Micro Reviews For 2012

The new year is starting with a lot of new games pouring my way, and there is no better way to kick of 2012 than with a few micro-reviews!

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Easily the most hyped game of 2011, Skyrim actually delivers in almost everything it sets out to do. Unlike Morrowind's vague goals or Oblivion's awkward setting and level scaling, Skyrim feels like a genuine blockbuster tuned to casual and hardcore players alike. The story is front and center and easy to follow, but as always, entirely optional. Technologically solid, Skyrim oozes beauty and wonder around every new corner. Quests are plentiful and generally interesting. Combat is competent and at times exciting, but fundamentally unchanged since Morrowind. Dodge, block, attack, repeat.

Character leveling is incredibly natural and meaningful this time around. Instead of choosing a distinct class at the beginning of the game, players are given the freedom to use whatever areas of combat interests them, and as those skills level up, so does their character.

Skyrim rectifies just about everything that was wrong in Morrowind and Oblivion and stands tall as a landmark in the gaming industry. Skyrim will be talked about well-beyond 2011.

SkyDrift

Hydro Thunder + Mario Kart + airplanes = SkyDrift.

The above equation is the perfect summary of SkyDrift, an XBLA, PS3, and PC arcade racer that satisfies the need for speed on several levels. Chaotic Hydro Thunder-style level design meets the item bashing antics of Mario Kart (without the annoying balancing issues). Add in the vertical freedom that airplane-style racing brings and SkyDrift ends up being one of the best $15 purchases that could be made for fans of the genre.

Mario Kart 7

The Mario Kart series has been a staple in gaming since 1993 and has found a home on every Nintendo system since then (minus the Virtual Boy). This is with good reason: the games sell millions - if not tens of millions - of copies each generation. Mario Kart 7 - the latest iteration for the Nintendo 3DS - is exactly as Mario Kart has been for the last ten years: formulaic. A decent variety of characters, new and old tracks, drifting, and coins make up this iteration. Additions include short flying and underwater sections, but these are not revolutionary additions to the game and add very little to the overall experience. Rubber-banding AI has been toned down, although the infamous Blue Shell and other leader-destroying items still rain chaos in the most annoying ways possible. Online play is a highlight, being extremely balanced, well-populated, and fair.

Nintendo has been playing it safe with Mario Kart for too long, however, and Mario Kart 7 is proof that fundamental change needs to come to this series. While it is a solid entry into the series, it is the same game we have played for the last decade.

B3 out.