It’s December, folks, and that means our annual Game of the Year awards are on their way. With that in mind, let’s go over our past award winners, dating back to our very first GOTY, way back in 2005.
As someone who cannot drive (I have depth-perception issues, which as you would imagine is a bad thing when operating several hundred pounds of metal at any speed), packing up one day and taking myself on a road trip is something is something I just can’t do, despite the appeal. I’ve often tried to use video games as a surrogate for that urge, but most of the time I’m misusing a game for that purpose. For example, Grand Theft Auto 5 has believably rural areas north of down to drive through to simulate going out on a trip, but sooner or later I’m going to find someone with a nicer car, and the urge to jack their ride takes over and suddenly I’m just playing GTA again. Jalopy promises something different, a driving game that’s about the trip as much as the destination.
You normally visit AAGH for game news and reviews, but did you know that we have a free games hub? We do, and it’s called AAGH GameCenter. The games include a number of releases by our game development team at AAGH Games. They’re fast, they’re fun, and most importantly, they’re free, so why not shoot some birds in Chicken Boom or explore the maze-like worlds of Party Ball Arcade? You don’t even need to bring any quarters.
With a nearly six-month hiatus in the middle of this year, our actual review count in 2015 is not particularly numerous. With that in mind, we’re stretching our usual boundaries for our game of the year. Usually we require a game to have been reviewed here on AAGH to receive the award, but considering how many titles we missed over the course of this calendar year we’re going to include every title we have extensive hands-on experience with.
Time does fly, doesn’t it? It has been six months to the day since there has been a new article posted here on AAGH. Chaos is Gaming has seen a few updates in that time, but All Around Gaming Hub has sat, a still, idle monument, waiting to be reawakened. Today is that day. Arouse from your long summer slumber, AAGH – we have work to do.
To the surprise of very few, WildStar – Carbine Studio’s colorful MMORPG – is going free to play. The transition to the new model is scheduled to take place this fall and according to the developers the game won’t change or hide features behind a paywall once this occurs. This is better than the likes of Champions Online, who flaunts features and options that you can’t access without paying, but rather than go the Guild Wars 2/Elder Scrolls Online model with an upfront game purchase, WildStar is going to follow more in the tracks of Star Wars: The Old Republic and go completely free to play.
Grand Theft Auto 5 is a good game, one of the best from the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 era, and it still holds up today. However, its online component – Grand Theft Auto Online – is a slightly messy but all around brilliant experience, and for me at least has completely eclipsed anything from the single player mode. There are always things happening, things to see and things to do in GTA Online, and here are a few things that I have run across in my time with the game.
With another Ludum Dare game jam starting tonight, AAGH Games – our game development wing – is revving up to enter once again. This will be the third straight Ludum Dare for AAGH Games and as is customary for us, we will be broadcasting it live on our Twitch channel. When the theme is unveiled tonight at 9 PM EDT (click here to translate that to your local time), we will update this post with the theme and any other relevant information as it comes along. If you’re interested in game development, you can tune in and hang out.