The Contenders

Between finally being done with school, and comfortably setting into the 9-5 scheme, 2009 was my first full year back in gaming (console gaming, to be precise). And oh my, what a year it was. My game count totals in somewhere around 30 (and that's only counting the games that were released this year). Some were far above any expectations I could possibly have had (Uncharted 2, Demon's Souls, Borderlands), some were pretty much what I expected them to be (Modern Warfare 2, Halo 3: ODST), and at least one was abysmal (Killzone 2).

For you stats nuts, the breakdown is as follows:

17 games played on Microsoft Xbox 360,

7 games played on Nintendo Wii,

4 games played on Sony PlayStation 3, and

2 games played on Sony PlayStation Portable.

Whether these numbers yield statistically significant results, I don't know.

Each one, potentially, with the obvious exception of Killzone 2, is eligible to receive the coveted "Hammer's Nail of Approval Award" simply due to the fact that it entered one of my consoles. So, without further ado, I give you the list of potential 2009 award winners (in order of release date).

1. The House of the Dead: Overkill (February 10, 2009. Wii)
2. F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (February 10, 2009. Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
3. Street Fighter IV (February 17, 2009. Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
4. Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned (February 17, 2009. Xbox 360 (Downloadable Content))
5. Killzone 2 (February 27, 2009. PlayStation 3)
6. Halo Wars (March 3, 2009. Xbox 360)
7. Resident Evil 5 (March 13, 2009. Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
8. The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (April 7, 2009. Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
9. Patapon 2 (May 5, 2009. PlayStation Portable)
10. Rock Band: Unplugged (May 26, 2009. PlayStation Portable)
11. Ghostbusters: The Video Game (June 16, 2009. Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii)
12. Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers (June 17, 2009. Xbox 360 (Downloadable))
13. Wii Sports Resort (July 26, 2009. Wii)
14. Shadow Complex (August 19, 2009. Xbox 360 (Downloadable))
15. The Beatles: Rock Band (September 9, 2009. Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii)
16. Halo 3: ODST (September 22, 2009. Xbox 360)
17. Family Feud: 2010 Edition (September 29, 2009. Wii)
18. Dead Space: Extraction (September 29, 2009. Wii)
19. Demon's Souls (October 6, 2009. PlayStation 3)
20. Brutal Legend (October 13, 2009. Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
21. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (October 13, 2009. PlayStation 3)
22. Borderlands (October 20, 2009. Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
23. Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony (October 29, 2009. Xbox 360 (Downloadable))
24. Dragon Age: Origins (November 3, 2009. Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
25. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (November 10, 2009. Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
26. New Super Mario Brothers Wii (November 15, 2009. Wii)
27. Left 4 Dead 2 (November 17, 2009. Xbox 360)
28. Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles (November 17, 2009. Wii)
29. Assassin's Creed 2 (November 17, 2009. Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
30. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (December 8, 2009. Wii)

Bleh

I hate moving.

"I:" I got "yelled" at at work the other day. Well, not really yelled at... It was more like...mocked.

• Me: I don't know about this part. The "vagaries of fate led him to her?" Do you think that's necessary?
• Him: Wow, they really did it to you, didn't they?
• Me: "They" who? They did what?
• Him: They sucked the creativity right out of you. You know who, those writing people at school.
• Me: Um... Um....
• Him: How about this? Would this be more appropriate? "Wherefore the aforesaid male was, by a coincidence that we attempt to give meaning to through a label such as 'fate,' in such a place and and at such a time that he had no choice but to contact the aforesaid female." There, how's that?
• Me: IT'S TRUE! I'VE FORGOTTEN HOW TO BE CREATIVE!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

"Hate:" I've realized I tend to overuse this word a lot. It's kinda lost it's "oomph," if you know what I mean. In particular I've noticed that I have a new codephrase for when I fuck something up: "I hate everything!" I may have adopted this wholesale from my nerdlaw wife, who also tends to use the word "hate" at the drop of a hat. Maybe I should work on this, yeah? Psh. Whatever. I hate that idea.

"Moving:" I should be packing boxes. I should be cleaning. I should...should...should.... There's lots of things I should be doing. But instead here I sit, attempting to blog for the first time in almost three months. And you know what? It feels....good....

Why I Love The Fort Collins Symphony and The University of Wyoming Collegiate Chorale (or "Why I'm A Huge Nerd")

Last Sunday my brother and I went to see the Fort Collins Symphony at the Budweiser Event Center. I could try to tell you how amazingly awesome it was, but it'd be easier if I just showed you. Be sure to click on the "HQ" button on the lower right of each window. It'll up the quality.  And cut the camera person some slack.  It was probably his or her first bootleg.  But, if the promoters/creators/artists encourage the audience to shoot video, is it really bootlegging?  I'll leave that one to the philosophers.

Video Games Live:  Act One

The Opening Number

They called this one the "Classic Arcade Medley."  I won't lie to you, just about all of these were before my time.  In any event, we refer to these as "Oldies, But Goldies."  The camera person, whoever that might've been, didn't capture the whole number, unfortunately.  Perhaps he or she was worried about whether he or she would have enough memory and battery power to last the whole show.  Who knows, that's just this man's theory.

On-Stage Tactical Espionage Action

This was my brother's favorite segment.  The man in the cardboard box was a nice touch, I must admit.

The One I Was Hoping For

Maddest of the Mad props to the choir on this one.  You can't really see them, but they're under the central screen.  And apparently the camera person didn't realize how to use his or her own equipment (as you'll see when he or she tries to turn the camera sideways...).  Musta been a new camera.

The Legend Continues

The crowd loved this one.  The camera person missed the first 10 seconds or so.  Weak.

Act One also contained segments from "Metroid," "StarCraft II," and "Sonic the Hedgehog."

Video Games Live:  Act Two

Yay Bambi!

Everyone loves Disney, and gamers love Square-Enix.  Mix them together and whadda ya get?  That's right "KINGDOM HEARTS!"  This is the other one I was hoping for, fyi.

Every 12 Year Old Boy Wants To Be Master Chief

This got broken up into two segments.  Again, the choir was awesome.

.

EVERYBODY Knows This One

If you don't know it, or don't like it, I'm pretty sure that makes you unamerican.

I Wasn't Expecting This...

Which made all the better.  This was MY favorite part of the show, without a doubt.  Yasunori Mitsuda is my favorite video game composer of all time, and this is why...

I really wish the camera person woulda recorded the "Guitar Hero" segment.  The winner of the pre-show competition got to play "Sweet Emotion" with the symphony on stage (using a "Guitar Hero" guitar, of course).  He scored well over 200k points on expert.  It was ridiculous.

Other segments included: "Contra," "Castlevania," "Final Fantasy VII," and "World of Warcraft."

And of course, the night wouldn't have been complete without meeting the masterminds behind this awesomeness.

Left to Right:  Jack Wall, Brother, Me, Tommy Tallarico.

Console Gaming and 2008: Biggest Disappointments

A great man once said, "Without evil there could be no good, so it must be good to be evil sometimes."  Actually, I think Satan from the "South Park" movie said that.  In any event, I propose, in accordance with that sentiment, that, "If you don't have disappointments sometimes, the awesome wouldn't seem so awesome."

None of these games, save "Turning Point," was bad, but they just didn't live up to my (ridiculously high?) expectations.

Turning Point:  Fall of Liberty

(February 26, 2008.  PlayStation 3, XBox 360)

This game starts with a truly great premise.  Imagine, if you will, that Winston Churchill had died prior to the events of World War II.  Imagine further that the United States had stayed isolationist while Europe was being pummeled by the Third Reich.  Now, imagine that in 1953 the Nazis invade the east coast, starting with New York City.  It's got potential, no?

Unfortunately, a great premise is all this game has.  Any potential fell by the wayside.  Sub par graphics, sub par controls, a non-existent story...  I could go on, but it's too depressing.  The marketing for this game was ludicrous.  I suspect the budget went to hyping the game and when it came time to, you know, actually make the game, there wasn't any money left.

Oh, but to be fair, the score was excellent.  

Star Wars:  The Force Unleashed

(September 16, 2008.  PlayStation 3, XBox 360, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2)

What nerd hasn't wanted to run around with the full power of The Force at his (or, I suppose in extremely rare cases, her) fingertips?  Add to that a story (blessed by George Lucas himself) that fills in the gaps between "Revenge of the Sith" and "A New Hope" and you've got "The Force Unleashed."

This game was very pretty, it had a great score (most of which was lifted directly from John William's scores), and shooting force lightning at unsuspecting storm troopers was hella fun.  Too bad the story didn't live up to its promise (although, looking back at Episodes I-III, I'm not sure what I expected to happen here with that).  The characters were flat, had no real personalities, and worst of all, I didn't care at all when Star Killer (Darth Vader's secret apprentice) sacrificed himself for the greater good.

Tomb Raider:  Underworld

(November 18, 2008.  PlayStation 3, XBox 360, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 2)

I won't lie to you, I used to think Lara Croft was hot.  But, of course, I'm not 13 anymore (though I guess sometimes I act like it), and a female lead with a great set of....guns...just doesn't cut it anymore.

When Crystal Dynamics took over the franchise for "Tomb Raider: Legend" they brought a lot to the table.  Turns out the table got cleared after "Legend" and someone forgot to set it again for "Underworld."  Don't get me wrong, the game was a lot of fun, but the intriguing story that carried through "Legend" and "Anniversary" kinda fizzled out in its third act.

Resistance 2

(November 4, 2008.  PlayStation 3)

Another alternate history World War II game, except in this one the "Chimera" (humans infected with an alien virus) invade the United States, starting on the West Coast.  Another in the long list of "standard first person shooters."  Nothing special to see here.  Move along.

Gears of War 2

(November 7, 2008.  XBox 360)

They promised me a story this time around (do you see a trend with my "disappointments?")!  In the end it was just more of the same: big beefy dudes running around blowing off "alien" heads yelling "That's right motha-fucka!"  A friend and I did, however, play this through on co-op mode and it was pretty awesome (and also involved us sitting on our respective couches yelling, "That's right, motha-fucka!").

I guess my biggest qualm with this game is that I felt like I was just playing "Gears of War" with a few new settings.  If any "new and exciting features" were added, they were lost on me.

Console Gaming and 2008: Introductory Comments

   Depending on how you look at it, 2008 was 1) a really great year for me to rediscover video games, or 2) a really horrible year for me (or more specifically, my wallet) to rediscover video games.  One might say it was great in the sense that it was chock full of highly anticipated games (most of which stood up to the hype).  On the other hand, it was chock full of highly anticipated games (most of which I felt I could not live without) and, let me tell you something, games aren't cheap...

   My journey back into the wonderful world of console gaming began one Friday evening in late January, 2008.  Recently having had my weekends freed up, I decided, on a whim, to call my friend BN, whom I hadn't seen for quite some time.  I headed over to B's house, where he proudly introduced me to two of his most prized possessions: his 37 inch LCD flat-panel television and his XBox 360.  Little did I know that this introduction would be my downfall.  Moments later B pulls out a game I'd never heard of, a little game called "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare."  The rest is history...  And, so, one 42 inch flat screen television, one XBox 360, one Playstation 3, one Playstation Portable, and at least 2 dozen games later, here I sit.  And yes, it is slightly ridiculous.

   You may, or more likely may not, be asking yourself, "What criteria do you use, C., when deciding whether a game is 'good?'"  Without going into too much detail, I generally look at four very broad criteria:

1)  Story:  This is neither the time nor the place to argue that video games are becoming just as much as a vehicle for storytelling as other mediums (such as television or film), but, if it were, I'd say they are definitely heading that way.  I play video games for the same reason I go to the movies or flip on the TV: to escape reality (you know, but not in that "I want to withdraw from society and personal contact" kind of way (if that were the case I'd still be playing "World of Warcraft")).  A good game will give me characters I can form attachments to, along with a plot that draws me into the world the game is trying to sell (and a few twists and turns never hurt, either).

2) Presentation:  This is the broadest of the categories and includes the following:  graphics, music, sound effects, voice acting (if applicable), and atmosphere.  None of these subcategories necessarily weighs more heavily than the others.  Rather, I toss them all into the blender and then make my evaluation.

3) Gameplay:  This is what I would call the "fun factor" category.  I play games, after all, to have fun.  Things that might affect gameplay would be: control scheme, game length, difficulty level, and multiplayer functionality.  

 4) Replayability:  With the price of your average game being somewhere around $60.00 (BUY USED!), it's not too much to expect some bang for your buck.  Variable difficulty settings, optional sidequests, hidden easter eggs, multiplayer functionality, and unlockable content are all items that contribute to a game's "replayability."

  As with the "Presentation" category, none of these broad categories necessarily weigh more heavily in the calculation than the others, though one category can (and often does) "pick up the slack" if the other categories are lacking.  

   So there you have it, a little bit of background before the real fun begins.  Oh, and one more thing, I'm giving you your warning now:  SPOILER ALERT!!!!!  I will be discussing, sometimes at length, the stories behind many games on this list.  Proceed at your own risk.

The Precursor List

After a three year break I got back into console gaming this year.  Big time...

My Most Anticipated Video Games of 2008 (In no Particular Order)

Turning Point: Fall of Liberty (February 27):  An alternate history first-person shooter in which the Nazis invade America during WWII?!  What a great premise!

Super Smash Brothers Brawl (March 9):  Super Smash Brother Melee was, and still is, one of the greatest party games of all time.  Even more of the same would be a welcome addition!

Grand Theft Auto IV (April 29):  Can the game live up to all the hype?!

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (June 12):  Questions I've been waiting 10 years to have answered will be answered...

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (September 16):  The first ever canon Star Wars game!  Nerds rejoice!

Dead Space (October 14):  Could this be the sci-fi epic I've been waiting for?  (No offense to "Mass Effect.)

Resistance 2 (November 4):  The chimera wiped out most of Europe.  What's in store for the U.S.?!

Gears of War 2 (November 7):  They claim this one will actually have a story.  We'll see, we'll see...

Tomb Raider: Underworld (Nov 18):  What happened to Lara's mom?!?!

This is, of course, the precursor list to THE LIST, that list being the "Top 5 Games of the Year" list.  I was fairly shocked at what made "The List", and what didn't.  Perhaps you will be too... Perhaps...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95895379