I first came to GGOTD on October 17th, 2007, when Aquaball was given away. That was a year ago two days ago - and I'm a few days late on a top 25 list, but here it is. My top 25 from a year of games. I hope you enjoy it.
TOP 25 GGOTD GAMES: Oct 17 07 - Oct 17 08:
25:
Beezzle (November 11, 2007):
Beezzle narrowly makes it into the top 25 list. It's a hexagonal match 3 game with some odd pasted-on bees-and-honey theme. It has three game modes, and trophies. Unfortunately, it's also drop-dead boring.
24:
Snowy: Lunch Rush (December 13, 2007):
I don't like Diner Dash games. I like the concept, and I understand why they're popular, but they're boring. There's no depth to them, and they're not simplistic and monotonous in the good way, like Time Breaker, they're just plain BAD. If you haven't played it, it is indeed a pure Diner Dash clone. I like Snowy, though, and I really like the comic plot.
23:
Age of Japan 2 (August 30, 2008):
The date given is the date I downloaded it, not when it was first offered during the time period. I'm not a big fan of Match 3 games, but this one isn't awful. It would probably be in the top 20, top 15ish, except for one problem. THE PLOT IS STUPID AND MAKES NO SENSE WHATSOEVER. You portray a guy moving across a map playing Match 3 stages. There are then random comics that have some relation to marriage, and a war. I have no idea what the writers were thinking, because none of the plot made any sense at all. The game, however, is pretty good. There are some good decisions to be made, and also some interesting mechanisms. It would, unusually enough, be better without the plot.
22:
Bloom (June 7, 2008):
I debated whether this should be moved down a few spots, but I think it's good where it is. Bloom is a game where you rotate pipes connected to a central water supply, in order to irrigate flowers. It's not an original concept, but it's fun for a bit, The only real thing that resembles a plot is at the end of each round, where you can use points to buy upgrades for your cottage - which are only aesthetic. The game describes this as a 'trophy room'. Uh, yeah.
21:
Crusaders Of Space (November 4, 2007):
The date given isn't actually the day I downloaded the game. I downloaded it later (but still within the time period) in the Alawar Game Box. It's a surprisingly fun and addictive space shooter. It's simplistic and all, but it's quite fun in its simplicity. This is a game that's just - fun.
20:
Jets'n'Guns GOLD (June 21, 2008):
Jets'n'Guns GOLD makes the list, while the original will not. Jets'n'Guns GOLD is a really well-produced space shooter. If I were ranking based purely on graphics, depth, and gameplay, this would easily be 1st. However, it's not. I hate to sound like a whiner, but the game is just too complex. There's too much stuff going on at once, and in the flurry of particle effects, it can be hard to realize that no, that's not just an explosion, you're being shot at. I like the game - I just don't like it enough.
19:
Treasures of Montezuma (November 19, 2007):
I might get in trouble for this ranking, because I think it's a criminal offence to dislike this game around here. It's a match 3 game with upgrades and idols and a plot and whatnot, and the graphics are really great, and the plot is debateably good, and the gameplay is solid. It is probably the best match 3 game I have ever played. But guess what. Tic Tac Toe is probably the best game on a 3x3 grid I have ever played. Being the best match 3 game isn't that good of an honour. It didn't hold my interest, and it just didn't wow me beyond the graphics. Sorry...
18:
Arctic Quest (October 24, 2007):
Arctic Quest is just kind of - meh. I think it might be an original game, and it has a really good concept, and really nice execution. There's that haunting voice that narrates each level, which really adds a lot of theme to the game. But the fact is that it's just not my cup of tea. It has beautiful graphics and a great mood, but the game just wasn't that interesting. The fish seem to be almost daring you to use them, since you forefit a trophy by using them, making them barely worthwhile. For those who haven't played it, you drag shapes that fall from the sky onto a picture of an animal to complete the picture before the sea fills up, or time runs out.
17:
Supernova: Galactic Wars (July 27, 2008):
This wasn't a very popular game when it was given away, but I disagree. I think it's a really good idea, and I think the combat is balanced (enough), and the tactical gameplay is definitely passable. But for one, it's not the game it's advertised to be. It's all hyped up as a cross between Chess and a space combat game, but it's not. The tactical phase is very simple strategically: If feasible and possible, take over an opponent's planet. If former is not possible, grab a vacant planet if possible. If former is not possible, attack weakest enemy. Repair and purchase ships at necessary times. The tactics are really just that simple. I do like the battle part.
16:
Egyptian Ball (February 9, 2008):
I really don't have much to say about Egyptian Ball. It has standard and average gameplay, and the graphics are good. It's really just an average game.
15:
Time Breaker (December 25, 2007):
This is a game that I loved, despite the obvious poor quality. The graphics are on the 'at least they tried' side, the spelling and grammar are on the 'fourth grader with English as a second language' level, the storyline randomly alternates between Atlantis, Egypt, and vehicles, (you can't make this stuff up), and the gameplay is generic. But the level design is FANTASTIC. The game is really addictive (only on hard difficulty, the rest of the difficulties are too easy). It's a fun and quirky Arkanoid game, buuuut it's probably only good for one playthrough.
14:
Ingenious (March 12, 2008):
I love Ingenious, I really do. As a board game geek, it's how I discovered the site (through a link to the original giveaway, several weeks after notice). The interface and all other aspects are really professional, and the game is great. Ingenious is one of the games that is debateably a much better experience against computers than humans - and it also allows online play and solitaire play. However, it loses quite a few positions because there is already an implementation at BrettspielWelt, and one made by Matthew Marquand. If this were the only way to play the game on a computer, it would be top 5 for sure.
13:
Astro Fury (October 30, 2007):
Astro Fury is really just another space shooter. But the graphics are great, and things really just seem to make sense. While the storyline is on the 'little to none' side, the game has great enemies, great levels, great bosses, and great special weapons. Buuut - it's nothing special, and that's why it's just 13.
12:
Numericon (January 26, 2008):
I'm going to spoil a bit of the rest of the list, and say that I really view this game and KeyWords in the same light. If Numericon had been offered before KeyWords, I probably would like Numericon better. But as it turns out, I like KeyWords better. They're both very similar games, and they're obviously intended to be. Numericon has a really neat concept - selecting chains of numbers that add up to the last number in the chain. Both Numericon and KeyWords are boosted up quite a bit because of the trophies - as a statistics geek, I really like trophies for achievements. I only wish that there were infinity more. Numericon is lower than KeyWords because the powerups are not as interesting. I do really like the different modes, though.
11:
ShellBlast (November 20, 2007):
ShellBlast is the bomb, literally. It was a recent repeat, and didn't achieve as good a reception as it did when I downloaded it. It is a really, REALLY good puzzle game. It is one of the only two GGOTDs I have ever recommended to a friend (Ingenious was the other.) It's not like Minesweeper, it's different - and good, not like Minesweeper isn't. Unfortunately, it just narrowly misses the top 10.
10:
Snowy: Puzzle Islands (November 28, 2007):
And starting off the top 10 in style and grace, it's Snowy: Puzzle Islands. This is actually a game I downloaded before it appeared on GGOTD (but still in the time period), through the Alawar Game Box. I love Alawar games. I think they probably pulled out of the project after lots of people started complaining about some of the lower quality games they offered up here - but, spoiler alert, half of this top 10, and 12/25 of the whole list, is all Alawar. Snowy: Puzzle Islands is a great game. The music is fun, the protagonist is fun, the graphics are fun, and everything is bright and bouncy. This is a happy game. It's not an angry game, it's not a sad game, it's not even a neutral game. This is a fun and quality game.
9:
KeyWords (January 19, 2008):
And here's KeyWords, three spots away from Numericon. A tiny bit of this ranking is sentimental - this was one of the games I downloaded shortly after it was put up, instead of waiting to see reviews. That was a good and fun night. But this is a good game. Just like Numericon, it has trophies, and instead of dragging chains of numbers, you're making words from three rows of letters, trying to clear the top row. I love it.
8:
Zamby and the Mystical Crystals (May 24, 2008):
What surprised me is how many puzzle games I ranked highly on thsi list. I don't know why - while I like puzzles, I'm not generally a big fan of puzzle games. I guess it's probably easier to make a good puzzler than it is to make a good game in a different genre. Zamby and the Mystical Crystals is quality MESH style fun. It's not very original, but the levels are great (the plot is a bit...quirky, though), and it has something that no Alawar game has - the kid's levels are actually pretty good quality, relatively difficult levels after a certain point. On the con side, though, it can be a bit processor intensive, and I don't like how a slow, think out your moves puzzle game, has that one fast-paced action element of the crates slowly fading away.
7:
Rock Legend (August 17, 2008):
This is a really good simulation game - and that's a sentence a lot of people would consider oxymoronical. There's a sufficient amount of choice, and what-route-do-I-go-on. The game is also infinitely customizable, though I haven't bothered to customize it. There are many things stopping this game from being purely ingenious, however. One, there's a huge graphical glitch, where pictures and backgrounds won't load and be just pure white, and that is just intolerable. Two, the spelling and grammar is flawed in so many places it's just annoying. It's not in a tolerable way, like Time Breaker, it's in an embarrassing way that makes you feel sorry for the makers.
6:
Roads of Fantasy (November 13, 2007):
And here's the second Alawar game in the top 10. I declared Roads of Fantasy 'my new favourite Alawar game' when it was given away. Now it's not. I'm not saying that it was just a flash in the pan with me, but it really wasn't quite as good as the first impression was. It's an amazing game with amazing graphics, and I love, love, love it - I'm ranked pretty high on the online ranking, as well. There are many levels, and those levels are amazing and well designed. But we're getting into the high rankings, and Roads of Fantasy just isn't good enough for the top 5.
5:
Tiny Cars 2 (January 31, 2008):
This may come as a surprise, but Tiny Cars 2 is capital-A Awesome. It's totally simplistic, and great in its simplicity. As you go through the circuits, they get harder and harder to complete - although once you get past a certain circuit, you unlock the car of awesome that pretty much lets you easily win the other ones. You can still race to complete the circuits for fun, or do single races to try and beat your best times. I've even tried the challenge of beating all the circuits in Hard, with only the cars available at the time of that circuit - and it's just so hard, I couldn't get past the hone where you unlock the God-Car. Also, like Rock Legend, it's very customizable - though, despite my best efforts, I wasn't able to make a custom track, though I'm almost certain it's possible with the right program.
4:
Mad Cars (February 3, 2008):
Mad Cars and Tiny Cars 2, like KeyWords and Numericon, are obviously related to each other. But Mad Cars 2 is worlds different. It takes the simple, polite, passive Tiny Cars 2, and makes it an AGGRESSIVE game of guns and mines. Seriously. Unlike Snowy: Puzzle Islands, this is an ANGRY game. This is a MAD game (true to its name). Instead of driving around a track picking up bullets that only make your opponents spin around, you are now driving around a track SHOOTING YOUR ENEMIES WITH GUNS TO TRY AND MAKE THEIR CARS EXPLODE!! You're also dropping mines, and trying to stay alive yourself, and it's really an ingenious game, though the final stage (Ring of Doom) is sort of stupid. Plus, like Tiny Cars 2, it's highly customizable. And unlike most of the games on the list, it has a backstory that makes sense and ties into the game. Since I mentioned 5 Alawar games in the top 10; this means that the Top 3 will be Alawar, Alawar; and Alawar.
3:
Snowy: Treasure Hunter 1 & 2 (October 27 & 29, 2007)
I'm just merging Snowy: Treasure Hunter 1 & 2 together here, because they're just the same game with different levels, despite 2's slightly improved graphics. These games would be in strong contention for 1st, except that there is no level editor. I know it's fickle, but you can't make a Lode Runner clone without a level editor. I'm sorry, it just doesn't work. Anyway, these games are brilliant, and I wish 3 had been offered before Alawar stopped offering up games. Please come back, Alawar!
2:
Aquaball (October 17, 2007)
You don't forget your first GGOTD game, and this was mine. I was addicted. I played through it obsessively, completing it on easy, and have Normal and Hard games in progress. I even imagined an apocalyptic world where aliens would kill off humanity, but one human would be saved for each complete playthrough of Aquaball submitted to the aliens - I must have been very bored. Anyway, Aquaball is a wonderful Arkanoid game, with great graphics, music, varying difficulty, powerups, high score tracking, and it really is just a great game. But only one game can be numero uno, and here it is:
1:
Snowy: The Bear's Adventures (October 20, 2007)
That makes a total of 3 Snowy games in the top 10. So here is number 1. I have to note that this is another game I didn't download on the giveaway date - I downloaded it through the Alawar Game Box later (but still during the period). Some of this ranking may be sentiment and nostalgia - I played quite a bit of this game with a friend, laughing at his futility. But this game is great. It's a clone; not original, but the bosses are great, the scoring is great, the enemies are great, and just - wow. There's even some sort of secret stage I've never figured out.
So that's my Top 25. You may not agree, but hey, that's why we have brains. Thanks for reading!
