With E3 officially starting today, I've decided to cook up a list of the best games that I've played tat debuted this year, plus make a list of my most anticipated. By the way, neither of these lists are in any particular order.

5 Best Games So Far This Year

Super Smash Bros Brawl

Gamespot Score: 9.5

Grand Theft Auto IV

Gamespot Score: 10

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Gamespot Score: 10

Battlefield:Bad Company

Gamespot Score: 8.5

Rainbow Six Vegas 2

Gamespot Score: 8.5

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Now, for the upcomings.

5 Most Anticipated Games For This Year

Fable II

Fallout 3

Gears of War 2

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Borderlands

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What? Borderlands? Yes, I think its gonna be a shocker title that goes under everyone's radar and gets shunned by reviewers because of it.

So, the big question. Will 2008 surpass 2007, the current mecca of gaming, after just one year. Honestly, I don't think so. 2007 shined in that it brought so many great original IPs(new games, like Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, and Bioshock) alongside a lot of big sequals(such as Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, And Super Mario Galaxy). 2008 however, looks to be more on sequals, with only a select few new IPs(Spore, Left 4 Dead, Endwar, and the ones listed above). Also, it seems that the 360 will once again be the big winner in exclusives with Fable II, and Gears 2. Seeing as MGS4 and Brawl are the only reedeemable games coming exclusivly for Sony and Nintendo's consoles(I refuse to consider Wii Fit a game). Luckily for Sony fans, 2009 seems promising, with all of the games people thought were coming out in 2008(Killzone, Little Big Planet) joining up with God of War 3, the 2 big Final Fantasy XIII games, and a new Red Faction game.

Well, 2008 seems to be a great year for gamers, and I can't wait to see what this year's E3 will let us know about 2009. Enjoy E3 everyone.

Halo 3's debut in September 2007 was met with rave reviews and record-shattering sales.

Fast forward to May 2008, Halo is still in the top 5 in number of online participants......wait, TOP 5?! What happened to 8.1 copies SOLD, not rented, not borrowed, sold. 8 million+ people have thrown down anywhere from $60-$120 for it. So how come Call of Duty 4, who its publishers, Activision, spent millions less than Microsoft, Halo's publishers, on marketing and merchandising and everything else, is outselling and being outplayed compared to the huge event that was Halo?......its not the better game, sure the graphics are nice, but Halo brings much more to the table than Call of Duty. Its because Call of Duty 4 is a better sequal.

Wait what could I be saying? Halo has Forge, Halo has the Theatre options, Halo has all new weapons and graphics, Halo took four years, Halo 3 is innovative....right? But wait, strip all that out, take out Forge, take out replays and its that same damn Halo we've been playing since 2001. Same enimies, same situation, same enviroments, same multiplayer, all with extra toys to keep us distracted for just a few hours longer. This is a letdown to people who were expecting the the God-and-a-half that Halo promised to be. Sure, Forge proved to be a nice distraction and led to some awesome stuff, but in the end, its the same Halo. Take Halo's middle child, Halo 2, sure it was the same Halo, but by adding the online multiplayer element, it added so much more than the first offered, and was still being played by hundreds of thousands until the day(and a few weeks after) Halo 3 debuted.

Hell, the same could be said about Call of Duty 2&3. 2 took the already tired WWII genre and brought it to next-gen stardom, but in the end it was the same ol' Normandy Beach(at least this time it was Utah beach and not Omaha), the same Nazi's, and the same guns. Call of Duty 3 was an even bigger dissapointment, as it was more or less COD2 with bigger multiplayer.

But then came Call of Duty 4......new enimies, new enviroments, MUCH better graphics, new guns, it was a whole new game to play. And guess what, IT WORKED. Everyone and their dog plays COD4 now. Its such an innovative game, its a great sequal to a tired game.

So what makes a sequal great. Not re-making the entire game, but adding enough new content to keep new players interested and keep veterans from getting tired of the same old stuff. I'm not suggesting a full-blown makeover like Call of Duty did, just enough innovation keep it fresh. Just my two cents.

Turns out a week ago marked my 2nd year as a member here. And if my tardiness to post this doesn't give any indication of my overall activity here, then I'll say that it has been cut significantly.

Pretty much all I do here is.....

Gamespace banners

About 4 unions I visit and 2 I post in.

The Games themselves and the forums

blogging and reading other's blogs.

Yep, thats about it. Yet I still come here everyday no prob.

I bought The Club today, more out of random curiosity than anything else, so I decided to see and make a list of all games coming out in 2008 that I hope at least to purchase. This is a help to me as well. Those with a * mean that I can wait and not get them at launch due to lack of priority.

360

Grand Theft Auto 4 (4/29)

Lost Planet Colonies (5/27)*

Battlefield Bad Company (6/23)*

Saints Row 2 (8/26)

Tom Clancy's Endwar (TBA)

Star Wars The Force Unleashed (9/16)

Splinter Cell Conviction (TBA)*

Fallout 3 (TBA)

Gears of War 2 (TBA)

Left 4 Dead (TBA)*

PS3

Metal Gear Solid 4 (6/12)

Soul Calibur 4 (6/24)*

Wii

Mario Kart Wii (4/27)*

What? No Waluigi? No Megaman? Cloud Strife can go where? This is what many people have voiced in the forums for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Many people have made topics of who they missed and who should be included in the 4th installment of the series if it is ever made. I decided to take it further and blog it. This is a list of characters who need to be added either as fighters or implemented in some way in the next Super Smash Bros.

King K. Rool - Donkey Kong

The Lizard King from the Donkey Kong series would add another needed boss-character. Manlier than Ganon, scalier than Bowser, and dorkier than Dedede, King K. Rool would make a perfect addition to the Smash Bros. warriors list.

Megaman - Megaman

The blue sporting protagonist of seemingly hundreds of games and knockoffs, Megaman is one of the few major 3rd party characters in videogame history. And with the addition of Sonic and Solid Snake, Megaman's addition to the game now seems within reach. With a cannon arm similar to samus, and the ability to fly, Megaman could be a main to a lot of fighters everywhere.

Zero - Megaman

With hair for the fangirls to die for, and a sword for the fanboys to slash up n00bs, Zero would be someone that many a fighter would be using. He's hardcore, and not to mention, it would settle the argument of who is better, Megaman or Zero.

Tails - Sonic the Hedgehog

With the addition of Sonic in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Sega characters(specifically from the Sonic universe) are now an option to dream about in a SSB game. And since Shadow is a loser, and Silver.......just no, that leaves only 3 characters to toy with, Dr. Robotnik, Knuckles, and Tails. Sonic's flying friend may not be the strongest, but his airial manouverability makes him a character, that if givin the proper fighting outfitting, could become a stronger fighter than one would expect.

Knuckles - Sonic the Hedgehog

With an unmatched punching ability, great speed, and the slight ability to fly, Knuckles could and should have been added to Brawl, but definetially deserves his spot in a new Smash Bros. game. Plus, he's red, and everyone knows that red is much cooler than blue.

Dr. Robotnik - Sonic the Hedgehog

Another boss character, Robotnik(not Eggman dammit!) would be awesome. His size and strengh would be great as a character, but his use of technology in the form of vehicles would be awesome. And look at all the possibilities for a Final Smash. Yes, I know he's a trophy, but it wouldn't be as cool as if he where a character.

Phoenix Wright - Ace Attorney

With the new Apollo Justice game, its now the Ace Attorney universe. But the series original lawyer, Phoenix Wright, is the way to go. With his pointing arm, Phoenix's attacks would be a barrage of objections, and other characters from the series(Edgeworth ftw)could be used as assist trophies. And think about his final smash possibilies. A giant judges gavel, a super-objection, ect. How badass could Phoenix Wright be in a SSB game.

Waluigi - Mario

Yes, I know, he sucks, but come on. He's the only one left and how awesome would it be to have Mario/Luigi vs Wario/Waluigi. And it would bring joy to children worldwide to play ****c mode, and come upon Team Waluigi, then it would be 10 times the Waluigi murder, and we all know, Waluigi muder is the best kind.

Francis - Paper Mario

I never played the new Paper Maio game, but as a boss in adventure mode, I think it would be fun to beat around this loser.

Ryu - Ninja Gaiden

With Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword debuting on the DS, Ryu has made his appearance on a Nintendo system, and thus now has a ticket to Super Smash stardom. While it would be signifacntly less bloody than most Ninja Gaidens, it would still be awesome to fight as Ryu without having to deal with Haduken(sp?) n00bs every 5 minutes. But no, this doesn't give Altair an excuse to join, because as an Assassin that couldn't assassinate, it would just be silly.

Tingle - The Legend of Zelda

Its obvious that the only reason they added Toon Link into Brawl, was so they could add Tingle as well. But an assist trophy is not enough, and Tingle could replace the next Link clone as an original Zelda character instead of double Link. And of course, Tingle is the most badass person in the world, so everyone would main as him and then no one would use Waluigi anyway.

Revolver Ocelot - Metal Gear Solid

Closing out the list is the ultimate badass. While Solid Snake is awesome, he has his limits. Liquid Snake is a pansy, Gray Fox is a n00b, Meryl is too hotness(please get the reference). But Revolver Ocelot is awesome. His use of weapontry is top-notch, and he's a cowboy, and you are cool if you are a cowboy. And of course, he could use the torture machine seen in the Twin Snakes as a Final Smash. And torture is cool.

Honerable Mentions

Pac-Man

Grey Fox(Metal Gear Solid)

Travis Touchdown(No More heroes)

Leon(Resident Evil)

Slash(Guitar Hero)

Paper Mario

Any future badasses that debut in the gaming world on a Nintendo system by the time a new Smash Bros. is being made.

talk about a riveting game

amazing 4th quarter

Burress better win MVP

Well, as (un)surprising as it is, former WWE champ Brock Lesnar LOST to someone half his size in the UFC ppv.

Speaking of WWE, my mom actually got free tickets to the WWE Smackdown and ECW taping this wednesday in Houston at the Toyota Center. Its only my 2nd live show, and my first taping, so i get to see the fancy new set and the pyrotechnics this time.

And finally, i ordered the Royal Rumble ppv last sunday. So ive been wrestled out. :D

I scored pretty big this Christmas. Here's a list of what I got.

a Wii!!!!!!!

Mario Galaxy

Zelda Twilight Princess and Phantom Hourglass

The Orange Box

WWE Smackdown vs Raw 08

Kane and Lynch(probably wont even play)

Stadium Arcadium by the Red Hot Chili Peppers

$25 iTunes gift card

$200 from grandparents(I getta buy more Wii games)

LEGO Starwars 2 for the PSP(random)

new wallet

other stuff

Merry Christmas

Happy Hanukkah

Happy Quanza

Happy other winter holidays

Keep in mind that I do not have a Wii and my laptop is old and wont play newer games. All but one were for the 360.

10. Major League Baseball 2K7

9. Madden NFL 2008

8. Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2

7. The Darkness(PS3)

6. Halo 3

5. Forza Motorsport 2

4. Assassin's Creed

3. Mass Effect

2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

1. Bioshock

And now for my top 10 for 08, these are just PS3 and 360, if i get a Wii for christmas or something, Ill make a new Wii-exclusive blog.

10. Haze(PS3)

9. Turning Point Fall of Liberty

8. Metal Gear Solid 4(PS3)

7. Spore(PC)

6. Fallout 3

5. Splinter Cell Conviction

4. Rainbow Six Vegas 2

3. Tom Clancy's Endwar

2. Star Wars The Force Unleashed

1. Grand Theft Auto 4