Throughout the past three years, Multiplayer editor Stephen Totilo has offered me recommendations on games that he thought I really needed play.
Most of them were titles I either hadn't heard of, were released outside the United States, or I had simply overlooked. Holding his opinion in high regard, I kept a running list of his recommendations, and made it a point to try as many of them as I could.
I put together a short list of some of the games that Stephen has recommended, and whether or not the games ended up being as good as he said they would be. I rated each of his recommendations on a scale of one to five, one being bad, and five being great. See if you agree...
"Cubivore" (GameCube)
Why it was recommended: It's one of the most creative, and unique games ever released on the GameCube.
Reason I missed it originally: A quirky game about evolution, published by Atlus for the GameCube only. The better question: how was it originally noticed by anyone?
How good was the recommendation? 3/5
"Cubivore" is quite possibly one of the weirdest titles I have ever played. Overall, it's not super-complex, but there are a surprising amount of layers to the game. It is not a bad game. It's just different, which is something I do appreciate. I didn't have the time to run through the whole game, but it is the only title on this list that I know I will return to someday. It should also be noted that this is the only U.S. console game on this list, and it was also the hardest to find of any of these games.
"Digidrive" (GBA - Japanese Import Only)
Why it was recommended: A simple puzzle game that forces you to think on your toes.
Reason I missed it originally: It was only released in Japan as part of the Bit Generations line of GBA games.
How good was the recommendation? 2/5
It's a pretty fun little game, but judged against the rest of the bit Generations games, it has trouble holding its own. Stephen is a fan of all of the bit Generations titles, and highly recommended each of them, but after a few weeks of playing them he said that "Digidrive" came out on top. I picked up each of these games, and while "Digidrive" is fun, it isn't as good as "Dotstream," "Soundvoyager," or "Orbital," and since this was, in his opinion, supposed to be the best out of the bunch this recommendation is slightly off target.
*****
"Rhythm Tengoku" (GBA - Japanese Import Only)
Why it was recommended: A mini-game compilation of rhythm games made by the team that worked on the "WarioWare" games.
Reason I missed it originally: Japan-only release.
How good was the recommendation? 4/5
Honestly, this game really should have been released in the U.S. Sure, it's a bit quirky, but it's also a lot of fun (at least until you get to the game were you have to tap the buttons in time with some hand-clapping women). I made it almost halfway through the game, and I hit the wall. I honestly had no clue what to do in this one level, and couldn't get past it. If this game had English subtitles it would be in my top five GBA games ever. Now, it's just in the top ten.
*****
"Earth Defense Force 2" (PS2 - Japanese Import Only)
Why it was recommended: Picked up on a trip to Japan, Stephen came back and made every member of the MTV.com Games team play at least one co-op mission with him, because it was that "good."
Reason I missed it originally: "EDF 2" never made it to the States.
How good was the recommendation? 1/5
Stephen tried to explain to me that it was a great "bad" game, but it was really just bad. The concept was okay -- save the earth from invading aliens -- but the execution was so poor that the game was barely playable. Bogged down by frame rate issues and menu screens that I couldn't navigate -- mostly because I don’t speak Japanese -- the game was more a test of my patience than anything else. "Earth Defense Force 2017" solved most of these problems, and that's a great "bad" game.
*****
"Passage" (PC)
Why it was recommended: I was told it was one of the most emotional games of 2007, and it only took five minutes to play.
Reason I missed it originally: I tend to stay away from downloadable PC games. They evoke memories of homemade Windows 3.1 games like "Kill Barney."
How good was the recommendation? 5/5
For what it is, and that is not a game, it was pretty impressive. I thought it was more like interactive art than a "video game," but I have played it through multiple times, and recommended it to other people I know as well. I feel that this was the best suggestion on this list, because had Stephen not recommended it to me, I'm sure that I would have completely overlooked it, and never gotten around to appreciating it.
*****
Recommendations are a tricky thing; they can either end up being good or bad. It mostly depends on how well you know the material you are recommending, and the person you are recommending it to.
Overall, I'd have to say Stephen's suggestions were, for the most part, good, and at the very least I'm a better gamer for having at least tried all these games.
Do you take recommendations from your friends, and, if so, are there certain friends that you'll listen to over others?
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