When trying to find a good game, I often look at reviews to see if my potential buy contains the following characteristics:

• An intriguing concept
• An enjoyable story
• Good graphics (shallow, I admit)
• A finsihed problem (no bugs or choppy framrates)

These are usually my most important criteria when finding what game is right for me. It wasn't until I played the demo for EnemyTerritory: Quake Wars today that I realized how important music is to a game. Playing the demo, I was surrounded by decent visuals and enjoyable game mechanics, but I didn't feel like I was in the game. The atmosphere, despite very realistic visuals and sound effects, felt totally sterile and I couldn't bring myself to continue playing for more than twenty minutes.

Then it hit me: this game needs some freaking music!

Something, anything to get the blood pumping or get me excited about killing some Strogg. This caused me to look back at other games I had enjoyed throughout my life and I realized that almost every single game I've considered truly great over my lifetime has featured (what I consider to be) a stunning score.

I'm not talking about music/rhythm games like DDR or Rock Band; I'm talking about the music that makes Nintendo so beloved: the delighful tune of Super Mario Bros. that any middle class American from my generation can instantly recognize, or the synthesized melodies that gave Zelda it's sense of wonder.

Music is so central to every game that I feel ashamed for not having appreciated it before. I can think of more than a few games that turned into true experiences for me based solely off their excellent soundtracks. Here are a couple I'm thinking of at the moment:

1. Crash Bandicoot (Playstation)- This game was actually one of the first 10 games I've ever played, and is still probably one of my top 3 favorite platforming games ever. I enjoyed the hilarious demises that Crash could meet, but even more so I enjoyed the constantly positive jungle beat. This game was extremely difficult for me (especially the middle 3rd), but I perservered because I simply could noy get downtrodden despite hundreds of lost lives. The music made every jump seem trivial and just a part of the song, but, most importantly, it kept my frustration at bay. This game had some archaic elements, even for it's time, but this soundtrack was so unrelentingly catchy that it made me overlook each and every fault.

2. Starcraft (PC)- Blizzard games are usually extremely high quality. I usually get their games, even if I'm not sure I'll enjoy them, simply because I want to support their high quality work. That said, I think that the most overlooked aspect of Blizzard games is their music. This applies to every game they've made, but none more so than Starcraft. Essentially every evening during my entire 3rd grade was devoted to learning more about this strange alternate universe. I was a terrible tactician and an even worse micromanager, yet I clicked my way through the Starcraft campaign just to advance the story. I was defeated many, many times, but no matter how many games I played, I simply never got the least bit tired with the soundtrack. The scores were brilliant at creating an uncomfortable space-age atmosphere, and the Terran theme is absolutely iconic. This, to me, is probably the Beethoven of video game music (hyperbole warning), and I'll probably still love it 50 years from now.

3.The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (PC)- This game's theme represents so much to me. Freedom, uncertainty and an adventure just beginning stokes the fire for questing that lurks within my usually cynical mind. I simply cannot get enough of this theme, and loved it to death even though it was repeated ad nauseum.

I cpu;d go on and on and on.... I may later, but I'm interested to hear what music made games special for YOU! I'd really like to hear and discuss this, but I'd also like everyone to try something for me: play your favorite game without sound, what difference does it make to you? A lot, a little, none? (But no "minesweeper is my favorie game so it makes no difference" responses, please)

WereAllCritics, out

Hey, readers! Jusy Want to let you know that I'm back at G-spot after a long hiatus...

Get ready for some blog posts and reviews in the near future. Please vote today!!!

By now I imagine everyone has played, seen, or at least heard about the phonomenon known as GTA IV. If you haven't, I have no idea how you accessed my blog in the first place. Regardless, GTA IV is only another entry into the rapidly growing genre that is the freeform or sandbox-style game sector. Lately the flavor of the past few years has been giving the player as many choices as possible within a single game. But how much choice do we actually have and why do gamers as a whole prefer this over a more linear gameplay style?

Lately, it seems that the L-word (linear) has become the mark of doom upon most modern games. Gamers and reviewers seem to expect the ability to make multiple choices that impact the end result of the game, or at least the oppurtunity to engage in something different from the "main story". I think that ultimately that gamers want to be given the option of doing whatever they want, but I think rarely do they actually do all of these seperate adventures, gameplay modes and such. Simply put, in the first decade of the new millenium, games have become all about 2 things: choices and possibilities.

Elaborating on the first point, choices, I draw examples from big hit games Mass Effect, Bioshock and the Orange Box. Each are a very unique take on the choices a gamer can make. Bioshock is the game that tends to focus on the big picture, namely do you you kill the little sisters and harvest thier ADAM, or do you let them go free? This is pretty much the only decision of the game and is the deciding factor of what kind of ending you get upon game completion. Mass Effect, on the other hand, lets you contol many of the finer inconsequential points of the game (like the conversations) while the game's true outcome is never truly altered. Then threre is the Orange Box, which presents it's choice in the form of 5 great games, making the player spend a good 5 minutes at the main menu deciding which game they want to play the most. All 3 of these games have a few big things in common: they have all come out in the past 12 months, they all present you with an intriguing set of choices and all 3 have been crtically acclaimed. Coincidence? You decide?

The second big force in games is possibilties that lie within the game. The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. for example, is one such game where so much freedom and so much potential for adventure exists that it can be actually quite overwhelming. Yet the game was a critical and financial success because of how many options were available from he get go. GTA is another game that sets you free in the early stages, often astounding you with its incredible breadth and scope. Often, in Oblivion, you have so many amazing quests available to you that you decide to just pick flowers or ride around the country side. In GTA, you are far more likely to embark on a mass-murdering spree than an actual mission. In the end, people are in love with just the thought that they live in a world where mysteries exist so that they never become bored of the same half dozen things they do over and over again.

When I was in elementary school, the sandbox was not a popular place, hell, it was just a plot of sand where the loser kids did who-knows-what. In fact, these freeform games are more apt to be called "playground games" because, unlike a sandbox, the playgroud was aplace full of a plethora of activities and games (monkeybars anyone?). Today, just like the consumer who wants more than fries with their burger, the modern gamer is no longer satsfied with just killing whatever flies across the screen. Today's gamer wants to make decisions or at least the option to make a few once he's done killing hookers with baseball bats.

The Week in Gaming is a new weekly blog im going to update each week about my impressions and opinions of whatever games I've beeen playing this past week.

This Week: Lair (PS3), NBA Live 08 (PS3), Orange Box (PS3), LotR: Battle For Middle Earth (PC)

Lair: I got Lair as a late B-day present when it first came out, but was reluctant to play it due to scathing reviews. I played the first 5 levels a month ago and played the 6th level this week and I'm glad to say that Lair is actually a decent game. Unfortunately decent is not the category that people base their game purchases on. People expect great games and Lair on that account failed to deliver.

Anyone who questions the graphics of this game, however, is just plain foolish and needs to see an optometrist. The game is downright gorgeous, with seeping vistas and alarmingly detailed textures that make you sigh and think if only the controls weren't so inconvenient. The controls are, simply put, a mistake. It isn't that controlling the dragon with your sixaxis isn't terribly difficult, but rather that it comes across as a real inconvenice: just let me rotate the goddamn analog stick! The inability to use the analog stick is an enormous oversight by Sony/Factor 5.

The voiceacting is fine and the soundtrack is excellent, but the story is the same old "two nations at war" rehash. Overall, this came really can be enjoyable, but any game with people riding dragons should be able to do that.

NBA Live 08: I'm playing dynasty mode and I might have to actually revise my opinion of this game. What first appeared to be a mediocre baller can actually get interesting once you get a better hang of the controls.

Orange Box: I already beat Portal, which was very fun, but not funny until the final battle. Portal could also benefit from a few more challenging puzzles. Team Fortress 2 sufferes from lag on the PS3, but other than that is obviously a very well-balanced game, the highest complement that can be paid to an online shooter.

Half-Life 2, however, was the only game I played this week and I can't believe I never played it before. I'd seen it at stores and get rave reviews, but it always looked kind of boring to me. Fortunately the game is very exciting and the levels are so varied you never feel like youre palying just another shooter. Each level really feels like another game because your playstyle changes to adapt to the new environments that each new level brings. I just got out of Ravenholm, which I must admit was my favorite level by far. I won't spoil anything, but let me just say it's more frightening than Silent Hill 2 and Resident Evil 4 put together, not because of the monsters, but because Gordon's perpective and the graphics make the whole situation seem incredibly real.

LotR: Battle for Middle Earth: It's an old game, but I got it cheap and I'm really enjoying the campaign right now. The only problem is that the strategy isn't really hardcore enough and some unit types are obviously unbalanced (Rohan Riders, any Heroes).

Christmas Day, 2007: I open a gleaming, shimmering package of Crysis and proceed to stare at the box-art until 2008.

Jan 1st, 2008: Stop drooling, go online to Gamespot. Now I had heard that Crysis had some pretty hefty demands in terms of computer, but hey, nothing a beefed up 2005 Man Pro can't handle? WRONG. I had no clue regarding the specs of my computer until I checked, but my beast is actually dead meat to this game. I thought I was at the height of technological power when I played Warcraft 3 with nary a hitch in framerate performance. My machine struggled to render Overlord..... that probably should have been a sign... so I decided to one day upgrade my video card (it may be awhile). Until then, here's a list of signs your computer can't play crysis:

Top Signs That You Can't Play Crysis:

• Your Graphics Card pre-dates both Nvidia and ATI
• Your core processor is identical to the one in your toaster
• The last PC game you upgraded your rig for was Chessmaster
• You think that video cards come in booster packs
• The last signifigant upgrade made to your PC was that "clock" feature
• You're still not sure what @ means
• You thick that FPS stands for a new revenue collection agency
• You bought that PC just in time to play the new killer app: Minesweeper

Anyone else got some sure signs? Post them here

Some people have a good Christmas, others have a great Christmas, but still some have a freakin' sweet Christmas. However, this year is the first year that I have experenced a Christmas of such awesomeness that freakin' sweet doesn't even begin to describe it. If my Christmas were a weapon, it would be an "Epic Christmas of the Gamer with +10 Holiday Cheer". Yeah, that kind of Christmas. The only way this could have been better is if there was snow on the ground on Christmas morning.Without further ado, here is the Roundup:
Uncharted: Drake's FortuneHeavenly SwordOrange BoxNBA Live 08Elder Scrolls 4: GOTY EditionAssasin's CreedBioshockCrysisSuper Mario GalaxyResident Evil 4Trauma Center: New BloodMetroid Prime 3: Corruption
Amazing.........I couldn't be happier....could I....Oh wait, I also bought Call of Duty 4 for $37 at Target....OH YEEEAAAAAH............I'll continue my blog when I finish playing Heavenly Sword...

To set up the story, it was probably 10 years ago that I first saw a videogame. I was at a friend's house, and had heard of a playstation, but never actually seen one before. Needless to say I was shocked and amazed by what I saw, the seemingly flawless graphics of Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon and another generic platformer I can't even remember. The lush graphics of Crash made me start a Playstation Fund, which got about half of the necessary money (the other half coming from parents dying to have me shut up about the game). I was amazed by the game so much that I never got any other PS games beyond Crash, Spyro and(later) FF7. Upon the playstation 2's arrival I was once again unbelieveably impressed and pooled my resources to amass the icredible sum of $250 one year after the launch. As of late however, the graphics of next generation systems have improved, but I've never found them nearly as stimulating as those of the original playstation. Is it because my video game experience and aging made me jaded? Probably, or maybe there's just nothing like your first game.