1 minute Zombies game

I recently signed up for the month trial of Netflicks on my Nook.  I've been spending my time catching up on missed episode of The Walking Dead.  I started watching that series at the beginning of season 3.  I missed a few episode at the end of that season but caught a few more at the start and end of season 4.  I really thought it would be a good idea to start watching from the beginning so I know who to cheer for and who should just go kill themselves.

That led me to another good idea.  I was wondering how many zombie video games I could name in one minute.  I got 20.5 (more on that half one later).  So I propose this challenge to you.  Set a timer, an alarm or a clock and give yourself 1 minute to list as many zombie games as you can.  These are games with zombies figuring in prominently.  So for you Minecraft fans out there that game doesn't count.  Yes, there's Creepers but they're not the point of the game.

So why don't you take a minute and give it a go.  I'll start your time right . . . . NOW.

Yep got that one.

And that one too.

Oh, didn't think of that one.

You're missing an obvious one.

If you got that one you should get the other one.

Is that all you can come up with?

And your time stops now.  I said now.  No cheating to get that one you just thought of down.  If you didn't make a list and want to see which ones I came up with before you try it on your own than you can't use any of the ones I thought of.  My game.  My rules.

My list was:

Hunter: The Reckoning
Hunter: The Reckoning Wayward
Hunter: The Reckoning: Redeemer
Dead Island 1-3
Resident Evil 1-6 (?)
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead 2
Deadlight
The Walking Dead
The Last of Us
Call of Duty (W@W; BO, BOII): Zombies
and the one that I couldn't remember the name but I could picture the whole part of the beginning of the game.  I later realized it was State of Decay.  I remembered the game, but not the title, so I'm only giving myself a half point for that one.

Here are some that I missed that if I had given myself more time I would have eventually gotten around to remembering them.

Plants vs. Zombies
Zombie Apocalypse
Borderland (DLC): Zombie Island of Dr. Ned

I can't remember how many Resident Evil games there have been.  My memory seems to stop at 6 but I'm sure there's more but I'm only counting what I know.  The Hunter: The Reckoning games were listed first on my list before they are the first zombie games I played.  They creeped me out and still do to this day.  But I loved them enough that I got them all when they came out, even if Wayward was on the PS2 and didn't seem to play the same way.

I also started thinking about the Dead Space games.  Yes, you kill humans made zombies by the head crab thingies but for me the jest of the story is fighting monsters which are different than zombies.  When I was looking up the name for the State of Decay game I came across a reference to Half-Life zombies.  While I haven't played much of that game I'm lumping it in with Dead Space and that it's aliens you are fighting not zombies, in the traditional sense of course.

So, how many zombie games can you name in 1 minute?  Put your responses in the comments and let's see how many more I should have known but missed.  And I don't know about you but I thought this was fun.  Maybe I'll do it again next time with something else.  Maybe vampires.  Or dragons.  Wait and see.

150 points of Zombie killin'

So a long lost friend of mine (I'm looking at you HellWeasel) came back to gaming recently and we got together to play something . . . anything. We settled on Left 4 Dead. You know the first one. The one released in 2008. Yep. That one.

I had only played through the first campaign and thought I should give that game a go. Since I have a tendency to not know where I need to go in that game unless I'm playing with someone who actually knows what they are doing it was nice to have someone actually want to play with me in an old game. We played through all of the missions I hadn't done, or should I say finished, because of those missions looked very familiar. At the end of the night I had earned 150 Gamerpoints some of which were things I had done not related to finishing the mission.

I had to wait until we were done playing before I could look at them to see what I got because there's just so many zombies coming at you that you really do have to fight for your life. And if you're Weasell that means every special infected comes straight for you. I could be standing next to a spitter but they would attack Weasell. Made things a little easier for me but not for him. The good news was I was able to revive him a few times which counts towards another achievement. I figure if I play with him a few more times I'll have that one in the bag.

I'm thinking about trying some multiplayer action in that game (once I can get my account gold again). Anyone up for some head bashing, gut busting, zombie killing, friendly fights? If so just hit me up . . . unless we're on the same team.

Oh my achy breaky heart

I've been feeling very unloved lately on Xbox Live. I can't find anyone who wants to play with me. If I jump into a friends room usually within 2 matches suddenly everyone wants to get off line. That happened the other night but before I decided to play something by myself I walked away for awhile. When I came back instead of "going to bed" like everyone said they were, they were playing a private, invite only, match. How subtle is that.

I might not be the best player out there, but I'm fun to be around, mostly anyway, right? I'm competitive but I'm never going to be the best player out there. If I can break even with my kill/death ratio (no matter the game) I consider that a huge success. If you play with me, we might not win but I promise, next to me, I'll make you look good. So why won't anyone play with me?

I know there are friends out there still playing Gears of War 3 but there are also other games out there that I have that I would love to play with people. For starters there's Left for Dead. I haven't played much, if any, of that game but I don't feel confident in my abilities to play by myself. I need help.

And then there's any of the Call of Duty games. While I get bored playing Team Deathmatch over and over again all night long, I love trying out other game types, even if I suck at them. One of the few nights where I actually got to play with other people we played a new game type in Modern Warfare 3 about capturing and holding a flag. I LOVED playing that game type (partly because I had the flag for awhile) but everybody else hated it and wouldn't play it again. Why not spice it up every now and then with different game types or maybe an older version of Call of Duty?

And then there's Halo games. There are game types I had never heard about until I saw someone play them a while ago. Games a lot like soccer or basketball or other weird stuff. I'm up for weird.

I know there's a lot of reasons why it's harder to get online sometimes for a lot of us. I'm not saying we have to spend all out time online playing together. But a night or two a week where old friends can get to together and shoot the breeze while we shoot the enemy would be nice. I'd even go back to old school original Gears of War to play with friends. Hell, if Star Wars Battlefront were still active I'd be there right now.

I know we're all busy but if any body an spare an hour or two to play with me then I won't have to start singing "My Achy Breaky Heart" in voice messages to you all over Xbox Live. You don't want that ear worm taking up residence inside your head now do we?

Gears of War 3 review

So I've finished the campaign on Gears of War 3 and I wanted to think about my impression of the game before I posted a review. You may agree or disagree with some of what I have to say and that's okay . . . just say what you have to say in the comments section.

1) The boys are back . . . but their neutered
This games was cowritten by Karen Traviss who wrote a bunch of Star Wars books and is writing the Gears books. While I've liked her books there just seems to be something off with the characters in this game. Their banter could be a little annoying sometimes in the earlier game but it's what made those characters stand out and have their own personalities. In this game it feels like everyone is the same. The constant banter between Cole and Baird is gone and everyone walks around like a mute. Part of what made some of the characters hilarious was their interaction with Carmine (and his responses). There was a whole promotional campaign to "save Carmine" or "kill Carmine" a year or so ago but the Carmine brother in this game seems nonexistent. So what was the point of those avatar t-shirts except for making money? There was so much potential for the characters in this game, given the history of the planet, but I feel like they've all been neutered.

2) Hello, not everyone is going to read the books
I've only read the first Gears of War book although I own the next 3 or 4. When the game started I had no clue what was going on in the story or why things were the way they were at that time. What made it worse was there was no backstory in the game. If you wanted to know what was going on you had to read the books. There were some things that made sense because I have read the first book, but other things are still lost on me. Since I've told my friends NOT to spoil the books for me they can't tell me anything. So if you haven't read any of the books you're basically going to be lost for a lot of what is going on and the why behind it all.

3) A major case of deja vu
While playing this game I couldn't help but get the feeling that I was actually playing other games. The doors and wires the squad had to walk through to get from one area to another was like the elevator rides in Mass Effect. It's a way to load the next area without a blank load screen. Towards the end the designed gave up that pretense and had their own elevator rides/load screens. And the "farmers" (I think that's what they're called) that all of a sudden came chasing after you like zombies from Left 3 Dead? Been there. Done that. There was even a scene that felt exactly like one from that game. It involved not disturbing ash people just like you shouldn't disturb cars to set off their alarms in L4D. And then there wasn't much story between action scenes . . . kind of like a Call of Duty game. That wasn't like the first couple of games. Who could ever forget the "slow" moment of Kai's death? Or when Dom finds Maria? Or either Carmine's deaths? Gears wasn't a run-and-gun type game. It had story. It had heart. But not in this one.

4) Foreshadowing should be more than 2 minutes before things happen
When you want to foreshadow something you should really lay hints out long before the event happens. Having Dom give up his dog tags before the "event" happens in the next scene is NOT foreshadowing. It's an "oops we forgot to set this pivotal moment up" decision. When Dom is looking for Maria in the second game you see and hear him talking about that long before he finds her. And when you get to the part of the story where he's looking for her he doesn't find her in the first place he looks. Once you have a big pivotal scene like that you have the after effects. And based on previous games the after effects should have had a longer deeper feeling to it than "oh well, let's move one". Whatever passion for life Marcus had been keeping a tight hold on for years should have at least bubbled to the surface a little bit afterwards. But Marcus was just the same afterwards as he was beforehand. While I liked him in the first two games, I though he came across as a emotionless bastard in this game. When they neutered the characters they stripped all emotion from them as well.

5) combat de-evolved
One area of combat that annoyed the heck out of me was the corpser scene. All the other "boss" battles and such in all the other games was about finding a way to kill all the enemies present. There was no "do this" then "do that" and then "boss dies". Going through the 5 stages with the corpser (and to some extent with the final boss battle) felt like battling a boss in an RPG game that evolves as the battle progresses. The first incarnation is a fire demon (attack with water). The next incarnation is a dark demon (attack with light). The next physical defenses are down (attack with your weapon). It's repetitive and monotonous. And boring. There had to be a better way to make that battle more interesting. There's a ceiling so no Hammer of Dawn. Why not have the guys try to position the corpser under a section of roof and blast a pillar down, hopefully not on their heads? There was potential there but I think it failed miserably in the execution.

6) weapon change outs
I could buy that the saw-off shotgun and retro lancer were older guns that Gears retired and moved to something a little more advanced. But where does the One Shot fit in in all that? And what about the Hammer of Dawn? I can't tell you how many battles I faced where the Lancer (or retro) was all I needed to get through an area. In the other games there were several places that only a certain weapon would see you through to the next area. In this game it didn't really matter what you had equipped. So where's the challenge in that? I want a little challenge to my murderous rampages. Is there a guy on a far tower I need to kill that my guns won't reach? Give me a special gun in order to get him. Unfortunately there were no special guns because there were no guys on far ledges that you couldn't reach. Everything was up close and personal so a Lancer and and shotgun was all you needed.

I'm sure I could tell you more things that bugged me about this game, but I want to hear what you have to say. (Just don't get me started on Marcus's hair.) I'll give my review of the multiplayer portion later. Overall I liked the game. I just wished I knew more about what was going on and that the feel of the previous two games was included in this game. The campaign was short but that's a typically Gears game for you. I didn't find it all that challenging to play but I'm glad I played it. I'm now working on the hardcore and insane play throughs. If you want to join me jump on it.

Overall score (out of 10): 8
Combat: 7
Story: 5
Characters: 7

Rock music isn't for everyone

Sometimes it feels like a game is out to get you. Like playing through the Dark Carnival campaign in Left 4 Dead 2 four times before I finally got the achievement after the rock concert. Or Genghis's multiple attempts to fire up a clown only to have the clown be the one to run through the flames and not burn. These moments make you want to put down a game and never play it again.

Then there are other moments, like last night, that make all the frustration worth it. Moments like Sneaka's obsessive cuddling of Gnome Chompski. I think he would have thrown his own children under the bus if it would have saved Gnome. And don't get me started on the bad 'gnome' puns he started to come up with.

But there was one moment that trumped everything else. A moment that left me laughing for a good 10 minutes after the game. So much so that I had to leave my mic on mute and I was afraid I would never breathe again. What happened, you ask? Well, I'll tell ya.

We were on our second or third time through on the rock concert chapter of Dark Carnival. Sneaka was bonding with his gnome and the rest of us were just trying to get out of there alive.

Apparently we weren't the only ones.

When the helicopter finally came down to the bleachers guess who was the first person on board? Not Rochelle. Not Coach. Not Ellis. And definitely not Nick. We all gave ourselves a shot of adrenaline and made a beeline for the safety of the helicopter's skids when as soon as we get there a Tank jumps up into the stands . . . AND JUMPS UP ON THE HELICOPTER SKIDS! Our mode of escape is now blocked by the very worse possible zombie you could find.

While this image was funny in and of itself there were three other things that started my giggle fit. One was the that I was first to the copter and I got to watch the copter tilt and sway as the Tank tried to climb in. For some reason the Tank tried to climb in twice. Each time the copter dipped and swayed with the weight of the Tank. All I could think of was "I'm not getting on that thing" and not because of the Tank would have pummeled me to bits before the copter got out of there. But because I wasn't sure what the weight limit would be on that thing. If you're escaping a horde of zombies the last thing you want to do is get on a copter that may not make it off the ground.

The other thing that made me giggle like a school girl who just got all the Jonas Brothers to autograph her TrapperKeeper was the squeals of disbelief from my friends when they saw their exit blocked by the Tank. The first moment of their "oh sh#t what do we do now" screams were priceless. The next few moments of game play consisted of us running around trying to lure the Tank away from the helicopter without having the enormous horde of the undead overwhelm us mere feet from our rescue.

The last thing that happened that put the whole incident over the edge for me was when Sneaka took his beloved Gnome, still cradled lovingly in his arms, and tried to jump into the helicopter. Apparently the Tank wanted the helicopter all to himself . . . or maybe just Sneaka . . . because he knocked the gnome out of Sneaka's hands and finally the Tank got out of the helicopter. Because of the hordes of zombies now all around us nobody could find where good old Chompski went. I finally found him at the base of the stands and had to fight my way to save him. Sneaka's wails of separation from his beloved were filled with untold anguish and pain. And the whole time I was laughing my ass off.

We eventually all got on the helicopter, including Gnome Chompski, and made it out of there alive. For almost the whole credit roll and for several minutes afterwards in the lobby all I could do was sit there and laugh. It was the funniest moment of my gaming life. I wish there had been some kind of way to record it and save it for posterity. It would have been a hit on YouTube.

After I stopped laughing I took a second look at the upcoming Zombie Armageddon. If you're not infected and can't get out of there alive, but the zombies want to escape, let them have the damn helicopter. They can fly off to whatever human free zone they call paradise and be undead happily ever after. No more car alarms to rile them up anymore. Maybe then us humans can enjoy a full rock concert in peace. Minus the Spitters, Smokers, Jockeys and Tanks.

Survival Guide for Zombie Armageddon

I've been thinking and I know how humanity is going to end. Zombies. Something will infect the population and most of us are going to turn into flesh eating, feral, undead creatures. Kind of like what some of you already are before your morning coffee. But this time the ugliness would be permanent. The Zombie Armageddon is coming, are you ready? If not, I've compiled some helpful hints to help you make it through the hordes of the undead as they come to devour your brains. (For some of you that would only be a light snack.)

Tip #1:
YOU DO NOT NEED TO KNOW HOW TO FIRE A GUN. Once the apocalypse is here you'll be an excellent marksman even if you've never picked up a gun before. And if you don't want to use a gun that chainsaw your neighbor has been hiding for years (even though he doesn't have any trees) is the preferred method of fighting zombies. If your neighbor is still alive now might be the time to make friends. If he's a zombie use his own tool to kill him.

Tip #2:
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SURVIVE ON YOUR OWN! Nothing ever good can come out of fighting off zombies all by your self. The preferred method of survival actually consists of a team of four people. Preferably not family. Sorry. If you want to survive with your family they you can only do so with two others. Preferably one you really like and one you can live without because one of them isn't going to make it. Let's up it's the one you can live without.

If you want to ensure your greatest chance of survival then your party of four must consist of the following types of people:

a) The Authority Figure. This could be an ex-soldier, a football coach or maybe a seasoned teacher. They are responsible for keeping the group organized and their preferred method of communication is the pep talk. They also must have a nick-name, like 'Sarge', 'Coach', or 'Teach'. If a suitable nick-name can not be agreed upon then they should be addressed with respect like 'Mr. Smith', etc.

b) The Narcissistic A-hole. While you might very well like to avoid this character at all costs he's vital to the survival of the group. While he will bitch and complain the whole time about the waves of zombie attackers you'll have to fight through to make your escape, he'll fight right along beside you. And while most of his suggestions will be pointless and waste time during those rare planning moments he will make one suggestion that will save your life. Of course that one suggestion will be so far fetched that it couldn't possibly work, but it will save your ass at a critical point. Be on the look out for that suggestion. It always comes right when the guy starts to get tolerable and he realizes he CAN live without hair gel and designer suits if he makes it out of [insert city name] alive. Of course now that his suggestion actually worked to save everyone he's going to be more intolerable than before.

c) The Young Punk. This is the young kid who shows no interest in the world around even if that world starts throwing undead killers at him. He'll be closed off and probably carry around a hand-held gaming system for those "down times". He'll have the quickest reflexes, greatest accuracy and you'll thank your lucky stars the kid learned it all from video games. He'll also be a virgin, but if your team survives intact the next person can take care of that.

d) The Hot Chick. This is the girl that wouldn't mop the floor because she'd probably break a nail but suddenly she's tough as nails and not afraid to get dirty. She's also got to be able to handle three guys all at once. That's not easy if they think she's the last female on the planet. Mr. Narcissistic Man will flirt with her unceasingly to the point of nausea. The Young Punk will have a secret crush on her. And the Authority Figure will look at her like he's own daughter. In the darkest hour when all hope is lost she might grant one "death wish" from the Young Punk and de-virginize him, but if she ever sleeps with the self-obsessed pretty boy it will be the biggest mistake of her life.

Tip #3:
GUN SHOPS WILL ALWAYS BE FULLY STOCKED when you're on the move. It doesn't matter where you go there will be a gun shop and it will be the one place that hasn't been looted yet. Why? Maybe because everybody around has been turned into zombies. If that's the case grab everything you can carry and run like hell to get out of there. That will be the one place the zombies will be waiting for you.

Tip #4:
TAKE DOWN THE BIGGER ZOMBIES FIRST. Don't be fooled by those scrawny ones that run up to you really fast and barely have the strength to attack you. You can survive those guys for a minute or two while you concentrate your fire on those hugely deformed ones that lumber at you slowly. You'll know they're around because you can feel the ground shake or there will be a strange music/squeal like sound just before they make their appearance. Those guys can do damage so take them out as quickly as possible.

Tip #5:
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A SAFE HOUSE! It doesn't matter how far you run from a populated city or if you eliminated all opposition in a building. If you close that door and stay there to rest, they will find you. But that doesn't mean you have to constantly move all the time. You're only human (so far anyway) so you'll need to get some sleep and heal yourself. Do it in teams. Two people heal and rest while the other two stand guard. When you get to the next 'safe house' let the other pair rest while you stand guard. It's not a glamorous job but somebody's got to do it if you want to get out of there alive.

Tip #6:
THE GOVERNEMENT IS YOUR ONLY CHOICE FOR SURVIVAL. If you do manage to get out of there alive it will, no doubt, mean you're left to live on a government controlled plot of land somewhere. Government rules. Government food. And government healthcare. Yes, life sucks . . . but at least you're alive.

Tip #7:
GET YOURSELF A GUN. If you are unable to abide by these tips then the best thing to do once the zombies start taking over is to put a gun to your head and blow your brains out. You do not want to be one of the walking dead. It wrecks havoc on your complexion.

There you have it. You have now all been warned about the end of days and instructed on how to survive the zombie apocalypse that is surely coming. I've been practicing for it now on my Xbox 360 to keep my skills honed just nicely enough to survive. Does anyone want to be in my group of four? If, in the event that you become a zombie I'll do a later post about tips for you. But seriously, do you think zombies are on the internet?

Poll Results - Best game of 2009

Okay, either my polls suck or you guys have gotten bored reading my blog. Either way I lose. Here are the (pathetic) results from the last poll:

What was the best game of 2009?

Assassin's Creed 2 = 2 votes
Halo 3:ODST = 0 votes
Modern Warfare 2 = 1 vote
Left 4 Dead 2 = 0 votes
Dragon Age Origin = 0 votes
Borderlands = 0 votes
New Super Mario Bros. Wii = 0 votes
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 = 0 votes

Maybe the reason why some of you didn't vote was because of the economy and you couldn't afford to get some of the latest games. Maybe you just don't care anymore about what the latest/greatest game is. Or, like I said, maybe I'm getting boring in my old age.

I was just getting into Dragon Age when I was robbed so I don't know if the rest of the game is just as exciting as the first part. And while I owned (past tense, another victim of the robbery) Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 I hadn't played it yet (because I hadn't finished the first game). I played the demo for Left 4 Dead 2 and realized that it would be nearly impossible to play single player. That's a game best played with friends. Borderlands is a cool game but I haven't come across anything in the game that says "Whoa! this is unlike anything I've seen before". Maybe that's just me. I'd love to play Halo 3:ODST but I didn't have the money to buy it when it came out AND I wouldn't play it until I had played the earlier games AND those earlier games got stolen so I just don't see the point of buying it now to see what it's like. And seriously Nintendo? How many times are you going to "port" your original Mario Bros. game and call it "super" or "new" or both? As for Modern Warfare 2 it's got some problems.

I hate the fact that you can't jump into your friends party lobby. No can do. You've got to wait for an invite if you want to play with friends. And if your friend is already in the middle of a match you've got to send him a message saying you want in. If he stops to read it he might get killed. And do you want that on your conscience? And what happens if your party jumps out of a pre-game lobby to pick up a friend only to find out they want to play something else? Do you know how many "easy" rooms we've left only to find ourselves in those rooms where nothing goes right and everybody on the other team is glitching?

So that leaves Assassin's Creed 2. And that's the one I voted for. Even though I haven't played it (haven't finished the first game - another robbery victim). So how can I know it's the best game of 2009 if I haven't played it? I've read a lot about this game. And I've listened to what my friends have been saying. It's the game that the first one promised to be. It's the game that changes how you move and play through a game. It's also the game that opens up the game industry to approach their games differently than a standard hack-n-slash or FPS. Much like what BioShock did when it came out. And since I love BioShock why wouldn't I love Assassin's Creed 2 even if I haven't played it?

New Poll - Best game of 2009 was . . .

Here's a new poll for you. I've limited the choices to those games that are playable on systems I owned . . . or use to own. That leaves any PS3 and Nintendo DS games out.

Best game of 2009 was . . .

Assassin's Creed II
Halo 3: ODST
Call of Duty: Modern Warefare 2
Left 4 Dead 2
Dragon Age: Origin
Borderlands
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

Vote for your favorite and feel free to tell me what you think in the comments section. Especially if your favorite isn't on my list.

Zombies!? Are you kididng me?

Okay, I promised you a post about zombies . . . and it's going to be a whopper. But first I think you need some back ground info.

On a writing forum I'm a member of we've been having a discussion about the appeal of vampires (and how they've changed through history) as they're portrayed in the media (books, movies, etc.) these days. The more we talked about it the more I realized that from a geek/nerd perspective, it's not vampires, but zombies. We love our undead. Just look at all the zombie killing games that are out there. Hunter the Reckoning, Resident Evil, Left for Dead, Zombie Apocalypse, Dead Space and even Call of Duty: World at War. Just to name a few.

But unlike vampires, the undead have remained creepy. There's no love story between a lonely female human and the undead, but handsome, creature she stumbles across. If one of the undead (handsome or not . . . and usually not) stumbled across a human (male or female) the only thing going through whatever passes for their brains would be "Mmmmm, warm flesh, me hungry". And that doesn't bode well for the human.

With that said, that very same night I had that brilliant epiphany (I thought it was brilliant) I got an email from Borders Books with the subject line "Star Wars and Zombies". Eh? At first glance I thought they were trying to put those two ideas together, but then I figured it was poor editing/proofreading on someone's part and what they were trying to say was "we have new Star Wars books and new Zombie books". It is, after all, the Halloween season. And there's no shortage of suckers for anything Star Wars. As a geek AND a nerd (and a sucker) when it comes to Star Wars I opened up the email and found this book:



My first thought was "Oh, it looks creepy". Then I read the plot details.

Apparently the subject line of the email was not an error, but in fact there are now zombies inhabiting the Star Wars universe. Zombies? In Star Wars? Are you kidding me?

The story is about some virus that spreads rapidly through a prison transport space barge and turns troopers/prisoners into zombies. Seriously? We've seen that before. Hunter the Reckoning happens with inmates in a prison. Dead Space has zombies in space. Now you mix those two together, throw them into the Star Wars Universe and WRITE A BOOK ABOUT IT? Are you kidding me?

Have the geeks and nerds of this world become so infatuated with zombies (like teen girls and the Twilight novels/movies) that we have to tarnish the most Holy of all geek/nerd-doms with zombies? Is that what is going to keep the Star Wars universe relevant to today's kids? Or is Lucas Arts that hard pressed for fresh original ideas that they decided one day "let's add zombies to Star Wars and see what the fans think"?

Well, this fan (and one who buys everything/anything Star Wars related) was revolted. I wanted to throw up. I felt like my innocent childhood of big dreams and epic space operas had been violated . . . by a lurching mass of the undead. Yes, I will most likely read this book. After all I am a Star Wars geek/nerd to the tenth power. Do I think this book will be an entertaining read? Possibly. Will it be great literature? I doubt it. But then again someone did put zombies in Pride and Prejudice. I guess they had to do something to get kids these days to read.

Poll Results - Game of the Year 2008?

I've had a lot going on in my life the last couple of weeks so I'm a little behind on posting the poll results and my opinions. I know you've been dying to know what I think. Right?

Game of the Year 2008?

Grand Theft Auto IV = 0 votes
Gears of War 2 = 3 votes
Call of Duty: World at War = 1 vote
Fable 2 = 1 vote
Fallout 3 = 2 votes
Dead Space = 0 votes
Left 4 Dead = 0 votes

Okay, let's start with the losers. I'm not at all surprised that Grand Theft Auto IV didn't get any votes because the game came out in the first part of the year and it seemed to be a lot of hype but not much game from what I hear from people who've played it. With the news that a large bit of downloadable content coming out I thought there would be more interest in the game. But what does it say about the game when the additional content they put out for it isn't even for the characters or story lines already built in the game? I'm also not surprised that Left 4 Dead didn't get any votes. I hear it's a great game but almost impossible to play all alone. It's much easier to get through when playing with friends. But with all the games out there it might be difficult to get a group of friends together to play through the game.

I am a little surprised about Dead Space. Everyone I've talked to about that game says it's creepier than BioShock and fantastic. They suggest playing it with the lights out and the sound system turned up (if you've got one) and prepare to have nightmares every night. I own this game but I haven't had the chance to play it yet. I'm hoping to spend a weekend getting into this game.

I'm not surprised Fable II got a vote. It's a good game. There are tons of stuff to do in the game. I know. I've been playing it for hours and I haven't even gotten to the main city yet. I worked as a blacksmith for quite a while, then explored a secret cave by a ship, and I've spent a lot of time playing with my dog and letting him dig for things. Or at least point out where *I* need to dig for things. I love playing RPGs that give you lots of things to explore for and around. I can't stand the "let's confine the player to just the story line" type of game play. On the other hand I have a hard time with "sand box" style games like Grand Theft Auto. You know the ones where you can take on any mission or task that you feel like. I need a little bit more direction than that. With "sand box" games I always take on a task that I'm not up to completing for various reasons. Just like I'm better at playing the Domination game type in Call of Duty than the Deathmatch type. I need a goal to work towards. That's just how I play.

I'm surprised Call of Duty: World at War didn't get more votes. It's a good game with some interesting and different new twists thrown in that aren't in previous Call of Duty games. I also think the general gaming public is surprised by how good this game is in the first place. For Call of Duty fans the odd numbered games are created by a different developer and have always been seen as bad games compared to the even numbered COD games. Call of Duty 4 was a phenomenal game and much loved by COD games that everyone thought COD:W@W would be terrible. When it wasn't, people were shock and I think it's lower expectations prior to it's release might have hurt it for end of year honors.

If I had more people voting on the blog I know that Fallout 3 would have received more votes. I'm surprised it didn't win this poll. I have this game and I've played through the first part (my job in the shelter was "marriage counselor", don't ask). From what I've played so far I think this is great and deserving of Game of the Year honors. It's also a very slow plodding game if you do all the side missions and a very fast game if you stick to the main story line. This game has atmosphere and style which I think a lot of games these days are missing.

I'm really not surprised Gears of War 2 got the most votes. That's the game that most of my friends play on a regular basis (and thus most of my voting readers). It's pretty much like the first Gears with new features like vehicles and weapons and new game types. I don't know if that's enough to make it a great enough game for Game of the Year honors because it plays too much like the first one. That doesn't mean I want the developers to completely change the game play, it's just feels like part 2 . . . a sequel. Which it is.

I think it fascinating and a little disturbing that the majority of games being considered for Game of the Year options were sequels. Have we come to a point in the game community where only the tried and true formulas of existing games are the only place where we get our inspiration? I hope not. Hollywood goes through this swing of copying/sequelizing everything every couple of years. Has anyone seen Bewitched? or Stepford Wives? Or all of the Riddick or Underworld moves?

Every now and then a great game comes along that stands up on it's own, has no predecessor and makes the gaming world take notice. BioShock did that. Left 4 Dead is doing that. And maybe Dead Space. Every other item on my list is a sequel or follower of a previous game. A lot of times those second (or third, or fourth) iterations don't quite have the same shine and excitement that the first game did. Does that make them bad games for being sequels? No. None of these games on my list are bad games. That's why they're in contention for my Game of the Year honors.

So What game did I vote for? Well . . . none of them. I couldn't make up my mind which game stood out above the others. And then the poll closed. Depending on the day and how I feel I might change my vote (if I had made one). In years past there's usually been one or two games that are hands down better than anything else out there. They're natural shoo-ins for Game of the Year honors. This year I think the race is a much tougher and closer one than anyone expected. Maybe by next year I will have played enough of them to know which one really is the Game of the Year in 2008. That is if I don't buy and play any more games between now and then.

New Poll - 2008 Game of the Year?

I put a new poll up and forgot to tell you with a new post. Shame on me. Here it is:

Game of the Year 2008?

Grand Theft Auto IV
Gears of War 2
Call of Duty: World at War
Fable II
Fallout 3
Dead Space
Left 4 Dead

I think it's very telling that the majority of them are sequels. What that says is one of several things. 1) People loved the first/previous games so much they clamored for more . . . and developers gave in, 2) the first/previous games were deserving of a sequel to either a) finish the story or b) finish the advances in game play that the first/previous ones established. or 3) it's easier to copy tried and true ideas than to come up with something new on your own. You've got all the basics designed and built all you have to do is make enough changes to call it a different game (I'll talk more on that later).

Yes, I know I haven't included any games that have come out on other systems besides Xbox 360. Why? Because I haven't experienced any of them. This is my blog, my poll, my rules. Deal with it. As much as I would have liked to play Boom Blox or Wii Fit (in the privacy of my own home, of course) I haven't had the chance. So I'm sticking to what I know because I'm going to have to write about it when the results are in.

So what do you think? I forgot to put an "other" option in so if you think something else is worthy enough for a vote post a comment and let me know what you think. That's right, it's my blog but you have a say in the matter. That doesn't mean I'll listen to you especially if you start yapping like a Chihuahua on caffeine, but at least I'll give you a chance to state your peace. Just think of it as my gift to you.