices" until last October to software developers looking to make ther products compatible with Windows. As a result, the EU hit the software giant with a record $1.3 billion fine today, more than twice as much as the $613 fine imposed back in March 2004. The EU claims Microsoft withheld crucial interoperability information for desktop software, among other complaints. Read more here.

Paypal Procedures

Starting next month, you may find your Paypal funds in a holding pattern for 21 days if deemed a "high-risk transaction." The new policy has sellers wondering how much money PayPal and eBay stand to make from the accruing interest on frozen funds, and conspiracy theorists are reeling at the prospect. But is it much ado about nothing? Company execs and analysts contend that money made in such a fashion has a negligible impact on its bottom line. CNNMoney dives more deeply into the subject here.

Ice Cold Hackers

Give MacGyver a can of compressed air and he could probably build a bomb. Give the same item to researchers at Princeton University, and they'll hack your encrypted hard drive. The Princeton reports shows how freezing DRAM chips causes it to retain data, including keys to unlock encryption, for up to hours after losing power. Would be hackers need only reboot the compromised PC with a program designed to copy the memory contents before it can be purged. Laptops left in sleep mode or hibernation are particularly at risk. Read more here.

Maximum PC metal gear solid 4 RSS Feed