2008 was a pretty good year for gamers and some believe it even eclipsed last year's amazing lineup of top-tier franchise releases and fantastic new intellectual properties. We saw a host of great games across many genres and platforms plus some new peripherals that shook up the landscape and challenged, yet again, the way we play games... or "games" as Giant Bomb calls them. Shooters and RPGs remained big, but fighters made a return as well. Also, 2008 was the breakout year for downloadable games as Braid, World of Goo, Mega Man 9, and others made headlines usually reserved for big blockbuster retail games. But, what were the big stories of 2008?
Well then, let's start the show!
- Soul Calibur IV meets Star Wars?
Soul Calibur is no stranger to crazy cameo appearances... think Link in Soul Calibur II. When they announced that Darth Vader and Yoda would join the cast, the reactions were all over the map... some like myself thought they jumped the shark, others are Star Wars fans and loved the additions. They were, at one time, never going to face each other because of this thing called "exclusive content", but they managed to join forces later on.
- The epic Fox News/Mass Effect debacle.
The internet loves to explode on occasion and this Fox News report on Mass Effect was enough to cause an uproar across the gaming world. Personally, I like Fox News... but then again, I'm a right-wing nutjob. This time, however, a little more research would've done Fox a world of good and I, and thousands of others, had to side with Geoff Keighley on this one.
- HD DVD fails, Blu-ray survives for the moment.
January was a bad month for HD DVD as several major studios went straight Blu-ray, so it was inevitable that Toshiba, who was responsible for the format, announced its demise. The upside is the clearance of all the HD DVD merch so people picked up some movies and a HD DVD player on the cheap. Blu-ray ended up the victor, but is Blu-ray going to replace the standard DVD? That's the $64,000 question.
- EA vs. Take-Two... fight!
EA had a great year as they shed the evil empire label, but there was one more order of business to take care of... buy Take-Two and claim GTA for their own. It all started in February and we were wondering if GTAIV would have an EA logo slapped on when all was said and done. EA was willing to buy Take-Two for $2 billion, but Take-Two wanted no part of it. After months of hostility and bickering, EA packed up and left the table. I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of EA, though.
- Mortal Kombat vs. who?
One of the most shocking game announcements of the year had to be Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. It's no surprise that Mortal Kombat has been pretty blah for the past several years, but was this the answer? How could a T-rated MK game work? How does Superman and the Joker get involved with this? Who the fuck knows, but Giant Bomb was satisfied with the results and gave it 5 whole stars. Nowthe question is not if it's good, but if it could help Midway with its money woes.
- The advantages of Wii Fit.
Lauren Bernat's ass got more Youtube hits than pretty much every other ass on the site... and for good reason. This video hit the interwebs and within seconds, she was a celebrity. Here's to her 15 minutes of fame and her asshole of a boyfriend.
- E3 gets smaller, PAX and others save the day.
E3 2008 was subdued much like in 2007, but it was much more apparent now than ever. Several companies had pulled out of the E3 festivities and held their own media events. A sign of the times, I guess. Luckily, PAX is emerging as a popular substitute for gamers... but please, bring one of these shows to the East Coast? For Dalai's sake?
- Final Fantasy XIII goes to the 360.
EA was not full of surprises and huge announcements, but there was one major announcement that might mark the end of Sony's domination for good... Final Fantasy going multiplat. Sony has had a hold on the relevant Final Fantasy games (VII-XII) for a few generations now, but with the PS3 slagging off in 3rd place, Square-Enix is not going to
- Nintendo hits a sour note at E3.
Nintendo's E3 this year was... interesting? This year, Nintendo came out with big, creepy smiles and proclaimed themselves the rulers of the planet with big sales numbers and such... but what else did we get? Shaun White on a Balance Board, Cammie Dunaway's "sincere" smile, DJ Ravi Drums, and a poor excuse of a musical ensemble. Gamers and journalists were confused, befuddled, and pissed... and we realized that the casuals won the war!
- Nintendo makes amends at the Fall Summit.
How does Nintendo apologize to fans after E3? Why, with the Nintendo Media Summit, of course. Punch-Out!!, Sin & Punishment 2, a fix to the storage issue, and Club Nintendo were the big stories at this event... oh, and the DSi, which everyone will buy even if they have a DS. All is forgiven... until next E3.
- LittleBigPlanet's LittleBigProblems.
Sony hit a snag when trying to tout LittleBigPlanet as a system seller and the must-own game of 2008... an offensive delay, some offensive material in the form of Islamic passages, offensive server problems, and extremely offensive moderation policies. I can probably see why a level heavily inspired by Mario would cause a problem, but the LBP mods became public enemy #2... just behind Soulja Boy.
- Speaking of Soulja Boy.
It's hard being the greatest lyricist of all-time, the greatest gamer, and the most important video game critic in the history of the world. Luckily, Soulja Boy is none of those. He became a human pinata with his unusual style and overall "kid in a candy store" approach to gaming... just check out his Braid impressions. Unfortunately, Soulja Boy got the last laugh as Stephen Totilo, representing the everyman, lost to the gamer/rapper in the ultimate showdown.
Well, that's the important news of 2008... I guess. Tomorrow, more stuff.
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