Game Of The Year Edition :-) Part 4: The Awards

Its that time of year again.  Wyatt, Raveryn, and myself will count down our Top Ten games of the year, and our award winners.  I'm pretty hung over so lets just get right to it.

2012 Best Of Gaming Awards

Best Shooter - Borderlands 2 over Black Ops 2, Halo 4

Best Action Adventure - Borderlands 2 over Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, Mass Effect 3

Best Fighting - Street Fighter X Tekken and BlazBlu Continuum Shift Vita (tie)

Best Mobile or Handheld - Crashmo, Clay Jam, GTA: Vice City, Horn (tie)

Best Downloadable Game - Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition over The Walking Dead, Dust: An Elysian Tail

Best DLC - Skyrim: Dawngard over Borderlands 2: Pirate Booty, Darksiders 2: Arguls Tomb

Best Graphics - Halo 4 over Assassins Creed 3, Borderlands 2

Best Music - Halo 4 over Borderlands 2, Black Ops 2, Mass Effect 3

Best Sound - Borderlands 2 over Halo 4, Black Ops 2, Transformers: Fall Of Cybertron

Best Voice Acting - Borderlands 2 over Lego Batman 2, Transformers: FOC, Halo 4

Best Developer - Gearbox Software

Worse Developer - BioWare (i hijacked this category. don't cave in to whiny fan boys)

Best Sequel - Assassins Creed 3 over Dark Siders 2, Borderlands 2, Halo 4, Transformers: FOC

Best New First Game - Sleeping Dogs over Ingress, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Best PS3 Game - Journey

Best 360 Game - Halo 4 over Mass Effect 3 w/Kinect, Borderlands 2, Assassins Creed 3

Best PC Game - Blacklight: Retribution and DOTA 2 (tie)

2012 Worse Game Of The Year - Deus X: Human Revolution

2012 Best Game Of The Year - Borderlands 2 over Mass Effect 3, Assassins Creed 3, Walking Dead

2013 Most Anticipated Games - Gears of War: Judgement and GTA 5

Game Of The Year Edition :-) Part 3: Cmm21

Its that time of year again.  Wyatt, Raveryn, and myself will count down our Top Ten games of the year, and our award winners.  I'm pretty hung over so lets just get right to it.

Cmm21's Top Ten

10.  Clay Jam (Android/IOS) - Hand Animated Claymation.  That's all I can say.  This is definitely a labor of love.  It really takes me back to Clay Fighter.

9.  Final Fantasy 13-2 - It just felt more fun than 13.  This was one of the first in the FF franchise that I played start to finish, with no other games in between.  I loved it, even though its not a traditional FF title.

8.  Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning - I really loved this game.  Gorgeous backdrops and a not too confusing story line.  I wish more people felt the same......

7.  Sleeping Dogs - Amazing.  Focusing on hand to hand combat over gun play was such a breath of fresh air for open world gaming.

6.  Transformers: Fall Of Cybertron - High Moon Studios has done a wonderful job of bringing the Transformers to life, more so than the films and shows.  Hasbro was so impressed, they've adopted War For Cybertron and Fall Of Cybertrons story lines as official cannon.

5.  Mass Effect 3 - Amazing, big blockbuster, AAA Gaming at its finest.  Fuck the haters, fuck the fanboys and their whining.  Shall I call them a Waaaambulance?

4.  The Walking Dead - Telltale Games deserves all the praise in the world for what they've done with the Walking Dead.  A completely original story, independent from the books and Tv show.  Each episode of this 5 part game was leaps and bounds better than the show.

3.  Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2 - Best in the series.  Overhauled multi player, end game changing choices, futuristic weapons.  I loved it.  Having a big name like David Goyer writing the story was a great move.  Having Trent Reznor do the music was even better.

2.  Assassins Creed 3 - Yet another best in the series.  The graphics were beautiful.  The story was great and it felt really nice to be in America in such a crucial time in the countrys history.  And Connor is kinda hot.

1.  Borderlands 2 - I played the original Borderlands at a gaming convention with Raveryn.  It was ok, not the best game I had played.  I felt that way strictly because I didn't have enough time to spend with the game.  Raveryn was ecstatic about it and purchased a copy for me, the only condition being that i would play with him.  Well we played, just not that much, and it quickly became buried in my game library.

Having nothing to play one day, i decided to travel back into the Borderlands.  Making my way out of the first section of the game, finally, I was captivated.  I heavily suggested the game to Wyatt, and he purchased it.  We started the game over together, making it all the way to the end and also going through on a second play through.  We even bought all the DLC and blew through that together.  I played a great game and built one of the most important friendships i have with Wyatt.

The announcement of Borderlands 2 made me beyond excited.  I couldn't wait to play it, I wanted it immediately.  But that didn't happen, so I waited.  Upon finally getting to play, it was like I never left the first game, just expanded on it in every way possible.

Everything from the first game was improved.  Everything fans asked for was put in: a mini-map, being able to move while in Fight For Your Life, more loot, more guns, more wub wub.  I urge anyone who hasn't played this game to please give it a try.  The story is fantastic, the graphics are gorgeous, the guns are outrageous, and Handsome Jack is quite possibly one of the greatest villains in gaming history.

Game Of The Year Edition :-) Part 2: Wyatt5290

Its that time of year again.  Wyatt, Raveryn, and myself will count down our Top Ten games of the year, and our award winners.  I'm pretty hung over so lets just get right to it.

Wyatt5290's Top Ten

10.  GTA: Vice City (Android) - The Android iteration of the legendary game from 10 years ago. Everything looks slightly better, and is just as fun. Also: You can mod it.

9.  Anomaly: Warzone Earth (Android/PC) - This game is beautiful on my Tegra 3 device, and my laptop. It’s just another game that has been played through multiple times for my enjoyment.

8. Minecraft (XBL) - This blocky game is either about survival or just screwing around and being creative. Minecraft has consumed more than 14 days this year, and there is still more coming with updates.

7.  Horn (Tegra 3) - This is the best looking game that has ever been published on a mobile device. It’s a 1.7 GB download, but it’s worth every bite that it takes up. The only downside is the demand for resources. It uses all 12 GPU cores and 4 CPU cores. Definitely a must play.

6.  Fieldrunners 2 (Closed Beta) - The best game to waste time with. The ultimate improvement over Fieldrunners HD is the unpredictability of the enemies.

5.  Assassin's Creed III - Some of the best graphics that I have seen on a console. I haven’t played into the game very far, but from my brief encounters in the game, I am already in love with it.

4.  Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier -This game has beautiful graphics, and fun game play with futuristic weapons and gadgets. The campaign might be great, but the online multi player sucks.

3.  Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2 - They breathed new life into this game series. Well, This is the best COD to date. The weapon level system is unique, and completely independent of the player level system. It’s also nice to see a COD that isn’t just another reiteration of the previous one.

2.  Halo 4 - The best Halo so far. When it initially released, I was disappointed because SWAT was not on the play list; but after a few weeks, it was released. It looks great, but I miss some Master Chief’s abilities like being able to dual wield pistols and SMGs. Also the SMG is non-existent.

1.  Borderlands 2 - This is easily the most re-playable game of 2012. With 5 different characters, every time one plays feels like a completely new playing experience. Even choosing different perks for the same character creates a new playing experience. Borderlands 2 is a serious improvement over the original Borderlands, and almost a perfect game all around.

Game Of The Year Edition :-) Part 1: Raveryn

Its that time of year again.  Wyatt, Raveryn, and myself will count down our Top Ten games of the year, and our award winners.  I'm pretty hung over so lets just get right to it.

Raveryn's Top 10
10. Retro City Rampage - Old School appeal and so many references to old games, movies, and tv shows.

9.  Dark Souls: Prepare To Die Edition - Includes all the DLC from the original console game as well as new level and enemies.

8.  Journey - A transcending of traditional and modern day gaming experiences.  This game is a testimony to your exploratory nature.

7.  Trine 2 - A graphical masterpiece like its predecessor, specifically when played in Stereoscopic 3D.

6.  Resident Evil 6 - Capcom has continued along the lines of evolution from the past two games in a similar way to what Halo 4 did with the Halo series.

5.  Halo 4 - It's a pleasure to take control of Master Chief again.  343 Industries did an excellent job at evolving the Halo series, perfecting so many little things.

4.  Darksiders 2 - DS2  is to DS1 what Zelda 2 was to Zelda 1.  It takes an edgier, darker character by having you play as none other than Death himself.

3.  Borderlands 2 - Leaps and bounds beyond what we experienced with the first game.  Easter eggs galore ensure a smirk around every corner.

2.  Mass Effect 3 - The epic conclusion to a fantastic universe and collection of characters.  Everything about this game was great....well almost everything.  It would have been a perfect game if not for the craptacular "Directors Cut" ending which, once installed, you had no choice to exclude it from the original ending.

1.  Dust: An Elysian Tail - After writing down all the games I played from 2012, while I didn't find it hard to choose my top ten, I did feel bothered leaving some off the list.  Obviously my personal top ten list will be biased based only on games I played and which fit my personal preference.  There was one game which stood out in my mind, a game I enjoyed enough to achieve a %117 completion.  That game was Dust: An Elysian Tail.  Not only did I enjoy the old school 2D gameplay, but the game had gorgeous artwork and graphics and was very enjoyable to play.  Pulling off a 1000 hit combo to get one achievement was challenging but gratifying.  And achieving %100 in each map required returning to areas and searching each screen.  It was a game I gladly played on the hardest difficulty and died, a lot, to my own enjoyment.  It brought back memories of the NES days when games didn't hold your hand and were vicious to beat.  The story wasn't anything to write home about, but it was sufficient to keep you going, and your sidekick which follows you around was the antithesis of something you'd find from a Zelda game.  On the contrary, she was both cute and funny: a flying squirrel whose job it was to guard the sword you're carrying.  The final boss was nothing short of fitting to end the game.  It was a multi-level, multi-formed boss which kicked your butt over and over again.  I loved this game.  I was surprised to find it was developed by Humble Hearts LLC because it certainly felt reminiscent of Vanillaware games who made both Odin Sphere and Masamura: The Demon Blade, both awesome games.  It just goes to prove you don't need a huge budget or a high price point to have a terrific game.

And The Weak Shall Fall Victim To Rumor

The hype machine is at it once again.  Just as in the recent past, "Reliable Sources" are saying the new Xbox will be out in 2013.  You know, the same "Reliable Sources" that said it would be out in 2012.  Yeah, those guys.  If there's one thing I've learned about console development, it's wait for an OFFICIAL announcement.  This is the Internet.  People can craft whatever story they like because they know there will be some simpleton who will eat it up.

It's been said over and over again that this generation of consoles would be the longest, nearing the 10 year mark.  Couple that with statements made by game developers saying that no one has even utilized the full potential of the current gen consoles and presto......no need for new consoles till at the very least 2014.

Nintendo needed the Wii-U.  The Wii was a miserable failure in many ways, having only been a hit among Nintendo fanboys and small children.  With the Wii-U out now, it has become evident that its only on par with the current gen consoles, and nowhere near being more powerful (Wii-U Hacked and Exposed).

That being said, if there is a "demand" for new, more powerful consoles....why would Nintendo release something that is only similar to current gen, and not something that is truly next gen?  When new Sony and Microsoft consoles come out they will dwarf the Wii-U completely and Nintendon't will be left in the dust once again.

Bottom line, there's no need for new consoles.  There are still several Triple A games releasing next year on current gen, Grand Theft Auto 5 being (arguably) the biggest.  I would also attribute this to recent Holiday sales figures.  Below is a quick list of number of consoles sold during the week of Black Friday, as reported by IGN.com and are official sales numbers from each respective console developer:

• Xbox 360 - 750,000
• PS3 - 525,000
• Wii-U - 400,000 (200,000 less than the original Wii in its first 8 days of release)
• Wii - 300,000
• Nintendo DS - 275,000
• Nintendo 3DS - 250,000
• Playstation Vita - 160,000

That's a lot of Xbox's and PS3's.  It's unfortunate that the Vita is lagging in sales.  It has so much potential to be the greatest handheld made thus far.  Unfortunately parents don't want to spend that much on their kids,  because they know kids are destructive little demons and break things really fast.

Stop falling victim to unsubstantiated rumors from "reliable sources".  They've been wrong for over a year, why the hell would they be right all of a sudden?

Jason The Nut Case

So, I spent most of my summer with a 19 year old kid.  Yeah, big mistake.  This kid was a total nut case and I should have seen this from the beginning.  Why does beginning have two N's?  Doesn't seem right.  Anyway, yes, nut case.  I'm only getting around to writing this now because I've honestly forgotten I have this blog.  Lets put up a Jason The Nut Case list:

- Know It All attitude
- Extreme social issues
- Overly judgemental

There's more but I just don't feel like using my cranial resources to list them all.  Oh yeah, his dick was pointy and really ugly.

On Mitt Romney

The President has made gaffs at times, but Romney is making a career of inane and dangerous remarks, especially overseas. He is nothing but a career politician who is out of touch with reality and who has zero knowledge of diplomacy.