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• 18Dec 09

  Yearly awards time, let's overvalue our opinions together shall we?

  I figured that I'd sneak in my last entry for a while in time for Christmas.. and what better way to go out than contributing to growing number of irrelevant best of 2009 award lists?

  

  It's not the average gamer's lists that I find irritating, but the growing level of game sites and magazines that go out of their way to try and artifically elevate "their" awards to some sort of "Oscars of gaming" type levels. In fact.. I actually find the lists from regular gamers rather amusing. The incredible amount of award lists are always funny to sift through for the simple fact that they are always so varied.. some gamer's GOTY is another's biggest disappointment.

  Another thing I like to keep a lookout for when examining the Reader's Choice numbers is to see which games will begin to annoy me for the sole reason of observing just how overrated they become. This year I thought it would be a no brainer that either Uncharted 2 or Modern Warfare 2 would begin to bug the hell out of me, but ironically thus far it is a "different" game that I actually like as well that is beginning to rub me the wrong way. Dragon Age: Origins.

  Like I said, it shouldn't be mistaken that I "dislike" Dragon Age.. it's just that I feel it was getting far too many votes in categories it had absolutely no business garnering a significant percentage in(Best story, Best "original" IP, GOTY etc.). I mean.. I'll admit that despite the rather rough start I had with the game(namely the immense feeling of disappointment I initially had after plunking down the extra money for the collector's edition due to the painfully dated graphics on top of what I often felt was confining and rather archaic gameplay).. I actually began to warm up to the game and appreciate what it did right. I played through it quite a bit and while it did save some face it in no way redeemed itself to the extent of even winning best RPG let alone all these other major categories.. just my opinion.

  Anyways, I digress.. I suppose one of the reasons I still make my own award lists is to see the changes through the years.. going back and seeing my older selections really puts alot in perspective, especially when I see the newer hyped sequels or one of my GOTY's from years past end up in today's clearance bins . Anyone have their own thoughts and feelings on this year's awards or those of the past? Any games getting painfully over or underrated in your opinion?

  Well then, time for the list I suppose.. same rules as always. I use Gamespot categories and nominees with the only main difference being my inclusion of a "multiplatform game of the year" category, as I still believe including multiplatform games in platform specific categories is f*cken retarded.. so it goes without saying that even when I casted a vote in the Reader's Choice selections I usually only considered platform exclusive games when it came to platform exclusive awards.. unless their is a big disparity between any specific console version or between the console and PC version of a given game.

  

  ************************************************************************

  Game Of The Year - Uncharted 2 (PS3) *This was extraordinarily tough for me as there were quite a few games that I thoroughly enjoyed this year.. was literally a toss up with a few others. But I suppose some of U2's technical and artistic achievements pushed it to the top.

  Multi-Platform Game Of The Year - Assassin's Creed II *MW 2's painfully short campaign and lack of innovation really hurt it's prospects IMO, great MP but it's lack of balance(one example is how it's heavily balanced towards players with high-volume playtime) and ridiculous glitches didn't help either.

  Best PS3 Game - Uncharted 2 *Perhaps the second time a PS3 exclusive will probably win the majority of GOTY awards, fluke.. or sign of the times?

  Best XBOX360 Game - Forza Motorsport 3 *Slim pickens is an understatement when just going based off "XBOX360" exclusives..

  Best Wii Game - New Super Mario Bros. Wii *All bullsh*t aside I can honestly say that I've never seen a top selling console release so few relevant games in a year..

  Best PSP Game - LittleBigPlanet

  Best DS Game - Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

  Best PC Game - Dragon Age: Origins *Based on the divide between the PC/console versions I considered it a PC game

  Best Action/Adventure Game - Uncharted 2 (PS3)

  Best Shooter - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (multi.)

  Best RPG - Demon's Souls (PS3)

  Best Platformer - Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time (PS3)

  Best Fighting Game - Street Fighter IV (multi.)

  Best Racing Game - Forza Motorsport 3 (XBOX360)*I know it pisses off my Forza loving friends, but this was basically by default thanks to the GT5 delay XD

  Best Sports Game - UFC 2009 Undisputed (multi.)

  Best Puzzle Game - Scribblenauts (DS)

  Best Rhythm/Music Game - The Beatles: Rock Band (multi.)

  Best Strategy game - Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II (PC)

  Best Original Downloadable Console Game - Shadow Complex (XBOX360)

  Best Downloadable Content/Expansions - Fallout 3 (multi.)

  Best Story - Uncharted 2 (PS3) *AC II was close, but the ending "kinda" killed it for me.. Dragon Age was also nice, but it borrowed a bit too much from other creative properties.

  Best Graphics, Technical - Uncharted 2 (PS3)

  Best Graphics, Artistic - Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Wii)

  Best Atmosphere - Demon's Souls (PS3) *One of the best atmospheres I've enjoyed in a game since Bioshock and Silent Hill 2.

  Best Sound Design - Batman: Arkham Aslyum (multi.)

  Best Original Music - Assassin's Creed II (multi.)

  Best Licensed Music - Guitar Hero: Metallica (multi.) *I know I have a bit of metal bias, but few bands have tracks that translate over to GH games quite like vintage Metallica.

  Best Voice Acting - Uncharted 2 (PS3)

  Best Writing & Dialogue - Uncharted 2 (PS3)

  Funniest Game - Uncharted 2 (PS3) *Games like Brutal Legend were not bad, but I guess I just appreciated Uncharted 2's syle of humor a bit more.

  Best Competitive Multiplayer - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (multi.) *Not as much of a forgone conclusion as most would make it to be.. I personally enjoyed Killzone 2's MP quite a bit and seriously considered it for this award.

  Best Cooperative Multiplayer - Left 4 Dead 2 (multi.)

  Best Use of a Control Scheme - Flower (PS3)

  Best Original Game Mechanic - Demon's Souls integrated help system (PS3) *I chose this not just for the help system, but the revolutionary co-op and competitive online play

  Best Boss Fights - Demon's Souls (PS3) *Some of the best boss fights in YEARS.

  Best New Character - Alistair, Dragon Age: Origins (multi.) *I know AC II's Ezio is a popular choice, but for me Alistair was a game saving character. The nicely written and voice acted Alistair is what helped me warm up to the game overall.. not often you find good realistic characters like this that do not need over the top powers or gameplay to be memorable.

  Best Use Of A Creative License - Batman: Arkham Asylum (multi.) *I really thought I was going to go with Ghostbusters, but then came along this game. No comic based game has ever made gamer's feel like the title character at Batman: AA's level.

  Best Original IP - inFamous (PS3) *I expect great things from this franchise in the future.. it seems to have the highest ceiling of all the new franchises debuted this year.

  Most Improved Sequel - Assassin's Creed II (multi.) *I've said it before and I'll say it again.. biggest redemption for a franchise through a sequel since Zone of the Enders II.

  Most Surprisingly Good Game - Ghostbusters (multi.)

  Most Memorable Moment - "No Russian" level, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (multi.) *I chose this not because it was the "best" moment this year, but because it will probably be the one that sticks with gamers the most years down the line.

  Best UK Developed Game - Batman: Arkham Asylum (multi.)

  Most Surprising Game to Make It Past Aussie Censors - Madworld (Wii)

  Most Disappointing Game - Final Fantasy IV: The After Years (Wii) *This one was a heartbreaker for me. Between the extremely unbalanced difficulty, uninspired story and it being chopped up into various DLC packs..this was a hard pill to swallow.

  Least Improved Sequel - Resident Evil 5 (multi.) *Certainly not the worst sequel of the year.. its just that the fall from 4 to 5 was a bit more dramatic than most.

  Flat-Out Worst Game - Rogue Warrior (multi.)

  Worst Game Everyone Played - Terminator Salvation (multi.) *Seriously.. someone should have been arrested over the $60 price tag for this.

  Best Game No One Played - Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Wii)

  Worst Use of a Great License- The Godfather II (multi.)

  Worst Box Art - Guitar Hero 5 (multi.) *Someone needs to send a memo to the folks at Activision.. it's one thing to have box art so bad its memorable and something entirely different to have box art so lazy its pathetic.

  Most Despicable Use of In-Game Advertising - Tony Hawk: Ride, Mobile Phone Interface & Sponsored Achievements (multi.)

  Character Most Likely To Fail A Performance-Enhancing Drug Test - Chris Redfield, Resident Evil 5 *Watching him transform from the first RE to RE5 was like seeing Stallone hulk up from the first Rocky to Rocky IV.. it was absurd, lol.

  • Posted Dec 18, 2009 9:45 pm PT
  • Category: Editorial
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• 16Dec 09

  GOW forsaken rip-off, 'another game with the sinister church angle' edition

  Let's get this out of the way.. anyone who was concerned about Dante's Inferno being a Devil May Cry clone can put their fears to rest.. because after finally getting around to playing the Dante's Inferno demo recently released on PSN(ironically after a round of playing the GOW collection)all I can say is that in my opinion Dante's Inferno=God of War 2.5. For those that have not played this demo yet (or have not played the GOW games).. I cant possibly stress the extreme similarities between these two franchises enough.. "shameless rip-off" would actually be an understatement in this situation because it's if they took Kratos, shoved a bible up his a**, and had him crap out a new game.

  

  The game's mechanics.. the HUD.. the upgrading system.. even the corresponding colors for the health and magic chests.. err.. I mean the "fountains" now are EXACTLY the same. From what I see the only actual difference I noticed besides the switch from Greek mythology to The Divine Comedy as the source material is that they put the combo totals on the "left" side of the screen . Still, with all that being said.. I'm still looking forward to picking up this game.

  Why? I suppose if your going to shamelessly copy a franchise you can do a "hell" of a lot worse than God of War. To be honest they're actually doing a great job emulating the incredibly epic feel of the GOW series. The graphics are solid, the story is interesting, and the gameplay is smooth.. so I suppose I shall give the folks at Visceral a pass on the blatant emulation so as long as they maintain a high standard. I just hope that the full retail version of the title provides a few changes to the formula that was not showcased in the demo. In the end.. an impressive first showing that despite certainly not being on GOW III's level is certainly still something to be excited about playing.

  I suppose the one possible annoyance that I can't seem to shake is the inevitable similarities this will create with last year's inFamous/Prototype drama when Dante's Inferno is released in February 2010(multi plat.)and GOW III(PS3 exclusive) in March 2010. I can honestly say right now that if I have to hear the same fanboy bullsh*t I heard last year that consisted of "we dont need that anyways because we have this" in relations to Dante's Inferno/God of War III someone WILL get knocked the f*ck out . I'm sorry.. I can't listen to that sh*t around me again. I got over it when it revolved around a franchise on it's first entry like inFamous, but pulling that crap with a game like GOW III is not the same thing.

  ******SPOILER ALERT******

  p.s.

  How many "evil Christian establishment" games are going to released or plugged in time for Christmas this year? I mean.. assassinating Pope's in AC II while trying to bring down those evil templars.. sinning/killing in the name of the church in Dante's Inferno amidst the crusades.. even though they change up the names/customs a bit, its pretty blatant that christianity = the oppressive chantry in Dragon Age with main characters like Morrigan repeatedly bashing religous folk.. on and on already. I'm not going to get into the whole religion debate again, but I certainly hope the industry evens things out a bit.

  Fine.. we get it.. the whole sinister Catholic church thing is probably the easiest route to take at this point thanks to the intended demographic of these games(and is probably solidified as the next gaming fad used into oblivion after WWII & zombies). I'm not against devs using that angle occcasionally.. it's just that maybe for at least creativity's sake it would be best to use other religions/viewpoints sometimes as well, because believe it or not there are actually interesting conspiracy theories outside of just one sect of world religion.

  I'm just saying, at what point did we arrive at the notion that religous games are too preachy but games that constantly shove an atheist agenda down everybody's throats is ok?

  • Posted Dec 16, 2009 1:22 pm PT
  • Category: Editorial
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• 6Dec 09

  Apparently the folks at Microsoft enjoy spending their holidays in court

  Thanks to it's large size and apparently even larger appetite for monopolistic tendencies.. the courtroom is a familiar place to Microsoft. It's pretty much commonplace to hear of MS's most recent shenanigans landing them in court every so often.. so I suppose it shouldn't be too surprising to see the company's XBOX division keeping inline with the rest of it's bretheren, but even by Microsoft standards the end of 2009 has been a rather litigious time period for the company thanks to many controversial tactics they have been using in regards to their gaming division.

  I'm pretty sure that most gamers are already aware of the XBOX 360 being the most unreliable gaming console in history(and the multitude of cl*ss action lawsuits that followed), but I imagine there may be some that may not realize the full extent of the potential court related headaches Microsoft will be enduring thanks to their XBOX360. Most of which seems to have brought about by Microsoft's apparent desire to enforce some of their policies in time for the recently released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (some industry analysts say MS had Activision buzzing in its ear to take action swiftly).

  

  In the time leading up to MW2's massive release they wielded their ban hammer harsher than ever before.. banning over a million XBL accounts (as well as crippling certain system features such as online connectivity being permanantly disabled, corrupted saves, no HDD installation etc.) over supposed anti-mod policy violations. Soon after that little purge they then proceeded to lock out third-party storage for the XBOX360 to the dismay of many gamers and companies(such as Datel)developing those third-party solutions, using varying excuses that usually revolved around them trying to "stop cheaters" as well as system modders.

  If all that wasn't enough.. Microsoft started wielding the ban hammer yet AGAIN recently. In the weeks after the MW 2 launch Microsoft has been banning XBL players to varying degrees for using the javelin glitch in online play. And by ban.. I mean a complete ban.. not just from that specific game but altogether. Basically, if you get caught using it.. unknowingly or on purpose.. you could potentially have that money spent on XBL Gold membership go right down the crapper. Sounds like a festive holiday this year for them and their customers doesn't it?

  

  I could go on and on about the multitude of problems I have with Microsoft's varying tendencies with these matters, but I do realize that there are EULAs that people agree to when using MS services such as XBL.. so sadly some of their crap regardless of how f*cked up it may be is within their rights(for the moment.. not all aspects of a EULA hold up in court at times). BUT.. what is not(and I'm sure the courts will agree) is the damaging of gamer's consoles. Banning a player from an online service is one thing(even under suspect circumstances), but making their $300-$400 investment a fraction of what it was before is not.. permanently crippling certain hardware features on a system was overkill.

  Microsoft needs to lay off their powertrip long enough to realize that once a person buys one of their products it is perfectly within their rights to modify their systems REGARDLESS of the intended purposes. Basically.. pirating a disc is illegal, custom hardware and even modding a system to be able to play a modded disc is not. Yes.. game piracy is an ongoing problem, but some of these instances invloving crippled systems do involve mods that had nothing to do with piracy. Examples.. some gamers got pegged as "pirates" for simply trying to use different HDD alternatives or using different firmware that allowed more customization and freedom(outside of just pirating games and cheating).

  Microsoft's aggressive policies regarding mass account banning, system modifications and their very blatant Apple-like quest to have absolute control of their platform through very monopolistic agendas such as the banning of 3rd party memory will probably indeed land them in quite a bit of hot water. I'm not saying that some of their decisions will still not stick, but I can't imagine any of this looking good to a judge(especially with the faulty hardware issues already on the table).. someone is really going to nail MS pretty good, because right now they are seemingly fighting a battle on all fronts.

  • Posted Dec 6, 2009 4:34 pm PT
  • Category: Editorial
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