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Check out Terry’s website at TerryBorst.com

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Show Notes

• Jason Rohrer’s games
• MekTek’s MechWarrior 4
• Speed Demos Archive
• ARMACast, the ARMA 2 podcast
• STALKER Complete mods
  • Shadow of Chernobyl
  • Clear Sky
  • Call of Pripyat

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You’ve heard his tracks, whether you realize it or not. He’s the man behind the orchestral curtain on such titles like Icewind Dale II, Fallout 3, Crysis, and Dragon Age (to name a minuscule thimble’s full). His music steals your ears away with regret and sadness when you’re fragged, and it pumps battery acid through your veins when you’re seeking cover from mortar rounds.

A nominee for dozens of awards and an all around citizen of awesome, it’s with unabashed pride that Game Central presents Mr. Zur’s sharpened ponderings and wisdom-sprinkled nuggets on the golden field of gaming music. And a special thanks to EA’s Jenny Jobring for making it all happen!

GC: So when you’re composing music, how much do you take into account that your music will be heard in a video game?

Inon: Pretty much 100%. And basically with video games, the whole media is what determines exactly how the music is going to be heard, how the music is going to be played, and how the music is going to be received. You have got to understand that when you compose music for video games there are way more components to it than just the pure music.

Of course, we would like the music to be as good as it can get, basically. But this has to do a lot with what the video game needs. And if the video game needs just one hit of the drum every ten minutes, that’s what I’m going to give it. Basically, I will first tend to the need of the video game before I think exactly about the music.

GC: So you write it specifically towards the game’s atmosphere, like what the game requires to be a better experience?

Inon: Exactly. You know, of course at any point I will try to create something that is not in the game in order to create what we call the dramatic or the emotional level or dimension of the game. This way the music is not only in the background, but it is also really creating, you know, way more depth—emotional depth—to the game. So this is definitely what I’m thinking about when I’m trying to compose.

GC: When you hear your music in game for the first time, are complete musical rewrites common? In other words do you write a song, and then actually hear it in game, and go: “Oh no! I need to go ahead and redesign the entire song.” Does that happen often?

Inon: Well, it happens, usually in the beginning of games. I’m going a lot of backwards and forwards and sideways with the developers and the director to find what will best fit and match the game, and this is a process. Once we’ve honed in on what the game needs, and defined the signature sound of the game, then we’re on our way. Sometimes it gets easy, sometimes it gets really hard, but most of the time it’s sorta like in-between.

GC: So we at Game Central think that music is probably the most overlooked aspect when it comes to game design. Do you think that it’s absolutely crucial to have music in games? Is it a huge factor that makes or breaks a game?

Inon: Well, I could answer to you with a question: do you think that music is totally essential in movies? Do you think that music is totally essential in TV? I don’t know. I don’t know the answer. One thing I do know—there is no one movie today that doesn’t have music, there is no one TV show without music, and there is no one game without music.

I don’t know if that does answer the question; it’s actually a very interesting and philosophic question, but it seems like people tend to think “yes.”

GC: Do you personally feel that a game could be successful without it, without music at all?

Inon: I think (if so) it’s going to be very interesting. I think that we shouldn’t take it that radical, I mean, I don’t know if you remember that Tom Hanks movie when he crashes with his plane on a deserted island. I forgot the name of this movie.

GC: Cast Away.

Inon: Cast Away! Exactly. There is no music there until about an hour into the movie, and the point the music starts is when he actually understands that he is really in bad shape. So basically, I wouldn’t go all the way of not having any music, but I would definitely try sometimes to keep places in a game without music at all, and not play wall to wall music.

I think it could be really effective, and something that people could really experiment with that. This is one thing. Yeah I think if you have a movie, or a game, that you really want the experience to be truly realistic, totally realistic, then you might not score any music to it, and it would be like real life. I don’t know how that’d go, but it is certainly interesting to experiment.

GC: When you’re hired by a gaming studio to write their music, are you 100% free to create the tracks as you see fit? Or are you typically bound within a strict confine of a developer’s creative direction?

Inon: Again—it’s moving from one end to the other. Some games totally give me a free hand. Some games are very, very restricting. As usual, it’s somewhere in the middle. Meaning they have something in mind and I’m creating something that is my own, and then we’re sort of meeting in the middle.

And it’s not about arguing what’s better for the game. It’s more about collaboration, and meaning. I’m bringing to the table something, you’re bringing to the table something, and then we’re sort of putting it together, and from what we’ve put together this is what the game’s eventually gonna sound like.

GC: So it sounds like it’s more of a compromise than one side dictating to the other.

Inon: I wouldn’t call it “compromise.” Again, this is not something that’s “Oh, I want my music the way I want it, and I’ll be more willing if it’s gonna be more the way I want it.” No, this is definitely not the case. It is, “I think that this could work great. What do you think?” And it’s like, “I think that this will work great.”

And I will usually tend to try to cater to what the developer has to say rather than try to pitch in with my own. First, anyway, anything that I’m going to do will be mine in a way because this is my style. So, I’ll try to go as much as I can to what he’s looking for in order to match the game.

GC: So when it comes to actually recording the music, is it kind of a traditional way of recording? I mean, to our knowledge, video game music has lots of parts recorded, and aren’t really like full songs. Compared to more traditional recording, an album or anything like that, is it at all different to the process in video games?

Inon: Well, you know, it really depends on the budget that we have for production. You got to understand that most of the music is created—like for example, for TV or movies it’s the same thing—the music is being created first in the studio with synthesizers and samplers to do a mockup. Now, sometimes the mockup is so good that there is no additional recording needed.

Many times when we talk about orchestral music then we do like to bring a real orchestra to either overdub or replace the mockup score. And in this way, yes, it feels pretty much like recording an album. After you’re done, basically, with all of the preparation then you go two, three days into the studio and record the orchestra, go back to the studio, open all the tracks and start mixing everything, and there you go.

GC: Do other video game music composers such as Jeremy Soule or Frank Klepacki influence your work in any way?

Inon: I’m sure they do. I mean, we’re listening to each other quite extensively. We like to see what we’re doing. I mean the community of game composers is quite small when we’re talking about the people that are doing most of the work. So, we know each other. Sometimes we even collaborate. And so I definitely think that’s a “yes.”

GC: Is there a project you can talk about that you have collaborated on with some of these guys?

Inon: Well this needs to be decided by the studio. I cannot just decide that I’ll collaborate with somebody. I could offer that maybe the score needs some sort of collaboration. Or the studio could offer or suggest that this score needs collaboration. So, that definitely has to be decided (by them).

GC: Are you pretty big into the game music scene, like have you ever been to a Video Games Live concert?

Inon: Oh sure! You know, and they also played my music from Crysis. So I’m involved in concerts; there was a big concert in Australia, they played my music from Prince of Persia and Dragon Age a few months ago. So I think that computer gaming music to the world as a standalone product or art is very important.

GC: Do you have any plans to attend a PAX or a GDC in a future?

Inon: I don’t think I’ve missed a GDC for the last ten years.

GC: So you’ve been to every one? That’s pretty cool.

Inon: Yeah.

GC: Are there any particular video game soundtracks you’re fond of—that you’re a fan of?

Inon: Let me think. You know it’s not so much about the actual soundtrack, it’s about the game and how the music works in the game. Games like BioShock, Dead Space, or, you know, a few games—Uncharted for example—the music does a really good job. I tend not to set apart the music from the game, it’s sort of misleading.

GC: Was it by mere happenstance that you fell into video game music composing, or was it a calculated, drawn-out career plan for you?

Inon: Totally drawn out. Not calculated, not planned. In 1995 or ‘96, (my agent) called me and asked me if I wanted to do music for computer games. At this point, I had already composed a lot of music for TV. And that was about, 13 years ago. And I said “no!” Lucky enough, he was really persistent and, you know, changed me and convinced me to do stuff and evangelize that. Once I started, it was a done deal.

GC: Why the initial hesitation? Why didn’t you want to compose for the PC?

Inon: I didn’t know anything about computer games! Nothing! And definitely not about music for computer games. When I heard “computer games,” I heard: “computer,” which I wasn’t into, and “games,” which I wasn’t into. So, you know, it sounds quite electronic to me. I was like, “Ehhhh… I don’t think so.”

GC: So do you at all consider yourself a gamer now?

Inon: Oh, no! No! By any means, I am not a gamer! I wish I could! I respect the gamers, but I have never found the time. I mean, I’m a decent player, but I’m not a gamer, per se. Meaning, I’m not spending time every day playing computer games. I wish I had the time, because I’d love to do that. But am I a gamer? No. You know, a gamer would be ashamed to hear that I’m a gamer.

GC: Are there any casual games like Peggle that you find yourself playing to pass the time?

Inon: I don’t have any time to pass, that’s the thing. I wish they could create some more hours a day, so I could use that. I’m currently working on five projects at the same time; each one of them is really big! I have a family with three kids, one of them is a baby. So—believe me—I could use more hours in the day!

GC: So you’re playing the game of life.

Inon: Exactly, yeah.

GC: It’s a tough game.

Inon: Well, I do play (some) games, for example, like I’m working on a certain game right now not announced yet, and I have an Xbox with the Xbox game, so I will play the game and see how they’re incorporating the music in, yes. But that part is work.

GC: Game music has evolved substantially over the years. In the beginning, there was a limitation of hardware capabilities, each composer had to write with absolute guidelines in mind. For example, the old Nintendo Entertainment System had songs that required one minute or so in length, and the tracks had to flow smoothly.

Now, in a far more advanced time, obviously, is taking into account the myriad potential hardware strengths and weaknesses a critical issue?In other words: when you’re creating music, there are all sorts of ways that music can be played back, whether it’s through speakers our through headphones. Does this matter?

Inon: Well, we the music people and audio people in the game industry are following very closely the developments in the computer world, and we will tend to maximize every little inch of power to bring what we call the true experience of music to life in gaming. And having said that, basically I’m talking about implementation. You know in the first few games that I did, we always just played audio in a loop, over and over.

Today we’re in a much, much better situation, having engines like Unreal and other implementation engines that can just do miracles with music, bringing the music in and out seamlessly, responding in real time when the player makes (certain) moves on one hand, but in the other hand we’re really not creating any train wreck moving between cue to cue.

Of course, (the action) determines the way I compose the music, and there are techniques that seldom even I myself developed in order to make the transitions of the music seamless. Our everlasting aspiration is to create a soundtrack that will follow the gamer consistently, wherever they go, and one that supports whatever he or she is doing without interfering but still creating the prefect emotional rapport to what he or she is doing.

In order to do that, we have to use many means of technicalities, audio engines, tricks, anything we could in order to create that. And that’s a lot of work, that has nothing to do with the actual composing of the game. So, in summary, we are using all the latest developments and capabilities of the engines to do a better job making music in a game.

GC: Thanks Inon!

Inon: Thank you very much for having me!

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Keenan: That day was exciting. The amount of support the community showed by turning out to our Ventrilo server was staggering. And we’re still blown away by how loyal our readers are. We may not be the biggest PC gaming site (yet), but we surely have the best community around. I can’t imagine it getting any better than ours.

Chris: And the community’s really the stalwart foundation to the house of Game Central. Without you guys, without the strong supporting structure, we’d be back to the blueprint stages. But that’s not to say we’re done planning. Far from it! As stands, our proposed skyscraper’s got a handful of noteworthy floors framed, dry-walled, and painted. Only place to go is up! We’re looking to reinforce our existing analysis and coverage with more indie game exposure, more talented writers (including the addition of select monthly columnists), and more overall steady content. Plus, coming soon, we’re revamping the look and feel of the site’s layout with some serious ocular-sweetness. Consistent improvement isn’t just a vague semi-spoken concept here at Game Central, it’s an axiom.

Keenan: To hit more specifically onto what Chris is talking about… in the overall perspective of things, we aim to become something more than what is the norm in Internet-based games journalism. Rather than being the site constantly updating with the everyday-happenings of the ever-changing industry, Game Central takes a step back and looks at the big picture, assessing from there. In the end, we hope to have more concise and level-headed view on things, all the while promoting a good time.

Chris: Exactly. And we approach our published works as a think-tank collaborative process. There’s an unfortunate (but mostly accurate) stigma of sloppiness and lack of management that hovers over a majority of the gaming websites out there. From a gooey embryonic state, we’ve sought to attack this entrenched and insidious fallacy. At Game Central, there’s a distinct chain of command when it comes to the acceptance and editing of a given article. Often, a narrative piece will run the pointy-thorned-gauntlet of 3 or 4 staff reviews prior to going live. We’ve also recently implemented a semi-regular group examination of an article’s initial draft, where we tease out fresh ideas and brainstorm certain highlighted points. Have we popped a few boners here and there? Sure- we ain’t perfect. But it’s the pursuit of perfection that fuels our editorial desires. There’s no reason an online organization’s copy-edit process should appear inferior to its print-based counterparts. That’s just plumb stupidness.

Keenan: Last year was the warm-up for us; to get the wheels going- to get a feel of the racetrack. This year we hope to expand our repertoire on a much larger scale. We’ll be interviewing the biggest names in the biz, and the no-name bedroom programmers hoping to change the face of gaming. Our podcast will undergo changes to make it worth your ears each week. We’re in the process of redesigning the site (don’t worry, it’s not a complete makeover) to suit the advances made in web design the past year. And we’ll be putting assets back into the video portion of the site- we’re hoping to bring unique video content regularly.

Chris: The video production sphere is a sumptuous target, and one we aim to bull’s-eye. The all-encompassing plan of attack, site-wide, is a continued and ardent adherence to our core values and recently updated mission statement. To reiterate our stances: we seek to deconstruct, hypothesize, and report upon the pure fabulous spirit that’s the PC gaming specimen, all while entertaining with an easy to consume editorial demeanor and atmosphere. To coin a phrase once reviled as a young ‘un: it should be fun to learn (sort of like the Civilization series, but sadly- minus Leonard Nimoy’s ambient commentary). And at the calculated risk of functioning as a looped commentary track, we pride ourselves as gamers first, with a devout passion and platform second. Consequently, GC is all-volunteer, just as we think it should be. Of course, PayPal-ing us a cool million wouldn’t be totally objectionable…

Keenan: With all this said, we are in need of people to help us. There’s only so much a handful can do alone. So if you’re a writer, a podcaster, a video producer- anything that you think would help us- then feel free and contact us. We can’t let everyone on the staff; we need some level of organization. But go ahead and submit your talent resume to us—it doesn’t have to be an actual resume; we hate those things—and we’ll have a look-see to determine if you’re right for us. But again, remember, this is not for pay- this is out of pure passion for PC gaming.

Chris: As Keenan intuits: all talents are useful talents. Aside from the editorial sector, we also need some dedicated folks to run the important behind-the-scenes tasks that keep the fires burning strong (business development, graphic design, coding, Chris’s flip-flops’ shiner-upper, etc.). For me personally, Game Central has provided a wonderful stage to showcase my imagination and creativity, all the while introducing me to some great like-minded PC gaming folks. I don’t know where I’d be today without it. We hope you enjoy the years to follow, and we’d love to hear your feedback on the site so far. In the mean time, break out the crystal, pop some bubbly, and throw back a few swigs. It’s you—the readers and community—that have made Game Central so successful and enjoyable. My hat goes off to you, good sirs and madams! Your enthusiasm and support are the turbines to our proverbial airplane; cheers!

Keenan: This year is going to be an exciting one for PC gaming- why not spend it with us? Let the good times roll!

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Authentic weaponry? Enemy forces that can outsmart you? Palpable sense of your own mortality? ArmA II delivers the modern battlefield to your PC – minus the combat rations. I can give you lots of reasons why ArmA II gets my vote for PC Game of the Year, but I’ve got a mission waiting so I’ll keep it simple.

Unwavering Dedication to Detail: BI Studio set out to create a modern combat simulator and they really pulled out all the stops in pursuit of their goal. Everything vital to modern operations was researched and modeled. Weapons behave accurately and the tactics are real. You can almost taste the cordite as you dive into the dirt to avoid the bullets snapping overhead.

Unmatched Co-op and Multi-player Capabilities: Whether you are playing Force vs. AI or Force vs. Force, no other game offers the opportunity to work as a team better than ArmA II. The in-game VOIP and Tactical Menu enable players to easily execute complex maneuvers.

Mod-ability: Included in the game’s purchase price are the original developer tools. Amateur developers ensure that there is a constant supply of new content being produced that ranges from uniforms to complete force conversions.

So if you think you can handle it, I’ll see you on the battlefield.

–contributed by C. Fransky

Runner-Up: Batman: Arkham Asylum

Batman: Arkham Asylum is everything a good game should be. The controls are smooth and intuitive, the gameplay is intriguing and varied, and the graphics are gorgeously stylized. Yet above all, the game is pure, unadulterated fun. It is the most fun I’ve had in a third-person game since the original Max Payne, one of my personal all-time favorites. Arkham Asylum focuses on the strengths of the third-person genre: it takes the core mechanics of a third-person beat-’em-up, combines them with a handful of Splinter Cell-esque stealth and detective elements, and adds a dash of innovative gadgets to the mix. Pair them with the backing of over sixty years of Batman mythos, and you have yourself a recipe for a truly kickass title.

Of course, every game has its flaws. After completing the storyline and finding all the hidden Riddler items, there is nothing left to do in the game. The voice acting, while being reasonably above the industry standard, is still nothing to write home about. And combat degrades into simple button-mashing at any difficulty other than “Hard.” However, if you can look past these few (minor) pitfalls, you will find yourself with a truly fun and engrossing title that will give both the Batman veteran and average-Joe gamer hours of fun, satisfying, Joker-smashing entertainment.

–contributed by Tom “Frost” Conroy

Runner-Up: Braid

The idea of being able to reverse time in Braid isn’t just a gameplay trick but also informs the narrative. The game’s protagonist, Tim, is someone who has this overwhelming feeling of regret and wishes he could go back and do things differently. The idea of using the game as a place to explore a character’s regret, correct mistakes, and reminisce on where it all went wrong is something we rarely see in games.

I hesitate to call the game an emotional experience because I never actually got emotional over the game, but I thought it was an effective exploration of an emotion. This is something we don’t see happen much in games and, while I think it can be done with a little more skill and grace and a little less of an air of pretentiousness, Braid is a game that made me think about the potential. And there’s also some clever platforming puzzles in there somewhere. It may not be the of the highest quality but it’s the one that challenged me the most, both in terms of solving puzzles and rethinking what games could be.

–contributed by J. Ewing

Runner-Up: Dragon Age: Origins

I have not had this much fun in a Bioware game since NeverWinter Nights. I prefer the traditional RPG Fantasy of big giant swords and mages in skimpy outfits, and Dragon Age: Origins has brought me back into the Bioware bandwagon. I loved the interaction Bioware has placed into the game: your companions will talk to each other, comment about the environment around you, and, once you increase enough favor with them, some will even start questioning you. You feel like your character actually has a history in the game and the people around you will even comment on your “Origins” depending on how you frame it.

You could be the guy who’s glad to escape from home, the one who’s homesick, or even the one who hates being in the forced position of Grey Warden. The companions, like in other Bioware games, also have their own backstory that you can explore and help them solve. Some will only activate when you gain enough favor points with the characters, while others you get through talking with them; specific items given to the characters, meanwhile, open up cinematics and dialogue options for you to interact with the companions. My only wish for the game is that it would have more puzzles/riddles than fighting.

–contributed by Mike Quach

Other Nominations from the Community: Burnout Paradise; Empire: Total War; Judith; Left 4 Dead 2; Machinarium

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1. Machinarium

For listeners of the Game Central podcast, this pick should come as little surprise. Machinarium takes everything we love about the PC and exemplifies the real power of the platform: creativity and ingenuity. This is truly the adventure game for everybody, even rookies like me. In fact, as I neared the game’s ending, I didn’t even care what genre Machinarium technically fell under. All that mattered was how much the game impacted me emotionally and mentally.

From the opening screen, the hand-drawn animated and static visuals captivate like no other.  You could spend hours gazing exclusively at each new scene, studying the backgrounds and staring into their gorgeous industrialized intricacies, and it would not be time wasted. And sure, it’s 2D, but when a 2D game trounces every other 3D game out there in the illustrative department, does it really matter? Not in my book.

With so many other “PC” titles falling prey to the consoles and their decidedly limited modes of presentation and malleability, our platform is rapidly losing its direction. But games like Machinarium help the PC retain its true identity. This game singlehandedly highlights the PC’s authenticity as an entity wholly separate from the land of the PS3 and the Xbox 360. For this nuance alone, Machinarium deserves the golden trophy.

2. Batman: Arkham Asylum

Any time a PC game causes me to suddenly become compelled to engorge myself on its base narrative influences and underpinnings, it has to be special. Within days of firing up Arkham Asylum, I was so intrigued by the plot and characters, I immediately ordered 2 Batman graphic novels as well as Batman Begins on Blu-ray. Lemme tell ya folks, this behavior ain’t typical.

And from the wide lens of game design and development, Arkham Asylum is quite simply a masterpiece. Rather than creating a gigantic open world such as Far Cry 2 or GTA IV, Rocksteady chose to contain the free-form nature of the game into a tightly claustrophobic interwoven environment. You can still adventure around and discover secrets, but there’s never a lull in the action, and roaming from one area to another never takes more than a few minutes.

Plus, Arkham Asylum finally legitimizes gaming voice-acting as serious business. Mark Hamill puts forth an Oscar-worthy performance as the Joker, and every supporting cast member (with perhaps the exception of the armed guards) retains similar professional deliveries. For once, it’s obvious that big-time talented actors truly love what they’re doing for a game. When was the last time that happened? Probably never.

3. Torchlight

Torchlight is the epitome of value. Releasing for a paltry 20 green-backs, Runic Games crafted an action-RPG worthy of the highest praises normally associated with only the big boys. Once you begin your trek into the catacombs and realize just how insanely entertaining and charming Torchlight actually is, you’ll feel like you acquired the game at a steal.

Runic took all the annoying parts of usual RPGs and threw them flat on their backs. Running out of potions? Drop a town teleport scroll, walk through it, purchase some gear, walk back, and you’re right where you left off before. Bam. Easy. This is one of those games that’ll have you asking, “Why didn’t they think of this before??”

And to top it all off, Torchlight’s soundtrack is phenomenal. In an era of gaming where musical scores seem a tacked-on afterthought, this game gives that notion the proverbial middle finger. The sound effects are equally noteworthy, and every spell’s explosion or shattered skeleton’s echoes accentuates the supporting melodies.  If for some reason you haven’t yet taken the Torchlight dive, do yourself a favor and grab it. Your ears will thank you, and your PC gaming spirit will be renewed.

Honorable Mentions:
Braid
Plants vs. Zombies

Shame of the Year: Darkest of Days

It’s not often that you’ll gladly choose broken bones over gaming, but Darkest of Days manages to do just that. This game is so unbelievably terrible, so ridiculously painful to play, you’ll wonder if maybe it would have been better to just spend 40 bucks on a buddy of yours to come by and dislocate your kneecaps with a crowbar. Because at least that way, you can take comfort in knowing that the pain inflicted was intentionally self-imposed. For the love of everything sacred, if someone even offers to pay you for this travesty of a title, punch them in the pancreas and report them to the authorities; your sanity might very well depend on it. Don’t say I didn’t warn you: Darkest of Days is the Insultiest of Insults.

1. Machinarium

What can I say? A lot, apparently. Chris can too. It’s funny thinking back when I first heard of Machinarium; my initial impressions pertained to something along the lines of “Oh, cool graphics.” While indeed that is true, I had no idea it would impact me as much as it did when I reviewed it. There is so much charm and pure-blooded love oozing from this game, I can’t help but give it the acclaim it deserves. Amanita obviously had an unbelievable amount of passion while creating this masterpiece. In all honesty, I haven’t seen many PC games in recent years where the developer had that much care for the end result – it seems to me that that affection died out when developing games became more of a business than a passion. Nevertheless, Machinarium shines as a pinnacle example of what PC gaming is all about, and totally deserves the accolade of game of the year.

2. ArmA 2

I had an endless debate with myself about whether or not to place ArmA 2 as my number one choice. The innovation that both ArmA 2 and Machinarium placed on the pedestal makes it one of the hardest gaming decisions for me in a long, long time. It’s like Mohammed Ali fighting Mohammed Ali: two forces to be reckoned with, neither of which have any desire to go down soon.

ArmA 2 provides an experience like no other. Following in the footsteps of its predecessors ArmA and Operation Flashpoint, ArmA 2 is a modern military simulator that is ambitious as it is realistic (and as ridiculous.) The game’s world is the biggest sandbox in PC gaming and grants you to revisit your childhood of being a soldier, instead this time, being the most brutal and in-your-face presentation of those childhood memories. The game does not hold your hand by any means – be expected to die at least once a mission, and having a hard time even learning how to control the game. It surprises me when people get turned off by this, especially when it’s from self-proclaimed hardcore PC gamers. The reason? This is the most PC PC game made in the last ten years. Games like ArmA 2 perfectly define the PC’s strengths and build off them to a point where I can’t possibly see why someone can dislike it. Sure, the controls may not be the most user-friendly or your performance may be lackluster, but ArmA 2 raises the bar so high to what PC games can achieve that I can’t see developers not looking towards it for inspiration in the future.

3. Opera Omnia

Who says we should be limited to only retail releases from big publishers when naming the games of the year? When we get down to it, it’s the game’s quality that counts. Opera Omnia turned the puzzle game genre on its head and delivered an incredibly unique gameplay mechanic of reverse logic which earns it the third spot on my list. While the production is rudimentary, it gave me one of the most atmospheric experiences I’ve had since STALKER – which, for a free game, is more than enough to trump the big dogs of this year’s releases.

Honorable Mentions:
Dawn of Discovery
Torchlight

Underwhelming Underdog: East India Company

I’m always excited to see debut games of newly formed PC game developers. This was the case when I first heard of Nitro Games’ real-time strategy economy title East India Company. The game’s historical premise of leading a company to financial success through transporting goods, forming alliances, and battling other nations across the Atlantic and Indian Ocean surprisingly captured my interest. However, as pointed out in my review, the game was plagued with generic… genericness. Or in scientific terms: “DoomThreeitis.” It introduced all what the game had to offer in the first few minutes of playing, with nothing particularly unique to the game. To make matters worse, the actual gameplay itself just got tedious. To Nitro’s credit, they did attempt to resuscitate the life out of the game with a director’s cut edition and the Privateer & Pirate Bay expansion packs, but it was just a lost cause. I really hope they pull through with another game and blows this stale seafaring simulator out of the water.

1. Batman: Arkham Asylum

No other video game this year facilitates the complete experience of the player quite like Batman: Arkham Asylum does.  The game came as quite a surprise to me, as I could never expect a licensed franchise, especially one as thoroughly explored as the Batman universe, to achieve any sophisticated level of gaming greatness.  Despite the plethora of well-defined content, the developers of Rocksteady provide a reading of the Batman mythos so meticulously crafted that their resulting game conveys an astonishingly whole of comic references and well-paced adventures on Arkham Island.

No other game, too, can match the way Arkham Asylum truly unifies you, as the player, with the player character, the Dark Knight himself.  Batman’s power, skills, high tech gadgetry rest at your finger tips, and you’ll watch in awe at the flexible animations that depict the character.  Fantastic voice acting from Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill commands the characters of Batman and Joker respectively.  Sequences caused by Scarecrow’s hallucinogens, moreover, let you control Batman as he delves into his deepest motivation and experiences his most tragic day in interactive ways that reflect a true mastery of the video game medium.  Batman: Arkham Asylum absolutely captivated me this year.

2. Braid

Braid reflects a unity, an artistry, and a vision rarely seen in video games.  Its 2D platforming gameplay hearkens back to its retro game roots, yet it parodies and innovates on those influences to create an original, pure experience in its own right.  Sure, its creator, Jonathan Blow, has enough grandiose pretentiousness as an auteur to humble even James Cameron; however, Braid stands apart as a sincere entity that successfully finds harmony between gameplay, narrative, and art in ways few other games have.

As such, Braid achieves far more than titles, such as Machinarium, that only illustrate their whimsical game narrative experiences through an old-fashioned, awkward separation between elements of story and gameplay.  The fact that you, the player, never lose control over Tim, the protagonist, throughout the adventure allows you to progress at your own pace, which contributes further towards a more satisfying experience.  Solving Braid’s time-bending puzzles felt particularly satisfying, especially since they grew progressively more 4th-dimensionally complex, yet ingeniously simple to execute.  From its expressive painted worlds, to its emotional use of music, to Tim’s desperate control of time and paradox, Braid not only pulls together its elements, it also marks an important point in the literary growth of game narrative.

3. Mirror’s Edge

Who knew companies like EA and DICE could actually give new IPs and, heaven forbid, innovation a chance?  Putting their long-standing money-making franchise, Battlefield, on the backburner, DICE developed Mirror’s Edge, a unique, surreal game about heart-pumping free running action.  The developer successfully recreated the adrenaline-fueled sensation from the first-person perspective of Faith, an agile runner.  Every leap between rooftops, every fast-paced chase from the dystopian world’s ever-present police, and every dizzying glance into the heights just beyond the edge captured the beauty, grace, and style of free running.

And DICE couldn’t give us a better environment to express a mastery of running than a jaw-dropping cityscape filled with multiple paths through skyscrapers, well-designed interiors, and even the exciting romp atop speeding trains.  Like Batman, the game makes incredible use of Unreal Engine 3 towards a stunning white-washed aesthetic filled with bright pops of solid color.  The major black mark that tarnishes the beautiful aesthetic comes in Faith’s clumsy weapons handing, though her melee skills do provide a fluid, yet challenging approach to combat.  Mirror’s Edge is also quite short, but for its brief narrative, it renders a cohesive experience worthy of recognition.

Honorable Mentions:
Left 4 Dead 2
Plants vs. Zombies

Dishonorably Discharged: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

No game, not even the travesty that was Darkest of Days, could disappoint me, as a PC gamer, more than Modern Warfare 2.  Granted, I must admit that I have not played the game, but I am well aware of its inexcusable lack of standard PC features.  Several elements are noticeably absent, including some that the game’s predecessor correctly implemented, such as dedicated servers, mod support, and advanced actions like leaning.  Combine those issues with the fact that the game requires Steam, and you’ll realize the developers effectively consolidated and “console-ized” the experience.

Unless I’m wrong, and these fundamental problems aren’t really so bad, I will stand by my initial opinion that Modern Warfare 2, as well as its developer, has wronged us PC gamers, and it clearly doesn’t deserve consideration for Game of the Year.  Please Infinity Ward, do the PC right next time and at least meet some basic PC game standards.

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