Gaming

After a week mostly off (thanks, Nat for picking up the slack) I’m back with another week of Power Rankings.

1. (7) Halo Reach – In a move that makes little sense to me, Microsoft made Halo: Reach available to reviewers through a download from Xbox Live. Hackers found it and figured out how to download the game for themselves. Hilarity did not ensue. Spoilers did. I’m doing my best to ignore them.

2. (-) Monday Night Combat – No specific link on this one, I’ve just heard from multiple trusted sources that this game is FUN.

3. (-) Dragon Age 2 – I petered out earlier this year playing Dragon Age but I still recognize that BioWare crafted a pretty great game and the trailer for Dragon Age 2 has me thoroughly impressed.

4. (-) Final Fantasy XIV – I really want to see an MMO on the 360. I think it’s the future for the genre, on consoles. So when I heard FF XIV was not coming to the 360, I was bummed. Turns out that may not be entirely the case — It appears that development of the 360 version is only “on pause.”

5. (-) Age of Empires Online – No sooner had the announcement of Age of Empires Online hit the wire then more details started coming out concerning their freemium model. I just signed up for the beta and I’m really looking forward to this one.

6. (-) Torchlight – There was the announcement of Torchlight 2 and now the word that it will “hopefully” be available on XBLA/PSN by the holidays. Which got me thinking — if this Diablo-esque hack-and-slasher is successful, how awesome would Diablo 3 on the console be? Awesomer than most PC gamers would like to admit.

7. (3) Starcraft 2 – I can safely say that this would hover at the top a lot longer if I was actually playing it but the other sites I read and the podcasts I listen to can’t stop talking about it.

What’s going on in the world of Video Games and video game blogging? Here’s my observations.

1. (1) Starcraft II – Yep, people are still playing it and talking about it. It’s still going strong.

2. (-) Borderlands DLC – This one stinks — Borderlands developer Gearbox accidently left a folder on the PC version of Borderlands detailing the story behind their upcoming downloadable expansion. Like that’s going to stop any of us from picking it up.

3. (-) Zombrex – While I haven’t been chomping at the bit to get my hands on Dead Rising 2 yet (and I stress yet), I am still interested in what they’re doing with these Zombrex mini-movies, which are being released on Xbox Live. Have you been watching?

4. (-) OnLive – Yep, I’m not letting this one die. Now is the time to get in on the ground floor with a solid investment: OnLive is worth a lot of money.

5. (-) Syndicate -I have been watching the Syndicate news ebb and flow and I’m getting a little frustrated. Will someone just make this game and get it over with already!?

6. (-) Two Worlds II – James and I were both interested in Two Worlds was announced, but neither of us actually took the plunge. I avoided after I read review after review, reading about what a stinker it was. It’s funny to see that marketing for the sequel, Two Worlds II is actually making fun of how bad the first one was.

7. (-) Epic Case Mod – This Warhammer 40k case mod is awesome.

8. (-) Quinn Pitcock – This one hits close to home. Pitcock was a former college football player who played at my alma mater, Ohio State. He was a very got defensive linemen and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL. He fell off the map and quit football a couple years ago. An introvert to begin with, he battled depression with video games, which ultimately became an addiction. Hopefully he will be able to rebound and put his addiction behind him. I have always been a huge fan of Pitcock.

This week’s power rankings are fairly sparse. Mostly Starcraft 2 and not a whole lot more.

1. (2) Starcraft II It came out and some buttonmashers have already picked it up but the internet can’t stop talking about it. Nat isn’t the only one who felt that the game was “unfinished” in the sense that it’s only 1/3rd of game. So it’s unfinished and, oh, it can ruin your video card. Sorry ’bout that, folks.

I could go on about how popular this game is, but I’ll save my time linking all the different blog posts and just point you here.

2. (-) Gamespot buys Kongregate – Possibly seeing the future of digital distribution cramping their money making style severely, Gamestop purchased the gaming “hub” Kongregate. Kongregate is free-to-play (or F2P if you’re one of the cool kids). Gamestop really likes making LOTS of money. It seems that these are at odds with each other.

3. (-) EverQuest 2 – James blogged the Sony announcement that they were taking the free to play route with EQ2, in a way that only Sony would try. Ardwulf has played in the Alpha and came away with a positive impression. He also has a good roundup of other people’s reactions to the announcement.

4. (-) Disney buys Playdom Speaking of buying game companies, Disney purchased the social gaming company Playdom for a tidy sum.

5. (-) Plants v. Zombies – Dancing Michael Jackson Zombies will not be dancing the Thriller through your backyard any longer.

Wow, that was even shorter than I originally thought it would be. I guess August is going to be a boring gaming month.