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living the dream since March 16, 2006

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[ Chad Concelmo's blog ]

3:16 PM on 05.14.2009

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT ALERT! E3 Predictions
Chad Concelmo	62 comments

Hey, everyone!

Have I told you lately that I love you?
Have I told you there's no one else above you?
FILL MY HEART WITH GLADNESS, TAKE AWAY ALL MY SADNESS!
EASE MY TROUBLES, THAT�S ...

*ahem*

Sorry about that.

For this year�s E3 I am putting together a rather fun predictions post. I don�t want to give anything away and ruin the surprise, but as I was putting everything together I realized I would love to get the community involved as much as possible! THAT�S YOU!

What I need are YES/NO questions about some of the most interesting rumors/topics surrounding the anticipated show. (Obviously the more creative, the better.)

And while funny questions are always welcome, I would love most of them to be serious and things that you are genuinely curious about.

For example:

-Even though Ubisoft announced there will be no Beyond Good & Evil at the show, will a playable version of Beyond Good & Evil 2 make a surprise appearance?

-Will Nintendo announce a sequel to Super Mario Galaxy during their press conference?

-Will Nintendo reveal official footage of the in-progress Pikmin 3 for the Wii?

-Will Nintendo shed some light on its long-rumored new Kid Icarus game?

-WILL NINTENDO ACTUALLY MAKE ME HAPPY THIS YEAR?!

Obviously you see where my curiosity lies.

YES/NO questions are preferable, but you can throw in some basic answer ones as well.

Such as:

-How many booth babes will take off their tops by the mere sight of Dale North?

I am also looking for an equal amount of Nintendo/Microsoft/Sony inquiries, so keep that in mind when coming up with your ideas.

This is going to be super fun and I am really excited, so POST AWAY! As I mentioned in my ballad earlier, I love all of you and thank everyone in advance for your, what I am sure will be, amazing ideas.

<3

3:32 PM on 04.13.2009

Round One! Polar bear vs. stupid woman! FIGHT!
Chad Concelmo	56 comments

Remember Knut, the cutest German polar bear cub since God invented cute German polar bear cubs? Well, some crazy ass woman jumped in the water surrounding his pen at the Berlin Zoo this past weekend.

Yup. I�m not kidding. The woman jumped in to swim with the cute looking bear because she thought it was a good idea.

Guess what happened?

THE POLAR BEARS TRIED TO EAT HER!!

Here are some freaky (although secretly amazing) pictures of what went down.

"Oh look, it's Knut! HE'S SO CUTE!"

"I LOVE YOU, KNUT!"

"OMG KNUT, WHY?! WHY?!"

A crowd full of facepalms.

And here is video of kind zoo patrons trying to pull her bloody, mauled body out of the water.

Seriously? Did this really happen? Is there a woman out there this idiotic? I can understand if she fell in for some strange reason, but, no, the woman actually willingly jumped in because she loves Knut.

Ugh.

I guess the moral of the story is this: When at the zoo, DON�T BE AN ASSHOLE!
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11:06 AM on 03.07.2009

Don't ask, don't tell
Chad Concelmo	66 comments

I can�t tell you how I got this, but it involved a tuna fish sandwich, four paraplegic prostitutes, the soundtrack to The Little Mermaid, David Faustino, a shirtless Chinese boy, and a handful of bruised old ladies.

It was all worth it, though. This game is freakin� amazing.
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12:30 PM on 02.23.2009

Swimming with dolphins: A journey in pictures
Chad Concelmo	127 comments

First off, I have to thank the Destructoid community for everything you are about to read. Without you guys this never would have happened, so � thank you from the bottom of my heart. <3

As some of you may know, I got to fulfill a lifelong dream of mine this past Saturday: swimming with dolphins.

A few months back a large handful of Destructoid community members chipped it to buy me a birthday present in the form of an Interactive Dolphin Program at Sea World in San Diego.

It was the greatest experience of my entire life.

But let�s start at the beginning.

Honestly, everything from the minute I woke up until I arrived at Sea World was a giant OMG blur. It goes without saying that I was in an extremely happy mood.

But don�t take my word for it. Let these pictures speak for themselves:

OMG I GET TO SWIM WITH DOLPHINS TODAY!

OMG SHOWER!

OMG GETTING DRESSED!

OMG CEREAL!

OMG WALKING MY DOG LUNA!

OMG BRUSHING MY TEETH!

OMG DRIVING TO SAN DIEGO!

OMG MORE DRIVING!

OMG SOME MORE DRIVING!

Boo, traffic.

OMG THE TRAFFIC IS GONE!

OMG GAS!

OMG I�M ALMOST THERE!

OMG I PARKED IN LOT E3!

OMG THE ENTRANCE TO SEA WORLD!

OMG I AM ONLY A FEW STEPS AWAY!

And then I arrived.

The Dolphin Interactive Program.

Once I checked in I was placed in a group with five other people (more on something amazing relating to this later) and brought into a classroom.

Here, we learned a little about dolphins, including what they eat (rainbows!), where they live (an undersea kingdom!), and who is destined to be their king (me!). Seriously, though, the classroom portion was basically just a refresher course on what not to do when handling a dolphin: poke it in its eye, stick your hand in its mouth, or cover its blowhole. Thankfully, I was not planning on doing any of those three things.

Once the class was over, our group was led into a locker room, where I promptly changed into my wetsuit.

I wanted to run right into the GIANT TANK FULL OF DOLPHINS that was only a few feet away, but, sadly, I had to wait for the entire group to get ready.

Okay, now what I am about to tell you is super embarrassing. But we are all family and you would never laugh at me for this, right? Right?

As we walked to the ladder to descend into the GIANT TANK FULL OF DOLPHINS I actually stopped myself because I started feeling a little strange. The rest of the group was lowering themselves into the freezing cold water and I was just standing there like an idiot.

All of a sudden I realized what was happening: I was bawling like a four-year-old girl.

Oh, yeah. No joke. I was so emotional about getting in the water with the creatures I have been obsessed with since I was a little kid that I just lost it.

The trainer (Kelly) asked me if I was okay and I think I made up some lame excuse that something was stuck in my eye. But instead of saying that, it came out of my mouth sounding something like this: �Zi�m pine. I zust fink I *sniff* has zomethink *sniff* stick un my eyebz.�

Ugh.

Once I pulled myself together I threw caution to the wind and just hopped right into the water (screw you, ladder!). I saw the trainer do that as well and wanted to do anything I could to be like her.

The entire session lasted for about an hour, but I swear it is hard to remember the details. I was in such a haze of happiness that I could barely focus on anything.

As a group, we got to swim with the dolphins (a mother and daughter pair that were the cutest things I have ever seen), get pushed around the tank by the dolphins, feed the dolphins, train the dolphins, and pet the dolphins. I, naturally, reached out and tried to pet the amazingly smart creatures every time they passed by us -- all this to the chagrin of the trainer (sorry, Kelly!).

Sadly, I could not bring my camera with me so I was at the mercy of some of the Sea World employees to grab a few shots as I was in the tank. While I would have loved to have more shots of me swimming in the water with the dolphins, the employees did a great job of getting some pretty memorable pictures.

I won�t bore you will all of them, but here are a few of my favorites:

Um, yeah ... that's me and a dolphin.

The dolphin is making the Chad face. My God, could this day have been any more amazing?!

And now for some of the highlights (well, the ones I remember/were conscious for):

-I got to train the mother and daughter dolphins on my own once. Using a simple hand motion, I instructed them to swim to the other end of the tank and return to me �walking� on the water with their tails. Yup, doing that made me cry again. :/

-Every time you kissed the mother dolphin on the head it would make this ridiculously cute sound -- kind of like a baby laughing. It was amazing.

-One of the guys in my group contacted the Sea World people beforehand and had them put a note in a giant plastic bottle that the dolphins use for a toy. During the training, the dolphin brought the bottle to this guy�s girlfriend. She opened the bottle and read the note. THE NOTE ASKED HER TO MARRY HIM! There was even a ring attached! You better believe I cried after this happened! Note to whoever is going to propose to me someday: this is how it needs to happen.

I obviously don�t need to say that Saturday was the best day of my entire life. I truly feel like my life changed after the experience of swimming with the dolphins. Call me overdramatic, I don�t care. You can call me anything you want! I got to swim with dolphins and I am so freakin� happy!

Thanks again to the people that made this happen. There aren�t enough smiley face emoticons to express my eternal gratitude. :)
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1:13 PM on 02.11.2009

February 21st will be the greatest day of my life
Chad Concelmo	57 comments

Back in September, a group of Destructoid community members (a.k.a. the greatest human beings that have ever lived) pooled their hard-earned money to buy me a present. That present turned out to be a dolphin interaction program at Sea World. Basically, I was given the opportunity to study and swim with a bunch of dolphins for a few hours.

It goes without saying that I was eternally grateful for the incredibly nice gift (if I ever have forty children, they will all be named after you guys).

Unfortunately, due to a combination of a ridiculously busy schedule and the end of the dolphin swimming season, I never had a chance to redeem the amazing gift last year.

Well ... the new season is just starting ... and I just reserved a spot to -- man, I can�t believe I am actually typing this -- swim with dolphins.

So, it�s official: On February 21, 2009 I will finally get to experience something I have wanted to do my entire life.

I know this sounds so dramatic, but for people that know me this is obviously a huge deal. Like, I-may-die-of-a-heart-attack-once-I-get-to-touch-one-of-these majestic-beasts huge.

I will try to take as many pictures as possible once I make the drive down to San Diego in (OMG!) less than two weeks.

Thanks again to the people that contributed to the gift. I am so excited I don�t think I can even type anymore.

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

2:26 PM on 02.02.2009

Puppy Bowl recap!
Chad Concelmo	47 comments

I am happy to report that last night�s Puppy Bowl V was the best Puppy Bowl of all time.

I was a little nervous on Saturday when I set my TiVO to record the show and noticed that is was only 2 hours rather than the traditional 4 (to mirror the length of the simultaneous airing of the Super Bowl).

But, honestly, the shorter runtime actually helped the show.

Things started off nicely with the classic Tail Gate party -- a group of dogs hanging out on lawn chairs and watching the Puppy Bowl on T.V.

After that, for the first time ever, a bird named Pepper the Parrot came out and �sang� the National Anthem. This was a little odd since the bird wasn�t really singing and just more or less opening its mouth in front of a prop microphone. The song that was playing did sound like a parrot singing, so who knows? Maybe Pepper just got stage fright and they had to use a taped track. Regardless, it was amazing.

The big event itself was, of course, the most incredible (and incredibly cute) thing ever. The puppies were adorable and it seemed like the writers had an extra fun time with the proceedings.

Here are some highlights:

-Since this was the Puppy Bowl�s 5th anniversary, multiple �Hall of Fame Moments� were shown throughout the event. They mostly focused on past MVPs (most valuable puppies) and great plays from the past. I loved how they were shown in muted color and mostly slow motion. It was a great addition and I loved each and every one.

-During the first half one puppy started biting the goal post and wouldn�t stop. It was amazing.

-The world-famous Kitty Half-Time show was, of course, awesome. I was a little disappointed with it last year, if only for the strange choice in music (it was something akin to easy listening). This year, though, the sassy techno-y music was back. As was the pink stage and colorful lights.

To make this Kitty Half-Time show even better, confetti fell down halfway through and most of the kittens freaked out. God, it was so funny.

-The referee (same guy they use every year) was, again, great. His delivery of each foul call was extra over-the-top, which was perfect. Honestly, though, that guy has my dream job and I hope the stars are aligned and I get to take his gig next year. Let�s hope my (multiple) letters to Animal Planet actually get read this year.

-Speaking of the referee, he made quite the scandalous call in the second half of the game. One of my favorite puppies Griffey (SO CUTE!) was wrestling with another puppy. When it got a little too rambunctious the ref gave Griffey an �Unnecessary Roughness� foul call. I was fine with that, but then seconds later the ref called the same foul and actually kicked him out of the game!

If I was there I would have been one of those fans that yelled and threw things at the referee. Griffey was being rough, but he shouldn�t have been kicked out of the game.

-WATER BOWL CAM WAS BACK!

-In one of the most inspired, hilarious segments I have ever seen, near the end of the Puppy Bowl a �streaker� ran out and interrupted the game. The �streaker� was one of those crazy, shaved, skinny dogs with only some small tufts of fur on its head and tail. The producers of the show actually added a black bar near the �private region� of the streaker as he ran around the field causing mischief.

Before all the puppies got too riled up, the ref ran out, wrapped the nude offender in a t-shirt, and escorted him out of the stadium. It was so amazing.

-The MVP of the game was Madeline the Beagle.

Now, Madeline was cute, but I voted for the incredible Eli. Not only was Eli super cute, he seemed to perform the best in all the various plays. He also scored a few touchdowns!

Here are a few pics of Eli and his brother Moose:

While I was happy for Madeline, I felt Eli was robbed!

-By far the cutest thing of the entire show was anything involving puppy Schroeder. I really don�t think I can describe how jaw-droppingly cute Schroeder was.

Basically, Schroeder slept through everything.

I�m not kidding.

While all the puppies were playing with toys, Schroeder was sleeping. While the pups were tackling each other and wrestling, Schroeder was sleeping.

Here are a bunch of pictures of Schroeder at different points during the event:

It really was the cutest thing of all time.

All in all, the Puppy Bowl V delivered. It was the most entertaining, enjoyable, cutest Puppy Bowl yet. I am a little disappointed Eli or Schroeder didn�t take the MVP crown, but I was still happy with all the results.

I already can�t wait for Puppy Bowl VI.

BEST TELEVISON SHOW EVER! :D
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11:55 AM on 01.30.2009

IT'S PUPPY BOWL WEEKEND!
Chad Concelmo	38 comments

It�s finally here: the best weekend of the year. This Sunday, during the (stupid) Super Bowl, is the 5th annual Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet!

Some of you may not know this, but I have a lifelong goal to have the Puppy Bowl get higher ratings than the actual Super Bowl. It�s a lofty goal, sure, but I will be able to die happy once it happens. Help me reach my dream by watching the BEST SHOW ON TELEVISION this weekend!

Like I said, it�s on during the Super Bowl on Animal Planet. You can click here to get all the details.

God, I am so excited about this year�s event. Not only is the Kitten Half-Time Show making a grand return, this weekend�s Puppy Bowl V marks the premiere of Pepper the Parrot singing the National Anthem.

For anyone that hasn�t seen the Puppy Bowl (for shame!), it really is the greatest thing of all time. You kind of have to see it to appreciate its splendor, but let me just give you a few bullet points of what to expect:

-Water Bowl Cam � The producers put a camera in the water bowl to get shots of cute puppies drinking water when they�re not on the field.

-Kitten Half-Time Show � As mentioned earlier, during half-time a huge pink stage rolls out -- as well as a disco ball and accompanying techno music -- with a ton of kittens playing with toys. Amazing.

-Puppy Bowl Referee (a.k.a. my dream job) � Not only does he wear an official outfit, the Puppy Bowl referee makes real foul calls as the game commences. Examples: �Rough housing!� when the pups get a little rambunctious and �Number Two on the field!� for when ... well, that is pretty self-explanatory.

I have a feeling this is going to be the best year yet.

Things could change, but here are my early picks for MVP (most valuable puppy) of the starting lineup:

Charlie Brown

Charlie Brown is a 9-week-old Doberman mix. His one blue and one brown eye might be the cutest thing I have ever seen.

Eli

Um, seriously. Look at Eli. Amazing.

Griffey

Griffey is a 10-week-old Labrador Retriever mix and reminds me a lot of my dog Luna. OMG TOO MUCH CUTE!

Mac

Mac looks really scrappy and I think that could take him far in the competition.

What do you think? Are you unbelievably excited about this like I am? If not, what is it like not having a heart? Which pup in the starting lineup is your favorite?

Check my community blog on Monday for a recap of some of my favorite moments. Nope, I'm not kidding. :)

Oh, and next year I am determined to be hired as the referee.

OH MY GOD I CAN�T WAIT FOR THIS!
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1:39 PM on 01.25.2009

I am sorry about my comment on the podcast
Chad Concelmo	91 comments

On Thursday�s RetroforceGO! we were talking about something � honestly I can�t even remember what the conversation was specifically about. All I know is it had something to do with heaven.

After this was brought up I made a joke about coming out of the closet and not going to heaven.

Oh God, if you only knew the hate mail I received because of it.

I am going to say something about this before next week�s show, but I am so horribly upset by all this that I really felt the need to make a post explaining everything.

I was trying (however unsuccessfully) to make a joke about how there are a million stupid, highly ignorant people out there that actually believe this � that if you are gay you won�t go to �heaven.� It was a stupid joke (stupidest joke I have made), but that�s what it was: a joke. Actually, it wouldn�t even call it a �joke.� I am so far from thinking something hateful like this could be true (and assume most of you are as well) that I said it just because it sounded so ridiculous.

In no way did I mean any harm by it, especially something like this that means so much to me.

I hope most of you knew that.

If not (which I totally understand after listening back), I apologize more than I ever have in my life. I never meant to say something so asinine and idiotic. Bad jokes really can be terrible sometimes.

Please accept my apologies for my awful sense at humor. Ugh. And I am not writing this (super serious) blog because someone asked me to. I truly felt horrible after receiving these e-mails from people that I just felt the need to say something.

I need to go punch myself in the face now.

:( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :(
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12:40 PM on 01.08.2009

So, I watched The Real World last night ...
Chad Concelmo	65 comments

That revelation alone is enough to make fun of me for months, but please just hear me out.

Looking past the unbelievably obnoxious young people who think they are the coolest human beings on the planet, there was one shining light of amazing.

Well, before I tell you about that, let me just vent about one of the obnoxious people.

His name is Ryan.

He is 19-years-old (this is important to the story) and just got back from serving in Iraq. Noble cause, sure, but all respect and admiration I could have had for this guy went out the window after this dialogue exchange:

Random roommate (to Dan): You were in Iraq?
Ryan (in a I-am-so-cool tone): Yeah.
Random roommate: What made you go?
Ryan (super serious): 9/11

Now, let�s do the math.

During 9/11, RYAN WAS ELEVEN-YEARS-OLD!

Ugh.

I still get douche chills just thinking about it.

But now to the part of the show that actually made me not want to kill myself.

There is a guy on the show named JD and, no joke, he is a dolphin trainer. A DOLPHIN TRAINER! Who really does that for a job?!

After he announced it they showed a montage of him swimming with said dolphins for, like, five minutes.

It was absolutely amazing.

I want to be JD.

And, yes, that is the saddest thing I have ever typed in my entire life.

Oh, also, newly discovered gay lizard:

Discuss.
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12:33 PM on 12.31.2008

The 1st Annual Amazees! (Videogames)
Chad Concelmo	46 comments

Welcome to part two of the Amazees!

Yesterday I gave away the awards for my favorite movies of the year, and now it is time to tackle the category most of you know a lot better: videogames!

There is no time for pointless jibber jabber. Let�s get to the awards, shall we?

*applause*

*taking off my shirt*

*audience members throwing rotten fruit and asking me to �put my Goddamn shirt back on!�*

And the winners are ...

________________________________

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PlayStation 3)

True, Metal Gear Solid 4 was full of a ridiculous amount of cutscenes, but the featured action set pieces (although minimal) were unbelievably epic. Think about the motorcycle chase, the boss fights, the final battle! Every action sequence in the game is beyond phenomenal.

Honorable Mention: Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty (PSN)

Professor Layton and the Curious Village (Nintendo DS)

Part adventure game, part puzzle game, all amazing.

Honorable Mention: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (Nintendo DS)

Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)

Even ignoring the Nintendo fanboy aesthetics, Smash Bros. is easily one of the most addictive and deepest (yes, deepest) fighting videogames ever created. I still love playing it even this many months later. Dibs on Ike!

Honorable Mention: Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (XBLA)

Rock Band 2 (Xbox 360)

Not much changed from the first Rock Band, but the small stuff that did made this a vastly improved sequel. Although I never know many songs in the Rock Band collection (a Disney version please!), I still have a blast playing guitar, drums, or �rocking out� on the mic. �Rocking out:� Is that what all the kids are saying nowadays?

Honorable Mention: Lips (Xbox 360)

LittleBigPlanet (PlayStation 3)

After playing and falling in love with LittleBigPlanet I immediately ranked it as one of my top ten favorite platformers of all time. After playing through it again (and checking out some of the brilliant user-created levels) I ranked it in my top four. LittleBigPlanet is phenomenally designed and the most fun game of the year.

Honorable Mention: Mega Man 9 (WiiWare), N+ (XBLA)

World of Goo (WiiWare)

The genre �puzzle game� is starting to blur its lines a little bit. Back in the day it was easy to decide what kind of videogame a puzzle game was: if it looked like Tetris it was a puzzle game! Now, things are different, with classics like Portal slipping into this getting-broader-by-the-second genre. World of Goo, the latest non-traditional puzzler, is an absolute masterpiece, combining some of the most original visuals with some of the most challenging, yet satisfying gameplay I have experienced in years.

Honorable Mention: Boom Blox (Wii)

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (Nintendo DS)

Although the series got �darker� with this installment, the classic, strategy gameplay remained intact, even getting a little better with the inclusion of new vehicles and tighter map design. I love this series like crazy.

Honorable Mention: Lock�s Quest (Nintendo DS)

Burnout Paradise (Xbox 360)

When I heard that the Burnout series was changing to open-world gameplay I got a little nervous. The best part about Burnout is its arcade feel -- adding any sort of realism could only hurt the series. Luckily, I was wrong, as Burnout Paradise is easily the best in the series.

Honorable Mention: Mario Kart Wii (Wii)

Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360)

I know I have mentioned it a million times in the past, but I adore Lost Odyssey. It is the first RPG I have played in this new generation that plays like an old school SNES role-playing game with a beautiful, high-def polish. Words cannot express how refreshing and classic Lost Odyssey feels to me.

Honorable Mention: Fallout 3 (Xbox 360)

Resistance 2 (PlayStation 2)

Resistance 2 is, hands down, the most underrated game of the year. How could a game with extraordinary multiplayer, a strong single-player campaign, and some of the most amazing boss battles ever put in a videogame become so quickly forgotten?

Honorable Mention: Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360)

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PlayStation 3)

Man, how do you even rank the beautiful games that came out this year? Even though many of them had different styles, the ultra realistic and stunning visuals in Metal Gear Solid 4 stood out the most.

Honorable Mention: Mega Man 9 (WiiWare)

Mega Man 9 (WiiWare)

Mega Man 9 could have had the most discordant soundtrack of all time and it still would probably win just because of my love affair with all things 8-bit MIDI related. Lucky for me (and my ears), the music in Mega Man 9 is classic, featuring some of the best level tunes in the entire series. Tornado Man stage FTW!

Honorable Mentions: Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii), de Blob (Wii), Bionic Commando: Rearmed (XBLA)

Dead Space (Xbox 360)

Even though I loved all aspects of Dead Space, I remember being particularly impressed by the creepy and extremely effective sound effects in the game. The sound in Dead Space is some of the best I have ever heard in a videogame.

Honorable Mention: Galaga Legions (WiiWare)

Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360)

This category was a tough call. While Metal Gear Solid 4�s stellar voice acting could have easily taken this award, the very fact that Jansen exists gives the edge to Lost Odyssey. Best character EVER!

Honorable Mention: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PlayStation 3)

Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360)

Um, the end of Disc One. That is all.

Honorable Mention: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PlayStation 3)

Braid (XBLA)

I am still trying to wrap my head around what happens at the end of XBLA masterpiece Braid. Whatever the real meaning is, Braid�s ending is one of the most thought-provoking and moving videogame endings of all time.

Honorable Mentions: Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360), Castle Crashers (XBLA)

Jansen (Lost Odyssey)

Jansen is ridiculous. Right when you think he is gay, he has sex with multiple women. Right when you think is he becoming mildly annoying, he says something hilarious. I love Jansen and will always remember him as one of my favorite RPG characters ever.

Honorable Mention: Sackboy (LittleBigPlanet)

Castle Crashers (XBLA)

Remember how much fun it was to play videogames with friends in the same room or standing next to each other in an arcade? Well, Castle Crashers was the first game to give me that nostalgic feeling in a long, long time. Also, giving your companions timed button press CPR is my favorite new way to revive a downed teammate. Awesome.

Honorable Mention: Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360)

World of Goo (WiiWare)

World of Goo took me my surprise. Before I played it I was worried the Wii controls, combined with the unique gameplay, would render the downloadable game too cumbersome and challenging for my tastes. I was really wrong. World of Goo is an absolute masterpiece and one of the best puzzle games I have ever played in my entire life.

Honorable Mention: Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)

Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360)

I have talked about this epic, incredibly amazing RPG enough in these awards. Just go play it. Like, right now.

Honorable Mention: Braid (XBLA)

LittleBigPlanet (PlayStation 3)

Ladies in gentlemen, I give you the closet race of the Amazees! As much as I adore (and worship, even) Metal Gear Solid 4, LittleBigPlanet takes the cake due to its flawless design and revolutionary level creator. But, man, this one was close.

Honorable Mention: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PlayStation 3)

Professor Layton and the Curious Village (Nintendo DS)

The Destructoid editors� trip to Cancun last year was one of the most fun and enjoyable times in my entire life. I brought Professor Layton with me and it almost distracted me a couple nights from the epic, topless festivities. That�s how good of a game it is.

Honorable Mention: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (Nintendo DS)

World of Goo (WiiWare)

At $15, World of Goo is the best value of the year. Buy this game for WiiWare as soon as you can. If you already have, play it again! Great games like this don�t come along very often.

Honorable Mentions: Braid (XBLA), Mega Man 9 (WiiWare), Castle Crashers (XBLA)

LittleBigPlanet (PlayStation 3)

After much thought and many internal debates, I finally decided that my favorite videogame of 2008 is LittleBigPlanet. While Metal Gear Solid 4 surpassed my wildest dreams of how cinematic a videogame can be, World of Goo impressed me with its uniqueness, and Lost Odyssey made me bawl like a little girl on several occasions, LittleBigPlanet, literally, revolutionized this industry I hold so dear to my heart.

Even without the level creator, LittleBigPlanet would be one of the best designed platform games of all time. But, wait, that�s not even a fair statement: the level creator is what LittleBigPlanet is all about! Once you dive into this user-created feature, man, the game becomes one of the most incredible videogame experiences of all time. All of the dreams we as gamers had growing up about designing our own game could finally come true care of the very capable, intuitive hands of LittleBigPlanet.

What a year for the (supposedly) struggling PlayStation 3! LittleBigPlanet is an absolute masterpiece and the best videogame of 2008.

Honorable Mention: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PlayStation 3)

________________________________

Congratulations to LittleBigPlanet on the big win and to Lost Odyssey for winning the most Amazees this year with a count of five!

Until next year, everyone! :)

Oh, and for the curious, here is a list of my Top Ten Videogames of the year:

Top Ten Videogames of 2008
1. LittleBigPlanet
2. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
3. World of Goo
4. Lost Odyssey
5. Braid
6. Mega Man 9
7. Resistance 2
8. Castle Crashers
9. Professor Layton and the Curious Village
10. Fallout 3

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Destructoid is the greatest community ever. Also, dolphins! :) What I am playing this week (6/28/09 - 7/4/09): Sam & Max Save the World Klonoa Boom Blox: Bash Party Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Be my friend! Wii: 2357-3047-5937-7707 Brawl: 2320-5805-7379 Xbox 360: Optiville PlayStation 3: Optiville My Top Ten Favorite (updated as I play) ... ... Role-Playing Games: 1. Final Fantasy VI 2. Mother 3 3. Chrono Trigger 4. EarthBound 5. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King 6. Final Fantasy IV 7. Lost Odyssey 8. Kingdom Hearts 9. Paper Mario 10. Final Fantasy XII ... Adventure Games: 1. Day of the Tentacle 2. Full Throttle 3. Sam & Max Hit the Road 4. The Secret of Monkey Island 5. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis 6. Grim Fandango 7. Professor Layton and the Curious Village 8. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney 9. Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge 10. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney ... Action/Adventure Games: 1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 2. Super Metroid 3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 4. Resident Evil 4 5. Shadow of the Colossus 6. Beyond Good & Evil 7. God of War 8. God of War II 9. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 10. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots ... Action Games: 1. Contra III: The Alien Wars 2. Gears of War 2 3. Gears of War 4. Contra 4 5. Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos 6. Ratchet: Deadlocked 7. Blast Corps 8. Gunstar Heroes 9. Ninja Gaiden 10. Viewtiful Joe 2 ... Strategy Games: 1. Valkyria Chronicles 2. Fire Emblem 3. Pikmin 2 4. Advance Wars: Dual Strike 5. Advance Wars 6. Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones 7. Pikmin 8. Advance Wars: Black Hole Rising 9. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn 10. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin ... Sports Games: 1. Punch-Out!! 2. Mike Tyson�s Punch-Out!! 3. Wii Sports 4. Super Punch-Out!! 5. Mario Golf 6. Mario Tennis 7. Pilotwings 64 8. Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour 9. International Superstar Soccer 64 10. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games ... First-Person Shooters: 1. Half-Life 2 2. Bioshock 3. Goldeneye 4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 5. Resistance 2 6. Left 4 Dead 7. Perfect Dark 8. Killer 7 9. Resistance: Dawn of Man 10. Call of Duty: World at War ... Racing Games: 1. Mario Kart DS 2. Diddy Kong Racing 3. Mario Kart 64 4. Mario Kart Wii 5. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! 6. F-Zero GX 7. F-Zero X 8. F-Zero 9. Wave Race 64 10. Excitebike 64 ... Platformers: 1. Super Mario Galaxy 2. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi�s Island 3. Super Mario Bros. 3 4. LittleBigPlanet 5. Super Mario World 6. Banjo Kazooie 7. Super Mario 64 8. Mega Man 9 9. N+ 10. New Super Mario Bros. ... Puzzle/Variety Games: 1. Portal 2. World of Goo 3. Tetris Attack 4. Braid 5. Wario Ware: Twisted! 6. Katamari Damacy 7. Pac-Man: Championship Edition 8. Devil�s Crush 9. Flower 10. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 ... Rhythm Games: 1. Elite Beat Agents 2. Parappa the Rapper 3. Rock Band 2 4. Rock Band 5. Guitar Hero 6. Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol 7. Karaoke Revolution - Volume 2 8. Guitar Hero II 9. Karaoke Revolution Party 10. Karaoke Revolution ... Shooters: 1. Ikaruga 2. Star Fox 64 3. Gradius III 4. Air Zonk 5. Space Invaders Extreme 6. Galaga Legions 7. R-Type III: The Third Lightning 8. Omega Five 9. Sin & Punishment 10. R-Type ... Party/Multiplayer Games: 1. Mario Party 2. Mario Party 2 3. Mario Party 6 4. Mario Party 7 5. UNO 6. Mario Party 3 7. Mario Party 5 8. Mario Party 4 9. Wario Ware, Inc: Mega Party Game$ 10. Pac-Man Vs. ... NES Games: 1. Super Mario Bros. 3 2. Mike Tyson�s Punch-Out!! 3. StarTropics 4. Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos 5. Castlevania III: Dracula�s Curse 6. The Legend of Zelda 7. River City Ransom 8. Ninja Gaiden 9. Zoda�s Revenge: StarTropics II 10. Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels ... Super NES Games: 1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 2. Super Metroid 3. Final Fantasy VI 4. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi�s Island 5. Chrono Trigger 6. EarthBound 7. Final Fantasy IV 8. Contra III: The Alien Wars 9. Super Mario World 10. Tetris Attack ... TurboGrafx-16 Games: 1. Air Zonk 2. Devil's Crush 3. Neutopia II 4. Neutopia 5. Bomberman '93 6. Bonk's Adventure 7. Alien Crush 8. R-Type 9. Cho Aniki 10. Bonk's Revenge ... Nintendo 64 Games: 1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 2. Paper Mario 3. Banjo-Kazooie 4. Super Mario 64 5. The Legend of Zelda: Majora�s Mask 6. Goldeneye 007 7. Conker�s Bad Fur Day 8. Star Fox 64 9. Banjo-Tooie 10. Diddy Kong Racing ... PlayStation Games: 1. Final Fantasy IX 2. Final Fantasy VII 3. Metal Gear Solid 4. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night 5. Final Fantasy VIII 6. Resident Evil 2 7. Spyro the Dragon 8. Parappa the Rapper 9. Dino Crisis 2 10. Ape Escape ... GameCube Games: 1. Resident Evil 4 2. Beyond Good & Evil 3. Pikmin 2 4. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time 5. Metroid Prime 6. Pikmin 7. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door 8. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker 9. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance 10. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes ... PlayStation 2 Games: 1. God of War 2. God of War II 3. Shadow of the Colossus 4. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 5. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King 6. Kingdom Hearts 7. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando 8. ICO 9. Final Fantasy XII 10. Okami ... Wii Games: 1. Super Mario Galaxy 2. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess 3. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption 4. Punch-Out!! 5. Super Smash Bros. Brawl 6. Boom Blox 7. Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure 8. Wii Sports 9. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn 10. Super Paper Mario ... Xbox 360 Games: 1. Half-Life 2 2. Portal 3. Lost Odyssey 4. Bioshock 5. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 6. Gears of War 2 7. Dead Space 8. Street Fighter IV 9. Prince of Persia 10. Mirror�s Edge ... Xbox Live Arcade Games: 1. Braid 2. Castle Crashers 3. Pac-Man: Championship Edition 4. N+ 5. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 6. Ikaruga 7. Wallace & Gromit: Fright of the Bumblebees 8. Flock! 9. Space Invaders Extreme 10. The Maw ... Game Boy Advance Games: 1. Mother 3 2. Fire Emblem 3. Wario Ware: Twisted! 4. Advance Wars 5. Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones 6. Advance Wars: Black Hole Rising 7. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap 8. Metroid Fusion 9. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga 10. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow ... Nintendo DS Games: 1. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass 2. Elite Beat Agents 3. Advance Wars: Dual Strike 4. Professor Layton and the Curious Village 5. Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime 6. Contra 4 7. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney 8. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney 9. New Super Mario Bros. 10. Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time