This list covers everything that came out from the beginning of Jan. to the end of Aug., so here goes the Ten Favorite games, in no particular order, that came out this year thus far. This list includes games on the XBOX 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP, PC and iPhone:

Battlefield 1943 (XBLA/PSN) – It’s pure Battlefield, sure, but its also one of the best bargains for multiplayer games. $15 for a great, competitive multiplayer game with satisfying gunplay and multiplayer mechanics is considered a great bargain to me…now if only Fat Princess could be anywhere near as satisfying.

Space Invaders Infinity Gene (iPhone) – This beautiful, trance inducing iPhone games meshes the simplistic, addicting gameplay of Space Invaders with the artistic aesthetic of Rez to create one of the best games on the iPhone platform. $5 for this game is a steal.

UFC 2009: Undisputed (PS3/X360) – Featuring one of the deepest, most intricate one on one fighting systems in any game, UFC could have been completely content on being a cash-in product to the rising popularity of MMA. What it became, however, is the ultimate fighting/wrestling simulation that fans of the sport have been waiting for. Deep fighting mechanics, excellent graphics and one of the most rewarding fighting systems makes this a game that all fighting game fans should experience.

Knights of the Nightmare (DS) – Knights of the Nightmare is a strange, cerebral hybrid of turn based RPG, strategy-RPG and shoot-em-up. The game takes a while to get started (and to learn, you’ll spend your first few hours on the tutorial), but once you get the ball rolling, you’ll find an incredibly unique and satisfying RPG on your DS.

Street Fighter IV (X360/PS3) – The true king of fighters is back, relying on its old school charm and deep fighting system to elevate it to one of the best fighting games ever made. Excellent balance, great fighting mechanics and a beautiful art style create one of the best fighters to come out in a long time.

Wii Sports Resort (Wii) – It’s easy to scoff at the minigame collections on the Wii, but Wii Sports Resort creates some of the best minigame collections for its new WiiMotion Plus peripheral. There are key favorites (Table Tennis, Archery) compared to others (Cycling, Canoeing), but the overall package is so well thought out and polished that its hard to fault its shortcomings.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy (PSP) – PSP gamers who have been dying for their next big gaming fix has certainly foudn it in Dissidia: Final Fantasy. This unique Power Stone/Final Fantasy hybrid marries fast paced tug of war fighting mechanics with the lore and the RPG mechanics of a Final Fantasy game. Fighting games fans with some RPG love should pick this up immediately.

Plants vs. Zombies (PC) – PopCap makes another smash hit. It’s twist on tower defense and strategy blends with its unique sense of humor and RTS qualities to create what may possibly be the most addicting game to come out on PC.

Drop7 (iPhone) – Easily the most addicting puzzle game to come out on any platform, Drop7’s ingenious twist on the Match3 concept makes this game impossible to put down, even after only play a quick 5 minute game. For $3.99, every iPhone owner should have a copy of this game to play at all times.

Shadow Complex (XBLA) – A perfect homage to 2D exploration games like Super Metroid, Shadow Complex takes this once handheld only genre and creates one of the more addicting games this year has produced. A $50 disguised as a downloadable product, Shadow Complex is easily one of the deepest offerings on any downloadable service.

Here are some honorable mentions that just didn’t make it to the Top Ten:

Halo Wars (X360) – Almost perfectly blends the RTS genre into consoles. A great time for fans of the genre.
Klonoa (Wii) – A level for level remake of the original PS1 game. For $30, any platformer fan owes themselves to have this game in their collection.
‘Splosion Man (XBLA) – A platformer filled with personality and maddening difficulty, this will pull your hair out but leave you completely satisfied.
Shatter (PSN) – This Arkanoid-plus blends clean visuals, an excellent soundtrack and excellent ball bashing mechanics to great effect.
Flight Control (iPhone) – A simple 99cent puzzle game is one of the more addicting, with its colorful visuals and its addicting and sweatbreaking gameplay.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 (Wii) – The WiiMotion Plus-ified features one of the best games of golf you can play. The WiiMotion Plus attachment adds a lot of weight and interactivity to an already deep and fun game.
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (X360/PS3) – Beautiful animation and crazy character designs are par for course with Aksys Games, but the intense and intricate fighting system of BlazBlue elevates the game past its predecessor Guilty Gear.

And thus ends the first 8 months of the year, but for some, the year in gaming is just beginning. Let’s see what happens in the next 3 months of gaming.

(Note: Some of you might be wondering “Hey, where’s Batman: Arkham Asylum? Well, in all honesty, I got to play a good amount of Arkham, but not enough to have a strong opinion on it, thus it wasn’t included.)

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BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger – Continuing the trend of popularity in 2D fighting games is BlazBlue, the spiritual continuation of the Guilty Gear franchise. An incredibly beautiful game to watch in motion, the unique characters and fighting styles accentuate one of the most unique battle systems out there. With an excellent online infrastructure as well, fighting game fans really don’t need to look any further for such a high quality fighting game.
Worth the Price – Let it Drop – Avoid at All Costs

King of Fighters XII – A classic fighting franchise gets redone for the first time….unfortunately, it isn’t nearly as solid as its competition. It’s look, which is 2D animated backgrounds and 2D sprite animation in the foreground. With only half of the characters that fans of the series expect, only 6 arenas to fight in  and a host of balancing issues and terrible online fighting, King of Fighters XII is purely for the SNK enthusiast who get excited by new animations of Terry Bogard.
Worth the Price – Let It Drop ($30) – Avoid at All Costs

Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes – The huge roster of characters in this now classic fighting game is completely unlocked on the get-go, which is great news for people who love one-on-one fighting. The bad news? As of this date, it’s difficult to find a match online. Otherwise, for $15, this game is a steal and worth every point you put into the purchase…that is unless you’re just playing by yourself. Then, you might want to let it drop to $10.

Multiplayer: Worth the Price – Let it Drop – Avoid at All Costs
Singleplayer Only: Worth the Price – Let it Drop ($10) – Avoid at All Costs

This is turning out to be a huge year for fighting games. Two left are coming in the fall however, Tekken 6 and Tatsunoku vs. Capcom. Let’s see if these games have what it takes to hang with the likes of UFC 2009: Undisputed and Street Fighter IV.

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But with that, here’s the new format of how we are going to write about what happened throughout the day. Today’s post will cover Monday, July 6 and Tuesday, July 7:

BAD ECONOMY = MORE USED GAME SALES!

The Nielsen Marketing Research firm has reported that not only are gamers spending more time playing games in this terrible economy, they are actually buying more used games as well. The former doesn’t really come as a surprise to most people: lay-offs and unemployment only means more time in front of the couch to play games.

But to further the use of game sales and rentals? That’s just baffling, especially considering used games are only, at best 3 – 5% cheaper than the used game. Are we really at a time of extreme penny pinching? Or are gamers really utilizing more cost effective ways of getting their games?

I can tell you from personal experience that I’ve been doing a ton more gaming rentals than gaming purchasing, with GameFly and passes to Hollywood Video being the main way of grab the newest games.

BULLET TO HEAD = CRITICAL HIT!!! = 80 HP = GAIN 50 EXP!

In an interview with Develop, Cliff Bleszenski of Epic Games (you know, the Dane Cook looking guy who develops Gears of War) says that the key to the shooters survival may just be the RPG. He mentions, albeit briefly, that after a conversation with Harvey “Deus Ex” Smith that both men agreed that it may be essential for shooters to develop an RPG like system. He then soon after flushed any kind of consideration that Gears of War would have such features.

With the popularity of Fallout 3, some might see this as a true statement. However, Fallout 3 isn’t exciting first person shooter fans…it’s exciting RPG fans. Same has always been true of the Deus Ex series. But while I’m hoping something like Borderlands at least turns the first person shooter into something more than just “shoot one guy, shoot another guy, repeat,” I’m not holding my breath on a deep narrative FPS with major RPG elements that everyone will love.

RUMORED MGS4/KILLZONE 2 BUNDLE AVAILABLE NOW

So, in the beginning of the week, reports started coming out that a new PS3 bundle was shipping in order to liquidate all of their stock of PS3’s in order to make room for another PS3 sku: the highly rumored PS3 Slim that is said to come out next month. Well, starting today, Best Buy is selling those bundles for $400.

So, basically, you’re getting a $30 game (MGS4 with its recent “Greatest Hits” drop) and a $60 game (Killzone 2) and the 80GB for $310…so it’s like a price drop…right?

I can’t complain about this bundle though: it’s a great deal for anyone who wants a good PS3 system and two of its best games. But, then again, the Slim looks great itself and while it still a rumor…it seems more and more likely.

SQUARE ENIX SWALLOWS LARA WHOLE…YEAH, I KNOW, YOU WISH IT WAS THE OTHER WAY AROUND

When EIDOS was sold to Square Enix last month, many asked whether this would mean another name change for the Square Enix brand. Unfortunately, the thoughts of Square Enidos or Squenidos is not coming to fruition. Square Enix reported today that EIDOS will be come Square Enix Europe, dashing any possibilities of any new type of crazy rebranding.

But on a serious note, it was also stated that a number of EIDOS team members will not make the conversion. It’s always sad to see something like this happen, but then again Square was really only interested in the brands that EIDOS had, since almost none of their games have been performing quite well. The sad reality of the business we love: you don’t make quality, you don’t keep jobs.

CONFUSING AS SHIT, BUT PRETTY AS HELL

And finally, I received a copy of BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger on the 360 and so far, it’s a highly enjoyable, if completely nonsensical game. I’m hoping to have a full review up by Friday, but this will definitely be talked about on the podcast, so stay tuned.

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