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The best (and worst) PC games of 2002
November 27th 2002, 12:08 CET by Creole Ned Recent reports indicate that the year will be record-setting for consoles and there's little to suggest that PC gaming won't be the same. There have been a wide variety of quality releases in 2002, so with the last few weeks of the year winding down, chime in with your thoughts on the best PC games of the year. Conversely, feel free to comment on those titles you felt disappointed or downright stunk. Here's a quick look at some of the major titles released, categorized roughly by genre: RPG fans had an unusually rich selection of games to choose from, ranging from the sprawling, single-player epic (of walking!) Morrowind, to the action-oriented Dungeon Siege, which sought to out-Diablo Diablo. Straddling a middle ground was the long-awaited Neverwinter Nights, the first RPG to fully incorporate the 3rd Edition D&D rules. All three games included editors and toolsets or had them available as downloads, further seeking to extend the longevity of each. Other RPG's of note were Divine Divinity, Gothic (technically a 2001 release) and Arx Fatalis. Strategy fans had an assortment of sequels to choose from. New World Computing released Heroes of Might & Magic IV. Qualifying as a sleeper hit was the hard-to-find Moonbase Commander. On the real-time front, Blizzard finally released Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. Ensemble followed up Age of Kings with the fully 3D Age of Mythology. Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 saw the venerable series updated (if modestly). Will the soon-to-be released Master of Orion 3 also be a worthy candidate? And has Irrational Games' comic book-themed Freedom Force been overshadowed by the big boys? On the persistent world, pay-to-play front we saw the release of Asheron's Call 2 and Neocron. Can either game stand out in an increasingly crowded market, one that will see even more titles come out in 2003? Fans of first person shooters faced an unusually high number of releases. Primary among them is Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, a perennial bestseller and winner of many rave reviews. It's also proven to be the most consistently popular shooter online after the 800 pound gorilla known as Counter-Strike. Competing with itself, EA also published Battlefield 1942, a sprawling multiplayer game with a focus on vehicles -- air, ground and sea. Rounding out the World War II theme was 2001's late entry, the occult-laced Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Raven dealt out a double dose of sequels with Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast and Soldier of Fortune 2: Double Helix. Monolith successfully returned with No One Lives Forever 2. Epic took the reins from DE to finish up and release Unreal Tournament 2003. Not to be outdone, 4D Rulers also released one of the other few old school shooters of 2002, Gore. Ahem. Serious Sam: The Second Encounter offered a better dose of "beauty without brains". Westwood proved that the Command & Conquer series may not work in an FPS format with the tepidly-received Renegade -- but is it an overlooked winner? Eschewing the first person perspective, Hitman 2 generated good sales along with controversy over its subject matter. Defying genres were Derek "Smartpants" Smart's latest opus, Battlecruiser Millenium, Rockstar's PC port of Grand Theft Auto 3 and, of course, what may be the true winner of 2002, Sponge Bob Square Pants: Operation Krabby Patty! Naturally, many titles are missing from the above list, including entire generes (sports, for example). What are your picks for the best PC games of 2002? |
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Topic: The best (and worst) PC games of 2002
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Okay, seen it. Cheers Ergo/Matt. ++ plug-in baby ++
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I think that probably the best indie game of this year is Mutant Storm. To get an 8 in Edge magazine is quite an achievement. They're the hardest judges I've ever come across (for a little reference, they gave splinter cell a 7). Mutant Storm is better than Pontifex 2, anyhow. My only problem with Bezzy is, truly and honestly, about one third of his longer, passionate posts make no sense to me. I don't necessarily agree or disagree, I just literally can't parse them. - Hugin
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Back by popular demand for two shows only... Maynard! Yeah, the Centurions one was lame - I blame Marsh, my publisher, for rushing it. Imagine the world in a bottle. We take that bottle, smash it, and open your throat with it. I warn you, we are murderous - COIL
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Marsh owes you nothing. ++ plug-in baby ++
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Actually, you do. Haven't you seen the new contract? |
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At the very least you owe him gas money for that time he drove you to the airport. |
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Fair point. I'm just a selfish cunt. ++ plug-in baby ++
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I'd say the best PC game I've played is probably a toss up between NOLF2 and BF1942. Neither of them were perfect, but they were the only PC games I really enjoyed this year (that also came out this year). If I were going to give it to any PC game I played this year, then it would be System Shock 2, hands down. |
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Divine Divinity gets my vote as best RPG of the year despite the stupid name. Morrowing and NWN both ended up boring the hell out of me eventually. Freedom Force was quite a bit of fun as well. |
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Jedi Knight II and MOH:AA were the only games I felt compeled to finish this year. Spent too much time playing Everquest again this year (lousy addicting bastards, where's Ben Stein, grumble...) |
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Oh...and Hitman 2 was fun as well. "Good health" is merely the slowest rate at which one can die.
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...as was butter UT2k3... "Good health" is merely the slowest rate at which one can die.
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I just started playing Asheron's Call 2 and so far it's pretty good. |
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Oh yeah, Divine Divinity. I just finished that last week. It was up there as well. |
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I wasn't particularly impressed by any of the new games I played this year. The games I played this year the most were Civ III, Railroad Tycoon 2, and Planescape: Torment. |
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Yeah, Divine Divinity: Curse of the Crashbug is great, </sarcasm>. DD is ass. Might have been good if they released it after squashing the crashbugs, as it is it's an exercise in futility and frustration. Imagine the world in a bottle. We take that bottle, smash it, and open your throat with it. I warn you, we are murderous - COIL
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Divine Divinity would be better if they fixed the crash bugs (which I rarely encountered), but more importantly if they fixed the random impossible battles. Er, thanks, I was looking forward to fighting normal enemies that I can barely hurt. |
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Resident Evil 0: Leech Hunter! Oh god it hurts. I'd say JKII MP and SOF2:Infiltration Demo were the high points of the year. UT2K3 Butter came close, but that darn BR_Anubis kind of blunted the charm. Sometimes the porn gets in my face and says "Don't delete me, I'm jerkable." At which point I ask "Yes, but will you be jerkable in three weeks?" And the porn is silent.
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Bailey: So you are basically saying that any game that was on Butter is a highlight. That I can agree with. Was JK2 on Butter, or just user's random servers? |
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BR_Anubis was my favorite map in the game. It was the most suited for someone to play goalie. |
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Greg: They did. The patch that is out right now lowers the difficulty of boss monsters to a non-impossible level. |
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Nolf2 for single player, SOF2 for infiltration, 1942 for straight multi/lan play, Age of myth for RTS, Divine for RPG. Morrowwind for sucking ass. I believe I can fly......urk.
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Yeah, I recall JK2 being on Butter, but I might be completely out of it... Obviously playing with people you know on a quality server greatly enhances the experiences you have with any game, so I'm probably being biased, but, well... so is everyone else. Certain aspects sell a product to certain players, and that's that. For me, it'll always be the MP aspect that counts, as I usually finish a game in one weekend, and rarely replay it, unless it has significantly alternate paths through the game. I'm not just talking about going marine/hacker/psychic in SS2 or what have you in Deus Ex, either. Despite what the marketing weasels claim, that ain't "alternate gameplay", that's "options in gameplay". Adversely, a good MP element can last a month or more, and that's the only time I really feel motivated to, ah, "commit" to a title. Coincidentally, as my chances of getting a good connection with the same freedoms in China as I have here are so slim, I've actually decided to flat-out give up PC gaming. However, I promise not to pull an EvilAsh and tell you that you're all inferior to me because you're not chasing yellow fever and seeing panda bears in your back yard. Sometimes the porn gets in my face and says "Don't delete me, I'm jerkable." At which point I ask "Yes, but will you be jerkable in three weeks?" And the porn is silent.
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I'm not even seeing a back yard. "This is planetcrap, where we nuke everything from orbit." - Bailey
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White fever. Going to Whistler tonight. There are only 10 types of people in the world - those that understand binary and those that don't.
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Staying in, watching a movie, working on some code. Next? "Quit whining you haven't done anything wrong because, frankly, you haven't done much of anything."
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Okay, so how do I get Windows Media Player to turn off the fucking visualisation shite and actually play the movie rather than just the sound, which is clearly what I want to do because the file is a fucking movie file? There is so much that is so wrong with WMP. Are you looking forward to Star Wars Galaxies? C R A P R A D I O - Game Music Internet Radio Thingy! Brrraaaiiinnns!
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Bailey-- Are you going to be in the mystical Orient for an extended period of time, rather than a vacation? |
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Are you looking forward to Star Wars Galaxies? Morn, is SWG going to turn out like AO turned out for you? Cause everyone here felt it for months! "This is planetcrap, where we nuke everything from orbit." - Bailey
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Oh, good Lord no... PLEASE! |
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Charles: They did. The patch that is out right now lowers the difficulty of boss monsters to a non-impossible level. Yeah, I put the patch down before I started playing. My issue wasn't with boss monsters. It was with monsters like the Giant Orc that are next to impossible for the level that I'm on. Very annoying, since they are currently impeding the quest I'm currently on. But I've got other games to play, so it isn't a big deal. |
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Wow... likes Jedi Knight II and doesn't like Opposing Force. Mcorleone, I respect your recommendations about music, but I must regretfully shy away from any game buying tips you have. My PC GOTY is GTA3. My console GOTY is Metroid Prime. -chris |
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Ergo 1-2 years, minimum. Then likely Thailand and Japan over the next two years. Then maybe Cuba, for the delightful quality cigars and $25-50 CND a month expense for comfortable living. I'm declaring non-residency of Canada, to put it bluntly. Sometimes the porn gets in my face and says "Don't delete me, I'm jerkable." At which point I ask "Yes, but will you be jerkable in three weeks?" And the porn is silent.
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Staying in, watching a movie, working on some code. You forgot whacking it to Bea Arthur |
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Metroid: Prime: Scan Everything: Rune Hunt Xtreme is GOTY? Chris, you deserve little more than death by telephone pole rape. Sometimes the porn gets in my face and says "Don't delete me, I'm jerkable." At which point I ask "Yes, but will you be jerkable in three weeks?" And the porn is silent.
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Greg: I know exactly the point you are talking about, and it's possible to just skirt around those guys and complete the objectives anyway. I agree though, there were some difficulty balance issues. I didn't actually finish the game, because I got to the last dungeons and all the bosses hand me my ass. So I got someone to just tell me the ending. Hooray for the internet. |
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I'm trying to think of a console game I can endorse for game of the year, but I can't think of any. If you include the GBA in the console definition, then it is a tie between Metroid Fusion and Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance. Metroid Prime was good and fun, but there was enough annoyance and frustration that I can't possibly call it a favorite. |
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What was annoying about it? There are only 10 types of people in the world - those that understand binary and those that don't.
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I'd play GBA games more if I didn't go blind trying to see anything. Any recommendations where I could send mine for an Afterburner upgrade? I'm too much of a mechanical retard to do the mod myself. |
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I modded my GBA with an afterburner just last weekend. It wasn't that difficult, and my only experience with that kind of thing was modding my PSX years ago. I got a bit of dust trapped in the screen unfortunately, but I wasn't exactly going out of my way to be careful. Plus I didn't have any canned air to blow dust off like the instructions recommended. |
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If you want a good Metroid game, Metroid Fusion was a great title, as it just delivered what fans came to expect from previous iterations. If it ain't broken and all that. It's like that flying car they're trying to market to rich Californian yuppies. Adding in a third dimension is just going to get us a bunch of yuppies crashing into buildings, trees, bridges. Adding a third dimension to Metroid just got us ass. And not the good kind, let me tell you. Sometimes the porn gets in my face and says "Don't delete me, I'm jerkable." At which point I ask "Yes, but will you be jerkable in three weeks?" And the porn is silent.
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Bailey - What has impressed me so much about Metroid Prime so far is that I'm never at a loss for what to do next. Every time I get to a point where I've explored everywhere I can explore, I am immediately given a new item or weapon that opens up new areas. It's like the level-up system in Fallout... you were always at the exact level you needed to be to complete the area you were in. Perfect. Add in the fact that it has the least annoying controls of any first-person console game ever, that it's graphics are pretty extraordinary, that it's puzzles generally don't annoy me (I agree, the rune hunts are a bit iffy), that it doesn't recycle the same meshes over and over, that it has the best 3D mapping system seen in a game to date, etc... etc... etc... It's a lot of little touches that add up to an impressive whole. But let me check - are we talking about our personal games of the year, or "the game I would most recommend to the general populace"? Because Prime wins the latter, but not the former. My personal console GOTY is Resident Evil Zero. GTA3 remains my personal and "for the people" PC GOTY. -chris |
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One caveat about the afterburner: While it does light everything up nicely, it also washes out all the color. Nothing that can't be fixed by just holding the GBA under a light, but it's still kinda assy. I wouldn't call the afterburner an optimal solution. It's just a stand in until nintendo does it themselves. Re: Metroid Prime I didn't have a problem with the 3d at any time except in boss fights. Then it became pretty apparent that A) You don't switch to and from the morph ball fast enough, B) you shouldn't have to charge up the sprint ball, C) The target lock should have locked better, since I found myself having to manually aim to get a lock far too often, D) the weapon switch happened WAY TOO FUCKING SLOW. Especially in situations where you had to change around a lot. On top of that there were things like the colored pirates taking far too long to kill, making going through the phazon mines absurdly tedious. The infrared visor was cool for finding hidden conduits and such, but having areas that were dark so that you HAD to use the visor to get through them was more annoying than cool. The x-ray visor seemed like more of a gimmick, since there were only two places where you HAD to use it (not to mention that it had almost no range, meaning you had to walk around every wall to actually find secrets). The limit on the number of super bombs you could carry caused me to spend lots of extra time killing enemies just praying for a super bomb so that I could get to the next area (which in effect caused me to NEVER use them except for getting through blocked walls). Oh, and artificially extending the gameplay towards the end by forcing you to run around the entire game to collect chozo artifacts was extremely weak. Oh, and the shitty ending with lack of any kind of story. I was hoping after reading chozo runes the entire game, and pirate logs, that there would be some kind of neat and tidy story wrap up at the end, but NOPE! You get credits. Weak. Don't get me wrong though, I liked more about Metroid Prime than I disliked. |
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Chris, What the hell are you talking about? There were a couple times in Fallout & Fallout 2 that I was totally under-equipped for a level, and either had to save-reload my way through or give up and come back later. Were you following a walkthrough or something? Ergo, Regarding getting an Afterburner installed, just do a search on Google. There are all sorts of places that specialize in exactly that. Or you can wait a couple weeks till the non-invasive-surgery backlight comes out, which I think will be called a "halo light". It's like the afterburner, but you plug it into the expansion port and it replaces the screen cover. I think it's supposed to come out either next week or the week after, so by the time Christmas is past there should be enough reviews floating around to tell you whether it's crap or not. |
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Shadarr - I'm not talking about Fallout 2, only Fallout, and no I never followed a walkthrough. I've played through the game probably six times, at this point. If I was someplace where I was too weak to survive, I went someplace else, and did the stuff there. You could *get* to places in Fallout where you were underleveled, sure... but if you followed the story arc, it worked out flawlessly. Least... it did for me. -chris |
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crash old boy, did you ever finish that PC module for NwN I booked my seat on months ago? Ds Trust me, Im a professional.
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The infrared visor was cool for finding hidden conduits and such, but having areas that were dark so that you HAD to use the visor to get through them was more annoying than cool. The x-ray visor seemed like more of a gimmick, since there were only two places where you HAD to use it (not to mention that it had almost no range, meaning you had to walk around every wall to actually find secrets). Um what? Needing to use the infrared = annoying and yet having the x-ray visor and not needing to use it makes it a gimmick. |
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Okay, so you went places, couldn't get through and went somewhere else. That's what I did too. Nothing to see here. |
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Heh. It's the same with Metroid... There are plenty of places in the game that I can see on my map, but that I can't get to (or, like with the magmoor caverns pre-varia-suit, that were too powerful). What I'm saying is that I've yet to encounter a time in Metroid where I was just going "okay, I have no place to go" for more than about five minutes... and I'm always wrong when I'm saying that, and the thing I'm overlooking is almost always frightfully obvious. It was the same deal with Fallout. -chris |
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Okay None, to make you feel better, they were both annoying and/or gimmicky. Happy? |
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