1- F.E.A.R.
This is an incredibly well balanced shooter, a modern opus constantly dancing between the tactical and the action adrenaline. Of course many will only keep in mind the impressive slo mo & particle effects, yet F.E.A.R's beyond that and much more. Considering the user owns a high end machine, the SWAT elements mixed with the paranormal run smoothly together within a realistic industrial layout. Story integration kicks the good thrills like any good movie can do, which is a rare achievement in video games - inciting enough for comebacks. ( I even had to read further sources to know the intricacies of the scenario ).
Online play can be rather decent too, joining an already polished SP that spurs successfully rehashed mechanics along few mid-innovative features sure to please any fan of action games, being old school or ahead of this era alike. Monolith can now be considered as a top otpimiser, joining the elitist ranks of Epic and Valve.
Barring that, I agree Civilization IV could have won my GOTY only if Firaxis had taken the time for a further polish before the release ( see below ), and I concur about the way GS staff and many other critics crowned RE4 ( I didn't play it enough to include in my favorites ).
2- Psychonauts
Artistry. Interactive artistry. Interactive velvet. Too bad people flee from this modern piece of art AND entertainment because of its kiddie feeling: they don't know what they missed. Once inside, even serious gamers like me usually playing serious games instantly became hooked by the genious designs of Tim Schaefer and his team. The ONLY memorable platformer having enthralled me lately.
3- Splinter Cell Chaos Theory
That is the one released earlier in 2005 that GS staff omitted to mention: the best espionage game of the year, SP and MP wise with twitchy missions, crafted meticulously for a subtile mix of action and stealth. It boosts a rightly timed atmosphere. The only inconsistency relies about the uber hard 9th mission in the SP, compared to the easier ( and mush unrealistic )ending.....but who said fun espionage sims must always be ultra realist?
Best bugged masterpiece: Civilization IV
It has all the GOTY material; perhaps I will recognise it once it achieve the required polish status in 6-12 months from now, the way Firaxis is patching ( v1.52 seems to fix many issues ). Let's face it, what is considered as the best strategy game ever isn't stable for a huge amount of gamers, which is almost unforgivable for a title of this caliber made by a famed developer. By comparison, Civ III had an average of one bi-monthly patch ( still the hardcore community thrown a hot pot ); Civ IV has already two since the release - so it's that relevant. Moreover, some unbalanced issues remain like tech costs & balancing, the AI always prioritise tech ( and its instant trading ) above all the rest and such. Still, don't get me wrong, I have great fun playing the games on smaller maps ( huge=freeze ).
Best innovative games I didn't play but wanted to:
Lumines, Indigo Prophecy, Guitar Hero.
See you in 2006! Take care,
Marc
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