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2007

Top Games (I've played) of 2009!

As this year closes out and another one begins It's time to look back on this year in gaming and reflect of which stood above the rest. So gather round children, and I'll tell you a tale of soldiers, zombies, assassins, Batman, and Aliens. For this is the 8.bit.superstars top five games of 2009!

#5 - Halo Wars. Starting off at the bottom of our list is Ensembles last game in march before the studio closed it's doors. They left of legacy of another notch in the Halo series, but it was a keeper. What made it so memorable was the fact that it was the first real-time-strategy game to nail console controls. I grew up with Red Alert and Tiberium Sun waves of Command of and Conquer games and playing HW really worked with the controls the way that made me like the RTS'. But it wasn't just the controls, the game stayed true to the Halo universe with little things like the sound of a warthog's chain-gun and grunts fooling around when they sit still to long. It stayed true to the beloved series in its own way. But it was the multiplayer that won me over. the hour+ long battles really tested your mettle against other players and every game had a great story to tell your friends. That fun tripled when your friends would play with you. MAC blasting an enemy advance on your friend's base was exhilarating and that alone deserves recognition in the top 5.

#4 - Left 4 Dead 2. Valve's king zombie game of zombie games had a sequel. There was much controversy over it originally being down loadable content, but an engine update as well as new characters, levels, weapons and zombies was too much to be a mere packet of digital information. This game brought more of what I loved (which is expected in sequels) and then beat me over the head with its features. Melee weapons became my new favorite thing, and it did well changing up the gameplay with its RUN THE FUCK TO THE ALARM AND TURN IT OFF meta game. The setting of New Orleans was thoroughly enjoyed with the thought of more bad things happening to Louisiana. And that A.I. director, THAT FUCKING A.I. DIRECTOR. I thought Valve couldn't possibly make it any more evil. I was dead wrong. I swear it knows just when you may be getting the hang of the game and it shits all over you.And because of this it really forces you and your friends to work together. A co-op experience just as good as the old one. The verses is even better with more zombies/ways to kill the survivors to choose from, the multiplayer has almost no end in sight for enjoyment. A good way to summarize L4D2 would be a fun game to play just like the old one, but with more to have fun with.

#3 - Assassin's Creed II. This game is like a rejected boyfriend coming back to his girl showing that he's changed, and like that boyfriend ACII won back the hearts of gamers worldwide. Ubisoft Montreal did us right with an accurate Renaissance Italy, a character we actually cared about, no more bullshit repetition! This allowed me to focus on the things that I was supposed to enjoy. a fun combat system that gave me a chubby with every counter-attack, and the most fluid (if sometimes hard) open world free-running I have ever seen. Evading guards became something I liked to do as I ran along rooftops and dove into the water to hide underneath a bridge. Everything I loved about AC was brought into the light and the rest was cast into oblivion. I embraced this game like a family member coming back from rehab.

#2 - Modern Warfare 2. Need I say more? The campaign was an explosion filled, testostertasic ride that would put Michael Bay to shame, but in a good way. Spec ops provided a co-op option to those who were overwhelmed by the multiplayer (n00bs) and were tired of playing through the campaign 80 times. My first thoughts were that it was just some lame thing crammed in. But they quickly changed to adoration when I found they literally took my idea of having one guy on the ground and another in an AC-130, and turned it into a level. And the Multiplayer, MY GOD THE MULTIPLAYER. It brings a tear to my eye with its customizable loadouts of killstreak rewards, perks and weapons. But what really makes me keep playing it at 3:00 am is the rewards and unlocks. I find myself constantly checking my challenges to see how many headshots are left to get the new camo for my sniper rifle or how much exp I need to level up and get a new gun. The bagillion carrots on sticks keeps me motivated to play well past reasonable hours. As a testament, the menu screen is playing right now in the background and as soon as I finish writing this, Im going to resume playing. For that Infinity Ward's game gets the #2 slot.

Now, what game could possibly beat a 10/10? What can beat the perfect shooter of 2009? Perhaps knowing the voice behind this quote could give you enough of a hint. "Riddle me this! What crawls on four legs, then on two, then on three?""A man.""Wrong. A baby, you just have to cut off it's legs and reattach one later." If you guessed the Riddler, then you would be correct and know what game is #1 :

#1 - Batman: Arkham Asylum. Now, it may have been ranked lower than MW2 score-wise, but it towers above the rest in innovation. I have never seen a game on any platform that combines so many different types of gameplay so beautifully. The brawling dozens of thugs at once was by no means easy, but once you got a rhythm going, you could not help your jaw from hitting the floor as Batman did back flips around the room kicking and punching his way through 20 bad guys without taking any damage. The detective mode as you search for clues to progress the game, or to look for Riddler trophies hidden around the map. The platforming aspect as Scarecrow tries to rip your mind apart were unexpected and a joy to play, but nothing was as awesome as the stealth missions. Hiding in vents, swinging from gargoyles, setting traps with sonic Batarangs and explosive gel was epic on levels humans can barely perceive. What made the game so amazing was how it was different, how a non-shooter captivated me for many hours and triple play throughs. It was something that was completely new and fresh from the Halo's and COD's. Also, you may know that there have been many Batman games in the past. However they have only ever been side scrolling beat-em-up's or Bionic Commando rip off's. Rocksteady finally did it right. And they did it right in a big way. Using the voice talents of the original cast from the 1992 Batman animated series (Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill as the Joker) was the greatest thing anyone could have done for a DC fan and someone who grew up watching that cartoon. It's funny how something you watched as a kid really holds up and becomes as template on how to do a series right. Character bios and "patient interviews" of people you see in the game are another way to allow players to get immersed in the universe and there are a bunch more bio's of who didn't make it into the game, but are just as important. These little nods hold true to the Batman story and make it even more enriching to fans and gamers alike.

There you have it, the top five. I know I have missed other great games such as Uncharted 2 for the PS3 and Punch Out! for Wii. But I never got the opportunity to play them as student who can only afford an Xbox 360. Feel free to leave comments and have a discussion on what your top 5 were. See you in 2009!

Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 Teaser

All I can say is FTW. A contender for my top game of 2009 is getting a sequel! I am stupid excited, like fucked-in-the-head excited. This trailer brings up an idea kicking in my head for a while. While playing this game I caught myself glancing towards the city and wondering about running rampant with the Batmobile and Batwing. In classic batman fashion you see that the greatest villain in history has once again escaped custody and is licking his wounds from his last encounter with Batman. You clearly see Gotham is tearing itself apart with crime running rampant with the only line of text "Arkham Has Moved" at the end. Does this mean that BAA2 is going to be an open world free roamer? This looks a lot like that idea is going to be given life. But that isn't anywhere near how excited I am to hear the voice talents of Mark Hamil as the Joker once again. You know when the first time you watched Star Wars as a kid and thought how cool it was? You know how even today it holds up and everyone has fond memories of it? That's EXACTLY how I feel when I see this. Knowing that there are other people who adored the 90's animated series so much to have created a game with the original voice actors just makes me tear up. So I am going to watch this about a dozen more times and play BAA now, see you later readers!

Halo: Reach New Trailer!!

I have no shame in saying that I am one of the biggest Halo fanboy in existence. I own all the books and special editions of the series and I am seriously considering getting the SPARTAN II program emblem tattooed on my shoulder. So when I heard about a new trailer for Bungie's latest continuation of the saga Halo: Reach, I turned into a little girl again:

from what is shown, there is a clear engine update as well as new armour sets for the Spartans. If you thought the chief's armour was badass, get a load of the guy who carved a skull into his EVA helmet! Amongst the dialogue I noticed the reference to a lieutenant Spartan. This can only mean that one of my favorite characters and the main protagonist from the Ghosts of Onyx, Kurt, will be present for this story. And the fall of reach is the most referenced plot from the series and is my favorite story from the books. All in all, I am super excited for the beta and the awesomeness that will grace us in fall 2010.

New Guild Wars 2 Trailer!!!

Here is the latest teaser trailer for NCsofts Guild Wars 2. This is a video highlighting all of the playable races you should already probably know about, but gives a bit deeper of an understanding of what they each stand for and how they will act in combat.

They have also updated the race info on the Guild Wars 2 website: Guild Wars 2 

The races in Guild Wars have always been really fleshed out, and this looks like its going to be a great addition to the lore.