Best Exclusive PS3 Game:  Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – I’m still working on the review for this game, but this has to be a standard by which all action games are judged in the future.  So far, it has been an excellent game.

Best Exclusive Xbox 360 Game:  Halo 3 ODST – Another game that I’m still working on the review for but it brings something desperately needed to the Halo universe.  Some resemblance of a storyline.

Best Exclusive Nintendo Wii Game:  Metroid Prime Triology – Three great games in one package plus adding Wii Motion to the first two games.  It doesn’t get any better than that.  Another game with a review incoming.

Best Exclusive PC Game:  World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King: Fall of the Lich King (Patch 3.3) – Expands the great game of World of Warcraft to finish out the story of Arthas, the Lich King and is a fitting hold over until Cataclysm.

Best Multiplatform Game:  Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – See review of this game, but this game has everything that made the first Modern Warfare great, then expands it to even greater heights.

Best Music Game:  The Beatles Rock Band – See review of this game, but it brings the music of the Beatles to the best music game on the market.  Also, you have to respect how the subject material was handled, which is something the Guitar Hero series is struggling with specific bands.  Guitar Hero 5, another game I’m working on a review for, came incredibly close to winning this.  The Beatles basically gave this game the upper hand.

Best Fighting Game:  Street Fighter 4 – A game that I need to go back and review, but it is everything you love about the Street Fighter series.  If you spent time around an arcade cabinet waiting for your turn for Street Fighter 2, you will love this game.

Best First Person Shooter: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – With an expanding multiplayer and a gripping story (something which is difficult in first person shooters), this game makes even non-first person shooter fans enjoy this genre.

Best Action/Plaformer Game:  Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - Sorry Mario, but this combination of story, shooting, puzzles, and platforming make this the best action/platformer of the year.

Best RPG:  World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King: Fall of the Lich King (Patch 3.3) – In a year where at least 4 major MMORPGs released and many other RPGs, this still stands head and shoulders above the competition.

Worst Game of the Year:  Family Feud 2010 Edition for the Nintendo Wii – The console for the worst game is not a suprise.  However, this game is so terrible there are not enough adjectives to describe its crappiness.

Game of the Year:  Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – This game deserves nothing less than the highest honor of the year.  It is the standard by which all first person shooters will be judged until the next Modern Warfare comes out.

A little background on where I’m coming from.  I play a level 80 Tauren Druid, Redhawk, on the Executus server and am a member of “The Knights of Classic Lore” (who for your information is recruiting).  My main spec is hybrid feral (DPS/Tank) and my offspec is balance (boomkin, crit chicken, etc).  I am also primary offtank for my guild as well.  I also have several level 60 alts that I’m working on.   The reason I give you this information is it will give some insight into my opinions on the patch.

Let me start with the three new Icecrown 5 mans, the Forge of Souls, the Pit of Saron, and Halls of Reflection.  I LOVE these new 5 mans.  In my opinion, most of the 5 mans in Wrath have been really easy.  And while I would say that Forge of Souls is still pretty easy, it is harder than most of the 5 mans in Wrath.  Pit of Saron ups the difficulty a little although a resto shaman and I were able to two man farm the trash in the Pit for a Battered Hilt, which we had not been able to get.  Halls of Reflection is by the hardest 5 man I have ever done.  The closest thing I could say to it was Magister’s Terrace and even Halls of Reflection is much harder than that.  It is waves of trash followed by what is essentially a timed run from the Lich King himself.  The 5 mans up the difficulty, but it is worth it for 232 gear plus the chance for a Battered Hilt, which unlocks an epic quest chain for a very nice epic weapon.

Which brings me to the biggest thing in this expansion, Icecrown Citadel.  For regular 10 man, the first four bosses are not terribly difficult but takes a smart raid and coordination.  My guild is currently 3 for 4 in Icecrown and will down Saurfang this week.  The airship battle is one of the best battles in the game.  Plus you can get the rocket packs and have some fun before hand.  And while I’m not wild about the fact that all 12 bosses aren’t open up at this time, I can understand it to help hold time over until Cataclysm, the next expansion.  I just hope the bosses get a little harder as it goes along.

I also like the fact that Emblems of Triumph also drop for everything.  There is no excuse for anybody not to at least have Tier 9 now for their gear.  Also, Emblems of Frost are pretty easy to come across as well.  The new weekly raid quest gives you 5 of each and a very good amount of gold.  So far on Executus, we have only had one raid quest that has been a boss in Icecrown Citadel, so it gives you a reason to go back and do old raids.  Also, the new Looking for Group system is great.  Thankfully, I play a tank.  This means that when I join the new random Looking for Group, I get picked immediately which is helpful for chaining heroics.  Even when I just do DPS, I get in pretty quick.

So far, everything in this patch is exactly what I want from the conclusion of the Wrath of the Lich King, great instances, great raids, and a reason to keep playing.  Not that it would have been too dificult to keep me playing in the first place.

Many players will not touch the single player campaign, which is very disappointing.  The single player story is one of the most captivating tales ever told in a game with more twist and turns than any season of 24, but a lot better written.  And just like 24, no story character is safe.  And when story characters do get killed, you feel connected enough to them to care.  Which brings up to the biggest emotional moment ever in a video game, the scene in the airport where you take place in what is essentially a terrorist act.   While it is skippable, I would not recommend  it.  It is one of the most intense moments in a  game where you are realizing that as sad as the moment is, you are having to do it for the greater good of humanity.  Overall, the single player story could be on of the greatest stories of all time.

In terms of the multiplayer, it is everything from the first one plus more.   You level faster and get rewards quicker.  Also, the options in competitive multiplayer have expanded.  In addition, the game boast the new Spec Ops mode, which is a Co-Op multiplayer experience that goes beside the single player experience.  I’m terrible at multiplayer first person shooters, but I have found that it is an enjoyable experience.  However, my one biggest complaint is a complaint that follows the biggest complaint from the first game.  If you do play through the single player experience first, you will find that you are likely behind on the multiplayer experience.  If you are terrible at first person shooters, you will also lag behind the person.  This means that you have to deal with the double shotgun dude from hell.  It makes for a very tough experience but if you can struggle through it, you can get up to those higher levels much more easily.

Overall, Modern Warfare 2 exceeds the bar set by the first game and makes for a game that will certainly be in the discussion for the game of the year conversation.  I would highly recommend this game for any gamer.

How was this possible?  Well, let me start with Gamestop.  I love it when Gamestop runs the buy 2 used games and get 1 free.  Now a little economic hint with this.  Yes, you could get two $10 games and get a third $10 game for free.  But when you look at it,  you paid $20 for three games or $6.67 per game.  You only saved $3 per game or $9 total.  However, let me show you my example for an example on how to handle the buy 2 get 1 free deal.  At the Gamestop this weekend, they had Uncharted 2: Among Thieves for $55 and they had Assassin’s Creed 2 for $55 and they had Brütal Legend for $55.  This would normally be a total of $165 normally.  However, I had my handy Edge card which took  10% of each game, reducing the price to $50 a piece.  Now include the buy 2 get 1 free discount and I got three games for $100 total which comes to $33.33 per game.  Considering these games would normally be bought new for $60 per game, it is a savings of almost $80 over normal price and still a saving of $65 over the normal used price.  Per game, it comes up to a saving of approximately $22 per game.  That is how you handle a deal.  They have this deal all throughout the year so I would recommend catching it the next time you see it.

My second Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal was via Amazon.  They had their lightening deals on Black Friday/Cyber Monday.  They had a half price off of Guitar Hero 5 for Xbox 360.  Even with next day shipping, it was over half the price off for a brand new game, which is an incredible deal.

There were also deals all over Steam this weekend.  I was not able to land on any those since I’m mainly a WoW player on my computer but some of the deals looked absolutely incredible.

So I hope everybody had a very successful weekend shopping for Black Friday/Cyber Monday and you got everything you wanted.