Rainbow 6 Patriots Pre-Orders Removed From GameStop

Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6: Patriots has been formally removed from GameStop's database, and is no longer available for pre-order. Some retailers automatically deactivate database entries after a lengthy period of time, which wouldn't mean much in this instance. GameStop, according to a source with intimate knowledge of the retailer, "actively flipped a switch" to eliminate Rainbow 6 Patriots from its system.

GameStop tends not to remove big-name games from major publishers without an official confirmation that a title is dead, a source said. Moreover, it's exceedingly rare for GameStop to delist a game that appeared on the cover of its Game Informer magazine.

Amazon, Game, and other retailers, meanwhile, retain a listing for Rainbow 6. While the removal from GameStop isn't indicative of a cancellation or delay, it brings up the question once more: What is going on with this game?

Rainbow 6: Patriots was announced in 2011, but Ubisoft has spoken about the tactical shooter very little since then. Ubisoft told IGN last year that it's still in active development, and recent signs point to a next generation Rainbow 6 on new hardware.

Ubisoft's response to IGN concerning this delisting was, "We have nothing further to share about Rainbow 6: Patriots at this time."

Perhaps we'll learn more about the state of Rainbow 6: Patriots at this year's E3. You can catch Ubisoft's press conference coverage on IGN Monday, June 10 at 3pm Pacific.

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Batgirl [Review]

Batgirl #20 opens with chilling two page origin story that's a testament to writer Gail Simone and artists Daniel Sampere and Carlos Rodriguez's combined ability to pack a powerful story into a small space without sacrificing substance. In two pages, we get a glimpse into the troubled mind of the Ventriloquist, Barbara Gordon's latest adversary and it's a psyche rife with narrative potential.
We then jump to the present with a devastated Barbara Gordon reeling from the aftermath of her actions in Batgirl #19. As far as villains go, James Gordon Jr. was a tough act to follow since his relationship to the Gordon family added a deeper dimension to the story than a straightforward cold blooded psychopath would have. Simone fills those big shoes with an even more bone-chilling baddie with the Ventriloquist, a modern homage to the classic Bat-villain of the same name, but much, much creepier. The art shines in the scenes with the Ventriloquist and Sampere and Rodriguez's pencils add a creepy vibe while Jonathan Glapion's inks and colors bring a dark creepiness to those panels.
The story gets a bit convoluted by the involvement of former foe Knightfall and the appearance of Ricky, the still inexplicable budding love interest, and could have benefitted from some streamlining. The Ventriloquist is a good enough villain that she really deserves room to breathe. The issue's closer assures us that the Gordon family drama is far from over and Babs might have a bigger problem on her hands than a nightmare dummy.

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X-Factor [Review]

"Epic" is an adjective that could rarely be used to describe X-Factor. The series has always maintained its niche by exploring the quirkier and seedier sides of the X-Men universe, leaving it up to the core X-Men to deal with world-shattering threats. But that's something Peter David has changed in a big way with what we now know is the penultimate story arc in his long run.
It's actually a good thing "Hell on Earth War" isn't David's final storyline. The worst that can be said for the finale in issue #256 is that there's a lot left of material left unresolved. The stakes are as high as they've ever been for this team. A lot of bad things happen, and some of it is frustrating because it isn't clear what the final outcome is. Even so, this is a satisfying finale that delivers more consequences for the series than any three normal event comics combined. Several characters have major watershed moments that capitalize on years of story growth and evolution.
David even delivers a major twist that, if not quite the most shocking we've seen in the series, is still unexpected and hugely significant. The outcome of this storyline could have a significant impact on the wider Marvel Universe, not just this little corner of the X-Men franchise. Whether other writers choose to pick up where David leaves off is another matter. But at least the seeds are there.
Leonard Kirk bids farewell to the series with what is easily one of his best issues. The opening shot alone of Lorna assaulting Mephisto's castle is a feast for the eyes. Kirk delivers a thoroughly action-packed series of pages that are equally fraught with emotion and heartache. It's hard to imagine a better sendoff for the artist who has defined the look of X-Factor in its latter days.
With this story, David delivered all the epic and grandiose elements that used to be foreign to X-Factor. Now his final arc needs to get back to what the series does best -- exploring the characters and their relationships as they pick up the pieces one last time.

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Justice League of America's Vibe [Review]

Sterling Gates seems to be settling in nicely in his new role as writer on Justice League of America's Vibe. The books largely continues the trend of being a solid but unremarkable addition to the New 52 lineup. However, Gates is slowly making improvements to the formula. The quality of characterization has noticeably improved. Not necessarily with Cisco himself, as the book seems to be very much business as usual on his front. But several supporting players stand out this month as Gates peers into their personal lives and delivers a handful of quality character moments. The book as a whole feels a little more rich because of it.
Elsewhere, Vibe's ongoing mission becomes a little more clear as he encounters two different "Breachers" on the job. Gates plays up the growing sense of mistrust between Vibe and ARGUS as the former delves more deeply into his employer's suspect activities. I'm not wild about the two-dimensional portrayal of Amanda Waller here, but at least ARGUS agent Dale Gunn is present to provide a more even-handed look at the agency. Another welcome element of this issue is that the cover proves to be misleading in terms of Batman's presence. The book has enough guest stars without dragging the other Justice League into the mix.
Perhaps most notably, this issue marks the New 52 debut of Gypsy. She's an interesting choice for the series, given that she was also a member of the infamous Justice League Detroit in the pre-New 52 days and, like Vibe, is viewed by some as being racially offensive. Gates does a solid job of revamping her so far, tying her in nicely with the book's overall focus on inter-dimensional crossings and providing a potential love interest for Cisco.
The art is divided between Manuel Garcia and Fabiano Neves. Garcia's pages are a little rough. His slightly tilted perspective is interesting, but the facial work is a little wonky. Neves' work, meanwhile fits right in line with the general execution of the book. It's not flashy or remarkable, but solidly executed.

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Arrow: "Sacrifice" [Review]

Well, that's one way to do a season finale. If an image is worth a thousand words, I'll just use the following as a stand-in for my review:

That was my reaction to the pivotal final scene of the episode. I've enjoyed this first season quite a bit, but never has it managed to make me feel all the feels like it did tonight. Despite an aggravating lack of post-Undertaking resolution, it was about as strong an episode as I could have hoped for.
"Sacrifice got off to a slightly slower start than expected, despite the fact that it kicked off with Ollie tied up in Malcolm Merlyn's seedy little dungeon. I enjoyed this showdown as both men saw each other clearly for the first time. But then Malcolm had to go and ruin it by pulling the Bond villain routine - leaving his captive tied up with only a couple of inept guards to make sure he didn't foil the fiendish master plan. That and a few logic holes stood out this week. Another example - why did no one on the Ferris Air flight notice that a missile came within a couple dozen feet of blowing them up, or that said missile turned right around and caused a massive explosion on the nearby island? It's a wonder it took anyone another four years to find Ollie
Speaking of which, this episode was unusually front-loaded with flashback scenes. It proved to be the wise approach, as it really would have derailed the momentum of the Ollie/Malcolm showdown if the focus kept shifting between past and present. These flashbacks offered an action-packed showdown with plenty of explosions, but the real meat of it came later when Ollie and Fyers had their Mexican standoff. Writer/Producer Andrew Kreisberg promised a watershed moment in Ollie's evolution from playboy to master archer, and that certainly arrived as Ollie put Shado's lessons into action and bullseyed his nemesis right in the throat. Aside from the relative lack of Slade in these scenes, the flashbacks proved to be a worthy cap to Ollie's first year on the island.

Any excuse to show off Ollie's abs...

Back in the present, the writers put a big green bow on just about every major character relationship built up over the course of the season. Ollie finally convinced Moira to strike back at Merlyn. Ollie and Diggle ventured into battle as brothers and comrades. Thea and Roy cemented their new bond. Detective Lance implored Laurel not to make the same mistakes with her life that he did. And so on. For the most part, I thought these many pivotal scenes worked well. The only one that didn't quite do it for me was the big Ollie/Laurel romance scene. It came across as fairly corny. But Katie Cassidy fared better in her role as Laurel with the emotional phone call with her father. The theme of sacrifice was evident in just about every avenue of the script this week, making for a very consistent overall package.
It was clear that no expense was spared in putting this finale together. One can picture the producers saving up all the extra cash from the various Microsoft product placements over the past eight months and then blowing it all on pyrotechnics and CG effects. It was a treat to see a wider scope of action and a view of the Glades that was more than a few ramshackle buildings. The CG wasn't really that convincing during the earthquake sequence, but the effects crew deserve points for trying and reaching beyond the usual scope of the show. The final battle between Ollie and Malcolm also proved satisfying. It's always a bit of a crapshoot as to whether the hand-to-hand combat will be filmed well or ruined by jumpy camera cuts and editing. Here, the only problem was again that the similarity of their uniforms made it a bit difficult to distinguish between the two at times. Obviously that won't be a problem moving forward.
Honestly, while I was generally very pleased with this episode, I wasn't prepared to score it higher than the best of Season 1 coming into the final segment. But that last scene between Ollie and Tommy made a world of difference. My biggest worry with this finale was how the writers would handle Tommy. Would he be given a heroic part to play? Would he follow the same path as Harry Osborn and take up his dead father's mantle? I was pleased to see that they went with the first option in having him sacrifice his own life to save Laurel's. as it necessary to actually kill Tommy? Probably not, and part of me will always wonder what they could have done with the character in future seasons. But on the other hand, both Stephen Amell and Colin Donnell delivered excellent performances in what is probably my favorite single scene of the entire season. It was heart-wrenching to see Ollie sobbing over his dead friend and wishing it had been him instead. Refreshingly, this episode offered a superhero conflict where the hero's victory was incomplete and hollow. Malcolm totally Watchmen'd Ollie.
And that's where Arrow left us for the season. Yes, it's frustrating that we didn't get to see the immediate aftermath of the battle. We don't know how much damage was done to the Glades. We don't know if Felicity faces further legal trouble or if Detective Lance still has a job. We don't know what will become of Moira. In terms of the flashbacks, we didn't catch any further glimpse of Fyers' benefactor. There's a lot we didn't see. But really, is there a more emotionally resonant way they could have wrapped up this finale than the death of Tommy Merlyn? Probably not. And this lack of resolution just leaves that much more fodder for Season 2.

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Naughty Dog Has Finished The Last of Us

The most eagerly awaited PlayStation 3 exclusive of 2013 is officially finished. At least, that’s what’s suggested by an Instagram picture from Naughty Dog Co-President Christophe Balestra.

This means the game has likely “gone gold,” indicating that The Last of Us is being sent out for manufacture.
The Last of Us launches on June 14th. We’ll have our full review in the coming weeks right here on IGN.

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Supposed PS4 Marketing Leaks, Reveals "Greatness Awaits" Slogan [Article]

Update: Sony has trademarked the slogan "Greatness Awaits", rumoured to be the strapline in a new PlayStation 4 commercial.
Last week a script surfaced on Siliconera, purporting to reveal the the PS4 would be marketed around the slogan "Greatness Awaits". Now, the site has discovered a trademark filing that further suggests the phrase will be the centrepiece of the upcoming promotional campaign.

Original story follows.

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Chris Pine Eyes Into the Woods, Stretch

With Star Trek Into Darkness warping into stateside theaters this weekend, its star Chris Pine is lining up some post-Trek projects.
Pine and Jake Gyllenhaal are negotiating deals to star in Into the Woods, based on the Broadway musical. "Gyllenhaal and Pine would play the musical’s two princes, Cinderella’s Prince and Rapunzel’s Prince, brothers who are pompous and self-absorbed," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Into the Woods also stars Johnny Depp and Meryl Streep. Filming begins this fall.

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Meanwhile, Pine will also reportedly reunite with his Smokin' Aces director Joe Carnahan for Stretch. TheWrap says Carnahan's A-Team actor Patrick Wilson will star "as a down-on-his-luck chauffeur looking to relieve his debt by driving around a mysterious billionaire who drags him to hell and back. Pine's role is being kept under wraps, though don't be surprised to see him pop up in Wilson's backseat."
Pine's role in the indie comedy-thriller is thought to be basically a cameo.

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EA Planning Star Wars-Focused DICE LA Studio

Update: A tweet from the Battlefield account has revealed some of the jobs on offer in the new LA-based studio, offering some insight into what DICE LA will be working on.
It looks like the studio will be fairly focused on mobile titles, with the development manager role requiring the new hire to "manage and coordinate the maintenance of EA’s Android and iOS catalogue of games", while anyone wishing to apply for the level designer role should have "familiarity with the mass casual game space" along with "familiarity with a female 35+ gamer demographic" and "has shipped successful social/mobile products" while understanding "monetization and free to play / freemium models."
PC users may be interested to hear that the gameplay engineer role should have experience of work on PC titles, as well as "experience developing and supporting back end game play systems in a client-server environment (e. g. MMO)", though seeing as Star Wars: The Old Republic is still rolling on, we can't see EA rushing to take another Star Wars MMO to market just yet.
Don't worry too much about consoles being neglected though; an audio artist position requests "strong Gen 3 console title experience" as well as "solid knowledge of PC and console audio hardware".
The new studio is also said to include a "fitness center, cafeteria, sports field, sand volleyball court, basketball court and more."
Original story follows.

Original Story: EA has announced a new DICE studio will be opening in Los Angeles, tasked with creating Star Wars games.
According to The Wall Street Journal, it's still being decided whether the studio will focus on brand new franchises to do with the IP or continue existing series.
DICE general manager Karl-Magnus Troedsson explained that the LA office will still maintain the company's Nordic work environment, including staff-consensus being required for all major decisions and extended time on offer for maternity and paternity leaves.
The decision to set up the studio was partly inspired by other developers already in the area, specifically Activision's Infinity Ward and Treyarch studios, which coincidentally develop Battlefield rival Call of Duty. Troedsson explained, "There is an extreme talent pool over that we want a part of. It’s no secret that our main competitor is there."



 It was announced earlier this month that EA had signed a deal with Disney to exclusively publish future Star Wars games, though none of these will be released before 2014. DICE, Visceral Games and BioWare are all slated to be working on titles connected to the IP, though this is the first studio set up specifically to do just that.
How would you like to see the license used? Do you reckon it's time for a new franchise to be created or is it about time someone finally got around to creating Battlefront 3? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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Gran Turismo: Looking Back at a Legend

There’s a piece of Gran Turismo trivia that’s been doing the rounds for years; niche UK marque TVR once attributed an increase in sales to exposure it found through the original Gran Turismo. It’s mentioned here in this 1up.com article, and here on respected GT fan site GT Planet it’s specified the sales spike was in Japan, and that it was a six-fold increase.
15 years on from the release of Gran Turismo the cult British sports car manufacturer is out of the car business (the TVR name was last heard to be headed for use on a new line of portable wind turbines), so confirming the veracity of TVR’s alleged claims may prove difficult. I do, however, find myself believing them.
The power of a series like Gran Turismo can’t be underestimated; not when it comes to putting your products in front of millions of engaged car fans worldwide.
Take Ruf, for instance; a small, German company that has been producing cars for over 35 years. It may have made a splash back in the ’80s with properly hardcore car enthusiasts when its CTR ‘Yellowbird’ (the fastest sports car in the world at the time of its release) annihilated the Nurburgring, but today Ruf is well-known amongst racing gamers the world over. Ruf cars, you see, are built from unmarked Porsche bodies and chassis. Thanks to EA’s exclusive stranglehold on the Porsche license, cosmetically similar Ruf vehicles have been appearing as Porsche proxies in the GT series (and elsewhere) ever since Gran Turismo 2.

Suck it, Porsche.

“Today the brand is also connected to younger generations through its appearance in number one selling driver computer games, opening the potential to new buyers across the world,” said Genii Capital founding partner Gerard Lopez after becoming a shareholder and strategic partner to the German automobile manufacturer in February this year.
EA’s squatting on the Porsche license has infuriated fans of the marque for years. It’s for good reason, to be honest; for 364 days a year the license is more or less idle. It’s only relevant for the one day each year a Need of Speed game comes around, and even then we only ever see a couple of models from its 80+ year history.
Terrible for fans, but perfect for Ruf. Ruf, as a result, is part of Gran Turismo. That’s free eyeballs on Ruf, the world over. Millions of them.
Several Japanese car manufacturers have attributed popularity increases in their models directly to Gran Turismo, including Nissan, Subaru and Mitsubishi.
"There's no doubt that Gran Turismo played a huge role in our decision to launch the Lancer Evolution in the United States," said Mitsubishi official Takashi Kiuchi back in 2002. “The car wouldn't have attracted as much attention as it has in the United States without the game."
The first seven Lancer Evolution models were only officially released in Japan. The cult, AWD sports saloon made its debut in the US with the Evo VIII.
Before Gran Turismo you had to be a WRC anorak or a JDM import addict to even know what a Lancer Evolution, or a Subaru Impreza WRX was. That was the power of Gran Turismo.
There have been other similarly excellent racing sims that have arrived on the scene in the meantime, but they’re all here because of Gran Turismo.

We may be 15 years on from the global release of the original Gran Turismo back in May 1998 (the game was released in Japan on December 23, 1997), but work on the game actually started back in 1992, while the PlayStation console itself was still in development. Gran Turismo was one of many proposals series godfather Kazunori Yamauchi made at the time; Yamauchi maintains it was really blind luck that he actually wound up working on Gran Turismo at all.
The thing is, before Gran Turismo, realism wasn’t especially high on the agenda when it came to racing video games. Ridge Racer’s simple, Game & Watch-esque handling was proving more than sufficient, few developers were even bothering to license real-world cars, and selecting manual transmission while playing Daytona was about the most meaningful mechanical customisation most mainstream gamers ever made. Racing simulators were the stuff of PC neckbeards, so to speak.
At least, that’s what the industry seemed to think.
Gran Turismo, then, was quite an anomaly. Nobody had made a game like this for a console. It was unprecedented. Assembled by a tiny team that varied between seven to 15 people, Yamauchi expected it to be a niche game. It was not.
In fact, it went on to become the PlayStation’s best-selling game. Its success may have been a surprise, but in retrospect it’s not hard to see why it worked.
Need for Speed II, released in early 1997, had nine licensed cars. Gran Turismo had 140. Plus 11 tracks. On a compact disc. It was madness.
But it didn’t stop there. There was depth. Oceans of it.
The realistic handling meant gamers had to re-educate themselves; this was no arcade racer. It required smooth driving and patience. That’s where the license tests came in.
There was an economy. Players had to juggle their funds to purchase and collect new and used cars. It kept you playing. You couldn’t just reach up GT’s skirt, have at the goods, and move on to the next big thing. You needed to grind away. Polyphony Digital had turned a racing game into an RPG.
Then there was the tuning. Almost everything that did anything on your car could be replaced and/or tuned. Gamers were introduced to a world of fascinating car customisation they never even knew existed, and motorheads were won over by a car game that actually understood their passion. Like FIFA and football fans, or Wipeout and recreational drug users, Gran Turismo tethered two different cultures together: car geeks and gamers. They've overlapped ever since.
Gran Turismo was, and remains, a phenomenon. It’s teased by some (including, at times, myself) for its irksome idiosyncrasies and shunned for being “boring” by gamers with the attention spans of hummingbirds, but you simply can’t ignore the success of this series. The series is nudging 70 million units sold. It’s been Sony’s top performer on all three PlayStation consoles. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec sold over 14 million copies alone and, as Colin pointed out a few days ago, 9 million copies of GT5 sold means the game has a superhuman attach rate of about one game per eight consoles.
Gran Turismo isn’t just a pillar of the PlayStation Parthenon; it’s part of the foundations.
Today's 15th anniversary event at Silverstone promises "something big" relating to the future of the Gran Turismo series. The short odds are on Gran Turismo 6.
Either way, here's to 15 more years.

-----------------------------------------

by Luke Reilly

May 15, 2013

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A Closer Look at the World of Pokémon X and Y [Article]

Yesterday we got some news from Japan about the Pokémon franchise's highly anticipated 3DS entries - and today that news finally made its way West (along with a few extra tidbits). This October PokéManiacs worldwide will be introduced to the star-shaped Kalos region, which you can see in the map below.

Welcome to the Kalos region, home of fighting pandas.

One of the locations within Kalos will be called Lumiose City, a thriving metropolis that just screams "tourist attraction" - complete with an Eiffel Tower-like structure, a bustling downtown area, and a Roselia fountain (which you can see in the video at the bottom of the page). Check out some concept art for Lumiose City below.

You know Kalos is based on France because that woman in the bottom left has tall bread.

Pika! Chuuuuu!

But what of the pocket monsters?! By the good grace of Arceus, it was officially confirmed that the awesome goat/ram thing players can now ride is indeed called Gogoat. This Grass-type monster is classified as a "Riding Pokémon," and can learn the move Horn Leech to recover HP equal to half the damage it deals in battle.

Gogoat confirmed!!

That Fighting-type panda will be called Pancham. It can learn a new move called Parting Shot, which lowers an opponent’s Attack and Special Attack, while also allowing the trainer to switch out Pancham for another Pokémon during battle.

So much attitude for such a tiny panda.

The Normal- and Flying-type birdie is called Fletchling. It knows the Fire-type move Flame Charge, which raises Fletchling’s Speed while unleashing a fire wave of damage.

Adorable... yet lethal.

Last but not least, the Electric- and Normal-type lizard is called Helioptile, which is apparently cowardly by nature and generates energy through sunbathing. It knows a new move called Parabolic Charge, which allows it to attack all surrounding monsters at the same time and restores its HP by half the damage given.

Its ears! So floppy!!

We were also treated to a closer look at the new trainers. It looks like you now have three hair and skin color options to choose from.

Finally, take a gander at the official box art for these games.

Without further ado, take a look at the exciting new trailer for Pokémon X and Y!

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War Thunder Headed to PS4 This Fall [Article]

Gaijin Entertainment has announced that War Thunder is headed to PlayStation 4 this fall “in time for the holiday 2013 season.” According to Gaijin, War Thunder “will provide PS4 players with unparalleled first person gameplay entertainment experiences that allows them to enter into action filled, highly explosive World War II battles from the air, mobilized on the ground or out at sea.”
War Thunder will feature “stunning lifelike dynamics of real-time flight and precision in its details of planes, tanks and war ships, and intuitive controls thanks to the new gamepad Dual Shock 4. The power of PS4 will allow developers to include improved head-tracking system, easier socializing tools, smart and easy options to record, stream and share homemade gameplay videos and will have full support of PlayStation Cloud.”

“We're convinced that our cooperation with Sony will not only make the War Thunder franchise better, but it will give our fans a new level of gaming experience that will figuratively blow their mind,” said Gaijin creative director Kirill Yudintsev. “Partnering with Sony Computer Entertainment is the most natural progression for the War Thunder brand, from our hugely successful beginnings on PC with more than 1.5 million players, to our recent announcement that War Thunder is under development for mobile devices. We are excited to bring War Thunder to the leading next-generation platform, the PS4.”

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Top 20 Games Of All Time

20 - Mass Effect
I have never understood the appeal of Star Wars, at least not until I played Mass Effect. The complete immersion into a world a universe that Star Wars fans feel is what experienced after my first two missions.
19 - Minecraft
Yeah, someone's trying to recreate Game of Thrones continent of Westeros in Minecraft. Yes, someone else made a to-scale replica of starship Enterprise, but I think there's more fun in making a more humble thing in your private or shared world.
18 - Half-Life
Half Life 2 managed to both create the blueprint for the modern single player shooter and be the genre's high water mark. It was first and, arguably, still is the best at what it does.
17- Half Life 2: Episode 2
Episode 2 just does everything perfectly. You have an adventure in a mining complex with a hilariously tame Vortigaunt companion, a frantic last-stand against hordes of antlions, an ambush where Combine troops destroy a mansion around you, and finely a battle with a legion of Striders.
16 - BioShock
To this day, horror games remain little more than jump scares and sudden sound blasts, Bioshock's submerged tomb of forgotten dreams and broken promises consistently cranks out an ambiance far more discomforting than any blood-drenched wall or hulked-out zombie could ever hope for.
15 - Diablo II
I love Diablo II's esthetic, which makes me feel like I'm living in a miniature model world like the kind once used to create film effects.
14 - Portal 2
It's funnier and even more endearing than its predecessor, and invests several new types of puzzle that make the Porta gun seem even more amazing.
13 - Quake
Quake isn't, it's a phenomenon. Without it, TF2 wouldn't exist. Perforating Fields with Nine-Inch nails and blasting Shamblers with quad-rockets is every bit as fun now as it was in '96.
12 - Mass Effect
It's been two years, and still cannot hear Shakerspeare's name or any reference to his work without the voice of an Elcor reciting the most moving lines in hamlet popping into my head.
11- Counter-Strike: Source
It's one of the few modern multiplayer shooters that doesn't jangle with bells and whistles when it walks-there's no cover system, iron-sights, kill-streak rewards, air-strikes, vehicles, or unlockable anything-just you, some ballistic weapons, level geometry, and a few grenades.
10 - Star Craft II: Wings of Liberty
The way armies animate and express players' intentions shows Blizzard's careful thinking and Frankensteinian craftsman-ship; they imbue life and true personality into unit models. Without 5C2's ease-of-spectat-ing, it'd simply be a game, not a rising culture that anyone can participate in.
9 - Civilization 4
. It remains the pinnacle, and it is every bit as good today thanks to two things: several satisfying paths to victory, and the moddability that gave us gems like Fall From Heaven. As Civilization V proved, Firaxis broke the mold after making this one.
8 - Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead
What's more PC than an open sandbox that honors your ideas? Arma loves freedom as much as Minecraft, demands more synchronized teamwork than Classic Rainbow Six, and-with a native mission editor-is more moddable than Half-Life.
7 - Elder Scrolls IV
There're those that boast about freedom and player choice, and then there's Oblivion. Freedom" is putting it too lightly. Wanna ignore the main quest and butcher every single person in Cyrodill? Go for it. Wanna spend 300 hours collecting Daedric weaponry to display in your corpse-rugged mansion? No problem.
6 - World of Warcraft
There was a time, during the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, where raiding was the most fun you could have in any game, ever. Delving into Ulduar-still the best dungeon the WoW team have created, was an adventure you looked forward to all week. The fights felt hard but the mechanics understandable. One had you split your team-half to hold a gladiator's arena, the other to run a gauntlet of baddies to knock a boss off his pedestal.
5 - Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age took all the clichéd fantasy motifs and twisted them up delight-fully. Instead of beautiful castles filled with nobles, we got filthy, racist cities populated by selfish elves and morally corrupted dwarves-and it was amazing. Each of your party's companions had their own agenda and motivations, and I'd often field opposing characters just to hear them banter and prod each other.
4 - Fallout 3
Most people watch the puppet show, but all I see are the strings. Fallout 3 put the magic back in games for me It gave me this giant, personality-packed universe to just live in. I still go back and wander the landscape when I need an escape. Most importantly, though, it taught me a very valuable life lesson: Tunnel Snakes rule.
3 - Team Fortress 2
TF2 is Valve's invincible lab rat. It launched as an expensive reboot. Since then, valve has made it free, quintupled the game's armory, added item crafting and trading, opened it up to community-designed items, hosted two Australian Christmases and updated it an astonishing 267 times.
2 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Skyrim is a role player paradise. My corrent character kind of insane, and loves punishing NPCs. I love the way Skyrim feels like a collaboration in immersion between me and the world.
1 - Portal
Many games can be described as having "innovative puzzles" but Portal's clever mechanics aren't the crux of its greatness. It exploits the unique qualities of interactive media to tell a perfectly-paced story with an original aesthetic and a nuanced mix of humor and gravity.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7649774

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