Our Best and Worst for 2008

Below are our best and worst games of 2008.

DAZXER
I have been very selective on what I put into my console, so this is list is based on what I have actually played.

Best
1. Fallout 3 (60+ hours, wow factor)
2. Gears of War 2 (Great Story and Excellent Action)
3. Grand Theft Auto 4 (Niko Balic, that all I have to say)
4. Burnout Paradise (Best driving game)
5. Mirrors Edge (Just edged out Prince of Persia)

Worst
1. Lost (Bad Very Bad)
2. Midnight Club (Draw Distance), Berva and I are in a debate on this one.
3. Viva Pinata Trouble in Paradise
4. Crash Mind over Mutant (constant back tracking)
5. The Incredible Hulk (Smashing things gets boring quickly)

BERVA

Best
1. Grand Theft Auto 4 (A blast to play from start to finish)
2. Gears of War 2 (wow)
3. Fallout 3 (Fantastic game, attention to detail)
4. Burnout Paradise (Best driving game ever, in my opinion)
5. Prince of Persia (Eye candy with great platforming, loved it)

Worst
1. Turning Point – Fall Of Liberty (haha, this game is totally unplayable)
2. Army Of Two (pathetic, very frustrating)
3. Don King Presents Prizefighter (time to hang up the gloves I say)
4. Facebreaker (EA have canned this franchise and for good reason, its crap)
5. Rise Of The Argonauts (zzz, wake me up when I get to kill stuff)

Spike TV Video Game Award Winners

* Best Shooter: Gears of War 2 (Epic Games)
* Best Xbox 360 Game: Gears of War 2 (Epic Games)
* Best Indie Game Voted by the Fans: World of Goo (2D Boy)
* Big Name in a Game: Kiefer Sutherland (Call of Duty: World at War)
* Gamer God Inductee: Will Wright (Sim City, Spore)
* Best RPG: Fallout 3 (Bethesda)
* Best Music Game: Rock Band 2 (Harmonix)
* Best Soundtrack in a Game: Rock Band 2 (Harmonix)
* Studio of the Year: Media Molecule (Little Big Planet)
* Best PS3 Game: Little Big Planet (Media Molecule)
* Best Driving: Burnout Paradise (Criterion)
* Best Game Based on a Movie or TV Show: Lego Indy (Traveller's Tales)
* Best Fighting: Soul Calibur 4 (Project Soul)
* Best Multiplayer: Left 4 Dead (Valve)
* Best PC: Left 4 Dead (Valve)
* Best Portable: Professor Layton (Level 5)
* Best Wii: Boom Blox (EA Casual)
* Best Individual Sports: Shaun White Snowboarding (Ubi Montreal)
* Best Graphics: Metal Gear Solid 4 (Kojima Productions)
* Best Original Score: Metal Gear Solid 4 (Kojima Productions)
* Best Action-Adventure Game: Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar Games)
* Best Game of the Year: Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar Games)

Prince Of Persia - Review

When I heard that Prince Of Persia was coming to next gen gaming consoles, I was thrilled. It brought back memories of the many fun filled hours spent playing Sands of Time on the original xbox. You can rest easy, the new Prince Of Persia is a return to form.

The game is built on a refined Assassin's creed engine and is a joy to play from start to finish. From the stunning visuals to a very unique art style, you will be impressed with how the game looks and plays.

The story involves you the prince along with a princess named Elika on a mission to save the world from the apocalypse. It may seem far fetched but it isn't and the relationship between the 2 main characters of the game is very interesting. Elika is one of the most memorable AI companion character in a video game in recent memory.

Some might ague the fact that the game is too easy, I found that the gameplay was as natural and as beautiful as the world itself. The game is not short, it will take most gamers just on 12 hours to complete. Let me also state that this game has a brilliant ending and overall I put this in my top 5 games of 2008.

I am a big fan of the platforming genre and am pleased that the new Prince of Persia oozes platforming. Grab this over the xmas period, you will not regret it.

Gameplay = 7.8
Visuals = 9.2
Sound = 7.7
Game Now Score = 8.2/10

Fallout 3 - Review

I have 1 word, "Depth", Bethesda, had done it again, allowing you to play over 30 hours, and still have lots to do and explore. I enjoyed playing Fallout Tactics, but this game has taken gaming to another level.
Once I entered the large world of Fallout, I just stood with amazement, to see the level of detail to the horizon.

The gameplay is wonderful, the exploration allows you to travel where you want to go. When I first heard about the concept of a first person shooter allowing which can switch to a turn based system, with action points, I wondered how are they going to pull this off. Bethesda have nailed the combat system, to suit 2 styles, I lived in my VATS system (action points). The quests are exciting, even down to collecting bottles. You can choose to be on the side of good or evil, or dip your toes into both pools.
Stats are a plenty here, you can customize yourself in many different ways.

Visuals are excellent, the night and day cycles are wonderful, be wary during night time wanderings. There has been allot of effort placed into the interiors of buildings. Enemies and weapon affects look polished, exploding cars are my favorite. I have to say something about the physics of the games, sorry for being graphic here, lets just say a bad guys head just fell off, this head rolled and rolled down a hill, bouncing of rocks all the way to the bottom. I was very impressed.

Sound is very detailed, it has great atmosphere, the voice acting is excellent, and the dialog has been well written.

To summarize this game, I would like to say "GAME OF THE YEAR". Fallout 3 is going back into my console. I would recommend this game, not only for its 30+ hours of gameplay but it's is brilliant

Gameplay = 9.5
Visuals = 10
Sound = 9.5
Game Now Score = 9.6/10

Mirror's Edge - Review

It is pretty safe to say that you haven't played a game like Mirror's Edge. Game developers Dice have been in the game for quite some time now with some classics such as Pinball Dreams, Ralisport Challange and most recently battlefield: Bad Company.

Mirror's Edge is a very ambitious game that takes platforming to a whole new level. You need to give credit to Dice for going out and making a game such as this. Is it a revolution in platform gaming or does it fall flat on its face?

You play as "Faith" a futuristic courier in a world were freedom of speach, no longer exists. People such as yourself are used to pass on information in a world surrounded by corruption. It sounds good in writing however the poor execution in the story will have you skipping over the cut scenes to get back into the action.

The actual free running and platforming gameplay is brilliant. There has never been a platforming game that has been this immersing. Running and jumping to and from high rise buildings is fantastic. At it's core Mirror's Edge is a celebration of pure programming brilliance.

As good as the free running and platforming is, the combat is pretty bad. When you actually have to face an enemy with a gun or try disarm him/her you will find yourself cursing at the screen. It's just sloppy and it does take away from the overall experience unfortunately. I wish they had made a game that did not involve any combat at all.

The Graphics and art direction in Mirror's Edge is great with some beautiful bright environments for a change. Sound is also very good with ambient noise and in particular wind sounding fantastic, a very good job overall.

At the end of the day I highly recommend people jumping into Mirror's Edge for very unique gaming experience and hope that other developers take on this type of gameplay and expand on it.

Gameplay = 7
Visuals = 8
Sound = 8
Game Now Score = 7.6/10