Wouldn't it make more sense to make a mobile game based on the exploration and conversation mechanics of Mass Effect, rather than the shooter mechanics that won't translate well to touch screens?

I think Money is referring to the change from Duke Nukem 2 (quirky PC side-scroller) to Duke Nukem 3D (multi-platform FPS megastar).

"Frankly, it's a breath of fresh air to see anything besides knights and wizards in a kerfuffle over crystals."

Agreed.

@Bamford38:

"The only solace i can take from this is that im proud to be in the 70 thousand people that value originality, rather that the millions of people that are basically sheep."

So you bought Shadows of the Damned because of its originality. Technically it's an original property, but when I look at it I see just a bunch of clichés mashed together with a typical Japanese action game style I know I don't like. I'm quite sure I would not enjoy it. I don't fear originality (I was one of the first to buy Mirror's Edge, etc.) but I just don't see anything in SOTD to entice me to try it.

I've bought some of the recent Call of Duty games because they were incredibly polished, fun games with tight gameplay mechanics. Does that make me a sheep? Maybe, but then sheep often flock together because they know where to find good grass and safety, while the lone, lost sheep gets trapped somewhere in barbed wire. (Trust me, my family used to rear sheep and they look a lot more stupid when they run off doing their own thing than when they flock together. But maybe I'm stretching the analogy... :D )

All the default Shepards (male and female) look too young and inexperienced. The core of Shepard's character is his/her natural leadership forged through great struggles, and I just don't see that coming from a good-looking 28-year-old. That's why my Shep looks like he's about 40, with a proper military haircut and a face that says "I've seen shit you wouldn't believe, so back off!"

"proved the gaming public isn't ready for digital downloads as the sole form of delivery for their games"

Not sure it proved that at all. Digital download games on smartphones and tablets seem to be incredibly popular.

Instead, I think it suggests the gaming public isn't ready to be swindled by being charged ridiculously high prices for digital downloads and for having their existing collection of UMD games rendered unusable on what should be a compatible console.

Benjamin is nobody's friend. If Benjamin were an ice-cream flavour, he'd be pralines and dick.

Surprised you didn't include the classic Evil Otto from Berserk! on the Atari 2600.

@Letter11: the film with "that kid in the chair" is Flight Of The Navigator, a classic piece of 80s children's sci-fi.

Wahlberg takes himself way too seriously, and lacks the competence to pull it off. He has all the charisma of a stale loaf of bread. There's an extremely high chance that he'll turn one of the most likeable heroes of gaming into an utter cock in the cinema.

I remember playing Time Slaughter. I had a feeling it would make the top spot on this list. That game is absolutely bonkers.

@db1331: "There is absolutely no excuse to not own an HD set by now."

A decent HDTV still costs at least £300, and for a long time the entry price has been much higher. Not everyone has the necessary disposable income. If you're providing for a family, and taking care of a mortgage, an HDTV is a luxury you can easily do without.

One more for the list of "games you missed": Mass Effect 2 has bullet time as the Soldier's special ability.

I can't picture the new version at all, based on the descriptions. In my mind's eye, rotating the D-pad 90 degrees in any axis looks absurd. Would anyone care to produce an "artist's impression"?

Most recently, the two most immersive games for me have been Far Cry 2 and Batman: AA.

RDR had a great environment, but the temptation to continuously hunt wild animals actually made me feed less like a Western hero and more like the local pest control.

The last one is from a film called "Society", about a high school boy who never really fits in with his high-society family and neighbours. The alienation is played out literally as he discovers that they are all seriously perverted inhuman creates, mutating at will and sucking off everyone else around them.

It's not bad, if you can stand the weirdness.

Surely being a member of the German armed forces between 1939 and 1945 is the worst job in all of gaming.

Woodsey, COD is indeed a tactical shooter - it's just that the tactics are very simple and you're not responsible for them. I think you mean that COD is not a game featuring complex tactical planning as part of the missions.

I keep hearing people mention the moment when they heard that song, but for some reason I didn't hear it at all during my stint in Mexico. Disappointing...

I find myself frustrated by the confusion between "is it art?" and "is it good art?". Defining "art" is relatively simple: anything that has been designed and crafted is a form of art. Where it gets more complicated is where we attempt to judge whether something is "good art", using measurements like aesthetics, message, originality, efficiency, etc.

Of course games are art. That shouldn't even be up for debate. We ought to be focusing on the question of which games represent "good art", in the same way that film critics search for the best representatives of the medium.