It’s the beginning of a new year. A time for reflection on the previous year and anticipation for the new one.
Or an excuse to have a party, I forget which.
Right, that whole reflection thing. I already had a kind of reflection on the site a while ago so there’s no real need to go into that again, so let’s look at some of the games that I’ve had the pleasure (or displeasure) of playing over the last year or so.
Animal Crossing
Animal Crossing is kind of like a simplified version of the Sims… Kind of. The game is strangely compelling, although I will admit that I really bought it for the NES games locked away in it, but I played the actual game part of the game for just over eight months. Eventually, it just got too repetitive. Sure, the holidays were neat, and the random town events were nice, but on the Regular Days, running around and talking to everyone just to hear them say the same thing over and over again just wore a little thin. Maybe I’ll pop the thing in on my birthday and see if anyone remembers me.
Paper Mario
I picked up Paper Mario over the summer on the cheap, and was really impressed by it. Yes, it’s a ‘kiddie’ kind of game, and yes, it’s not an enormous challenge, but it’s a genuinely fun game. I am most impressed at how well the characters in the game are animated. It really looks like you are playing a cartoon.
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
I’ve invested over 80 hours into this game so far, and I’m nearly two-thirds of the way done with the missions. I never had a Playstation, so I can’t really compare it to the original version of Tactics, but this one is really fun. Of all the reviews I’ve read on it, people either really like it or they really don’t. There isn’t really any middle ground. Mostly the people who don’t like it are the people who are upset that it’s not Final Fantasy Tactics 2. Well, that and the whole ‘Laws’ thing.
Game Boy Player
Okay, it’s not technically a game, but the Game Boy Player is still a really nice accessory, especially when playing games like Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Nintendo seems to have this ‘thing’ lately about connectivity between systems, and this does a fine job. Complaints? Using a Game Boy Camera with it isn’t so possible, and Nintendo says to not hook two of them together with a Game Link cable… But they don’t know why (or won’t say why).
Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne
I bet you thought that I only bought Nintendo games this past year. No, I bought and liked Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne. There really isn’t a whole lot to say about the game except that if you liked the original, then there is a really good chance that you’ll like the expansion as well. It’s a whole lot like the first one, except more. Blizzard doesn’t really break any new ground with this title, but they hardly need to to satisfy fans of the game.
A lot of games for less than $5 apiece
Let me spare you some grief. If you’re in a store and you see a game that costs less than $5 and you need a computer or game console to play it on, turn directly around and run as fast as you can, plowing into the rack behind you and knocking yourself unconsious. Believe me, that’s a much more bearable experience than playing that bargain garbage. While it’s true you might find a gem out there, sifting through the crap infested ‘one step away from the trash compactor’ shelf is rarely worth it.
Right, so there’s a sampling of the games that I bought over the last year. I probably bought more, but I seem to have lost the checklist that may or may not have existed.