The Rankings - September

Mark's Rankings

Platform

1. Xbox 360 - Personal Favorite system
2. PS3 - If Xbox didn't exist this would be all I use but first I would weep
3. Ouya - I'm intrigued and excited to see this new console
4. PC - Star Craft II is around and that makes this better than Wii
5. Wii - Only good for Wii bowling and multiplayer New Super Mario Bros. 
6. Wii U - Has there ever been less hype for a new Nintendo Console?
7. Nintendo DS - Pokemon has to exist somewhere

Games

1. Borderlands 2- Best game of the Year so far
2. Halo 4 - Soon to be best game of the year
3. Madden 13 - Every so often I breakdown and buy madden - this one one of those years. This is my Review. 
4. Assassins Creed III - I kind of love the American revolution
5. Forza Horizon - A racing game set in my home state gets me giddy
6. Castleminer Z - Don't buy Minecraft on the 360. Go find this little Indie gem for $1. 

Other

1. The Video Game Holiday season - From March on I look forward to this time of year
2. Forge Mode in Halo 4 - I love custom maps
3. Borderlands 2 improvements- There is almost no aspect of Borderlands 2 that is not better than the first. Finally I pick up Health automatically
4. Gangam Style - If you haven't watch this video do it now. I do not know what they are saying and that little dancing kids has an unreal sized head, I thought he was computer generated.

Danny's (aka The Master Chief with a Pen) Rankings

Games I'm Playing Now

1. Borderlands 2 - New and improved, bring your friends!
2. FIFA 12 - From release date to release date, FIFA is a year-rounder for me.
3. Halo Campaigns - Get ready for Halo 4 by replaying the old campaigns, just as good as ever.
4. Skyrim (Hearthfire and Dawnguard) -  Two great add-ons that add an additional experience with leveled characters but make you want to start again from the beginning. 
5. Halo Anniversary Multi-player - I'm old school Halo and stick to the classic modes, but brush up on your skills because Halo 4 drops in less than two months.

Games I'm Looking Forward To

1. FIFA 13 - Proximity takes precedent over Halo 4...FIFA comes out first.
2. Halo 4 - Another installment of my favorite game franchise ever, HELL YA!
3. Assassins Creed 3 - Huge fan of the series and the American Civil War as the setting is just sweet.
4. Grand Theft Auto 5 - April 29, 2008 was when GTA IV was released with two DLC's in 2009. It has been far to long Rockstar but we should finally get the Cali based GTA 5 in 2013.
5. Hitman Absolution - Agent 47 is back but might handle a bit different this time around...hopefully they don't stray to far from the style that got the franchise where it is today.

Robert's Rankings

What I am Looking Forward to:

1. Borderlands 2- This game has not suffered the sequel let down and in my opinion on par if not better then the first. Definitely a game that is worth playing.

2a. Assassin's Creed 3- The first game in this series I picked up was Assassin's Creed 2 and since then I have been hooked. This game touts thousands of brand new animations and a setting that is sure to bring new life to the franchise. So long Ezio bring on Connor.

2b. Halo 4 - One of the few X-Box exclusives to release this year and by far the biggest. Halo seems to be in capable hands with 343 and all that has been shown so far seems to improve yet maintain that Halo feel. The return of the Master Chief, the iconic hero of the franchise, doesn't hurt either.

4. WWE '13- Boasting the largest roster ever for the franchise and a return to the Attitude Era color me sold. Unfortunatly last years controls have me somewhat weary of a chance at greatness marred. Let's hope THQ can get it right and make WWE '13 the best in the series.

5. Resident Evil 6- A long time fan of this series all the way back to Resident Evil on the Playstation. New combat tweaks including running while shooting seem to be working well. Plus Chris Redfield and Leon Kennedy in the same game, has this shaping up to be the next great Resident Evil.

Top Upcoming Releases:

1. Halo 4 - Master Chief is back. (See Above)

2. Assassin's Creed 3 - (See Above)

3. FIFA 13 - Enhanced controls and mechanics have FIFA 13 looking like the best in the series again. It seems every year the FIFA team finds innovative ways to make the new game better then the last and this installment is no different.

4. Dishonored - Somewhat overshadowed by the sequel mania that has come about this year but Dishonored has a chance to be a standout title. A stealth-action game with emphasis on the stealth as well as gadgets and the environment to dispatch foes throw in a promising story and Dishonored may be the best non-sequel title of the year.

5. COD: Black Ops 2- I throw this into this section on the fact that this game will sell and sell and sell some more. Expanding on the story of the first black-ops with the tried and true competitive multiplayer Black-Ops 2 will be another big seller for the franchise. Also could it be the last great Call of Duty?

Opinionated: PS3 Skyrim Issues Gamings' Biggest Failure of the Year

Most of those that know me know that I am an XBOX 360 guy through and through, however that does not mean I ignore the rest of the gaming industry as a whole. Over the last six months video games have seen their respective successes and failures. More often then not, the failures are what stand out in the gamers eyes. Mass Effect alone saw several major failures in the eyes of the diehards including myself, from on disc day 1 DLC and the debacle that was the ending. It is neither of these that draws in my opinion the biggest failure of the year. That title is reserved for Bethesda and the troubles PS3 owners have had with Skyrim.

 

For those that may have missed the on going saga I'll let you in on a quick recap. The first problem on the PS3 was when the save file for Skyrim became to big, frame rates would drop creating a substantial amount of lag and making the game virtually unplayable. This alone irked the countless players on the PS3. This issue was fixed in the most part by an update from Bethesda but not before considerable amount of damage had already been done. The sad thing is Bethesda knew of the issue before hand. They encoded solutions they thought would work but in the end did not. Its like ordering a steak at a restaurant only to be given half a steak because of kitchen problems and then still having to pay full price for it.

Even with the fixed lag issue, the bigger concern and the problem in the forefront is the fact that the DLC that PC and 360 owners are enjoying may never come to the PS3. Many would believe that as a 360 fan I would laugh and say "should have got a 360" or "Lol. PS3 sucks." I feel just the opposite however and I really feel for those gamers that do not get to experience the DLC simply because of problems Bethesda can't work out for the console. In fact rumors are that it may never see the light of day on PS3. I would be extremely pissed if I had bought Skyrim on the PS3 only to be subjected to these issues. I understand that DLC is optional and the game itself can be thoroughly enjoyed without it but consumers have the right to be pissed.

Bethesda may see severe backlash from this issue and rightfully so. Skyrim on the PS3 plays as a shell of what it can and should be. Many can say that the issue may stem from the PS3 being hard to work with. To me that is garbage. A release of this magnitude can't be shipped with game-breaking problems. Maybe a delay on the PS3 release would have helped but we will never know. As for the DLC issue my hope is that Bethesda can work out these problems and release the content onto the PS3. All gamers no matter what you play on should have the opportunity to experience the incredible world Bethesda has created with Skyrim. I even hope Bethesda goes one further and releases Dawnguard as free DLC for PS3. But even if Bethesda releases the DLC for free the damage may already be done. Bethesda has earned their reward of biggest gaming fail of the past year.