Re: Games Beaten 2016
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 3:09 pm
1. Ultimate NES Remix (3DS)
2. Space Invaders Infinity Gene (iOS)
3. World of Goo (iOS)
4. A Dark Room (iOS)
5. Shovel Knight (WII U)
6. The Room (iOS)
7. Mega Man 10 (PS3)
8. The Room Two (iOS)
9. Braid (PS3)
10. Kung Fu Fight! (WII U)
11. Kung Fu Rabbit (WII U)
12. Escape Goat (360)
13. Canabalt (iOS)
14. Leo's Fortune (iOS)
15. King's Field: The Ancient City (PS2)
King's Field: The Ancient City (a/k/a King's Field IV) is a sublime gaming experience for experienced, patient players. It is consistently challenging; it respects the player's intelligence; and it is impeccably designed. Moreover - and although the game is ostensibly a first-person RPG - it actually has much more in common with classic action/adventure games like The Legend of Zelda and Metroid. Like those games, King's Field: The Ancient City provides you a basic goal - return the cursed idol - and drops you off in a dark, exceptionally dangerous, high-fantasy world with no armor, no weapons, and no direction. From the starting point, you chart your own path to the goal, and the game provides you with the freedom to do exactly that. Only a few of the game's myriad armor, items, and weapons are actually required to beat the game, and it is possible to skip some sections (and even boss encounters) entirely. The game encourages exploration, however, and dedicated players (i.e., anyone who plays the game for more than a few hours) will want to explore every inch of the game's world to unlock its mysteries and piece together the game's appropriately cryptic story. Moreover - and like the best "metroidvania" games - backtracking through the game's world is never tedious, and the fact that opening even the most mundane doorways and treasure chests has the potential unlock vast new areas makes the game immensely addictive.
That said, the game is not entirely without its faults. (Sorry, Exhuminator!) The controls are consistently unintuitive; the rate at which the character turns is inexcusably slow; and the enemy AI is often atrocious. The game's frame rate is abysmal, and large portions of the game's world consist exclusively of dimly-lit brown-and-gray passages. The game's element-based magic and upgrade system is unnecessarily complex, and despite beating the game, I feel like I never fully understood it. Worse, the game, at points, doles out new armor, spells, and weapons at a fantastic rate, and there is no incentive to learn their nuances or to upgrade most of them. Finally, the game starts very slowly, and like Okami - another one of my very favorite games - it does not really pick up until the player is at least five or six hours into the game.
Those who can tolerate the game's slow opening and cryptic nature, however, are in for an immensely rewarding and singular gaming experience, and despite the game's flaws, I unhesitatingly rank it among the best games of its generation. Like Exhuminator, I cannot recommend King's Field: The Ancient City highly enough, and I consider it an essential gaming experience for those of us who grew up with (and appreciate) challenging, mysterious, and "unguided" gaming experiences.
2. Space Invaders Infinity Gene (iOS)
3. World of Goo (iOS)
4. A Dark Room (iOS)
5. Shovel Knight (WII U)
6. The Room (iOS)
7. Mega Man 10 (PS3)
8. The Room Two (iOS)
9. Braid (PS3)
10. Kung Fu Fight! (WII U)
11. Kung Fu Rabbit (WII U)
12. Escape Goat (360)
13. Canabalt (iOS)
14. Leo's Fortune (iOS)
15. King's Field: The Ancient City (PS2)
King's Field: The Ancient City (a/k/a King's Field IV) is a sublime gaming experience for experienced, patient players. It is consistently challenging; it respects the player's intelligence; and it is impeccably designed. Moreover - and although the game is ostensibly a first-person RPG - it actually has much more in common with classic action/adventure games like The Legend of Zelda and Metroid. Like those games, King's Field: The Ancient City provides you a basic goal - return the cursed idol - and drops you off in a dark, exceptionally dangerous, high-fantasy world with no armor, no weapons, and no direction. From the starting point, you chart your own path to the goal, and the game provides you with the freedom to do exactly that. Only a few of the game's myriad armor, items, and weapons are actually required to beat the game, and it is possible to skip some sections (and even boss encounters) entirely. The game encourages exploration, however, and dedicated players (i.e., anyone who plays the game for more than a few hours) will want to explore every inch of the game's world to unlock its mysteries and piece together the game's appropriately cryptic story. Moreover - and like the best "metroidvania" games - backtracking through the game's world is never tedious, and the fact that opening even the most mundane doorways and treasure chests has the potential unlock vast new areas makes the game immensely addictive.
That said, the game is not entirely without its faults. (Sorry, Exhuminator!) The controls are consistently unintuitive; the rate at which the character turns is inexcusably slow; and the enemy AI is often atrocious. The game's frame rate is abysmal, and large portions of the game's world consist exclusively of dimly-lit brown-and-gray passages. The game's element-based magic and upgrade system is unnecessarily complex, and despite beating the game, I feel like I never fully understood it. Worse, the game, at points, doles out new armor, spells, and weapons at a fantastic rate, and there is no incentive to learn their nuances or to upgrade most of them. Finally, the game starts very slowly, and like Okami - another one of my very favorite games - it does not really pick up until the player is at least five or six hours into the game.
Those who can tolerate the game's slow opening and cryptic nature, however, are in for an immensely rewarding and singular gaming experience, and despite the game's flaws, I unhesitatingly rank it among the best games of its generation. Like Exhuminator, I cannot recommend King's Field: The Ancient City highly enough, and I consider it an essential gaming experience for those of us who grew up with (and appreciate) challenging, mysterious, and "unguided" gaming experiences.