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With the current generation now drawing to a close, each member of the VideoGamer.com team share their own games of the generation. For the sake of making them struggle, they’ve been restricted to picking just three…
Read Editor-In-Chief Simon Miller’s Games of the Generation here.
Read Video Production Editor Matt Lees’ Games of the Generation here.
Editor’s Note: The generation was classed as PC, Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii. If we included handhelds, these lists would never have been finished…
Football Manager Live
I’ve never been as invested in a game as much as I was with Football Manager Live. For as long as this glorious game existed it took over my life. While I was already a massive fan of the standard Football Manager games (and the Champ Man series before it), FM Live took things to a completely new level of addictiveness.
With every team in the game being managed by a real-world person, the dynamic of the world was completely different to any other management game. You were someone, and real people knew that. I got to know the other managers, the good ones and the hopeless try-hards, and I felt a great sense of pride when I won the top league title in my game world.
If you think the sense of drama and intrigue found in the games and transfer dealings of the main game is intense, inside the closed but real world of FM Live things felt real. In my mind Sports Interactive created a landmark title and it’s a terrible shame that more people didn’t get to experience it.
Trials Evolution
The award for the most time I’ve spent playing a game I’m quite obviously rubbish at undoubtedly goes to Trials Evolution. I enjoyed the original, but Evolution had a hold over me that I couldn’t shake for weeks.
Every night I’d struggle, not with high scores, but simply to finish every stage with a medal. There was swearing, angry and impulsive console switch offs, and moments of pure rage, but the incredible level of skill required to do well kept me hooked. I sadly never showed that much skill, but I tried, and tried, and tried. The odd time I did find myself above friends on a leaderboard was brilliant, even if short-lived.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
There are games that I’ve reviewed higher, and at times been more excited about, but looking back at this console generation, Lords of Shadow stands out like a lighthouse beacon. I can remember the epic adventure in more detail than the usual hazy mess most gaming experiences end up being in my memory.
We often hear about developers pouring love into the games they create, but rarely is it as evident as it is in Lords of Shadow. This is a game so rich in character, style, and mythology that its extended runtime never felt like padding. In a generation that has given us so many reboots and re-imaginings, none have been as expertly handled. Developer Mercury Steam seemed to be heading into development oblivion, but now has a very exciting future.
Honourable mentions:
God of War 3, GTA4, Gears of War series, Halo series, BioShock series, Heavy Rain, MotorStorm RC, Journey, Alan Wake, Uncharted 2, Crysis, Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, Prince of Persia 2008, Game Dev Story, New Star Soccer, Limbo, PGR4, Shadow Complex, Viva Pinata Trouble in Paradise, Geometry Wars 2, Crackdown, The Last of Us, Portal 2, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Max Payne 3, Batman: Arkham City
