Meet Obi-Wan Kenobi, an average Jedi with an above average brain. Obi-Wan defeated a Sith Lord prior to becoming a Master… When Obi-Wan fought against Anakin Skywalker, an overpowered crybaby who was given every tool possible to be great in life, Obi-Wan flawlessly destroyed him and forced him to live with a respirator for life. Do you know why?

Obi-Wan used his brains and skill instead of dwelling on his limitations!

For every game in the MMORPG world, there is a line of choices for characters that may or may not be easy to win with at Player vs Player combat. Let me repeat that – I said “easy to win with”, I did not say “dominate”. It’s the same issue that comes about with fighting games, you have certain characters who are easy to win with and other characters that are made for pro-gamers… sometimes as a result of poor development.

Using Street Fighter As An Example (Pro vs EZ-Mode):

I know we are talking MMORPG PVP here but let me bring Street Fighter in as an example and the character Ken Masters… unlike Ryu his Japanese clone, Ken is arguably a new player’s character. He has a dragon punch that comes out on accident half the time when people are trying a fireball, he has sweet kicks that dominate a lot of things and he is a very, very balanced character overall (barely any weaknesses). Put Ken in the hands of a pro and he’s dangerous, but his potential pales due to the fact that many players use him – hence no element of surprise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojo54padEw0

On the other hand you have a character like Crimson Viper, she’s a hot MILF so newbs pick her thinking that she will be playable and fun… not quite. Viper is a pro-level character, if you don’t know her timing, what does what and how to counter your opponent’s moves you will get your ass kicked using her about 95% of the time. Viper in the hands of a pro is even better than Ken because people aren’t used to her.

See, most everyone chooses easy, so they are used to fighting Ken. Therefore the element of surprise ups the pro’s skill to scary levels.

Have you ever entered a match against what you know is a crappy character that nobody uses only to have that character whip your ass hardcore? I have and it was nobody’s fault but my own for underestimating the opponent. The player using the shit character took time, did his/her homework and mastered the character to kick ass… me, not being used to fighting that character on that level… lost. Believe it or not PVPing in an MMORPG Is the same way.

Whine, Get Better, or ReRoll – The Choice Is Yours

Having played some really crappy classes in MMORPG, I know the pain of losing to people who needed to only press a simple button combo to win. My attitude was always to learn, adapt, improve and at worst reroll to something less broken. Unfortunately many gamers would rather complain into thin air, the forums or to themselves. There is nothing fun about Ez-mode to me, which is why I write this guide to improving. Fun to me is playing what you want, not flavor of the month, not what works for that guy, but what you want… and making it succeed for you.

In Star Wars Galaxies, the flavor of the month fencer/pistoleer stacked kids would often talk about how much swordsman sucked yet the best PvPer on our server was a swordsman. Think about that for a second, the player using the character wasn’t some hacker/exploiting genius, no, he was a man who took time to learn his class, get supplemental items to make up for what was lacking and learnt the weakness of the other classes.

Let me rephrase these steps for you aspiring PVP gods who would rather win than whine.

The steps to improving your PVP game are:

• Learn the game mechanics inside and out: What damage cuts through what defenses? Who has that defense? Who can you beat easily and who is damn near impossible to touch? Is it fixable with a potion or buff? Is said buff on a short or long timer? Are the matchups with that class too skewed to losing? Etc. etc.
• Learn your class inside and out: Does the skills used in PvE work as well in PvP? What skills are broken and what can be done to make up for it? Does the DEVs plan a fix for it anytime soon? How are other pro-level gamers using your character coping? How can you talk to them to improve your knowledge of the class? Is the official game forums full of education or bad players crying?
• Learn the weakness of the zerg inside out: What’s the flavor of the month class? What works against them? What deep, dark secrets guarantee a win against them that most scrubs playing them don’t know? What’s the fastest way to dominate even as a gimp?
• Supplement your weakness and strengths: Most games have pots, potions and some sort of injection to make you better for a few seconds. Good PVPers carry a couple cases of the stuff to certify that if anything, they have an edge over you every single time. Playing cheap is suicide for a gimpy character class so learn your chemistry and stay on dem drugs!
• Put time into dueling all classes: Become friends with pro-level players of various classes and learn to fight them one on one. While many PVP games encourage grouped, zerg wars you still need to know how to kill every single one of them. The only way to get good is through practice.

Remember – Crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their frustration as they send you hate in the form of whispers, tells and emails. Losers are loud, learn to embrace their typed out tears.

There is no honor in bitching about how much of a victim you are for choosing your class, but there is a ton of honor in using your brain to win what you can win. With that said, I look forward to seeing more pro-level people on these games choosing to stay with the unpopular classes. Thanks for reading.

Originally posted at: 3GodKings.com

This image was borrowed from gamer Haajib in the SWTOR community forums. While I am not complaining, I just thought it was an excellent representation of what we see in the game currently, especially on PVP servers. For future developers of MMORPG that  may see this and other posts like mine – treat it as a reason why you don’t make one class have all the snacks plus the sexy time. The last time I checked the Star Wars Galaxy had one Darth Sidious and one Darth Maul… not a million of them.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Star Wars: The Old Republic – the purple symbol is that of a Sith Inquisitor, the red saber is a Sith Warrior and the lone gunman is an Imperial Agent. The screenshot is the scoreboard after a warzone. Right now The Old Republic suffers from a heavy load of players on the Imperial side as opposed to the Republic.

Originally posted at: 3GodKings.com

Nothing spreads faster than a false, toxic rumor. Bioware’s Star Wars The Old Republic suffered this truth after releasing their first major patch (1.1) on the 18th of January only to have PvP exploiters ruin the party for everyone. In a matter of minutes after the patch was released, the official forums exploded with threads of people calling it the new NGE, saying that they quit and posting a blatant lie that the turrets on the planet Ilum were being destroyed for thousands of valor points. Valor is a point system gained through player vs player combat (high valor yields the best PvP armor in the game).

Many unqualified people took the lie as a fact and reposted their own version of it and fanned the flames (typical forum knee-jerk reaction) by what seemed like everyone on the PvP forums. Being both curious and lucky that I took the day off to celebrate my birthday, I loaded up my level 50 killer and took him out to Ilum to see for myself. The first thing that caught my eye was that there were now 150+ people in the zone and it was instanced… Meaning that we had reached population limit so there had to be 2 instances. I had never seen this before and I am on Ilum daily… It warranted some investigation.

The First Rule of Fight Club…

In general chat there were people spamming “message me to join the ops group!” hinting that the zerg was actually organized and as I neared the enemy camp (Republic) I saw what was happening… First off, people were killing turrets with massive hit-points, so out of curiosity I got into sniper cover and dropped some heavy shots on it – that’s right my fellow gods, I tried the so-called sploit.

The turret got destroyed, respawned immediately and gave us no reward – okay so that rumor was debunked. Next I turned my attention to the medical center – the Republics sole spawn point and I saw a few victims being recycle killed via area of effect and otherwise… Ahhh now that was the real root of the problem… Spawn camping.

Now keep in mind that on my server “Prophecy of Five”, Imperials outnumber the Republic 3-1; this is a common trend throughout all servers. This means that any coup launched by the Republic would only result in more valor farmed and exploited by the Imperial zerg… The irony in who was committing this crime is just funny to me. Imperials being cheating bastards? You don’t say!

So to confirm my thoughts I logged into my baby Republic alt and joined a PvP guild… Almost instantly I was seeing frustrated Repubs who were stuck in Ilum unable to leave. The lag of so many players slamming area of effect spells made it a slideshow for them and being spawn camped with no hope of escape made them logout upset. I thought to myself “wow, Ilum is fucked”.

What’s the worst of it?

The worst of it is that some of our buddies will get suspended, banned or worse but it states clearly in the user agreement that exploits will not be tolerated. While punishing lemmings for following suit with other players in committing MMO crime is something that has been contested since forever, it’s still a violation of the rules.

Let’s try some common sense here folks, when has camping people ever been a positive outcome in any pvp situation? When I went out there and saw players farming valor my first reaction was to leave and leave fast – which is why I logged out to play my alt.

Most players didn’t notice or care

In the grand scheme of things the majority of SWTOR players were clueless to any of these issues. This was a PvP issue that affected only the handful of people who visited Ilum to accomplish their PvP dailies. People who enjoy the other 95% of things that the game offers were pretty blind to Ilum-gate and the exploitation of the respawns. This is why the cries of “this will kill the game!” Made me laugh… No nerds, if anything kills SWTOR it will be bugs and broken skills and issues, not PvP exploits.

In Conclusion

Bioware has said that they will be patching a fix to the camping and punishing the worst offenders. This should be good enough but people are screaming for a full rollback (SWG people no doubt) so that all valor is wiped (and their dreams of farming weak geared lowbees in warzones return). It won’t happen though, and if you are unfortunate enough to read SWTOR forums I would urge you to ignore the trolls and liars who are making threads about quitting. Malcontented trolls need attention and the turret lie was big enough already to gain reposts by gaming blogs dumb enough to write articles about it.

Tomorrow is also the last day for people who will not resub to continue playing and most will want others to quit with them. Just play the game and think for yourself people, it’s as simple as that.

Originally posted at: 3GodKings.com

Varied planets, voluptuous women and manly men, all decked out in the finest armor and gear running about in a museum of animated mannequins doing mundane things to trick you that life truly exists in The Old Republic. People run up to captains, bartenders and droids, collecting their individual bounties, uninterested in one another as they play out their individual stories and lives. This is Star Wars The Old Republic at a glance – a single player’s dream in MMORPG form.

If you want Star Wars Galaxies level of communication, interaction and cyber, you will be very disappointed in this game. The MMO aspect is similar to Guild Wars in that you pick and choose when and where you play with others and you could do fine without ever saying a word to anyone else. People who lamented Bioware’s choice to go with an MMO instead of a single player KOTOR sequel could buy this game, run out the story with all 8 archetypes and be more than fulfilled with the game as a genuine addition to the Knights of The Old Republic saga. The remnants of Revan are talked about, quested and reminded of in this game and it ties in very well with the former titles.

This does not mean that you cannot treat SWTOR like an average MMORPG however… If your idea of fun is spamming “LFG” while killing 100 Pirates on Hutta in order to grind out a level or 2 then you can very much do that just like an Everquest or a World of Warcraft. For people interested in the story, the world and the lore however – playing through your character’s story is encouraged as it yields the most experience and necessary toys (speeder, spacecraft, companions, etc.) in order to enjoy the game at the top level.

Graphics and Sound: A Multicultural Galaxy of Simplicity

When I was invited to beta test SWTOR for a bit before launch it took me some time to get used to the simplified character designs and world. It reminded me very much of the wonderful Clone Wars animated series (though a bit less blocky), but it was far removed from the realistic looking games that I had been playing (Red Dead Redemption, Skyrim, etc.) This initially took some time to get used to since I am the kind of player that normally takes an hour on character creation to make the toon look as close to my real self as possible.

This was my first gripe with the game as it only gives you about 20 preset faces to choose from. When I created my Imperial Agent and picked a somewhat similar looking guy to myself, I noticed that the voice wasn’t the familiar deep, anime version that games tend to lean towards for a protagonist. No, my guy sounded like a slick James Bond type and it took some time to get used to him sounding that way but after a while it began to dawn on me how well done the dialogue in SWTOR really was.

Trust me, once you play SWTOR you will never want to play an MMORPG that forces you to read the NPC speech again.

My secret agent man was able to be everything I wanted him to be… a whoring, gun-toting, anarchist with no loyalty to the Empire outside of cashing their checks at the end of a successful mission.

As with anything Star Wars the crowning achievement besides the visuals (which this game will win no awards on) has to be the soundtrack and SWTOR delivers. The battle music in SWTOR is very reminiscent of the prequel episodes of Star Wars and with the arrival to every planet I was greeted with a memorable melody to accompany the mood.

The naughty music of Hutt-run Nar Shaddaa, the peaceful melody on Hoth and the anxious music of Dromund Kaas are some that come to mind since eventually the music attaches itself to memories of getting ganked by Republic PvPers or being ripped off by an NPC in my story.

The cities include the busy speeder sounds that you heard during the Coruscant scenes in Star Wars Episode II and when you visit the Hutt version of Las Vegas (Nar Shaddaa) you feel very much like you’re in the corrupt, gang-run, sin city of the galaxy.

The sounds absolutely make this game but anyone used to Star Wars will not be surprised by this.

Annoying Bugs and Queue Times

One of the most annoying issues I have found with SWTOR (specifically on my agent) has been bugs that disrupt an otherwise smooth gameplay experience. As an agent one of the most important features that we have is to “take cover”. When in cover we have the advantage of using LOS (Line of Sight) to pick off our enemies with a sniper rifle and duck incoming shots, lightning and saber tosses. One bug that occurs a lot for me has been my agent’s inability to see bosses right in front of him during key shootouts – it’s a pretty major issue which should be fixed sooner than later.

Another major issue was when Bioware limited the size of the servers that were opened for us pre-launch players so that the retail buyers would choose empty servers as opposed to the already heavy ones that we occupied.

This may seem genius on paper but it screwed the players who got in early, leading to wait times of up to an hour at times to be able to play. This was game breaking for a ton of people who lacked my patience. Just imagine being in a group that took you over 30 minutes to pull together and crashing to desktop only to relaunch and be stuck in a queue of 20 minutes. This was a very rough patch for people who had played the game heavily for days leading up to the 20^th of December (launch day).

8+ Iconic Stories of Standard Bioware Faire

As I alluded to in the first few paragraphs, SWTOR allows me to play my agent the way I wish him to be played – as a money driven, James Bond of outer space. The story that Bioware provides for him progresses you so well through the game that you never feel like skipping his tale to grind out levels the traditional MMO way. The twists and turns in the career of my agent is like a movie as it plays out and as I accomplished certain things, made key decisions and defeated my marks, the world adjusted to me.

Every character class has his/her own tale to play out in a series of Chapters in TOR. New players are given companions throughout their adventure which can be servants, partners, lovers and even spouses. Think of it as Mass Effect with a Star Wars skin in terms of relating to companions and gaining loyalty, respect and love. There is so much to do besides the story however that the drawback to this is that you may end up out-leveling the missions by spending too much time PVPing, raiding or piloting – which gives massive experience as well.

Final Thoughts

People expected Star Wars: The Old Republic to come into the MMORPG genre and bring about a huge change in gaming dynamics than the current king (World of Warcraft). This was not the case and people who fooled themselves into believing this were turned away uttering bull like “WoW Clone” or “WoW with lightsabers”. These people aren’t far off the mark when it comes to the actual game mechanics but SWTOR has found a way to make single player gamers fit in with the MMO hogs and coexist happily. This to me is a huge step in the right direction for MMO’s.

One of the downside of MMORPG’s in the past for me has been the need to guild up or spam “LFG” in order to progress. I can recall the early days of Everquest 2 when this was necessary and it made for guilds with needy members that made the guild master’s job a nightmare at times. That build of game would never win over a person who was content playing a game like KOTOR which allowed him/her to logout once they were done with their playtime for the night.

I have played most of my characters solo and outside of groups and absolutely love the independence. SWTOR allows you to only choose a group if that is your style of gameplay, it isn’t mandated like other MMOs (not counting the fabulous Guild Wars).

In closing I will say that this is an extremely fun game for lovers of Star Wars lore and those of you like myself who quit MMO games for the very reasons that I outlined above. SWTOR has been a breath of fresh air and a fun distraction for this Star Wars fan.

GOD KING GRADE: (B)   ★★★★

Originally posted at: 3GodKings.com

With an argument for the sexy, we should be able to agree with the title of this article being that female armor in fantasy has always been midriff and boobs over protection. Still even with the amount of skin shown on women in fantasy games, movies and comic books, we have women such as the beloved Red Sonja (pictured above) fighting several men while receiving minimum damage and maximum protection. Well maybe Sonja is a bad example… I mean honey can fight naked and the bad guys will get cut… so lets talk normal everyday characters in games, especially the ones we play as – have you noticed this?

Well recently an actual armorer took the creators of these images (namely artists who depict heroines) and explained why the boob armor (his word not mine) is impractical and would get your sexy elf killed – were she real. Check out this excerpt and the full article at MadArtLab.com:

“Plate armor is the way it is largely out of necessity. The layout and articulations of the plates are the best solutions the designers could come up with to balance mobility with protection. Also, note that nobody was naked under their armor. There was a ton of padding between the metal and the flesh that absorbed the energy of the blows.  That means the difference between male and female plate armor is relatively trivial because once you’ve padded it out and left space for movement, you’ve all but erased the figure of the person inside. “

Interestingly enough Mass Effect fans, our girl femshep and the entire Mass Effect universe was touted as one of the only fantasies out there doing a solid job at showcasing realistic female armor. So sound off gods and goddesses, what do you prefer in your fantasy? Realistic flat-chested plate-mail or strippers in steel? Let’s hear it!

Originally posted at: 3GodKings.com

Ignore General Chat

First let me say that for the most part the general Chat in SWTOR has been a very helpful device for people that are new to MMOs who have questions about the game and how to perform certain actions. On the other hand the trolling that we know as jokes (like telling a newb to press alt-f4 in pvp) may come off as mean-spirited to people that are new to MMO’s in general and got the game for the Star Wars name.

As a man that has been around the block more than a few times within MMO Gaming, I will tell you that there are 2 distinct types of players – those who want to be adults and those who want to be asshats. Being that this is a Star Wars game, many of you readers will be playing it for the lore and story over swapping memes, dirty jokes and racial slurs with people that could potentially be children. To preserve your experience and to keep the game Star Wars and somewhat classy, do yourself a favor and right-click on the chat bar and in the chat settings make yourself a new tab and uncheck “General chat”. Doing this will allow you to have some peace and quiet within your own tab without missing  out on the other channels – it is something I do often when I am playing. If you choose to let the General chat flow within your game time, do not be surprised if you get distracted with people reminiscing about World of Warcraft, Star Wars Galaxies or why there is no anti-aliasing in the game.

Read The Pop-up Hints

While many of these are common sense for average PC gamer, there are many things that you are instructed on doing that is exclusive to the SWTOR user interface. It frustrates other players when you ask questions that everyone knows are explained to you via the help pop-up. Reading the help will allow your experience to be smoother than spamming the same General Chat that people are already arguing in, asking questions that will get you cussed out or ignored.

In Space Nobody Hears Your Whining

Seriously, if there is a feature in the game that frustrates you hardcore, go to the official SWTOR Forums and join the rest of the people that are already posting about it. Spamming chat (especially specific chats like PVP or Spatial) may force people to ignore you and worsen your chances for groups.

Use The LFG Mechanic when Looking for Group

Look, the traditional lazy way to form a group is to yell out “LOOKING FOR GROUP!” at the top of your lungs in hopes that someone has already formed one and will allow you in. The traditional way still works, yes, but it yields poor results if you aren’t a super-duper bad boy Bounty Hunter tank or a healing doctor type. There is a window that you can launch from your chat box that will allow you to flag yourself as “looking for group” and it even lets you leave a little message like “I heal a lot!” Despite what anyone else will tell you, people use this tool.

Try Different Styles of Play

If you are used to playing a Tank in World of Warcraft, why not try a DPS class in TOR? Look, as a former tank I found out how much I loved DPS due to the fact that it allowed me to shun the responsibility that tanking brought (just like healing and buffing). On the other hand if you are used to beating up mobs from former games you should try out a healing Operative or a tough guy, just to see if you actually like it.

What I’ve found is that a lot of people limit their playstyle off of the fact that they have always played that one style in older games. In my MMO career I have played every role in the divine 4 and I will say that they all are fun in their own right. SWTOR gives you a lot of slots for alternate characters along with a lot of servers so you can dabble as needed to see what really fits your mood and/or playstyle.

Have Fun on Your Own Time

The thing I love about SWTOR which I hated about the Everquest set of MMORPG’s is the story that allows a solo player to maximize his/her time without feeling left out of the big picture. Group hounds can team up and tackle bigger fish and PvP lovers (grin) can keep the queue up for arena battles, all while doing the story on their own time. If you get stuck in a rut of spamming for a group, trolling after a guildmate or grinding worthless mobs then that is your own fault. SWTOR is amazingly flexible if you need it to be, take advantage!

Stay Off of The Forums

Game more, read less people. Ask anybody that has played these games for years about the forums of any MMO and you will get a very negative report. Forums are the realms of trolls, malcontents and bored nerds at work. If you want information then go to the forums with a purpose in mind but for the love of god DO NOT browse threads in General Discussion.

Originally posted at: 3GodKings.com

As a Tekken player and fan, I have always found the Mishima family to be the one downside to an otherwise nice mix of fighters with varied backgrounds. Due to my thoughts on this, you can see why the roles they played in Tekken: Blood Vengeance were the only downside for me to an otherwise delightful CGI movie. 

The story of Tekken: Blood Vengeance is of a student Shin Kamiya who is used in an experiment along with other teens to find a cell which would grant it’s host immortality. Players of Tekken know the all too familiar story of patriarch Heihachi Mishima and his son Kazuya Mishima coming back from certain death in every sequel. These men, now holders of separate companies, along with Heihachi’s grandson Jin Kazama, developed the cell and are in competition to retrieve it. The problem however is that the host – Shin, has his own plans which involves the young upstart Ling Xiaoyu.

I really dug the fighting in Tekken: Blood Vengeance, director Yoichi Mori took the time to have martial artists choreograph sequences that more than reflected the games, they improved upon them. When we see Ling drop down into her low bird stance, we instantly think Tekken and when we see Jin hit his dad with a punch combo we think Tekken again. Anna and Nina throw out their familiar leg locks and awesome arrays of kicks, we see the devil versions of the Mishimas and even Panda has some screen time. There was no missing a chance at fan service but surprisingly this didn’t take away from the story.

The CGI made me wish more movies would take this route (animated over live action) and the 3D improves upon the experience especially with the score sounding like a box office movie. Tekken: Blood Vengeance will make you proud being a fan of this series even though it only features 8-9 people of the 30+ roster of characters that make the series.

If I was to complain about anything  it would be the sequence dealing with the Mishima family having devil fights… it was too much and with our hearts pitter pattering over the screentime between Xiaoyu and Alisa it just put me to sleep when they descended into a Mishima devil dog fight that reminded me HEAVILY of a scene from Urotsukidoji… The Overfiend. No thank you!

Trust me, if you are a Tekken fan you will want to pick up Tekken: Hybrid which holds this wonderful movie along with Tekken Tag Tournament and Tekken Tag Tournament 2: Prologue. For you non-fighters you will want to check this out for the art and story which features the cutest of any protagonist, the chibi yet strong Ling Xiaoyu!

GOD KING GRADE: (C)   ★★★

Originally posted at: 3GodKings.com

Just Dance 3

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Hard to believe that this is the 3rd games in such a short span of time. But to its credit, Ubisoft has managed to crank out one popular dance title on the Wii. Fun for both adults and kids alike, Just Dance 3 is just what you need to work off all those holiday meal calories.

The Full List – At A Glance!

• Just Dance 3 – Hard to believe that this is the 3^rd games in such a short span of time. But to its credit, Ubisoft has managed to crank out one popular dance title on the Wii. Fun for both adults and kids alike, Just Dance 3 is just what you need to work off all those holiday meal calories.
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword – If there were such a game like Skyrim on the Wii, Skyward Sword would be such a title. Well at least in terms of anticipation. But there are a lot of you Wii owners out there as well as Zelda fans. So Link should keep you company this holiday season.
• Mario Kart Wii – Think Nintendo, think Mario Kart, think how much fun. Mario Kart Wii is still one of those Nintendo games that keeps on breathing life into that system. With 4-player support, the “air” steering wheel, nothing but fun and smiles with a side of trash talking to keep you entertained.
• Muramasa: The Demon Blade – If you can find this game that is an extremely awesome gift in itself. Vanilla Software’s 2-D visual masterpiece is something that I think a true gamer should have in their library. Playing it is like owning a piece of art. It’s a shame that these types of games do not really see the light of day, but they are well appreciated.
• Rayman Origins – You must be doing something right in the platforming genre to stay relevant in the gaming industry. And Rayman is getting it right with this one. Old school platforming, 4-player co-op, and a whole lotta fun, Rayman Origins will definitely be a fun time with the family.
• Super Mario Galaxy 2 – Okay this is a game that totally makes you feel like a kid again. One of the most respected facets of Nintendo and its Italian plumber is that it is still fresh in 2011! In Super Mario Galaxy 2 the Wii controls are just absolutely intuitive and you can even get help from a 2^nd player. Maybe your young ones will freak out like the N64 kid when they see this under the tree!
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl – I’ll admit even I stood in line for this one. With a crazy character roster, nerd-filled tourneys, you simply can’t expect anything less than one well designed game on the Wii. The appeal of the gameplay is what keeps gamers coming back and to be honest this game is still hard to find used.
• Stocking Stuffers – Cheapies but goodies for the Wii: Super Paper Mario, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom,, Golden Eye 007, Sin and Punishment: Star Successor (Man hard to believe that the company “Treasure” is still out there).

Hope this helps everyone find your gift ideas. Keep in mind that a lot of the 3^rd party titles are across most platforms. Be safe and Happy Holidays from the 3GK staff. If you have gift suggestions feel free to post comments!

Originally posted at: 3GodKings.com

Well if you happened to check out Spike TV’s Videogame Awards this year, you could definitely say that it was a huge moment for video games. Overall there were so many great nominees to choose from. This is due to the fact that 2011 was the year for huge releases. Although many were nominated, only the crème de la crème were chosen in their respective categories. Let’s take a look at some of this year’s winners.

Game of the Year

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Who can’t deny that this was probably one of the biggest releases in gaming history. With such rich content, stunning graphics, and a crack-like addiction, this game truly deserves the crown for game of the year. I mean Skyrim bested the Bat, pummeled the elf, stole the cake from GLaDOS, and thwarted Drake’s fortune.

Best XBOX 360 Game

Batman: Arkham City – This was a title that I felt was worthy of the crown for GOTY. Not because I’m a Batman fan, but because this studio went to great lengths to bring the gamer one of the best gaming experiences possible. This is sort of a letdown being that there was not much in the first party department for XBOX 360. And to be beaten out by a third party title is very questionable.

Best PS3 Game

Uncharted3: Drake’s Deception – If there was a game that I knew would be the best PS3 game, then by golly Uncharted 3” would have to take the cake. Naughty Dog created a beast of a game and is one of the reasons why I love gaming in the first place. A tip of the hat to a game that was well-played this year.

Best Wii Game

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword – At this point in the gaming revolution of High Definition, 3-D, etc. Nintendo has firmly held their ground by putting the fun back into video games. It’s no wonder that the Zelda franchise can still capture the hearts of gamers. There is just something nostalgic about hearing that familiar chime when you discover a hidden passage.

Best PC Game

Portal 2 – With so many 3^rd party titles across multiple platforms, it was really hard to narrow down the best game for any platform. I really feel that “Portal 2” is one of those titles that should really be unique to the PC.  This is due to the fact that it was the respective platform that it began on. But alas Valve does it bigger and better than the original one.

Best Handheld/Mobile Game

Super Mario 3D Land – This has been Nintendo’s most consistent and dominating platform to date. Super Mario 3D is one of those reasons to own a Nintendo 3DS. Not only because it’s in 3D, but simply because of the fact that they are bringing in a whole new dimension of interactivity. As long as Nintendo’s around, Mario and Luigi are here to stay.

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I think that this was a fantastic year for videogames in general. Some of the most amazing titles were all released in such a short span of time. This is typically unheard of in the video gaming industry. Kudos to all of the nominees and I think that games will continue to raise the bar even higher as the years go by. Nintendo is still breathing life while Sony seems to be taking the market by storm. As for Microsoft, it just seems like they are hitting a plateau in the realm of first party titles. With their rival companies spitting out huge releases, I think Microsoft has a bit of catching up to do. Overall the VGA’s gave center stage to some of the most brilliant releases to date. Let’s see what happens next year! Check out Spike TV’s “Video Game Awards” recap on the other nominees and winners of 2011.

Originally posted at: 3GodKings.com

Assassin’s Creed Revelations

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Rejoin Ezio in the long-awaited follow-up to Assassin’s Creed 2 & Brotherhood. Get ready to shank a fool for not putting anything under the tree this year! Did I mention that Altair is back?

The Full List – At A Glance!

• Assassin’s Creed Revelations – Rejoin Ezio in the long-awaited follow-up to Assassin’s Creed 2 & Brotherhood.  Get ready to shank a fool for not putting anything under the tree this year! Did I mention that Altair is back?
• Batman: Arkham City – The most impressive sequel in a comic book inspired game and one helluva Batman game. This one is sure to bring out your innermost grovelly-sounding Christian Bale.
• Everybody Dance – Gather the eggnog (spiked of course) and get your groove on! This is a fun title that is exclusively for the PS Move. It makes for great times at an office party or fun for family and friends.
• God Of War Series – Okay the game that I think defined the power of the PS2/PS3 not to mention that every version of the game is now available in HD. Even Santa likes wielding the Blades Of Chaos from time to time ^_^
• Little Big Planet 2 – Media Molecule’s ultimate sandbox masterpiece. LPB2 has more tools, more fun, throw in a little PS Move, and you have good times! I’m pretty sure someone has a created a holiday themed stage. I still haven’t even purchased this game hint hint….
• Resistance 3 – Third times a charm right? This is definitely a staple of the FPS games available for the PS3 (along with Killzone 3) to use the PS Move exclusively. It’s almost like cheating and that’s good thing for the Christmas Trolls right?
• Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception – How could I forget the potential game of the year? Well I didn’t I figured that this is the final game to mention for this list for the simple fact that it is one of the most amazing titles for PS3.
• Stocking stuffers – Budget titles include Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, Ico/Shadow of the Colossus collection, DC Online Universe (hey it’s free now!) and get a PSN card to buy Voltron with!

Hope this helps everyone find your gift ideas. Keep in mind that a lot of the 3^rd party titles are across most platforms. Be safe and Happy Holidays from the 3GK staff. If you have gift suggestions feel free to post comments!

Originally posted at: 3GodKings.com