Power Rankings (4/27/10)

Here are my rankings for this week:

1. Mass Effect 2
2. Mass Effect
3. MLB 10: The Show - Road to The Show mode is the best sports game mode.
4. Borderlands
5. Dragon Age: Origins - Just started a new mage, and the game feels fresh again.
6. God of War Collection - still on the first game. Combat is dated, but fun.
7. Fall Out 3 - Thinking this will start up again after DA:O.
8. Gears of War 2 - Maybe this doesn't belong here, but I'm sure it will soon.
9. WoW - still enjoyable after 72 levels.
10. Heavy Rain - Replay value is a minimum. Look for this to keep falling if there are no more DLCs

Waiting in the wings: Oblivion, Fable 2, Final Fantasy 13, God of War 3, Starcraft 2

Just a note, I only wrote explanations for the rankings I feel are different from last week.

(Update Likely)

Topics for the 'Cast

We'll keep this short.  Be listening for Scott and I to go over some of the following on the podcast.

Hulu to start charging

GameStop offers Star Craft 2 beta with preorder of SC 2 game

Pavement Playing in KCMO

South Park Episodes 200 and 201

If you have any suggestions, hit Scott, @scottjustbs, or I, @bradjustbs, up on Twitter and let us know what you think should be addressed.

Video Game Power Rankings

Since the baseball season began, I have been surrounded by various "power rankings" used to value a team based purely on how well they are playing as opposed to just ranking them (justifiably) using their win/loss records. These rankings serve their purpose to people like me who don't watch every game, and don't realize that the Pirates (7-5) are merely in second place by sweeping a lousy team team this weekend. Are they better than the Red Sox (4-8)? No. The Red Sox would annihilate them in a series, and the rankings back this up by having the Sox ranked two spots higher than the Pirates.

So, I wonder, "what if video games, movies, or other things had this sort of power rankings?"

Like, would 'Avatar' be ranked below 'Hurt Locker', even though 'Avatar' completely dominated the box office, but Locker took the Best Picture award? Vice-versa? Would some other movie with neither titles, like 'Up In Air', take the ranking by racking up enough points in both arenas? I don't know; I haven't seen any of these movies.

I have however played video games: a lot of them. I have played so many games the last six months that I consider myself as much of an expert as anyone who doesn't get paid to play and review games. Listed below are my rules and rankings.

The Rules

1. It has to be a game that I have played in the last 2 years.
2. I will rank the top 10.
3. The rankings will be based on the amount of time I spend on these games times the enjoyment I have in playing them.
4. Another aspect will include how much I feel like playing a game regardless of how much time I actually spend on it.
5. Other factors yet to be determined.

Rankings (4/20/10)

1. Mass Effect 2 - best game I can recall playing
2. Mass Effect - prequel to the best game ever
3. Borderlands - great miniaturized shooter version of WoW
4. MLB 10: The Show - first fun baseball simulation since MVP 05
5. Heavy Rain - innovative cinematic game with a great number of endings
6. Fall Out 3 - Been feeling the itch to revisit this nuclear wasteland
7. Gears of War 2 - Only played a few minutes, but I look forward to playing soon
8. Gears of War - Really only intrigued because I want to play the second one
9. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Dated by Fall Out 3, but still think about it occasionally
10. Fable 2 - Look for this to climb the list as Fable 3 nears release

Waiting in the Wings: Final Fantasy 13, God of War 3, Dragon Age: Origins, WoW

Ok. Well that's a start. What? That was a waste of time?

Well, you read it, so there.

I'm going outside.

Potential topics for the 'cast (or stuff I just read)

Here are some interesting stories I found recently on the net.  

Why You Shouldn't Buy an iPad (Yet)

A good, balanced article about why you shouldn't buy the first generation of the iPad.  Pretty much sums up everything I have been thinking, but in a nice concise way.

The Best Free Software of 2010

This list from PC Magazine is a nice drill down of free software that covers almost any use you would want your PC to do.  I find these collections of lists to be a good starting point when tracking down software that a person could actually use to get something done.

After years as justice, John Paul Stevens wants what's 'best for the court'

The Washington Post did a nice piece on Justice Stevens regarding his history on the bench and in his daily life.  I highlight this because Justice Stevens has said he will be retiring while Obama is president and as such the political mud flinging has already started about who his successor should be.  Case in point, this article from Fox News clearly shows how his retirement story will likely unfold from the Republican point of view.  A little analysis of the piece shows how the Republicans are trying to strong arm Obama into picking a justice of their choice.  This could be another mile marker on the path toward having zero civil liberties depending on how this works out.

How to Make a Bulletproof T-shirt

I'll leave you with this gem.  This is just another example of how chemistry daily changes the shape of the future.  Even if this exact advancement doesn't yield a quantifiable result, others based on it or inspired by it will.

Mass Effect 2 Revisited

I was reading the blog earlier when I came across Brad's second glance review of Modern Warfare 2, and this gave me an idea (rather, it gave me an excuse). I agree with his opinion that too many reviews of video games are essentially too impressionistic, and therefore a simple revisit is often necessary to fairly judge a video game. Too often reviewers to rave on a game after a week's play, and soon the game sours, allowing the imperfections to shine through more vividly. To that end, I will now perform a second review of Mass Effect 2...

Ha. April Fools!