Top 5 Most Wanted 2008

Last year produced some major hits in video game industry. Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, Guitar Hero, Bioshock, Mass Effect and other extraordinary games filled up countless hours with some great times. They also happened to make a pretty penny. Number 1 in the last category being Activision who’s COD4 and Guitar Hero raked in record sales. Halo 3 also sold a shit-ton of copies—shit-ton is a legit measurement on this site. I shouldn’t, however, leave out hardware sales. Nintendo’s Wii and DS units were the top seller this past year. With recently released games like Super Smash Brothers Brawl and Super Mario Galaxy, Nintendo fans will have plenty of fun in 2008. PS3 owners will someday have a reason to play games, but for now they have a kick ass Blue-Ray DVD player.

Personally I could care less about Nintendo and Sony due to my lack of funding. If I had some sort of support system—people giving me money for free—then I would be able to experience many of the games released for these systems. But seeing how I don’t have any lucrative supporters I’ll just give my Top 5 most anticipated games.

1. Ninja Gaiden II: What can I say? The original was probably the best action/adventure slasher game ever created. The sequel promises more weapons, everlasting blood stains, and improved gameplay. The difficulty will still ensue with numerous foes attempting to murder Ryu as he travels through some new awesome adventure. I can’t wait to take this game on.


Grand Theft Auto IV: Lets see. GTA IV…yeah enough said.


3. Fable 2: Fable was one of the best RPG’s for the Xbox. Morals, chicken kicking, and sex were just some of the interesting features this game offered. It was no where close to the excellent plot quality that is experienced with Bioware games, but Peter Molyneux provided a compelling experience that had surprisingly long replay value. The combat system had some issues, but was overall fun. The game could be exploited, but there were numerous moments that made you laugh, and the world was captivating. Fable 2 promises improvements on the faults and new options. Co-op, guns, and a unique interface system dependent on a pet dog. I personally have doubts on the effectiveness on some of these issues, but the game will draw me away from reality for at least a few weeks this year.

4. Ghostbusters: On the Commodor 64 there was a Ghostbusters game that made little sense to my eight year-old self. Still it was one of my favorite games. Capturing ghosts and driving around in the Ghostbuster car was always fun. The upcoming version seems to have impressive graphics and casting from the original motion pictures. Players take on the role of a new recruit, and I’m sure some interesting plot twists occurs that dictates a heroic act or two. This game may end up being a renter, but hopefully it will become a keeper.

5. Mercenaries 2: World in Flames: Sorry to my avid readers. This game is probably not worthy of a Top 5 anything, but I’m currently working on it as a QA. This means shameless promotion for the company that employs me. Merc’s 2 should be a fun game. There is mass destruction, forest fires, weapons, vehicles, and more. All the features of the previous game are present, and there are plenty of new twists. Even gamers who own a PS2 will be honored with a not so advanced version of the game. The action is solid and this game is worthy of a rental, or maybe pick it up after you are sick of GTA IV.One more Ninja Gaiden Shot:

World of Warcraft: PvP

Welcome to the final segment of my three part series on the epic hit World of Warcraft. Player versus player combat, aka PvP, is the topic of this post, and it is also the reason I continue to play WoW. I simply find the encounters with the opposing faction incessantly changing and challenging.

PvP lives and breathes in Battlegrounds, Arena Matches, and World PvP. Each offer a unique experience, but only Battlegrounds and Arena Matches produce epic gear. Players can play in four different Battlegrounds to earn Honor Points and Battleground Tokens. These are “cashed in” with various vendors that sell a variety of items like potions, mounts, and weapons. The four Battlegrounds offer a host of objective games that reward team work and coordination. Also, each weekend offers the opportunity to earn double honor points for a particular Battleground. In lieu of a more detailed explanation I put together this sexy little video to highlight the four different Battlegrounds.

Looks fun doesn’t it? Out of all the Battlegrounds Alterac Valley (AV) yields the greatest amount of Honor Points. There is simply more objectives to complete, and people to kill in this game type. Players from across the world would tend to agree. There is never a shortage of AV games, and during AV weekends I’ve seen up to thirty games going at once. That’s pretty impressive when you consider that AV games consist of eighty human players each. Unfortunately there is a downside to the Battleground system. There are only four maps to play, and after three years they tend to get old. There have been many posts on this subject on the World of Warcraft official website, and it is unfortunate that Blizzard hasn’t produced new maps.

The other route for epic PvP gear is the Arena. Here players compete in a 2v2, 3v3, or 5v5 death match. In the Arena factions do not matter—Horde can fight Horde and Alliance will fight Alliance. Goblins run this brutal sport, and they never miss an opportunity to earn a profit. Players will have to fork up some gold to form an Arena team before stepping into the ring. Teams are ranked based on there win/loss ratio, and must play a minimum of ten games a week to get points. The more wins a team gets the more points they will earn every Tuesday. Also the bigger teams yield more points so finding a good 5v5 is the fastest way to epics. The gear and weapons that the Arena points can buy is simply phenomenal. Players in Arena gear are something to be feared. The Goblins give you all the tools you need to kick ass. Tons of stamina and resilience keeps you alive, and the damage kills whatever crosses your path. There is also healing gear for those who enjoy that important aspect of the game. This weapon http://www.wowhead.com/?item=34540 is a great example of the power of the Arena rewards.

The final place to get your PvP fix is…well…anywhere. On any server players can gear up in Battlground and Arena games, and then show off their epic gear by raiding towns, cities, or outposts. Players don’t necessarily have to have good gear to participate in World PvP, but it defiantly helps. One of the more famous places for World PvP is Southshore and Tarren Mill. I’ve seen dozens and dozens of players near these towns continue to slaughter each other for no particular reason. It’s awesome! Some zones encourage PvP with objective games. In Nagrand, for example, factions can control the center island Halaa. To gain control of Halaa, players take off from four different flight points to throw bombs onto the opposing factions elite guards. After all the guards die the attackers must remain near the center of Halaa for a brief time before their own elite guards spawn. During all of this the opposing faction will attempt to kill you and destroy the various flight points. Players who participate in this World PvP action are rewarded with gear, bags, and a unique mount called the Talbuk. Finally, if this whole objective PvP bores the average player, there is the option to invade a capital city. Rumors float around that if a raid successfully kills the leader of a city, they are able to rename the capital as they see fit. The name change supposedly lasts twenty-four hours.

With so much variety WoW’s PvP content could of easily earned a 5 out of 5. This, however, would ignore the lack of new maps for the various Battlegrounds. The resulting repetition from the same old maps warrants a lower score: 4.9 out of 5. Hopefully a patch in the near future will rectify this situation. Until then I’ll just have to settle with killing the Alliance in the same old places.