View my Game of the Year selections for 2008. A bit late, yes, I know… but better late than never!

Watch as Fable 2, Fallout 3, Left 4 Dead, Sins of a Solar Empire, Call of Duty: World at War, and many other top caliber games compete for one of the top 10 spots on this year’s list!

Please give me your comments and feedback on my selections.

Thanks!

Ever since the invention of bots within Counter-Strike, people have been restricting them to use knives only. and putting massive numbers of bots. Nothing is quiet as fun as mowing down dozens of rushing bots. Well, that idea expanded into actual “Zombie” modifications within Counter-Strike, which provided a lot of replay value. The idea of battling zombies within the Source engine can be largely accredited due to these inventive modders.

So then the idea of Left 4 Dead was born: a teamwork focused game where you and three other survivors had to battle zombies throughout infested cities, towns, and countryside. And who doesn’t like destroying massive amounts of brainless zombies? It’s a lot of fun. Toss in “boss” zombies, the ability to revive fallen teammates, limited ammo and items, and a few other key features, it really gives you a fun gameplay experience.

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Most people aren’t likely to be newcomers to the Call of Duty series – they know what to expect. But for those who are new, here’s a brief recap: It’s highly fast, cinematic and polished gameplay with dazzling visuals, intelligent enemies, realistic settings, arcade gameplay, and excellent map design. The Call of Duty series has long been the on the cutting edge of FPS games, only getting better and better with time. However, World At War is not a breath of fresh air. It’s more of the same – albeit, it’s a very good “same.” But it’s still the same.

Taking off where Call of Duty 4 left, World At War traverses back to World War 2. It is a much better game than Call of Duty 3 (the last WWII game in the Call of Duty series) in every regard, and it really captures the atmosphere and intensity of the war. The voice acting helps set this tone, with the help of Jack Bauer actor Kiefer Sutherland himself leading the US forces to victory. In the Russian campaign, Gary Oldman lends his voice to mentor and officer.

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I’ve just launched a brand new website, Fable 2 Sector. It will feature forums, game guides, hints, help, media, and many other features. Check it out!

I got into the Battlefield: Bad Company Closed Beta on the Xbox 360, and I’ve been giving it a spin the past couple days. So far… it’s been quite a pleasant experience.

While still Battlefield at it’s heart, Bad Company feels like a cross between Mercenaries, Battlefield 2, and Call of Duty 4. Which, I must say, has turned out pretty well so far.

The biggest and most exciting new feature is that everything is destructible. You can blow away trees, walls, and even entire buildings. It reminded me a lot of Mercenaries in this way – one of my favorite console shooters.

The vehicles, classes, rank system, unlocks, and infantry combat all felt very akin to Battlefield 2, yet it is very updated. The Frostbyte graphics engine is smooth, graphically impressive, and more important it’s physics are top notch.

The squad system has been overhauled, and it’s totally automated (from what I can tell). You automatically join a squad when you enter, and you can spawn off the squad leader. The squad leader is automatically transferred to someone else when he goes down, and if you’re the last person in the squad you’re notified to hunker down and wait for reinforcements (they’ll spawn off of you).

Gone is the UAV, and in it’s place is a system that automatically spots enemies when your or a teammate looks at an enemy. Then you can track them on your mini-map as well as an icon on your HUD.

Overall, it’s still rough around the edges, but that’s to be expected in a beta. That being said, the game has a lot of promise. My biggest complaint is the FOV seemed a little tight, I like to step a bit farther back from the gun, instead of being so zoomed in there. Besides that, though, I’ve been enjoying myself.