Awarding a Game of the Year is a tricky thing. Just what is it that makes one game stand out above all others? Is it the most fun? That's a very subjective thing to base a selection on. Is it the most impressive on technical levels? An achievement to be sure, but that doesn't seem to be enough. Maybe it is the one game that the largest possible audience can enjoy. If that is the case, then the Game of the Year isn't all that special.
Actually, that last point is the one that I think we can all agree on; no one really cares about the GOTY outside of fanboys and marketing execs. I can't even remember when or why they began in the first place, which goes to show how unimportant they are in the grand scheme of things. Nevertheless, while I don't have a choice for Game of the Year, I certainly have a choice for my favorite game from 2005. The one title that, on a whole, provided the single best experience. One that reminded me of exactly why I love this hobby. It pushed the right buttons, and did the right things. I don't expect everyone to agree, or to even understand. But maybe I can give you some insight into what I think are some of the year's true treasures. I'll be listing the nominees in individual posts, as soon as I finish each of them. Here we go:
Resident Evil 4 (Gamecube, PS2)
The Resident Evil series has been accused in recent years for being stale and uninspired. This is of course due to the fact that Capcom can never let a popular thing go away, but I'd like to think there's more to it than that. I thought back to all of the older entries, all games which I have loved despite the criticism. I came to the conclusion that Resident Evil 4 is the culmination of the lessons learned in every RE game before it. Every entry since the original had really been a playground for creator Shinji Mikami, a chance for him to experiment with new, small ideas in a relatively safe and successful franchise that retained its core gameplay throughout.
Longtime fans will remember just how much bigger and more epic RE2 was compared to the first. In the third game we were introduced to constantly respawning enemies, a very handy dodge maneuver, and the ability to create your own ammunition (which in turn made your weapons more poweful). Code Veronica changed things up with a fully 3d world and an even greater focus on action than even 3 had. The REmake showed us just what kind of graphical splendor the current generation could bring, and Resident Evil Zero introduced the concept of managing two characters at once (clunky as it may have been).
All of this can be found in RE4 in one form or another. The staggering mix of (fully 3d) environments takes the game far away from its roots in an old American mansion (aside from the one part that does take place in a mansion....). Our hero, Leon S. Kennedy, is armed with the most robust control scheme this series has ever seen, one that makes it so that you can't blame the game anymore when you screw up. You can always see what is in front of you in the thanks to a camera system that is even more conservative Ocarina of Time's. Inventory is restricted but generous; you actually have control over it this time. The weapon selection is large and varied, and they can all be upgraded as the game progresses, thanks to the "ph4t l00t" you can acquire throughout. Before Resident Evil 4 I never would have thought it possible that I could be followed around by a helpless teenage girl in a videogame and not have it get in my way. Thanks for proving me wrong Capcom.
Now all of these things are great. They all help bring the experience together into a very good game. What makes Resident Evil 4 rise to the level of greatness is how it is always throwing something new at you. You will take on an entire village, and later return to said village only to find a new batch of villagers and bear traps on the ground. As soon as you grow tired of blasting away at large crowds of villagers, they begin to mutate. Once you learn to handle the mutations, the villagers are replaced with an entirely new set of enemies. The game will throw chainsaw wielding maniacs at you. It will throw trucks at you. You will fight a boss early in the game, and fight two of the same creature later on as if it was nothing. You will engage in sniper battles and take on a small army with an attack chopper as backup. Oh, and you will never look at mine cart levels the same way. Resident Evil 4 is a twenty hour roller coaster ride featuring some of the most varied and interesting action gameplay ever crafted.
All of this, and I haven't even mentioned the graphics engine which, even a year later, makes RE4 one of the best looking games out there. The story is still cheesy, and the game is surprisingly not scary, but as an action game Resident Evil 4 has few equals. Greg Kasavin from Gamespot put it best by saying that he never expected such an incredibly fulfilling experience from any game this generation. Personally I have seen my own copy be played no less than ten times through by myself and friends, and that doesn't even include the unlockable minigames. A year later, some of them still want to go back to it. It is that fun.
Hands down the best Gamecube game this year, and one that sits right up there with Metroid Prime for best game on the console.
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