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We’ve all read countless “best franchise of all time” lists, and while they’re fun to write and then to argue about, there’s an inherent problem with the “all time” part – you have to consider the 30+ years of gaming history before you get to the modern generation. Heavy hitters like Zelda, Mario, Halo, Warcraft, Metal Gear and GTA are virtually guaranteed a place on the list, so how can there be much room left over for games of right now?

That’s why we’re ousting the old guard and choosing the best of the current generation. No decades-old legacies to consider, just the stuff that’s been dreamt up since 360/PS3/DS/Wii took control beginning in 2005. Our only criteria: you gotta be a NEW game that’s blossomed into a full-blown series and will likely carry on for years. And before we even start, sorry Red Dead – you either began with Red Dead Revolver (last gen) or are a fresh start with Redemption, meaning you’re not quite a “franchise” just yet...

You think you've fought some huge video game enemies in your day? These big bosses will make those guys look like pipsqueaks...

Join us as we talk about some of our favorite soundtracks of 2011. Think you know your videogame music? Test your knowledge by answering the trivia question for a chance to win a copy of the soundtrack for Deux Ex: Human Revolution. 

July is a bit dry in terms of new-stuff quantity, but we’re really looking forward to the majority of its releases. We have a healthy amount of oddball gems, sequels and re-releases to look forward to. It’s as much a month to experiment on weird stuff as it is to catch up on stuff you may have missed a year (or five) ago. What’s particularly exciting is that we’re seeing a solid number of awesome-looking downloadable games. If you’d rather not spend $60 on bananas-bullshit like Catherine (which we’re way into, by the way), put that money toward a few XBLA games instead. You’ve got slimmer pickin’s than usual, but them pickin’s look good...

Some games are upfront about their morally dubious nature, but others pretend to be innocent while  hiding their corrupting content inside sinister subtext. Join us as we blow the lid on that whole den of depravity.

Right about now the rest of the internet is tripping over itself to crank out the “definitive” end-of-year list. Well, they can stop. We already did it. Over the next few pages our unquestioned expertise will identify the coolest, most important games of 2009 with zero room for error. Yeah, it’s that big of a deal. That’s why they’re basking in the dazzling radiance of a Platinum Chalice.

THE INFO BOX
Post date: December 18, 2009
T-Dar 81 length: 2:13:26
Intro song by: Anamanaguchi
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Let's face it, the public doesn't want originality. The public wants first-person shooters on 360, fitness games on Wii and pirated copies of anything else because the risk of buying something unfathomable is too high. It doesn't want LittleBig Planet (despite Steven Fry), couldn't give a damn about Okami despite all our best efforts, and thinks Rez HD is a sleep disorder you get from those newfangled tellies.

But while some games are

Last night I finished Just Cause 2. My lasting memories of the game will be its incredibly beautiful world, the massive array of brilliant vehicles to drive/pilot and the amount of stuff you can mindlessly blow the shit out of. But there'll be a sadness there too. Despite these thrills the boss battles kicked me hard in the balls due to their unbelievably mundane, by-the-numbers exploits. So what is it with game’s frequently missing the target with boss fights?