And the best video game series goes to...

ZELDA!

Now I know that there was a tie between Zelda and Other, but when I was looking at the poll the other day it showed that Zelda was in the lead with 7 or 8 votes.  I don't know what happened but we went from 20 votes to 14...  Also a quick note, I would like to apologize for leaving the Final Fantasy games off of the previous poll.  I have a gut feeling that people who voted for other may have voted for Final Fantasy.

Either way a big thank you goes out to everyone who voted on this poll.  Please keep up the voting and keep voicing your comments throughout the page.  There will be a new poll up, so please place your vote!

We have been getting a lot of good feed back on weapons for the Tournament of Weapons.  Right now as it stand will will most likely start the tournament after BluePai finishes his top 50 list.  We will keep taking suggestions for new weapons until he is into his top 10.  That will at least give us a few days to get the seeding and placement all set up for the match ups.

Voting for your favorite weapons will take place where the poll is normally found.  Early on in the tournament, depending how many match ups there are, we may have more than one poll up at a time.  We will post a blog for each match up on the main page and talk about the two competitors.  From that point it will be up to you to decide which weapon moves on.

Once again I would just like to thank everyone who has been leaving comments and voting.  Any input you have is important to making the site successful!

Mass Effect: Virmire Part 2

May contain spoilers!

We last left off with the choice of what character you were going to leave with Captain Kirrahe.  I really did not use Kaiden very often, so I felt that he was the character I could leave behind.  After this point you can start making your way into the back way of the facility.

The first group of enemies you will run into will be protecting the Communication Tower.  As long as you keep cover and use your sniper riffle you should be able to easily handle the majority of the Geth.  If you are looking for Paragon points you can shut down communications which would help Captain Kirrahe.

Continue to make your way past the enemies.  There are monitor objectives that can be completed on your way into the facility.  Once you reach the facility you can disable the alarms.  With this you are given the option to send the enemies to the front of the facility.  If you don't think you can handle them yourself you can choose that option.  I however decided to fight them myself.

Most of the difficult stuff is out of the way.  Make your way through the facility and shut down the AA guns so you can get set the nuke.  While going through the facility you will come across some of the prisoners that Saren has been experimenting on.  You can free them to gain Paragon points, or leave them or even kill them.

When looking to shut down the AA weapons you will come into contact with an Asari named Rana Thanoptis.  She has been working for Saren and offers to get you into his private chambers.  You notice that there is another Beacon here.  As you activate it you see some of the same images from the first beacon.

When the cut scene is complete you notice and have a long conversation with Sovereign, a Reaper.  They are real after all.  How are you going to convince the counsel of this?  You will worry about that later.  You have to shut down the AA weapons so that you can set the nuke.

Taking the elevator down to the Breeding Grounds you will encounter a few more Geth.  After finishing them off you are finally able to shut down the AA weapons.  With the AA weapons down the Normandy can bring in the nuke.  You tell Kaiden to meet you at the rendezvous point.  He is pinned down with the crew he is with.  Once again you will have to make a choice, Ashley or Kaiden.

If losing one of your team members was not enough the timing of Saren showing up definitely does not make things better.  Saren believes the only way to save himself and others is to work with the reapers.  This is why he has been doing the things he has.  The worst part about it is that he believes he is doing the right thing.  After the conversation ends there is a battle between your crew and Saren.  Do what ever you can to attack him, but make sure to find cover.  After the battle you will enter the end mission cut scene...

Next up: Return to the Citadel.

Mass Effect: Virmire Part 1

May Contain Spoilers!

This planet has to be the exact opposite of Noveria.  Blue skies and sand beaches everywhere make this planet very pleasing to the eye.  Now to find the salarian reconnaissance team that has sent out their distress call.  All we know at this point is they have information on Saren.

As you approach Virmire, you are dropped onto the planet with the Mako... Now going 4 for 4 using the Mako on planets you have traveled to.  Your objective, to shut down the AA guns so that the Normandy can land. 

Traveling in the Mako you come across three separate Gatehouses that are swarming with Geth.  In order to get past the gates you will need to get out of the Mako and fight your way through the Geth and activate the gate in the gatehouse.  This applies for all gatehouses.  Once again you can use the Mako to kill enemies in passing, or take the route I did and just take a nice Sunday drive past everything.

You will soon reach the Salarian Camp and come into contact with Captain Kirrahe.  He informs you that he has found Saran's Research Facility.  It has been discovered that Saren has found a cure for the genophage (the hereditary virus which causes only one in a thousand krogan offspring to survive) and is now breeding a Krogan Army!

Having a Krogan in your party does not make things any easier.  Wrex (the Krogan in your party) is torn on what needs to be done.  On one hand he knows that Saren needs to be stopped at any cost.  On the other he has a chance to bring a cure that would repopulate his race.

There are a couple different ways you can take care of this.  I personally chose to talk Wrex down from the ledge by informing him that even though there is this cure, these Krogan would be slaves to Saren and they need to be destroyed in order to defeat Saren.  In order to go the route I did you would need to have your charm or intimidate leveled enough.  The other option would be to kill Wrex.  This option might be the only one available given the circumstances.

With all the drama with Wrex completed you can start to prepare for the assault.  Captain Kirrahe has a plan, he is going to use his ships drive core as a nuke to blow up the facility.  It needs to be airlifted into the facility but someone will need to go in and disable the AA guns.  Captain Kirrahe suggests two teams, your team to sneak in and disarm the AA weapons, and his which will provide cover and distraction in the front.  The lack of ground troops he has is a concern and asks for one of your crew members and you have to decide between Ashley and Kaiden....

Next up: Virmire Part 2!

#26: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Alright, this is going to cause revolts.  I'm going to assume that I have Zelda: OoT at least 20 spots worse than many of you would.  I'm sorry about that, but hear me out before you murder me... please.

#27: Final Fantasy VIII

My second favorite single-player Final Fantasy game on the list.  Final Fantasy VIII was an achievement in cinematics, gameplay, and a furiously addicting minigame.

#28: Super Metroid

 

The funny thing about describing Super Metroid and its franchise is talking about its genre.  This is what people originally had to say about this game.  "Its a 2d action-platformer with a map that will be revealed further as you get items to expand your capabilities."  Now, when games like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Shadow Complex come out, we say, "It's just like Super Metroid... but..."  It is the game that defines its genre.

Super Metroid seems to be have the perfect level of difficulty.  You'll die a couple times each boss fight, but you'll notice that you're progressively getting better and remembering the pattern of each boss.  You'll lose, but victory never seems too far away.

Your powers and the world of Super Metroid open up fluidly and gradually as you go through the game.  There's no one item that makes you feel as if it's made you all-powerful.  However, at the end of the game, you'll realize just how much all of those little advances have surged your abilities.  By the end, you're a freaking beast.

As I mentioned for Mega Man X and Mario 3, I love it when new gameplay is taught to you without needing to be explained to you.  How do you learn how to wall jump in Super Metroid?  Follow the animals that are wall jumping in a cave for fun.  You would have never known how to do it otherwise, but it doesn't require a text box or a cut-scene to teach you.

I'm going to get asked, how come this and not Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.  While Castlevania: SOTN is a beautiful and deep game, I personally think that it revolves too much on grinding out drops and items, whereas Super Metroid is a fluid experience.

Castlevania is awesome until you want a specific item.  Super Metroid is excellent throughout.

Mass Effect: Liara's Dig Site

I have to first start by saying it may have taken me more time to find a good picture for this post than it did competing the task of rescuing Liara...  Part of the reason was I traveled to Noveria and Feros before going to Liara's Dig Site.  It does not matter the order that you travel to the planets, but it does seem like many people would suggest going here first after leaving The Citadel.

When you land on this planet you start in the Mako.  I really wish that they did not use this vehicle so often.  I can understand using it on a planet or two, but come on, every planet so far?  In my opinion, I would prefer not to use it.  So in most cases I just drive past everything and get to the point where I can get out of it.

Once you make it through the gauntlet of Geth while in the Mako you run into a Geth Colossus.  This is one of the enemies that you are not able to really drive past.  After defeating him you can finally get out of the Mako and start making your way to the dig site.

I expected to be underground searching for Liara for at least an hour.  To my surprise you find her within 10 minutes.  She is contained and seems to be trapped.  So once again I figured I will have to make my way through the tunnels and fight my way to her location.  After one small attack and a fairly easy puzzle you are able to gain access to her.

Liara has now been freed, and the caves are starting to collapse.  Things might be getting interesting after all!  Sadly, there is only one other fight and a cut scene.  Next thing you know you are back on the Normandy.

This was the first time I was a little disappointed in Mass Effect.  Part of that may have been my own fault by traveling to other planets first, but this planet just left me unsatisfied.  The good news however, was that because it was a pretty easy planet, I was able to get through it on a night I didn't think I would be able to finish a planet.

Next up: Virmire!

Opening Day!

With Major League Baseball's Opening Day being Thursday it really has been making me think about playing a baseball video game.  Unfortunately, I do not own a PS3 and am unable to play MLB The Show.  I have not played a MLB 2K in a few years.  If anyone has played MLB 2K11 or know anything about it please feel free to comment and let me know.

 I really miss the days of MVP Baseball.  Many afternoon and nights were spent with friends building our dynasty.  One of the best features in MVP was you could interrupt a simulation at any point.  It made it very easy to go through an entire season only playing the last few innings of games.  It also made it very easy to win 120 games in a season.

MVP made their last Major League Baseball game for the 2005 season.  The Main reason was 2K sports was able to buy the license for MLB when EA, the maker of MVP Baseball, bought the exclusive NFL license earlier in the year.  Since MVP Baseball was made by EA, they decided to try a different route with their baseball games.  In 2006 MVP made a move that would change the game forever.  The game featured NCAA baseball.  Without the big names of Major League Baseball players, the game never really took off.

Will I play a baseball game anytime soon?  Probably not but that will not keep me from getting excited for the baseball season.  If you are a Brewers fan like me, a Cubs fan like BluePai, or plain just don't like baseball.  There is no denying that America's past time will be starting on Thursday and I will be at my first game of the year in exactly one week!

#29: NFL Blitz

NFL Blitz is to football what NBA Jam is to basketball.   That means your players have super-human dexterity and strength, every down will be accompanied by a play-by-play man insulting the players, and  unnecessary roughness is encouraged.

A typical NFL Blitz match takes less than half an hour and has more drama than a regular football game.  It's very common to have a ball intercepted and returned for a touchdown or to get tackled so hard that your character flies 5 yards.  It's arcade football at its best.

Just like NBA Jam, NFL Blitz is known for its rubber band system (where the worse you're losing, the better your players get).  It makes every play important, because a normal pass could easily turn into a 7 point touchdown or interception.

There's also no penalties, so you can let out your anger on an opponent by repeatedly body slamming him after a play is over.  Good times.

In my favorite game ever, my cousin Derek was showboating on the 1 yard line when the clock was at 0:00 in the 4th quarter.  We tackled him, he fumbled, and we returned the ball 99 yards for the game winning touchdown.  That kind of play doesn't happen in the NFL, but seems to happen every couple matches in NFL Blitz.

So why is it so high on my list?  It's the best 4 player sports game I've ever played.  Every game seems to be fun, competitive, and insane.  Also, no John Madden.

Mass Effect: Feros

May Conatain Spoilers...

By now if you have not noticed, I plan on posting a blog after I complete a planet.  This way I will be able to talk about the planets as a whole and not have to worry about stopping midway through missions.  I have been able to get in about a planet a day.  As I get more into the game I will have to see if I can keep up that pace.  Now onto what's really important here...  Feros.

Coming into the port at Feros you are greeted quite differently than Noveria.  As a matter of fact you are not really greeted at all.  After you exit the Normandy, you start to wander through Feros.  Knowing that the reason you came here was because of the Geth you make your way through the port.  To no surprise you are met with the Geth attacking you as you explore the new planet.

Shortly after your first encounter with the Geth on Feros you find what is left of the civilization Zhu's Hope.  It appears to have been under constant attack and you will quickly learn that something doesn't seem quite right with some of these people.  Strange or not, you decide to help them with their current Geth infestation.

With the Geth now exterminated from Zhu's Hope your mission now turns into finding the cause for the strange behavior with the locals.  Once again you will find yourself using the Mako and traveling across the sky way.  This time i just drove past the enemies and didn't give them a chance to kill me.  After a short time in the Make you find more survivors that have been holed up since the Geth attacks.  Here you are able to accept a couple more missions and then continue to the ExoGeni Facility.

The Geth's main ship has attached itself to the facility.  Fighting your way through enemies and completing a fairly simple puzzle helps you rid Feros of the Geth for good.  Now all you have to do is make your way back to the survivors.

              

Once you return to the holed up survivors you find out what has been wrong with them.  They are being controlled by the Thorian and all the survivors in Zhu's Hope will turn against you and the choice is yours to eliminate them, or subdue them.  I personally chose to just subdue them, keeping my nice guy image alive.  Turns out, the Thorian has been under Zhu's Hope for quite some time.  Gain access to the Thorian's home and destroy him to save the colonists. 

Overall this was a fun planet to play through.  There were not many moments where I felt overwhelmed by the enemies, but had enough action throughout that kept me hooked.  I can easily see myself playing through this game again and doing the opposite of what I did the first time around.

Next up: Artemis Tau cluster  

#30: Mega Man X

Woo doggie.  Mega Man X is, in my opinion, the best in the series.  It's accessible, stays true to its roots, and adds enough innovation to keep the series fresh.

#31: Earthbound

Out of the next 10 games on my top 50 list, I feature 4 classic Japanese RPG's.  Earthbound is the first one of that trend.

Earthbound is an RPG that features just about every standard RPG element.  The twist for Earthbound is that it's all in a present day scenario.  Your main character will use a baseball bat and yo-yo's as his weapons.  You'll eat pizza and pasta to gain health.  You'll visit towns that real people could live in.  I was a kid when I first played this game and Earthbound's first enemies are bees and wild dogs.  As a kid, I immediately grew a bond with the main character.  "This guy goes through what I go through!"  Throughout the course of the game, he goes through a whole lot more than I ever would, but I still had that bond.

The game has 2 main differences that set it above your average RPG.

First is the sense of humor.  The game makes fun of itself and the world it's simulating constantly.  There are over-the-top personalities, puns, and stereotypical enemies (that the game mocks).  The first four towns are Onett, Twoson, Threed, and Fourside.  These constant jokes and wordplays keep the conversations interesting.

The second difference is a great one and  I can't freaking believe that it's not a standard in all RPG's.  In Earthbound, if you enter a fight that you're going to without a doubt win, the game skips the fight for you and you get the rewards.  Why isn't this common now!?!?  In other RPG's, why do I have to waste time to find out if my level 99 party will defeat the lone level 7 mouse?  It's sad that this innovation didn't continue any further.

If you ever get a chance to play Earthbound, please do.  Unfortunately, it's become a very expensive collector's item, so good luck.

#32: Katamari Damacy

Katamari Damacy is a bizarre and fantastic game.  In it, you control a prince of the cosmos who's less than an inch tall.  The prince rolls around a ball (Katamari) that sticks to whatever it rolls over.  So, if you're in a child's room, you might roll up some candy and some small toys.  Rolling up the smaller junk makes your Katamari larger which in turn makes your Katamari able to roll up larger junk.  It's a simple concept that turns to addiction once you master the controls.

You need to have a little bit of a vengeance streak to truly enjoy Katamari Damacy.  There's nothing quite like being tormented and attacked by a cat one minute and then growing large enough to have it stuck on the edge of your Katamari the next.  Stupid cat.

The game progresses through regular home environments until you get large enough to start taking out towns.  The final level of any Katamari Damacy game involves starting off in one of those small houses and progressively collecting the whole freaking planet.  It's always a triumph to beat a Katamari game, because you're literally the king of the world.

Katamari Damacy's mood and setting is pure lunacy.  Your dad will insult you for no reason.  The town will have elephants on trampolines.  The colors are vibrant, like a child's 1st grade art project.

What makes Katamari Damacy the closest to crazy is its music.  The music is always matched to the level's setting.  You'll have triumphant music when your Katamari's large and serene music when your Katamari's submerged in water.  Its collection of Japanese pop songs starts off annoying, but end up becoming stuck in your head at the most inopportune times.  I had the theme song in my head for days after I beat it.  That just made me want to play the game more.

The game's repetitive nature ended up being its greatest strength.  Who knew that collecting garbage into a ball could be so enjoyable?

Mass Effect: Noveria

Contains possible spoilers!

Picture Canada in the Winter.  Now make it 10 times worse!  That is the impression that I got from the wonderful planet Noveria.  It is a frozen planet where no one would want to travel to unless they had specific business there.  As it turns out the reason you are there is you are looking for Matriarch Benezia.

When you first land you will encounter a greeting that is as warm and friendly as the planet itself.  After the guards are told to stand down you are then able to start looking around.  While you are searching the area and finding information on Matriarch Benezia, you quickly find out that many of the locals have been told not to talk with you.  Eventually you will find people who are willing to give you information on Matriarch Benezia.  Only problem is she has traveled to Peak 15 and the only way there is through the garage that you can't access.

Once you gain access to the garage you are able to get into a vehicle and drive to Peak 15.  This was not an easy task for me.  For some reason it took me a few times to get through it without everyone getting killed.  After driving your snow vehicle to Peak 15 you enter and find that it is in disarray.  Something has gone wrong and you first encounter The Rachni.

You fight your way through the Rachni in Peak 15 and finally find survivors.  How could things have gotten this bad here?  Turns out that the researchers at Peak 15 are responsible for the Rachni.  They were trying to raise them to be allies.  It does not go according to plan.  

Being the good hearted character that I am, I agree to help rid them of the Rachni problem.  What a bad decision I made.  Shortly after killing off the remaining Rachni I return to the survivors.  No one is around so I start to wander around for them.  Had I killed them off in the process?  My question is soon answered when I walk through a door and am fired upon by the survivors from orders of Matriarch Benezia!  At this point I really wished I had saved my game less than an hour ago.  Fortunately, I made my way through the survivors and onto the battle with Matriarch Benezia!

This was not a very difficult fight once I knew what to do.  Matriarch Benezia send a few waves of enemies at you.  As long as you keep cover and stay out of sight from Matriarch Benezia it goes fairly quick.  Once the battle has finished you see that Matriarch Benezia has been keeping the last Queen Rachni in the universe contained.  While examining the Queen, one of the enemies bodies stands up and starts to walk towards you.  The Queen Rachni is communicating to you through the deceased enemy.

The choice then, to let the queen go and continue their race or kill her off and wipe them out of existence?  The choice is yours.  I just hope my choice does not come back to bite me later on.

Next up: Feros!

#33: Minecraft

Man, this entry and the last one have created an extremely dangerous block of games for me.  The mere mention of Minecraft (or Borderlands) gives me delusions of grandeur.  Unfortunately, I always fail to realize how long those delusions would take to complete.  Then, true story, I decide that I'm going to build a theater.  30ish hours of gameplay later, I'm done and wondering "when did it become Thursday?".

#34: Borderlands

First, I have to pay tribute to the cover art.  This is my favorite cover art for any video game.  It's unique and describes the insanity of the world before you've even put the game into your system.

This is dangerous for me.  If I talk about Borderlands to someone, I want to play it.  Even right now, looking at the cover of the game, I'm feeling the need to start my character back up and search for some epic weapons.  There's only one game that's more addictive/dangerous to me and that's further up the list.

Borderlands is what happens when you allow a psychopath to create the story and world of a Diablo FPS.  The gameplay moves quick and crisp.  Most shooter fans love the variety of weapons, hit detection, and epic battles.  Most RPG fans love the skill trees, level ups, damage text, and the MMO-like class based team combat.  Either way you look at it, Borderlands rams a couple genres together and somehow succeeds.

I don't care about graphic capabilities in a game.  The quality of the graphics have never been important to me.  However, the art style can add some major brownie points to my impressions of a game.  Borderlands' cell shaded style wasn't the prettiest thing, but it added character to the universe.

I devoted a large amount of time to this game.  After awhile, I finally managed to quit.  Then, I had a boring day, popped it back in, and played for another month.  This game hooks me.

Please don't ask me to play it again.

New Poll!

Winner!



I would just like to start off by thanking everyone (yes all 13 of you) for voting on your favorite current video game system.  It looks like the Xbox 360 won in a land slide.  There is a new poll up.  Please take a few seconds to vote for your favorite video game series. 

Also, once we have a good sample of weapons, we will be starting the Tournament of weapons.  Once we do start it, we will have a poll for people to vote on.  There will only be one vote per person, per round.  Any feedback is always welcome to help improve the site.

#35: Ninja Gaiden Black

Holy freaking crud.  This game was difficult.  While playing Ninja Gaiden Black, I threw controllers 3 times (a rarity for me) and tried a new move where I attempted to squeeze the controller so hard that it would break.  Fortunately, I'm not the Hulk, so that didn't work.

Ninja Gaiden Black and its predecessor, Ninja Gaiden, are in my opinion, the perfect action games.  They're difficult, but beatable.  They rely on timing, not button mashing.  And they feature so many "holy crud" moments that you keep coming back for more.  You can also use the environment as a weapon, pulling off impressive wall runs before raining blades on your foes.  Off the top of my head, I can't think of another game that uses its background better for fighting.

The basic enemies in NGB aren't cannon fodder.  They're cannons.  You'll face off against standard ninjas consistently, and at any time, they can rip off a combo that'll halve your health bar.  You always have to be vigilant because no enemy's a pushover.

This game loses points for having a very odd plot.  At some points it's a cliche, while at others, it's unintelligible. You'll fight in the normal settings, against the normal terrifying enemies.  During any of the heart-pounding fight scene, you won't care about the setting.  However, once the fighting stops and you explore the environment, you notice that you've been there in thousands of games before.

Beating Ninja Gaiden is an achievement and while I can't recommend it for all gamers, I do recommend it to anyone that's taken out a God of War.  GOW got many elements perfect, but the action in Ninja Gaiden is just plain better.

#36: DDR Max

Oh DDR, how I loved you.

This was rhythm games before plastic instruments were in everyone's closets.  Dance Dance Revolution was a compilation of techno songs and Japanese pop tunes that you had to tap your foot to.  Well, let's not oversimplify.  It was tapping anywhere between 2-27 feet every second.  It was an excellent calorie burner, a decent party game, and an addictive force until you finally couldn't stand the songs.

Before DDR Max, the Dance Dance Revolution series wasn't big in the United States.  It was secluded to arcades and fanatical Japanese game importers.  For DDR Max, Konami went all-in and actually provided games and accessories to retailers in America.  The game wasn't massive, but its saturation was impressive for a niche market.

DDR players generally resembled a skill tree in a RPG cliche.  People had about 3 key skills that they had to take, and then could take a specialization.  The skills tree went:

1. Able to beat a few songs on Easy mode
2. Able to beat a few songs on Medium mode
3. Able to beat a few songs on Hard mode
4. Choose your specialization!
1. Learn every single song on Expert mode and showcase insane rhythms while looking like you can't dance at all.
2. Memorize every single song on Easy backwards.  Turn around, face the crowd, and act like you're really dancing.

The latter received a lot of media and tournament attention.

If only performing DDR was a little more cool.

#37: Warcraft 3

This is the one strategy game on my list.  That's because I play strategy games differently than many people.  I play strategy games strictly for the single player.  I rarely like jumping into competitive multiplayer, and if I did, I'm sure that Starcraft would be on the list.

However, Warcraft was the first RTS that I played that incorporated a heavy level of RPG systems into the campaign.  Your protagonists (or antagonists that you controlled) leveled up throughout their personal campaigns.  Realizing that the character was yours to control and improve gave the player a larger attachment to the hero's plight.

The level up system wasn't the only attachment I had to the game.  The story was an excellent look at the political and social issues of the fictional universe.  I loved the real emotions shown between the fake characters.  It led me to beat the game multiple times over the years just to get back into the lore of Azeroth.

Many people would have the Command and Conquer games on this list.  For me though, there's one key difference between Warcraft 3 and the C&C games.  Unlike Command and Conquer games, the separate playable armies actually play differently in Warcraft.  They aren't just color schemes and paint jobs.

Either way you look at it, for a single player RTS'er, Warcraft 3 offered a grand experience.

Mass Effect Cont.

The Citadel!



Last night I was able to explore The Citadel and get a bunch of side quests in.  I wanted to kind of stay on the main quest path, but it is so easy to get side tracked into other things.  Mass effect does a good job of having the side quests come to you.  This being part of the reason I got so side tracked.  It seemed to me that whenever you found a new area to explore, there was a new character asking for your help.  Knowing that I could use the exp. and the credits, how could I say no?

The combat in Mass Effect is something that I am not completely on board with yet.  The controls seem to be a bit shaky at times, but I have been told that they get better as your character builds up his skill.  One of the aspects that I am happy with is the cover system.  In the early stages of your character development it seems to be very important that you find cover when in a fight.  A few times I decided to go all out and just attack.  That ended very quickly with my entire party dead in the matter of seconds.

So, after a good three hours, and a couple of beers, I finally got back onto the main quest path (even though I had the proof I needed to move forward about 45 into playing last night).  Had I not been so tired I easily could have kept playing.  The more I play Mass Effect the harder it is for me to put it down. 

#38: Halo Reach

It's the least important non-expansion Halo game.  So, it's not that high on my list.  However, I believe that it's the most balanced.  Halo Reach at number 38 seems about right.

Reach didn't introduce anything major, but it applied some spit-shine to everything in the universe.

• Get rid of Halo 3's equipment and replace it with something constantly available, but not overpowering?  Check (armor abilities)
• Make the map editor easy to work with including a number of snap-to options?  Check
• Add an original matchtype? Check (Invasion)
• Add some squad based play to the game?  Check (Invasion again)
• Learn from Halo ODST and add some real storytelling to the game?  Check, great campaign
• Prove that it can be more than a sci-fi shooter?  Check (the excellent flight mission)

The thing that always brings me back to the Halo franchise is the "Halo Moments" (patent pending, BluePai).  It normally happens once to twice a match.  It's the point in every match when you go "Holy monkey bubbles!  Did you guys see that?!?  That was amazing!  We have to watch that in the theater!"

I picked the game up again 2 hours ago to play with my normal gaming crew.  I hadn't played in weeks, but a Halo Moment happened in the very first match.  It was excellent, and I'm going to share it with you here.

(Please click the link to the actual video, I don't know how to make it larger yet.)

We had a warthog full of people cheering as this happened.  I Love Halo Moments.

Halo Reach is not the best game in the world.  It's not the most complex.  It's not the most innovative.  But Bungie has made a game where absolutely everything that they've put into Halo Reach is tuned to perfection.  It's why Halo's been the most played tournament shooter, but also enjoyed by newbies.  And it's why I can't stop playing this game.

What Is Your Favorite Video Game Weapon!?

We need your help!!!

In honor of the March Madness, also known as the NCAA Basketball Tournament, BluePai and myself are going to have a NCAA style bracket for the best weapons in video games!  Any and all weapon ideas are welcome.  Maybe a Light Saber from your favorite Star Wars game?  How about the Battle Rifle from Halo 3?

We will take suggestions for a week or two and come up with a bracket featuring YOUR favorite weapons!  Once we have the weapons chosen, we will put up a post with a poll for you to vote on what you think is the better weapon.  You can vote however you like.

The more input that we are able to get, the bigger and better the Tournament of Weapons will be.  So please leave your comments, and tell your friends to check us out!

(Please note that no vehicles will be taken into consideration as a weapon.) 

#39: NBA Jam: Tournament Edition

Before the late 90's, realistic sports games weren't achievable.  It was impossible to create a realistic sports world with the limited computing power that the systems had available.  The answer to that?  Completely off the wall arcade-style sports games like NBA Jam T.E.

Everyone who's played a few games of NBA Jam knows what it's about.

The stories.

NBA Jam wants to make you have something to talk about later on - a reason to keep coming back.  It wants every game to be epic, competitive, off the wall, and fun.  It succeeded on every level.

Many hardcore sports gamers have complained about the rubber band system.  (Where the worse you're losing, the better stats your players get.)  I personally loved it.  I loved that matches rarely got so out of hand that it ended up being forgettable.  It was always close, there was always a chance.

Tournament Edition introduced a couple features to make gameplay even more insane. 

• Powerups - When collected, takes a single attribute (such as strength, dunking, 3 pointers, or speed) and makes it great.
• Hot Spots - A 3 foot circle randomly placed on each side of the court.  A basket made from a hot spot is worth 4-9 points instead of 2-3.

Originally, I thought that I would hate the new cartoony features.  One game changed all that.

I was down by 6 points and my opponent had the ball with 10 seconds left.  Then, something amazing happened.  I grabbed a strength powerup as my opponent went up for a dunk.  As he was coming down, I shoved him so hard that, while dropping the ball, he flew to the half-court line.  When I picked up the ball, a 7 point hot spot appeared.  I shot a 3-quarters of the 7-point buzzer beater to win the game.

After jumping up and down and cheering, I excitedly played around 5 more games straight.

I was hooked.  I still am.

First Impression of Mass Effect

I have to start off by saying I am surprised that I have not played this game before.  Mostly because it has been out for three and a half years!  I know BluePai had probably told me to play this in the past.  Usually I listen to his suggestions, but for some reason this time I didn't.  Either way, I was only able to get about an hour into the game last night.  After all, I do have a real job that I have to get up in the morning for. 

Because I was quite eager to start playing the game itself, I really did not take much time in the character creation in the very beginning.  I was however quite surprised to hear a familiar voice once I started.  Seth Green lends his voice as Flight Lieutenant Jeff 'Joker' Moreau. 

As the game starts you find yourself on a ship called "Normandy".  After a few conversations with different crew members, you come to find out that you are traveling to a destination called "Eden Prime".  Once you have gone through the conversations with different crew members you are ready to explore Eden Prime and search for the Beacon. 

I could continue on the story line, but like I have mentioned in a previous post I may be the last person who even comes to this blog who has played this game.  Even though I was only able to play Mass Effect for about an hour, I was quite impressed.  The graphics, in my opinion, are very good.  Along with a couple cut scenes that are fantastic graphic wise. The one that sticks out in my mind is the scene where your character wakes up on Normandy after exploring Eden Prime. 

One thing I really liked was the interaction in the game. You can choose your own answer when asked a question.  I am assuming that your answers will effect the way you are viewed in the game.  In that regard it reminds me very much of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.  I can only hope that the story will be half as good as KOTOR. 

Overall I am impressed so far with what I have played.  I know it is barely scratching the surface in what I have seen out of this game, but I do look forward to diving in a little deeper and seeing what Mass Effect really has to offer.  I know for a fact that this game will be played quite a bit over the weekend!

#40: World of Warcraft

This being here won't appease anyone.  I understand that.  I will be told that it shouldn't be on this list.  I will be told that it should be higher.  So, I'll go through both sets of reasons.

Why It Should Be On This List

It's the most played multiplayer game ever.  It swung the MMO genre to one of the most popular genres.  It's still the most popular MMO even though its been out for 347 years (an estimate).  The game is polished.  It works.  It works well enough that anyone of any age group can try it and enjoy it.

It's an incredible feat that the world Blizzard has created is still balanced.  Azeroth still runs very well, years after it was created.  Any experienced MMO player can tell you how rare that is.  I'm a math nerd, so this next part may not be that important to others.  The economy still works!  That's amazing.

The combat is good.  It's simple.  Its functional enough that anyone can like it, but not so challenging that people would be turned away

Also, Blizzard does a good job of making sure that the World of Warcraft doesn't take itself too seriously.  Its sense of humor kept me playing a bit longer than I would have otherwise.

Why It's Not Any Higher

Because it's so freaking easy that there's no penalty for screwing up.  Enemies drop items like its nothing.  It makes it so that skills in the game don't matter.  Why do your best to succeed when failure isn't a punishment?

I've also been told constantly that "the game really doesn't start til you reach the level cap".  Well, then why have any levels before the level cap?

I dunno, I still love the game.  Its excellent and deserves all of the praise it gets.  It probably deserves a bit of the grief, too.  But more than likely, we've all played this game.  If you haven't, give it a shot.  You owe it to yourself.

Next game.... MASS EFFECT

So after my previous post about what game I should play next, I have decided on Mass Effect.  I know this is a game that I probably should have played when it came out, but I didn't and will now start on it tonight.

A few things went into deciding which game to choose.  The input was very important, and although not everyone seemed to pick Mass Effect as their first choice, everyone did seem to have mentioned it.  Also the fact that it was $40 cheaper than Crysis 2 did not hurt.

I plan on keeping a blog dedicated to this game in the pages tabs under Currently Playing.  I will post about things that come up in the game and situations I may encounter.  Along with that I will post my progress and how the game is coming along.  I have not completely decided if I will post a review of this game seeing as most of you have already played it, but I do welcome any tips or suggestions that may help.  After all, it does seem like I am the last person to play this game.

#41: Zombies Ate My Neighbors

Zombies Ate My Neighbors is the only game on my list that I haven't beaten.  It's extremely unforgiving.  You'll die.  You'll die a lot.  If we accept that now, we can move on.

ZAMN was a 1-2 player action game that reminded you of something you'd see in the arcades.  The general idea was that zombies have been set loose in your town, and you have to use everyday homemade weapons to save the townspeople.  In fact, imagine Dead Rising if it were a coop arcade game.  That's a good way to look at this one.

You'd run around town with your trusty squirt gun facing all kinds of scary situations.  Enemies over a wall?  Use your trusty 6-pack of soda (grenade) to bomb over that wall.  Multiple enemies in a row?  Throw a china plate straight through them all.  Up against a gigantic maniacal baby?  Well, then its time to abandon that whole "homemade everyday weapon" thing and pull out the rocket launcher you've been saving.

 My normal routine was:

• Play It
• Die around level 20-25
• Vent about how frustrating it was
• Go back for more punishment

I'm assuming it was the same for all of you.

#42: Super Mario Bros 3

Super Mario Bros 3.  Woo Boy.  Everyone on the freaking planet has tried this game.  I don't have to tell you what this game meant to gaming.  I don't have to tell you how fun it was.  So, I'll try to focus on some other points.

This was Nintendo's first game that featured truly intuitive level design.  How do you teach someone how to fly?  Give them their first leaf and then lay down a track.  After the track, lay down a gap.  Above the gap, lay down a line of coins that make the player realize that there's a way to get those.  Genius.  We don't think about that sort of thing today, but back then, your first encounter with something new had to be explained in a way that people would understand by just looking.

Going back to the flying thing.  Here's the constantly raised question.  How the heck does a raccoon fly?

Anyways.

The world map was also a new feature for Nintendo.  However, it wasn't that big of an improvement.  Creating a World Map when there's generally one path to go on kind of defeats the purpose of a World Map.  But, it was an admirable try.  Later, Super Mario World took the World Map idea and made it great.

Mario Brothers 3 was and still is an excellent game that jumped 2D platformers to a new echelon.

(Seriously, raccoons?)

Next game?!

So in light of BluePai's list of his top 50 games, I have decided to do my own list of my top 50 games.  All the games that will be on my list will have been played by me at some point in my life.  It could have been a few months ago, or something that I played when I was 10.  This list will begin once BluePai has finished his list of games.

While looking into the games that I have played in my past, I realized that there are recent games that I should have played that I never got around to.  It could have been because I didn't have the money to get the game, or maybe I never got around to playing it.  What I want to do is get some people's opinions on a recent game that I will list. 

I will choose a few games that I have heard are good.  From this point I would like YOUR input on the listed games.  Who knows maybe when it is all said and done it may even crack my top 50!

The games to choose from are as follows:

Crysis 2
Homefront
Dragon Age
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Mass Effect
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Splinter Cell: Conviction

Along with playing one of these games, I will post a blog after I finish it.  There may be a possibility that I will post mid game as well.  So let the debate begin!

Tych80

#43: Left 4 Dead

We're just going to ignore the single player for Left 4 Dead.  No one bought this game for the single player.  If they did, they were extremely disappointed.  Let's move on from there.

The multiplayer in Left 4 Dead was an extremely addicitve beast.  If you were playing on your own, without a group of friends, the game was unique.  If you were playing with a group.  Well, you played til 4 AM like Tych and I did on countless occasions.

It features my 2nd favorite squad based combat (first place will be seen further up the list).  You played as survivors or infected.  If you were a human, you HAD to stay with your group or you would die.  No questions asked.  The survivors moved from station to station murdering countless zombies, but always staying vigilant for a lost teammate.

Playing as the infected was a completely different experience.  You would stalk after the survivors, waiting for a good location or time to strike.

Then... bedlam.

1 infected type was excellent at creating a massive diversion (the boomer).  The other 2 types were excellent at destroying isolated survivors.  After either side won, rinse and repeat.  1 multiplayer game of Left 4 Dead featured numerous stories of awesome moments, whether they were beneficial or hilariously suicidal.  If only it had featured a matchmaking system.

#44: Kingdom Hearts

When Kingdom Hearts was first announced and previewed, gamers took one of two sides.  They either loved the idea that their childhood movies could infiltrate their teenage games or they hated it.  But, when the game was finally released, the praise was universal.

The setting of Kingdom Hearts is its most talked about feature.  The idea that you could have a conversation with King Triton and Aeris turned the game into something you originally could only read in fanfiction.  Squaresoft was also very accommodating to Disney, realizing that most people were coming to the game for Disney's characters, not Final Fantasy's.

The gameplay of Kingdom Hearts was also loved.  It was an action RPG that featured an impressive level of customization while still targeting all crowds.  The separate magic spells, equipment, collectibles, and stat boosts drew in the hardcore crowd.  The platforming and exploration drew in the casual gamers.  The simple but fun combat made sure that both sides were appeased.

This is the only Kingdom Hearts on this list (for now) and there's one major reason why.  Kingdom Hearts 2 and the numerous handheld spinoffs all had convoluted plots that required you to own all of the franchise's games to barely have a grasp of what was going on.  Kingdom Hearts 1 featured a plot line that was actually followable and that's the final reason that its on this list.

#45: Dynasty Warriors 4

The Dynasty Warriors series always seems to catch a lot of flak in gaming circles.  I understand the general reasons:

• They're very monotonous
• The AI is abysmal
• The game is cheesy

All of those things are very true.  However, to those points I say:

• They're monotonous because they're trying to make a system where 40+ people are playable and relatively balanced.  And if Dynasty Warriors' combat is repetitive, then so is God of War's
• The AI is abysmal because dozen's of enemies are eligible to fight you at any given time.  Also, like many games, if you play on hard, the AI takes a pretty big jump up in intelligence.
• The game is cheesy because... Fine.  The game is extremely cheesy.  Point conceded.

Behind the gameplay, Dynasty Warriors 4 features an unlock system that could keep you playing for months.  No really, I did, it took months.  Despite unlocking basically everything for every character, I never found myself getting bored.

Dynasty Warriors 4 never claims to be inspirational or emotional.  It's a game where if you flex your ancient Chinese muscles, more than likely, 10 people will die (or get K.O.'ed).  The game may have faults, but it is fun.

#46: Dead Space

This game is one of the few recent titles on my list.  But, the second I beat it, I knew I had beaten a classic.  Dead Space is an action horror game that's very big on both parts action and horror.

Dead Space featured one of the most lonely adventures I've ever experienced.  While a little conversation is provided by a couple survivors, the only other dialogue is provided by your girlfriend.  However, through a large portion of the game, you have no clue if your girlfriend is dead, alive, or none of the above.  That bit of insanity makes you feel even more isolated.

The lack of a HUD always keeps you on edge.  The lack of a pause menu keeps you agitated during the slow moments.  There was definitely a moment when I screamed, loudly, while playing the game.  I had opened up my inventory to use a health pack.  Unfortunately, accessing the inventory (or map) doesn't pause the game.  I thought I was alone.  Then, I got slashed from behind by an enemy.  In real life, I screamed so loud that my dog jumped up and thought I was being attacked.  Good dog.

The action is great, but that's not what separates this game from the pack.  Play through Dead Space in a dark room alone and you'll feel the protagonist's isolation.

#47: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest

Its near the top of the 2D platformer charts.  If you ignore the Mario games, this franchise would be at the top.  Did you own a Super Nintendo?  Then there was a good chance that you owned this game.

Why was it great?  It seemed to have one of the best blends of noobie-friendly/hardcore-challenging gameplay in its generation.  The game was a difficult yet surmountable achievement for inexperienced gamers.  But, if you were a dedicated gamer, then you could shoot for the elusive +100% mark.  There was some controller throwing, but when you were done... you got to go bananas!  (I promise that will be the only monkey related pun on this list.)

The game seems to be remembered most for 2 things.

• Dixie's helicopter spinning which added an important variety to the jumping mechanics.
• The barrel to barrel shooting sections where split second timing was the only input.

Both quirks elevated the game from its predecessor and competitors.