Far Cry 3 What is madness?
The longer the game industry exists, the more difficult it is to come up with something new. In the 1980s, genres appeared almost daily, but now progress forces developers to pack old cards.
In this regard, the most successful solitaire has developed in Far Cry 3. Their open world works, the characters live, and do not stand in a pillar, with a clip of quests behind the bosom, the guns shoot loudly, fall from the cliff – fun. IN Far Cry 2, In essence, it was the same: African expanses (without tropics, however, not very looking), all sorts of side missions, a good script. But in the third desert "sandbox" is full of events to the edges. Side missions have lost irritating standardization, the plot has ceased to be an auxiliary element – this is a completely independent thing, albeit not the most original, but with a sound shaped of an absurdity and without saving the world from misfortunes.
However, Far Cry 3 took place as an action movie with shooting. Levels are good, albeit often linear, enemies act harmoniously and love to come in behind. In addition, there are various perks that diversify the close battle.
Literally a quarter of the body from Far Cry 3 lags behind BINARY DOMAIN, Purebred Japanese action movie in the best sense of these words. As in the elderly Contra: Hard Corps, The gameplay is constantly changing here, followed by chases that end with a battle with giant robots. The pace is growing rapidly, the gamepad or mouse in our hands is hot-the last time we saw something like this in the magnificent Vanquish.
But besides the dynamically changing game process in Binary Domain there is something more important-this is really a real action movie. A detachment of steep guys passes the crowds of robots, drives on cars, shoots from grenade launchers, heroes and villains are cynically joking, and everything around is necessarily exploding. So stupid, but damn great.
The long -awaited Max Payne 3 I almost went lumpy. Having seen in the early announcements of Tolstoy and bearded Max, who, in the light of day, ran around the hot Brazil, the players prepared in advance for the worst and reacted to their experiences so seriously that not everyone risked starting the game. Meanwhile, the third Max Payne set a completely new bar in the level of cinematography. There are not just explosions, sparks and fragments of fragments – here all this is an order of magnitude more than in all other militants in 2012 taken together. The abundance of SLO-MO, successful angles, dizzying tricks-and all this on top of a detailed story about how a simple person first sinks to the bottom, and then caught on and tries to fix something. Fat bald max is just an iceberg top, and to find out why he became so, you need to go through the game.
Finally, this top could not do without the new Call of Duty. In a high society, it is customary to respond to the last parts of the series contemptuously, but the fact remains: Black OPS 2 – first -class attraction with shooting and explosions. Which, however, ignores innovations and oppresses its line, sorry, linear passage with a maximum of entertainment from year to year, but still manages to honestly entertain.
Applicants
85% BINARY DOMAIN
85% Max Payne 3
50% Black OPS 2
Special drugs: Stealth years
Hitman: Absolution
A lot of tears of tears on Hitman: Absolution. Under the wing of Square Enix, an openly bad game could not appear, but the project was completely different than they expected from them, in a lot – easily. The new Hitman has turned from a puzzle into Stealth, for every mission with intelligence, planning and a quiet elimination of the target according to their own scenario, there are several kilometers of close corridors, which need to be crossed from point A to point B, bypassing opponents. So that it was exciting, the bald killer learned a lot of cunning tricks – from hiding behind shelters to a flair on the routes of patrols. This is not quite that Hitman, but thanks to this Absolution – Stealth year. The closest applicants – Dishonored And Far Cry 3 (it can also be silent silently), the mechanics of the hidden passage is still much easier, and only the indie platformer Mark of the Ninja can boast of a truly difficult Stealth element.
Special drugs: Slashher of the year
Darksiders 2
The slasers as such for a year came out very little, and you can’t call them purebred. Darksiders 2 took a lot of steps towards turning into a role -playing game with the open world, and Asura’s Wrath Even jokingly dubbed the "Quick Time Events" simulator. On the other hand, console role -playing games reached for slasers: and in Dragon’s Dogma, and in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning combat systems are built precisely on such principles.
However, if you evaluate these games precisely by the exciting of the fighting, then Darksiders 2 leaves everyone behind. Painfully deftly and unobtrusively Betti Casino death straightens out with any opponents, and this process does not bother to the very final.
Specialization: Action-Dventure with the Open World
Assassin’s Creed 3
In recent years, in one form or another, everything seems to have been trying to introduce the idea of “sandboxes”, including the creators of the races. If you put aside Far Cry 3, who has already won the main nomination, then for the title of the largest, noisy and, most importantly, working as an adventure fighter fought Sleeping Dogs And Assassin’s Creed 3. The first is the correctly told story of a police officer from Hong Kong, filled with an oriental flavor and successful jokes (remember at least the eternal gossip of the neighbors on the landing), the second is a sweeping pseudo -historical epic about the American revolution and an Indian ax.
The key difference here is not so much on the scale as in importance. Sleeping Dogs is a bright seasonal action movie with an outstanding combat system, which, in a good way, should go out five per year, and Assassin’s Creed 3 should be one of the most important borders of the outgoing generation. A multi -level game, combining a dozen different mechanics, beautiful even separately. Simple and elegant parkour, fights with crowds of enemies, gameplay-based hunting, fantastic sea battles, secrecy, trade, role-playing elements and features know what else … If we could now return for six to seven years ago and ask any game designer as we should To look like the game of the future, he would be likely to describe Assassin's Creed 3.
This is the main merit of ubisoft. They went to the future for a long time on behalf of the entire industry and finally reached. Not the first time, with a huge delay, but still.
Strategy/Tactics of the year
Xcom: enemy unknown friendly aliens attack
The winner in the nomination definitely became XCOM: Enemy Unknown, a remake of an ideal game about everyday life of the first and last defenders of the Earth from insidious aliens. The game quickly catches, holds tightly and as if hypnotizes the recipient: "Strategies – also games". Explains that you can manage operations without stumbling about the interface ruins and not getting confused in the genealogy. That an epic battle is not a clash of two chips, but a scene saturated with special effects with the “flights” of the camera. What anyone can plan and order, and not just a handful of dusty lovers of wargams and board games.
XCOM contribution to the popularization of the genre is invaluable. This is really a great achievement, when the strategy is put at the same level as the multimillion -dollar blockbusters in the militant genre. However, StarsRaft 2: Heart of the Swarm will do the same next year, but in terms of friendliness, he lags behind the XCOM.
In accessibility – the main flaw of the second contender for the title, Crusader Kings 2. The bottomless and meticulous simulator of noble squabbles in medieval Europe, built on dynasties and genealogy, is swollen on the moves of the abundance of functions and mechanics. Success here is not easy here – an intricate interface goes wildly with the overall complexity of the game. But if you get comfortable, Crusader Kings 2 will amaze you and pull you into a long game "binge".
In the end, I want to remember Endless Space, Space step -by -step strategy in the style of 4x, with an acute flavor Master of Orion And Civilization and fascinating soundtrack. The game is easily mastered, challenges the player, but the resonance around it was too small – it seems that the cosmos is now not in fashion. Unlike aliens from there.
Applicants
85% Crusader Kings 2
60% Endless Space
Fighting of the year
Dead or Alive 5 The size still matters
Players are divided into those who hates the inchings, those who love, and those who finge them to holes, breaks joysticks, peers at the Framdates tablet for hours, chips each movement by heart and rewalls one tactic for the same character. So, Dead or Alive 5 Such guys will be very surprised.
Professional fires for the most part do not like the most famous tournament – EVO – the series stubbornly ignores, but we all play and cannot understand – it is more difficult than other fighting valves, or is it still easier. But another thing is important – the cramming of the framework and combinations will not save here. Dead or Alive 5 gives everyone a chance, and not at all the time spent in the game determines the chance to win, but rather natural dexterity, attentiveness and logic.
DOA5 – the most tactical and smart fighting game of this year. Mechanics, built on spectacular interceptions, multi -storey grades and interruptions of combinations, does not allow you to relax, even if you have learned all the deafening opponents of the combination. Here the blow can almost always be easily and simply intercept, and then the initiative will go to the opponent, and you will go to swallow dust. Interceptions are not a chip of individual characters, but the basis of the foundations on which the whole system rests.
Other eminent fighting wings of 2012 have already bored and do not give novelty sensations. Soul Calibur 5 All the same gotic, sharp, moderately crazy, and old man uneasy did not go anywhere. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 – familiar and understandable to everyone and to everyone "Tekken 6", only in the literal sense multiplied by two. Street Fighter X Tekken – Crossover at the base Street Fighter 4 , using it mechanics … We see all this almost every year. But DOA has not been met for a long time, especially in such an amazing form.
Yes, he is stunningly beautiful. DOA5 has another indisputable plus – really pretty girls with big breasts, which responds to what is happening according to all the laws of physics. Beauty!
Applicants
85% Soul Calibur 5
75% Tekken Tag Tournament 2
40% SF vs. Tekken
MMO year
Guild Wars 2 when everything works as it should
In 2012, the term free-to-Play finally ceased to be abusive. The developers have learned to do comfortably to everyone: both those who are still sure that “free” means “free” and others who do not mind giving money for a free game of money. "Freedia" was more profitable for everyone, and the subscription model was almost dead.
This time among the nominees there is only one subscription game, and even that addition to World of Warcraft. The previous one convinced Blizzard that it was impossible to break Azerot, and they focused on building. WITH Mists of Pandaria The world has become more again, but almost did not change in the device. And this seems to be bad: the Wow mechanism against the backdrop of new products is like an ordinary cast iron weight. On the other hand, subscribers stopped running. So everything is in order.
Secret World I ventured to start with the subscribers, but naturally slid to the scheme "Once I bought it – and play as much as you want". Why natural? Yes, because mmorpg is mediocre from it, but the quest is good. With a deep plot, practical riddles, but with mechanics-for some reason! – Like in wow.
Planetside 2 I could have defeated this nomination … Only not now, but, say, a year later. No game conveys the spirit of the battles better than her, but there is still a lot in PS 2 – and this is very noticeable. It’s even difficult to understand why we are fighting. For the sake of world domination? Put enemies on his knees with all the desire will not work. For the sake of resources? Them and so in bulk. Maybe for the sake of glory? No, on all the people around us do not care. For now. Wait. Everything will be. SOON ™.
But in the case of Guild Wars 2 It's hard to find fault with something. She does everything gracefully and, as it were, by walking, you look and think: “As you still have not thought of this?! »The world here is more lively than in Rift, the plot is better organized than in SWTOR, and the rest … just better than somewhere else. In ordinary MMORPG, you have to grow for a long time to the maximum level to see the allegedly real game – in GW2 this is not. She is real from beginning to end.
Arena.NET came up with how to get rid of voluntary-compulsory quests. They taught the players to work together, and not to get tired because of trophy clothes. They rejected Maxim “Shdot and Kach – our everything” and suggested that it was not necessary to sit in MMO at all for days.
Guild Wars 2 works on a simple principle: everything that has ever annoyed in online roofs is in a bag and in the forest. Arena.Net proved that mmorpg can be done otherwise. And now the main thing is that their experience and efforts do not disappear. The Army of the Guild Wars killers is unlikely to wait, but competitors should at least learn.
Applicants
85% Planetside 2
65% Secret World