Continuing on the list…I give you the top 4 games of 2007 for me.

4. Halo 3 (360)

The game with the biggest hype of 2007 didn’t disappoint…most. The trilogy came to a solid conclusion, and it took you on some interesting twists and turns along the way. The beauty of Halo though can only be experienced by exploring the lore that surrounds it, which is masterfully expanded in books, comics and other literature. It’s especially well noted in the excellent advertising campaign for Halo 3 in which they depicted real life actors as veterans of the war in which the Master Chief fought in. The multiplayer modes are the richest and deepest we’ve ever seen on a console, and tools like Forge and the Replay Viewer are going to be new staples in console gaming. Did the game live up to the hype? No, of course not. No game could ever do that. But god damn was it a fun as hell ride.

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Gotta say, this is pretty impressive.

I just got some treasures in for Pirates of the Burning Sea from Flying Lab Software. It appears there’s a mini game going on with a search for some real treasure! I’ve been given a map and a clue as well as a key to the chest.

More pictures after the jump.

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It’s hard to believe the Gears of War franchise is only a year old. When the game launched last year on the Xbox 360 it immediately took the crown as the game to have. The graphics were top notch, the gameplay was solid, and the co-op experience was the best to date. A year later Microsoft and Epic have brought the game to the PC crowd, and it seems to have survived the translation.

The PC version of Gears of War supports Microsoft’s Games for Windows Live platform. Unfortunately, much like Halo 2 for Vista, it doesn’t support any cross platform play to extend the community. This is also the first title that allows for GFWL on XP machines. This was a huge complaint with the original GFWL titles as a lot of gamers didn’t want to install Vista. The game does support DX10, though I can’t really tell the difference between that and the DX9 mode visually. The real draw of the new version of Gears is the new chapters of content. Many noticed that there wasn’t exactly a smooth transition between Act IV and Act V, and these chapters help fill that void.

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What would have happened if during the height of the Cold War in the 80’s the Russians had decided to invade America. With our forces spread thin around the globe fighting other battles, would we have been able to protect our own soil? That question is asked and answered in World in Conflict, the latest RTS game from Massive Entertainment, the creators of the Ground Control series.

From the first mission of WiC you can tell this game is going to have A LOT of explosions in it. With the Russians choosing Seattle as their landing zone, and all hell breaking loose in the city, it’s your job to try to salvage what you can. Before you know it highways are collapsing and the Seattle Dome is being turned into rubble. You’re character, Lieutenant Parker, is set in charge of small units of infantry, tanks, artillery and air craft. What sets WiC apart from other RTS titles is there is the way you add units to your army. You gain the ability to airdrop units in and call in fire support by killing other units and surviving. Amass enough resource points, choose your drop location, and units and bring in the reinforcements. Amass enough Victory Points and you’ll be able to call in air strikes, artillery and even laser guided missiles. There’s no resource gathering, no base building, no worrying about unit upgrades. This lets you concentrate on one thing: blowing up Russians.
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A new video just came out for Team Fortress 2, and it’s shit hot.

It’s called Meet the Engineer and really gives you an idea of the flavor of the atmosphere for the game.

In case you missed it, you can also Meet the Heavy  and you can Meet the Soldier.

It’s another week of WYSBP.  The fall rush is almost upon us, and with that there are quite a few demos out there which should keep you occupied.

Bioshock Demo (PC/360)  - While the demo is only available on 360 right now, this shouldnt’ stop you from downloading it immediately.  Initial impressions of the demo have been solid, with considerable praise to the graphics.   If you are looking for a FPS with lots of atmosphere and the freedom to accomplish things mulitple ways, this game is for you.

 Stranglehold Demo (PC/360/PS3)  - The Stranglehold demo hit last week on the 360, with a PC demo coming this week sometime.  Anyone who was a fun of Max Payne needs to play this ASAP.  Fully interactive enviornments, incredible damage modeling, and just an all around fun game.  The greatest thing about this demo is successive playthroughs will unlock new abilities and higher difficulty levels.  Sweet!

All Pro Football 2k8 (PS3/360) -  I know, I know.  Madden 2008 hits this week.  But you SHOULD be playing APF2k8 instead.  Stick it to the man by playing a solid football game that’s more than just a roster update.  The graphics are decent, but the animations are top notch.  Overall the gameplay is solid, and should satisfy any football fan.

One of the oldest and most repected PC developers, id Software, has made a statement in a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz backing Microsoft’s Games for Windows Live initiative. GFWL has been under quite a bit of scrutiny since it launched due to the closed nature of the system, the ludicrous Vista only requirement, and the fact that many of the features available today for PC owners were now going to cost them a subscription fee. Microsoft though is attempting to make some changes, most notably, changing the requirement of Vista only and making GFWL available on Windows XP.

So why was id getting behind the program?

“Some people say it’s a little too Big-Brotherish, but it’s a legitimate progression of making the PC feel more - not like a console, but like a closed system,” id’s lead designer Tim Willits

Well that certainly doesn’t sound very good for PC Gamers. Nobody likes a closed system. He goes on to explain that some of the benefits include a certification style system yielding higher quality software, with less incompatibilities. Finally though, it all comes down to piracy, which has plagued the PC platform for years.

“As we move forward, if it can help prevent piracy, if it can help people connect together, if it can help things be more uniform, so when end users buy any PC game they know how to connect, they know how to search for games - I do think it will help the games industry, and it’s just the way things are going to need to move.”

So while it sounds like id may be behind the Games for Windows Live initiative, it doesn’t sound like they are very happy about it.

So what have I been playing? Well I’m about halfway through Bulletwitch, which I did a review of for Evil Avatar. It’s very average, but does have some redeeming qualities. Be sure to check out the review if you are interested.

Of course I’m still playing Crackdown. I’m only progressing through the story when I get to play Co-Op with a buddy, and even then half the time is spent screwing around the city. I just obtained the Firefly (heat seaking rocket launcher) and it’s added a whole new element to the game. I managed to body jugle a corpse in the air for a full 30 seconds.

I’m renting The History Channel Presents: The Civil War from GamezNFlix. It’s a pretty average shooter, but it’s in a fresh setting. On top of that I played the Battle of Little Roundtop (Gettysburg) last night. Living only an hour and a half from Gettysburg I’ve been there a handful of a times and the developers did a great job with the level design. It looks very authentic, and in a sense it matches exactly how I envisioned some of the skirmishes playing out.

Finally I’ve been playing the Command and Conquer 3 demo on the PC. The game feels like a return to the C&C roots the franchise deserves complete with cheesey FMVs (BILLY DEE!) and great one liners. The ion cannon effect is particularly impressive. I’m really looking forward to this title now.

In addition to the new chatroom, I’ve added two more pages ported over from my old website.

The Massacre of the Fairies info page allows you to download MoF V0.96 Beta. The game is an arcade style shooter with over the top gore, and crazy weapons.

Also added to the page is my home theater construction log. This was a project I started back in 2005 and completed in early 2006. Enjoy!