God Mode (PS3)
God Mode was an entertaining PSN game I convinced my brothers into playing with me back when I first found its website, wherein I learned about its entertaining modifiers make the old-school shooting all the more enjoyable. Huge enemies? Shared health for all allies? Fog so thick you can’t see anything in front of you? They were varied and insane- the entertaining ones were those that made the largest changes, while there were some that were simply not quite as exciting.
The entertainment didn’t end with just the modifiers, though, the “Tests of Faith:” before matches players could give themselves handicaps to improve their rewards- such as worse healing or mana regeneration- during local play, picking handicaps became nothing less than showmanship- who was the ballsiest player in the room? Constantly every player would equip all the handicaps, making victory a struggle. But the struggle was worthwhile, and we eventually conquered every stage the game had to offer.
The gold rush round at the end of every stage was a highlight- players rush to grab all the gold they can, shooting each other down in the process, to ensure it was all for them. What usually began as a cautiously optimistic truce quickly degraded into cold-blooded murder once the gold drops began to be worth a little more. Trust is dead in God Mode, and no matter how much you want to believe in humanity’s innate goodness, it simply doesn’t exist.
Bioshock Infinite (PC) (Spoilers)
Bioshock Infinite was a fantastic game. No real other way to put it- the skylines were a ton of fun, the powers were cool, the characters were great- it really had it all. The ending was tight-
Yknow, it’s really interesting to see which games are hard to write about, and which are easy. Bioshock Infinite is difficult for me to write about, since primarily everything I have to say about it is essentially a laundry list with checks by all the right points: great atmosphere, great storytelling, great gameplay, great characters, great graphics- it was a great game. Its being a great game isn’t what makes it tough to write about though- all the games I played this year were (minimum) great. Yet I could write for days about Splinter Cell: Blacklist, and weeks about Pokemon X (and I will for that one).
Maybe it’s because I’ve got nothing new to say about Infinite (suggesting I have anything new to say about any of the other games I played this year). I enjoyed it. I found a lot of the images haunting and memorable, particularly in the ending. I’d love to do some art based on the lighthouses or the twins or when I was drowned by half a dozen Elizabeths.
I really enjoyed how the tears- a primarily gameplay element at the start- became a big part of the story itself. I give a polite and knowing nod to any game that marries the two.
Sometimes I wish the skylines were bigger, and faster, or that Booker had more health and agility to really take advantage of them, but truth be told I enjoyed every minute of the game. I crushed on Elizabeth minimum once, and any game that has me crushing is a good game.
Yes, 90% of games make me crush on at least one female character. Sue me.