The Observer, November 18, 2005
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11
The season's most underappreciated games
The videogame industry is expanding each year, bringing in billions of dollars and attracting wide audiences. The market is continuously becoming more competitive, forcing companies, at least in theory, to make more enjoyable software. However, because only so much time and money can be spent marketing games, huge hits such as Madden and Halo easily demolish other titles that are worth just as much attention. Interestingly enough, even with the launch of the Xbox 360 on the horizon, this holiday season seems subdued compared to the huge game releases of last year (Metal Gear Solid 3, GTA: San Andreas, Metroid Prime 2, and Halo 2 were all released last fall, if you can believe it). All three of the current consoles are slowly fading away, some faster than others, and now is the perfect time to catch up with recent releases. Keeping this in mind, here's a list of some excellent games that even the most avid gamers may be unfamiliar with.
Microsoft is understandably shifting gears entirely to focus on the huge undertaking of launching a new system. Still, some companies are releasing some final games before the year ends, one of which is the hilarious Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel without a Pulse. Your task is to utilize Stubbs' abilities, such as possession and using his own organs as grenades, to conquer the city of Punchbowl. This entails transforming everyone into an obedient, undead army. This game is surreal. One level involves a dance contest between your character and the city's chief of police. Later in the game, you'll hear a barbershop quartet cheerily singing of the demise of the populace. With controls that feel similar to those of Halo and arguably the greatest loading screen ever conceived, this is one Xbox game potentially worth playing.
If the Xbox's presence is diminishing, then the Gamecube is practically gone. Nintendo fans might think they'd have little to look forward to this holiday, especially with the delay of the next Zelda game. While this is true, Nintendo's Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, one of their final releases this year, is actually superb. Those who have played the Advance Wars or Fire Emblem games on the Gameboy Advance will feel quite at home, as the core strategy-RPG gameplay is similar. There are dozens of playable characters, an interesting story, and many hours worth of missions. With all these qualities, gamers can easily look past the lack of voice acting or decent graphics.
Finally, there's Shadow of the Colossus, which is easily my personal favorite game of the year. Sales of this gem have been abysmal when compared to the PS2's other big games, and this disappointment is what prompted me to write this article in the first place. There has never been a game that has used scale so well. All of the game is centered around the protagonist, miles of open land, and sixteen colossi that need to be defeated in order to revive a deceased girl. Each colossus truly lives up to its name; some are literally the size of skyscrapers, and the few that aren't are aggressive enough to make up for their small stature. It is the player's task to discover how to climb on top of each beast and defeat it. This belongs as much to the puzzle genre as it does to the action genre. One is guaranteed to feel a sense of awe throughout the game, aided by the magnificent art design and bittersweet story. Shadow, as well as the other two games, demonstrate, that the current consoles still have plenty to show us before more powerful hardware arrives on shelves.
