Top Five of the First Six
By: Games Staff |
Sunday July 30, 2006 |
| In anticipation of a packed fall, we've already picked our favorite games of 2006 (so far). |
| The video game industry places a huge emphasis on the second half of the calendar year, especially the last four months. Console systems are almost always launched during this time, and publishers save their biggest releases for the months just prior to Christmas. Of course, this year will be no exception. Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 are both slated for fall/winter releases, and several huge games are set to release for current consoles (including Gears of War and Final Fantasy XII). That's not to say that the times aren't changing just a bit - many big titles have been releasing during the early months of recent years. For example, last year's blockbuster Resident Evil 4 first hit stores in January.
If you have been following Static Multimedia for the last few months, you will have hopefully noticed a rebirth of sorts of the Games section. We now have the product, contacts, and staff to handle regular gaming reviews and features, and intend to expand the section even further in the near future. Because the second half of the year will be keeping us so busy, we thought it would be worth recounting our favorite releases of the first six months of 2006. Instead of a big list, we had a few of our writers jot down up to five favorites and explain why one was the best of all. Though just three writers contributed to this feature, we think you'll be able to spot some clear favorites among the lists. Kingdom Hearts II (PS2) - Andrew Hayward (Games Editor) I've long held a soft spot for titles released by Square Enix. It started with Final Fantasy VII for the PlayStation, now known as the game that brought role-playing games to the mainstream. I still count the game among my favorites of all time, and there are a number of reasons why it remains relevant to this day. Final Fantasy VII featured an epic storyline that both tugged at the heartstrings and got you fired up, expansive gameplay that kept you playing for tens of hours, and visuals among the best of its era. Kingdom Hearts II does the same thing, though there are several key differences. Not only is it a direct sequel to the previous game (unlike FFVII), but it features Disney characters. How could this possibly appeal to a twenty-one-year-old man? Kingdom Hearts II successfully fuses many facets of pop culture from my lifespan with the same game design tenets that made Final Fantasy VII a classic. It's a bit early for me to be calling Kingdom Hearts II a classic, but it certainly has a home in my permanent collection, and will be right near the top of my year-end list. Other Picks: Burnout Revenge (Xbox 360) Metal Gear Acid 2 (PSP) Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (PS2) New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo DS) MVP 06 NCAA Baseball (PS2) - Derek Serafin (Contributing Writer) When it was announced last year that Major League Baseball had signed an exclusive contract with 2K Sports, I lost all hope of ever seeing another great baseball game in my lifetime. MVP Baseball 2005 was one of my all-time favorite games, but sadly I would never see another professional baseball game of its caliber. But then, suddenly, EA Sports decided to continue making baseball games, this time focusing on the college game. It was a blessing for all fans of the MVP series! And truly, the few snags that were found in MVP 05 have been straightened out to make for a near-flawless baseball experience. In MVP 06, we see that you can actually hit home runs with left-handed batters! If you played MVP 05, you know exactly what I am talking about and why this is an important improvement. You can also create your own baseball field, players, and even your own college team! Thanks to this, my precious Lewis University is not only off of NCAA probation in the game, they're also a nationally ranked, top-25 team. On a list that is dominated by Xbox 360 titles, MVP 06 is clearly doing everything right. Other Picks: Burnout Revenge (Xbox 360) Fight Night Round 3 (Xbox 360) Hitman: Blood Money (Xbox 360) Uno (Xbox 360 - Live Arcade) Kingdom Hearts II (PS2) - Eric Martin (Contributing Writer) Innovative gameplay is the theme for Kingdom Hearts II, with the addition of Reaction commands and the Form system, which gives Sora the ability to merge with his comrades to unlock fantastic powers. Taking a hearken back to the Final Fantasy series, Limit commands are introduced, which are combination attacks between Sora and his allies. Despite these improvements, there are drawbacks with the magic system - players may find that it is not as versatile as the system of the first game. A grand majority of the complaints about the original Kingdom Hearts dealt with the uselessness of the other characters, especially the temporary allies found in each world. Kingdom Hearts II makes up for that in spades: allies are more effective in battle and less likely to waste items and attacks. The story reaches its high point a bit too quickly, which is surprising, considering the care in which the rest of the narrative is constructed. Other than that, the game is worth the investment. Hopefully, the secret cinema that alludes to another sequel is more than just a teaser. Other Favorites: Brain Age (Nintendo DS) Space Rangers 2: Rise of the Dominators (PC) |
