Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg

Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg is the most consistently frustrating game I have ever played. The amount of times I thought to myself how much fun it would be to rip the disc out of the system and toss it into the beyond, never to be seen again, is impossibly high. Everything about this game is designed to be as irritating and unforgiving as humanly possibly. And it’s all covered up by bright colors and an overly sweet vibe.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies

Of all the series that Capcom has in their stable, Ace Attorney is one of the most unlikely titles to have found any semblance of success in the West. While it’s true that court and detective dramas are one of the most popular genres in the US, Ace Attorney’s distinctively Japanese flair should have turned off most consumers but in 2005, the stars aligned and a miracle occurred. The success of such a niche title like Phoenix Wright opened the floodgates; the DS enjoyed a plethora of graphic adventure titles like Hotel Dusk, Professor Layton and 999. The West continued to get the Phoenix Wright sequels until 2010, when the series suddenly went dark. It appeared to gamers that Capcom had little interest in supporting the series in the West. That was, until, the launch trailer for the long-awaited Ace Attorney 5 debuted and with it, a confirmation of a Western launch. Capcom was giving the series another chance; this was perhaps the last opportunity that Ace Attorney would have to prove itself to the Western market. Was Dual Destinies worth the nearly 5-year wait?

Pokemon X

Pokemon, like many Nintendo series, has never been a risk-taker. Innovation has never been a focus of the series. Game Freak has always been more concerned about adding in neat new gimmicks that take advantage of Nintendo's new technology while occasionally throwing a bone to the devoted hardcore Pokemon fans who spend days agonizing over numbers and stats. It's a wonderful formula as it draws in jaded old-timers as well as new blood. But it appears that there was a shake-up at Game Freak as Pokemon X is the first truly "new" and "different" Pokemon game since Pokemon Gold. 

Resident Evil 4 (PS2)

Let’s not sugarcoat this, Resident Evil 4 marked the beginning of the end for the Resident Evil franchise. The shift from careful item management and careful character positioning to a focus on gunplay and action set-pieces was a watershed moment in not just the history of Resident Evil, but also the history of video games. There is little doubt in my mind that Resident Evil 4’s glowing critical reception affected both future horror titles and action games in general. 

Alan Wake's American Nightmare

The original Alan Wake was one of the most promising titles to come out of the Xbox 360. It was the first post “Max Payne” title that Remedy worked on and it put forward interesting concepts that were made it an under-the-radar hit in 360 gaming circles. A sequel was fast-tracked and in 2012, we got the XBLA sequel, “Alan Wake’s American Nightmare”. Be warned though, American Nightmare is not the sequel that Alan Wake fans wanted, far from it in fact.

Nier

  Nier is a game that you really have to work at in order to enjoy it. As with nearly everything made by Cavia, it’s got numerous kinks and oddities that may make it a bit too unpolished for most people to enjoy. Cavia wasn’t a technically skilled team but what they lacked in skill, they made up for with an interesting plot and some of the most lovable characters in the 7^th generation. Cavia managed to create one of the most gripping, heartwarming and often-times depressing tales to come out of this generation. Games like Deadly Premonition and Hotel Dusk have shown that top-notch gameplay is not required to make a great game and Nier most definitely fits that mold. This is Square Enix and Cavia’s cult hit, Nier.

Splatterhouse (2010)

Splatterhouse is one of the most successful reboots in recent memory. Unlike games like 2005’s NARC and 2008’s Golden Axe: Beast Rider. Splatterhouse feels like the logical next step in the series. It’s by no means perfect or even “great” but it serves as an example of how you do a reboot without totally alienating past fans of the series.