This is something I’ve had bottled up for a long time.

Reviews have become the word of God as of late. The reviewers themselves, Gods of the industry. With each review posted, hundreds of fanboys gather like vultures to fresh giblet of road kill under the high noon sun. They analyze every sentence, every word, every piece of punctuation, leaving no stone unturned. They arm themselves with every pro and con, and then head out to duke it out on their favorite message board. When a game is released and a major publication doesn’t give it the score its supposed to get, World War III erupts. Out of every crevice comes a fanboy, each with his own two cents to add. Message boards turn into warzones, and intelligent conversation into a casualty.

Unfortunately, the publications don’t help the matter either. Its not unusual for a lesser known publication to post a bad review of a good game to get a few more hits. Even the game developers have become more proactive in the situation – now some developers threaten to pull advertising revenue if their games receive negative reviews, tarnishing the bias of reviews(check out some issues GameSpot and EGM have run in to).

Fact of the matter is, however, that reviewers are not Gods, and their reviews are not the gospel. They are simply people, like you and I. Granted, they have played A LOT of games, but so have many of us as well. Their rantings and ravings have no more weight then the dribble of your resident message board troll(well, provided the troll has actually played the game in question, which is not the case most of the time). In fact, with some hardcore genres, like fighters, they have even less bearing – how is a writer that has to review X amount of games a week ever going to have enough time to figure out the ins and outs that make or break the system in games like Marvel VS Capcom 2?

So the next time you read a review, before you waste your time dissecting it line by line and articulating how inaccurate it is about your favorite game, step back. Read the main points, think about the audience the review is written for, and the motive behind it. Ignore the numbers, even. Then remember that its someones opinion. Be an adult, be rational. Reviews are just opinions, and everyone is entitled to their own.

And Smash fans, 9.5 is good, shut the fuck up.

Sure, we all love playing Guitar Hero. Nothing beats a wild night of staying up ’til dawn, whaling along to “Through the Fire and the Flame” on your plastic Gibson with a few friends and a few beers. Its a fun, innovative game. But now, according to an article posted at ShackNews, Guitar Hero may also be a great tool in aiding physical rehabilitation.

One patient, for example, was told he would never regain full flexibility and rotation of his arm after an injury. However, with regular physical therapy, supplemented with playing Guitar Hero(which relies heavily on the aforementioned flexibility and rotation), the patient made a rapid and astonishing recovery.

Doctors further say that Guitar Hero could be used in physical therapy to include improved abdominal, lower back, and wrist strength, sitting balance, fine motor skills, and general endurance.

Check out the full article at ShackNews.com!

Microsoft’s XBox 360 may also be very well in for a price cut. TheBitBag.com recently released a rumor indicating that the 360 Premium may be in for a $50 price drop to coincide with the release of GTAIV. They claim “some unnamed person has tipped that Microsoft will be dropping the price of the Premium 360 another $49 on the same day that GTAIV gets released”.

No doubt that Microsoft has been looking to further distance itself price-wise from the PS3, ever since the 40GB and 80GB PS3s brought it within $50 of their 360’s competitors. This would not only further distance itself from the PS3, but also bring it into range to compete with the Nintendo Wii, especially if the the other 2 models followed similar price cuts. With exclusive content on the 360 and a price drop, Microsoft is making it a no brainer as to which console you should get if you want the most out of GTAIV.

2007 has been hailed by many as the greatest year for video games so far. Sales numbers further substantiate that claim, with 2007 marking the peak year of sales in the industry, and also setting the record for the most money grossed in 24 hours in any form of media(Halo 3). Blockbuster hits were abundant across all the platforms, from Super Mario Galaxy, Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, Crysis, Uncharted, and much, much more. As 2007 draws to an end, many publications have began running the annual Game of the Year awards. EXGN has decided to round up the GOTY winners from over a dozen various, big name publications. Whats the general concensus as to which title truly was the Game of the Year? Read on…

5. Rock Band(PS3/PS2/360) – Harmonix

From the creators of Guitar Hero I and II comes Rock Band! Now you and three friends can get together and form your own complete band, playing lead guitar, bass guitar, drums and a singer. Despite the hefty $169 price and some initial hardware issues, Rock Band went on to become one of the highest ranked games this year, averaging 93.2% according to Game Rankings. With the availablity of downloadable songs and the ingenuity behind its design, Rock Band is sure to keep gamers busy with their virtual bands well into 2008.

What others said:
“… Rock Band is the true evolution of music games. Immersive and just plain addictive experience far greater than the sum of its parts. It’s magic.” Wired.com, Game of the Year winner

4. The Orange Box(PC/PS3/360) – Valve

Combining 3 classic Valve games – Half Life 2, Portal, and Team Fortress 2 – the Orange Box is not only an excellent deal because of the quantity of content included, but also because of the quality of the content as well. The Orange Box was universally praised by several publications, Portal specifically, and maintains and impressive rating of 96.2$ for both the PC and 360 versions. Even the PS3 version, which suffered some frame rate issues, was still a great pick up if there was no other option. Overall, the Orange Box is well deserving of GOTY crown.

What others said:
“Portal isn’t just the best game of the year, it’s a landmark title for the industry whose influence will run as deep as our desire for change, and gives the best proof yet that games don’t need to be long to be great.” GamerNode.com, Game of the Year Winner
“The game[Portal] is phenomenal in every sense of the word…” Joystiq.com, Game of the Year
“… the only argument we had in choosing the Game of the Year was whether to give it to the five-game Orange Box as a collection or whether Portal earned the trophy all on its own. It’s that good.” GamesRadar.com, Game of the Year

3. Call of Duty 4(PC/PS3/360) – Infinity Ward

After the less then stellar Call of Duty 3(developed by Treyarch Studios), Infinity Ward went back to the drawing board and started fresh. Call of Duty 4 would be the first game in the series to take place in the modern era. This step forward allowed them to breathe a breath of fresh air into the series, updating it with all sorts of new weapons and technology. The 3 different versions for the 3 different platforms all received great reviews, with the 360 version sitting at 94%, and the PS3 and PC versions at 93%. With the superb(if not a bit short) single player, and incredibly varied and in depth multiplayer, its obvious that Call of Duty 4 has raised the bar for first person shooters.

What others said:
“Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty 4 hit on all cylinders, stunning us with gorgeous graphics, pristinely polished gameplay, and a captivating single-player storyline that hit us with such impact as to leave us breathless.” GameSpy.com, Game of the Year
“The top slot went to office favorite Call of Duty 4 for its toe-curling action and deep online mode.” GamePro, Game of the Year
“Not only is Call of Duty 4 winner of Game of the Year, but also stands proudly as game of the generation thus far.” MyGEN.com, Game of the Year

2. Bioshock(360/PC) – 2K Games

If I had a dollar for every time I read a “Bioshock to PS3″ rumor, I would be a billionaire. Seriously, the quality of a game is obvious when fanboy owners of another console drum up as many port rumors as there have been thus far for Bioshock. At one point, GameRankings had this game at the #1 rated game of all time, and today it still holds at a tight 95% for both versions. My personal choice for GOTY, Bioshock revolutionized the way first person shooters should play. From its beautiful graphics, chilling atmosphere, and open ended gameplay, this game is the total package.

What others said:
“Beyond just the superb quality of the package, we all felt there was an experience that transcended basic gameplay. To play BioShock was to experience something that few gamers had ever experienced before. It was this immersive originality that elevated the game above all others.” Destructoid.com, Game of the Year
“A shooter like no other… One of the most beautifully compelling action games, written for a thinking audience.” XPlay, Game of the Year

And finally, the title voted Game of the Year by the most major publications…

1. Super Mario Galaxy(Wii) – Nintendo

Winning by a landslide is Super Mario Galaxy. Mario Galaxy had a lot riding on its shoulders, but it rose to all challenges. It proved that Wii games could use the Wiimote well, and still be challenging and entertaining. It redeemed the Mario name after Mario Sunshine was critically panned for a lack of innovation. Mario Galaxy has bright, pristine graphics that push the Wii to its limits and deep, innovative gameplay that pushes even further. Super Mario Galaxy received rave reviews from all – by GameRankings, its rated as the 2nd best game of all time and then best game of 2007. Obviously, the later rings true, as Super Mario Galaxy earned 9 Game of the Year 2007 titles out of the 22 publications we surveyed. Congrats to Nintendo!

What others said:
“… the best overall package of polish, gameplay, and presentation for what it is–a traditional but highly evolved platformer” GameSpot.com, Game of the Year
“…features more variety then any other game this year.” GameTrailers.com, Game of the Year
“Galaxy surprises and delights at every turn, placing both familiar and new tasks firmly in its own, distinct, masterpiece of a universe. In short, it’s utterly true to Mario’s roots, and yet is fixed firmly on his future, too.” NextGen.com/Edge, Game of the Year
“… we loved every minute. Here’s a game that actually feels at home on the Wii, with a control system that’s absolutely superb… Not only did it catapult Mario into the heavens, it did the same to us.” Yahoo! Games, Game of the Year

Article written by N.Gasse on 01/02/08.
The grand totals came out to: SMG 9 titles, Bioshock 4, Call of Duty 4 3, Orange Box 2, Rock Band 1. Sources include: GameSpot, GamePro, GameTrailers, XPlay, Kotaku, Joystiq, Edge, NextGen, GamesRadar, GameSpy, CVG, GamerNode, SpikeTV, Destructoid, DPad, Yahoo! Games, PALGN, MyGEN, and more.

2007 stands as a great year in video gaming. With so many blockbuster hits released for each system, the title “Game of the Year 2007″ will be a title with a lot of competition. From Microsoft’s Bioshock, to Nintendo’s Super Mario Galaxy and even Sony’s Uncharted, every gamer should have quite a large Christmas list this year. However, 2007 also saw its fair share of conceptual flops. There were several games that had such an awesome concept, but ultimately just fell flat on their face in trying to deliver it. Keep in mind, thats not to say that these games were bad, per say, they just didn’t capitalize on the unique concept at the backbone of their creation. So without further ado, heres EXGN’s list of the Top 5 Failed Game Concepts of 2007.

5. Assassins Creed – PS3/XBox 360(Ubisoft Montreal)

From the developers behind the critically acclaimed Prince of Persia series, Assassins Creed promised to be one of the first true ‘next gen’ titles. With its go anywhere, climb everything gameplay, Assassins looked to be one the definitive action experience. Promising a great story line, a graphically rich world with real, bustling cities, and open ended gameplay that would create a new experience through each play through, Assassin’s Creed was easily one of the most anticipated titles of 2007.

However, when it was released last month, it ran into several criticisms. Assassins truly was a memorable experience through the first assassination, but after, fell subject of extremely repetitive gameplay. The gameplay mechanics often led the AI to act extremely dumb. For example, you can murder a guard in broad daylight and then assume the monk position, and another guard 5 feet away will ignore you. Once you unlock the parry skill, combat becomes excessively easy, with guards attacking you one at a time only to be cut down by the instant kill move. Finally, the game is host to a huge number some of the most annoying bugs and glitches seen in recent years. Also, Ubisoft needs to learn how to make an ending that can leave a game open to sequels, but still provide some player satisfaction.

4. Raw Danger – PS2(Irem)

Raw Danger is the sequel to Irem’s 2002 survival epic, Disaster Report. Finally released in the US close to 2 years after its release in Japan, Raw Danger promises a unique survival experience. Unlike other survival games, Raw Danger puts you in control of 6 different characters trying to escape a man made city succumbing to numerous natural disasters. There are no monsters or opponents, just man against mother nature. With some of the most epic sequences in recent gaming history, 6 playable characters, multiple endings, and varied gamplay, its hard to see how Raw Danger could possibly fail.

However, it does. Perhaps it was just too ambitious of a game to be done on the PS2 platform. To start, the production values of the game are just terrible. The graphics look like a launch title for the Dreamcast. The sound is reminiscent of something you would hear in a Sega CD game. The game itself ultimately boils down to a lot of trial and error. No thanks to the sluggish, unresponsive controls, its almost impossible to avoid a lot of the catastrophes the game puts you up against without knowing in advance where to run to or how to survive them. The gameplay is also subject to massive slowdown because of the large scale of the game. The game offers multiple endings, but you spend such a short amount of time with each character(there is even one character you play as for maybe a half hour, tops) that you ultimately just do not care about the characters or other outcomes. Conceptually, Raw Danger provides a much needed breath of fresh air, however, as a game, it really falls flat on its face.

3. Lair – PS3(Factor 5)

From the creative geniuses behind the impressive Rogue Squadron series, comes the next big concept gone wrong. Hyped for months before its release, Lair was to be the PS3’s first AAA title. Putting the player at the reins of a massive dragon, partaking in massive land and air battles, the game seemed to be on the right track. With Lair, boasting a huge, beautifully detailed world, rendered in full 1080p, stunning, uncompressed audio, and a self proclaimed riveting storyline, Factor 5 looked to have a sure fire epic masterpiece on its hands.

And in the beginning did, it did look like Lair would live up to its hype. About a month prior to its original August release, Play rated the game a solid 9/10. However, conflicting reviews soon came, starting with EGM, giving it a 3 lackluster ratings between 5-6/10 and culminating in IGN’s 4.9 rating, calling it “a mission worthy of swallowing the business end of a shotgun to avoid“. Reviewers across the board criticized Lair for its unintuitive controls and an faulty lock on targeting system. The controls were bad enough that Sony sent out walk throughs to reviewers telling them ‘how to play’ Lair. Combine this with the short 5-6 hour campaign mode, and little reason to replay it, and you have a game that sounded nothing short of breathtaking on the planning board turning into one of the largest flops of the year.

2. Vampire Rain – XBox 360(Artoon)

Developed by Sega legend Naoto Ōshima(Phantasy Star, Sonic the Hedgehog, NiGHTS into Dreams), this game was hyped in Japan as the game that would finally sell the 360. Combining elements from the survival horror and stealth action genres, Vampire Rain looked very promising. You play the member of a government black ops group, brought about to kill some vampires – whats not to like? The game also boasted some unique weaponry, such as a UV knife that would kill vampires in one hit. When the game released in Japan, it received a respectable review from Famitsu, a 30/40 – but thats where the good news ends.

The game put an extreme emphasis on stealth. Once your caught, you will almost certainly die. For a good chunk of the game, the player has no effective means of eliminating the vampires. Combine this with the fact that the vampires are fast and can kill a player in just a single hit and you have an obscenely frustrating game. The level design was extremely linear, the AI was cheap, the controls were bad, the game was overall just a huge train wreck. Vampire Rain averaged a dismal 39% on GameRankings.com – the 2nd worst 360 game released in 2007. How you can screw up a survival-horror/stealth action game with VAMPIRES this badly is just beyond me.

1. Sonic and Mario at the Olympic Games – Wii(Sega)

Gamers over the past 20 years have dreamed of Nintendo icon Mario facing off against his bitter long time rival from Sega, Sonic. In fact, when Sonic and Mario at the Olympics was first announced, many thought it was just an April Fools joke from Sega. However, it wasn’t and gamers old and young salivated at the prospect of Mario and Sonic finally being able to duke it out in a battle for supremacy. Mario and Sonic promised the excitement found in the party games such as Mario Party and an unparalleled sense of nostalgia.

Unfortunately, the game was developed by Sega. Nintendo obviously didn’t notice Sega’s track recent track record, which has developed the reputation for absolutely destroying any franchise it gets its mitts on, including this lovely title. The Olympic events were all entirely too similar, the motion controls were all extremely gimmicky, and the game had an infuriating problem sensing the motions performed by the player. One could only dream of what this game could have been if Nintendo had developed it instead of Sega… Instead, we have Sega’s craptastic game. Looks like we’ll have to wait for the release of Brawl before we can actually ENJOY pitting Mario and Sonic against each other.

And that concludes the Top 5 Failed Concepts of 2007. Remember these games are not necessarily bad. They had a promising concept, but just didn’t deliver it to its maximum potential.

Although no official review has been posted yet, it seems IGN’s initial impressions of Assassin’s Creed are not very good. In their weekly podcast, they gave pick of the week to Smackdown VS Raw and Medal of Honor: Airborne. When asked about which game had the best graphics, they gave the response “Ass Creed”. They are not allowed to post a review of Ubisoft’s game until tomorrow, but if the podcast is anything to go by, do not expect a 10. Check IGN tomorrow for the full review.

The 40GB PS3 went on sale in Japan yesterday, and as expected, the console saw a huge boost in sales. The 40GB PS3 was bundled with the Dual Shock 3, and came in two different color options, black and white. Initial reports suggest that 31,000 white units were sold and 5,000 black units were sold. Also assisting the sales was Shin Sangoku Musou 5(known as Dynasty Warriors 6 in the States). The Shin Sangoku Musou series has traditionally been a huge selling game in Japan, with Gundam Musou(Dynasty Warriors: Gundam) being the best selling PS3 game in Japan thus far. Reports are indicating that upwards of 250,000 copies of the game were sold on the PS3, and about 15,000 – 20,000 copies were sold for the 360. Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction also went on sale yesterday as well, although no sales figures have been released for it at this time. Also, no numbers were released in regards to the sales of the other PS3 SKUs.

This is a much need boost for the PS3. Last week was a huge blow to Playstation 3 – it marked the first week in which its foreign competitor, Microsoft’s XBox 360, outsold it in its home territory. The PS3’s other competitor, the Nintendo Wii, has routinely outsold the PS3 by at least 2:1 every week for months now, despite its own numbers slipping as well. This week is a do or die week for Sony, with the new SKU, Shin Sangoku Musou 5, and Ratchet and Clank all releasing. So far, it looks as if Sony will win this week in Japan. However, will it continue to sell this well? Can Sony break Japan out of the home console slump its fell into over the past few months? Only time will tell.

Capcom is set to release a series of major announcements at their Gamers Day event on 10/17(next Wednesday). They also hinted, however, that some of the announcements would go public as early as 10/15(Monday) and more would continue to come out before the Gamers Day event. Capcom also updated their company blog with a very cryptic message, titled “Prepare Yourself”, with a message that was no more then a series of question marks.

Speculation runs wild as to what possible announcements could come. According to the Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix producer, “… what’s coming is a megaton bomb! You will not be dissappointed”. Expect at least one announcement to be in regards to Monster Hunter 3 on the Wii, and maybe some new details about Resident Evil 5 and Devil May Cry 4 as well.

However, what really has my interest piqued is a comment made by Capcom employee Brian Dunn. In regards, to the event, he said “everyone at Capcom knows all the fans are extremely anxious for a NEW SF game, believe me. That’s about all I can say about that…”. After a nearly 10 year hiatus, could the series be in for a new addition? I certainly hope so!

All good things come to an end: the Roman Empire, all you can eat pizza Tuesday nights at Pizza Hut, and most recently, Bungie’s 7 year partnership with Microsoft. Rumors of a split first came the day after the release of Halo 3, and was made public on October 1. As a result of the split, Microsoft retained full ownership of the Halo intellectual property as well as a small stake in ownership

The split between the two was not hostile, Bungie president Harold Ryan said he just did not like the big corporation atmosphere that had developed in the studio after their partnership began. Many speculate that Microsoft was also pressuring Bungie to make a Halo 4, which Bungie did not want to do. However, while Bungie claimed they did not want to make a Halo 4, they did say they were interested in making more games that take place in the Halo universe. Frank O’Conor, content manager at Bungie Studios, even went on to say “If we ever return to the Halo universe, I’m sure we’d have cool stories to tell”.

Also, while the split means that Bungie could make games for the Sony PS3 or Nintendo Wii, they insist that, for the moment, they are only interested in making XBox 360/PC games.

I awoke this morning to see my small video game blog had about 4000 hits(10 times the amount it usually gets) in the last 12 hours, the bulk of which came from N4G.com. After reading all the forum debates the article I wrote last night caused, I feel obligated to post a bit of an after word.

I realize now that it may seem like I was discounting the 360 and Wii – I did compare the 360 to the Dreamcast, and hardly even mentioned the Wii at all. I don’t think these are bad systems, quite the opposite actually. They both have their fair share of exclusive A titles coming out in the next few months – the 360 with Mass Effect, Ace Combat 6, Fable 2, Too Human, the Wii with SMG, SSBB, Mario Kart Wii, Wii Fit, etc. As it stands right now, the PS3 has a very long way to go to catch up.

At the moment, the PS3 can’t even begin to compete with the Wii, and, even though the PS3 is selling the same as the 360 did in the first 10 months – thats not something Sony should be proud of. I doubt when Sony released the PS3, their goal was to sell ‘as well’ as the 360. Sony really needs to push forward now, because even if they continue to sell ‘as well’ as the 360, that means they will always be behind it. Now with some of its competitors biggest titles out of the way, we will see what Sony can do. With the 40GB PS3 essentially confirmed, and the PS3’s line up of quality exclusives coming out in the next 6 months, this is Sony’s time to shine. Like the I said, the PS3 isn’t a failure – not yet at least. Now we see what Sony is made of.