While the site was down I decided to reflect on 2008 and finally cobble together a list of my favorite console game experiences. Without further adieu, I present My Top 5 Favorite Games of 2008.

5.   Portal: Still Alive   (360/PC)
This is a slightly controversial pick as I actually played Portal (a 2007 release) in January. At the time, it was packaged on The Orange Box – a compilation of Half Life 2 related games. Later in the year, the game developers decided to revisit the game and append some new challenge maps to the original game and release it as Portal: Still Alive, making it available for digital distribution over the PC and the Xbox Live Arcade service.
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Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Number None
System: XBLA
Genre: Platform
Release date: Available now
Review by: Ed Humphries

Braid is the single most important game released this year.

Ever since technology caught up with our hobby and evolved it from simple beeps and blips and tests of hand-eye coordination into a medium capable of spinning a decent yarn and taking players away to awe-inspiring worlds of wonder, the argument that games are art has gathered strength.

In the past year, the debate has raged, with film critic Roger Ebert famously battling author Clive Barker over the topic. Ebert declared that no game could be considered art since the creator hands over control to the user to craft the experience. Barker countered that exact point — that art is defined by the experience we take from our own individual encounters with someone else’s creative endeavor. Ebert’s assertions seem rooted in the past; the Neolithic 8-bit era and earlier (yes, gaming lacks a Cave Art period). Many of Ebert’s readers tossed Shadow of the Colossus into the mix as proof that this medium can inspire and stir the soul. The jury is still out on whether he agrees.

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The other day, I posted Part One of my post E3 series – The Top 10 Games I’ve Just Gotta’ Play in 2008.

As I mentioned then, originally I had planned to run this as a three-part series, aimed at providing my list of the Top 5 Games I’ve Just Gotta’ Play per system in 2008 but in pouring through the announced release dates, I realized that there were not enough system exclusives to compile that list. And in the Wii’s case, there’s barely anything on their announced schedule that warrants my playtime.

So, I decided to focus on the Top 10 games releasing this year that have piqued my interest. I’ve broken it up into two posts and listed them in descending order (10 to 1) with the number one title representing the one title that I’ve got to play above all others. Today, you’ll all learn just what that title is. I’m sure the anticipation is killing you.

Without further adieu, I present The Top 10 Games I’ve Just Gotta’ Play in 2008 Part 2.

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Two weeks ago, I posted a three-part series that documented my reaction to the Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo E3 2008 Press Conferences.

Originally, I had planned to run an additional three-part series this week, aimed at providing my list of the Top 5 Games I’ve Just Gotta’ Play per system in 2008 but in pouring through the announced release dates, I realized that there are not enough system exclusives to compile that list. And in the Wii’s case, there’s barely anything on their announced schedule that warrants my play time at all. Here’s hoping for some late-inning surprises.
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It’s time to take a look back over the last six months and shine a light on the games that really hit my sweet spot — those that kept me awake, late at night, for “just one more.”

On the 360, it was the dynamic duo of blistering, blitzkrieg action assaults doled out by Capcom’s Devil May Cry 4 and Tecmo’s Ninja Gaiden II. Of the twin titles, DMC4 is the more accomplished, blasting its way into this new generation with style to spare. Nero and Dante’s arrival on the 360 was gratifying in more ways than one, as they injected some high-intensity third-person action platforming on a system that was swiftly following its forbearer down the well worn FPS alley, and it introduced a big Japanese hit series on a system that has struggled to make ends meet Down East.

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Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Canada
System: Xbox 360
Genre: Sports/Soccer
Release date: Available now
Review by: Ed Humphries

Timed to coincide with the real world UEFA EURO 2008 competition in Austria and Switzerland, EA has released their latest entry in the soccer field, UEFA Euro. While EA is also the developer behind the venerable FIFA series, UEFA differs quite a bit and offers up its own compelling sports package even if it seems that we’re getting two soccer games from the same developer in the same year.

Where UEFA differs immediately from FIFA is in the stable of teams to choose from. Only those teams eligible for this real-world competition are on display in the game. In UEFA, players are tasked with choosing their favorite team from among the 52 member nations of the United European Football Association. What this means is that you can choose to captain a perennial powerhouse like England or append a Cinderella story on Croatia.

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Publisher: Gamecock Media Group
Developer: Wideload Games
System: Xbox 360
Genre: Action
Release date: Available now
Review by: Ed Humphries

For some, the Washington political scene can be as wild as the Amazon. Conniving snakes slither through the grass, looking to sidle up with equally loathsome lobbyists. Blowhard senator swine curry favor among their constituency while wallowing in the mud with the special interests, and when poor, defenseless votes are spotted in the great, wide open, all manner of predators crawl forth, attacking their opponents from the shadows (or in pack formation) in a bid to rip their teeth into every last dangling chad and claim the carrion for themselves. Yup, the world of politics is a jungle – a fact that the developers at Wideload Games hopes to exploit in their election year release, Hail to the Chimp.

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Wrapping up my three part series recounting my reactions to the E3 2008 Press Conference offered up by the Big Three (Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony), I present the final installment.

For those who have followed along, I posted my thoughts on Microsoft’s shindig first, then came my reaction to Nintendo, leaving Sony. While all three companies devoted time to elements outside of their core consoles (in particular, Nintendo covered their DS handheld and Sony the PSP), I’ve catered my comments towards the consoles. (Uh oh! Here comes my 10th grade English teacher – a.k.a. the alliteration police).

Without further adieu, I present the top five things I learned from Sony’s E3 press conference:

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Here are The Top 5 Things I Learned from Microsoft’s E3 2008 Press Conference:

5. Those who play together…: Online multiplayer used to be a developer’s number one bullet point. If you shipped a title without it, the professional game critics immediately dropped a couple points from your score, even if the game design didn’t necessarily warrant the feature. Nowadays, online multiplayer is old hat and developers have become hip to the fact that folks tend to gravitate to one or two online games and ignore the rest (meaning titles like Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4 reap heavy rotation long after their single-player campaigns have exhausted). That’s not to say developers won’t try and lure gamers over to their unique brand of fragfests, but for the most part, gamers know which series they’ll pledge their allegiance to.

Me — I’ve sort of had my fill on the pure multiplayer melee madness. I’ll dip my toes in the waters, but I’m just not hardcore enough to know whether the kids think I’m kewl or a n00b they can pwn. That said, I do like gaming alongside my buddies — with the ability to chat away on MS proprietary voice channels. Which is why I am thrilled at Microsoft’s new marching orders to offer up the online co-op campaign experience in a number of their titles.

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Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Barcelona
System: Wii
Genre: Action Adventure
Release date: Available now
Review by: Ed Humphries

One of the chief criticisms lobbed at the Wii’s current software catalog is that there are too many copycat titles. The immediate system selling success of Wii Sports opened the floodgate to a virtual Olympics of sports game compilations. Soon after, Wario Ware: Smooth Moves ushered in a glut of gimmicky mini-game compendiums. It was only a few weeks ago that I reviewed the Crazi Taxi-esque Emergency Mayhem, and quickly upon its heels comes the similarly themed racer, Emergency Heroes. Emergency Heroes has a lot in common with Emergency Mayhem. Both games present open world driving environments where you must set right a variety of wrongs using various emergency vehicles, but Heroes is the more serious of the two titles.

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Publisher: Sega
Developer: Secret Level
System: Xbox 360
Genre: Action
Release date: Available now
Review by: Ed Humphries

Comic book games, like the movies these graphic novels have birthed, are in the midst of a continued renaissance. Where comic games once suffered on weaker consoles (the less said about Spider-Man vs. Carnage the better), the technology has advanced to the levels required to bring gamers the true flights of fancy their superhero fantasies require. The key to delivering a quality title is to put players in the role of their favorite heroes and zero in on the mythos that has enchanted readers for so long. This is the mission that Iron Man now finds before him.

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Publisher: Activision
Developer: Luxoflux
System: Xbox 360
Genre: Action Adventure
Release date: Available now
Review by: Ed Humphries

It used to be that licensed games were the bane of gamers. Once the mercury began to rise and the multiplex became dotted with a myriad of popcorn flicks, the companion software would follow suit, usually launching day and date of most high profile cinematic releases. While you could often see every dollar spent up there on the silver screen, the accompanying game usually seemed like nothing more than a cash grab. Over the last few years, there has been a subtle shift to this norm, with some real surprises releasing alongside their celluloid sisters. Now, that’s not to say that all licensed games have taken a turn for the better, but titles like The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay and The Simpsons Game prove there are diamonds in the rough out there. This summer, slicing his way through a crowded field of crouching tigers and hidden dragons comes the Kung Fu Panda.

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I love the last four words spoken in Iron Man.

Before I go further, I’ll stop and allow anyone who hasn’t seen the film (and has a desire to do so) to jump off the bus. The last thing I want to do with this Blog is turn it into a spoiler site. 

Now that they’re gone, I’ll pick right back up where I left off – specifically, at the very moment Iron Man leaves off. 

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Anyone following Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’s development cycle knows that the property landed before a number of top Hollywood scribes before Spielberg’s go-to guy, David Koepp (Spider-Man), took a hack.

Following the film’s release, the Internet community commenced their big fat geek meddling by laying the blame for all the goofy detours the film took at King George Lucas’ feet. Notably, they took issue with Mutt’s Tarzan act as well as Indy’s A-Bomb adventure in a Frigidaire. (Forget the fact that he survived the blast – how the hell did he open the door from the inside?)

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Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
System: Wii
Genre: Racing
Release date: Available now
Review by: Ed Humphries

Nintendo is the Walt Disney of video game development. By that statement, I don’t mean to echo the tired complaints of “kiddie aesthetics” that too often get lobbed their way. Instead, this is high praise for the big N, which, like the House of the Mouse, has perfected the art of finely crafted family entertainment. Like Walt’s kingdom, Nintendo built their empire on the backs of marketable mascots with worldwide appeal, and Mario is often called upon to engage in many extracurricular activities, from baseball to soccer to practicing medicine. Of his side projects, none have been more beloved than the Mario Kart series, which makes its debut on the Wii with Mario Kart Wii.

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