So basically, this list is just trying to be as snarky as possible to some really exceptional development teams. Actually, I agree with them about most of the games there (I've played everything but Sonic on the list) but there are a few I think are kind of shameful.
Megaman 9 -- it's not exactly picking on the little guy, but COME ON. This game does what it should have done. End of story. Great game -- if you got bored, maybe it's because you're not into really challenging old-school platformers after all?
Mirror's Edge -- I agree that it's not a perfect game, but for a first try on a genre I thought would be impossible to pull off for anyone, I think they did a pretty great job. This game looks AMAZING on a 50 inch or larger HD TV, where the jumps and climbing become much more visceral and the heights feel a lot more dizzying. Also, they knock it for one of the things it should be commended for. "The main character isn't pretty enough." Chances are, as a bunch of aspiring writers who play games and philosophize about them all day, you're probably not much to look at yourselves, you warthog-faced buffoons! The point is, when games have female main characters the main criteria shouldn't be hotness. It should be how interesting they are, how much they draw people into the game, and how memorable they are. You can be interesting without reaching for the super-attractive mould every time you think up a female character. It worked in fable 2, which my girlfriend is still playing as we speak (and in many other games as well). Yes, attractiveness can make someone more interesting and engaging, particularly to the when-am-I-going-to-get-laid demographic, but don't betray your belief that that's the most important aspect of any female character. You're writers, aren’t you? Or at least critics? You're supposed to see more in life and storytelling than that.
I have to confess that I also never finished playing Mirror's Edge, but I still feel like it was a pretty remarkable game.
Little Big Planet --
It seems to be in vogue right now to call Little Big Planet a failure in lots of creative ways, which is no doubt partially a side-effect of the incredibly stupid console-wars, and the expectation prior to its release that Little Big Planet would somehow deal a horrible blow to Microsoft. As soon as game journalists can get around that all-pwning experience they were expecting to get from the game, maybe they can see that Little Big Planet is simply one of the most fun, stylish, gameplay-centered, and creative games ever made. You can play four player couch co-op on any level in the game. Or you can play four player online on any level. Or 2 on the couch and two friends online. How many games even allow that? You can be playing a level with a friend on the internet, and when your girlfriend gets home she can turn on another controller and immediately join in mid-level with her own character, with all of the costumes she's designed in her profile. Fable II could have learned a lot from this. Pretty much everyone could learn a lot from this game, and that's just talking about the multiplayer experience.
Let's see.... did they mention why it failed to keep their attention? "Although the concept of user created levels intrigues us, most of them suck and Sony has a nasty habit of deleting people's creations. Sorry, but we have better things to do than collect stickers."
First of all, levels getting deleted is a total fabrication as far as I know, something that was posted a while ago to blogs all over the internet because it had a whiff of controversy and console war drama to it, and is now repeated constantly by people who don't play the game. In many cases, it’s repeated by people who have never played the game, and their main reason for not trying it is the horrible disappearing level epidemic they heard about on Kotaku. I didn't get the game until early December so I probably missed a lot of the stability and moderation issues, but I have to say, as someone who has probably played 90% of the highly rated levels in the game, that I've never seen or heard of someone's level being deleted. There are Mirrors edge levels, Silent hill levels, Star Wars levels, Dead Space levels, Smash Bros Levels, Mario levels, Zelda levels -- and they're all still there. The same ones I played over a month ago. The moderation problems are a myth.
As for the user created levels not being good, I would say over half of the most hearted and highest rated levels (the two ways the game tracks how good a level is) are better than the levels that came with the game, and the game's original levels are definitely worth buying the game for, particularly if you want a really solid local multiplayer game.
"We have better things to do than collect stickers." I would just say, that if you can't enjoy a platform game with realistic physics and lots of mechanical puzzles thrown in, you probably aren't the most versatile of gamers. Another thing that might sustain one's interest is actually playing around with the level editor. It really doesn't take that much time to make a fun level. At least watch the tutorials, okay?
Speaking of gameplay, the developer of the game recently released some downloadable content based on Metal Gear that contains a paintball gun which can be fired off in game with the right shoulder button and aimed with the right analog stick. What's remarkable about it is that it's just about doubled the number of different genres you can make little big planet into. You can make a Contra level with four-player co-op, or an arena level where the players try the shoot and kill each other. There are some incredible boss battles in the user-content right now. Look up the level re-color, to anyone who has the game. Even if you don’t want to spend six bucks on the paint gun you can still use it on other people’s levels.
The fact that they can add so much to the game with such a small addition says a lot about how brilliantly designed and full of old-school fun the game is. I can't wait until the Final Fantasy VII content pack comes out. Hopefully they add some big swords.
