Time did a top ten games of the year, and they ultimately gave Halo 3 the nod as the overall pick. The top 10 are as follows:
1.Halo 3
2.The Orange Box
3.Rock Band
4.Super Mario Galaxy
5.BioShock
6.Call of Duty 4
7.Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
8.Mass Effect
9.Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation
10.God of War 2
I agree with the top 10 (for the most part), but I think there needs to be a shift in the ordering. I think I’d swap Super Mario Galaxy and Halo 3, and bump BioShock to 3 and drop Rock Band down a bit. Oh, and I guess Ace Combat 6 should be taken out entirely.
I’ve got my own list coming up soon which is guaranteed to be better. If you don’t think it’s better, well, then you’re wrong…not me. Anyway, Congrats to Halo 3!
Amazon.com released their top ten list today for games, and here is how it breaks down. Sorry if the formatting is a little funny, but I tried pulling this straight in from Amazon to try something out.
“Our one word review for the new Mario: Wow! The new standard in platformers, the best game on the Wii hands down, and maybe the best Nintendo game of all time. If you don’t own a Wii yet, this is the reason to buy one.”
“The Orange Box is loaded with phenomenal games - Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2, Portal - and each game by itself is amazing. Portal itself is one of the most innovative games in years.”
“A tremendous first person shooter experience with a great storyline, amazing graphics, creepy little girls, and one of the best baddies - “Big Daddy” - in years.”
“The best game to date on the Nintendo DS, Phantom Hourglass makes great use of the stylus, has a terrific storyline, and provides action/adventure everyone should enjoy.”
“The comparisons to Guitar Hero are natural, but the guitar and game play have a smoother feel in Rock Band. Plus, the song list is extra strong thanks to MTV’s involvement. But most of all: DRUMS!”
“2007 was a year of many great games and lots of focus on next generation consoles. Somehow along the way, GOW2 got a bit overlooked. It’s an amazing game that builds upon and goes beyond the original. A must for gamers who can tolerate heavy violence, it’s one of best PS2 games of all time.”
“The fourth installment of COD is simply amazing and by far the best game of the series. The graphics are stunning and the gameplay is near-perfect for a first person shooter.”
“Certainly no game received more press during the year…and deservedly so. The third installment continues the Halo tradition of providing gamers a great first person shooter experience. If you’re an online junkie, Halo 3 is a no brainer buy.”
For those that have been sucked into the Guitar Hero phenomenon, they know that louder is better. Brad, of Knievel Kustoms has created his latest masterpiece in a long line of inspirational projects and has shown them off at the BYOAC forums. Take a look at what he’s built as an homage to one of gaming’s hottest franchises. More details follow the pics.
In his own words, Knievel describes the make up of this Marshall stack inspired bit of awesomeness:
The cabinet is actually 3 cabinets that can be separated for transporting, if there’s a better party somewhere.
The 3 are..
The Bottom -houses the heavy-hittin’ Logitech Z2300 Sub and my PS2 with all the Guitar Hero titles loaded on the HD
The Center -is the 27″ flat-screen Toshiba CRT TV
The Head -has the Logitech L/R speakers and a backlit GH marquee
Most of the parts used are actual Marshall pieces purchased from an online Amp Parts store.
Now if you’ll excuse me.. I’ve got some shreddin’ to do.
Drop by your game store and check out the price on God of War 2. Starting tomorrow it should run you $10 cheaper. While some stores might be slower to reflect the price drop, specialty stores should have it ready to go.
I still haven’t picked up God of War 2 and I never completed God of War. With the summer slump coming to an end I might pick the two titles up soon and try to finish them both off before the heavy hitters release. With both games being a tad bit on the short side, I shouldn’t have trouble accomplishing just that.
EDIT: I nixed the pic because it was causing the blog to freak out for some reason.
Here’s a recent press release issued by SCEA that gives the full details:
FOSTER CITY, Calif., July 27 — Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. (SCEA) today announced an exclusive game development deal with Eat, Sleep, Play(TM), a new software development company formed by legendary game creators David Jaffe and Scott Campbell. Under the agreement, Eat, Sleep, Play is signed on for a multi-year, multi-title deal to create titles for the PlayStation family of products, with the first slated for release in 2008.
Based in Utah, Eat, Sleep, Play is a newly formed company founded by David Jaffe, a former creative director for SCEA’s Santa Monica Studios; and Scott Campbell, the founder of Incognito Entertainment, a dedicated development studio also under the SCEA Santa Monica Studios banner. Jaffe is perhaps best known as the co-creator and game director behind the multi-million PlayStation(R) platform franchises Twisted Metal(R) on PS one(R) & PlayStation(R)2 and God of War(R) on PlayStation 2. Campbell, a long-time collaborator with Jaffe and co-creator of the Twisted Metal titles, is currently receiving industry praise for Incognito’s PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(TM))-exclusive online air and ground combat game Warhawk(TM). Additionally, Jaffe and Campbell recently collaborated efforts on Calling All Cars(TM), a popular exclusive downloadable title for PLAYSTATION(R)Network.
In addition to the multi-year, multi-title deal to create titles for the PlayStation family of products, the company will also be creating Twisted Metal(R): Head On for PlayStation 2, which is scheduled to be released this winter. Twisted Metal: Head On will feature lost levels from the never released Twisted Metal: Black(R) Part II and a documentary on the series.
“We are extremely pleased to be working with David and Scott and supporting them in their new endeavor,” said Shuhei Yoshida, senior vice president, product development, SCEA. “Through hit after hit, they have established themselves as two of the most talented individuals this industry has ever seen, and I look forward to seeing what kind of further gaming innovation they can bring to the PlayStation brand through our new development deal.”
In conjunction with today’s news, SCEA confirmed that the core members of the Incognito team responsible for Warhawk will remain within the SCEA Santa Monica Studios fold, headed up by Dylan Jobe, and will continue to produce content for this highly-anticipated title. Jobe, game director for Warhawk, is known for his work on the popular hit titles War of the Monsters(TM) and Twisted Metal: Black(R) for PlayStation 2.Â
The PR definitely makes the story sound all nice and cheery, but I know from some inside sources that the move is giving many Incog formers the axe. In recent months a lot of Incog team could see this coming and have bailed to join up with other studios in the area. The new studio, however, is going to be great. I think you’ll see titles coming from the new team that are very near to what Incognito has been known for over the years. I don’t have details on how many members from Incog will be staying on, but based on what former employees have told me, it’s not a lot.
Sony came out strong this year at E3 showing, by far, the most software. While much of it overlapped with Microsoft’s lineup, the PS3 is starting to justify its place in the console race. Sony’s executives were stiff as cardboard on stage, but there were enough big “ooh” and “ahh” moments to keep the old eyelids from closing. Highlights include:
Games, games, games. Sony showed tons of games in back-to-back trailers
Echochrome could be a sleeper hit, or at least the next LocoRoco type of game for Sony
Slimmer PSP announced - coming in September
Metal Gear Solid 4 still exclusive (for now) - another great trailer shown with the claim for an “early 2008″ release
Unreal Tournament 3 gets timed exclusive
Grand Turismo 5: Prologue coming to PSN
PlayStation Home features showcased (yawn)
Heavenly Sword is still one of the best looking games on the way
Killzone 2 trailer looked great graphically, gameplay actually looks kinda stale
Uncharted from Naughty Dog seems to be doing great
Haze is PS3 exclusive
Ratchet and Clank on the PS3 trailer unveiled more of the story, graphically the game is very solid
Sony’s conference was great for those that wanted to see games, but I fear that it wasn’t really enough to differentiate themselves from Microsoft. That $100 price difference, which will grow as soon as MS drops the 360 price, will probably continue to hurt Sony due to the similarity in libraries with the 360. It doesn’t help that the EA Sports line is running at twice the framerate on the 360. EA has always been critical for Sony. Still, instead of doom and gloom for Sony, PS3 fans should be singing praises. It finally looks like Sony is ready to enjoy some good times, even if they are going to need to get that PS3 price down a bit more before they can catch up to Microsoft.
Every once in a while gamers have to take things into their own hands if they want to get the most out of their hobby. Timoe, of the BYOAC forums, is creating custom made arcade sticks for consoles, using only the highest quality authentic arcade hardware. In addition to quality components, Tim sports some solid construction and amazing style in his builds. You honestly aren’t going to find a better arcade stick out there.
You’ll have to contact Tim directly for a pricing quote as things are handled on a project by project basis. If you order more than one stick, I’m sure he’ll be willing to work out special pricing as well.
So far Tim has created sticks for the PC, PS2, Xbox, and Xbox 360. I personally am thinking of getting an Xbox 360 one built so I can finally stop screaming at my d-pad during Pac-Man: CE rounds. Also, a 360 compatible stick could be used on the PC via USB. See the pictures below for a look at his work:
To contact Tim, register at the BYOAC forums (http://arcadecontrols.com) and shoot him a PM. He’s pretty quick at responding, and he’s easy to work with. I’ve worked with him in the past when building arcade control panels.
The Manhunt 2 stir is still growing and other countries have moved to ban the game from retail release; such as Ireland, Italy, and Australia. Nintendo has long enforced a policy that they don’t allow AO (Adults Only) rated games to appear on their system, so it’s possible that the Wii version will either have to be edited or scrapped.
Personally, I think that Rockstar presented an overly violent cut of the game to the ESRB to earn the extreme rating to get the media in a frenzy and get people talking about the game. Now that it’s been given the AO rating, they’ll tone it down to get it back to M rated; something they mostly intended to do anyway. Once it’s been approved to ship with the M rating, the media coverage will have basically promoted the game for free, and gamers will check the title out based on curiosity or real interest. We all know that Rockstar loves to be in the headlines, so this whole “controversy” seems to fit right in with a typical game release.
I could be wrong, but I highly doubt you’re going to even see the game get delayed, let alone canceled.
Apparently Rockstar’s Manhunt 2 is just a bit too over the top for the UK ratings board. With depictions of graphic killings and a very interactive interface, the game won’t be allowed to be sold legally in the UK region. It will be interesting to see if this controversy helps sales in other regions or not. No word on whether or not a toned-down of version of the game is going to be released for UK, but I highly doubt it.
Personally I don’t see the appeal of the Manhunt series. I think it’s definitely using the over the top violence and language as a crutch to boost sales. While I’m not in favor of censoring or banning the game, I really hope that the little tykes are kept far from the game when it hits shelves.
A couple of videos for Guitar Hero 3 popped up on YouTube earlier this evening. Here you go, enjoy! My Name is Jonas is a master track recording while Slow Ride is a cover. The game is looking much like we have come to know, but there are some differences that fans will notice.
Time Magazine awards Halo 3 Game of the Year
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