December 10, 2010

Reg's top 10 games of 2000-2010 (6-4)

Well, there's the continuation of the list I started yesterday. Going to pick up where I left off and go through Number 4. Going to emphasize the fact that there will be spoilers for games, so if you're sensitive to spoilers, don't read the write-ups
Clocking in at number six, I've got something that's arguably a game at best. Umineko no Naku Koro Ni is a Murder Mystery Visual Novel written by 07th Expansion and releases biyearly at Comiket. The premise is that 18 people (13 family members, 4 servants, 1 family friend) are on an island owned by the, uh, crazy old head of the family for their annual Family Conference. The old head's about to roll over and die, and his children are trying to figure out what to do with his money because MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, THEY NEED LOTS OF MONEY RIGHT NOW! despite being incredibly rich. Starting with everybody going to bed, and continuing over the course of the next day, people start dying in seemingly-impossible ways. Closed Room murders are the standard, but other strange methods do exist, and people continue dying until nobody remains. Future Episodes tell the same story, but in different ways, and with events happening differently, and it's up to the reader to solve the mysteries using close presented across the episodes. Best Parts: Whenever Beatrice and ahaha.wav are used in the same scene together. Also, the soundtrack. Full stop. Umineko has a soundtrack on par with the best I've ever heard, and with each new release, the number of awesome tracks grows.

At number five, I've got a game that I hold very dear to me if only for the amount of time I've sunk into it. Civilization IV is something of a "Build Your Own Empire" Turn-based strategy game. If you're not familiar with the Civ series, shame on you. IV is the pinnacle of the series, and with the improvements made by its expansions, plays incredibly well. It's incredibly easy to pick up, and incredibly difficult to get good at. It' also just as addictive as its predecessors.
Best Part: Desert War. Full stop. As a History Buff, and a WW2 guy at that, this is quite literally something that appeals to my inner nerd and then some.

Shifting gears to Number 4, I've got the last Nintendo game on this list. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is a thrilling, timeless adventure that takes everything Ocarina of Time did right (Which was a lot of stuff. I hold Ocarina in high regard) and improves on it. From start to finish, this is quite simply one of the best games I've ever played. People may look down on it for its time system, and while yes, that does get annoying at parts, I feel it contributes to the overall feel of the game. On that note, Majora's Mask is probably the most grimdark setting in a Zelda game. Termina's not bad, no, but you have a tangible threat to the world rather than "oooh Ganon's going to do something EEEEEEEVIL". The main story is short, but this game is packed full of sidequests to keep you coming back and giving you something to do.
Best Parts: Reuniting the Lovers (Bonus points if you stop the moon from crashing the same set of days). Beating the Great Bay Temple (It's worse than the Water Temple in Ocarina, you know). And lastly, failing and watching the moon fall. It's creepy as hell the first time, but damn is it fun to watch.

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