After 3 days of voting, the first round of Leveling Down’s Video Game March Madness 2010 is over! There were some close matchups, some blowouts, and of course, some surprises. As a reminder for those of you who may feel that some of these games were unfairly seeded, we seeded all the games based on Metacritic scores. It’s all their fault!
Anyway, thanks to everyone for voting! The first 32 have now been cut down to the Sweet 16. After the jump, check out who I voted for, my thoughts on the results, and a preliminary look at the Sweet 16 matchups.
Tiebreaker note: I decided that casting a tiebreaking vote was too arbitrary and I felt uncomfortable with the power! So for tie polls, I tallied up the registered commenters who voted as the tiebreaker. It seemed like the fairest thing to do, so make sure you’re logged in to make your vote count the most!
Hollywood Region – Round 1 Results
(1) Bioshock raptures (8) Prince of Persia: Sands of Time [81-19]
This was an easy one, and the only 1 seed that won in a blowout. I voted along with the general consensus, Bioshock has a very engaging story coupled with an even more amazing setting, the unforgettable underwater city of Rapture. The Sands of Time features an epic Middle Eastern adventure/romance story, one that’s good enough for the real Hollywood to make a movie about (Jake Gyllenhaal stars), but it just wasn’t enough.
(4) God of War assassinates (5) Portal [56-44]
This result made me sad. God of War is an excellent game, featuring a great revenge story pitting Kratos against the gods who wronged him. But Portal, PORTAL, has one of the slickest and best told narratives I’ve experienced in a video game. Perhaps part of it was the fact that I didn’t even think the game had a narrative when I started it. In the end, the subtleties of Portal weren’t enough to defeat the sheer strength of Kratos’ story. Too bad, but I have a feeling God of War isn’t finished yet.
(3) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic force chokes (6) Beyond Good and Evil [75-25]
Beyond Good and Evil is another small title whose narrative was surprisingly excellent. Unfortunately, it’s not a story that many gamers are acquainted with, because it’s old and also because very few people bought it. It made the field of 32 though on account of its powerful storyline. Who doesn’t like taking down evil empires? Of course, millions of people have fallen in love with Star Wars, and thus Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic took this matchup in a walk (I voted for it as well). Not only is the game based on the Star Wars license, but it features a great story with an awesome plot twist. The force is strong with this one.
(2) Metal Gear Solid sneaks past (7) Final Fantasy IV [50-50, tiebreak]
This was one of the toughest decisions for me, as it was for the readers as well. We had to end up going with a tiebreaker, registered commenters, and MGS prevailed. I ended up choosing MGS as well, but I could have gone either way – both these games have amazing storylines. Final Fantasy IV was the first game I remember having to face the deaths of characters I knew and loved, and I still consider it my favorite Final Fantasy ever. Metal Gear Solid introduced me to Solid Snake, one of my favorite video game protagonists ever. Hideo Kojima’s musings on the nature of war, friendship, and love made for a story that I never forgot. It’s a shame that one of these games’ tournament runs had to end so soon. Stupid Metacritic!
M16 Region – First Round Results
(8) Resident Evil 4 headshots Metroid Prime [63-37]
The M16 region features our first 8-1 upset, with Resident Evil 4 destroying Metroid Prime. I voted for Metroid Prime, just because I loved what Prime did to bring the franchise into a first person perspective. Unfortunately, Metroid Prime is a victim of Metacritic overseeding, but hey it makes things exciting! Resident Evil 4 is probably the best game from the last generation of consoles, so this is probably an upset in name only.
(4) Halo 3 energy swords (5) Modern Warfare 2 [52-48]
I expected this matchup to be close, and it did not disappoint. Even though I voted for Modern Warfare 2, Halo 3 is a worthy winner in this matchup. There is a lot of debate about which game takes more skill, but what’s not up for debate is the steel grip these two franchise have on the gaming community. This week, Modern Warfare 2 and Halo 3 placed 1 and 2 on Xbox Live respectively. Think of that, Halo 3 was released almost 3 years ago! This was an amazing matchup, and it was fun to see it come down to the wire. Like MGS and FFIV, it’s sad to see one of these games go, but thems the breaks.
(3) Goldeneye exercises its license to kill on (6) Doom II [86-14]
This matchup of two classics was a tough choice for me, but I went with Doom II in the end. I spent many nights using my modem to dial up my friends and play deathmatch. Then again, I spent many nights playing Goldeneye with my friends using the Solitaire control scheme. Both these games paved the way for first person shooters – Doom II for the genre in general, and Goldeneye for consoles. How I long for the good ole days.
(2) Uncharted 2 crashes (7) Gears of War 2′s train [71-29]
Uncharted 2 is one of the most cinematic shooters out there, and its strong gunplay coupled with an amazing storyline literally blew Gears of War 2 away. Gears of War 2 is a great game in its own right, but it’s probably hurt by its machismo. At least Marcus and Dom will be able to keep each other warm at night.
Sun-Tzu Region – Round 1 Results
(1) Civilization IV wins a cultural victory over (8) Command and Conquer [53-47]
Sid Meier is so famous that he can put his name in front of his games, and Sid Meier’s Civilization IV was no exception. Civilization is the most famous turn-based global conquest game out there and that earned my vote. Command and Conquer was one of the best RTS games out there, until Starcraft came along. In the end, having your creator’s name in the title equals a win. Civ IV gets one more turn in the next round.
(4) Warcraft III hero assassinates (5) Dune II [82-18]
This was an interesting matchup, new vs. old, modern vs. classic. Dune II was the first RTS game I ever played, and probably the game that put the genre on the map. Warcraft III is the last RTS that Blizzard released (though Starcraft 2 is coming soon!), and it kind of reinvented the genre with its use of heroes. I don’t think many people even know what Dune II is, so this wasn’t really a fair fight, and I ended up picking Warcraft III in this matchup. But Dune II should just be proud for being here!
(3) Starcraft zerg rushes (6) Halo Wars [61-39]
Halo Wars is the best console RTS in the business, and is probably a model that all future console RTSes should follow. There is a loyal fanbase for Halo Wars, which probably resulted in this matchup being closer than expected. In the end, though, Starcraft is a classic and the benchmark by which all real time strategy games are measured. The game is criminally underseeded, and I still can’t believe Metacritic only has it at 88. I expect great things from Starcraft in the rest of this tournament!
(7) Final Fantasy Tactics defeats (2) Advance Wars: Dual Strike [72-28]
Not everyone knows this, but the Nintendo DS has tons of amazing turn based strategy games, and Advance Wars: Dual Strike is probably the best of the lot. I loved it, but the fact of the matter is that Final Fantasy Tactics is probably the most beloved tactical role playing game out there. That turned this one into a rout.
Hodj Podj Region – Round 1 Results
(8) Rock Band 2 rocks (1) Super Mario 64 [52-48]
Super Mario 64 is one of my favorite games of all time, and it is the game that really ushered in the 3-D gaming generation. Unfortunately, the broad appeal of Rock Band 2 proved too much for this classic. Really, this is my fault, because I meant to put Rock Band 2 (or some music game) in the field but forgot at the last minute. For the record, Rock Band 2 probably would have been the 2 seed in this bracket. But now I’ll never find out how much people liked Super Mario 64! (Not that much I guess).
(5) NHL 94′ one times (4) Warioware Inc.: Mega Microgame$ [68-32]
This one wasn’t even close, which is kind of indicative of the fact that not many people play portable games. Even I couldn’t bring myself to vote for the lone Game Boy Advance game in the field. NHL 94′s addictive gameplay and multiplayer factor make it the superior product. If you haven’t played a Warioware game before though, check it out – it puts the mini into minigames.
(3) World of Warcraft completes (6) The Secret of Monkey Island quest [68-32]
11+ million people can’t be wrong. World of Warcraft is the most addictive MMORPG out there – it offers great gameplay, the ability to play with your friends, and even an interesting storyline. The Secret of Monkey Island, one in a long line of great adventure games, just can’t stand up to that. Sure, Guybrush Threepwood is funny, but if that pirate ever ran into a death knight he’d be toast.
(2) Street Fighter IV KOs (7) Animal Crossing [91-9]
I thought this one was going to be unanimous. How did I put Animal Crossing in there over Rock Band? Mario Kart? Ugh. Anyway, Animal Crossing was there to represent for “sim” type games, and Street Fighter to represent fighting games, but really, this matchup should never have happened. How could I forget Kart!?! I’ll never forgive myself…until next year.
Sweet 16 Quick Look
Hollywood Region
(1) Bioshock vs. (4) God of War – an interesting matchup pitting two strong stories with incredibly different gameplay backing them
(2) Metal Gear Solid vs. (3) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – Light sabers vs. Solid Snake.
M16 Region
(4) Halo 3 vs. (8) Resident Evil 4 – Can Resident Evil pull off another upset, or is the Bungie juggernaut just too strong?
(2) Uncharted 2 vs. (3) Goldeneye – PS3 vs. N64. It doesn’t seem fair, but will nostalgia play a strong factor?
Sun-Tzu Region
(1) Civilization IV vs. (4) Warcraft III – Turn based vs. real time strategy, should be interesting.
(3) Starcraft vs. (7) Final Fantasy Tactics – After surviving a first round scare, can Starcraft show its true power against Tactics?
Hodj Podj Region
(5) NHL 94′ vs. (8) Rock Band 2 – What has bigger appeal, sports games or music games?
(2) Street Fighter IV vs. (3) World of Warcraft – Can Capcom’s finest stand up against Blizzard’s juggernaut?
Polls open tomorrow – happy voting!
a lot of the matchups were practically no-brainers in the first round, but it should be interesting to see what comes out of Round 2, since the more “popular” games prevailed. some of these round 2 matchups i feel i could go one way or the other depending on the day, so i’m certainly looking forward to what the results will turn out to be once we open polls tomorrow.
the biggest surprise i see is that halo 3 beat out modern warfare 2. with most of us playing mw2 and a healthy number of ps3 owners visiting our site, i didn’t think halo 3 had a chance. but now i wonder if it is it because there are more 360 owners among our loyal readers? on the other hand we’re also seeing Uncharted 2 destroy Gears of War 2 and God of War getting past Portal, so there isn’t necessarily a strong console bias one way or another with you guys – which i find interesting.
I really think people having no clue what Dune 2 was really hurt its chances. I think I have the fondest memories of Dune 2 over any other RTS I’ve played. The Sardaukar will bring justice!
Registered! Now my votes can count towards the tie-breakers, which I think there could be many this round. I want to get Kratos and Solid Snake to the top! I think this round looks pretty good, with a lot of great games going head to head.
Can we reseed for the Sun Tzu division? I think Starcraft vs FFT is a brutal matchup. The winner of those 2 should win that bracket. And I remember Dune 2, but once the Warcraft/Starcraft juggernaut started, there was no turning back. Sorry Tai!
I checked metacritic. If FFT had been seeded by metacritic (after the switch from A2), it woulda been a 6 seed! AKA SC vs FFT in round 1! So, take what you can get
Of course, then Halo Wars would have had a pretty good chance to upset Advance Wars…heh.
i have really fond memories of dune2, but war3 was a good multiplayer game. after experiencing online rts competition, there’s no going back to beating the computer.
my hats off to you Dune 2 players…i actually didn’t get started in RTS games until trying a demo of Warcraft 2 and the original Command & Conquer. After I got hooked on those, I checked out Warcraft 1 and Dune 2, but after War2 & C&C, I couldn’t go back…you guys were like 12 when you got into Dune 2 probably. Pretty remarkable! Dune was a great book though.
You should have played Warcraft 1 via modem…it was awesome…not. well, actually it was pretty awesome at the time
i do remember playing modem with friends for war2, c&c, and duke nukem 3d. those days were definitely awesome. although, when quake came along and i came home one day to see my brother playing deathmatch online with 7 other strangers, it ushered in a completely new era. to this day i still remember the amount of times my brother and i would fight to get a turn on the pc to play these games “online” haha