No love for the blue boy?
Final double update.
5BioShock 22010 After beating the amazing BioShock, I was eager to play the sequel. Although well-received, it didn't earn as much praise as the previous and Infinite, so I was a bit worried about the quality. And because Ken Levine wasn't directly involved in the project... Let's just say my expectations weren't so high.
The sophomore title on the BioShock trilogy takes place 8 years after the original game, Big Daddy series Alpha (the first generation), called subject Delta, awakens after almost a decade. His last memories are of a gang that kidnaps his Little Sister. But the city is now under control of Sofia Lamb, an old Andrew Ryan political enemy. And she fears what would happen if Delta finds who he's looking for...
As part of the design of the first series of Big Daddies, he can both hold a weapon and use plasmids, but is considerably weaker than the future generations. Exploring Rapture's endless secrets, while killing splicers and robots, and discovering what has happened since the ending of the previous game, is as fun as ever. Because the protagonist is a Big Daddy, he can attempt to defeat another who is escorting Little Sisters. Should he succeed, he can then choose to either harvest or adopt the Little Sister. While adopted, she can lead Delta to corpses from whom she can extract more ADAM. While doing this, he must defend her from splicer attacks and other foes. Once the Little Sister has collected enough ADAM, Delta can then return her to an escape vent, where he must choose to either rescue or harvest the Little Sister. Rescuing her gives the player a modest amount of ADAM but also the possibility of beneficial gifts later; harvesting her yields a large ADAM boost. ADAM can then be spent at Gatherer's Garden machines throughout Rapture to buy new plasmids, gene tonics, slots, or health/eve upgrades.
Once Delta has either rescued or harvested each of the Little Sisters on the level, he will be attacked by a Big Sister. The Big Sister's agility and resourcefulness will prove to be a tough foe, one who will make Delta waste most of his ammo, and lose almost all his life bar.
But what I loved most about this game is that it gets better until the very end. The last quarter is one of the most amazing, intense experiences I've ever had, not just on games nor on other mediums - but on my fucking life. Once you understand all the plot, the story behind the Little Sisters and the Big Daddies, and what has happened to the one Delta looks for, your heart won't react with indifference - if so, I can only think you have no soul at all.
Although pretty much everybody would agree the BioShock trilogy is brilliant almost flawless, that "almost" is always in reference to this game. And that saddens me, for I believe that Bioshock 2 takes the base of an already breathtaking title, and has the balls to improve it. Yes, it might take some time till you get to the best, but I can extremely assure you is worth millions times.
I recently bought it on Steam (originally played from an old, Games for Windows copy), which *finally* includes the Minerva's Den DLC, which I've been told is among the best expansions released for any game. Ever. And after that, Burial at Sea.
4Resident Evil 42005 This is probably the most replayed, reinstalled, and modded game I have. I mean - I can't even begin to explain how many times I beat it, let alone added countless mods to improve its graphics or all the times I replayed it on PS2, Wii and PC. It's insane. There was a time during which I was totally addicted to this title. It lasted around a year or so, but it got me hooked into the Resident Evil series (REmake made this list). I've recovered, but looking there are both new HD editions for those games, those parts of my past are yelling to return.
But how is that one of the best games of history (show me an all-time top 100 made after 2005 that doesn't feature it) it's also a controversial, almost spin-off title of a cult series? Sure, the purists were pissed off with the new focus on action. And honestly, it lack lots of horror elements. But is it a bad game per se? Fucking Jesus in hell, no.
Lion S. Kennedy, protagonist of Resident Evil 2, returns some years later to the scene as an agent for the government. The president's daughter has been kidnapped, and it's held somewhere in Spain. Once there, he realizes something has happened to the villagers, and there's a mysterious religious cult who controls them...
What follows is a journey full of surprises and twists, with infected enemies, and even some monsters. And lots of action and explosions - Michael Bay should make a movie if it. You meet new characters, some which return from Leon's past, either to help you rescue Ashley or to take her back. The weapons, the medicinal herbs, the occasional monsters, the not-so-difficult puzzles, and the guy with the chainsaw - there's a lot of fun assured.