[Over the next few weeks the staff here at Gamer Limit will be sharing their personal favorite game of the past year with the community in build up to Gamer Limit’s Game of the Year Awards for 2010.]

After waiting for twelve long years gamers finally got what they’ve been begging for: StarCraft 2. I mean, is it really any surprise that SC2 is my pick for Game of the Year? Let’s run the numbers: it’s a PC exclusive that has a rapidly growing competitive scene complete with celebrity professionals (Idra, Huk, TLO, etc.), its own culture, icons, inside jokes (Day9, the Graken), and most importantly, a fantastic community that’s dedicated to evolving the game. When you really think about it, SC2 is a complete entertainment package for gamers of all levels of commitment.

That said, StarCraft 2 is not a perfect game. The writing in the single-player portion wasn’t exactly what I would call great, and the story really doesn’t reflect twelve years of work. However, the actual gameplay easily makes up for these faults. With multiple, persistent tech paths, as well as secret levels and branching story lines, there is more than enough content to warrant multiple playthroughs. Read more… »

Remember when my good buddy Curtis Takaichi wrote up a news post about Ubisoft and their terrible plans for PC DRM? You know what I’m talking about, the DRM that requires your PC to maintain a constant Internet connection in order for you to play your game. Well after almost a year, the publisher has started to loosen up.

Now Ubisoft games (Assassin’s Creed 2 and Splinter Cell: Conviction in particular) will no longer pause instantly if a connection drops out. It is important to note that you still need to be connected to the Internet when launching the game so that Ubisoft can validate the install. Read more… »

The time has finally come! Gamer Limit is ringing in the new year with of the best games 2010 had to offer. The Gamer Limit staff has nominated and selected the top games of 2010. Plenty of great games joined the libraries of the PC and Xbox 360 systems this year.

The nominees for Gamer Limit’s Microsoft Games of the Year include: Super Meat Boy, Mass Effect 2, NHL 11, Civ 5, VVVVVV, and Starcraft II. But, who won? You’ll need to hit the jump to find out. Read more… »

While I was at PAX earlier this year I had the great opportunity to sit in on a panel about the Humble Indie Bundle, a promotion that went on back in May that gave consumers the opportunity to net World of Goo, Aquaria, Gish, Lugaru, Samorost 2, and Penumbra: Overture for as little as a penny. The promotion managed to raise over a $1 million within a week, of which nearly $325,000 went to charity.

If this is the first you’re hearing of “the Bundle” and you’re feeling a little bummed, don’t fret. A second pay-what-you-want bundle of five new games launched today. Hit the jump for more information on the Humble Indie Bundle 2 and how you can get your hands on a package including titles like Braid and Machinarium for as little as $0.01.

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World of Warcraft is an international phenomenon. With millions of subscribers shelling out $15 a month just to play, Blizzard is in a pretty good position to keep pumping out expansions and patched content, leading more and more people to become sucked in to the world of Azeroth. Yet as of late, some people have said that WoW has lost a lot of steam with the recent expansion, leading a lot of core gamers to make the claim that “the game is too easy”.

Enter World of Warcraft: Cataclysm; the newest expansion, and Blizzard’s latest attempt to make the game “hard again” – an admirable conviction in which they succeed. But Blizzard hasn’t just made the game more rewarding for hardcore players: they’ve also redone every level 1-60 zone in the entire game, and streamlined the entire questing and leveling experience as we know it. Read on to find out why you may want to get back into World of Warcraft. Read more… »

I’m sure this has happened to all of us. You’re hanging out with some friends playing Guitar Hero or Rock Band (whichever rhythm game you please) and the conversation inevitably turns to “Man, what songs would be awesome to play but will never get into the game because EA or Activision doesn’t care about X music scene?”

How great would it be if there was a rhythm game just like Guitar Hero where you got to choose which songs you play? Well, if you’ve asked yourself this, chances are you’ll want to check out Rhythm Zone, an indie gem that allows gamers to play a Guitar Hero-like game with their own MP3s. But a good concept does not instantly make a great game. Is Rhythm Zone a must have for music gamers, or does it miss a beat in its execution? Read on to find out. Read more… »

You know I hate to admit it but every now and then Twitter comes in handy. Take today for instance: had I continued to resist signing up for Twitter (like I had for the longest time) I wouldn’t have known about Tripwire Interactive’s upcoming event for Killing Floor (one of my favorite games).

According to Tripwire’s tweet, the developer will be hosting a special Christmas themed event for its Horde Mode shooter. Dubbed “The Killing Floor Twisted Christmas” this special event will feature Christmas themed monsters, a new “Santa’s Evil Lair” map, thirteen new achievements and an unlockable “the Baddest Santa” character. Read more… »

In the past, I’ve been pretty critical of Microsoft and their supposed support of the PC platform. That being said, I have to give credit where credit is due. Since releasing their new Games for Windows Marketplace application, Microsoft has been offering some pretty damn good deals on PC games. It’s hard to argue against a $0.99 game deal everyday.

Today’s $0.99 game is S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl, one of my personal favorites, which is why I felt obligated to let everyone know about this stellar deal. In order to jump on this deal all you need to do is head over to the Games for Windows Marketplace website, download the client, and make your purchase. Read more… »

Early Friday morning, GameTrailers revealed the world premier trailer of Telltale Games’ long awaited episodic adventure, Back To The Future The Game. Back in June, Telltale released a teaser announcing the project along with a Jurrasic Park title. For six months, fans have been on pins and needles — and for anyone (including myself) following the hype, this particular trailer was supposed to be epic. Telltale themselves said, “it looks fantastic!”

All subjectivity aside, there can be an argument as to why the trailer fails or succeeds in delivering 1.21 jiggawatts of excitement. It lends itself perfectly to this next installment on what it takes to hype up a game right, or wrong. A bit of fair warning, this article bears potentially gruesome videos after the jump.  We’ll let you decide why they’re both gruesome.

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Way back in August my buddy Kevin Miller published his review of the video game streaming service OnLive. While he was impressed with the technology, one of Kevin’s biggest complaints was the pricing structure.

Apparently OnLive was listening because today they announced that starting January 15, there will be a new subscription option which features a flat $9.99 rate per month. Dubbed the ‘OnLive PlayPack’ subscription, this option will feature a “growing library” of “recent, classic and indie titles.” You probably should note that there is a limited selection of titles that fall under the ‘OnLive PlayPack’ subscription. To see what they are, hit the jump. Read more… »

EA and DICE have set out the contents of their latest update to Battlefield Bad Company 2.  Coming to the PC and Xbox 360 this patch offers some substantial updates and improvements.  Not only that but it will pave the way for the release of VIP map pack 7 and the much anticipated Vietnam modification.  No word as yet on a PS3 patch but you have to presume a similar update will be mirrored on Sony’s machine.

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Hot on today’s release of Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit in North America, EA has already confirmed the next entry in the series, Need For Speed Shift 2 Unleashed, the sequel to last year’s supercharged Need For Speed: Shift.

Presented in a new teaser trailer, Shift 2 looks to retain the same helmet camera viewpoint that captured the g-forces of thundering along at obscene speeds so incredibly well in Shift. An enhanced version of Hot Pursuit‘s autolog is also set to feature, allowing you to monitor friend’s performances and compare personal stats.

Need For Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed is slated for a 2011 release sometime in the Spring.

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