Top 10 Dragon Ball Side Characters

Just like it says, my 10 favorite DB/Z/GT side characters. No main or movie villains, no "Z Fighters", no significant characters like Roshi, Bulma, etc. So, here it is...

10. Caterpy - There's not a whole lot known about this guy. All we really got was a quick introduction and one fight, one which he lost. But you can't deny how stupidly awesome this character is. First of all, his name is Caterpy. I'd like to think Game Freak were big DBZ fans. Not not mention, he's a giant, intergalactic, half-man, half-caterpillar that defeats his opponents by tickling them into submission, which I think Olibu sums up best when he says "South Quadrant must be a very peaceful place". When Goku finally lands a hit on him, he tears up and cocoons himself to achieve his ultimate form. The best part? Said form takes approximately 1,200 to achieve. He's just so useless yet so confident, it's awesome. I hope I get to see the time his final form hatches and just wrecks shit. Goku and Vegeta get sent from the dead, Bills tries to stop him, they're all just tossed aside. EVERYONE SHALL FEAR THE TERRIBLE MIGHT OF CATERPY!!!

9. Android 15 - There's even less known about 15, besides being pretty damn strong. He's basically a jive black man with sunglasses. He's like the Jynx of DBZ. I'm no racist, but I find this blatant stereotype to be hilarious. Also, he has huge pink lips and drinks out of a flask. He's an android that consumes alcohol. He's JYNX AND BENDER IN ONE. With a sombrero.

8. King Chappa - King Choppa oozes badass. He looks like Jules from Pulp Fiction if he was a karate master. When we see him for the first time, he's already past his prime, being a former champion of the World Martial Arts Tournament. He can move his fists so fast, that he invented his own "Eight-Handed Technique" which, as you'd probably guess, moves so fast that it seems the fist-to-face ratio has quadrupled in his favor. He gives Goku a great challenge in the 22nd Martial Arts Tournament, and not much of one in the 23rd. But come on, he's awesome. And he's still one of the stronger fighters in Dragon Ball. I wish we'd seen more of him at his best, when he won the title, he did so without being touched once all tournament. Does he LOOK  like a bitch!?

7. Monster Carrot - Monster Carrot is just pure awesome. he's an anthropomorphic rabbit dude, who knows martial arts, runs a gang in the desert, and solicits fear and power by turning townsfolk into carrots. Yeah, he knows martial arts, turns people into carrots, and is a RABBIT. WITH TOTALLY PIMPIN' SHADES. I know this isn't very long, but there isn't much known about or seen from him, he's just too epic to ignore.

6. Abo/Kado/Aka - For those who don't know, Abo and Cado are brothers who have been terrorizing the planet on which Vegeta's brother, Tarble resides. They're former high-ranking henchmen of Frieza's, whom since his death have grown in power to rival even Frieza himself. When pushed to their limits in battle, they perform an instantaneous fusion technique, that transforms them into Aka, and becoming even stronger. Unfortunately, they

showed up long after Frieza's demise, and therefore was were match for most of the Z fighters, to the point that even Yamcha was able to be of assistance against him. He presents an interesting measuring stick for how far Earth's warriors have come since Namek's destruction, and an entertainingly sad end to what years ago would be a deadly foe, and is to much of the galaxy. Also, AboKado? Fucking really!? I love it!

5. Uub - Uub is a special case, I thought about putting Giru here honestly, but he's basically a main character for the longest saga of GT. Uub on the other hand is severely underused. I mean, he's Goku's protege, and he's been seen competing with Goku without coming close to using his full power. Then later in GT, he fuses with Majin Buu, THE Majin Buu, and still gets destroyed. He's always one of the strongest, but there's always some way he's not allowed to compete. He has great potential to be what Gohan was intended to me as the next champion of Earth, and he's just robbed at every turn. He sacrifices part of who he is for a major power boost when he forms with Buu just to get owned by Baby, and he even has a chance to win the Martial Arts Tournament and Majin Buu's all like "ooh Mr. Satan's the champeen, you ain't allowed to beat him." Because having a new, young, super-powered champion would make the world feel so much less safe, as if they don't get that a guy in his 50's may be past his prime (no matter how fabricated that prime is to begin with). I know I went on a tangent, but he's a great character. Caring but tough, powerful with unlimited potential at a young age, and a totally selfless person resurrected from the once-great evil of Buu. But he gets cheated at every turn, even with the little screen-time he gets. He's basically the Tien Shinhan of GT, but with even less significance.

4. Baba's Four Champions - To start off, I'm not including her fifth fighter in this, because he's not really part of the group, he's more or less partaking in a mutual favor by fighting when he does in the show/manga. What I love about these four is, while being fairly tough as it is, their cheesy horror movie-ness is what makes them amazing. The first is Fangs The Vampire, he's a blue kickboxing vampire... that dances! Next is See-Through The Invisible Man, who (spoiler alert) is invisible. He likes to use his invisibility to pummel his opponents while spouting terrible puns. Next 

is bandages The Mummy, he's a stereotypical big dude wrapped in bandages, that uses those bandages to wrap up his opponents before using classic wrestling moves to beat them down, he also spew overly dramatic and "intimidating" dialogue that comes off as simply hilarious. Lastly, Spike The Devil man. Get it? Spike? Cuz of the horns?! He's by far the most powerful of the three, just as lame and cheesy in design and character, but manipulating the negativity of the world and concentrating it into powerful beam attacks. In short, these guys are awesome cheese incarnate. And I love cheese... Mmm...

3. Dabura - I'm sure most people who know their DBZ would guess this guy would be here. Dabura is the universally feared King of Demons. Sporting power superior to that of even Cell, and making him about  even with the average Super Saiyan 2. He's technically the 2nd strongest villain in DBZ history behind Buu, though unfortunately among the least fleshed out. He looks badass, he has an awesome voice. He uses an awesome sword, he's a wise fighter and excellent strategist. Even in his short tenure, he's pretty damn effective. He kills Kibito effortlessly, turns Piccolo and Krillin into stone, then fights about evenly with Super Saiyan 2 Gohan. He's stated as being measurably though not greatly stronger than Cell at his peak, and therefore, if he hadn't been under Babidi's influence and attacked Earth even a few years prior, he would have been a deadly threat with Gohan being the only one who could compete with hi, though not being used to ascending yet, even he could have fallen. Dabura's awesome, the end. Oh, and that sword kick ass. It shoots beams and shiz!

2. Nam - Nam is probably the greatest person/being on this list. A man who traveled cross-country to compete in the Martial Arts Tournament to earn the money to purchase water for his barren homeland (obviously not having traveled far enough to know how plentiful it is other places). He's proven to be pure of heart due to his ability to ride the Numbus Cloud, and one of Goku's toughest challenges in Dragon Ball. Utilizing great martial arts skills as well as the devastating Cross Arm Dive that's said to incapacitate the greatest of fighters for over a 

week. He's a rather simple character, but he's a great person and powerful character, stealing every scene he's in, and making the few times he has fun all the more epic. And he's one of the only characters to appear in all 3 Dragon Ball series', showing that even Toriyama and everyone else who's touched the franchise loves him just as much.

1. Pikkon - I knew who'd be number one before I started putting this list together. Pikkon just oozes epic. He's powerful enough to compete with a Super Saiyan 2 Goku, utilizes elemental attacks such as fire and wind, which is a nice departure from the different colored energy attacks seen in most of the show, he's a great character that's well-developed for his lack of screen time, and he raises so many questions. When he comes up, I often wish I could see him battling as the hero of his own planet, see what kind of villains he fought to attain the absurd power he has (I realize he trained after death, but so did others who dies prior and he wrecks them all), the world he comes from, etc. He's just so awesome, it makes me wish I knew more, and especially got to see more.

@SycoMantis1991, Facebook: Sycotic Soliloquies, leave comments, share please, etc. Love y'all

30 Day Video Game Challenge: Day 2

Favorite Video Game Character:

This one seems pretty impossible, but the first one that comes to mind is HK-47, and I can't think of anyone I clearly like more. He's a badass killing machine from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic that doubles as an awesome hacker/demolitions/security guy, and on top of that, he spouts hilarity like no one in, dare I say, the history of video games, his dry, stoic tone and twisted morals only making it exponentially more perfect. He's one of the many things that makes Knights of the Old Republic immeasurably epic.

30 Day Video Game Challenge: Day 1

Very First Video Game:

The two games I have the earliest memories of are one of the original Sonic games, and Street Fighter II. But, since I remember exactly which one it is, I'm gonna go with Street Fighter II. I spent hours a day at like 4 years old kicking ass as Blanka, Zangief, and Dhalsim. Even back then I refused to go with the popular fuckers. I sadly probably knew the button combinations a million times better then than I do 18 years later. Holy shit, I'm old. Yeah, Street Fighter II, still one of my favorite fighters.

Top 10 Underappreciated Game Franchises

Why "Underappreciated, you may ask. Well, none of these games are particularly underrated. In fact, all of them are rated highly. My issue is with the amount of people that know about and talk about them. henceforth, underrated! Anyway, here ya go...

10. Panzer Dragoon - On-rails Shooters in general aren't a huge market, but when the first Panzer Dragoon was announced, the video gaming world collectively shit themselves. The premise of the game is that you basically pilot an awesome laser-shooting dragon in a quest to save the world from other dragons. Dude. Holy shit! But, people are stupid. No good Sonic games meant poor sales for the Saturn, and in turn, poor sales for this game. It's a shame too, because the franchise is nothing but stellar throughout. The original is critically marveled, Panzer Dragoon Zwei  is better in every way, Panzer Dragoon Saga is an amazing RPG that could have spawned its own sub-series, and Panzer Dragoon Orta is a stellar Xbox title visually with perfect controls and an impressive story that shows the experience gained by making Saga an RPG. Alas, none of these games, three on the Saturn and one on the Xbox, sold very well at all, and Sega, understandably, canned the franchise. The only reason they're not higher is because only one game provides a lot of time allotted. They're all consider classics by the few that talk about them, which are far too few, and it doesn't help now, DOES IT?! YOU GUYS SUCK!!

9. Tomba! - Tomba! Was a (I hate saying this word but it fits too well) quirky action-platformer for the original Playstation. Growing up, and even today, I'm the only person I know that knows of it without me introducing it to them. I mean, how could anyone not love the idea of a pink-haired jungle boy chasing the evil pigs that stole his grandfather's bracelet. If that's not an earthshaking premise, what is?! Actually, now that I think about it, he actually reminds me a bit of Goku in the original Dragon Ball. In all seriousness though, both Tomba! and Tomba! 2 are excellent 2.5D platformers featuring over 130 levels each. Though not all are necessary to beating the main storyline, they're all fun and add a lot to the game as you throw pigs, beat them with maces, and fly around in a squirrel suit (yep, Tomba! did it way before Mario). The game is beautiful and highly detailed for the PS1, the gameplay is solid, the characters are awesome, and most of all, everything about it is amazing fun. Too bad you all HATE FUN!!

8. Ys - Honestly, I myself haven't known about these games for too long, but when I found out, I jumped on that shit... Hard... Like a nice, shapely, anyway, Ys is one of the longest running RPG franchises around. In its lifespan, between main releases and re-releases, Ys has appeared on 19 different consoles (20 if you count mobile phones). Yet, somehow, very few people seem to know it exists, despite almost everyone having a system to play it on. Every game in the series features great and unique combat, amazing art design, and some of the better stories in all of gaming. They've re-released every main title at least once, showing a dedication to improving and  their products to give the few fans they have the best experience possible. That kind of talent and passion, as well as the constantly putting their fans ahead of their own artistic arrogance, honestly deserves to be met with much more love and just plain a bigger audience than it currently possesses. Shame on you all!

7. Shenmue - I'm sure quite a few of you know these games exist, but I'm sure less of you have played it, and very few really appreciate what they did for gaming and what they were as not only games, but stories. I feel like Shenmue revolutionized story-telling in video games. Never had a game made a world and its characters so open (yeah, Shenmue did that, not GTA), and immersed you so richly in everything happening around you. For the first time, at least in a big budget game, you really got to live as the lead protagonist, creating a bond with him, his story, and those around him more than ever before. Of course, the actual story within was good, if it wasn't then none of this would matter. It's a heart-warming and motivating tale of tragedy, vengeance, and atonement, taking place in the biggest world video games had seen. And what did it get? The story of the original masterpiece, and especially its astounding sequel got cut short after two games due to poor sales not being able to match the tremendous budget needed to create the games. So due to poor marketing, insane expenses, making more copies of the original than there were Dreamcasts in existence, and a little bit of consumer ignorance, one of the best stories in gaming shall likely forever go without an end.

6. Gex - Ah, Gex. it's like Spyro meets James Bond, minus the shittiness of James Bond, plus awesome cliche movie and TV references. Honestly, as much as I love these games, there's not a whole lot more too them. They're based around Gex the Gecko, a couch potato obsessed with 80's movies and TV shows. He gets sucked into the television, another amusingly cliche movie homage, and must traverse through different movie-themed levels to get out. It's a 3D platformer, open world in the style of games like Spyro or Ratchet & Clank in that you're able to roam around yet there's still an established goal in order to progress past that certain level and ultimately beat the game. The controls are very tight, the humor is campy, stupid, drowned in references and cliches, but completely epic. There's not a lot more to say. Gex is a very fun, nostalgiac series for more than just its age, and isn't all that hard to find nowadays.

5. Bushido Blade - Bushido Blade may be, gameplay-wise, the most unique series on this list. Bushido Blade is a ninja fighting game unlike any other. It's slow and strategic, playing extremely similarly to how one would imagine a real sword fight (or sledgehammer or whatever you choose). Strategically placed strikes, blocks, and counters, the clashing of swords, and the looming knowledge that one well-placed hit will likely kill you. Or you might get lucky and simply lose the use of an arm or a leg, forcing you to battle with a major disadvantage, knowing you're almsot certain to fall from the next hit. It's incredibly realistic and precise, and it's probably the most intense fighter I've ever played, and one of the most intense video games in general, both the first and the second games. If you want a unique, realistic, intense fighting experience that's extremely rewarding and still very fun, PLAY IT NOW!!

4. Sparkster/Rocket Knight - The Sparkster games are elite among side-scrolling platformers. Swords, rocket jets, and mechs, perfect controlling side-scrolling through awesome environments, and the typical cheesy early 90's video game storyline, who could ask for more. Every game in the series (save the above average remake) is absolutely masterful. The first two games were Genesis/Mega Drive exclusives, and honestly, everything about these games is so amazing that I feel like if they'd marketed them like they did Sonic, or even in place of him, it could have made that console war an actual competition sales-wise. However, Sega didn't bother to buy the rights, so the third "spin-off" game made its way to the Super Nintendo and killed any hope of having another mascot to compete with Mario. As great as Konami is, they'd be gods amongst mortal game developers if this had become a long-running, console-selling series like it had the potential to be.

3. Disgaea - Disgaea is a stunningly underrated series. It has everything RPG fans look for. Awesome story, memorable characters, solid and tactical gameplay mechanics, humor, good dialogue, as well as many things that help sell games in the 21st century like Anime-style art, a huge game with tons of replayability, etc. But even with the sudden surge, at least among YouTube gamers, of the game's publisher, Atlus, this game has still gone terribly unheralded. Especially nowadays when everyone is either playing nothing but COD and Halo, or is looking for the furthest thing from those, you'd think someone famous among gamers would be like "HEY! DISGAEA! S'GOOD! S'GREAT! FFFFUCKING PLAY IT!!" Every game, and there are four main series games now, are all hilarious, intriguing, epic anime-inspired stories woven together by awesome characters, surprisingly solid English dubbing, and its own unique Strategy RPG battle system. Not to mention the expansive recruiting system that makes basically every playthrough different in terms of how you battle. This series really needs to be experienced to fully grasp what it's about, it really can't be explained in words.


2. Darkstalkers/Night Warriors (rant about Capcom's shit promotion of Resurrection) - The Darkstalkers series is a childhood favorite of mine. It was everything I love. Beautiful 2D Animation, monster movies, and fast-paces fighting games. You play as adaptations of classic characters such as The Mummy, Frankenstein's Monster, Dracula, sexy vampire chicks, the Sasquach, Lochness Monster, blah blah blah. Point is, it's awesome movie monsters duking it out with fast, tight controls, at the time revolutionary combo mechanics, an amazing art style, and brutal difficulty. Any fighting fan needs to pick up at least one of these games, or get Resurrection on Xbox Live or PSN. Ya know, since Capcom decided not to promote its release in the slightest so no one can buy it so they have a go-to when people bug them about a new Darkstalkers game!... Yeah, number 2, Darkstalkers.

1. Gargoyle's Quest/ - This is, by far, no question, the most underrated franchise in all of gaming. Three elite platformers, three different systems, unique gameplay still not replicated, and pure badassery throughout. The first two are 8-bit side scrolling classics with unique hovering mechanics and a dark but not too serious tone, classics, but not revolutionary. However, the third and final game, Demon's Crest, changes all that. Demon's Crest pushes the graphical capabilities of the Super Nintendo to its limit, rivaled only, in my opinion, by the likes of Castlevania: Dracula X. The gameplay is spot on, the levels are large in both length and height, making perfect use of the wall-grappling and hover mechanics, after defeating certain enemies, Firebrand gets unique forms that resemble the power-ups in Mega Man X, and the game itself is gritty, dark, awesome, and brutally difficult. Each game is among the best on their respective systems, but Demon's Crest is what pushes this series from number 7 or so to number one for me.


I know it's been a while, I've been trying really hard to figure out a way to make decent quality videos for this and find a way to record gameplay videos, both for my youtube channel. But alas, looks like that channel's sticking to rants for now. Though I'm considering a podcast-ey type format where I just tangent out the ass about a subject. Anyway, hope you liked it, follow @SycoMantis1991, youtube channel: Sycotic Soliloquies, yada yada. And leave comments/suggestions here or those places. I swear there will be more, I'm in the middle of working on three different lists, one gaming, one anime, and one music, so variety too.

Favorite Things from E3 this Year

I know this is late, I planned on making this into a video, but I can't find any quality free recorders or video editors. So yeah, now it's an obnoxiously late blog post. Anyway, you already saw the title, so just read.



10. Mad Max:
I'm a big fan of the Mad Max movies. Being 21, it's obviously very common to have grown up on late 70's/early 80's action films. I have weird tastes. Anyway, I heard a few months back that a new Mad Max film is being made, and honestly, I hope this isn't going to be a cashcow of a movie tie-in to that. Not that I don't trust the movie, I don't know enough to have any opinion whatsoever. i just know that those often flop no matter the movie, and I hope it's a project that instead, they work hard to translate one of the richest and most fun worlds in both sci-fi and action, into a rich and engaging personal experience. So in other words, I want the opposite of Avatar.


9. Destiny:

I honestly thought nothing, maybe even less than that, of Destiny prior to E3. But I have to admit, I was a big fan of at gameplay demo at Sony's press conference. When I heard "Bungie and Activision creating a first-person shooter", I immediately rolled my eyes and reached for the gun to put this industry out of its misery. "The people that shoved one of the best IPs of the last decade down our throats so much that I couldn't bare to touch it anymore teaming up with the assbags that have brought us such recent FPS classics as the Goldeneye remake, four other 007 games, the 2009 Wolfenstein game, and the Call of FUCKING Duty games. How could it go wrong?!. But, as it turns out, it looks pretty damn sweet. Not absolutely jaw-dropping, but it looks like a highly enjoyable first-person shooter. Which is not a sentence you'll hear very often from me, especially about new games. To not drone too much, the art style is really appealing, the powers look really fun and useful, the movement is so, SO smooth, and, even though it's been compared to the most average shooter in history, Borderlands, I think it's a lot more polished gameplay-wise than that or Bungie's former killer IP. I just hope there's a solo option, because I'm not always in the mood to tear through games with other jackholes I don't know. I'm not shitting myself for this game, but I do think it looks very enjoyable for a modern FPS.


8. Super Smash Bros. 4:

Yeah, this may be the least innovative title on this list. But fuck you, these games are awesome! And two big things put it on this list. 1: I'm getting a 3DS and have no clue if I'll have a Wii U anything near soon, and it's on the 3DS. 2: MEGA MAN!! MEGA MAN!!!he Wii Fit chick is amusingly awesome too, but Mega Man!!! Who doesn't want to see him take on Bowser? Yeah, Mario would be cool, but the character whose purpose in life is taking out bosses fighting the most famous of all? Come on! Plus, in addition to his Mega Buster, he's getting a bunch of other nifty power-ups from his past such as the Shoryuken, Crash Bomb, Leaf Shield, and Metal Blade from Mega Man 2, the Top Spin, Hard Knuckle, and Spark Shot from Mega Man 3, the Flame Blast from Mega Man 6, the Flame Sword from 8, the Slash Claw from 7, Super Arm from the original Mega Man, and Rush Coil from just about every Mega Man after 3. There's honestly not a shit ton to say about this one besides that. it's Smash Bros. Nintendo characters fighting to the death. The fucking END


7. Dragon Age: Inquisition:

I wish I was a lot, I mean A LOT more excited for this than I am. I was absolutely in love with Dragon Age: Origins. And I'm a borderline BioWare obsessive. Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old republic, Mass Effect, they're just... Just so good, I can't put it into words. But lately, pretty much since the moment EA bought BioWare, they've gone down the shitter. Sure, Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2 were amazing, but those were both being created before said purchase occured. Dragon Age II was a massive disappointment. It was a lazy, ugly, unentertaining mess of a game. Solid animation and controls are pretty much the only things it had going for it, which isn't saying a lot for a story-centric RPG. Now with THE three masterminds of BioWare gone, Greg Zeschuk, Ray Muzyka, and Drew Karpyshyn, who by the way is among the better writers alive today, and knowing EA, it's very hard to trust this game. But I want SO BAD for this to be amazing. That's why it's as high as it is, though I expect it to be closer to the Birdemic than Citizen Kane of video games.

6. Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Two Worlds/Yoshi's New Island:

Ok, these aren't exactly the most original games on the list, in fact, they're even less original than Smash Brothers. But at the same time, these are reboots of two of my favorite games of all time. Absolute classics that are the pinnacle of game design. Now I don't think these will be as great as the originals, but they both look like amazing adaptations that are different enough to be worth experiencing on their own. They'll both also hopefully bring new fans to the classic games they're modeled around. Also, I'm an old person so I like old people type games, so fuck off!!

5. South Park: The Stick of Truth:

I've loved South Park since I was a kid. It's probably the only show that can be as crude and simultaneously ingenious as it is. Most South Park games of the pas have been preeeeeeeeeetty fucking shit. South Park for the N64, Chef's Luv Shack, South Park Rally, all horrible, HORRIBLE abominations. And unfortunately, I've played each of those. But this time, there's actually a lot of promise. First of all, it actually has Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of South Park, helping with a lot of the writing and animation. It's also being developed by Obsidian, a RPG developer well known for making amazing games out of existing source material such as Knights of the Old Republic and Neverwinter Nights. I don't know a whole lot about the game, but since South park humor and Role-Playing games are two of my favorite things ever, I'm just a tad excited about this game.

4. Twitch/Ustream:

I know this is a bit off-topic since the last six have been video games, but I think it's awesome enough to warrant a place here. I've thought about doing streaming-ass shit for a bit now and it'll be cool to do so straight through my system without needing any extra adapters, assuming I can afford a PS4 eventually. Because, to be honest, I don't plan on owning a Xbox One, even if it does have Killer fucking Instinct. Bastards! So be prepared for that, and I apologize in advance.


3. Kingdom Hearts 3:

See what I did there? Number 3? Kingdom Hearts 3? Eh? EH?! Oh, fuck off! This is probably one on a lot of peoples' lists, and I'll admit that I shit myself when I saw the preview during the Sony conference. But I'm also very skeptical about it. Square Enix hasn't made a quality game in almost a decade, and it's pretty hard to trust that this will undoubtedly change all that. Yeah, I want it and I hope it's amazing and I can see it being so, I just don't see it as an inevitability. Besides, people are acting like we're starving for Kingdom Hearts games. I haven't played them all, but there have been eight releases since the original debuted in 2002, that's almost as often as Call of Duty releases its annual sixty dollar updates. So it's not the absolute most exciting thing from E3 to me. Though I can't wait to play it and hope it kicks ass. Though if it ends up sucking, maybe it'll be the kick in the face Square Enix needs to get their shit together.

2. Indiefuckinggames:

Those indie games. THOSE INDIE GAMES. Sony just fucking destroyed with that lineup. Every game looked amazing and fun, and is one of the big things that sold me on the system. Transistor, Octodad: Dadliest Catch Mercenary Kings, Secret Ponchos, Ray's the Dead, The Witness, Outlast, Galak-Z, and the Abe's Oddysee remake, Oddworld: New N' Tasty all look amazing and are all coming to the PS4 first. But there are also other balls-tastic indie games shown at E3, including Shovel Knight, Towerfall, and maybe the most personally exciting title, The Angry Video Game Nerd Adventure, a 2D action-platformer based on the YouTube legend that is The Angry Video Game Nerd. All of these look like amazing games and are some of the best shown off at E3 this year.

1. Pokemon X/Y:

I was hoping to avoid putting this at number one, to be honest. I'm a huge Pokemon fan, Have been since I was barely seven and got my first brand new Game Boy Color along with a copy of Pokemon Blue for Christmas waaaaaaaaay back in 1998. Holy balls, I'm old. But yeah, you probably think I'm a nostalgiac idiot for this, but I really am not looking forward to anything else nearly as much as this. I plan on getting a 3DS along with Y the day it comes out and good luck finding me after that. I've been anticipating this since it was announced in, I think February? Something like that. Some of the new designs are kinda blah, and some others are awesome. That's always how Pokemon is though. For every Charizard and Excadrill, there's an Exeggcute and a Vanillite. I'm more concerned with the game itself, and it looks to be the best yet. Riding on Pokemon, rollerblades, horde battles where you can battle a bunch of Pokemon at once to make leveling quicker, and gain an exp boost on top of that, sky battles, character customization, the works. Not to mention no fucking friend codes. I'm still waiting to hear whether I can bring my White 2 Pokemon to the fancy new game. Cuz, like, I have a lot, ya know. That'd kind of blow. As if that time wasn't enough of a waste. But I'm sure they'll figure that out. They did when they moved from GBA to DS so yeah. Wooooooooooooo, Pokemans!

Thoughts on the E3 Conferences

I know it's kind of late, but I had a lot to say. Also, I couldn't bring myself to wake up for the Nintendo Direct so I needed to catch up. Anyway, read away! Hope you're comfy...


Microsoft: Honestly, Microsoft's press conference wasn't quite as bad as I thought it'd be. It wasn't that good, but it wasn't bad either. They played it pretty safe for the most part. They started with maybe their safest Non-FPS moneymaker in Metal Gear Solid V. Now in case my name didn't give it away, I'm a pretty big fan of the MGS series. I'm not very impressed with this however, everything new about it seems like a pathetic attempt to be a Rockstar game. I honestly don't see why people are so excited about that If I want a Rockstar game, I'll play one, or at least Sleeping Dogs. Not to mention how dull and uninspired the bosses seem. I expect better, Kojima. For shame!

They also showed off many other multi-console titles that really shouldn't sway you any way at all. For example, Assassin's Creed IV. Honestly, it looks decent, it basically looks like that sailing mini-game from Assassin's Creed III but with fancier hats and rapiers. They also showed off a trailer for everyone's favorite new IP, Watch Dogs, which really didn't tell us much of anything. Pretty much the same can be said about their "super exclusive" Quantum Break. Yeah, it looked kinda cool, nothing really happened but we saw a cut-scene version of the in-game time-freezing mechanic we all knew about anyway, doesn't really do much for or to the determent of the game, just an unnecessary reminder that it exists. They did show a pretty cool looking game titled, for now at least, Project Spark. It's a game where you can manipulate the world around you, events in it, establish cities, use powers, and the works with the help of the Kinect and Smartglass. I don't like using that many gimmicks to use another gimmick, but it looked pretty cool. The question remains as to far far it'll go, and while it looks fun, the gameplay seems solid but nothing special, it's hard to tell if once the novelty wears off, it'll still be an enjoyable experience. Oh yeah, and Forza 5. Yaaaaaaaaaaay.

There is one game that really caught my attention though. That game is Killer Instinct. it's not exactly what I'd hope for out of a KI game, it's a bit on the Super Street Fighter IV-clone side for my taste, but it still looks really fun, and it's nice to see the name in the public light again. BUT THEN THEY HAD TO FUCK IT ALL UP!! Download-only Xbox One exclusive, that sucks for me because I don't want one, but ok fine. You can't play the system unless it's online anyway so no one with the console is really unable to obtain it. But it gets worse. When you get the game, you only have ONE CHARACTER AVAILABLE. Jago is available from the get-go, but then you have to buy everyone else! You have to buy Saberwulf, Glacius, Fulgore, Riptor, Orchid, TJ Combo, etc. WHY?! Why is this a thought that would pass through a functioning human being's mind? Yet alone actually going through with it. Not only are you killing one of the most unheralded great franchises in gaming, you're doing it by thrusting yet another horrible business practice down our throats.

Now that that's over, they did show a cool feature or two. I really like the twitch.tv app. You can live stream your games easily and instantly through your Xbox One without needing any special capturing tools or anything of the sort. I've honestly wanted to do that kind of thing for a while now, but unfortunately I'll have to settle for ustream, cuz I'm still not getting this thing. But it is a cool add-on for anyone who does, and it's probably the first thing they've done that actually caters to gamers.

All in all, one big shitty thing, one big cool thing, and a bunch of meh. It won't make any haters love it, and it won't make any loyalists (which is what I thing you'd have to be) hate it. They didn't address any of the lingering questions, or even acknowledge all the crazy things they've already announced, which is probably smart on their part since they themselves have confirmed a lot of it, and they need all the good will they can get. All this for $499.



Electronic Arts: Another subpar showing. Obviously more strictly games though. The new Plants vs. Zombies looks meh, nothing new in games as far as gameplay, you just happen to be plants and zombies. Battlefield 4 is Battlefield, it's pretty much what you expect, nothing special whether you care for it or not. You shouldn't be impressed or deterred by it. The EA Sports games look nice, but it's EA Sports. Again, nothing really new. They look graphically better of course, and NBA Live 14 is back and sounds promising, but so did the last few and they were so bad that they gave up on them for a few years. Its Xbox exclusivity might move units for the one or two basketball fans that don't love the 2K series, but I don't see it lasting long. The rest look good like one would expect, but how many people go to or watch E3 for sports games? There's also Need for Speed Rivals, which looks like Hot Pursuit re-titled. Way to innovate, EA. If 2011 was the E3 of big, dumb shooters, this year's is the E3 of cars. Peggle 2 was announced, so, cool I guess?

There were some actually exciting, or at least intriguing announcements. Including the presumed Star Wars: Battlefront game, which while that's nice, the team behind it is responsible for all of two kind of shitty medal of Honor games, doesn't exactly inspire confidence if you ask me, though I do hope it's good. The Titanfall footage wasn't impressive to me, looks like it plays just like Battlefield, except there are mechs in it. Unfortunately, there was Dragon Age news. The new game entitled Dragon Age: Inquisitor, has been delayed to the fall of next year. That kind of sucks for those of us that wanted to play it, but at the same time, as a HUGE BioWare fan, it's nice to see them being given extra time to work on a game after Dragon Age II and Mass Effect 3 were rushed out with the results of a blah game and a horrible ending respectively. At least we know Morrigan's back. I am cautiously optimistic about this game, emphasis on cautiously. EA did end rather impressively, with a beautiful and high- acrobatic action trailer for Mirror's Edge 2, the sequel to the cult hit Mirror's Edge, a game that garnered praise for its uniqueness and amazing ideas, though it wasn't quite polished enough to be a classic. Perhaps this will be the marriage of innovation and quality the first one strived to be, but I wouldn't hold my breath.



Ubisoft: This conference definitely started out, well, different. Don't ask me why, but they kicked it off with Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains fame riffing out some "Man in the Box" for the crowd. What could possibly be momentous enough to bring in a big name like that? Well, Rocksmith of course. Yeah, I forgot that existed too. They do know peripheral-centered rhythm games kind of died with Guitar Hero, right? Not that anyone played the first Rocksmith anyway. What an astonishingly underwhelming way to start. It's a cool idea, but it's amazing they didn't realize how little people care for it. Shortly after, they revealed The Crew, another "slick" racing game that doesn't seem to have much of anything unique about it, though the beginning of the trailer does suggest the ability to build your vehicle from the ground up, but I may just be too analytical for my own good. We saw Splinter Cell: Blacklist, which all we learned is that Sam Fisher is in it, which we were all on the edge of our seats over. It'll probably be good, but not new enough of an experience to excite me, or warrant the price in my opinion.

Other games they show include Rayman Legends which is basically a re-skinned Origins, cool? I mean it looks fun, and it is interesting to set the levels in mythological environments, but gameplay-wise, I see no difference between this and Rayman Origins. There was also an interesting=looking free-to-play MMO entitled The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot. It definitely has a visual charm to it and a sense of humor, but the gameplay is fairly typical of a tower defense game, which is an under-hyped genre, but doesn't make the game sound really exciting either. The new Just Dance is Just Dance, the end. South Park: The Stick of Truth  got a mildly amusing trailer, but the fart weapon seems a bit childish for what's supposed to be a labor of love for Matt Stone and Trey Parker, though I do still see a lot of potential for the game. More Assassin's Creed IV stuff, cool, we already saw this. The big finally was I Am Legend: The Game, I mean Tom Clancy's The Division. Its trailer is probably the most droning thing I've ever seen at E3, and its gameplay was almost equally as dull. And it's an RPG? Really? Since when do RPGs revolve around shooting things in the face with an over-the-shoulder camera? But yeah, an underwhelming end to a conference filled with quantity over quality.



Sony: Hours upon hours of blah, and finally we get something good. This wasn't the best conference ever, but it's arguably the most exciting. They started by quickly running through a bunch of PS Vita titles like the God of War and Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD collections, The Walking Dead, Batman: Arkham Origins, Killzone: Mercenary, and more. They also announced exclusive skins for Arkham Origins and a Grand Theft Auto V bundle, which is kinda cool as exclusives, but definitely nowhere near system-sellers. They also showed off Rain, which wasn't very informative, but also showed an awkward but inspired game called Beyond: Two Souls. The puppeteer is an indie-looking, didn't hear anything about if it is, that looks really unique and interesting.But luckily they didn't drone a whole lot on those two systems before moving on to the PS4.

They showed off a few media-related things that look good, but they focused more on gaming than Microsoft did, you know, the people that went on about how game-centric they'd be. They showed ANOTHER racing game called DriveClub, which is going to be a racing MMO, which is interesting, but not enthralling either. Not to mention Gran Turismo 6. Yaaaaay, Gran Turismo but kind of better looking i guess. Whoooooo! They moved on to new games in the Killzone and Infamous franchises which look like solid games, but I doubt they'll be more than improved versions of their predecessors. Knack is a cartoony action-looking game with a neat upgrade mechanic and what look to be some huge battles. Sony's certainly showing they have a KNACK for the unexpected, eh?! Whatever, you all suck. The old man from their Playstation 4 unveiling is back and actually has a game. And it looks like a good one. The Dark Sorceror doesn't provide a lot as far as gameplay, though the title does give some ideas. What really sold me was the trailer. A witty green screen parody of movie directing that had me rolling, and I'm not the easiest person to amuse.

Sony also, likely in response to Microsoft's restrictions against Indie developers went Indie crazy about half an hour in, and I loved every fucking second of it! Not only are they cheap games created by promising developers, and heavily supported by a huge company, but they all look amazing. Transistor is a gorgeous cell-shaded game that looks like a Shin Megami Tensei game with the RPG elements replaced by stellar-looking action by Supergiant Games, the creators of the critically-acclaimed Bastion. The Witness looks a lot like a spiritual successor to the Myst series with beautiful Flower/Journey-like graphics. Don't Starve is already out for PC, but it's a critical hit that is getting even more features and levels on the PS4. Mercenary Kings is an awesome hand-drawn 2D side-scrolling action/platformer. Octodad: Deadliest Catch, I don't even know, it's so weird and awesome, I can't help but wanna get my hands on it. Secret Ponchos is an awesomely-named overhead action/shooter/brawler spaghetti western by the just as awesomely-named developer, Switchblade Monkeys. Ray's Dead is an action/puzzle game where you lead a gang of zombies. Outlast is a horror game that looks like a mix of D2 and Fatal Frame. Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty is a fucking Outworld game!! It's a remake of the original that's definitely worth checking out, especially if you never played the original. A charming, humorous and deep experience, and maybe the start of new games from the series if it does well. Finally, Galak-Z is an awesome space shooter reminiscent of Raiden but with more free-reign of your movements and more stylized graphics. I know I went on a lot about these, but they're some amazing looking games that you'll likely never see on the Xbox One. And with Playstation Plus, you can get these all for free within the first year or so of having your system. Only drawback is you have to pay the $5 a month to play online, but everything else minus the free games is available whereas most is limited to Gold members on the Xbox One.

Back to the bigger games. Whereas Microsoft had a lot of demos, Sony showed off a lot of actual gameplay for a lot of the multi-console games. Assassin's Creed IV looks a lot more exciting now that I've seen it in action, though it's still definitely not innovative. There was also an amusing moment where the demo glitch-fested and the Microsoft loyalists were screaming their superiority, though Battlefield 4 did the same to Microsoft. These are incomplete games on uinfinished consoles, calm the balls down! We also got a demo of the show-stealing IP, Watch Dogs. It's a visually stunning game with very interesting mechanics, we have yet to see how well they're implemented, but it promises a great deal or unique and innovative gameplay. We also got a trailer of a new game entitled Mad Max, which while I have no clue why it exists, as a fan of the movies, I'm glad it does. We know little about it, but the fact that it's a thing is badass. Not to mention a preview of Elder Scrolls Online, with an open beta announcement exclusive to PS3. Betas usually aren't big, but this is a huge enough title that it'll likely move quite a few systems. The last thing we saw game-wise on the day was a long gameplay demo of Destiny. I believe it was seven, people joined the game at numerous times, fighting off alien hordes with first-person shooter action, awesome powers, and stunning visuals. It looks a lot like Halo mixed with Borderlands if it was fun. It runs great online, and the animation is some of the smoothest I've ever seen. Though this is all based solely on the PS4 version. I was never interested in Destiny until I saw this demo.

But none of this is the big deal of Sony's presser. There was a 20-minute segment where they completely stole the show. it started with a demo/trailer that showed that the core of Final Fantasy Versus XIII was being re-tooled into Final Fantasy XV. Which, without pause, transitioned into a beautiful Kingdom Hearts trailer, doing an amazing job of building up the suspense until... KINGDOM HEARTS 3!!! yep, it finally exists and it's coming to the Playstation 4. Then, they wen't on to beat the shit out of Microsoft. Announcing very specifically, no necessary online connection, no trading or selling restrictions, no necessary codes or installations, and pretty much nothing negative that Microsoft has implemented into their console. jab after jab at Microsoft. They even released a hilarious video during their conference showcasing how to share games on PS4. Which involves handing a game to another individual. It pretty much ended the next-gen war before it began in my opinion. Oh yeah, the price tag? A nice $399.

Nintendo: This morning, Nintendo released a live Nintendo Direct. I planned to watch this live, but yeah, I was up to late watching and talking about Sony, so I opted to miss it. There's not as much to say as it was only about 40 minutes, but they impressed more than I expected. They showed a lot of gameplay for things such as the new Super Mario 3D World which includes a new cat outfit that actually looks a lot more fun than it sounds. Really quick, clawing attacks and the ability to climb up walls as well as up to four-player co-op. The game itself looks really good and blends 2D and 3D seemlessly. There's also a nice-looking new Donkey Kong Country game, and new footage of the Wind Waker remake. As well as Mario Kart 8 for the Wii U with hoverboards, hang-gliding and anit-gravity mechanics that seem to add a lot to an otherwise, while fun, rather stagnant series. Wii Party U (a new Mario Party) and a new Wii Fit U.

The biggest deal, at least to me, is the new Pokemon X and Y information. We have to new Pokemon, a Dragon/Flying Pokemon that looks like an evolution of that bat from The Great Mouse Detective, and an unspectacular moth Pokemon that's probably an evolution of this generation's Caterpie or Weedle. But most importantly, there's a new type. And it's... ugh... Fairy Type. Really? Fairy? Does this series not get enough unfair "childish" tags against it? I'll admit, it seems like a useful type, being strong against Dragon, and weak against Poison, but I really wish it'd been something at least less lame-sounding. Sylveon is a Fairy Type, along with Marill, Clefairy, and Gardevoir so far. Gardevoir is interesting though. I've heard Fairy might also be strong against Dark. if it is, that would cancel out Gardevoir's Dark weakness, and its existing Psychic type would cancel out the Poison weakness. Not to mention having a powerful Psychic type that can now take on Dragon types to boot.There's also a release date, October 12th. I know what I'm doing that day.

Platinum Games had a strong showing for Nintendo as well. Not only did the Bayonetta 2 trailer look really good, but they showed off a new game called The Wonderful 101. yeah, I didn't expect to see any new IPs here, but this one looks really cool. It has gorgeous graphics and a really cool concept of a bunch of sueprheroes forming into colossal and devastating weapons to unleash on foes. They also showed off Sonic: Lost World which looks like what Sonic 3D Blast wanted to be and actually seems pretty fun, being released for 3DS and Wii U. As well as a bunch of snippets of previously shown exclusives and eShop games, along with quite a few indie titles.

But the other big thing to come out of this Nintendo Direct was Super Smash Bros. Unveiled for both the 3DS and Wii U, it looks as gorgeous and fast-paced as you'd expect. They also announced three new characters. Villager from Animal Crossing, the Wii Fit girl that was shown off in her own video shortly after, and MEGA MAN!!! Yes, Mega Man is in Smash Bros. Yep, that's it! It's over! Day one purchase! Day fucking one!! Not everything was subpar to positive though, as Wii Party U and Wii Fit U were delayed, as well as Bayonetta 2 not being released until 2014. Overall though, a lot more creativity than I expected to see.


I have to say, these conferences were more than I expected, which admittedly was nothing at all. Microsoft was stagnant, Nintendo showed promise, and Sony blew it out of the fucking water. I can't wait to see some of the upcoming previews, news, and titles that I've likely missed a lot of while putting this together.

Top 10 Kind-of-Last Gen Console Games

So, I very often knock on this generation of games for being one of the worst ever, being so COD-clone-centric, for doing a lot of bad and not much good for the industry as a whole. And while I stick by those claims, let's be positive for once. There are some great games that came out this generation, and I want to count down my ten favorite. Keep in mind that it's just games released on 360/PS3/Wii. I also don't own a PS3 or Wii so I haven't played games like Uncharted, Super Mario Galaxy, Heavy Rain, LittleBigPlanet, Red Steel, and the like. Though I plan to some day. Also, this is my FAVORITE. Not particularly the best. Skyrim is a marvelous creation, but I honestly got bored of it after about 20 hours. Anyway, list!

10. Portal 2 - Yeah, when I first played this I thought it'd easily make this list. Portal 2 doubles the already astounding humor that the first game has. It also adds new mechanics and a co-op portion. Unfortunately, I don't own Portal 2 so I've never had the full experience with it. The single player is good fun, but the original and sequel, as far as gameplay, is one of those games I have to be in the thinking mood for. This alone bumps it down a little as most of the others I can pick up at any time. I also feel like the puzzles themselves aren't done quite as well as they were in the original Portal. Some of them are great, but a lot are either insultingly easy or ridiculously hard, and there's no consistency in said difficulty. It just flies around aimlessly. I know it's much longer than the original, but this subtracts a lot from the overall experience. Also, when I rented it, I had no one to play it with, so I haven't tried the awesome-looking co-op, so as a personal experience, it gets no points for that. I love this game, but it's not consistently fun enough as a game to be any higher than it is. Also, Wheatley is the shit, a little moreso even than GLaDOS

9. Fable III - This is often considered the "Dark Horse" of the Fable franchise. I don't know how much this being my first in the series has to do with my fondness for it. I honestly haven't played the first game and while I own Fable II, I've been putting off playing it forever. I was a big fan of the world itself. It felt big without making you trudge for hours to get anywhere. I also enjoyed a lot of the characters, as well as the humor. There's some seriously hilarious dialogue in the game. It's very "British" and sometimes outright rips off Monty Python, which I'm totally alright with, especially when John Cleese is actually in the game. The voice-acting is also expert as some of the most prominent British actors of the last few decades lend their talents to the characters, including the aforementioned John Cleese, Stephen Fry, Naomie Harris,Bernard Hill, Simon Pegg, and even Ben Kingsley. Anyway, the story is honestly on the simple side, you're a hero destined to bring about a revolution in your downtrodden kingdom. It doesn't need to be complex though, as the game does a solid job of creating the desire to create change. Also, you can choose the kind of leader you become through many different means. The combat is fluid and the button scheme is well-done, but in larger battles, it does get repetitive. Overall, it's not the best action-RPG I've played, but it's very enjoyable with a lot of extra content to make it last a while after you purchase it. And you can get it new for under 12 bucks on Amazon now. So yeah, well worth the price of a Starbucks coffee or two.

8. Brutal Legend - You won't see this on many top tens, unfortunately. It's more of a personal-taste pick. I mean they all are, but this caters to a far more specific taste than i think any other on my list. This game combines three things I love: Tim Schafer, Pick of Destiny, and strategy games. Brutal Legend takes place in a sprawling, colorful half-fantasy, half-heavy metal world. As the Jack Black-voiced Eddie Riggs, You lead another rebellion, though this time against a supernaturally-powerful 80's Glam Metal reject played by Judas Priest lead singer, Rob Halford. You're aided by the likes of Lita Ford, Lemmy Kilimister, actually Halford-looking Rob Halford, and Ozzy Osbourne as well as other not rock stars to free the land from oppression, tyranny, and borderline extinction. All the actors do a good job and get some really funny dialogue courtesy of Shafer's legendary writing. The action is a mix of hack-and-slash and real-time strategy. In battles, you move troops and build forts with the goal of taking out the opponent's main hub. But you can also jump in as Eddie and tear through the opposition or do battle with the enemy leader for periods of time. There are also car-chase sequences and battles, as well as mini-games, making sure the game never gets old. Oh, and the soundtrack, so damn good. Some of the best and most under-appreciated artists in metal are represented, and I've found myself just driving around listening to the music.

7. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - I honestly have only played this game once, and it was a few years ago, so I apologize if my representation isn't completely accurate. As I've stated, I never owned a PS3, but I rented this when I was visiting family for a couple weeks and powered through it while they were out of the house. Anyway, I think this game is just about on par with the first three games in the series. The gameplay is totally polished this time around, the environments look amazing, and are varied. The story, though even a bit more over-the-top than usual, is as epic and grand as ever. It's definitely very different at the same time. As opposed to the usual mid-war espionage, it's more of a post-war, well, espionage. You travel through war-torn and hostile environments. In certain areas, you're just another guy not wearing the right uniform. I think this helps balance the stealth-survival missions a bit more. It's a little more common that you'll have to whip out your gun and thankfully, the aiming is better than past games. The bosses are always the highlight of MGS and they go all out here. I think it's the most solid lineup since the original, and every one is a total mindfuck with a crazy backstory and a unique challenge in the fight itself. Overall, this one stands right with the first three games and is worth the admission at release, yet alone its current price.

6. Saints Row 2 - I love the Saints Row series. The first was a great change of pace from the GTA formula. Simplistic in story, fun, over-the-top action, and astounding humor. Saints Row 2 basically took everything that was great about the first game and made it better. The controls are better the story's better, the gameplay is even more fun, and it's bigger. To avoid spoilers, you're now in a position of power within the gang you joined in the first game. To regain control of the city, you'll do everything from shoot tanks with a rocket launcher from a helicopter, to gunfights with strippers, to participating in a demolition derby. All the characters are more fleshed out, both on your side and the others, making it more satisfying when you take them down. There are also many mini-games strewn about, such as ones involving rescuing hoes from their pimps and running in the street trying to get fucked up as badly as you can by as many vehicles as you can, just to sue the pricks. Overall, Saints Row 2 is one of the most fun experiences in gaming in a long time. I think Saints Row: The Third is great too, but it goes a bit heave on the ridiculous and doesn't strike quite the balance that this one does.

5. Batman: Arkham Asylum - Yep, Arkham ASYLUM, not City. You wanna know why? Well, I'll tell you why!! I haven't really played Arkham City yet. Yeah, it's still on my to-do list. Until then, I honestly can't say it's better. But that's ok, because I love this game. The atmosphere is absolutely perfect. The story is one of Batman's best, and every villain is executed well. Arkham does stealth magnificently, making it simple but not without effort, and non-essential, but beneficial and enjoyable enough to actually do, where a lot of stealth games make it so it's a lot easier to just gun everyone down. Not to mention how satisfying the stealth kills are. That being said however, there are times you have to fight, and luckily the fights are really enjoyable too. They're fast-paced brawls where Batman can leap from opponent to opponent, clearing a crowd in no time at all. It also features a solid, precision counter mechanic and free reign to escape and use bat-stuff against your opponents. The ending is, while fun, kind of stupid from the perspective of consistency within the story, but I don't make nearly as big a deal about it as most people do. It doesn't make the experience any less enjoyable. Also, I'd but Mark Hamill's Joker, especially in this game, against Heath Ledger's any day.

4. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings - Honestly, if I hadn't purchased this more recently and had more time with it, this game would probably be higher, maybe even pushing for number one. Which, if you know me, and you see my number one, you'll know is downright blasphemous. The story of not just your main character, but the world around him is rich and engrossing. The actual world is huge and beautiful, the battles are strategic yet fast and fluid, not to mention difficult as balls, and the voice-acting, dialogue, and musical score are epic, and the game is full of things to do, places to see, people to meet, and enemies to fight. The whole thing is almost perfectly-crafted. The only thing holding it back for me is the fact that I haven't seen half of what there is to see and I have fuller experiences with literally everything else on the list.

3. Grand Theft Auto IV - As much as I love the direction that Volition took the GTA experience in with Saints Row, as far as a full experience, Rockstar definitely made the bigger and better game. The main character, Nico's story is deep and full of turmoil, the city is huge and vibrant, as well as extremely reminiscent of New York City itself, at least from my limited knowledge. The controls are smoother, there's a lot more to do, the characters are more fleshed out, and I honestly think the humor that is there is made even better when contrasted with the often serious tone. The plot takes many twists and turns, and you could honestly play this game forever and never actually finish it. Also, sit down and watch some of the made-up shows they have. They're fucking amazing. It's little details like those that make GTA IV the standout, not just in its genre, but in the entire series for me.

2. Dragon Age: Origins - I absolutely adore BioWare. Pre-Dragon Age II, every RPG they made was pure gold. Baldur's Gate I and II, Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, the first Mass Effect, they were deities of Role-Playing Games. I honestly didn't play Origins until about a year and a half after it came out. I can honestly say that was a big mistake. I missed out on one of the best RPG's to come out in a long time, especially one of the best on consoles at least. Dragon Age takes place in a large, medieval-style world of mages, elves, , trolls, dwarves, trolls, dragons, and the many of the other tropes. That's about where the originality ends though. The game follows you and your group of companions as one of the last two surviving members of an organization charged with vanquishing an ancient evil that's threatening to rise again to conquer your country and eventually the world. The world is rich, the characters are unique and the dialogue and moral choices you can make keep the game interesting and new through multiple palythroughs, and the story goes a lot deeper than simply "kill the evil thing and win". Also, I believe this game is the smoothest transition of D&D rules to video games that I've ever seen.

1. Mass Effect 2 - Mass Effect is one of my favorite series' of all time. The only real debate I had for the number one spot was whether it'd be Mass Effect 1 or 2. As much as I love the first, Mass Effect 2 is honestly better in every way. It's bigger, the universe has more life to it, the characters are more fleshed out, you have a bigger cast, the stakes are higher, there are more side missions, higher stakes, and a lot of differences depending on what you did in the first game. All of this makes pretty much no playthrough exactly the same. Which is good, because you're insane if you only play this once. It's honestly the only game this year I played through more than twice, besides the first game. I've played through it about 5 1/2 times and I still love it. I'm still finding new story elements, and still having overall unique experiences. The entire trilogy is an absolute epic in storytelling, not just in gaming but in media as a whole. The entire universe is fleshed out, unique, with infinite possibilities. I'm definitely one of those that hates the ending to Mass Effect 3, but the trilogy as a whole is still more than worth investing your time into , multiple times, just for the journey itself. Mass Effect 2 is easily one of my favorite games of all time.

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