Today, those debates are laid to rest.  Nintendo has released the "Hyrule Historia", an art book/encyclopedia of all thing Zelda.  Within the encyclopedia, an official timeline has finally been put to ink.  To be honest, not only is it an unexpected answer to this debate, but an odd and honestly questionable one.  However, this is coming straight from the horses mouth, so what follows is the official storyline.

Four games in the series come before the "time split".  In order, they are:

Skyward Sword, Minish Cap, Four Swords, Ocarina of Time. 

Okay, that makes sense.  What doesn't make sense is that rather than the generally accepted two-way split after Ocarina of Time, Nintendo has revealed that the series actually splits into THREE separate timelines.  The first of these timelines follows the basic ending of Ocarina, where Link is returned to his youth.  The games following this timeline are:

Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess, Four Swords Adventures.

Again, makes sense.  Second is the "saved future" that Link leaves behind after sealing Ganon in the Sacred Realm in the time Adult Link inhabits in Ocarina.  The games that follow are:

Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks.

This leaves a rather large group of games out of the picture.  This brings up a third, alternate future from Ocarina of Time.......one where LINK FAILS.  Thats right, Nintendo is saying that it is cannon that Link was defeated in Ocarina in this storyline.  Quite an interesting, if controversial, choice by Nintendo.  The games that follow this timeline are:

A Link to the Past, Oracle(both of them), Link's Awakening, The Legend of Zelda, Adventures of Link.

This really doesn't seem to work for me.  It almost feels like a random excuse to just slam all of the remaining games together so it, well, just works.  Either way, this is now accepted cannon for the franchise.  I'm more curious to hear from YOU guys and see what you think about this explanation of the franchise's chronology.

This game is a bit of a conundrum to me.  It is no secret that I am a huge fan of the Assassin's Creed franchise. Heck, I even liked the first one.  No action game before it had felt so...free.  The ability to look at the world around you and not only admire its beauty, but to be simultaneously mapping out paths to treck over, under, and across this world was an experience unlike any I'd had in gaming before.  The series of course came to power with Assassin's Creed 2, with the introduction of Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a character who has quickly become one of my favorite in all of the history of gaming.  There are few characters whom you can control in the history of gaming where you essentially follow that person's entire life, and I give credit to Ubisoft for crafting a character and a world so interesting that, at least to me, is powerful enough to be the sole reason I push forward in a game.  Or three games.  But Revelations, while a game I will absolutely reccomend to ANY fan of the franchise, feels the odd one out of this Auditore Trillogy.  It's like the final roar of an old lion - It is still a thing to be respected, but it has lost some of its power.

Now in the third chapter of Ezio's life, Assassin's Creed: Revelations should be the best game in the trillogy.  It should be the perfected sum of all of what Ubisoft has learned in making the series.  But instead of being a coherent, fluid gaming experience like Brotherhood was, Revelations feels at times quite disjointed.  The story of the game is fine, a sort of sewing up of loose ends for Ezio as he finishes the work that his Father never had the opportunity to.  This causes him to chase after the final clues left by Altair, and at times view the world through his ancestor's eyes, which make for some of the more interesting sections of the game.  It is strange to see Ezio's motives not driven forward with a sense of revenge for once, but it allows a whole new world to be viewed through his eyes.  This world is Istanbul, or Constantinople, and the story found within is both very foreign and yet completes a full circle.  Ezio finds himself suddenly witness to a familial quarrel for the title of Sultan, and will soon be a very important player in how the next Sultan will come to power.  This core story, however interesting, is so different from the rest of the franchise that it can't help but make this game feel like a side story.  A very good one, sure, but a side story nonetheless.

The core gameplay is what I suppose we can call "Classic Assassin's Creed" by now.  Fighting enemies feels just about the same as it was in Brotherhood for Ezio, so it works well.  Platforming and climbing are better than ever with the addition of the Hookblade, which adds brand new types of interactions to the world.  However, there are some quite random gameplay sections that have been added to the game that really, just don't belong.  There are also some new gameplay mechanics that are fantastic, so I'll start with those.  Cheif amongst them is the new grenade crafting mechanic, where you are given the ability to make nine grenades in groups of three - lethal, tactical, and diversion.  Each of these groups then has different explosive power and multiple options to choose from.  For example, my lethal grenade is a poison bomb that creates an invisible death cloud over a large area.  My tactical has smaller explosion, but it spreads lambs blood to freak people out into thinking they are injured.  There are so many different ways to mix and match grenade options that it is fun just to try them out on their own.

Also interesting is the much more in-depth meta game involved with training your fellow Assassins.  Sending your trainees out into the larger world plays out as a struggle for power between the Order and the Templars for the great cities of the Meditteranian.  Winning over power of these cities increases your income, and you even get refils of many grenade items periodically depending on what level of control you have of what city. For example, my Assassins are in full control of Jerusalem, Rhodes and a few other cities, and this nets me some extra income and virtually endless grenade supplies.  It is a completely optional side quest, but can greatly aid you throughout the game, especially considering that carelessly calling your Assassins into battle without proper training can swiftly end in their death, and requiring you to find a new candidate to train.

I'd like to quickly give credit where credit is due and say that Jesper Kyd has created some of my favorite gaming music ever throughout the Assassin's Creed franchise, and his work here in Revelations hold the banner up well.  While the soundtrack isn't quite as instantly memorable as some of his previous works, it is a great mix of the familiar and foreign, a constant reminder that Ezio is a player in a foreign land.  It blends in well with the surroundings, as it always had, and adds to the overall character of Constantinople itself.  I can't imagine playing this franchise without a different style of music, and was kind of afraid Revelations might take things down a bad path, but luckily my fears were misplaced.

While there is plenty of great gameplay to be had, Revelations added in some outright horrible new sections to the franchise.  The bad comes in with two new "modes" of the game that are, really, just attempts at knock offs of other far better games.  Each section of Constantinople is controlled by a den - do too many crimes, and your den will be attacked.  You then enter "Den Defense Mode", a tower defense game mode where waves of enemies come through an alleyway, and your archers and riflemen shoot them as they go by.  It isnt even a very good tower defense game - if you dont have a perfect setup near the end of it, a mega-enemy comes by and you wont be able to kill it in time to win.  Second of these sections are strange "Memory Recovery" modes meant to fill in a bunch of Desmond's backstory, which is really the only reason Desmond is in the game. These sections, though, are FPS platformer sections where you can randomly place floating geometric shapes in the air and walk on them.  It's like they were trying an otherworldly Portal where you just build bridges.  These sections control HORRIBLY, and really take a lot out of the game.

In fact, let me point out one thing about Desmond's sections of the game.  There is a very small hub world in which he inhabits called Animus Island, where one other character resides.  I wont name names, but he has assisted in guiding Desmond with a silent hand throughout the franchise.  His character model, though, is one of the strangest I have seen in some time.  He may be meant to look a bit crazy, sure, but his facial expressions ended up looking like someone in the middle of a sneeze mixed with that split second wince someone has right before they take a hit to the groin.  His role seems to have very little purpose in the game until very late, but he and this utterly random FPS esque mode adds more ammo to the Anti-Desmond camp who see his story as bogging down the franchise as a whole, and this time I can't really argue with that.

What really stings, though, is that these Desmond sections kind of take the place of what was my absolute favorite thing about this franchise - Glyph Hunting.  There are no glyphs to look for anymore.  These puzzles and the alternate-history story they told were some of the best parts of the franchise.  Without them, the entire game feels like it is already missing one of the main pillars on which it stands.  Sure, theres collecting a specific set of ten items for a superior set of armor, but the challenge of getting this game's "legendary armor" is nothing in comparason to what labors were needed to get, say, the Armor of Altair from AC2.  Much of the sense of exploration that makes this series so fantastic has been lost, perhaps a sad casualty of pushing this game's development through so many different Ubisoft studios at a single time.

The best thing that I can say about Revelations is that it is the Assassin's Creed universe seen through an interesting lens.  Constantiople gives the player a completely new, thriving city to travel and discover, and while perhaps not quite as interesting as Rome, it has a charm and pulse all its own.  Traversing this world is as interesting as ever, especially with the new Hookblade, but Revelations is not the game it could have been. Don't misinterpret this as me hating on the game, as I actually really liked Revelations, but that is also because I am a huge fan of the AC franchise as a whole.  If you aren't a big fan like I am, there is going to be very little to convince you to get this game.  Revelations is a game I can easily reccomend for the fans, as the story of Ezio as well as its convergence with that of Altair are an intriguing backdrop.  It is more of the same fun gameplay the franchise is known for, just weighed down by a, sadly, sizeable list of poor design choices.  It is a good game, but nothing near the game that I feel it could have been, and a pretty strong candidate for a new poster boy against annual releases.  

So, the official change log for AE 2012 has been released, and as expected, the highlights of the log are the major nerfs to Yun, Yang and Fei Long.  After skimming along the list, though, a few changes really caught my attention and got me excited about seeing how some of these new tweaks could have an effect on high level play.  This patch is apparently the final balace that SSF4 will have, and it looks like the playing field has the potential to be shaken up quite a bit with some of the new move properties introcuced.  Below, in no particular order, are the five characters I am looking forward to trying out in the new AE 2012 build the most.  I wont go over EVERY change each of these characters have, just the main ones that really grabbed my attention.  Also, i'm leaving out my main, Adon, as his tweaks just solidify his position as my main all the moreso.

JURI - While she has never been one of my main characters, Juri has always been fun to play as.  Juri's tweaks focus on two primary areas - her Fuhajin (charge kick) and Ultra 1.  Fuhajin's first kick motion got a 20 damage buff, up to 50 from 30, so a quick combo from her is going to sting that little extra amount every time.  Her Ultra 1 is really where things get interesting though - she may only get 1/3normal meter charge from some moves while the Feng Shui Engine is active, but her forward dash now covers more space when the move is active, which I think will throw off some opponents.  Most interestingly, EX Shikusen (dive kick) now has far different properties depending on which combination of kicks are used while in Feng Shui. More hit stun was added on to her Senpusha (pinwheel) to give her some more FADC potential as well.  Juri has the potential to be a much stronger offensive weapon than she already is.  Looking forward to seeing just how different Ultra 1 feels.  I've always felt that an U1 Juri is a far greater threat than an U2 Juri, and these tweaks should push some Juri players to switch up their ultra usage more often.

EVIL RYU - Hooray for this health buff.  Seriously, I already love playing as E.Ryu, so more health is awesome. I have called him SSF4's "proverbial glass cannon" in the past, but this buff from 850 to 900 Health and Stun will give him that extra sliver of health that could make or break a round.  As if everything about him and his moveset wasn't already screaming "attack, attack, attack", now he has a new set of tools that allow some fantastic corner pressure.  The one change that I really love is the new forward MK cancel.  He can now cancel this move into an Air Tatsu.  The corner pressure potential with this is astounding, as its now possible to do Foward MK>EX Tatsu>Medium or Heavy Ryusokuaku (axe kick) in the corner.  In fact, both of those versions of the axe kick can be used on a knocked back opponent now.  10 more damage to his sweep, 20 more for his Super, and for some interesting wakeup games, his target combo now knocks down.  Add in the fact that the charge time to do a full Ultra 1 has been shortened, and you have a character that I expect to see a great deal more of both online and in tournament play.

GOUKEN - I only really started messing around with Gouken a few months ago, but he quickly became one of my favorite characters to play as in the game.  I may be upset that Gouken's HP Senkugoshoha (palm strike) will not go nearly as far across screen as it used to, but all of the new tools Gouken has make for some fun possiblities.  The two most blatant changes are to his Super's startup (Forbidden Shoryuken only has a 3 frame starup now, way down from the previous 11 frames) and, of course, his Ultra 2, Denjin Hadouken.  Denjin now acts much more similar to the Denjin people know and love from Ryu in SF3: Third Strike - the move goes faster, charges in the same way as in Third Strike, and got a slight damage buff.  Add in an extended counter-hitbox to the MP and HP versions of his Kongoshin (counter), and the unexpected addition of making his Far MP special cancelable, and you have a character who already has a great damage output, but with a good number of new tools to fall back on.  Really looking forward to the new combo potential with that far standing MP>Gohadouken>FADC>so on will give.  Ultra 2 Goukens are exceedingly rare right now, but this patch should change that up for sure.

CODY - Let me get this out right away - I hate Cody.  I hate playing against Cody.  He confuses me.  I've never understood why some of his combos work even though they feel like they take a minute each to complete, or why he has such excelent anti-air normals, but I feel like his new additions in AE 2012 deserve a closer look.  Most of his changes are added hit stun when Cody is using his knife, which I really like.  A good Cody with a knife is kind of like playing Vega at times - that knife is going to hit you from much further away than you may anticipate.  Picking up the knife is also much safer now - you can block while doing so, or so it would at least seem.  His Bad Spray, the wakeup move where he tosses dirt at his opponent, is now special cancelable too.  This won't have an effect often in matches, but it's a strange trump card to add to Cody's already kind of random move set.  Oh, did I mention that his walk speed has been increased?  To me, that is his biggest change, for a high pressure Cody is already a frightening enough opponent to begin with.  Now he will be able to close in on you at a much faster rate - add in the knife, and you have a character who may be able to whittle your life away much quicker than one would think.

ONI - Again, health buff is a major game changer here.  Oni's health and stun are both up to a solid 1000 now, but what really draws me to him is summed up in three words - Airborne EX Tatsu.  Off of his air dash, an EX Tatsu now causes Oni to suddenly drop straight down towards the ground.  Can you imagine the crazy crossup game potential that this gives Oni?  The Air EX Tatsu is now a one-hit move that does 140 damage flat, so no worries about needing the move to hit multiple times to ensure damage.  The first hit of his second Target Combo, Back MP, is also less likely to screw up combos on crouched opponents.  The hitbox of the actual palm blast from his air dash was also made bigger.  Really, I already liked Oni, but a few more tools and this new crazy EX Tatsu are going to make what I consider a very good character all the more unpredictable.

I think this patch update has the most potential to really shake up the tier lists for AE more than any update to SF4 has beforehand.  Even the most minor of changes could make a character go from great to amazing (heres looking at you, Cammy), so you'll be sure to find me glued to my screen once this update is out, just so I can try to find every little new opportunity my favorite characters have.  How about yourselves, though - What are the real gamechangers here?  Who do you expect to be a contender that wasn't before?  For me, I expect to see quite a bit more of Evil Ryu and Gouken in the future, but only time (and the pros) will tell.

Where does one even begin with Skyrim?  It's plot?  It's game mechanics?  It's visuals and audio?  It's sheer, daunting scale?  This I can say for certain; Skyrim is the new crown jewel of Bethesda Game Studios' already stellar game catalogue.  It is the absolute sum of the lessons the developer has learned since the release of Oblivion; a grander, more epic, more beautiful game whos scale and dauntingly full-of-life world draws the player in like few other games have, if any.  Bethesda game veterans will find the game instantly accessable control wise, but they may be surprised with just how much better Skyrim is than it's predecessors.  In a season full of major hit titles week in and week out, Skyrim can stand tall and say that it very may well be the king amongst them.

Like the other games of the Elder Scrolls series, Skyrim places you into the boots of a new rising hero, a seemingly faceless member of the masses before fate bestows upon them a grand quest.  This time, you are a Dovahkiin, or "Dragon Born", one born with the soul of a dragon and blessed by the gods to do great things. Thus, you find yourself in the middle of the grand realm of Skyrim to do...well, whatever the heck you want to do.  Soon enough, one will discover that there is PLENTY to do in this world gone mad - people to help, bandit forts to eradicate, new powers to seek out, new skills to learn, and much much more  It's all quite frightening, really, to be presented with not only so many things to do, but so many different ways to play through this game.

Since the game takes place in the Nord's home realm of Skyrim, I took to playing a Nord in this runthrough. He is a thick skulled, stubborn, Nords-first warrior in heavy armor who lives and dies by the sword - or in his case, battle axe or hammer, by the name of Caoimín.  He is what I instantly imagined throughout the entire buildup to this game's release as a typical main character for this universe, so I just decided to go with it.  Half of what makes this game so astounding to me is the sheer multitude of ways one can decide to handle any given situation, or entire playthrough for that matter.  For instance, I use no magic.  At all.  Okay, only to heal myself, but thats virtually IT.  This means that despite however long I take to finish this game with this character, however many bandits are taken out, however many dragons are slain, that I will do it all over again just to play as a different type of character. Apart from these main choices - race, weapons, skills, armor - there is still a ton more to work towards in Skyrim.  Armor and weapon making, cooking, alchemy, enchantment, pick pocketing, and many more skills must be trained just as hard as swinging your sword in this world.  Without training a few core backup skills, you'll find yourself lagging behind the rest of the world. Trying to tackle it all at once is a fool's chore, so as I pointed out before, multiple playthroughs are pretty much demanded to get everything out of the game.

The game plays as you would expect an Elder Scrolls game to nowadays.  Melee combat is essentially unchanged, which is fine, add some new fun slow-mo kills taken straight from the pages of Fallout 3.  Magic, especially Destruction magic, really impresses though.  It is far evolved from the magic of Oblivion, feeling not only much more powerful, but much simpler to use.  The new Shouts, the ability granted only to the Dovahkiin, are the major separation in combat compared to Oblivion.  Shouts are the central focus of the game - seeking out new words is always your main goal, as these words grant your character powerful new abilities.  My current abilities grant me everything from breathing fire to throwing my voice across a room to confuse opponents.  What other shouts remain ahead of me to discover remains one of the driving forces that makes me keep wanting to play.  But to unlock new shouts, you must not just find the word.  You also must slay a dragon.

Oh yeah, have I not mentioned the Dragons yet?  The other major separation from previous Elder Scrolls titles, Dragons are your enemy.  I, personally, like to use the term "prey".  They will appear at random throughout the world, roaming the skys, seemingly in search of you, the only known Dragon Born (if there is another reason, I have not uncovered it yet).  Their roar will echo from the distance, they will soar across the sky, and suddenly the fight for life and death is on.  Being a ground-based player, a bow is my only choice to attempt to reach them while still in flight, but the fights are adrenaline pumping no matter how they are approached. There has been more than one occasion where a Dragon has ambushed me right after taking out a good number of bandits, so being in the wilderness of Skyrim is always tinted with excitement and danger.  Each time a Dragon is slain, you absorb its Soul.  Souls are used as a currency to activate Shout powers you have found.  Each power levels up three times once you find all three words that make up that Shout.  Thus far, even after all of my playing, I only have five powers and a total of ten words.  Obviously, I want more.

I have been playing the game on XBox 360, and this I knew from the start that I would be punished graphically for doing so from the start.  Seeing screenshots from the game being played on someone's top notch PC rig compared to my 360 does make me want to weep, but when you take into consideration the sheer scale of the game, especially when one is able to take a view of the grand wilderness, or see the Skyrim equivalent of the Northern Lights, you quickly begin to forget the graphical differences.  The world is so beautiful and inviting anyways that you barely notice.  The only time it really rears is head are the lower-res textures on many of the more complex objects, but nonetheless, everything is usually moving too fast for you to notice.  Still, I would have wished to see an install to the HDD increase the graphics.  I can hope for a patch in the future, maybe.

As I was playing for the first few hours, my expectations had already been blown away in nearly all categories but one.  Music.  I started to think "I really liked the music in Oblivion, theres no way I can like the music in this game more".  Then I got into my first Dragon fight.  War drums pounded, deep voiced chanted, and I suddenly felt like I was being a part of the most epic moment in history this portion of Tamriel had ever endured.  I then left to trade in some new items for coin to Skyrim's central city, Whiterun.  I listened as a calm, repetitious yet powerful song began to build as I traveled the streets.  Suddenly, the life pulsing through Whiterun's streets seemed all the more powerful, all the more real.  And let me say, the world is truly alive. People dont just stand around anymore.  They have jobs, and they do their jobs.  They train, they small talk, they argue.  If there is one place that Bethesda has truly expanded on in their games over the past few years, it is making the worlds seem as true to life as possible.  The fact that people have a schedule and do their jobs and live their lives in this world is a testament to the design prowess that permiates every little part of this game.

Skyrim, of course, does have the glitches that seem to come with every open world game.  Every now and then speaking to someone will become a difficult chore as the menu wont act correctly.  Sometimes a character will walk through a door or seem to get stuck in a wall.  One moment in particular that made me laugh was when I was ordered to take the head of a witch - the game replaced her character model with a new headless one, but something went awry and the body was launched across the room and into a fireplace for some reason.  I laughed, but these little bugs are a part of what makes these open world games so memorable.  Sure, sometimes they are frustrating and there is even the occasional crash (ive had only one), but some of the most entertaining moments of the game are sometimes caused by these bugs, and they create memories that allow us to just remember the game all the more fondly.

Skyrim is one hell of an achievement.  From the world's design to the intense combat to the incredible audio direction, this game has a ton of heart and soul in it.  Despite the fact that I am nowhere near complete with the game, it has already been the single most enjoyable gaming experience of the year thus far for me, and with few contenders remaining, has a strong chance of being my favorite game of this year.  

I wrote an article earlier this month asking of 2011 was the best year in gaming history.  The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, in my opinion, has absolutely cemented it as so.

Heading into Uncharted 3, developer Naughty Dog had a gargantuan hill to climb.  Their previous entry in the series not only brought the Uncharted series into the world of modern gaming royalty, but legitimately reinvented the action game.  This time around, everything had to be bigger and better than ever before, and I found myself questioning wether or not it was even possible for a game to be more action packed than Uncharted 2 was.  Had Naughty Dog built up expectations to a point where there was no way they could be reached?  Would Uncharted 3 move the series forward or was it impossible for lightning to strike twice?

Uncharted 3 throws us right back into the misadventures of treasure hunter Nathan Drake and his partner/mentor Victory Sullivan (aka Sully) in their quest to find the next great treasure.  This time around, a figure from the past come forward in the form of Katherine Marlowe, a more distinguished villaness for than the Uncharted series is used to, but no less cuthroat than the others.  I won't spoil the plot details, but the fact that there is a strong personal bond between the heroes and the villain this time around make for a very compelling plot, one that drives the player forward much moreso than that of the previous two entries.  Nate's continual effort to push onward throughout the game truly feels driven by his emotions and his desire to deny Marlowe her goals.

Fantastic motion-capture and vocal perfomances by the game's main cast of course help bring the game to life, but Uncharted 3's attention to detail is really what makes it thrive.  Animations are fluid, game environments are vast and intricately detailed, and yet rarely does one ever get lost.  I also love that Uncharted 3's level designs have the kind of diversity that one would expect from a Mario game.  Each of the games environments is painstakingly crafted to create the absolute most immersive experience that could be offered.  I cannot think of another game other than perhaps God of War 3 that has a scale as large and yet remains so infinitely detailed.  The characters themselves are also expertly crafted - you can really see each small eye movement as one enters a brand new area to explore or each thread Nate's garb move according to the wind.  Fire and water, known as two of the hardest things to deal with when creating a video game, are central to some of the game's moments, and do not take the player out of the moment at all.  I've played games that I have loved that have been slightly tarnished by poor visual effects design, but there is not a game on the market right now, at least on consoles, that has the consistant visual excellence and diversity of Uncharted 3, and that alone makes the game one of the greats of this generation.

Of course, what everyone came to the party for was the gameplay, and I can assure you readers that the gameplay in Uncharted 3 is better than ever.  It's shooting mechanics remain similar to those of the previous games in the series, and there really isn't a problem with that.  It is the absolutely non stop, insane platforming that really defines the Uncharted series, and this third entry doesn't dissapoint.  The climax of the game's 7th chapter, for example, is an amazingly action packed race for your life, the kind of action that completely eclipses the climax of most other video games.  Death is right at your heels the entire time, and a single slip up is all it takes for it to catch up, yet the player knows exactly what to do.  It is one of those high pressure, high risk platforming moments that Uncharted seems to have mastered, and that all other games in the genre now have to look to as par for the course.  However, Uncharted 3 attempts to throw a bit of stealth into the game every now and then, and it's a nice change of pace to go from running for your life in one level to suddenly becoming the apex predator in the next.  You do not have to be stealthy in these sections, but it feels incredibly satisfying to eliminate everyone in quite a large area in complete silence.

Everything about Uncharted 3 is an attempt at perfection.  Naughty Dog set out to create the most polished, the most atmospheric, and the most action packed entry in the series, and in these respects they have absolutely succeeded.  The level design is absolutely brilliant, gameplay is better tuned than ever, and yet I find myself more focused on the characters themselves.  My theory is that Naughty Dog knew that they could succeed in their level design and platforming - heck, they proved it with Uncharted 2, so the only thing to do was to go bigger and better.  This time, the area of the game that seems to have had the most evolution is it's plot.  While each of the three Uncharted games could stand on its own as an individual story, the sense of history and emotion behind Nate's actions this time around gives the game an interesting feel.  Moreso than ever, you want Nate to succeed.  You want to solve this puzzle and help him move forward.  You want to know what will happen next to our characters in a way neither of this entry's predicessors could.

It is nearly impossible at this point to not compare the Uncharted trillogy to that of Indiana Jones, but really, that isn't so bad of a thing.  Beyond crafting one of the most complete gaming experiences of my life, Naughty Dog has created a core cast of characters that will stay in my memory for years to come.  Is Uncharted 3 a perfect game?  No, as there is no such thing, but Nathan Drake is not going to be giving up his crown in the action adventure genre for some time to come.  It will be very interesting to see how the new Tomb Raider reboot answers this game, because to be brutally honest, I just don't think anyone can top the Uncharted series on its own turf right now.  Uncharted 3 is, in a word, a masterpiece, and a game that I believe every PS3 owner absolutely must have in their library.  It's that good.

So the Grand Theft Auto 5 (GTAV) trailer has been released, and as expected, we appear to be returning to San Andreas.  The trailer shows off some amazing graphics and hints at what has the potential to be the most original plot in GTA history, and lets face it, this is GTA, so the entire gaming world is in a frenzy over this.  Although it is FAR to early on to say "yes" or "no" to wether or not I will be getting this game (heavily leaning towards "yes" still despite my few qualms), I will say that the trailer has already dashed my two greatest hopes for the game.

GTA4 is an incredible game.  Great attention to detail, fun plot, fantastic gameplay (could use a little more direction in the shooting department, but heck, it was still amazing), but GTA4 was game that started to move the series away from what I feel makes GTA great.  While the visit back to Liberty City was a fantastic one, I was really REALLY hoping that GTAV was going to head into some brand new territory.  I wanted a new city, somewhere to traverse that Rockstar had not yet already covered once.  Sure, the last time we visited San Andreas was the better part of eight years ago, but I was hoping to see us traverse outside of the US, perhaps to London or Dublin or even Paris.  Yes, I know London was covered before, but never in a true 3D GTA game, and London would offer a very Ritch(ie) experience for plot and character development.  Plus, making American gamers learn to drive on the other side of the road would be hilarious.

My other major letdown is the games chronological setting - the present.  If I were forced to choose only one GTA game to play for the rest of my days, Vice City is hands down my choice.  The intense focus that Rockstar had on setting the game's atmosphere firmly in the mid 80s made for an interesting and hilarious setting.  Whenever Rockstar looks into the past with the GTA series, their ability to critique and mock our former social norms and trends ensures a story that, at least for me, stays in memory for far longer than that of their two "modern" forrays in Libery City.  While both "modern" GTA games keep that patented GTA sense of humor along with them, both Vice City and San Andreas were far greater at developing memorable set pieces and characters, simply because there was a far greater understanding of what would influence those moments and those involved with them (look at the end of San Andreas, for example).

Don't get me wrong, I cannot wait to see how Rockstar has us humiliate their version of Snooki or Kim Kardashian, plus I am sure the gameplay will be tighter than ever, but this trailer leaves a sour taste in my mouth.  With Saints Row: The Third stepping up their game to levels of madness that GTA has never even ventured, I was hoping that Rockstar would try to fight fire with fire and make GTAV just as crazy.  My dream GTA is one set in London in the 60's and interest in London culture was just beginning to flourish.  Can you imagine what Rockstar would do with a setting like that?  Still, I feel that the "sandbox" genre has now been firmly divided into the generally more serious side of things (Rockstar Games, GTA4, LA Noire, Red Dead) and the sillier side of things (Volition Inc, Saints Row/Avalanche, Just Cuase 2).  And to be honest...I like the sillier side of things a little bit more.

Will I be buying GTAV?  Absolutely, its a GTA game.  Am I going to enjoy it's setting more than that of Saints Row: The Third?  I, surprisingly, doubt it.

Let's take a deep breath...and...go.

Dead Space 2, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Killzone 3, Crysis 2, Mortal Kombat, Portal 2, L.A. Noire, The Witcher 2...

And all of this was before June.

2011 has been an absolutely sublime year for gamers.  No matter what your taste, no matter which console (or PC) you play on, these past ten months have been mindblowingly stellar.  With the biggest games of the year just around the corner, I find myself taking a look at this years monstrous collection of games and asking myself - has there ever been a better time to be a gamer?  Not just for new games, but the gaming scene as a whole.  From the matchmaking of Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition to the halls of MLG events throughout the country, to the explosion of the popularity of the IPL, we have seen incredible growth in quality, coverage, and overall spirit in the gaming community.

Again, I ask myself: Is 2011 the greatest year in the history of gaming?  There are plenty of strong years to contend with: 1991 with the releases of Sonic, Street Fighter 2,Super Mario World and Battletoads just to name a few - 1993 saw NBA Jam, Mortal Kombat 2, SSF2, Sonic CD and of course, Doom -  1998 saw a trifecta of killer titles in Ocarina of Time, Half-Life and Metal Gear Solid, with solid showings by two little games called Starcraft and Tekken 3 - there is some very stiff competition to go up against.  I still feel, however, that 2011 has a very good shot at being remembered as gaming's crown jewel.

The Games

2011 had a great start with Little Big Planet 2 and Dead Space 2 being released right away in January, and really, the games have not let up one bit.  I can't remember a time before this as a gamer where month after month, on a steady basis, quality game after quality game was released.  From Killzone 3 to Portal 2, Mortal Kombat to Catherine, Gears of War 3 to Arkham City, there has been a constant stream of fantastic gaming fed to us over the past few months, with plenty more amazing games coming our way.  The next month alone will see Battlefield 3, Uncharted 3, Skyrim, Assassin's Creed: Revelations AND a brand new Zelda.  I dare anyone who considers themselves a gamer to look at the game library of 2011 and not find at least a handful of games that they truly enjoyed.

For me, I love that there has been a fantastic focus on storytelling in gaming this year.  My most recent completed game, Arkham City, is a shining example of this (far from the only example, but its the freshest in my mind).  The care taken to flesh out every small detail of the story, to delve deeper into the minds of Batman and his pantheon of supporting characters, from the corny to the deranged to the outright psychopathic, is truly awe inspiring.  And for me to know that this is nowhere near the end - that some of the best stories of the year still have yet to be told - has me salivating.

Story, of course, isnt everything in gaming.  Heck, they're called GAMES, so they had better play well, and boy have they.  Portal 2 saw brilliant level design backed up by some of the funniest dialogue this side of...well...Portal.  El Shaddai: Ascention of the Metatron (no shock if you havent heard of it) has some of the greatest artistic design of any game in history.  Nothing gets me going like those few moments waiting to see if your ultra has actually landed against your opponent in SSF4: Arcade Edition.  I could go on and on, but I think I've made my point clear: game designers brought their A game this year, and I await to see how they will attempt to top themselves with their next creations.

The Culture

Now, part of this may be that I moved to SoCal this past January, but has there been a time where gaming culture has been so...big?  I don't want to use the term mainstream, but before I moved to LA, I'd never seen a full billboard for a video game - this year alone I have seen them for at least six games.  In fact, looking out the window of my office right now, I can see a gigantic poster for Battlefield 3, which will be released a mere 4 minutes from now.  Gaming is slowly making its way closer and closer to mainstream culture, and further away from the negative connotations that seem to have historically haunted gaming and its audience.  Gaming is starting to be accepted for what I have seen it as for years - a legitimate medium, an artistic expression of the team behind it, and one of the best storytelling mediums ever devised.  But gaming's steady change over the year goes beyond just its marketing and its quality - its audience is evolving as well.

With events like MLG, IPL, Devastation, Evolution, and the plethora of other tournaments that have made their way to us over the net over the course of the year, we have seen an explosion of high level gaming coverage on a scale never before known.  Pro Gaming reached a new height, a new level of excitement that I never thought it would reach so quickly, and that excites me.   Who knows where pro gaming will go next, or how its coverage will continue to grow, but I'm sure that pro gaming is about to reach heights that even two years ago observers would have scoffed at.

I remember sitting outside at a restaraunt with a few friends here in LA and overhearing a discussion a few tables over - two business types talking about budget cuts for a few projects their group was working on.  Like my spider sense going off, I distinctly heard them mention "Starcraft" more than once, and started to listen in.  Suddenly, I realized they were planning their weekend and which of their houses they were going to watch replays of the GSL.  Two men, two unassuming business types, discussing their pro gaming viewing schedule.  My mind, needless to say, was blown, but in a fantastic way.  To hear discussions about HuK's most recent games in casual sidewalk chat is one of the most pleasureable moments of my gaming life, and my greatest hope is for it to become even more widespread.

The Future

As we near the end of 2011, we have yet to see the releases of some of the biggest games of the year.  Perhaps just as important, however, is the news we've recieved in the past twelve months about the next twelves months.  Ask yourself: as much as you've loved 2011's gaming schedule, are you not anticipating the games of 2012 just as much?  A new SSX game?  Final Fantasy XIII-2?  Twisted Metal?  Mass Effect 3?  Max Payne 3?  Street Fighter X Tekken?  Soul Calibur 5?  Diablo 3?  These are all slated to be out by the end of MARCH!  If these are the kinds of games we have to expect in the first quarter of 2012, what else do we have in store?

Sure, the Kinect and PSMove may have fallen flat, but I see a great deal of potential with the control scheme of the WiiU.  With Nintendo's next howitzer all set to fire, it only comes natural that Sony and Microsoft are going to have their responses sooner rather than later.  Sony is also going to release the PS Vita in February, which will introduce us all to a new form of handheld gaming (best of luck going head to head with the 3DS).  Pro gaming will only keep growing in scale and popularity.  I really can't overemphasize how excited I am for 2012 and how gaming will continue to evolve during the next year.

If the past year has taught me anything, it is that gaming is ever changing.  I have fallen in love with gaming as a medium, and don't see myself slowing up any time soon.  I'm going to do my best to try to keep up with it, but with all of this excelence smacking me back and forth, it may soon prove to be difficult.  But back to my main question: is 2011 the greatest year in gaming history?  I'd make a strong argument that it is, but it is always difficult to look back on something when it's history is so recent.  Come two or three years from now, when we look back, we may have a better scope of how important these twelve months have been to gaming as a whole, but for now, I'm certain that I haven't been looking forward to a four week period of game releases quite like I am right now.

A deluge of SFxT news has come to us from New York Comic Con, including a tenative release date of March 6th (just before my birthday!).  The most interesting news, though, comes in the form of an explanation of the game's new "Gem System", which acts as a system to equip specific buffs to characters before the match begins.  Yoshihiro Ono has directly compared the system to "Magic: The Gathering", which is sure to pique the interest of more than a few gamers.  Examples that have made their way around the 'net include auto blocks, auto techs and of course, overall damage buffs.  The reaction to Gems has been, at best, mixed, with some loving the level of customization and fun randomness that they could add to the game, others feeling it is a tacky add-on that just futher dilutes the core fighting mechanics.  Which side do I fall on?  Well...I'm kinda in the middle.

What I am about to say, as a huge fan of fighting games, may greatly dissapoint some readers, but its about time the world knows.  I like playing Smash Bros.  In fact, I love playing Smash Bros.  I don't consider it a fighting game, but I still consider it a highly competitive, entertaining game.  One of the things I love about playing Smash Bros is the randomness of it, the sheer insanity of what can happen when a new item comes into play and everyone makes a mad dash for it, or when one tweaks the game's gravity to make falling take three times longer than usual.  I am of the belief that it is this feeling of randomness, this feeling of the unknown, that Capcom is trying to dig into with the Gem System.  Adding in elements to a fighting game that are unfamiliar gives an air of mystery to the gameplay, and I'm sure that I will be playing plenty of random matches with friends with Gems activated just for laughs.

At the same time, though I do fear that the game is starting to become inaccessable to new players.  Any tag team fighter has the potential to scare off potential players with it's depth of gameplay and long, specific combos, i.e. the Marvel series.  Adding in both Pandora Mode (which more than one high level player has said is essentially worthless) and the Gem System might be too much for the casual player to handle, and rather than learn how to use these systems, will just drop the game altogether.  In addition, unless Capcom finds a perfect balance of buffs to put into these Gems, someone somewhere is going to find a collection of jems that makes certain characters near unbeatable.  The effects of these Gems do stack on each other, so three +10% Attack Power gems active at once DO potentially give a +30% damage boost.  Imagine what this could mean with high damage characters like Hugo, especially if he were in Pandora Mode.

High level players have nothing to really worry about.  Unless Capcom are the greatest collection of fools this planet has seen, they will add options to turn off Gems during gameplay altogether.  I understand fighting games and their mechanics (i'd never call myself a top player, but I do love me some fighters), but casual players have the potential of being frightened off by all of the bells and whistles that keep being added on to the game.  The core gameplay has been described as some of the best in fighting history, which I eagerly look forward to, but Capcom should take notice:  

What we want a fighting game to feel like is this - 

Not this - 

Looking at the lineup of video games coming our way over the next two months, one prominent game series will wait until near the very end of this gaming season to rear its head and mark its territory.  The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is the first Zelda game designed completely with the Nintendo Wii in mind (unlike Twilight Princess, which saw mirrored releases on both Gamecube and Wii), and is honestly one of the games I am most looking forward to.  With it's main draw being the new 1:1 Wiimote sword swinging, and the fanboy bait of this game being confirmed as the earliest game in Zelda's historically confusing timeline, this game is certainly going to be a hot seller this holiday season.

One argument I constantly hear from an anti-Zelda stance is that of change, or lack there of it.  The Zelda franchise has seen hardly any major gameplay innovations since the release of Ocarina of Time, and it's not much of a surprise there hasn't been much change.  Ocarina of Time is widely regarded as one of the best, if not the single greatest video game ever made.  In fact, despite 13 years having passed since its release, there still has not been a video game released since Ocarina that has amassed a better average review score (just look at the "All-Time Best" tab on Gamerankings.com).  Still, the fact that the overall control scheme of the franchise has not changed much since then understandably irks some gamers.  Where is the innovation?  Where is the sense of wonder and amazement that Ocarina gave us the first time we saw Hyrule Field?  Or...maybe, and to our greatest fears, can we never reach that point of euphoria ever again within the Zelda franchise?

I'll admit, I do not see many faults with the franchise.  I am quite fine with the control scheme as it is and would prefer to see Skyward Sword's designers work more on the design of the world, which they seem to have done, than risk trashing a very solid, familiar control scheme for a new, experimental one.  But once I am finished with Skyward Sword, once I have defeated evil (again) and saved the princess (again), I may very well raise my voice with others to call for a major revamp of Zelda.  But what could be changed?  What could be done to the gameplay to really make things different?

1 - Jumping

Link is somewhat famous for his inability to let his feet move more than two feet off of the ground without disaster soon following after.  Sure, Link can jump by running towards the edge of most pieces of land and bravely leaping, plus he has his infamous jumping slash, but really?  That is it?  Not since the days of Roc's Feather and/or Cape have we seen Link have any substantial leaping ability, and we have NEVER really seen it in any of Link's 3D adventures.  Can you IMAGINE how the level design of Zelda would change with jumping?  I say that Zelda needs some serious, old school platforming.  It doesn't need to be a "jump" button, per se, maybe a new style of boots or an item that can somehow make you levitate upwards temporarily would do the job nicely.  Retreading old areas for secret items, leaping over a broken bridge to get to a new area, the possiblities are nearly endless.  Plus, boss fights would suddenly have a whole new level of defensive and offensive tactics with the potential of jumping up platforms to get to a boss' weak point or leaping over low sweeping attacks or shockwaves. 

If anyone could teach Nintendo how to make platforming fun and interesting in a 3D gamespace, its Retro. Retro has already proved it can be done amazingly, and as a plus, they proved it with a Nintendo character with the Prime trillogy.  They've been trusted with nearly every other major Nintendo franchise, most recently with the soon-to-be-released Mario Kart 7, so maybe it's time Nintendo let a fresh pair of eyes fall upon the land of Hyrule and mold it as they see fit.

2 - A Cog in the Machine

What if Link weren't some nobody who suddenly became a destined hero?  What if he didn't start off a quest as a total newbie to the world of swordplay and adventuring?  Give us a Link who is already a grizzled war veteran who is a part of a much larger war effort.  He may not be known by name in the population, but I would love to see a Zelda game with a slightly older, already well trained hero.  Let him have already been a part of a war which is still straining Hyrule to the brink.  The Zelda Universe has always focused on the struggles of a man aganst the forces of darkness, but what if Link had to fight other men?  The possible storylines are seemingly endless, ESPECIALLY if Link were dropped into the middle of a civil war where he had to choose sides (can you imagine a Renegade Link?).  Zelda loves to play with the idea of men grasping for Power...hell, thats the Triforce piece that Gannondorf was blessed with.  Why not have this desire for power spread out in ways Zelda has never dealt with?

Sure, mankind (or should I be saying Hyrule-kind) would likely eventually join forces to fight a much more daunting, dark threat on the horizon, but I love the idea of some more political and military intrigue added to the mix.  Alliances, rivalries, trade of items, plus a veteran Link who already knows how to hold a sword and shield better than most...I would love that kind of twist.

3 - A Long and Winding Road

Every dungeon in Zelda has always worked the same way - enter dungeon, solve puzzles, get new useful item that will solve previous unsolveable puzzles, rinse, repeat.  What if Link didn't get nearly as many items?  What if he had to use his surroundings more often to find solutions rather than what he has stored away?  This idea primarily came to be when I first noticed the use of Deku Sticks in Ocarina to light torches, and the similar way fire was moved about in ICO.  Why does Link need to have sticks as an item?  Why can't he just find them around?  I say lets have less item equipping and more item finding, a-la bomb plants, but in a much more diverse fashion.  For that matter, why do dungeons have to be completed as a singular level?  I've always thought that the sense of adventure would increase dramatically if things weren't always so straightforward for our hero.

Here's a potential example: Dungeon A requires you to have Item A, lets say a bow, to complete.  As you keep moving around the dungeon, having explored every single room, you discover that the bow isn't in that dungeon.  It is in Dungeon B.  You must go there, conquer as much of Dungeon B until you get Item A (the bow), return to Dungeon A, and beat it's boss.  What if that boss had Item B necessary to defeat Dungeon B?  The sense of exploration would suddenly increase expodentially, where you would be unsure if you had an adequate set of equipment to conquer every new area you access.

4 - Hero of a Generation

Now this may just be me, but Zelda games feel short.  Not short in gameplay terms, no, but short in terms of how much time passes in a single game.  Majora's Mask is really the only exception to the rule, as you get a perfect idea of just how long three days last in Termina, and some could say Ocarina does as well with its seven year gap, but what about the entire adventure?  How long did it take from Link waking up seven years older before he finally defeated Ganon in Ocarina?  Was it a matter of days, or did it take weeks, or even years?

I suggest a Zelda title where you really, deeply get a sense of time passing.  Not just a few days or weeks, but years passing as your adventure goes on.  You'll see children become adults, young saplings become enormous trees, villages that may be plundered slowly get rebuilt.  This would of course progress as you ventured further and further into the game's storyline, and the passing of time would be triggered by certain events, but I have always been bothered by how it feels like Link somehow figures out not only how to get into, but complete every dungeon in a very short amount of time.  I'd love to see our hero age along with the world around him - or maybe not, maybe he'd be cursed with infinite youth by the gods until his quest is comple, while the world around him still finds itself unable to do anything about the effects of time.  Either way, it would be a compelling way to further deepen the relationship between the hero and the citizens of Hyrule.

5 - Duh, It's Called "Zelda"

Now I know that this will seem like a copout, but we should by now be able to play as Zelda.  Not for a little bit, or for a slight portion of a boss fight - Zelda should be starring in her own game by now.  Heck, even Peach of Mario fame has her own game, so why not Zelda?  I know, I know, many of you may be going "Link is the Hero, Zelda is the Princess.  You.  Save.  Princesses."  And this is a fine argument, as it has become a strong staple of the Zelda franchise.  But there is one thing about Zelda as a character that has irked me since Ocarina of Time...

Zelda can fight.  And not just put up a little bit of a fight.  Ever since she first appeared in 3D, Zelda has been a KEY fighter in the franchise.  In Ocarina, she took the role of Sheik and evaded Gannondorf and his minions for years, and likely had to fight some of them off at times.  In Wind Waker, her reincarnation is that of a pirate captain who has clearly seen her fair share of naval battles.  Twilight Princess sees a Zelda who actively takes a part in fighting against the great evil plaguing her lands.  In ALL THREE of these cases, Zelda also plays an absolutely crucial role in the final boss battles of these respective games, often as a combatant.  Let's see Nintendo think up a Zelda who is more than just a princess, perhaps a captain of the guard as well, or maybe we should stick with her magical abilities.  It's possible that a game could work much in the same way as Muramasa: The Demon Blade - two playable characters whos stories often interact and are inveitably joined before the great battle.  

The Zelda franchise is one that I love and one that I eagerly look forward to continue playing, but in much the way Sonic the Hedgehog failed because of strange choices as well as a lack of innovation, I fear that Zelda may soon start to head down that path.  I imagine Skyward Sword will be the last of its era, of the "Ocarina"-esque Zeldas, before major gameplay overhauls are added for the WiiU, for if they are not I fear we will see a franchise whose luster will really start to lose its allure.

GLHF.tv are proud to announce that we shall be working with Dreamhack to cover the Dreamhack Starcraft 2 BYOC Tournaments this weekend (18th-20th June). The winner and runner up of the first BYOC on Saturday will win a place into the main tournament at Dreamhack. The other BYOC tournaments will have cash prize of 6000SEK which amounts to roughly $926 and a place into the Dreamhack winter main tournament for the winner, and the runner up wins product prizes.

Dreamhack are taking the Starcraft 2 scene really seriosuly, and have in turn have asked for GLHF.tv to provide high quality coverage of these tournaments.

So make sure you tune into GLHF.TV for all the action, and of course, epic commentary as always from Leon, Martijn & Eleine.

Look forward to seeing you all there. Good Luck & Have Fun