TOP TEN VIDEO GAMES OF THE YEAR!

Don't make that face...my top ten movie list is COMING SOOOOOON!!! I have to see a couple movies this week (since I'm off between Christmas and New Years...suckers!!!) and then I'll post that list. Until then, just read this one and deal with it...

1. UNCHARTED: DRAKE'S FORTUNE


This is Indiana Jones meets Lost meets The Descent...all in one incredible video game that matches visual thrills with characters that you care about and dialogue that doesn't sound like it came from a horrible Japanese horror movie! They kept promising that the "next generation" of video games would match the experience of "playing a Hollywood blockbuster" and with Uncharted, they actually made good on that promise!

2. CALL OF DUTY 4


War is Hell. I've never served, but dammit, this is as close as I'd ever want to be. The entire game is like the most frightening and intense parts of Black Hawk Down. This isn't another lame "World War I shooter," this is a current conflict in the Middle East with some evil terrorist assholes and a warzone that has no "bases" or "safe zone." Bullets come from anywhere, you have to scatter across long stretches of urban landscapes, miles of old Russian wilderness, even a sniper mission that has you crawling on your belly underneath moving cars as you attempt an assassination. The graphics are unlike anything you've ever seen. Just take a second and look at that screenshot! See the way the heat from the car on fire distorts the building behind it?! Little details like that help take you out of the realm of a mere video game and into the horrors of actual combat.

3. RATCHET & CLANK FUTURE: TOOLS OF DESTRUCTION


Whenever I played this game, Lex would say, "Yay! I like this movie!!!" Now, it's not that difficult to fool a 3 year old, but it also says a lot about the incredible graphics and animation at work here. Pixar has nothing to worry about, but Dreamworks better get their act together. Ratchet & Clank Future looks better, is more grand in scope and has a much better story than Shrek 3! Basically, this franchise is "Mario" for a new generation. Enjoyable platforming that young and old can equally enjoy...with kickass guns, of course.

4. GOD OF WAR II


Up until now, each of these games were on the Playstation 3, (and-or Xbox 360) the "next gen" consoles. God of War II was the last major release the Playstation 2 had to offer and it went out in a fantastic manner. An epic game in every sense of the word, you play as Kratos, a fearse Spartan warrior who has killed Ares (in the first God of War) and is now THE God of War. It's not only a awesome and brutal video game, but somewhat of a history lesson as well! See, who said kids can't learn things as they're ripping Gods to shreads with giant blades attached to their arms with chains?!

5. EVERYDAY SHOOTER


This was a flash game created by a single "25 year old kid" Jonathan Mak. I'll let his explaination of the game speak for itself: "...an album of games exploring the expressive power of abstract shooters. Dissolute sounds of destruction are replaced with guitar riffs harmonizing over an all-guitar soundtrack, while modulating shapes celebrate the flowing beauty of geometry."

6. SKATE


Tony Hawk, who?! For almost a decade, Tony Hawk has released a skateboarding game and I've purchased it like clockwork. But over the years, the arcade-style-gameplay and "grind along the powerlines for million point combos" just got stale and boring. Dare I say I want a more realistic skateboarding sim?! Enter Skate. Gone are the insane stunts and Jackass mentality, in its place are incredible controls and the simply satisfaction of grinding down a handrail.

7. PORTAL


Would probably be MUCH higher on the list if I didn't just start playing it early last week. A total mindfuck. You create "portals" that you use to solve puzzles. I can't even come close to describing this game, you just need to watch the videos, NOW!!!

8. HEAVENLY SWORD


An exciting, fast paced adventure...that just ends waaaaaaaaaaay too quickly. If it lasted longer than 6 simple hours, I'd rank it higher. Basically it's GODDESS of War.

9. RATCHET & CLANK: SIZE MATTERS


Yes, another Ratchet & Clank game. But this one is on the PSP handheld system and still manages to be better than most games on the current home systems!

10. SUPER STARDUST HD


No, not that lame movie with Robert DeNiro, this Stardust is an updated version of the arcade classic with the simplest controls of all time. One analog stick stears your ship, the other aims your weapons. Done and done...now avoid them asteroids, killer!!!