Tag Archives: animal crossing: city folk

Uncategorized

Top 10 Games I Played in 2011

6 Comments

In remembrance of 2011, I thought I’d compile a list of what I thought were the ten best games I played this year. Considering that I don’t play a ton of recent releases, a lot of this list will be older games. As anyone who reads this blog will note, that’s in line with what I actually play. Rather than ranking these games, I’ll simply alphabetize the list.

Animal Crossing: City Folk – This game is up there with Skyrim in the amount of time I devote to it. It’s awfully familiar to previous games in the series but I still find it as addictive as ever. I also had fun getting my friend into it and playing with him.

Batman: Arkham City – What a game! I loved Arkham Asylum and this game upped the ante in so many ways. Such a large environment with so much to do!

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Although I haven’t played a ton of this yet, I’ve already enjoyed it a great deal.

Final Fantasy XII – I can’t imagine I’ll ever like a Japanese RPG more than I like this game. Square Enix took everything to a whole other level with this game.

Gears of War 3 – The best in the series. The best playing, the most expansive content-wise, the best in every regard.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword – This series holds a soft spot in my heart and this game did so many things right that made the similar format feel fresh.

Mass Effect 2 – I had so much fun discussing this game with others, more importantly though, I had so much fun playing this. The gameplay was much improved over the first game  and even though there were a lot of things taken out, the options I had were still astounding.

Mansion of Hidden Souls – An unusual pick for sure but this game turned my friend and I onto an unfamiliar genre and we’ve had a lot of fun solving puzzles in similar games since playing this.

Vanquish – Platinum Games took the usually slow moving military third-person shooter and blended it with Japanese quirks. A fantastical futuristic setting, a story with some ridiculous moments, a lot of great set pieces, and super fun and fast-paced gameplay.

You Don’t Know Jack – A stellar mulitplayer game that received a ton of rotation at my house. A great value.

Reviews, Wii

Animal Crossing: City Folk – Review

2 Comments
Although it's one of the few games to support the Wii Speak, my friend and I opted instead to talk on the phone when we played.

Having spent so much time with Animal Crossing on the GameCube during my formative years, it’s a game I’ll always have a soft spot for. But besides just blind love for the series because of this, the games appeal to the part of my psyche that enjoys a mundane routine and the drive to complete item lists.

Animal Crossing: City Folk has been a part of my daily routine since I began playing it in March. Composing this review was tough; I could have listed off flaws and make note of the minor improvements that it has made on its predecessors, but that would only be useful for those who have played the previous games. And if you’ve played the previous games and enjoyed them, chances are, you played City Folk when it came out in 2008. And pending you didn’t like the previous Animal Crossing games, guess what? Animal Crossing: City Folk is more of the same, for better or worse.

Animal Crossing: City Folkbegins opens up the same way the previous games did. You, the player is moving into a new town to set up roots and experience life. You are broke however and this requires some help from the local storekeeper, Tom Nook. He lets you have a house in town, with the expectation that you’ll pay him back. From here, the primary objective is to pay off your house, all the while increasing its size and your debt.

Fishing was one of the primary ways I made money.

From the middle of March until a week or two ago, I had played the game for at least an hour each day. I felt compelled to play, compelled to find the fossils buried around town that day, to see if any events were happening, and to just make a little more money towards my debt. Once I neared my final payments however, I really lost the motivation to get on. I’d like to check back in at the beginning of every month and holidays, but I’m not sure that’ll happen.

I could continue playing City Folk as I have these past two months, all I’d need to do is set up goals. For instance I could donate to the town fund and see what that reaps. Or I could attempt to have my town be graded as perfect. But after so much time with City Folk I’m ready for a break. And if my playtime with the previous games is any indication, I’ll be back at it just like I was from mid-March to mid-May at some point in the future.

But what is it that drew me to the game every day? At this point in the article, you, the reader would say it was paying off my debt, but that would only be true on the surface. It’s what I did to pay off my debt that kept me coming back, it was my routine.

Visiting Redd's Shop in the city was a great way to purchase paintings, pending they weren't forgeries.

My daily routine consisted of running errands. I’d go fossil hunting, search for the magical rock that spat out money, sell fruit and seashells, see what new items Tom Nook had for sale, water any withering flowers, talk with neighbors, fish and hunt for new insects. Rarer would be the days that I’d visit the city or play online with a friend. What drew me to City Folk every day was errand running; I had a second life that I had to attend to and it became a part of my actual routine, up there with eating breakfast and brushing my teeth.

I loved Animal Crossing: City Folk. My description of the game might make it sound boring, which it sort of is, but it’s the mundane routine I had set up that kept me coming back to the game for two months straight.

In Between Posts

In Between Posts, May 23, 2011

Leave a comment

Unfortunately I didn’t complete three games from two decades ago as I did last week, but this week will be interesting nonetheless. Why do I say that? Well I’m onto new things as I’m finished with the two games that have been the status quo for so long.

I paid off the final portion of my debt in Animal Crossing: City Folk and will quit playing as much as I have, and perhaps won’t play the game at all soon. I have written a review of sorts for it (it basically outlines what my routine was) and I expect that to go up Tuesday morning.

I have also given up on Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber. I have reached a point in it where it is too frustrating to continue. And that’s a shame too because I enjoyed the game a fair amount, I mean I stuck around for twenty-nine hours. I’m disappointed that I won’t be finishing it, and in all honesty I’d like to reattempt it, but not for a long time.

On the brighter side, I’ll be able to play other games. I believe I’ll focus on Zelda II: The Adventure of Link next, although Grandia Xtreme is beckoning me as well. I also have a few smaller things I’ll check out, such as Star Soldier. And I still, still have to check out the extras included with Devil May Cry 4. But then again, perhaps I’ll push all these to the side and purchase L.A. Noire.

So expect a review for Animal Crossing: City Folk Tuesday morning and a review of Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber at some point this week.

In Between Posts

In Between Posts, May 16, 2011

Leave a comment

I played  a lot of video games last week. I had the day off Wednesday so a friend came over and played practically all day. We completed Streets of Rage, Streets of Rage 2, Golden Axe, all on the Sega Genesis, as well as Mansion of Hidden Souls for the Sega CD. We played many more games too but those are the four we completed. I’m also getting close to paying off my debt in Animal Crossing: City Folk, which means I pretty much be done with it. I’ve already begun playing the game less but once I’m done I’ll be able to focus my attention on Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber, which I hardly played last week.

With all that in mind, this will be my busiest week yet! I’ll post a review for Streets of Rage 2, Golden Axe, and Mansion of Hidden Souls this week. How about Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday respectively for those reviews, which will leave me time to write about Animal Crossing and that might get posted this week as well!

In Between Posts

In Between Posts, May 9, 2011

Leave a comment

With my finals completed and no school until fall (passing on summer classes) I should have slightly more time for video games. And this week I’ll actually have at least three posts going up, counting this one. Tomorrow I’ll post my review of the Mad Dog McCree Gunslinger Pack for the Wii, and sometime later, I’ll post a review of Streets of Rage for the Genesis.

So I’ve played a fair amount since last week and I know what you’re thinking, Animal Crossing: City Folk and Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber and two of the games I played, and you’re right! I’m getting close to paying off my mortgage in Animal Crossing and with that done, who knows how much initiative I’ll have to continue playing, at least at my current pace. And with studying consuming most of my free time, I didn’t play much Ogre Battle 64 which requires a lot of time. Super Street Fighter IV also got some action last week, a little bit early on in the week and then some multiplayer at the end of the week. Besides those, my friend and I played through Streets of Rage, as well as a round of Columns on the Genesis.

So expect my Mad Dog McCree Gunslinger Pack review tomorrow, a Streets of Rage review sometime this week and maybe some more.

In Between Posts

In Between Posts, May 2, 2011

Leave a comment

Posted my review of Truth or Lies, I’m glad that’s done with. I actually played a long round of that with a friend this past week so he could earn some achievements in it; when we were done he had about 600/1000. Well besides playing a round of Truth or Lies, I’ve played other games this past week. And again, they’re pretty much the status quo of Animal Crossing: City Folk and Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber.

I still need to plant trees in my town, my town’s environment isn’t where it needs to be yet, even after planting so many orange trees last week. I got the golden shovel this week, don’t know what that’ll do in Animal Crossing: City Folk. I’m still making my way through Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber, nothing special to report concerning it.

My friend and I also played through Mad Dog II: The Lost Gold and The Last Bounty Hunter which means, that I’ve finished the Mad Dog McCree Gunslinger Pack on the Wii. I’d like to have a review of that up this week, but I’m going into finals week in school so no promises. I haven’t done anything with the collector’s edition of Devil May Cry 4 so that would be next week at the earliest.

Oh, and I’ve been playing Super Street Fighter IV after playing some Marvel vs. Capcom 3 at a coworkers’ house. MvC3 was hectic, there was a lot happening on screen and the game felt as though I could button mash and succeed, but I enjoyed it.

In Between Posts

In Between Posts, April 25, 2011

Leave a comment

Let’s see, posted two things last week: my review of the Final Fantasy XII collector’s edition and my review of The Legend of Zelda. It’s satisfying for me to post more than one article per week, but this week might not be one of those weeks.

The games I’ve been focusing on are the same two for the past couple of weeks, Animal Crossing: City Folk and Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber. Two important things in Animal Crossing: City Folk this week. Yesterday was Bunny Day, which means Zipper T. Bunny came and hid eggs. I was able to find them all and completed the egg furniture set. The second important thing I did was plant a lot of trees, like, twenty plus. They’re all oranges which is a nonnative fruit in my town which means they bring big Bells from Tom Nook, plus they’ll improve my town’s environment.

I was very close to quitting Ogre Battle 64 since talking about it last week. I failed a couple of times on a mission in particular and eventually redid my battalions so that each one would have a cleric and that helped immensely. Now that I have clerics in each battalion, I have had very few deaths and the past few missions haven’t been too difficult.

Besides the status quo of Animal Crossing: City Folk and Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber, I played a few co-op missions of Killzone 3. The early missions were set in a destroyed city, which was very drab, but the game played phenomenally. My friend bought the Helghast Edition and the items that came with it seemed quite cool. We also played through and completed Mad Dog McCree. I bought the Mad Dog McCree Gunslinger Pack for the Wii which has all three Mad Dog McCree games, so once I’ve completed the other two, expect a review.

The one sure thing that I’ll post this week (besides this) will be my review of Truth or Lies. Like I said last week, I have a completed review of Devil May Cry 4, but I want to compose a review of the collector’s edition first so I can post both around the same time.

In Between Posts

In Between Posts, April 18, 2011

Leave a comment

So, posted the review over Universal Studios Theme Park Adventure after composing it about two years ago. Which made me remember, I also wrote a review for Devil May Cry 4 and never posted it. But I’m not about to post that yet. I’d also like to talk about what comes in the collector’s edition of that game, so I need to compose that as well.

This past week hasn’t seen me veering from my normal games. I have played Animal Crossing: City Folk as per usual, a little each day, and Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber when time permits. I’ve finally gotten to a point in Ogre Battle where I’m not just rolling over the enemies, I’ll have to start thinking more, and hopefully not up and quit the game. I love tactical/strategy role-playing games in concept, but I get to a point in them where they get difficult and eventually take too much trial and error. But I plan to keep on with it for now.

I’ll post a short article talking about the goods that come with the collector’s edition of Final Fantasy XII this week, as well as possible reviews of either The Legend of Zelda, or Truth or Lies.

In Between Posts

In Between Posts, April 11, 2011

Leave a comment

I’m glad I finally finished my article on Final Fantasy XII. With it I tried to think of three, or four takeaways from the game, basically what it did the best. It’s the longest article I’ve written for the site thus far.

I suppose what I write are reviews, I am halfway judging games after all, or expressing what I thought they did the best, but most of the games I write about are old and reviews aren’t necessary. I guess what I’m doing is writing about what I’ve been playing and say if the game is worth checking out still.

So what have I been doing since beating Final Fantasy XII? Well a few weeks ago a friend and I played this game called Truth or Lies. It’s available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii, but we played on the Xbox 360. I bought it a few weeks ago at Target for five dollars. We played through one match and the game was decent, but a little iffy. I’ve written something about the game so expect that sometime.

And last week I completed The Legend of Zelda for the NES. I did some mapmaking as I played through it and those are completed. I have a giant map of the over world (8 pages long and four pages high) as well as maps for each dungeon. That game was very difficult in the second half and I’d say the maps were almost necessary. I’ve also written something about that so that’ll be up soon as well.

But before I post either of those articles I’ll post a review I did for Universal Studios Theme Park Adventure for the GameCube. I wrote it in December of 2009 and never posted it anywhere, so I’ll finally get around to that.

And like last time I did one of these, I’ve been playing Animal Crossing: City Folk a ton; I have played it for a little everyday since I purchased it. Needless to say I love the game. I also started Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber a few days ago. I’m not the biggest fan of tactical role-playing games, I like them but never seem to finish them, but so far I’m enjoying it. The game’s battle system is much different from anything I’ve played, but we’ll see if I finish it.

So expect a Universal Studios Theme Park Adventure review soon, as well as a Truth or Lies review and a review for The Legend of Zelda.