Joystiq writes "Yesterday morning we had the chance to listen to Ken Levine speak on the storytelling process behind his hit title, BioShock. The quick Zero Punctuation video got big laughs, but there was another video during the presentation that more accurately represented what Ken was talking about. Above is a picture of a stage in the development of the Little Sisters, a hint at other (stranger?) versions of Rapture and its denizens. You can catch other stages in the Sisters development in our gallery of photos from the talk."
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Kotaku's Brian Crecente writes:

"While interviewing Ken Levine earlier this month for my story on the use of objectivism in BioShock we talked quite a bit about the plot. Near the end of the interview I found myself compelled to tell Levine what I thought of the game."
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Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has taken the top spot in the US's PC chart for the week of January 13th ¿ 19th, according to NPD data. MCV has the full top ten list.
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GameDaily reports the critically acclaimed blockbuster from Ken Levine and 2K Boston will vie for Game of the Year with Call of Duty 4, Rock Band, Super Mario Galaxy and The Orange Box.

The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) has unveiled the nominees for the 11th annual Interactive Achievement Awards, which will take place during The D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit 2008 on February 7 at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas. 2k Boston's BioShock, which already earned a number of Game of the Year awards from various publications, received an incredible 12 nominations across a variety of categories, including Game of the Year, in these peer-based awards. Activision's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare also earned 10+ nominations.
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GamePro Feature by Tracey Erickson, 01/09/2008:

Will they or won't they? GamePro sets the record straight for eight infamous game port rumors:

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
¿ Confirmed Platform: PlayStation 3
¿ Rumored Platform: Xbox 360
¿ Chance of Port: Slim

BioShock
¿ Confirmed Platform: Xbox 360, PC
¿ Rumored Platform: PlayStation 3
¿ Chance of Port: Likely

Mass Effect 2
¿ Confirmed Platform: Xbox 360
¿ Rumored Platform: PlayStation 3
¿ Chance of Port: Bet on it

Halo 4
¿ Confirmed Platform: Xbox 360
¿ Rumored Platform: PlayStation 3
¿ Chance of Port: Never

Haze
¿ Confirmed Platform: PlayStation 3
¿ Rumored Platform: Xbox 360, PC
¿ Chance of Port: Slim to none

Final Fantasy XIII
¿ Confirmed Platform: PlayStation 3
¿ Rumored Platform: Xbox 360
¿ Chance of Port: Slim

World of Warcraft
¿ Confirmed Platform: PC
¿ Rumored Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
¿ Chance of Port: Slim to None

Crysis
¿ Confirmed Platform: PC
¿ Rumored Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
¿ Chance of Port: Highly likely
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Jan. 2, 2008 -- MSNBC tallied in their Game of the Year readers' votes between December 19 and 27. "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" garnered 33 percent of the over 17,000 votes and is MSNBC Readers' Game of the Year. The runner-up was "Bioshock" at 22 percent of the votes. The second runner-up was "Mass Effect" at 10 percent.

Here are MSNBC readers' picks for the best in each genre:

¿ Best sports game: Madden NFL '08
¿ Best racing game: Project Gotham Racing 4
¿ Best casual game: Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree
¿ Best family game: LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
¿ Best music game: Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
¿ Best handheld game: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
¿ Best role-playing game: Mass Effect
¿ Best action/adventure game: Bioshock
¿ Best shooter: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

View the full report for the runners-up in each category.
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you are looking for a new game to keep you occupied into the new year, then Steam may have something for you. Until January 1, Valve's gaming service has some very good discounts for its top games.
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Here are the winners and runners-up for all the categories:

Game of the Year: BioShock
Runners-up: Rock Band, Mass Effect, Super Mario Galaxy, The Orange Box

Most Innovative: Rock Band
Runners-up: Portal, Assassin's Creed, Crush, Super Paper Mario

Best Writing: Mass Effect
Runners-up: BioShock, Portal, Assassin's Creed, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Best Adrenaline Rush: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Runners-up: God of War II, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Project Gotham Racing 4, Halo 3

Best Jiggle Factor: Heavenly Sword
Runners-up: Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Conan, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary

Guiltiest Pleasure: LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
Runners-up: Stranglehold, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, Overlord, Mario Strikers Charged

Best Portable Game: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Runners-up: Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow, Silent Hill: Origins, Dead Head Fred

Worst Game: Vampire Rain
Runners-up: Jackass: The Game, Lair, Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s, The Eye of Judgment, Hour of Victory

[ Judges: Scott Alexander, Damon Brown, John Gaudiosi, Scott Jones, Marc Saltzman, Scott Stein and Scott Steinberg ]
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Picking the Destructoid Game of the Year was no easy task, as evidenced by the overwhelmingly varied community response to yesterday's list of nominees. It seemed like each one of the five finalists garnered an equal amount of support: "Pick Mass Effect!" "Super Mario Galaxy is easily the best!" "COD4 FTW!" "BioShock, hands down!" "No competition. The Orange Box!"

And the winner is...
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In a move likely designed to bolster seasonal sales and fend of the award attentions of rival software titles such as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Mass Effect, and Super Mario Galaxy, 2K Games has this week oiled and flexed its bulging BioShock muscle for all to see via a recap of the game's current achievements.
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Lots of random little great deals have popped up post Christmas for you to spend any left over (or newly received) monies.

For those that don't have it still, Halo 3 is only $29.90 at GoGamer.

GameFly is having a Year End Sale up until January 4th: Some example deals are The Darkness only $12.34, Forza 2 $14.24, and Shadowrun for $12.34. I would really check this link and look into their full list, they have a ton of deals on all systems.

For the PC users, Steam is having a sale, 10-50% Everything! Great deals include, The Orange Box - $37.45, Bioshock $37.45, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - $22.45, and Psychonauts - 9.95!! (If you haven't played this title yet, you have no excuse not to now. You can even use a 360 controller.)

World of Warcraft - $9.99 at Amazon.
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Yahoo has announced their Games of the Year awards, which culminated in their 2007 Overall Game of the Year. Here are the categories, winners and runners-up:

¿ Best Action Adventure Game: Super Mario Galaxy
¿ Runners-Up: Assassin's Creed, The Orange Box

¿ Best Online Multiplayer Game: Halo 3
¿ Runners-Up: Call of Duty 4, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

¿ Best Racing Game: Forza Motorsport 2
¿ Runners-Up: DiRT, Project Gotham Racing 4

¿ Best Sports Game: skate
¿ Runners-Up: FIFA 08, Madden NFL 08

¿ Best Shooter: BioShock
¿ Runners-Up: Call of Duty 4, Halo 3

¿ Best Party Game: Rock Band
¿ Runners-Up: Guitar Hero III, Warioware: Smooth Moves

¿ Best Role-Playing Game: Mass Effect
¿ Runners-Up: The Witcher, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

¿ Best Strategy Game: Supreme Commander
¿ Runners-Up: Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, World in Conflict

¿ Best Overall Game: Super Mario Galaxy
¿ Runners-Up: BioShock, Rock Band
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ActionTrip's 2007 Game of the Year voting poll registered 10673 participants. 1809 registered users voted for Call of Duty 4, 1279 for Halo 3, 1192 for Assassin's Creed, 837 for "None of the Above", 716 for BioShock, 710 for Crysis, 627 for The Orange Box, and so on. The rest of the results can be viewed in ActionTrip's voting poll section.

¿ People's Choice: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
¿ Runners-up: Halo 3, Assassin's Creed, Crysis, Half-Life 2: The Orange Box

¿ Game of the Year (ActionTrip Staff): Portal
¿ Runners-up: Mass Effect, Halo 3, BioShock, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, The Witcher

¿ Best Action Game: Halo 3
¿ Runners-up: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Half-Life 2: The Orange Box, God of War II, BioShock, Crysis

¿ Best Strategy Game: World in Conflict
¿ Runners-up: Supreme Commander, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars

¿ Best RPG: Mass Effect
¿ Runners-up: The Witcher, Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer

¿ Best Sports Game: FIFA 08
¿ Runners-up: SSX Blur, NHL 08, Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008

¿ Best MMOG: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
¿ Runners-up: Tabula Rasa, The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar

¿ Best Rhythm/Music Game: Rock Band
¿ Runners-up: Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

¿ Babe of the Year: Joanna Krupa
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IGN on BioShock (in their Xbox 360 2007 Year in Review feature):

"Players inhabited the body of Jack Thompson, a victim of a plane crash in the middle of the ocean with no help in sight other than a nearby lighthouse. Doing what he thought was best Jack swam over, entered and was transported to the underwater insanity trapped within the world of Rapture."
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The Bitbag editor picks the winners for:

¿ Best 3D Action Game
¿ Best Racing Game
¿ Best RPG
¿ Best Fighter
¿ Best FPS
¿ Best Strategy Game
¿ Best Sports Game
¿ Best War Game
¿ Best Mecha Game
¿ Achievement In Excellence
¿ Best Handheld Game
¿ Best Graphics
¿ Best Sound
¿ Best Online Multiplayer
¿ Developer Of The Year
¿ Game Of The Year
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What makes a good video game? Strong visuals are important. Good controls are essential. A well-crafted concept helps too. These days, most games can boast at least two-thirds of that criteria.

So, then what makes a game great? Feeling. Emotion. Surprise. Interaction. Even addiction. It's a magical feeling when a game offers all these elements.

Here are the titles L.A. Times deemed the best experiences of 2007. Admittedly, they didn't play everything (because that would probably be impossible), but of the titles that did cross their paths, these are the ones that resonated most. Their favorites in order:

Best of the Year:
¿ BioShock
¿ Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
¿ Assassin's Creed
¿ Super Mario Galaxy
¿ The Orange Box

Honorable Mention:
¿ Halo 3
¿ Rock Band
¿ Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation
¿ Cooking Mama: Cook Off
¿ Lost Planet

Worst of the Year:
¿ Lair

Dishonorable Mention:
¿ Fusion Frenzy 2
¿ 300: March to Glory
¿ Tenchu Z

[ By Pete Metzger, December 21, 2007 ]
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Provided below via the source link is IGN entire list of individual platform picks for Best of 2007. Here are selected categories and winners:

¿ PC Game of the Year -- BioShock
¿ PS2 Game of the Year -- God of War II
¿ PS3 Game of the Year -- Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
¿ Best PlayStation Store Game -- Super Stardust HD
¿ PSP Game of the Year -- Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow
¿ Xbox 360 Game of the Year -- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
¿ Best Xbox Live Arcade Game -- Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
¿ Wii Game of the Year -- Super Mario Galaxy
¿ DS Game of the Year -- The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
¿ Wireless Game of the Year -- Digital Chocolate Cafe

For each applicable platform, IGN also picks the Best Action Game, Best Adventure Game, Best Expansion, Best Fighting Game, Best First-Person Shooter, Best Music Game, Best Persistent World Game, Best Platform Game, Best Puzzle Game, Best Racing/Driving Game, Best RPG, Best Simulation, Best Sports Game, Best Strategy Game, Best Graphics Technology, Best Artistic Design, Best Original Score, Best Licensed Soundtrack, Best End Credit Song, Best Use of Sound, Best Story, Best Local Multiplayer Game, Best Online Multiplayer Game, Best Downloadable Content, Most Innovative Design, Best Use of the Wii-Mote, Best Game No One Played, Best Revival, Biggest Surprise, and Best Developer.

IGN Best of 2007 Awards also feature gaming and non-gaming categories in Movies, TV, DVD (includes HD DVD and Blu-ray Discs), Music, Comics, Gears, Sports, and Stars. Of those categories, the gaming-related winners are:

¿ Best Videogame Adaptation (Movies) -- Hitman
¿ Best Videogame Soundtrack/Score (Music) -- Super Mario Galaxy Soundtrack
¿ Best Best PC Peripheral (Gears) -- Novint Falcon
¿ Best Console Peripheral (Gears) -- Rock Band: Special Edition
¿ Best HDTV (Gears) -- Pioneer Project Kuro Plasm...
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Simply put, if you haven't played this game, you've missed out on one of the best gaming experiences of all time. The entire presentation, from the story to the visuals to the acting, encourages a level of emotional involvement that transcends the game play. The bonus is that the game play is nearly as good as the story. Play it.
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The New York Times - Seth Schiesel, December 23, 2007:

For gamers 2006 was all about the introduction of Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii systems; there weren't many great games released. This year, by contrast, has delivered one fabulous interactive entertainment experience after another. Even without Grand Theft Auto IV, which was delayed until next year, 2007 has witnessed the strongest lineup of new games since the fall of 2004, when Halo 2, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and World of Warcraft were introduced.

Even with heavy hitters like Spore, G.T.A. IV and Super Smash Bros. on the horizon for 2008, it will be tough for next year to top the crop of 2007. Here are some of this year's most important, intriguing and just plain amusing games and developments:

¿ Best Newcomer
¿ Most Difficult Delivery
¿ Best Adaptation of an Adored Intellectual Property
¿ Best Unambitious Representations of the State of the Art
¿ Best Single-Handed Rescue of a Major Game System
¿ Game of the Year
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MSNBC video game section has been polling gamers about their favorite games in a number of categories, trying to narrow down the search for the Game of the Year.

On Thursday the site put up the poll to decide which of the finalists, culled from the best of each genre, should be named the game of the year.

The finalists are:
¿ Madden NFL 08
¿ Project Gotham Racing 4
¿ Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree
¿ LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
¿ Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
¿ The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
¿ Mass Effect
¿ Bioshock
¿ Call of Duty 4

At the time of this writing Call of Duty 4 was leading with 31 percent of the vote. BioShock was close behind with 22 percent and Mass Effect was in a distant third with 8.6 percent.

[ Words: Kotaku's Brian Crecente ]
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