The JLMA's 2013

It's time for the JLMA's 2013.

Wait, what?

Pearl Jam - From Best to Worst

Anyone that follows my Twitter, has met me in person, or has basically traded any kind of contact with me, knows that I'm a Pearl Jam fan. It's all to a bit of an embarrassing degree, really, but I simply can't help myself.

Anyways, with the band recently releasing their 10th studio album and my heading to Seattle soon to see them (see?) I thought now as good a time as any to rank their studio albums from best to worst. Let's get started

The Platinum Problem

I have three games that I considered the absolute cream of the crop of this generation. They couldn’t be more different in terms of genre and gameplay, but they all share one blissfully simple trait – control. Dark Souls is a gruelling adventure that’s completely dictated by how you develop your character. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is stealth at its most intense, giving you the final say on every aspect of the game.  And XCOM: Enemy Unknown? You decide everything from how a battle plays out to where you place your sick bay.

Even my current front-runner for Game of the Year, Soul Sacrifice, is all about handing the game's direction over to you.

In my heart of hearts I know that somewhere amidst this list there should be a Platinum game. The team comes from the exact same school of thought as the games mentioned above. Sure, the bulk of the studio’s portfolio consists of linear action adventures, but each one features a combat system tuned to a liberating degree of finesse. Within each system is the opportunity to learn, expand and master countless sets of combos and intricacies. The result is usually something that lets you squeeze the very top level of performance out of every fight, given the necessary dedication.  

SPOILERS: Arkham Origins and THAT twist

I want to touch one just one aspect of Arkham Origins right now. I’ve got plenty to say on it, the series, and my love/hate relationship with all three games, but right now, mid-playthrough, something’s struck an immediate chord with me.

Just another warning, there are some fairly big SPOILERS in this article, so don’t read until you’ve at least seen the big reveal in the early-ish stages (which is where I am right now).

Beyond: Two Souls - Some positive thoughts

One day someone’s going to get it spot on. Someone’s going to realise the sheer mechanical potential of gaming and mix it perfectly with stunning production values and first-rate, cinematic story telling. Beyond: Two Souls is not that game, and it was never going to be. It’s far too much of a gameplay-deprived, oddly-presented piece to do that. But at some point - perhaps even in the next generation - someone will finally crack the code of AAA story telling of this level meeting the genius of a game like Dark Souls or Spelunky. For now, Beyond is a sample of what could be, a window shopping experience for a new age of interaction. And, for my money, it’s a pretty interesting experiment.

Jak, Daxter and the fat fisherman

There’s a rope bridge that rests at the entrance to the Forbidden Jungle. It hangs loosely, as you’d expect any such crossing residing in any such abandoned area to do. There are a fair few boards missing and it creaks and tussles worryingly as you first step onto it. Even more terrifying – as you cross the mid-way point, you’ll hear the bridge sigh.

Hang on.

20 of Vita's best

Thanks to an almost weekly stream of downloadable gems and several 60+ hour epics, I have a bit of trouble keeping up with everything there is to play on Vita. For a system that’s meant to be dying of software drought, I feel oddly spoilt for choice when I flick through the PS Store for something new to play.

What I have here, then, is the 20 of my favourite games that the platform has bestowed upon me in its year and a half lifespan. There’s no Persona (!), no Hotline Miami (!!) and no, not even any Spy Hunter (!!!) because I simply haven’t gotten to those titles yet (I won’t actually be playing that last one). Let’s take a look:

ZombiU stumbles upon greatness

The biggest irony about ZombiU is that it’s a terrible launch game. Its bold mix on Souls-inspired ideas make for one of the better zombie games of the current generation but an absolute mess of an introduction to the Wii U gamepad. The pressure of permadeath hangs in the air during every desperate struggle, which is the last thing you need while you’re struggling to (literally) get to grips with this huge lump of plastic. The haze of panic that engulfs you as you slam your thumb into the screen, mindlessly squabbling to get some space between you and the undead makes for something of a headache at first. But, hey, isn’t that what it’s all about?

Unearthed: The Trail of Ibn Battuta is special

I’m not entirely sure which of the first 30 seconds of Unearthed: The Trail of Ibn Battuta was the exact one that I realised I was in for something special. Perhaps it was after I witnessed its wooden-faced, questionably-trousered protagonist take down an enemy with what can only be described as a series of sharp kicks to the groin, or after landing my first headshot with my hand stuck through a wall. Actually, no, I’ve got it – it was when I threw a grenade down a hallway, watched it drop stone dead after scraping a wall, and then kill me as it blew up behind several layers of cover. Honestly, I meant special when I said it, just not the type you were thinking of.

The rights and wrongs with the Muse of today

Yesterday I saw a little-known English band by the name of Muse for the third time in as many years. It was a good show, filled with bold, fuzzy solos, stunning set production and vocals so high-pitched that the windows of the Emirates Stadium nearly shattered. In some respects, it was the best performance I’ve seen them put on in my admittedly short-lived fandom, but in the places that really matter, the stuff that makes for a memorable evening, it was lagging behind.