2009 year end wrap up: With the beating of a tiny heart, hang on to the things you're supposed to say

In like a lamb and out like a lion, 2009 was a big year breaking records in the entertainment industry when others suffered under a brittle economy.  So jumping right into it, here were some of the supernovas and black holes of this year:

360

Having another harrowing year choosing which mulitplatform format to run with, 360 almost trumped all.  Regretting only that programs such as Steam and Xboxlive don't overlap servers, the 360 was quite a workhorse for me this year.

Modern Warfare 2 -  {Rating: 10}  Record-breaking release, living up to the hype, best game of the year, etc, etc.  Really what can I say that hasn’t already been said?  Multiplayer that is more addicting than the first one being free, single player that hits all the major highlights of what a story should be (including the first time ever "If you are offended easily you are allowed to skip one mission"), and the best collector's edition extra to be included with a game.  This game is the first online FPSer since Counterstrike that will keep you occupied for months and months to come.  Stop spending time reading about it and start playing it.  

 

 

Borderlands - {Rating: 8.5}  I knew you were in the mood to go buy some books today and what better place to do it than your local Borders....land's end catalog....  Wait this is nothing like the book store at all.  Instead it's a true MMO take on a FPSer.  Ok maybe just stealing all the great ideas from diablo:  Visible damage numbers, an odd but workable art style, co-op play much like the good old days of diablo (scaling difficulty with additional players), and a bajazillion guns, Borderlands made quite a sleeper hit.  Additional expansion packs are already available and if you're not playing with a buddy, then you're not getting the full run for the border experience. 

 

 

Dragon Age: Origins - {Rating: 7} Stepping back to the direction of Knights of the Old Republic focusing on the RPG portions of its games, Bioware hits it high with Dragon Age.  Slow to start and enough spoken dialogue to rival many books on tape, Dragon Age is the first game where a dialogue decision making system has found the right way to write in a very ambiguous fashion giving a heavy responsibility to what choices are the ones you really want to make.  The combat system is a bit rough at times and the length of the game increases exponentially with scaling the difficulty higher but is rewarding in replayability with the first choice of class/race.  This is another game with additional downloadable content and will probably lead to a few sequels to come.      

 

Wet - {Rating: 3.5} Ewww. That's just icky.  Oh you meant wet work.  But what happened to the work?  And what happened to the amount of fun Max Payne brought me?  You probably won't find a lot of it with Wet.  There are some highlights such as the southwest atmosphere, B-movie presentation, and camera work.  But most of it is lost in the repetition and short story.  [Previous Review]

 

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising - {Rating: 4.5} Semper sac' a really ack.  This game was overshadowed by MW2 and the size of that shadow is ginormous.  As far as military simulations goes, OF games are the way to go but in knowing that OF games are a simulation and not your typical FPSer paced game, most will not find pleasure in this game.  Great graphics, and easy control system, and mission openness rivaling a Bethesda game, OF is for the few,the proud, the simulated marines.  [Previous Review]

 

Resident Evil 5 - {Rating: 9.0}  The rest of the world was pretty upset by this game claiming it was not as good as the 4th installment and was terrible when played solo.  Well why the heck would you want to play it solo anyway?  The biggest plus for this game was that it was the only serious release from the beginning of the year until August.  So it's easy to Monday morning quarterback this game now, but this game will always have a special place in my heart, especially since they've improved their voice acting. [Previous Review]

 

 

Rogue Warrior - {Rating: –3}  With only a single highlight for this release (being able to rival Bob Seger for knife moves) this sad excuse for a game was made even worse by the exceptional looking trailer released earlier this year touting direct inspiration from real life Seal Team 6 creator Dick Marcinko.  After creating the hype, the final release waned into oblivion with atrocious AI, voice acting that needed a swear jar of ridiculousness (Yes my opinion was quite the opposite of that reviewer), and a presentation built on a nine year old’s dream. This game isn’t based on a movie so it had no excuse for its lack of quality and was even delivered by Bethesda which twice in one year makes me leery to purchase any more games not created by them directly.

 

 

 

Wheelman - {Rating: –5} Does everyone love the steak necked Vin Diesel for his tour de force acting roles such as Shane Wolf in the Pacifier like I do?  Well Wheelman is another in a fine line of versatile voice acting performances that Shakespeare himself would envy.  And even Vinny can’t be the salvaging saving grace for this disaster.  Midway has been decent with their releases for a few years but an occasional hiccup is bound to occur.  This GTA wannabe is that nagging case of the hiccups that a good scare can’t save you from.  Trying to mesh a GTA style game with Burnout driving sounds like potential is there but after trying it once, repetition and lack of creativeness are what you find.  A storyline that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, an idiotic Tarzan carjacking ability that makes you king of the concrete jungle alright, and a sandbox environment that a cat just got done using, Wheelman is for no one no matter what your IQ or how much of a Diesel fangirl you are.  Maybe the subtitle of this game was actually supposed to be Pacifier 2. 

 

 

Call of Juarez - {Rating 3.5}  Wild Bill sure loves his pistolas.  This spaghetti western game was an improvement from it's predecessor but for most players finding enjoyment would be a challenge.  No Co-op main story, so-so multiplay, and little to nothing to separate this from any other FPSer other than it’s a western setting made Call of Juarez rentable during the summer of no releases but now it’s definitely a skipper.  Hopefully sometime in the future a quality western FPSer will be made.  [Previous Review]

 

Star Ocean: The Last Hope - {Rating 7.5} Many gamers looking to branch to new areas of gameplay could find salvation in Star Ocean as prequels did not need to be played to grasp the storyline.  Few advertisements made availability of this game very minimal and at first glace the game looked difficult to handle but this was not exactly the case.  Good cinematics, plot and gameplay made this RPG one of the first quality RPG released on the 360. [Previous Review]

 

 

Forza 3 - {Rating 8} Vroom Vroom Vroom I want you in my room.  Since the advent of Gran Turismo many great racing games have come and gone and Forza 3 is not only a good racing simulation game but a great one.  Hundreds of tracks, cars, and mods make Forza the first to meet Gran Turismo head on and give it a run for its money.  Visually stunning graphics at very high frames per second make this game not only a fun one to play but also one to watch.  This is also the first racing simulation game where you can breeze through the simulation portions (quick customization, etc) or dive deep into modifying each one of your lovely racing tools appealing to avid car fans as well as your average Sunday driver.  I’m still waiting for the day when racing simulation games make it to driver’s ed classes.   

 

 

 

Wii

 

This year was a bit light on the Wii.  Not many quality releases throughout the entire year were made and the few that would of made some huge highlights are not due out until 2010.  Oh what patience Wii owners must wield. 

 

Wii Resort - {Rating: 7} You and your friends sick of Wii Sports yet?  Want to swordfight with your buddy with all your clothes on and still come up a winner?  Or how about reenact your favorite scene from Robin Hood?  You can do all of this and more in Wii Resort. A nice array of solo or multiplay games with a few different game modes, Wii Resort is a great game to embarrass or humiliate your friends and family as they attempt to become Larry Bird in the 3-point contest.  You also get the opportunity to force man’s best friend to fetch your wild frisbee tosses and slap a newspaper against his head when he doesn’t win it for you.  Ok no slapping is allowed but I’ll bet there’s a real dog laying around somewhere you can take you all your aggression out on.  With all the games to choose from coupled with the original Wii Sports, Wii Resort is a great addition to the entertaining guests library.  Just be patient sitting through the tutorial at the beginning of the game, since Nintendo is showing the world that they feel some sort of responsibility for broken TVs.

 

Tiger Woods 2010 - {Rating: 6.5}  Just like creating a sex tape to boost popularity, Tiger Woods knows the right way to boost his game sales.  With all the controversy and gossip to take up eons of time at work having to listen to Debbie’s (from accounting) opinion on Tiger’s home life and how she’s ‘got it all figured out’, you can go home and take out all your anger driving little white balls 300+ yards into a tiny little hole with the first game to utilize Wii Motion Plus. The putting will begin to help rise your hulk rage, but after a ton of practice, you can actually feel rewarded with a job well done.  [Previous Review]

 

Deblob - {Rating: 4} Music, paint, and oddity surround Deblob.  The game is quite the mystery as to how it came into being but now that it is around us all, slamming paint against your neighborhood walls seems to be an enjoyable hobby to have.  Some usual platforming frustration with camera angles and controls are not missing but tend to be made up by the amazing sounds and music that occur while painting the town red.  Not for everyone, Deblob will probably appeal more to those that care about creativity than destruction so avoid this title if you believe you can sniff the paint through the TV.  (These two I’ll bet spent plenty of days doing just that.) [Previous Review] 

 

 

PC

Picking up the pace from previous years of only notable mentions, the PC titles are starting to become a stronger choice from previous years especially with the small arcade style games.  2010 should also be a strong year with the big upcoming release of Starcraft 2, if it ever really does happen. 

 

Left for Dead 2 - {Rating: 8}  As I said with the release of the first LFD, if you can find 3 buddies that all have this game, and can find a time when all 4 of you can play it, this is a great title and will give you a craving to watch every zombie movie known to man.  But after purchasing this title, I realized the game is still a quality game with only 1 friend to co-op with.  Solo play has some good intentions but will frustrate as AI does not compare to your neighbor that was ate by zombies.  Controls and gameplay are straightforward FPS in nature but what separates this title is the Half-life style of presentation, level design, and overwhelming zombie hordes that feel a better match than the types from Serious Sam.   So grab a chainsaw and start taking down trunks.

 

 

Aion - {Rating: 3.5}  There are a few absolute truths in this world and when you play Aion, the obvious underlying truth is Koreans hate free time.  This beast of a release will attempt to steal every waking hour of your life and give you little reward for your efforts.  The visuals are a step above for MMOs, but the quest line organization and communication windows are lacking.  The quests, which show a level limit, do not show a group necessity but almost are impossible without them and leveling shows suicidal tendencies when calculated to level per hour.  The ability to fly is a great addition but becomes quite a novelty quickly.   Beyond not being WoW, Aion did not strike me to be anything groundbreaking or capable of swooning millions.  Those that already played and enjoyed other NCSoft games may find a new home but for most others, good luck.

 

 

X3: Terran Conflict - {Rating: 2}  The rare space simulation game that’s not actually that new of a release, X3:TC is a game that isn’t self-aware enough to realize just how big of a game it is.  Not focused on solo ship combat, and instead believing in trade routes and mining operations, X3 takes away from what most other space games profit from and makes for a hard game to sell and describe.  A small story, vast amounts of controls to master, and a very high difficulty, X3 is neither for the meek or merry.  The graphics and idea are good but not having a good combat system keeps the appeal to those that really enjoy the Civilization series.  Either that or those who majored in international trade back in college. [Previous Review]

 

Peggle - {Rating: 4.5} The chances of getting a seat on the Price is Right are small and actually becoming a contestant even smaller, so for those that don’t make it to the showcase showdown please enjoy Peggle.  The bleeps, bings and dings are abound when you plop your way through Peggle’s lovely simple physics of bouncing.  It’s a simple game to figure out and can appeal to those of young and old, large and small, illiterate and colorblind.  The only thing that doesn’t work well is the title as it rhymes with words that often accompany clowns and your creepy uncle that always does magic tricks to impress the ladies.  Becoming a master of Peggle would also put you in this category so be careful.  [Previous Review]

 

 

 

Plants vs Zombies – {Rating: 6}  By far the best penny arcade game of the year, Plants vs. Zombies is an easy game to figure out and creates hours of fun by balancing RTS ideas with speed and zombies.  As you protect yourself from a home invasion of brain eaters, your vegetable garden becomes the ultimate defense weapon and is done with simple but great animations and designs.  This game was also the first game to predict the death of Michael Jackson by including his Thriller zombie right into the mix so kudos for hitting the deadpool predictions PopCap.  If you like the constant struggle of the living versus the living dead, fun puzzle/strategy games, or if you are just looking to find another game that anyone and everyone can play, Plants Vs Zombies is a sound choice.  So get planting.  [Previous Review]

 

 

Machinarium - {Rating: 5.5}  If Tim Burton made the movie Wall-E, Machinarium would be the outcome in game form.  A mixture of quirky flash animation puzzles, Machinarium will keep that noodle of yours stirring until it finds just the right shape.  The only issue with Mach was once you play through the game once, there’s no need to play it again.  Some puzzles are a bit on the tough side even for experts at riddles and jumbles so youngin’s might be a bit frustrated but an added feature of a minigame hint book allows for some help from time to time.  The backgrounds and animations were among some of the most creative and brilliant designs for a game on the simpler side of things so if you enjoy not so easy puzzles and the movies of Timmy B, try Machinarium. 

 

 

Empire Total War - {Rating: 8}  The RTS behemoth of 2009, Empire Total War is a reminder what it would take to actually win a game of Risk.  Taking a lot of time to complete an entire campaign, ETW is quite an interesting game as its AI attempts to stay within true historical guidelines as long as you allow it to.  Controls are on par with any RTS and difficulties scale well with world domination, ETW is for those that love RTS games and also for those that want a little more out of their board game night.  Ground battles feel repetitive after a short while but naval battles are something to behold as the graphics, controls and strategies are unlike anything before it. And who can argue with having to battle actual pirates of the world?  Take that Jack Sparrow.  [Previous Review]

 

Hired Guns: Jagged Edge - {Rating: 1.5}  Haunted with former versions of itself, HGJE made me die a little inside.  Loving the genre so much and with the technology of today, I assumed such a great game could of been created but this was not the case.  Extremely hard three dimensional control, bugs, and terrible characters, HGJE will be an eternal reminder that no matter how good a series was, when rights are transferred to a new company great things may not happen.  [Previous Review]

 

2009 memoranda

1. Total new games purchased: 20 (22 in 2008)
2. Best 1st person shooter: Modern Warfare 2
3. Best RPG: Borderlands
4. Best Strategy: Empire Total War
5. Best Multiplayer game with friends in the same room: Wii Resort
6. Best Multiplayer game with friends across the world: Aion
7. Best Penny Arcade type game: Plants vs Zombies
8. Biggest surprise of the year: Borderlands
9. # of new games beat: 13 (8 in 2008)
10. # of unfinished single player games: 4 (7 in 2008)
11. # of controllers broken: 1 mouse
12. System played the most: 360 (not counting time on computers)
13. # of times playing games pissed off the wife: 156 (Modern Warfare 2 is her favorite)
14. Biggest hopeful for 2010: Starcraft 2
15. Other hopefuls: FFXIII, Splinter Cell Conviction, Mass Effect 2, Bioshock 2

 

Beach House - Norway

     

Favorite video of 2009 –> Ramona Falls - I Say Fever 

    

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising: Fire all your guns at once and explode into space

The word simulation becomes a tag along word from time to time. Microsoft's Flight Simulator is probably the first to come to mind and when slapping the word at the end of a game title, a certain preexisting judgement comes along with it; the idea that since it is a close replica to the real thing, the amount of fun is limited. The 3 game series, Operation Flashpoint, while missing that word 'simulation' in all senses should have the word attached to its titles.

Available for PC, PS3, and Xbox360, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising from Codemasters is a long awaited sequel with much to live up to.  The first in the series, Cold War Crisis, was an amazing rendition of the  pace, feel, difficulties, and distances of modern warfare firefights.  Much of war is not fought at typical fpser's favorite distances of less than a hundred meters where the face of your opponent is clearly visible.  OF games keep most battles at the realistic large distances where the sounds of ricochets and shrapnel scare, confuse, and pump adrenaline much like a forgotten pan of jiffy pop left on the stove.  Scouting ahead with binoculars and popping smoke isn't just for voyeuristic wizards as OF allows for many different strategies, some of which work, and some of which force you into a grave or jail cell you dirty wizard you. 

This sequel takes place on an actual island off the west coast of Alaska with its named changed to Skira.  In an imagined or sadly possible future where oil becomes ever more rare, China claims original ownership of Skira after oil is found deep within and  Russia defends their stance of ownership since gaining control of Skira during WW2.  As things escalate, the proud eagle riding, stars and stripes waving U.S. steps in to aid their Communist hating, poor big brother Russia. And not only does the U.S. step in to help out their buddy and attempt to inflict pain on the country stealing the U.S.'s manufacturing jobs, but the favor of saving Russia doesn't seem to be returned during the entire campaign of Dragon Rising.

In Dragon Rising you take the role of a USMC sergeant in charge of three other troops taking a full campaign to fruition.  This sounds as if it could last as long as a few previously known historical conflicts but this campaign ends up to be less than a week so no need to pack more than a few pairs of underwear.  The main campaign includes much of what I imagine a true military campaign to entail, such as a special ops behind enemy lines precursor followed by the initial beachhead assault.  Missions vary in difficulty and objectives range from simple 'destroy it all' to sneak and demo without being caught.   Many missions gave me little to no trouble while some had to be retried over 10-20 times.  

Much of the gameplay mimics the previous games and the controls translate well to the console controller setup.  Most troop commands are simple to accomplish quickly and your troops react to changing conditions.  A.I. of enemies and allies, however, is at times frustrating or idiotic or at least buggy.  Beyond A.I. bug issues, I ran into clipping problems where objects and models could be walked through after respawns and A.I. could see and shoot through them as well (Xbox360) killing me from who knows where.  

The amount of weaponry available is near the 70 range and all are of modern design.  Vehicles are included as with all OF games but very little of the campaign missions involve the use of any beyond humvees or APCs.  In Cold War Crisis multiple missions forced the player to become a tank commander, bomber pilot, and helicopter gunner where Dragon Rising's main campaign ignores these options and keeps you in your running boots.  It did leave me with extra time to brush up on some old dance moves but left me craving for more and gave me a feeling I was missing the sense of a full war simulation experience.  I also noticed the removal of character equipping prior to missions and couldn't find a valid reason for this missing component.  In turn you are allowed to look at your starting equipment and that of your entire company but can do nothing to drop unneeded extra weight.

I did not take any time to attempt the co-op, mission editor, or multiplayer modes which all have the potential to make the game better than what I experienced.  With the implementation of a co-op mode for the entire campaign the storyline development of your character becomes lacking.  This would only be noticed if you had played the original; specifically the rising of your character's rank and subsequently responsibility for additional squad members during missions.  Instead your rank stays stagnant and you stick with your four man crew.

I did still enjoy the overall game although I have a hard time seeing how this could compete against monster games with hype and advertising such as Modern Warfare.  The visuals were done exceptionally well.  Bombings leave large amounts of fire and smoke but still can't compete with true pitmasters.  Gunfire and long battles give the movie-like response of thankfulness to still be alive.  And the biggest bonus in picking an OF game is the openness of environment and objective completion much like Bethesda's games (ie, Morrowind, Fallout 3).  

Want to run right at your waypoint guns blazing?  Want to sneak through the woods and not fire a shot completing an entire mission without killing a single enemy (yeah sounds real fun but it is an option which I did accomplish on accident)?  Want to steal a helicopter, kamikaze dive it into the ocean, bailing out at the last second and put in hours of swimming to reach the island again only to be shot and killed by an AA emplacement you somehow didn't see shooting you on your way out to the ocean making you want to commit seppuku for your shamefulness of time wasted because you thought grand theft helo is the only place GTA games can go next?  

Well Dragon Rising will let you fulfill those fragile dreams.  Its release did suffer from bad timing as its release was very close to MW2 and if your cash flow limits the amount of choices you can make, choosing the latter will guarantee a better choice.  If you somehow happen to find some extra time to see how our red, white, and blue boys get things done in almost real-time, give OF:DR the good ol' rental.  It will not compare to MW2 but it's differing experience that separates simulation from the rest.

Rating : 4.5 {on a scale of -10 to 10}

Steppenwolf - Born to be Wild

Wet: These days I seem to think a lot about the things I forgot to do

Paying heed to predecessors such as the "you can't take yourself this serious" The Matrix in 1999 and 2001's Max Payne not to be confused with the Marky Mark version, Wet on Xbox 360 and PS3 by A2m is quite a replay on previous successful ideas. Focusing on slow motion 3rd person action with over the top violence, Wet is a great game for that quick one time fix.

You are an Uma Thurman (Kill Bill) style contract killer for hire that brandishes a sword alongside dual wielding firearms. The story is presented in a 60's B-movie approach using a melting reel, for example, when you die. Cutscenes have gritty scratchy overlays and levels are sometimes separated with old theater videos reminding you to visit the lobby for refreshments. It makes for a very stylistic presentation reminiscent to the cold, dark Max Payne's comic book scenes or snowy silent winter.

The story is so-so for an action game, expected plot points and outcomes are prevalent. The gameplay action is where the fun is found. The slow motion fighting is a blast to watch and play through as level design is based around it, but can get old very fast. Three buttons make up the slow motion action (run along walls, slide on the ground, or leap through the air) and after a few environment changes and pushing the 3 in different orders the game becomes a race to reach the end.

Your main weapons include what look like .44 magnum six shooters which can be emptied in a matter of 2 seconds and since reloading would break up the action Wet decides to kindly forget the theory behind reloading. Accompanying your revolvers is a Hatori Hanzo sword but sadly Sonny Chiba is not the presenter. The sword which is an amazing addition to this type of game is pretty limited in its usefulness unless you manage to find a locked door or can evade gunfire enough to get within 5 feet of your opposition.

Kills offer points used to unlock new moves or weapon improvements but are not necessary and only make the game slightly easier. Some of the action sequences have guess the button much like the Resident Evil series and most bosses are finished in this manner. Thankfully they are much easier than the RE ones that always seemed like they put you in the middle of a Press Your Luck show. At other times you are given a very bloody face which in turn enrages you enough to go into a red and white mode to start chain killing people giving additional bonuses for keeping the chain rolling.

The controls are easy to negotiate and the action flows well as the sounds of guns and explosions enhance the experience. The music selections are a perfect fit since all are fast tempo southwest style songs. Much of the music gives the feeling of wanting to brandish a ten gallon hat and empty whiskey bottles into your tummy which is only bad if you are playing this while driving. And yet it would still be safer than texting and driving.

A full clear of the game takes near 15 hours depending on the difficulty chosen and since it has a very repetitive nature, does not give the desire to be played over again. The love of the fighting in the Kill Bill movies, Max Payne or the Wachowski Brothers films is probably a good indicator that you will enjoy this game, just intend on setting aside a few days for a rental instead of bothering to dent the wallet buying the game.

Rating : 3.5 {on a scale of -10 to 10}

Tribute to a classic genre: Been a long time since a federal dime made a jukebox sound

Some genres receive a lot of attention while others are pushed off to the side and almost entirely ignored by the entire gaming culture. Deserving more credit than it ever receives, isometric turn-based strategies were one of the original genres that bridged the gap of pen and paper into the electronic realm. Game for game ITBS games make the entire genre one of the most difficult and complex genres to play leaving casual gamers crying for their mommy and hardcore gamers wishing there were more hours in a day and for their friends to stop calling your mom a cougar.

So in an effort to rehash on some happy years of gaming and to shine the invisible medals of games once defeated, I've taken some time for inward reflection to ponder which ITBS will always stick out and helped define the genre for what it is. That time of meditation produced the following list which is not in any particular order but was chosen due to each game's importance to their respective system over the years. Danger: This list contains games that still pass me middle school notes which to this day I still check yes, I do like you.

Shining Force 2: Sega - 1994 - Genesis

If you were lucky enough to own or know someone that did own a Sega Genesis, there was a slight chance that you could of played one of the first console ITBS games. And yes, since this is written in English, I'm not talking about all the possible previous Japanese games (notably the Fire Emblem series has resurrected into something worth playing).

This game was one of the first to introduce the idea of an RPG style game in which you could control a group of up to 12 characters at once and doing all of the playing on a grid style map. Characters were all very unique and allowed for choosing which were a waste of time and which would be the workhorses of killing the armies of Zeon. And on a brighter note, this game also had involvment from mythical centaurs which are so rare nowadays that seeing one in the shower applying Old Spice bodywash is the only chance at catching a glimpse of these majestic animal/humans. 

The main character was named Bowie to aid you in becoming delusional enough to believe his first name was David and he was taking a quick smoke break in Labyrinth to save another civilization with his dance moves and action batch.

The game overall was quite lengthy and made for good replayability if switching out characters. It didn't receive much credit from the world as the age of initial consoles were rough on the Genesis and if you loved games enough that you couldn't hate any console, you were more than likely either a large fan of pure RPGs or side scrollers and couldn't relate to this game well. This game did help vary and emphasize 20 different character classes helping stem later RPGs to utilize ones such as berserker and animal types. If you were lucky enough to play this the first time it was available, you may be inclinded enough to want to replay it again as it's now available on WiiConsole.

Final Fantasy Tactics - Square - 1998 - PS1

Years later the genre was quite stale if you only owned consoles, and especially if you were without one of those expensive personal computers. There were a few choices but most had no storyline or terrible gameplay. Enter the king of console RPGs to venture into the ITBS arena and squash the competition with FFT.

FFT took everything that makes a good ITBS great and trimmed the fat of annoyances.  Tons of story, different classes, and true strategic gameplay kept PS1 gamers so enthralled that owning an original version of FFT to this day can reward you with over $50 to collectors.  Fans of previous FF games saw for the first time the entire ensemble of old class choices combined along with a few extra to boot the most amazing of which was the Calculator.  If you were lucky enough to level the proper classes to unlock the Calculator, your mathalete skills could be put to use to heal or do damage to all characters on screen reminiscent of craps, trigonometry, and the board game Sorry.  

FFT set the bar high for later GBA and PSP ITBS games and reissues but sadly none have matched the original.  Opinions vary as to why FFT glimmers as others clash plaids, but many will agree that the story hits many high notes housing interesting characters such as one of the most badass playables named Wiegraf.  The rest of the opinions say that the gameplay, detailed environments, and balanced strategies requiring you to scratch the old noggin' to succeed put FFT at the top of the ITBS of all times.  And much to the appeal of people who find FF games annoying, chocobos and moogles are kept to a bare minimum.  Kupo?!?

X-Com UFO Defense - Mythos Games - 1993 - PC

Crank up the VGA display, whip out the 3.5-inch floppies, and start up MS-DOS, it's X-Com time!  Right when PCs were becoming a booming economic staple in everyone's home, competing against Coke's mission statement to have a vending machine every mile, X-Com made gamers some of the most patient people around.  Well patient or full blown domestic extra-terrestrial abusers.  X-Com was one of the most difficult ITBS games around and in case the first time through was too easy, you could also scale the difficulty higher to grind your teeth at night for the next century.  

X-Com showed the world a game in which the era of the Internet and TV would give people even more reason to keep staring into the stars as shows such as X-Files and the Sci-Fi channel took off.  Set all across Earth, the X-Com (Extraterrestrial Combat Unit) attempt to save the world from the on-going threat of alien terrorists much like the similar threats of Predator, Ko-Dan, Killer Klowns, or Martians from Mars.  As you spend global amounts of cash on bases and research, you attempt to reclaim Earth from these invaders using their technology against them while hopefully not creating a deficit over 2 months.  Yes, the US has had a deficit for almost the entire 21st century but blow your budget for 2 months and it's game over.

Much of the games acclaim over the years has been the intertwining of a Sid Meyer's Civilization-esque game and joining an ITBS with a great interface, sounds, and gameplay.  X-Com was also one of the first ITBS games to use projectile weaponry and urban military tactics within a game without shortchanging on fun.  While games such as Wolfenstein and Doom were busy making bullets per second enjoyable, X-Com was slowing the speed of battle down to where claymation directors felt at home.  So if you've ever played and finished X-Com: UFO Defense, you deserve a free beer to trade war stories over.  If you didn't get enough of X-Com the first time it is again available on Steam as well as it's many sequels.

Jagged Alliance 2 - Sir Tech Canada - 1999 - PC

Where would Jack Ryan be without clandestine black operations?  Well Tom Clancy might be flipping burgers and we wouldn't get great games such as JA2.  Not to skimp on the prestige of JA1, JA2 gave Rambo a reason to go back into Burma with the same cheesy lines and almost as much gore.  Ok no where near as much blood and guts but the same attitude.  

Taking a small group of mercs into the fake Eastern European country of Alruco, you attempt to free the civilians of the country from the evil clutches of dictator Deidranna.  Overthrowing her husband Enrico who escaped the country after her attempt at framing Enrico for her father's murder, you are fronted a small amount of cash, a laptop with direct links to all the websites a merc would need, and a one way ticket into the country.  

Rich with voice acting and distinct personalities for an array of characters, JA2 makes replayability unique and a quite varied experience each time.  Some characters such as the Russian brothers Ivan and Igor make such a lovable pair you begin to prevent their deaths at every turn sometimes reloading savepoints until you can't stand it anymore.  JA2 plays on the map overview strategy mixed with turn based battle action made famous with X-Com and takes the fighting to a new level introducing more layers of physics down to differing bullet calibers and ballistics. 

You could hate ITBS games but the storyline presentation in JA2 is one of the more humorous around.  As you progress further into Alruco freeing town after town, Diedranna receives reports from her assistant Elliot who then in return receives a proper beating for each piece of bad news.  After a while it becomes one of the oddest rewards systems for a job well done.  Well those that can't feel sympathy for digital Urkel wannabes find it laughable since we can't save the rest of the Family Matters cast from Jaleel White's suspenders.  

Fallout - Interplay - 1997 - PC

Two men enter, none leave.  There are a few games here and there that touch on a futuristic Earth but none had ever been as bleakly honest as Fallout.  Some would show the world uniting in an effort for space exploration, others would have humanity unite in order to defend off invading aliens, but Fallout would go and say no to handholding togetherness and instead stay on the edge of suicide when resources become scarce and care not about the repercussions of scorching the Earth.  This post apocalyptic environment becomes one of the biggest characters and gives a great sense of being alone and fearful of death around every corner.  

Set in Southern California in the year 2161, you are a survivor of World War III living in an underground vault.  The vault's water chip breaks and you are chosen to go into the wasteland to search for a replacement.  

Much of the personality of the game is contained in references to pop culture a lot of it 1950's related.  The presentation of the RPG portions of the game are done through a Monopoly man type character that makes light of the darkly vast wasteland that is now the world.  The childhood innocence clashing with the dark humor makes for quite the combo making the entire journey unforgettable.    

Fallout became one of the starting RPGs to flirt with the idea of choices and repercussions morbid as many would be.  Any NPC can be chosen to become a target for random violence even down to children.  Prostitution and drug use can become hobbies while you choose to either help your vault or totally ignore them and become the wasteland's biggest fan.  Multiple endings can be gained depending on choices made throughout the game even down to the last seconds as you receive an ultimate reward for helping your vault.  All of these aspects took ITBS games to a new level of quality and expectance including the atmosphere and ethics.

Syndicate - Bullfrog - 1993 - PC

A quick honorable mention since it's not turn based goes to the isometric wonder known as Syndicate.  Taking place in a  future where corporations use cyborgs for hostile takeovers, Syndicate puts you in charge of your own corporation as you fight against the futuristic Wal-Mart known as Eurocorp.  Using a four agent team, you roam the gritty concrete landscape of cities exterminating, persuading and stealing corporate goods.  Much of the setting derived from the movie Blade Runner, as well as the attitudes toward cyborgs and civilians.

Besides the Lorenzo Lamas trenchcoats that your agents are forced to wear, the action is where this game deserves the mention.  Just about everything can be destroyed and there is no consequence for killing off civilians.  In fact, an item called the Persuadertron can be used to convince mobs of civilians to become a wall of protection for you and then can be sent to their death if you feel a twinge of nervousness for your cyborg buddies.  The overall idea of Syndicate would make for a great game today but sadly no confirmed remakes are in the works.

Summer Catchup: I can be the source you crave, I can spell what you can't say

To go along with the first "scheduled" summer vacation for me in over six years, I felt the need to catch up on reviews on things I've put off.  So here are some quick reviews of games and technology that are overdue.  

PogoPlug - No it's not a recharging station for your gyroscopically enhanced pogo-segway.  This small 

little piece of electronic plastic goodness is essentially remote desktop-ing made easy. Made by a company called Cloudengines, this device bridges the gap between your external hard drive and your router.  It then allows you to stream your hard drive onto whatever lovely computerish device, aka iPhoneS(nob), you happen to be using to annoy the hell out people eating their dinner at that fancy restaurant Olive Garden.  What used to be a limitation on OS matching between a computer and remote device has now been removed and replaced with a large 

backorder and a price tag of $99.  

Nokia E71x Smartphone -  And speaking of the vile world of confusing popularity contests 

with annoyances in public, one of the newest AT&T installment standards is the Nokia E71x Smartphone. Nokia really does know how to make quality phones and AT&T knows how to take them a step back.  

The design is slick, battery long lived, camera is so-so, standard software artful in its self destruction, but web browsing, WLAN, and GPS portions are above the rest as long as you stay under the 3G umbrella during reception rain.  Navigation of menus and number typing is a bit on the "special side" but once understood the phone does shine for those using it in the business sense.  As long as that business isn't human trafficking then you'll be happy if an E71x comes your way.

Tiger Woods 10 (Wii, EA) - It's in the game alright.  No, not shoving Tileset golf balls into any opening you can find around your TV.  The Wii Motion Plus will take care of that sort of thing for you if you haven't done it already.  

TW10 is a large showoff of what sports games should feel like when you are handed 

a controller.  Even if you aren't a fan of rolling out of bed onto your couch Sunday mornings for day long sessions to watch golf, playing this game will help you begin to enjoy the difficulty of getting a small white ball into a barely big enough hole about 300 yards away.  And then it will help you begin to whip Wii controllers into fragile objects around your room.  And then help you turn into a similar demonic hellion known as Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore.  

The game (with Wii Motion Plus) is so sensitive to very slight motions as you swing your controller that it will bring you to the point of wanting to keep your wrist in a splint to avoid draw shots.  The added features from previous years are a big bonus such as disc golf, real time weather, and precision putting.  And yes you can still deck yourself out in actual Caddyshack fashions as you progress through the Masters Tournament.  

Rating:  6.5 {on a scale of -10 to 10}

X3: Terran Conflict (PC, Egosoft) - X3: TC is the latest in the series.  It was released in September of 2008 and done so with barely a glimmer of advertising along side of it.  

Some games take their genre so far above and beyond, that expectations of what the game actually is or could be vanish, and you are left with something a bit odd and hard to describe.  It is much like comparing Microsoft's Flight Simulator versus Ace Combat.  They both have planes and they both involve flying but crashing and burning in one takes a little more work than the other.

X3: TC is a simulation game in the biggest sense of simulation.  Combat is there but is not a large highlight unlike Wing Commander, Descent: Freespace, X-Wing vs Tie Fighter, Freelancer, etc.  The storyline is there but is overshadowed by the rest of the game.  

So what exactly are you left with?  A gigantic universe to explore and trade within.  A place to commandeer for your galactic space stations and armada of ships.  It's much like Pogs or Magic: The Gathering.  At first it's really interesting to look at and play but after a short time passes only a select few people of the world will still be able to find enjoyment out of it.

Extremely high learning curve, not so easy controls, and a hard difficulty make X3: TC an even harder selection to pick.  Open source coding for modification, beautiful graphics, and a reason to dust off the old joystick make X3: TC a good alternative for those looking to branch way way off.

Rating:  2 {on a scale of -10 to 10}

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood (360, Ubisoft)-  A sequel to the 2006 release, this first person shooter is one of the very few western FPS games available.  A run of the mill FPS with a very different setting for those that are used to killing Nazis or Aliens, CoJ: BiB will probably only appeal to those that really enjoy the setting the western setting. 

The game and it's appeal can be compared to something similar to the movie Jacques Cousteau and Life Aquatic.  Unless you were a large fan to the original works, the semi-recent film will seem more like an awkward broadway play that stays a mystery. 

So unless your parents made you sit and watch every Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, and Henry Fonda western of the 60s and 70s, you probably won't even have the slightest bit of interest in CoJ: BiB since most gamers are too young to know where the term spaghetti western even came from in the first place.  And if you did happen to watch them, there's still a decent chance you'll probably just bide your time and skip over this game waiting for HALO: ODST.  

CoJ: BiB is a pretty average FPS and doesn't have enough meat behind it to make a good meal.  Boss fights are done in the old western showdown at noon style, the action is fast paced, multiplayer competitive but not as good as CoD4, and the storyline and voiceovers are great but short overall.  The gameplay is a copycat to the Call of Duty series with waypoints, respawning, and storyline progression.

But again, the fast paced action and multiplayer are the only things linking FPS gamers of today to the western setting of yesterday.  If you're into a good appetizer and salad while you wait for dinner this fall, CoJ: BiB could be for you otherwise just order a bigger meal later.  

Rating:  3.5 {on a scale of -10 to 10}

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (360, Infinity Ward/Activision) - 

One game that I had initially put off buying was CoD4. The Call of Duty predecessors were always very short with the single player game and could typically be completed in 15 hours or less.  The single player was always extremely fun to play but brought no multiplayer strength with it limiting reasons to pay $50+.  

Another annoyance was the other CoD games were all set in the WWII realm and after playing so many WWII games now, I can almost rattle off every gun and caliber of bullet used during that era without ever actually firing any of them.  An overdone period of time in the history of the world when it comes to FPS and strategy games, I set aside the CoD series altogether until very recently.  

Modern Warfare was well worth the revisit to the CoD series.  Reviews of the game all over the internet have told the story many times over and all say the same thing.  The game is great from start to finish in all aspects that make up an FPS game.  Graphics, sound, storyline, gameplay including both single and multiplay, etc, are all top notch.  

One part that really sets this game apart is the way the character modeling design is done along with the background and camera.  The model design from what I've read is separate from the way previous CoD games did them.  In modeling speak they have faked certain aspects to give it a three dimensional look and at the same time gives a ton of extra detail while keeping the game running at 60 frames per second.  

The look of the characters and background is amazing and is shown off even more when a gun is pulled up to the shoulder and the camera puts only what's directly down the sights into focus fuzzing out the surrounding area.  It's an exaggeration of what the eye really does but it's the good kind like the size of Babe the Blue Ox or the hope you feel for the Cubs to make the playoffs.  

The best part about the game is how the multiplayer is done.  The multiplay is on the same level that Halo 1 was when it was first released with different play modes and maps.  As you play you begin to work your way through levels of experience gaining the use of new weapons and abilities.  Unlocking new items becomes as addicting as playing the slots after a few too many mojitos.  This idea has now become a standard for multiplayer games and will be copied for years to come.  

Overall the game is well worth the small price that comes with a game of the year release so be sure to pick it up and grab an xboxlive gold package too.  Just be sure to get ready to mute those arrogant mic users again.

Rating:  9 {on a scale of -10 to 10}

New Young Pony Club - Ice Cream

Aion MMO Preview: Lava flows over crooks and cragged cliffs to the ocean and explodes in a steam heat fevered cyclical motion

Over the history of MMOs and even other genres, there has been a representable and recognizable feature to the graphics and gameplay of games.  It comes with being able to distinguish what country/company the makers of that particular game happen to be or being able to come reasonably close to guessing who the man behind the curtain is with just a glance.  Another "putting the face to the name" game is Aion for the PC.  Made by the well known Korean company NCSoft (Lineage, City of Heroes, Guild Wars), this MMORPG is another sci-fi fantasy fiction MMO but from what I can translate from forums and reviews, contains less hardship and grindy-ness than the typical run of the mill Korean MMO.  

The graphics are some of the highest quality above and beyond FFXI, Everquest, and WoW, allowing for excessive video card settings whether it's to be a big time showoff or for visual stimulation.  This brings with it the problem of using an older computer to run the game and having to deal with graphical errors besides networking ones if you are still forcing a dinosaur to play with hover-boards and space guns.  

One look at the game and there should be some tingling of deja vu occurring in the back of your head.   NCSoft has taken what works in games such as WoW and built from those ideas.  The interface down to the action bars, chat logs, and menus all look eerily similar to WoW.  From what I can tell it is all fully customizable with the ability to resize and move things as you see fit.  Fighting and combat text looks much like it's predecessor City of Heroes as does the extremely large character customization feature when doing character creation and item customizing.  This allows for people to not fall into the Age of Conan issue of all looking exactly the same from level 1 - 20.  Class selection is the usual D+D montage as seen by the video below.

Aion boasts both PvE as well as PvP, also sporting what it calls PvEvP where races can fight along side of NPCs against opposing races.  Quick transportation is available by means of metamorphosing flying creatures but a new idea is indulged upon when it comes to close proximity's.  Not the water wing kind of your childhood but more like the advertising ploys of Victoria Secret.  Missing the laciness and tassel-liness, after completing part of the main quest you are given angel wings to allow you to explore areas in the upward direction and in essence becoming a flying mount.  A nice addition to this is the ability to fight foes in the air making for an even larger variety of motion and fighting sequences as well as new challenges with PvP.

What's interesting about Aion is it has already been released in the Far East for over a year now.  This will make the release to North America and Europe a far more mature one in terms of bug issues and latency problems that other recent MMOs have suffered from on initial release and should keep more people interested beyond the one month break or make point.

There has been enough time since the initial release of WoW for companies to shrug their shoulders and give in to completely running with everything that works for keeping an MMO fun and easy enough to play.  Quests are given to the player with easy directions, such as waypoints, and with the old question mark/exclamation point indicators.  English folk that are playing the Korean version now can still accomplish the quests without the ability to read the text.  Items when equipped become soul bound and can no longer resold keeping auction house enthusiasts from the ability to hold the market hostage (FFXI).  Party play is done with an almost carbon copy interface to WoW showing buffs, debuffs, health bars, etc, all in the same arrangement.    

The setting may not be for everyone, a lot of ideas have been done before, and the drudgery of having to start over again make Aion a game for those that can put all that aside.  It's probably not the best MMO to start with for those that are new to MMORPGs, but for those looking to branch off slightly, specifically from WoW, may have a good transitional feel with Aion.  I can see that this is NCSoft's answer to WoW and I have decided to see for myself if Aion will stand the test of time.  Open beta weekends are available to those that pre-purchase either from NCSoft directly or from Gamestop or Amazon.    

Andrew Bird - Fitz and Dizzyspells

Rupture: Do you miss me, Miss Misery like you say you do?

A long time ago I played various MMOs such as Ultima Online, Everquest, FFXI, etc.  With hours upon hours of time spent interacting with people and building odd gaming relationships, some of which were people that were not only good at the game we were playing but also very nice and fun people to play with, I had a very hard time moving from one MMO to another.  

On one hand you spend a boatload of time investing in levels, equipment, etc.  You also spend a lot of time with building and keeping relationships.  To up and leave a game completely means you not only loose all the digital stuff you've acquired, you also loose those digitally made friendships.

Rupture is a new great way to keep and search for those relationships you might of once had.  Rupture is in all essence a social networking site much like myspace, facebook.  What is nice and different about it is the fact that it interlaces many different online gaming communities such as Xbox-live, WoW, EA online, etc spanning different exclusive companies that wanted to do the same thing but were limited by only reaching within their own grasps.  

Rupture pulls achievements and constantly tracks progression of your MMO characters, new achievements and the ability to challenge people to new created achievements open to everyone or closed between friends.  What's nice is the associated and usually very different gamertag/character names all get pooled into your one Rupture name.  All of your old gamertag/character names can be searched for and sorted depending on the game as long as you input them.  Only know a guy by a single character in WoW?  Search for that name and as long as he's put it up, it will be found and you can see that he also plays HALO 3 a ton under the xbox-live gamertag Killerorkilla.  

The best part is, it's all free.  Eventually I believe that Rupture will try to pull cash from advertisements but for now it's completely clear of the clicking garbage and already set for use in its beta phase.  

I'm not sure what new annoyances will come out of this new site except for being a larger target across multiple games but hopefully the annoyances are all minimized and kept from spawning new scams.

So if you're out there and you want to track down your old pals, sign up on Rupture today.      

Elliott Smith - Miss Misery