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Each year, the "Best of" shows and lists make their way around the internet, sparking interest and argument alike.  One of the most interesting lists this year was MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) games. Joystiq and Massive Online Gamer both had good lists that had surprisingly similar results.  In the end, Star Trek Online ended up being everyone's best new MMO in 2010!  I was thrilled to see STO getting the recognition I felt it deserved and I think this will get the game a lot of attention and new players.

 I first wrote about STO here and have been playing it ever since. Unlike most MMO role playing games, which suffer from players apathetic to the plot lines, Star Trek Online immerses its players in plot lines that affect not only the individual ship captains, but entire fleets of player characters.  On top of that, it seems that most of the players are also Star Trek fans, which means they're enthusiastic about the story, the characters, and most of all... the ships.  I mean, let's face it.  If you're a Star Trek fan and you play computer games, you've been waiting for this game your entire Trek-watching life.

Here are some of the awards STO brought home in 2010:

Best Launch of 2010 - Massively's 2010 Player's Choice Awards

Best PVP in a 2010 MMO - Massively's 2010 Player's Choice Awards

Best Capacity for Role Playing in a 2010 MMO - Massively's 2010 Player's Choice Awards 

Biggest Surprise Hit of 2010- Massively's 2010 Player's Choice Awards

Overall Best New MMO of 2010- Massively's 2010 Player's Choice Awards

Best New MMO of 2010 - Massive Online Gamer Reader's Choice Awards

Links:  Massive Online Gamer, Joystiq's Massively, Star Trek Online

The retro gaming market is a thriving market within the overall umbrella of the video game market.  Major game publishers are rushing to online avenues like Xbox Arcade and Wii Virtual Console to make their games of yesterday tomorrow's hottest selling downloads.  Young gamers never exposed organically to 8-bit or 16-bit systems are discovering Mega Man and Goldeneye via download onto their consoles.  I always had very sweet memories Donkey Kong Country for the Super Nintendo.  As a child, it was really the first game that I remember thinking "wow" when I saw the 16-bit graphics.  After the opening of Wii Virtual Console, Donkey Kong Country was my first purchase.  While it looks close to awful on a 50 inch screen, the brought back lots of memories and played just as I remembered it playing.

Perhaps the most interesting development in the retro gaming market is the creation of new "old games."  Developers (mostly independent designers and companies) are creating new games with retro graphics, gameplay and appeal.  Games like VVVV and Minecraft look like something out of the 80s or early 90s, and it's their simplicity that make them so attractive.  With graphical engines and cell shading out of the way, it's the level design, gameplay and controls that have to shine.  Big publishing companies even hold competitions where programmers compete for the best retro game, awarding them a job and cash.  If none of this news is new to you, then you're probably already aware of my latest video game addiction... Minecraft.

In an attempt to explain Minecraft simply and quickly, I'm going to tell you a short story.  Imagine you are a person in a peaceful, sunny world full of endless hills and oceans.  Everywhere you look there are trees and flowers, sheep and cows.  You turn one bend and before you is a beautiful waterfall and to your left, a deep cave perfect for exploring!  You decide you would like to look at this waterfall and explore this cave every morning when you wake, so you begin crafting a small house.  You cut down a few trees nearby and build your walls, a door and maybe even some windows.  You even consider building a front porch when you notice that the sun is going down.  You walk into your cozy cabin for the night, closing the door behind you.  A sudden snarl over your left shoulder beckons your attention at the far window.  What is that?  Something is moving.  You light a torch near the opening and gasp!  Is that skeleton?  Ouch!  What was that?  The skeleton is shooting arrows at you!  You try to dodge the arrows, but there is nowhere to hide in your tiny house, so you head for the door and fling it open.  Suddenly you find yourself face to face with a groaning, green zombie.  Then it's lights out.  You wake up the next morning on the beach where you started the game.  By the time you get back to your house, you find it blown to bits, a large crater imprinted in the land where it once stood.  That's right, you fell victim to an exploding zombie.

That's Minecraft in a nutshell.  A giant playroom (rumored to be several times the size of the Earth) filled with endless blocks, places to explore, and monsters to duel.  Oh, and your friends can join in on the same map.  The game is currently in Alpha, but more or less fully playable.  Grab a copy and get addicted at www.minecraft.net.

A thought crossed my mind today?  Someone can obviously give up gaming for Lent, but can someone force him/herself to finish a game for Lent?  I don't have any data to back this up, but I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of gamers start games, but rarely finish them before switching to the latest and greatest game since the one they bought last month.  The entire industry seems to feed off of this idea, releasing so many titles that it's almost impossible to keep up, forcing gamers to either miss out on titles or jump through them so quickly they never finish one.  For me it goes even deeper.  We all have our problems, yes, and one of my biggies is instant-gratification... especially when gaming.

 I like food, but not preparing it if it takes longer than 10 minutes to make. I love movies, but not if they take "too long" to get started. I enjoy gaming, but not if it's going to take me fifty hours to finish the game.  Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of finishing an epic game.  Take Fallout 3 for example, I love the idea of finishing the game, but I haven't beat it.  In fact, I doubt I'll ever beat the game.  It simply takes too much of my time, time that could be spent on Modern Warfare 2 online, finding new and interesting ways to get kills.  It has nothing to do with how much I enjoy playing the games, I like them equally as well.  It has everything to do with out quickly I can get to the "meat" of the game.  Fallout 3 takes time running through the landscape, collecting items and reading the story lines between action sequences and major missions.  With Modern Warfare 2, I can jump on, boot up, log in, and bam!  I'm playing in less than 60 seconds.  The instant-gratification is, well, more instant.

 During Lent, we give up things to remember what it is to be without.  Whatever we give up are tiny sacrifices compared to what Jesus gave up for us. Instant-gratification at its very core is more than just an attention-deficit issue or whatever else you hear in the media.  Instant-gratification is a spiritual conflict as well.  God teaches us to work hard and finish the race.  Instant-gratification is the forbidden fruit, the fast track to something.  Eve fell for it, and so do we, everyday.  This is something I struggle with in many ways, but it really does touch almost every facet of my life... including gaming.

If you're anything like me, maybe it will do us good to force ourselves to finish that lingering game this Lent. Instead of moving on to something else that can offer instant-gratification, stay put and force yourself to put the time in.  And when your attention span is screaming at you to stop and go do something else, remind yourself that others have spent far more time doing things they didn't want to do.  Remember the Apostles spending time in prison. Remember Jesus spending time on the cross.  While it's only a video game, it's just one more way in which you can honor God through a small sacrifice this Lenten season.

Sega has announced that Sonic will be coming to the major game download services WiiWare, PSN, and XBOX Live Arcade.  But wait, just in case you're thinking this is going to be yet another horrible Sonic game (which has been just about every Sonic game since Sonic 3), keep reading... trust me.  In the wake of classic Mario getting an HD makeover in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Sega is polishing the old Sonic hat for a similar idea, but a completely different kind of launch.  I'll break it down nice and easy like...

Sonic 4 Episode 1 will revisit the original Sonic 2-D platform game with brand new graphics, all of the classic moves (and a few new ones), and beautiful HD (full 1080p for PS3 and Xbox 360).  It's going to be for download, which generally means it will be fairly cheap.  Gamespot has an interview with Sega associate brand manager Ken Balough.  Below is the trailer.

A new year means new games and there's little better for a gamer than new titles that make you want to rush right out and pre-order the game.  You can't wait, right?  It's torture!  I know how it is, you hear a new game is coming out that you can't wait to play, you read about it online, talk it up, watch trailers and try to get the inside information.  Then Gamestop or somewhere starts taking pre-orders and you slap down a quick $5 to reserve your copy on the street release day.  Then you sit around and wait.  Well, I don't have an alternative for you, but I do have some games I hope will be worth waiting for...

Super Mario Galaxy 2 - Wii This game, coming for the Wii sometime in 2010, is something I'm really looking forward to. First and foremost, the first Super Mario Galaxy was ridiculously fun. The graphics were good, the controls were fantastic and maybe for the first time ever I actually noticed the score! If history is any indication, Nintendo will score another home run with this title and if I'm lucky my sister and her husband won't come steal it from me this time ;) The difficulty level of the first one wasn't very high, which I actually enjoyed because I got to see more of the game more quickly, which when compared to New Super Mario Bros. Wii (released in late 2009) is a good thing, as that game is very difficult.

Aliens vs. Predator - XBox 360 Back in the day I owned an Atari Jaguar. Yes, I owned that system with the controllers that had like 14 buttons each or something. And more than anything I wanted to buy the Atari Jaguar CD attachment (though I never did) so that I could play Aliens vs. Predator. I did, however, get to play the XBox version years later. While the movies were definitely horrible (in my opinion) I'll be pre-ordering this one. Especially since it's supposed to feature multi-player action that should be pretty cool.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - iPhone For me, this is some of the biggest gaming news in awhile. I know it may sound strange, but yes, this port is a big deal. Phoenix Wright will appear on the iPhone and iPod Touch in 2010, further cementing Apple's place in the casual gaming market. For me, this is one of the better games out there for the non-gamer type, that is, the casual gamer who only picks up a game here and there and wants every title to be a real investment. This game plays like a courtroom drama and has hours upon hours of gameplay. If you haven't played this game yet, or even if you have, you should definitely check it out on the iPhone. And get ready to yell "Hold It!" or "Objection" into your phone's receiver.