Welcome to the Flap Jaw Space Power Rankings (text edition), a written recap of the dynamic perversion and informal melee that unfolded on the previous episode of Flap Jaw Space: The Digital Chumps Podcast. Power Rankings is a running segment where we continually update the ten best games of 2012 every episode. If you're new, there's quite a bit of nuance and havoc that goes into these deliberations, most of which you can read about in the origin story here. The important thing to remember is that Chris had this idea approximately one (1) week before the similarly themed concept from Polygon. So, without further delay,

THE FLAP JAW SPACE POWER RANKINGS - EPISODE 51 - MAY 8TH, 2012

Going in:

1 - Journey, as played on PlayStation Network by Chris, Eric and (somewhat begrudgingly) Steve

2 - Fez, as played on Xbox Live Arcade by Chris and Eric

3 - Xenoblade Chronicles, as played on Wii by Eric

4 - Mass Effect 3, as played on Xbox 360 by Chris and Eric

5 - Twisted Metal, as played on PlayStation 3 by Eric

6 - Syndicate, as played on Xbox360 by Chris and Eric

7 - Trials Evolution, as played on Xbox Live Arcade by Chris

8 - Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs attack, as played on PlayStation Vita by Chris and Steve

9 - NFL Blitz, as played on Xbox Live Arcade by Chris

10 - Ghost Trick, as played on an iPhone 4S by Chris

Up for Nomination: The Darkness II - Super Monday Night Combat - Awesomenauts - Pushmo

Going out:

1 - Journey, as played on PlayStation Network by Chris, Eric and (somewhat begrudgingly) Steve

2 - Fez, as played on Xbox Live Arcade by Chris and Eric

3 - Awesomenauts, as played on PlayStation Network by Chris and Eric

4 - Xenoblade Chronicles, as played on Wii by Eric

5 - Mass Effect 3, as played on Xbox 360 by Chris and Eric

6 - Trials Evolution, as played on Xbox Live Arcade by Chris and Eric

7 - Pushmo, as played on 3DS by Steve

8 - Twisted Metal, as played on PlayStation 3 by Eric

9 - Syndicate, as played on Xbox360 by Chris and Eric

10 - Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs attack, as played on PlayStation  Vita by Chris and Steve

Recap: With only 28 cubes under his belt, Steve busted out of the gate by suggesting we move Fez ahead of Journey. Neither Chris nor I were prepared to make this move. In fact, upon the revelation of Fez' monster mind second layer, we both entered with the intention of moving Fez down a few places. Out of nowhere Steve then compared Fez' music to an unconscious fondness for living in our respective mother's wombs, which, despite being a time that none of us remembered, we all conceptually agreed with. Born out of this resolve was an affirmation that Fez was good enough for second place - for now.

Awesomenauts was undoubtedly the greatest surprise. From a game that we were only vaguely aware of a few weeks ago to what's currently the third best game of the year was quite a journey. Chris and former Flap Jaw Space special guest Chris Smith played enough to achieve the unrecognized rank of master, while my ultimate appreciation was held back by an unrefined skill set. In any case it was a lot of fun and held true to Chris' line of, "it's like Capcom made a Mega Man MOBA" which has now sold the game to five different people. Steve claimed he would be buying Awesomenauts before the next podcast, Chris and crew seem to be cruising past infatuation and into long term commitment, or at least that's what they're saying until Diablo 3 comes out and everyone goes Leonard Shelby on everything else from 2012.

In Steve's second left field instance of the evening arrived Pushmo. If you’re paying attention you would notice that Pushmo actually came out on December 8th, 2011. After a bit of discussion we decided the Flap Jaw Space Power Rankings would run from December 2011 to December 2012, which sort of makes sense considering everyone usually ignores games released in December. In any case I had no idea what the hell Steve was talking about when he was describing this game, but after a brief demonstration he killed off any chance I had at finishing Resident Evil Revelations and motivated me to pick it up immediately. The staggering amount of content, apparent challenge, ridiculous price, and fondness for portable puzzle games makes Pushmo sound like a no-brainer that requires a brain. If nothing else, like Steve said, it proves there's still a space out there for original puzzle games. 

Chris also brought Super Monday Night Combat to the table, however its strength was weakened when he discovered it was merely a MOBA conduit for Awesomenauts. It was thereby resolved to the nebulous, "It's pretty cool, but I don't know" category occupied by hits like Tribes Ascend and Quell.

I brought and immediately rejected The Darkness II on the grounds of it being a largely miserable experience. I liked the art style and the idea of using the darkness as an extension of Jackie's melee set, however that's pretty much what it boiled down to; a whip and a gravity gun. The narrative, which split time between an mental hospital and the 'real world' and tasked the player with figuring out which actually happing, was sort of cool, but not enough to trump the monotony of soulless shooting and a repeating hell of bad guys.

NFL Blitz and Ghost Trick fell off by the simple math associated with process of elimination. While we lost two downloadable titles the obvious trend remains; we're playing (and loving) a lot more sub-$15 games.

And thus ends the Flap Jaw Space Power Rankings for Episode 51. Check back on May 22^nd when Chris and Steve talk endlessly about Diablo 3 and Eric finally engages the 2010 PC game of the year 2011, but on a console in 2012. Or something.  

In the interest of condensation, we're going to post new episodes here in blog format. That way, you can access all of Eric's written recaps and other musing related to the podcast. The RSS feed will stay exactly the same, so you and the other millions (and millions) of Flap Jaw Space listeners do not have to update your aggregators and such. As always, thanks for listening to our idiotic blathering.

Despite the fact that we promise a free copy of The Witcher 2 (PC) at the beginning the podcast this week, we forget by the end. (I promise we'll do it next week.) Aside from that, we're talking updated Power Rankings this week, with special respect to Steve's perspective on Fez. Also making appearances this week are the awesome Awesomenauts, Pushmo, The Darkness II, Super Monday Night Combat, and a little mop up duty from 2011's backlog. Don't forget your $200 sunglasses this week, because we're shining the light of our untrained and unrefined idiotic opinions once again.

Find the latest episode on the RSS feed or go to iTunes.

Or, play the episode here: [Play Episode 51]

Please direct feedback, questions, and hate to eric@digitalchumps.com or follow us on Twitter.

I've always (unjustly) assumed that the communities surrounding popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games such as League of Legends are about as receptive to outsiders as groups frequented by characters portrayed by Edward Norton and Edward Furlong. Defending lanes of ever-progressing AI drones, smashing turrets, and new-player griefing seemed to be the common threads. But why the hell are they called MOBAs anyway? Isn’t everything that is both online and competitive considered a multiplayer online battle arena?

Degrees of specificity in game genre nomenclature notwithstanding, developer Ronimo Games has hybridized the console-unfamiliar concept of the MOBA with the 90s-style 2D action game that resembles Metal Slug with a Saturday-morning cartoon motif. Think of it as team-based, multiplayer Mega Man. In fact, Capcom would be well-served to take notice, rather than murdering the Blue Bomber and all of eighty of his robot buddies.

MOBA-style games are apparently about pulling your weight for the good of your team (lest you be called something racially insensitive). Awesomenauts is more than smart about fostering teamwork – and Ronimo didn't concede to plop it out into the digital distribution ether, either. Instead, our late-twentyish, early thirtyish collective man-child brains have been treated with something familiar to teach us something foreign. The lone wolf seeking the best kill-to-death ratio at the expense of his teammates is destined to hate this game.

It is obvious that Awesomenauts respects balance (though it doesn’t quite always achieve it without incident), but it also simultaneously allows customizable loadouts that give the player freedom to add his own personal touch (or stroke his propensity to min/max everything he comes in contact with). They probably do all these things in League of Legends, but League of Legends isn’t a goddamn fake cartoon.

Outside of fighting games, competitive multiplayer games that exist on two-dimensional planes have been largely irrelevant (or non-existent). As with anything competitive, there's a certain grammar required to completely understand underlying principles.

So thank you, Awesomenauts, for teaching me how to play as part of a superhero squad and not piss off my internet friends.

Flap Jaw Space: The DigitalChumps Podcast finally hit Episode 50 last week (well, it was really our 57^th recording, but 50 official episodes). Up until Episode 48, the bulk of Flap Jaw Space followed a fairly standard podcast model of three hosts (and an occasional bonus character) discussing all of the games we had played since the previous podcast. Flap Jaw Space also used to feature special segments like "Steve Plays a Game He Should Have Already Played," "Retroactive ShitStorm," "How Much Do You Realize," and "Burn this Mother Fu**er Down," but eventually all of that eroded into a catch-all of profanity, countless stories that were tangentially (if that) related to gaming, and a verbal deluge of ideas and/or critical theories that almost made sense.  We still plan on doing all of that, but to add some focus and relevance to the 2012 gaming landscape Chris Stone developed a better organized and perpetually interesting vector for discourse dubbed the Flap Jaw Space Power Rankings (formerly The G.O.T.Y. Ladder).

Basically, every episode is now the Game of the Year episode. Some might say that Game of the Year podcasts are only special because they happen once a year, and that doing that every two weeks would ruin its charm. To them I say look at other inconceivable triumphs of the human spirit, like Chrono Trigger, when Captain Crunch went Oops! All Berries*, or the formation of the 1992 Olympic Basketball Dream Team.** What I'm trying to say is relax, we have a plan in place.

Every 2012 game that we have played is eligible for the flux of ten games known as Flap Jaw Space Power Rankings. For its first iteration the sheer lack of potential candidates resulted in certifiable crap like Amy as well anything Steve Schardein liked defaulting into the ranking order. Over time, as the quality of titles has increased, so has the potential for chaos and melee in the verbal sparring space. With new and (sometimes!) better games coming out every week, the idea is for the Flap Jaw Space Power Rankings to foster arguments concerning which games definitely belong and which games certainly  or kind of maybe don't in an effort to derive the ten best games of the year. It's all completely subjective and mostly just for fun, but it's also a neat way to internalize the impact left by some of our favorite games, and whether or not it stands up against titles released months down the road.

In any case from Episode 50 on the Flap Jaw Space Power Rankings will have a companion story posted for every episode at DigitalChumps. Basically its intent is to function as a recap of two hours worth of discussion in case you zoned out while we were trying to explain the difference between Tommy Tallarico and Timecube.com

So, without further delay:

THE FLAP JAW SPACE POWER RANKINGS 

Going in to Episode 50:

1 - Journey, as played on PlayStation Network by Chris and Eric

2 - Twisted Metal, as played on PlayStation 3 by Eric

3 - Mass Effect 3, as played on Xbox 360 by Eric

4 - Syndicate, as played on Xbox360 by Chris and Eric

5 - Gothom City Impostors, as played on PlayStation Network by Eric

6 - NFL Blitz, as played on Xbox Live Arcade by Chris

7 - Ghost Trick, as played on an iPhone 4S by Chris and generally accepted by Eric

8 - Super Stardust Delta, as played on PlayStation Vita by Eric

9 - Ziggurat as played on an iPhone 4S by Chris and Eric

10 - Quell, as played on an HTC EVO by Steve

Up for Nomination: World Gone Sour, Fez, FIFA Soccer (Vita), Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack, Trials Evolution, Tribes Ascend, Xenoblade Chronicles, Escape Plan, The Pinball Arcade

Going out of Episode 50:

1 - Journey, as played on PlayStation Network by Chris, Eric and (somewhat begrudgingly) Steve

2 - Fez, as played on Xbox Live Arcade by Chris and Eric

3 - Xenoblade Chronicles, as played on Wii by Eric

4 – Mass Effect 3, as played on Xbox 360 by Chris and Eric

5 – Twisted Metal, as played on PlayStation 3 by Eric

6 - Syndicate, as played on Xbox 360 by Chris and Eric

7 – Trials Evolution, as played on Xbox Live Arcade by Chris

8 – Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack, as played on PlayStation Vita by Chris and Steve

9 - NFL Blitz, as played on Xbox Live Arcade by Chris

10 – Ghost Trick, as played on an iPhone 4s by Chris and generally accepted by Eric

Recap: The greatest disruption took place when Chris, in an unprecedented power move, wiped Gothom City Impostors off the list and replaced it with Trials Evolution. Typically new entries are ranked where appropriate and the last in line falls off the list, though no rule indicates this as the only course of action. We had been looking to remove Gothom City Impostors for a while and Eric, who seemed puzzled that it was there, chose not to stand and fight for its existence in the Power Rankings.

Ziggurat was also instantly deleted from the list when it was revealed, via listener email from Graeme, that it was created by Action Button Dot Net’s Tim Rogers. Eric finds Roger’s writing style to be infuriating and thus wiped Ziggurat out of principle.

With both Chris and Steve getting a Vita since Episode 49, it was a bit surprising to see Super Stardust Delta fall off, though it was essentially replaced with Mutant Blobs Attack, another and apparently better Vita game.

Xenoblade Chronicles’ inclusion of the list was a topic of hot debate. It's sole nominee, Eric, had it as his Game of the Year in 2011 (via an imported copy), but wound up reviewing it and squeezing out an additional 70 hours in 2012, which Chris decided qualified it for inclusion in our 2012 list. Also, it's awesome.

Fez coming in and placing as high as it did should surprise no one, though in the time since this podcast Eric and Chris have cooled on it a bit, while Steve just started playing.

Quell? Does anyone miss Quell?

* The core reasoning here is obvious, but also note that Oops! All Berries stealthy solved the fundamental and quite universal issue with Captain Crunch; it didn't rip your mouth to shreds

** This was a positive experience for everyone on the planet except Isiah Thomas and (possibly) Christian Laettner. 

“Free to play” games don’t usually strike my interest. That particular business model, which prices the base game at little to no cost and then offers upgrades or time savers for additional fare, has been embraced by almost every modern MMORPG along with the more recent DOTA-style competitive experiences. The rationale seems sound when applied to customization; cosmetic accessories are mostly inconsequential to gameplay and don't serve to diminish the experience of another. The free to play model starts to slide into a moral grey area when it offers quick access to items that would otherwise require hours grinding. That particular method could be employed purely to exploit players by creating unrealistic goals only possible through needless tedium, but good games often err on the side of catering this method to the casual or lazy and, thus, gaining acceptability.

Run Roo Run!, 5th Cell's first ground-up iOS offering, is where I'd like to draw the line. I bought Run Roo Run! based on 5th Cell's stellar work on the iOS version of Scribblenauts, along with a general interest in creative director Jeremiah Slaczka's approach to game design (gained via a handful of interviews and features at Gametrailers). Run Roo Run! is an adorable one button, single screen platformer. Roo runs automatically, and you tap anywhere on the screen to make her jump over a myriad obstacles. The game's breadth content, a total of 420 levels spread across twenty segmented worlds, is staggering. The first fifteen stages in each world are relatively simple and serve to introduce players to a new mechanic while the last six, which are completely unnecessary for progression, are incredibly difficult and make full use of every skill learned up to that point.

If you hit a wall, there are two options for assistance. First is a gadget that slows down time, making precise jumps over moving obstacles much easier, and there other is an unabashed level skip. You begin Run Roo Run! with two of each of these and, to the best of my abilities (through world 10 presently), I have found no way to earn more in the game. Instead, after you fail a couple times, a corner of the screen with a shopping cart icon makes a noise and flashes. Tapping that takes you to another screen where you're encouraged to buy timers in quantities of ten or sixty for .99 and $4.99, respectively. If you're really having a tough time, you can also opt to purchase ten or one hundred full level skips for $1.99 or $9.99, respectively. Run Roo Run!, on its own, is only a .99 cent game.

Worse, Roo seems to be constantly pushing the player to engage either of these options. Gold medals can only be earned by completing a level in one shot. Skipping a level with the bus pass defaults the player to a silver medal (which is probably fair). This only seems nefarious when one considers the only obstacle in separating a one-shot gold run from the lower tiers of medals is a reset button; when you fail, the level will either reset itself, keeping the timer going, or you can opt to push a button and start fresh. When one takes into account the frequency at which the game prompts you to buy help, the brevity of levels (most are only two seconds), and the annoyance at having to push a button at every failure, well, it sure as hell seems like 5th Cell put careful hooks in place to transform Run Roo Run! into a money generating machine.

That's 5th Cell's right as a developer and certainly in their best interests as a business, but I can't shake the nagging suspicion that Run Roo Run!, an otherwise innocent delight with an infectious aesthetic, is little more than a money printing machine designed to take advantage of those who choose to play it. The normal levels are pathetically easy, and the challenging 120, the only point where the game becomes demanding enough to occasionally require assistance, are sure to only be engaged by those who legitimately enjoy the game. It makes me think of how much better Run Roo Run! could have been if the current business model favored feature-complete games for $5 that everyone pays rather than glorified starter packs with outrageously priced additional content burdened to the select few whom actually like playing it. In any case, it's all a little uncomfortable, and a sad state of affairs if good ideas are being corrupted for a cash grab. 

Ok, so this obviously isn't a Best of 2012 list a full year in advance. I've only actually played two of these games and there's a lot that could happen in a year, but this is more like a fun guess over what has the potential to make my list come this time next year. I estimate that two or three will actually make it through. If all ten appear unchanged then I'll promptly quit writing for Digital Chumps and seek employment at a bacon factory or something equally ridiculous.

Journey (thatgamecompany – PlayStation Network) Journey knocked my socks off at E3 and set my hair on fire with the beta a few months later, mostly because it openly explained almost nothing and was increasingly better for it. Journey looks to be a game about discovery and about creating a series of abstracts for the player to decipher. I'll be surprised if there is ever even a line of text in the game, or if it bothers to cater to the American institution of explaining every last detail. Journey's allure is its relative ambiguity, and its risk is trusting the player to appreciate and enjoy it. Sign me up, because I can't wait to see what else is out there. Read Chris' E3 impressions. Read my beta preview.

BioShock Infinite (Irrational Games – PC. 360. PS3.) Irrational Games is home to some of the most talented minds in game design and they've now funneled five years of their time into building BioShock Infinite. The hands-off E3 demo was one of the few times I’ve witnessed everyone in a room being wide eyed and speechless over the events that were transpiring on screen. Ripping open temporal rifts and avoiding a jealous mechanical antagonist, all set against a steam punk, ultranationalist backdrop sounds like fertile ground for interactive entertainment. Wouldn't you agree? Read my E3 preview.

Metal Gear Rising Revengeance (Platinum Games – 360. PS3.) I was disappointed when Rising emerged with a comeback trailer at the shitty videogame award show. The trailer looked amazing and was cause for celebration, of course, but there was virtually zero crowd reaction when the Platinum Games logo flashed across the screen at the end of the trailer. That rumor had leaked out of NeoGAF six months prior, but seeing it there, literally confirmed, was like a wish coming true. With Vanquish and Bayonetta under their belt (and Mad World, yeah yeah), Platinum can do no wrong in my eyes, and I'm insanely curious to see what the guys there can do behind the wheel of a Metal Gear game.

Mass Effect 3 (Bioware - 360. PS3.) Despite advertising that seems to be campaigning directly against my interest in the series, I still think Mass Effect 3 is going to be something special. Mass Effect 2 was one of the two games I've given a perfect score at Digital Chumps. Its RPG aspects were certainly toned down, but its mood, atmosphere, and characters were second to none. Knowing that Bioware has vowed to restore some of Mass Effect's RPG foundation has me waiting with baited breath, in spite of its idiotic trailers.

Twisted Metal (Eat Sleep Play – PS3) Twisted Metal was the reason I bought a PlayStation in 1996, and anticipation for the sequel reached nuclear levels for my precious fourteen year old mind. With series' creator David Jaffe and his team at Eat Sleep Play back on board for a long awaited follow up, I can't not be insanely curious over how it's all going to turn out. The bits I got to play at E3 2010 felt great, and I can only imagine what else they've managed to do nearly two years later.

Gravity Rush (SCE Japan Studio – Vita) Ever since Mega Man V, playing with gravity is a mechanic I'll never get sick of. Hopping around Gravity Rush's apparent open world RPG will no doubt quench that thirst, but honestly my interest in the game began with absorbing its crazy visual style. Gravity Rush looks distinctive, memorable, and downright dreamy. Along with Sound Shapes it's the only other game I plan to buy with my Vita.

Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar North(?) – 360. PS3.) Grand Theft Auto V's sole trailer was as vague as it was impressive, which is pretty much business as usual for Rockstar. I have no doubt that they're aiming high, but I'm super anxious to learn what kind of game GTA V will be in a 2012 landscape. The amount of time between San Andreas and IV was even shorter and those two games were wildly divergent in terms of theme, narrative, and gameplay. On top of that Red Dead Redemption, Just Cause 2 and Saints Row The Third have done open world bigger and better, and I can't wait to see what GTA V will do to, once again, redefine itself.

Prey 2 (Human Head – PC. 360. PS3) I didn't expect much from Prey 2. I walked into the demo area at Bethesda's E3 booth only because it seemed ridiculous to have three of us covering Rage. I sat down to watch a live, hands-off demo and was, in a manner of speaking, blown away. Human Head is apparently making Blade Runner, because Prey 2 appears to have discarded 95% of the nonsense from Prey in favor of creating a dark, interplanetary mercenary simulator. It felt like I had the opportunity to wreak havoc on Mass Effect 2's Omega or go completely nuts in environments so wrought with detail you'd think they were a prerendered background. My interest in Prey 2 went from zero to sixty in about fifteen minutes, so who knows what sitting down with the full game could do. My E3 Preview.

Amy (VectorCell – PlayStation Network) Regret isn't usually a character-defining trait for videogame characters. And yet that was the first emotion I noted in my time brief with Amy. Amy is a survival-horror game where the player character Lana becomes infected with a zombie plague and spends the game's opening moments coming to grips with her fate. She's screwed, and she knows it, but knows there is still time to guide a little girl, Amy, to safety. Amy could be a giant escort mission with a few cool gimmicks, like Lana gaining powers as she tries to delay the inevitable transformation, along the way, or it could evolve transcendent experience along the lines of the much loved Ico. History isn't in its favor, look at how many games feature terrible escort segments, but Amy could be something very special.

Quantum Conundrum (Airtight Games – PC. 360. PS3.) This one is a bit of a risk. On board are Kim Swift, auteur of Portal and its pseudo predecessor Narbacular Drop, and Airtight Games, the folks behind Crimson Skies and (gulp) Dark Void. Everyone is expecting another Portal-like experience and the team certainly isn't shying away from those claims (they would be stupid not to, after all). What's actually presented looks categorically insane, like some sort of mash up between a furry party, a copy machine, and Back to the Future. I can live with that.

Others that I’m really looking forward to:

Sound Shapes - Everyday Shooter made my Best Of 2007 list and remains one of my favorite PS3 games. Super excited to see what Jonathan Mak has learned over the last five years.

Borderlands 2 - My friends and I dumped dozens of hours into exhausting Borderlands content. Can't wait to do it all over again.

Papo & Yo – Because how often are adventure games used as metaphors for dealing with an alcoholic father? My E3 Preview

The Last of Us - Naughty Dog introducing a new IP this late in a console life cycle merits interest. Bonus points for the Enslaved vibe.

The Last Guardian - lol

Starhawk - Rumored to be in existence forever, I was glad to see it finally announced and I'm anxious to see what it's like.

Lollipop Chainsaw - Sold on concept alone, which I’m deliberately ripping from the Wikipedia article: Lollipop Chainsaw focuses on zombie hunter and cheerleader Juliet Starling who, along with members of her family and her boyfriend, a disembodied head, fight hordes of zombies in San Romero High School, where Starling formerly cheered. The enemy zombies are led by "a group of zombie rock and roll lords. I sort of can't believe Grasshopper keeps getting funding, and I mean that in a good way.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 - Look, I liked Final Fantasy XIII, and hearing that Kitase took fan criticism to heart when building XIII-2 gives me hope for something cool.  

Prototype 2 – Haven’t seen much beyond some aggressive Heller vs Mercer marketing drips. I am intrigued when a game makes its former protagonist its chief antagonist, though I’ll be surprised if that holds true to the end-game.

The Witness – Jonathon Blow’s long awaited follow up to Braid.  Brief previews started popping up a few months ago and mostly suggested that my brain isn’t educated enough to properly engage what he’s planning. Or maybe I didn’t understand the previews. Either way it’s the next game from the guy who made Braid, man.  

Hello and welcome to my top ten for 2011. A couple odd trends worthy of note; only two games were developed in North America, and only two were legitimate sequels. This is consistent with my particular interests, meaning I tend to favor new ideas (even when they fail) and ambition rather than engage an experience I've already had several times over. In the case of the two sequels I think it's hard to make an argument that either game didn't completely overhaul its predecessor, and, regarding the lack of American/Canadian development, well, my heart's always been in Japan.

Additionally here are my top tens from previous years: 2006 I 2007 I 2008 I 2009 I 2010

And in no order...

Child of Eden

Child of Eden blends the dreams of 80's era game design with 1999's desire for an infinite euphoric apocalypse. Player control, even with Kinect, is unapologetically simple; all you really do is move a cursor around and shoot two different types of ammunition in traditional rail-shooter fashion. In Child of Eden's case, context overwhelms input and builds toward a visual presentation that's as impressive as it is unprecedented. I don't remember a game where you saw giant space whales evolve into massive condors, or helped bash two opposing planets together so they could transform into dueling running men, which, by the way, was all in the name of harvesting the memories of the first girl born in outer space who, of course, sometimes appears dancing in the background in full motion video form. That's quite a mouthful, but it's why Child of Eden made the list. Like Sonic Team's Nights: Into Dreams, Child of Eden is categorically insane and yet also supremely composed and confident. It's pure gameplay masked in layers upon layers of chaos. Even as a sequel to Rez, there's nothing quite like it.

Signature moment:  Passion is the best level, but Evolution broadcasts Child of Eden’s craziest sequence. Upon attacking the final core, each time a shot connects images of Lumi dancing flash across the screen. Given the visual overload from the last fifteen or so minutes I actually thought I was hallucinating, but then it happened again and I realized the folks at Q Entertainment actually went to the trouble of video capturing and syncing an real human into the game in perfect harmony with both the gameplay and the music. 

PixelJunk SideScroller

PixelJunk SideScroller might as well be Child of Eden's evil twin. Whereas the latter smothers its 80's influence under layers of glorious confection, SideScroller proudly wears its lineage on its sleeve. While SideScroller does concede a few amenities to modern game design (continues, in particular, feel like a godsend) its roots are in the days of hazy arcades and semi-shitty cathode ray tube screens. Rather than settle for a deliberate replication (ala Mega Man 9) SideScroller goes the extra step and uses its shoot ‘em up base as a tool to enhance one's sense of supposed nostalgia. The subtle Japanese voiceovers, the ridiculously catchy music, charming graphical filters, and endless detail on the tiniest objects charm the living hell out of anyone born in the 80's. And the final level, with the possible exception of M.s Spolsion Man, is one of the greatest interactive climaxes of 2011. My Review.

Signature Moment: The final level. I'll skip the context (and for shit's sake don't click that link if you haven't played it), but SideScroller's climactic finish ties the bow on the entire experience. The whole game is exceptional and on harder difficulties easily lends itself to a transcendent, almost zen-like experience in maintaining perfection, but if every level is your standard street level smack then SideScroller's blowout would default as uncut Colombian cocaine. 

Bulletstorm

It's not just about the insane profanity. "Here comes butterdick Jones and his heavenly asshole machine" and "suck the tears off my dick you ugly mudf--kers," were oddly endearing doses of sophomoric wordplay, but they were complimented by fresh mechanics from a developer willing to twist and turn the rules of boilerplate first person shooter game design. That's because in Bulletstorm, you don't just shoot dudes in the face. Using a leash, a mighty boot, and your surrounding environment, the context of the kill is just as important as actually killing someone. Racking up points for all kinds of crazy kill combinations was incredibly addictive, and creating dozens of "skillshots" remains 2011's greatest contribution to first person shooters. In a perfect world this would have caught fire like Call of Duty 4's infectious multiplayer and spawned a dozen clones, but that's a topic for a different day. My Review.

Signature Moment: The Wheel of Death level. Bulletstorm was rarely at a loss for words or interested in dull moments, but I think it hit its peak when the hundred foot tall razor blade was tearing up Alderan (or whatever that planet was called) and the player was charged with murdering bad guys while all of that was threatening in the background. And that was all in a turret sequence, which is atypical for that game (and my personal taste). Pulling off seemingly impossible skillshots felt great too, but no I'd have to say the huge razor blade wins out. 

Xenoblade

Xenoblade single handedly corrects the disappointment left behind by the wake of Final Fantasy XIII, Lost Odyssey, and Blue Dragon. Hundreds of quests, countless expansive environments, worthwhile fiction, great characters, a smart combat system, and a world big enough to support dozens upon dozens upon dozens of hours of playtime. Almost every other stab at the genre has carried the weight and tradition of its predecessors and subsequently failed in the current gaming landscape, but Xenoblade absolves every sin. It has fast travel anywhere at any time. It has an unlimited inventory. Your health recharges. Quests are well organized. And it has Giant god damn robots. Forget that it’s on Wii, it’s actually coming to North America in April and it’ll be worth every penny.

Signature Moment – Entering Bionis’ leg. When I got out a cave and walked into Bionis’ leg, there, right before my eyes, was a playground at least twice the size of Final Fantasy XIII's prized Gran Pulse, and Xenoblade only spent a few blissful hours before getting there. Dozens of quests, tons of loot, countless monsters roaming the land, it was almost as if Monolith was flaunting its ability to give JRPG fans everything they were looking for. 

Radiant Historia

Time travel is an ambitious concept, one that often requires a significant budget for top shelf visuals and brain melting CG. Radiant Historia, a modest DS RPG from Atlus, has none of that. The team didn't have the resources (or the hardware, really) for whiz-bang effects, leaving their aim focused squarely on the gameplay end. It worked wonderfully. The battle system is classic turn based, but relies on a clever hook of shifting enemies around a 3x3 grid for maximum effect. The narrative is woven into the gameplay via the White Chronicle, a device that allows the protagonist Stocke to move around to different nodes over two timelines and play out scenarios in different ways. This not only alleviates the worry of missing something (you can essentially replay everything as many times as you want), but also adds the potential of consequence without the stigma of game-over failure. Radiant Historia could have easier pushed its concept harder, but what's there is still good enough to be one of the most innovative and worthwhile games of the year.

Signature Moment: Whenever it was I finally wrapped my head around how Radiant Historia allowed the player to move forward and backward in time. It honestly wasn't explained very well (despite being quite a wordy game) and when the light bulb turned on and I suddenly realized that I go back and do everything and/or anything over again, Radiant Historia went from good to exceptional. It's proof that a great idea can power a game without much of a budget. (note: YouTube DS footage sucks so that link goes to Alistel’s wonderful music) 

Dead Space 2

Dead Space 2 offers the player maybe a half second of control before it starts unloading lethal threats upon Isaac Clarke. The opening sequence is a haunted house of carnage, and really sets the tone for what Isaac must endure for the next ten or so hours. The fiction is ultimately hokey when examined with any sort of scrutiny, but experience as a whole, specifically when walking down abandoned (space!) apartment hallways or running the hell away from necromoprhs. With Isaac desperately shooting out airlock doors, attempting pin point accuracy on necromorph appendages, and playing cat and mouse with stalkers, the gameplay end held up its end of the bargain as well. My Review.

Signature Moment (major spoiler): Reboarding the USS Ishimura. Discovering that that ship is on the premises and realizing you're going to have to board it again is terrifying. Better, Visceral wasn't content to recycle the same assets or lame scares, not only canvassing the entire ship in white plastic as if it were some sort of biohazard, but also crafting gameplay segments that deliberately play with Dead Space veteran’s expectations. 

Dead Island

Dead Island's loot system was a poor facsimile of Borderlands. It's dearth of enemies and weapon crafting reeked of Dead Rising 2. The mission structure was ripped right out of Fallout 3, and the open-world jungle setting was employed better by Far Cry 2. What Dead Island did have was an unwavering commitment to raw survival. This is an odd thing to say about a game that only penalizes death by taking ten percent of your money, that relies almost exclusively on energy drinks and power bars for health replenishment, and requires arbitrary money to repair weapons and create modifications, but it's surprising how seriously Dead Island takes itself. Zombies that level up with the player create a constant sense of vulnerability, further enhanced when you're in the middle of nowhere armed with a hammer, two flaming baseball bats, and a defective handgun with six bullets. Whether I was driving my truck around and exploring abandoned gas stations or walking up and down the beach, I felt somewhat prepared, but ultimately powerless and alone. Dead Island probably hit its peak on the first "area," but that feeling lasted throughout the entire game. You're always on edge. My Review.

Signature Moment: Pure Blood. Unfortunately this was the mission that nearly wrecked my Dead Island experience. I had to break the game in a different way in order to move past that section, and the Dead Island’s final scored ultimately dropped two points because of it. Unlike Skyrim, It was an isolated incident from a lack of testing rather than a global problem (and it’s since been patched out), but it left a lasting impression on an otherwise thrilling experience. 

Portal 2

Portal 2 is Valve bringing a novelty sized calculator to a gun show and (once again) walking away with first prize. Creating a clever first person game without a traditional weapon front and center is reason enough for celebration, but Portal 2's sentiment is magnified under the lens of its spectacular characters. GlaDOS was destined to impress, but the emergence of the spherical buffoon Wheatley and Aperture founder Cave Johnson were some one of the best surprises of the year. Stephen Merchant and J.K. Simmons, respectively, employed great writing with hilarious personality, often relying on subtlety and nuance rather than vapid easy one liners. Over time most of Portal 2's puzzles will fade away, but no one will ever be able to forget those characters. My Review.

Signature Moment - (major spoilers) It has to be the end, right? Knowing that the white gel was composed of moon dust, looking at that hole in the ceiling, seeing the moon, and, in a split second, going from "oh shit is this going to work" to "HOLY SHIT THAT ACTUALLY WORKED" was marvelous. Yes, the game was built with that finale in mind and there's no other way it could have possibly ended, but in the moment it felt spontaneous, like I was actively breaking the game in half. 

Catherine

You wouldn’t expect beers with friends and the moral complexity of infidelity to be suitable for an interactive medium, and you certainly wouldn’t anticipate marrying those concepts to a box pushing puzzle game to materialize into anything remotely interesting. And you would have been wrong. The elevator pitch for Catherine sounds like a joke, but it’s actually one of the most thought provoking, challenging, and legitimately interesting experiences out there. It's no secret that Atlus' in-house development teams are something of a late bloomer in console generations, and if Catherine was Altus only getting their feet off the ground, I can't wait for a Persona-fied follow-up. My Review.

Signature Moment - (considerable spoilers) Catherine keeps the player honest by planning Vincent's actions in cut-scenes through otherwise unrelated questions elsewhere in the game. Meaning, when his girlfriend Katherine catches him cheating with bar trash Catherine, there's no telling which way the shit is going to hit the fan. Wondering which way the angel or devil in Vincent's ear was going to push him was unexpectedly terrifying, and even though it was admittedly stupid and unrealistic,  the tension of that particular scene went unmatched in 2011. 

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron

El Shaddai is a work of surprising confidence. Combat that favors leveling up the player's (as in you, not the on-screen character) skill set is worthy of admiration, as is a wildly imaginative, frenzied art department that never allows their beautiful work to overstay its welcome. In a way El Shaddai feels like it was born to be a cult classic, a game with a highly specialized aim that isn't interested in pleasing everyone, but feels absolutely perfect for its intended audience. I haven't seen very many of those in this generation, and El Shaddai should be commended for daring to dream up something different.

Signature Moment: Chapter 6. El Shaddai was always content to devour its scenery; a theme or visual style that could serve as a backdrop for an entire game is briefly employed before, almost immediately, being burned away, but the sixth level is where El Shaddai really blows its load. Before that the game had stayed close to an ethereal, pastel pallet of various sizes and shapes, but then Enoch dropped down into what I can best described as Tron meets Akira. I had no idea how much I wanted that until I played it. My Review.

What either fell short or what probably could have (had I played it) made the list:

Ms. Splosion Man - Great platformer with one of the best ending sequences…I don’t know, ever? My Review.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Currently at 105 hours with much more to go, but I can't, in good conscience, praise a game that's constantly fighting off my desire to play it. I made the mistake of buying the PlayStation 3 version, which, as history has taught us, Bethesda can't bother to bug test properly. It's broken, fundamentally broken, after the save file starts hitting double digits, and it really puts a damper on every moment. Nathan's Review (of the 360 version).

Sonic Generations - This was the last one out. Loved playing the game and devouring properly induced nostalgia, but couldn't put it before any other game on the list. My Review.

LittleBigPlanet 2 – Right behind Sonic Generations. The level where you control robot bunnies, dogs, and hamsters was some of the most fun I’ve ever had in co-op. My Review. Nathan’s Review of the Special Edition.

Trenched - Right behind LittleBigPlanet 2. Chris’ Review.

Bastion – Loved the atmosphere and music, didn’t care for player control.

Gears of War 3 - Haven't played enough of it.

Super Mario 3D Land - Haven't played enough of it. Greg's Review.

Saints Row The Third - Bought it, have yet to play it. Will’s Review.

Shadows of the Damned - Bought it, have yet to play it. Steven's Review. 

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception - Bought it, have yet to play it. Steven’s Review.

Rayman Origins – Right up my alley, but waiting for Vita. 

I got a call yesterday from senior editor and my friend Nathan Stevens.  He said he wanted my opinion on his L.A. Noire review because folks had commented on it, some of which were less than positive about his writing and his very positive score, a 10/10.  In short, the comments brought up the issue of controls (saying the game sports a simple port from the GTA4 scheme) and others simply said that no game is perfect, and does not deserve a 100% (very quickly I would just like to say that a 10 does not mean "perfect," but rather "superb").  Nathan retorted, stating that while he agreed that there is "always room for improvement," he honestly could not come up with something bad to say about the game when he wrote the review.  He gave his honest, independent opinion on a title that is getting much critical appraise from many other publications.  One only needs to go to MetaCritic.com to see that our site is not the only one listed with the "100" green square.

After reading it, I called him up and told him my thoughts.  Sure, it may have gushed a little on some points in the game, but if the creators get something right, then it should be noted just as quickly as a mistake would be.  But after looking at the aforementioned scores on MetaCriticI saw that the divide between critic and user was really far apart, considering.  While the average score from opinion's "in the industry" is 90/100, the user score is a modest 76/100.  Initially I thought well, perhaps this game will be like the low budget survival horror title Deadly Premonition.  Many critics hailed the game for being the B-movie equivalent of survival horror games, one that pays homage and pokes fun at the quirky conventions of the genre as a whole and had a relatively cheap price tag to boot.  But many gamers didn't feel as "lenient" about the title, citing that just because you know something is a piece of crap doesn't mean it shouldn't face the same level of retribution for being bad.  And I have to say that I can completely see where someone could come to that conclusion.  But when I was looking at other games to compare scores, I started seeing a trend that is counter-intuitive to the status quo in terms of the opinions about games.

Generally speaking, the opinions/reviews from critics are usually worse or lower than that of the average player, watcher, consumer, etc.  For example, the website Internet Movie Database (IMDb.com) has a star rating composed of some critics, but it's mostly from the users on the site.  Recently, they have also listed the critic's score from MetaCritic (if applicable) that often features write-ups from film vets like Roger Ebert and Peter Travers. The recently released Fast Five has an IMDb rating of 7.7/10 while the MetaCritic score is 67/100.  Same with Sucker Punch, IMDb: 6.6/10, MetaCritc: 33/100.  Now, I understand that movies and games are different in many obvious ways, like a film usually only being a two hour experience and a game is much longer and much more engaging (for the most part).  But the main disparity is price.  A movie ticket is usually about $10 (although it is higher in large cities) or at worst the Blu-ray copy can retail $30.  So, while the average movie-goer might say "hey it wasn't that bad, and for a $10 spot and something to do on a Friday night, give it a shot," critics usually stick to their guns and give their honest (albeit sometimes jaded) outlook, cheap price be damned.  And historically, the same rating dichotomy could be said about games, but this is starting to shift.

Again, I return to yesterday afternoon, and I happen to scroll down the page to see other recent reviews to find other instances of "Critic-high, User-low" ratings.  At first I thought I would struggle to find any, but within a few seconds I was firmly shocked by what I was reading.  Let me run over a few.  Average score on MetaCritic from "inside the industry":  Mortal Kombat - 84, Brink - 71, Portal 2 - 95.  Average score on MetaCritic from the "users":  Mortal Kombat - 81, Brink - 65, Portal 2 - 79.  WHAT!  Folks, Portal 2 is going to contend for Game of the Year on almost every gaming publication's, cable television channel's, and website's year end honors.  So, for there to be a 16 point disparity between the critic and "average" gamer, with the gamer being the less of the two numbers, was rather astonishing to me.  While I was sitting and pondering over this obvious "buck in the trend," I had a thought that inspired this piece in the first place.

Most of you probably know a kid (or even teen) like this: someone who will only eat one thing.  No matter what feast/buffet/smorgasbord that is laid out in front of them on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, 4th of July, random weekend, what have you, they'll say "no, I just want Hot Pockets."  "No, I don't want anything else, I want a Hot Pocket."  "LOOK, I KNOW WHAT I LIKE, AND THAT'S ONLY HOT POCKETS!!!!!!"  I understand that I'm comparing grown people to children and adolescents for some of you, but for the sake of argument stay with me.  It's almost as if, more and more, gamers are falling victim to this unfortunate outlook upon the games they play.  If its not Call of Duty, or Madden, or Call of Duty, then it must not be worth playing.  No thanks, I can't keep a 30 year Dynasty going, rush for 3,200 yards in a fictional NFL season (which may be the only pro football we get this year, on the real), or be in the top 100 gamers in the world.  No thanks, I can't prestige, use my pro perks, shout at "noobs" for being horrible teammates, and watch myself on Final Killcam after Final Killcam for being awesome.  Sorry for my sarcasm, but this is the way, I believe, many gamers are starting to think.  And it shows in the scores they are giving on some sites like MetaCritic.  Noire also has "high to low" rating, 90/100 compared to 76/100.  It could be said that Rockstar pulled a "bait and switch" of sorts considering that most of us probably believed this was the king of sandbox game's attempt to challenge the surprisingly good Mafia II by 2K.  But this game is not that experience in the least, with you playing a character on the right side of the law and much less of an emphasis on all out gun fighting for more calculated, "investigative" work.  But just because it's different, does that alone make it "lack-luster"?  Sure, it might feature the same simple, sometimes clunky driving and fighting/shooting mechanics as most other Rockstar sandbox games, but that was good enough to make us connect and love playing with characters like Tommy Vercetti and play ghetto paratrooper over the skyline of San Andreas.  And the same favorable feelings were offered to the more recent GTA4.  So, over the time between the release of that title and Noire, it seems that some gamers have become impatient with anything that doesn't fit into their predetermined "mold."  Of which, any "worthwhile" experience must fit.  Anything different that may take some risks, or doesn't feature run-and-gun "Rambo" action at every single second just can't be as good as the critics say.  I'm not sure that's necessarily correct.

Don't get me wrong.  I am in no way, shape, or form saying that anyone's opinion is better or worse than someone else's.  I, myself, have only been doing this critic thing since September of last year and I do not think I am above anyone else in terms of being a gamer or movie lover.  But, I think that more and more people keep closing themselves off to great experiences just because it's a new, fresh idea.  I guess I am being so adamant about this thought because my favorite genre is shooters.  My $60 went to MW, Black Ops, Halo 3, Reach, GoW2, ect. as quickly as anyone else's hard earned money.  But that doesn't prevent me from enjoying other types of games.  My last review was of the awesome Mortal Kombat.  And even though approximately 60% of my library is FPS and TPS, I also love fighting games.  And the way that WBIE and NRS were able to combine serious fighting game characteristics with classic MK heritage was the reason I gave it a 9.4.  Now, is it as deep or lengthy as a campaign driven shooter with a huge online community, or an RPG with 60+ hours of gameplay?  No.  But, for a fighting game, is it fun, fast, addictive, hard to master, and surprisingly deep?  Definitely.  It's not my favorite game and I would rather play other things most of the time.  But it would be unfair to rigidly and extensively compare it to anything outside of other fighting games.  To directly set MK side by side with anything else would be the proverbial "apples and oranges."  In the way that fighting games go, it's great, but it probably doesn't have the weight to be up for Game of the Year, and that's okay.  I'm sure the creators are more than pleased with it being on the short list for Fighting Game of the Year.

Sorry this is so long, but it's my honest opinion and I'm writing this in the hopes that it will stir some respectful, but spirited debate.  Thanks for reading.

9. Deeznuts as a screen name? Not funny.
It always amazes me how creative online gamers can be in the world. There was a fellow online the other day that assigned himself a name that could only be found in porn (can't name the fellow because I would probably get sued).  Here are suggestions that sound a lot cooler than the name you chose... shaftstroker? T*ttickler? Better yet, why not lonelykidwhoneverkissedagirl?

Advice for gamers: Think before you assign a name. 

8. "9.6? This game deserves 9.0!" -- Bitter Madden fan

Yes, I scored the game '.6' higher than you wished, but is that really a major deal? Do I need 100 replies requesting I lower the score? In the scheme of things will this hurt you? Probably not.  What's funny about this situation is that the next review on Metacritic is actually a 9.5, and that guy didn't get killed for it on his review. 

Advice for gamers: It's okay not to follow. Why not lead?

7. No, we didn't get paid by the companies, please stop asking/accusing.

Do you see ads outside of google on this site? No. Do you know why? We don't have an advertising department. We don't have sales people. We could probably be making loads and loads of money if we were smarter, but we aren't smarter. So, when you see a review on the site that you don't agree with please eliminate this response. It's useless. It's dumb. It's regretfully not true. 

Advice to gamers: Feel free to question other sites, but not us.

6. We're all f*cking geeks, fyi.
When you're on a message board making fun of someone for their technical prowess, please keep in mind that you're making fun of someone on a message board for their technical prowess. See that logic? For more logic go here. 
Advice to gamers: Use logic (apply that to everything in life)



5. Yes, you were 'first' in the comments field. You get nothing except ridicule.
I get annoyingly tickled when people put 'First' in the comments field. Why? Do you get a prize for not being insightful? Is it a warning that you're a f*cking moron? I can't figure out the 'specialness' of being first, but I'm sure your parents are proud. 

Advice to gamers: First!

4. Cheating on any online game instantly makes you the saddest human being on earth.
I admit that in the 90s when I played Doom and Doom II and entered 'God Mode', it was amusing. But think about this for a second... there is some douchetool out there that actually hacks into a game to cheat (could be hours and hours of doing this), so that their lame, sorry ass can actually beat 10-year old Jimmy down the street in an first-person shooter. That's like slapping a kid on the street and stealing his candy, and then going back to brag to your friends that you whooped a guy's ass on the street for talking shit. 

Advice to gamers: No advice, just a sentiment. I don't hate you as much as I feel really, really, really, really sorry for you. 



3. It's okay to like other systems. That doesn't make you a whore.

Advice to gamers: Don't be an asshole. 



2. It's okay to explore other sites.
If you read one review please feel free to go to other sites to read their reviews. It's okay. One thing in life you need to know is that getting more and more opinions makes your opinion better and insightful. Research things on your own. Rent games. Do everything in your power to make sure that 'you' feel comfortable about a game. If you don't like a score or you judge your opinion completely off of another, single opinion then you're selling your intelligence short. 

Advice to gamers: Read reviews, don't join alliances. 


1. Smile more.
Your generation doesn't smile enough. It helped in the 80s. It will help you now. 

Advice to gamers: Seriously, f*cking smile.

Super Meat Boy was voted our collective 2010 game of the year on Episode 16 of our podcast, Flap Jaw Space. One would think beating out Mass Effect 2 and Super Mario Galaxy 2 would merit additional coverage somewhere at Digital Chumps, but, outside of a small feature I wrote and some E3 coverage I can’t find, Super Meat Boy has been absent from the pages of Digital Chumps. After a month of blood, sweat, and tears I finally completed the game and sat down to try and figure out how it wound up our favorite game of 2010.

The first time I saw Super Meat Boy I couldn't imagine it being fun or interesting, or at least not enough to enjoy beyond a novelty. It looked like an exercise in frustration, something like the platforming equivalent of Demon's Souls. Occasionally I like to take the time to demonstrate my gaming prowess (completing Mega Man 9 and a run through Uncharted 2 on crushing are some of my more recent accomplishments), but generally I no longer have the time or patience to get the shit kicked out of me for hours without end. Social situations, review games, work, a significant other, and the huge backlog of games still wrapped in plastic are obstacles, distractions, and obligations I didn't have when I was eight and could hack away at Karnov of Mega Man 4 every day of the week.  These days, if a game repeatedly kicks me when I'm down I would much rather get up and go somewhere else than kick it back.

Super Meat Boy, in true gateway drug fashion, didn't seem so bad at first. It still beat me down like your favorite unpublishable metaphor, but simultaneously offered a latent sense of encouragement. The brevity of the levels helps, most are under fifteen seconds and nothing is over a minute, but the lack of loading and the instant ability to push a button and hop right into the next level excelled at pushing me forward. Most importantly, the restart after a mistake was instantaneous; not even the music skipped a beat before I was back where I started and ready to go. Pacing is a severely underrated aspect of modern game design and, with the exception of warp zones that seemed deliberately stunted, Super Meat Boy never flat lined on providing motivation.

Also paramount to Super Meat Boy's success was the progression of its challenge. The first few levels served as tutorials for jumping and wall sliding, but it wasn't long before the game seemed to be bending me over and doing something uncomfortable. I remember 1-14x took me forever to beat, and I was so proud of my accomplishment that I saved the replay. Having now played the game to completion, I look back on that reply and can't believe I ever considered that level difficult. I mean, I could probably do that shit with my eyes closed at this point. And yet, that's what makes Super Meat Boy so endearing. Nearly every level makes the player feel as if he or she has just accomplished something previously considered impossible. You'll take one look at spinning saw blades, giant lasers, or savage monsters and think, "no ****ing way" and with varying degrees of both luck and skill you'll almost always get the goal.

310 or so levels was a lot, but kudos to Team Meat for going out of their way to somehow endow Super Meat Boy with a perfect progression of challenging levels. It's a tough line to walk, making every level feel ever so slightly more impossible to complete probably wasn't easy, but Team Meat did all of that all the while managing a structured set of rules and themes. When razorblades got tired you got lasers, when lasers were exhausted you got gravity toys, and when gravity toys got old you got a few flavors of insane monsters. It came to a close with a two-part face off against Dr. Fetus (a fight in which I was so entrenched I refused to shut the console off when I had to leave), and then, just when you beat the game and seemingly surmount the challenge of challenges, you're issued another forty levels in the form of Cotton Alley - complete with soft, soothing music to compliment it's even crazier challenge. I was victorious but defeated, heartbroken but impressed, angry yet appreciative, and, most importantly, astounded that Team Meat had the balls to actually do that to the player. Laughing at the player and tossing out forty more levels could have gone horribly wrong, but, strangely, it ended up being the best part of the game.

The sense of achievement that arrives with finally completing a level could have been the end-game, but the game's community features quickly take control and repurpose the player's goals. Suddenly, completion seems overly simple and gives way to efficiency, a transition that's effectively managed through smart leader boards. I have never (at least that I can remember) cared about global rankings or seeing how I stack up against random strangers, but talking some of my friends into Super Meat Boy was a surprise catalyst for wanting to be the best person on the planet at that particular level. It didn't hurt that leader boards were a quick, load-free button press away and the filter options were fantastic, and I used those tools to decide whether or not my score was good enough to stand or if I had to replay a level before I could move on. That stuff got even crazier when my friend Spiderman and I went back and forth in real time trying to one-up each other on 3-2. Going back and forth was addicting, and I wish I had enough friends with the time (and talent) to do that on every single level.

After 30 or so hours I noticed I was starting to develop some form of muscle memory in regard to button input. I would play a level so many times that I wouldn't even have to think about moving my thumbs anymore. With my brain conducting the order of operations independent from conscious thought, input became automatic. This became particularly scary when I'd screw something up and my hands would continue punching in the previously memorized order of operations, as if I was in some terrible horror film where my arm had gone rogue and was actively trying to kill me. It wasn't actually scary, but was an experience unique to Super Meat Boy; I hadn't ever played a game, especially such a brief segment of a game, enough to encourage instinctive timing. Worse, I had been gripping the controller so tightly for so long that my filthy hands had left an outline created by sweat. Remember, it's not disgusting - it's dedication.

The strength of Super Meat Boy's gameplay could have excused a phoned-in presentation, but its reasonably insane approach to a theme turned out to be one of its best assets. The game is obviously difficult, but whereas other titles might try to massage the player's ego or offer some tangible form of encouragement, Super Meat Boy literally gives you the middle finger; quit out of anything and Dr. Fetus is right there to greet the player with a one finger salute. Speaking of which, holy shit at Dr. Fetus. The sheer concept of a fetus stuffed in a jar atop a tuxedo consumed with the constant abduction of Bandage Girl might have seemed too far off the grid for a mainstream audience, but that was part of Super Meat Boy's appeal. The game felt like it was made for a very specific audience, and while that might have limited its financial potential, it strengthened the resolve of the interested few to play until they couldn't. Those who pressed on were rewarded with story sequences, level names, and gameplay mechanics that paid homage to countless references going from Mega Man II to Steve Weibe.

Super Meat Boy didn't need a dozen hidden characters, 300+ carefully constructed levels, countless homages, actual humor, functional leader boards, and perfect control to succeed. Other releases, downloadable or retail, have taught us that fudging a few areas or flat-out not finishing others are acceptable caveats of the development cycle. People are content to pay $15 for map packs or "three hours" of bonus content, or games that are so bad they require a patch six months later that rewires the entire game. Hell, they're even willing to pay a similar price flawed games with a precious few shining moments (Comic Jumper and Shank come to mind). Super Meat Boy offered the full, nearly flawless package the day it came out. Any future downloadable content would have felt justified, truly a bonus worth paying for, but they're even giving that away. In addition to the bonus levels stealthily introduced through Teh Internets, forty more just dropped last week. Twenty fan made, and twenty that remixed already impossible levels. Like everything else, Team Meat didn't have to do that - but they did, and the player wins every time.

P.S. The last level of Cotton Alley is called, “Bragging Rights.” Here are mine: