The Discussion Thread - The 14th Annual Greatest Games Event

[UnderwaterFunktown]

Think it's about time I post my writeups for the second batch on my list, before I start to fall behind:

Placement/ Last Year	Write-up	(Box) Art
#45 #35	Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty The first year I took part in this 4 of the 5 MGS games made the list, but by now it’s down to just one as the others have been pushed out (they’re still great though). Sons of Liberty is a crazy ride from start to finish with an absolutely insane storyline even by Metal Gear standards and it’s my favorite for that very reason, even if there might honestly be one too many plot twists thrown in there (seriously what does S3 stand for?). However, the gameplay of early MGS games was never that great in my eyes if I’m being honest (though still far from bad), and that’s the main reason most have left the list by now and 2 is steadily declining. But as overall experiences I still like them a ton, and Sons of Liberty in particular.
#44 #42	Marvel’s Spider-Man I think the best way I can describe Marvel’s Spider-Man is that it’s simply excellent entertainment. From swinging around New York City, to the fast-paced combat, to the surprisingly compelling story and of course the countless quips, it was just a thoroughly good time whenever I sat down to play. I haven’t played Miles Morales yet, but I’m definitely curious to see if that and the upcoming sequel can deliver as fun experiences as this.
#43 #39	The Last of Us Well, what can I really even say about this game that isn’t obvious. I guess one thing I can say is that I only played it for myself maybe… 6 years after its release? And we’re talking the original, not even the remaster, but obviously it was still great. It’s peak video game storytelling, not my number of course or it would be higher, but definitely top tier. As for the gameplay… Well, it’s quite good as well. Not where the game truly shines for sure, but I think they managed to make a great third person shooter/survival game here with just the right amount of crafting elements for it to not become too complicated and slow down your progression through the story, which is after all, why we’re all here.
#42 #41	Celeste Celeste essentially took everything I liked about Super Meat Boy (got pushed out of the list this year, but still an honorable mention) and build upon it further. The large connected levels consisting of smaller rooms is an excellent way of making a platformer and the dash mechanic and its variations allow for some very interesting and often very challenging level design. For its gameplay alone Celeste would already be my favorite 2D platformer, but it certainly doesn’t hurt that it also has a compelling story on top.
#41 #32	Resident Evil 4 (Wii Edition) Resident Evil 4 is a favorite to many, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s survival horror at its best and has many extremely iconic parts to it from the 1-hitting chainsaw man to the ever-quotable merchant. But to me at least, there’s also been another element that elevated the experience: motion controls. The Wii version is still the only version of this platform-rich game I’ve ever played, and its simply the best implementation of motion aiming in a shooter that I’ve seen, and perhaps surprisingly, it goes damn well with horror gameplay. Actually, having to physically aim down a Regenerador as they menacingly walk towards you is just a special kind of terrifying. I'll have to admit I found a few more flaws with the game that I remember when I replayed it this year, but there's still something special about its atmosphere, gameplay and over the top characters that makes it easily one of my favorites on the Wii and an overall favorite as well.