GR-UK Gaming Weekender

Biggest disappointment of the year?

Gillen: Definitely has to be the sales figures on Rayman Origins. It's a tremendous platformer that'd have won plenty of us over at any other time of the year. But its been cannibalised by its brethren, and is another unfortunate casualty of the barbarism of the crowded winter release schedule.

Bitter too for creator Michael Ancel, who almost eight years to the day saw Beyond Good & Evil suffer a similar fate.

We know the dilemma, been sold the reality: winter sees increase in sales, so titles have a chance of biting from a much bigger profit pie. But gamers have to prioritise, funds only affording one, maybe two games. The Triple-As leave their devastating mark on the rest of the field. Games like Rayman, great as they are, relegated to post-Christmas pickup during sales.

Whether Origins would have stood more of a chance as the digital title we all thought it would be on first announcement is a fruitless argument now - though it doesn't offer online co-op is missing a trick, and the high price I saw it sold at in some stores - £42.99 - didn't help what'd be a great impulse buy for those unsure about taking the plunge.

It's the game Pixar would have made if it did games not movies: funny, quirky, memorable, and with a mix of straightforward platforming and tough side-quests and difficult secondary worlds, has a crossover appeal to kids and challenge-seeking adults.

If you're a 2D platform fan you need to check it out, because to my mind it even beat out Nintendo's plumber as the genre title of choice this year.

Mike: For me, the biggest disappointment of 2011 has got to be the multiplayer on GoldenEye: Reloaded 007. I bought a copy of that game with such high hopes. Whilst I knew deep down that it wasn't going to have the same impact on me as its illustrious forebear, I still expected a quality campaign backed up by exquisite multiplayer. The campaign was quite good, but the multiplayer was a real let down.

Every time I've loaded it up I've had issues. The menu system is far from efficient, causing all sorts of problems if, heaven forbid, you want to move from one playlist to another as a group. Also, it can take an eternity to find games when you've finally got into the right menu. To say that I have been thoroughly underwhelmed is an understatement.

That's not to say that GoldenEye is complete write-off. The games (when you can get them) are frantic and, at times, exciting affairs. The levels are well designed, varied and conducive to gunfighting. The selection of game-types is wide and varied, and the different settings do make things interesting.

It's just a shame that in getting so many things right, Eurocom has merely highlighted what is wrong with the title. GoldenEye was sold as an alternative multiplayer experience for late 2011, but it's shortcomings will have chased away any chance of that becoming a reality. The player animations look a little clunky, the sound effects are terrible and the multiplayer menus are awkward to navigate and frustrating to use.

I imagine a lot of people did what I did; bought this game, played it a few times and then went out and got Modern Warfare 3 instead (and then kicked themselves at having paid over £40 on a multiplayer game that will hardly ever get played). What should've been the surprise multiplayer hit of 2011 turned out to be my biggest disappointment of the year.

Bengt: Hmm, I have to say I'm having some difficulty coming up with a proper disappointment in 2011. Maybe, I grown too cynical to get my hopes up. I would be easy enough to say - Duke Nukem Forever - and be done with it, but to be honest I never got my hopes up.

No, I think my prize has to go to the Nintendo 3DS launch. It's easy to forget just how barren it was now that we've gotten The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Super Mario 3D Land, Star Fox 64 3D, and Mario Kart 7. It's hard to imagine what Nintendo were thinking when they planned a launch without either Link or Mario present. Did they really think Pilotwings and Nintendogs would be enough? And the price was all wrong. Thankfully, Nintendo have taken the steps to rectify the situation already.

Of course, there will always be early adopters ready to splash the cash for something new, but sales numbers at launch and the following months for Nintendo 3DS were telling. Nintendo dropped the ball.

Another positive outcome of this fiasco is the fact that Sony are bringing out the big guns early for the PS Vita launch in February with loads of quality first party software, and a reasonable price (considering the horse power housed in little device).

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Your Gaming Weekend...

Gillen: The snow fall outside my window can't match the avalanche of 3DS Ambassador games I just downloaded to my handheld. I'll be splitting my time between Metroid Fusion (which I nearly finished in its original form) and Yoshi's Island (which I never made it past the first few levels - damn Game Boy Micro's tiny screen!).

I've also arranged a run through Ramm's Shadow DLC with Gears-playing friends, and much amusement is going to flow from the squabble to play as the Locust commander and his Finger of Doom.

Aside from that, I've got to plan an alternative Christmas, as a last-minute bill of epic proportions has wiped out my plans to pick up a Wii and Skyward Sword for Christmas week. I might just try and see the credit sequences of games unfinished from this year....

Mike: This weekend I am mostly going to be playing Skyrim.

I started it up for the first time last night. I spent what seemed an age pissing about with the character creation - you've got to get these things right - and then I disappeared off into the world laid out for me by Bethesda.

An hour or so in and I nearly put up my pad and went off to do something else. I'm so very glad I didn't. Little did I know that I was just a stones-throw away from complete addiction. I pushed through the customary prisoner pre-amble and entered into the world proper.

I decided to go a different way with Skyrim. I would normally design myself a sneaky character; someone agile and stealthy and then wander around sneaking up on people and causing mischief. This time I went for the polar opposite; I'm an axe wielding brute of a man with one eye and a beard that would make Seasick Steve green with envy.

Just one evening with Skyrim helped me rediscover that ‘just one more thing' gameplay that has been sorely missing from my life of late. I'll just finish this quest. I'll just tell so-and-so that I've finished said quest. Right, now I'll just go to the shop and sell my junk. While I'm here I'll just make myself a new axe. What? There's a dragon attacking outside the town? I'll just go and kill it.....

Bengt:

I'm going to try my best not to play even more Skyrim, but it's a tempting proposition. However, I've just started on L.A. Noire and I've also got Deus Ex: Human Revolution to play. As far as Skyrim goes I've got about ten quests opened up, and I'm trying to finish the Dark Brotherhood and College of Winterhold quest lines finished.

I've played a bit of both L.A. Noire and Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and it's easy to see the enthusiasm these titles have enjoyed from fans and critics. Looking forward to seeing how the stories will progress from where I am.

Twenty dragons killed so far, they keep getting in my way...