Joking aside, at least this does give me a bit more time to try and finish off the games I've been putting aside this past year. That lists now includes Halo 4 (pictured above), Far Cry 3, Assassin's Creed III and Borderlands 2. That is a sequel heavy list for sure, but none of which are bad games in any respect. I've just kind of fallen off the wagon so to speak. I think what it is is that I just have not found a game that has really captured my interest. Far Cry 3 and Borderlands 2 are the top of the 4, which Assassin's Creed III and Halo 4 round out the bottom end of that.
Far Cry 3 tops the list, barely, just for the fact that it is something different than what I would usually play. Surely it is a shooter game with light hints of RPG elements, but still. I think I enjoy it for the same reasons I enjoyed Skyrim: Exploration. It is fun to wander about and just head into places you are unsure of and to see what secrets lie in the deep.
Borderlands 2 is an awesome game, no doubt about that at all. But maybe it is just a little too much of the same deal from the original game. Yes it has it's humor, yes the characters and the situations are as over the top as ever. But I'd like to see something more, more then just crap guns and dozens of grenade mods. How about pushing a little more RPG elements here? Maybe add in some actual armor options? By now, I was hoping to have a bit more freedom in customization at least for your toon. While that has opened up a little, it is still limited at best.
I think I made a mistake with Assassin's Creed III. While I loved Assassin's Creed II, I've not really cared much for Brotherhood or even Revelations. AC III doesn't really do anything that wows me. The story seems okay, but after nearly 10 hours of play I just don't feel any sort of attachment towards the main character Connor or even Desmond (why does he change in appearance so much between games? He looks like a different person).
And then there is Halo 4.
This one I thought would have been a no brainer, a game I could finish as was the case with the original Halo trilogy, along with ODST and Reach. But this game, like AC III, failed the catch my interest. But this one did not even hold my attention past an hour. Sad really, maybe I'll come back around to this in a few months.
Overall, I think what I am lacking is a really good RPG, something I've not played in a number of years now. It is really what got me to sink my teeth into gaming in the first place, but as the story goes, the depth of quality RPGs as a whole is pretty lacking. Which brings me to Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch.
It brings me a little hope that maybe this game, beyond it's hype, is the RPG that could bring that magic back. No need for overly fancy graphics or big guns or super realistic stories. Just bring back that wonder, that sense of adventure that games are quickly losing as this console generation is seemingly coming to a close.
Okay, I suppose that isn't quite a fair statement to make as there was actually one RPG I did enjoy this year. That would be Xenoblade Chronicles. I actually did get into playing that one for quite a bit, but stopped mostly because the batteries in my Wii remote died and I never got around to buying any new ones. Poor excuse, yes? But beyond that, the game did leave an impression and it is something that is always in the back of my mind.
Always so many games and never enough time to enjoy them all. I need to sort out my priorities...
