Game of the Month: March 2010 Posted by, Daniel. June 12th, 2010. Filed under Features
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Quarter 1 ends now as Quarter 2 looms over the horizon and it’s safe to say that this has been the best Quarter 1 in recent memory. Never before have so many great games been packed into the very beginning of the year. Usually we have to wait till Quarter 4 before we get the big-budget titles. March, like January and February before it was stuffed full of wonderful games for gamers of all ages.
As this is out first “Game of the Month” ever this is what’s going to happen. I’m going to list off a couple of games that deserve to be mentioned because they after all did make this a month to remember. At the end of the list of “Nominees” will be the winner and an explanation of why that specific game won.
Final Fantasy XIII. SquareEnix. PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
It has been nearly 5 years since the elusive RPG was first shown at Sony’s Press Conference. Its release in March has defiantly left a mark with sales already reaching over 1 million in North American alone. The game was released with a thrilling new battle system that puts a real epic feel within the game and not to mention the visual delight that is sprinkled throughout the game. However the game lacks the same essence that made the past Final Fantasy entries winners. The story is predictable with many of the characters being weak and one-dimensional. As good as the visuals are, the giant dip in quality between in-game and CGI sequences is pretty unforgivable in this day and age. FF13 isn’t a bad game by any means. There is plenty to like about it, but then it contains bad things also which makes it worthy of a nomination.
Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver. Nintendo. Nintendo DS
Its time to catch them all again Pokémon fans! This month was very exciting for fans of all ages because Gold and Silver, which are arguably the best in the whole series, were granted remakes that were released last month. The game looks phenomenal. All buildings 2.5-D with a real sense of depth and the world is vibrantly colored. With 16 badges to collect, 2 different leagues to explore, and the Elite 4 to fight, players are looking at one meaty game. However the game is, in essence, a game we’ve been playing for 20 years. Nothing has changed, and we literally mean nothing. It’s still the same, click, click, and then watch the Pokémon perform moves. Only 4 moves can be taught to each Pokémon at a time, and the game feels much slower then its predecessors. The game is still as addicting and as fun as ever, but still feels a bit archaic.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2. DICE/EA. Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC
The king of Multi-Player is back! DICE makes a triumphant return to the battlefield with its latest entry into the Bad Company series. The game is fun, addicting, gorgeous, and plays like a dream. This has to be some of the best environment detailing we’ve ever seen on a console! The game is beautifully balanced both online and offline and requires some skill and team-work to actually win any matches. Did we mention that the destructibility is now even more insane with the ability to totally demolish entire buildings? The Multi-Player is insane, yet it can kind of be a bummer. The maps are huge and it’s nice to have this great freedom and variety to wage war, but there really isn’t a war. Even on the PC the player count is strongly diminished which makes the game feel more like hide-and-seek then waging war like its PC predecessors were. Conquest matches though are more limited maps which allow more war to be waged. This is a great game; it’s fresh and calls for more skill then other recent shooters.
The Game of the Month is…
God of War III. Santa Monica/SCEA. PlayStation 3
Surprise Surprise! Kratos and his final chapter take the crown for March. God of War III is a masterpiece from top to bottom and stands out at the top for several reasons.
The story is deep and enthralling. While it doesn’t contain the mask of deception and betrayal the 2nd game had, the 3rd entry weaves together a tale of redemption and hope that differs the game from the previous entries. A strong cast of characters guide Kratos either by their help or by Kratos literally ripping their heads off. Kratos himself is given more development, and though in a lot of scenes he seems like a giant ass the later portions of the game portray him with emotion and feeling. The game simply doesn’t need 60+ hours to tell its Titanesque story nor does it need multiple hours to present developed characters (Some of them only took a couple seconds to be developed).
The game is a dream to play. There are no clumsy controls to grasp, there are barely any limits to Kratos’ abilities, and while button-mashing is possible the whole system is in-depth. Boss battles are simply some of the best in video games ever. The battles range from the back of Gaia as you battle Poseidon and his monstrous Leviathan, a fantastic opening to a fantastic game, to a man-on-man fight the Hercules as brothers match brutal blows, or even to the biggest boss in all gaming history! Its fun, it’s exhilarating, and it will keep you coming back to play the game time after time.
The game of course isn’t perfect. Some odd omissions from God of War 2, such as Bonus Play, did not make the cut. There are also some inconsistencies, such as the fact all your Titan powers were taken away when the game starts where the 2nd one left off. Also dying at the beginning and getting all your powers drained for the 3rd time in a row gets kind of boring to see.
This is simply a beautiful game. The detail in everything is just top-notch. Sure textures and environment detail isn’t as good as Uncharted 2, but the scale of everything is just so grand that the comparison basically goes out the window. Developers always say they’re going to push the PS3 to its max, and this is one of the only games that I’ve seen live up to that promise.
All 4 games are great. All are worth a purchase. God of War III happens to be the best as it plays better, looks the best, and has a better story. And so ends March and the age of the gods of Olympus!