Pads & Panels

Best Games of 2010 – Honorable Mentions

Creating a Best of List for Pads & Panels is no easy task. It involves everyone putting in feedback, a get-together and copious amounts of drinking, when we argue our cases for what belongs where on the list. Inevitably, fantastic titles don’t make it to the top of the tower, and we’re left feeling bad for not honoring the enjoyment some of these games provided us throughout the year. So that’s where the Honorable Mentions come into play. These are the list of games that didn’t quite make our Top 10, but we think you should be playing them nonetheless. Plus, it’s always kind of fun to make our readers wonder, with titles this great on the honorable mentions list, what is going to make our Top 10. They are essentially our #11 through #20 picks, but are presented in no particular order. Enjoy! (more…)

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Game of the Month – April

Splinter Cell: Conviction (360, PC)

Publisher: Ubisoft – Developer: Ubisoft Montreal

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Splinter Cell: Conviction is arguably the best installment in the series, and definitely the most accessible. It allows players to tackle it as an action game, but rewards them for stealth execution. And Conviction is a case of the entire package being greater than simply the sum of its parts, with campaign, co-op and competitive multiplayer offering plenty of value.

–Bill (more…)

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Title: Splinter Cell: Conviction

Platform: 360 (PC)

ESRB: M

Publisher: Ubisoft

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

Splinter Cell: Conviction is not only the best Splinter Cell title to date, but also the most accessible entry in the covert ops series. Sam Fisher, the series’ protagonist, is old and graying, out of the game (officially) and fed up with his old agency, but that’s not stopping him from looking for answers to a series of betrayals. It’s this backdrop that allows the game to be a lot more action-oriented and less overly-complex stealth-focused as its predecessors. It’s a great balancing act Ubisoft Montreal pulls off. Those looking to shoot their way through can get through it on Normal difficulty in most instances, but skilled players employing the stealth tactics present are rewarded through a great upgrade system. The campaign is also presented in a super-stylish manner, and keep things fresh throughout. The single-player is good, but what makes Conviction great is the total package. There’s a robust co-op prologue, and a number of great “Deniable Ops” modes for extended play, such as Hunter, Infiltration, Last Stand and Face-Off, which buck recent trends by being offered both in online or split-screen modes. These modes are also created with great care, extending the Conviction experience, and allowing a friend to get in on the action with another campaign that doesn’t feel tacked on, but integral to the game. (more…)

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E3 has come and gone. John and Bill offer their impressions on this year’s biggest gaming event.

John’s Ponderings

So this year’s E3 has come and gone with quite a few nice surprises mixed in with the usual expectations which, for the most part, have exceeded my expectations. It is hard to argue with the claim that Microsoft ran away with the most buzz surrounding its next fiscal year, and Nintendo recognized their hardcore gamer mistreatment and addressed it in a big way. Sony, for me, left an underwhelming sense of “That’s it?” from a show that really needed to boost their presence. (more…)

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And the fun goes on out in Los Angeles with the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo. We’ve wrapped up what will probably be the final E3 news post, with information on Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Telltale and more. If anything else comes to light in the next day or so, look to the Twitter posts for quick news blurbs. John and Bill will also be weighing in tomorrow with some commentary on this year’s announcements.

Telltale Games

Telltale announced with LucasArts that it will be making making a new series of Monkey Island games set to launch July 7 on PC. It is also slated to come to WiiWare. The publisher is already offering a pre-order special. Those pre-ordering are eligible to received a Collector’s DVD at the end of the series with a limited-edition cover painted by Steve Purcell, as well as a free Telltale game upon checkout and access to the “Private Pirates Club.” (more…)

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While Chris Park continues his journey around the Los Angeles Convention Center, and John and I prepare some commentary on the event and news thus far, the companies are inundating the inbox with their latest announcements and the press conferences go on. So in the interest of simplicity and being concise, we’ve compiled the news we’ve received directly from the sources, be it by email, press conferences or publisher websites, and tried to organize it in a digestible format for our readers in a series of posts. First up, Microsoft’s announcements, as well as some of the big games on the way announced through the company’s conference…

Microsoft’s press conference opened with a montage of Rock Band: Beatles, which is to include support for three harmonized vocalists, as well as its own instrument kit. It is set to release Sept. 9 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison made appearances. Abbey Road was announced as a downloadable ablum. “All You Need is Love” is to be an exlusive DLC song to 360, with proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders. (more…)

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