View my Game of the Year selections for 2008. A bit late, yes, I know… but better late than never!

Watch as Fable 2, Fallout 3, Left 4 Dead, Sins of a Solar Empire, Call of Duty: World at War, and many other top caliber games compete for one of the top 10 spots on this year’s list!

Please give me your comments and feedback on my selections.

Thanks!

Ever since the invention of bots within Counter-Strike, people have been restricting them to use knives only. and putting massive numbers of bots. Nothing is quiet as fun as mowing down dozens of rushing bots. Well, that idea expanded into actual “Zombie” modifications within Counter-Strike, which provided a lot of replay value. The idea of battling zombies within the Source engine can be largely accredited due to these inventive modders.

[singlepic=92,115,100,,left]So then the idea of Left 4 Dead was born: a teamwork focused game where you and three other survivors had to battle zombies throughout infested cities, towns, and countryside. And who doesn’t like destroying massive amounts of brainless zombies? It’s a lot of fun. Toss in “boss” zombies, the ability to revive fallen teammates, limited ammo and items, and a few other key features, it really gives you a fun gameplay experience.

The most inventive feature they touted was the AI that orchestrated the battle – dynamically determining zombie numbers, where items were placed, when bosses would spawn, when the “horde” would rush, and many other elements. This AI makes decisions to keep the battles frantic, then build up suspense, then throw you back into the fray again. It is accompanied with dramatic, moody music that keeps your heart pumping.

[singlepic=93,115,100,,left]The single most impressive aspect of the game is the level design. The game looks and runs beautifully, but the level design is spot on. Not only does it look great, but every area seems realistic, yet you’re always flowing in the right directions. Even though it is pretty linear, the wide open maps and long view distances make it feel rather non-linear. But as you twist and turn through sewers, hospitals, abandoned houses, offices, airports, tunnels, and forests. you’re always experiencing something new and different throughout the levels.

Teamplay is the pure, focused center of Left 4 Dead. If you wander off by yourself, you’ll quickly be surrounded by zombies or grabbed by a boss. But more than that, you’re required to keep track of your friend’s back, give them a health back if needed, share locations of grenades and health pills, and other vital communication. The different types of weapons play a nice role together, offering shotguns, snipers, and rifles to help you plow through the zombie hordes, so everyone needs to balance out.

[singlepic=90,115,100,,left]The best way to describe Left 4 Dead would be “chaotic.” And this is an entirely positive remark. The chaos of the game makes you constantly on the edge of your seat, running away from zombies, killing off as many as you can. This pure, unadulterated madness is entertainment in its purest form. It’s an absolute blast when you’ve got zombies surrounding you everywhere, guns blazing, people going down, and your friends screaming at each other.

My biggest complaint is that the entire game is a bit bland. It lacks character, it lacks charm, and as a whole it can be rather forgettable. The characters lack any sort of depth, so much when someone dies, you don’t feel any remorse or even the slightly tinge of concern. If you’re boiling it down to movie terms: it’s all action, but there’s no drama. Which is a bit unfortunate, because the game could be better if there was a better sense of realism and authentic to it all. it would let you delve deeper into the experience and become absorbed. Sadly, that doesn’t really happen.

[singlepic=91,115,100,,left]Left 4 Dead accomplishes what it was trying to do, but at the same time, I wish it tried to do more. Left 4 Dead is a marvelous, no holds barred action-packed experience. Well it does offer a few scares at first, once you become accustomed to the game, it’s not an entirely scary, deep, or immersive experience. Instead, it’s chaotic, fun, and fast action gameplay. It has superb sound, graphic, and level design, and technically it’s a fantastic game. The focus on teamplay works well, and so it’s enough to set it apart from other shooters. By itself, Left 4 Dead is a great game. But due to its focus on teamplay, if you have a buddy or two to play it with, it’s an even better game.

[rating:8.5/10] 85%

Most people aren’t likely to be newcomers to the Call of Duty series – they know what to expect. But for those who are new, here’s a brief recap: It’s highly fast, cinematic and polished gameplay with dazzling visuals, intelligent enemies, realistic settings, arcade gameplay, and excellent map design. The Call of Duty series has long been the on the cutting edge of FPS games, only getting better and better with time. However, World At War is not a breath of fresh air. It’s more of the same – albeit, it’s a very good “same.” But it’s still the same.

[singlepic=82,115,100,,left]Taking off where Call of Duty 4 left, World At War traverses back to World War 2. It is a much better game than Call of Duty 3 (the last WWII game in the Call of Duty series) in every regard, and it really captures the atmosphere and intensity of the war. The voice acting helps set this tone, with the help of Jack Bauer actor Kiefer Sutherland himself leading the US forces to victory. In the Russian campaign, Gary Oldman lends his voice to mentor and officer.

The campaign, as any Call of Duty game, is fun and fast paced. It’s also incredibly on rails – there’s only one exact way to complete every mission. That doesn’t detract from it’s level design or fun factor. It’s a blast to play through – finding flamethrowers, rushing positions to bayonet them, riding on tanks, Molotov cocktails, sniping. it’s all there. The real fruit is at the end though, as you unlock the Zombie survival mode, which is a huge blast.

[singlepic=83,115,100,,left]In terms of replay you can play the game on your own, cooperatively (by yourself or online), play the zombie mode by yourself or with up to 3 other friends, or the multiplayer. The multiplayer setup is exactly like Call of Duty 4, with the addition of more perks, ranks, unlocks, weapons, and such. It’s definitely got a more polished feel to it, and that urgent need to level up to get that “next cool thing” is still there.

My complaint is that it’s just too similar, to formulaic, too much of the same exact thing over and over again. As much fun as busting out the flamethrower in the campaign was, I really felt like I’d done this all before in previous Call of Duty games. Don’t get me wrong, I love the formula, but it definitely lacks the freshness found in Call of Duty 4. Repetition can really kill a game for me.

[singlepic=84,115,100,,left]That being said, it’s Call of Duty, and I love Call of Duty. And the Call of Duty sets a high bar – it has excellent level design, fun weapons that handle legitimately, great sound effects and music, and truly next generation graphics. It lives up to that level of polish you expect to see in a top tier shooter, and the game keeps you constantly entertained and wanting more.

It’s still got all the magic found from the earlier games, the developers have carried the formula well. But it’s nothing you haven’t seen already, and it doesn’t break any boundaries. The good news is it’s not trying to break boundaries, it’s trying to give you some more of that good ole Call of Duty action that so many people have come to love. And it achieves that perfectly.

[rating:8.5/10] 85%

I’ve just launched a brand new website, Fable 2 Sector. It will feature forums, game guides, hints, help, media, and many other features. Check it out!

I got into the Battlefield: Bad Company Closed Beta on the Xbox 360, and I’ve been giving it a spin the past couple days. So far… it’s been quite a pleasant experience.

While still Battlefield at it’s heart, Bad Company feels like a cross between Mercenaries, Battlefield 2, and Call of Duty 4. Which, I must say, has turned out pretty well so far.

The biggest and most exciting new feature is that everything is destructible. You can blow away trees, walls, and even entire buildings. It reminded me a lot of Mercenaries in this way – one of my favorite console shooters.

The vehicles, classes, rank system, unlocks, and infantry combat all felt very akin to Battlefield 2, yet it is very updated. The Frostbyte graphics engine is smooth, graphically impressive, and more important it’s physics are top notch.

The squad system has been overhauled, and it’s totally automated (from what I can tell). You automatically join a squad when you enter, and you can spawn off the squad leader. The squad leader is automatically transferred to someone else when he goes down, and if you’re the last person in the squad you’re notified to hunker down and wait for reinforcements (they’ll spawn off of you).

Gone is the UAV, and in it’s place is a system that automatically spots enemies when your or a teammate looks at an enemy. Then you can track them on your mini-map as well as an icon on your HUD.

Overall, it’s still rough around the edges, but that’s to be expected in a beta. That being said, the game has a lot of promise. My biggest complaint is the FOV seemed a little tight, I like to step a bit farther back from the gun, instead of being so zoomed in there. Besides that, though, I’ve been enjoying myself.

Titles I’ve got right now are Kameo, Halo 2, and Perfect Dark Zero. Got a slew more coming for Christmas, too.

There is two things that disappoint me a bit. First, it’s a used console from launch day, and supposedly first gen 360s have got a short life expectancy. Second, we’ve got a fairly small TV, which is lacking HD. Still, I’m looking to grab a VGA adapter so perhaps I can game a bit on my PC’s monitor (which I also really like).

I setup Xbox Live the other night, and spent close to two hours looking through credit card records trying to get the last 4 digits of the credit card I used for my original Gamertag, Mattc0m. Wasn’t able to find it after all that. So, my Gamertag is now Mattc0mGT, so please add me! I’ve played a fair bit of Halo 2, and that’s the only game I’ve been playing on Xbox Live thus far. Hope to get some online with some other games in a bit.

In the meantime, I’ll be scoring away those achievement points. To the top!