Coint and Plick 2013 - The Sixth Annual ILX Video Game Poll

Huh. Thought that would be higher.

Would be if you could invert the y axis.

can't believe dishonored beat ftl and walking dead

walking dead not even making the top 10? wow. y'all disappoint me

but thanks will for putting into words that which i could not

INVERT Y AXIS

http://i.imgur.com/H4HY2e2.gif
#11: Punch Quest – iOS – 57 pts – 4 votes - 1 top game votes - FREE

http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2012/10/image2-610x406.png

Official Game Site

Metacritic

Gameplay Video

http://www.destructoid.com/ul/237188-review-punch-quest/PunchQuest1-noscale.jpg

Creating Profitability

Polygon: Yes, You Can Do More Than Just Punch Stuff

Soundtrack

http://wpuploads.appadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/mzl.qwqfsymn.640x960-75-642x428.jpg

S. Clover: I have some systems, but I never have the time or inclination to play them. I have some computer games, but I tend to get them a few years behind, from humble bundles. That leaves iOS games, which I play on the train, while watching TV, etc. Single servings, digestible, right to the stimulus-response pleasure centers. So what I value tend to be games with lots of novelty, a gradual difficulty curve, and frequent rewards. Punch Quest is simply the best/most replayable runner I've played. Everything feels precise, and everything feels balanced. There's an immense variety of enemies, each with different combat mechanics. There are probably over 30 randomized mini-levels, and thousands of combinations of skills, each of which brings something unique to the table. And the quest system pushes a range of goals, which mean exploring the skill-tree fully. Then there's the "hat" metagame, which provides a high-leveled coin-sink for incremental, largely cosmetic perks. This is basically Diablo as a 2D runner.

http://i.imgur.com/Mf4CEzj.gif
#10: Trials Evolution – XBLA – 61 pts – 6 votes

http://d1vr6n66ssr06c.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/trials.jpg

Official Game Site

Metacritic

Gameplay Video

http://i2.cdnds.net/12/05/618x347/gaming_trials_evolution_screenshot_1_1.jpg

Dev Interview

Nightmare Mode

Tech Interview

'Trials Evolution’s Soundtrack Is So Bad It’s Like They’re Kidding'.... but don’t take Kotaku’s word for it.

http://media1.gameinformer.com/imagefeed/featured/microsoft/trialsevolution/evo610.jpg

Trials HD - "worse than crack cuz u gotta go out and get crack"

CraigG: Trials Evolution is more of the same as Trials HD, but also nicely different, and so many levels. I still haven't completed it (think I'm at about 75%), and some tracks like Gigatrack just keep bringing me back to just have a 10-15minute zip around an awesome circuit, before I waste a bunch of time trying to get past the first obstacle on some of the insanely difficult tracks.

Jordan: It's oddly peaceful with the music turned off. I am basically terrible at this game so I hit my wall early on, but it was a solid week of obsession.

if: I never played Trials HD, so the racing/platforming crossbreed timetrial approach came as new to me and was very compulsive, especially with the friendslist competition (I haven't dared to go back recently and see if I am still second placed ilxor on many tracks, I suspect not). Some bold and brilliant and sometimes very funny level design in there too.

diamonddave85: What blew my mind about this game was just how such a simple control scheme could translate into a steep yet rewarding learning curve. Props to polyphonique for obliterating every one of my best times.

we're gonna take a little break here before rolling out the top nine. while we pause for station identification, feel free to throw out some guesses as to placement.

I never actually voted in this due to heavy travel/laziness/who knows. I'll throw out my 10 faves from last year in no particular order:

-Far Cry 3
-XCOM
-Kairosoft iPhone games
-Spec Ops: the Line
-FTL
-Dishonored
-Hack, Slash, Loot
-Walking Dead
-Sleeping Dogs

best 2011 game played in 2012: Skyrim and Tropico 4

wish this poll got as many votes as the music polls

no idea what the top 9 will be

I recently started playing the Trials Rev "Origins of Pain" add-on pack and have been really enjoying getting back into the flow of things. The new bike they give you is really hard to control, though.

Walking dead got robbed, y'all are crazy.

Maybe if I played it standing on my head I would have liked it better.

totes robbed

no inverted Y would be unforgivable in even dark souls

i forgot to vote for Walking Dead, although i've only played the first episode. thought it would be a good game to play with my gf and she got way into the decision-making but didn't really care to play more. plus it seems like it's best played a full episode at a time, and i only have time for shorter bursts these days. also #invertyaxis.

i feel like the only games that i recognize are the ones i voted for

predicting a top 3 finish for Hexagon

ones i know have yet to place are hexagon, spelunky, xcom, dishonored, and frog fractions -- and i would not be unhappy if that ended up being the top 5 in that order

Journey hasn't placed yet, has it?

no, kinda hoping it isn't no. 1 tbh

It topped my ballot.

three letters, baby

I'm not sure if Spec Ops is going to not place, or place high, both of which would shock the hell out of me

I haven't yet played Spec Ops, but why would a high placement be shocking? It seems to be generally well-reviewed, or at the very least interesting to have been talked over a lot this past year.

I've yet to finish Spec Ops. It just strikes me as one of those games that 1 or 2 people on ILX would champion but far from a "universal appeal" type game.

ok i ahve to ask is the invert y axis walking dead thing for serious? i have no idea how the control scheme is on console, i played it w/ a mouse,but it doesn't exactly strike me as a game where axes are very important (as in the plural of axis, not the plural of axe, which are fairly important in TWD)

there's a handful of FPS sequences, i suppose

http://i.imgur.com/B6cvRU1.gif
#9: Super Hexagon – iOS – 62 pts – 5 votes - 1 top game votes - Top iOS Game

http://media.edge-online.com/wp-content/uploads/edgeonline/2012/09/super_hexagon_tips_03.png

Official Game Site

Metacritic

Gameplay Video

http://www.thumbactive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Super_Hexagon_original.png

Play Hexagon Online

Wired: Terry Cavanagh can’t keep his high score

Composer Interview

Super Text-Based Hexagon

Little Big Hexagon

Rock Paper Shotgun

Problem Machine: Spiralling Shape

A Modest Proposal

Batterywine

Unwinnable: Allow Natural Death

Soundtrack

http://morbidholiday.com/comics/2012-09-15-super-hexagon.png

JCL: Such a simple concept, so perfectly executed. I was never able to master the last few levels of challenge, but for a few weeks there, I had a great time trying.

cozen: fuck this game in its fucking fuck

BASTARDS #1 4EVA HEXAGON HEXAGON HEXAGON

sigh hexagon ijdgi

my number one vote. kinda a perfect game.

a great game for iOS, for sure. Perfectly suited for 0-60+ second bursts (depending on how good you are, i guess). and it's satisfying to witness your skill level gradually improving, even if it feels like you're just failing repeatedly at first. before you know it, that first 30 seconds that used to be a nightmare is something that you navigate through relatively calmly as you prepare for the onslaught that arrives near the end.

still, cozen otm. it's kind of a stressful game! even just making the gif brought back flashbacks to losing at 57.8923 seconds and realizing that i'd been holding my breath the entire time.

i've seen super hexagon called a 'rhythm game' elsewhere but i was never able to connect the music and throbbing with the gameplay.. is this something that makes itself more apparent the better you get?

i always play better w/ the sound off

i'm with cozen on this one

Re: Spec Ops - the only downside to forks' exhaustive approach is the certainty that if anyone voted for something that hasn't placed, it is still to place.

ok i ahve to ask is the invert y axis walking dead thing for serious? i have no idea how the control scheme is on console, i played it w/ a mouse,but it doesn't exactly strike me as a game where axes are very important (as in the plural of axis, not the plural of axe, which are fairly important in TWD)

not a big deal when nothing is happening, but annoying in the 'action' scenes where zombies are breaking down the door and you need to move the cursor up to select something quickly and you move it down and have to do it over again.

^ this. i'm fine during the downtime/exploration parts but nearly all the action parts which need you to make a split-second reaction i've had to replay a couple of times

That's why I only played the first chapter. Liked the storytelling, but the split-second stuff controls like balls on the ipad.

I'm pretty sure that's not how you're supposed to use an iPad

no invert Y axis = no dice for me

Oh man that super hexagon gif!

I can't look away!

yeah i really can't understand it when developers don't implement inverted Y functionality.. it's literally just: if ( inverted_y ) { y_value = y_value * -1; }

my thoughts on a few of the others:

i got a hold of need for speed: most wanted after seeing the results of the poll, and i would have voted for it had i played it earlier! it was cool to drive around the city and see all the places that jjjusten and JimD had already visited, try to break their high scores, etc. after about 10 hours or so it gets to be pretty repetitive: start using a new car, complete a few races, upgrade the car, do the terrible "lose the cops in XX seconds or less" challenge that makes me want to tear my eyeballs out (more on that below), beat the more difficult race, switch cars, repeat.

the police. i love their presence during races. they add an added layer of mayhem, and the game strikes a nice balance between ensuring that they're a factor you have to consider as you race, but they rarely completely ruin your race and make you restart. i HATE HATE HATE the missions where you start out being chased by the police and have to completely lose them within a certain amount of time. outrunning them is not an option, unfortunately - new police always seem to show up in front of you, wherever you're heading, so apparently you're supposed to lose the ones behind you and hunker down in a hidden space off of the road instead. however, even if you go off the main road and hide in a tunnel (or whatever), when the police get within a certain distance they'll just automatically detect you and suddenly veer off the road to your location. i dunno, it's possible that i'm just a complete idiot, but i came to really, really dread these challenges. unfortunately, there's a nice upgrade that you get whenever you complete the Lose the Police challenges, so they always feel mandatory in order to be competitive in the races.

online is just complete mayhem. even though i never did very well, it's very addicting. overall, even with its flaws, i'd highly recommend NFS:MW to fans of burnout, especially when it drops down to $29.99 or whatever

Driver: San Fran pretty much sated any driving game needs I'd ever have outside of an open-world game.

So far i think the only game ive played has been "Hotline Miami" (unless "Sleeping Dogs" already came up). It's pretty damn amazing but i do wish there were like dozens and dozens of levels to the game rather than what they have w the story and all that.

Oh cool "Sleeping Dogs" did make it. What an AMAZING looking game. At night in the rain, it's probably the most jaw-droppingly gorgeous thing i've ever played.

they're working on an DLC expansion-turned-into-sequel for Hotline Miami now, so your wish shall likely be granted in some form. also, it just got announced for a PS3/Vita port