Last week I started the conversation about the types of games non-gamers (specifically, wives and girlfriends) could enjoy or at least tolerate. After laying out some general principles and looking at some broad areas of gaming, this week I’ll be narrowing my focus and talking about some specific genres that might appeal to non-gamers. I’ve organized the games from most appealing to least, in general. As always, your mileage may vary, and I’d love to hear others’ ideas as well!

Mario Party put party games onto the map

Party Games
Everybody loves a good party game. Since Mario Party on Nintendo 64 (I’m sure there are other examples from before then), party games have been drawing in non-gamers in droves. There’s something about the competition involved, the inherent fun involved, that keeps people coming back for more. It’s like playing a board game on your television, quite literally sometimes.

In the current generation, the party game has evolved. Now we have music games, where you can get an entire band together, and up to six people can party at once. We have dance games – not only the bestseller Just Dance on the Wii, but upcoming games for Microsoft’s Kinect and tons of more games in the pipeline. Then there are sports games like Wii Sports and Wii Fit or EA Active, which manage to sell game systems to non-gamers.

These party games are the only type of games I can consistently get Mrs. cmfl3x to play. Whether it’s Wii Sports, Rock Band, or the like, these are the ONLY type of games where I can ask Mrs. cmfl3x “Do you want to play?” without getting a drink thrown in my face.

Party Games for Non-gamers
Wii Sports series
Mario Party series
Rock Band series
Guitar Hero series
Dance Dance Revolution Series
Any Karaoke Game

Despite spending most of his time running around with a school aged boy, Professor Layton has found his way into the hearts of many non-gamers.

Casual/Puzzle Games
I lumped casual and puzzle games together because they often go hand in hand. Whether it’s Bejeweled, Sudoku, or brain teasers, puzzle type games generally appeal to the casual audience. The Nintendo DS has practically cornered the market on old people who are trying to keep their brains fresh.

One standout and potential gateway drug game for non-gamers is the Professor Layton series. It has extremely simple gameplay: you just walk around and solve a bunch of brain teasers to ultimately solve a crime. However, it’s super addicting, and it’s also a very low barrier of entry for non-gamers. It’s the type of game that could potentially get somebody addicted to games, no mean feat.

Another game that deserves it’s own paragraph is Peggle. I’m not sure why it’s so darn addicting, but the combination of cute graphics, random but NOT random gameplay, and attainable goals makes it a big hit with non-gamers. Mrs. cmfl3x actually sat down and played Peggle for an hour one day – that is a minor miracle in and of itself. So keep an eye out for puzzle/casual games, and maybe you can find something to enjoy with that non-gamer in your life. But be careful, if the game is on your DS, you might not get it back.

Puzzle/Casual Games for Non-gamers
Peggle Series
Professor Layton Series
Puzzle Quest
Brain Age Series
Big Brain Academy
Crossword Puzzle Games on DS (there are tons out there)

You can never go wrong with pirates. Y’arr!

Adventure Games
Finally, a genre of gaming that combines story elements, graphical elements, and puzzle elements all into one is the adventure series genre which is making a comeback of late. Adventure games are basically story and puzzle games: you progress a narrative by solving various environmentally based puzzles. Adventure games aren’t for everyone, but Mrs. cmfl3x actually prefers when I play these types of games for a couple of reasons.

First of all, the graphics aren’t as edgy in adventure based games. Secondly, the dialogue is generally pretty funny, and thirdly, the stories involved are generally pretty interesting. Whether it’s Monkey Island, Wallace and Grommit, or Sam and Max, adventure games all seem like something more suited for kids. This helps to dispel “video games are too violent” myths and also helps to propel “video games can aid critical thinking” arguments. You may not ever need to use a rubber chicken with a pulley attached to it in real life, but it’s that kind of out of the box thinking that will help you (and your children!) go far in life.

The nice thing about adventure games is that you can play them together with your non-gaming friends. Only one person needs to be actually controlling the character, but both of you can give input on how to solve the environmental puzzles. And when one person gets tired of failing, the controller can always exchange hands. Regular readers of this site know I am a huge fan of adventure games – it also doesn’t hurt that Mrs. cmfl3x has a soft spot for them as well.

Adventure Games for Non-gamers
Monkey Island series
Sam and Max series
Wallace and Grommit series
Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure
Homestar Runner series
Phoenix Wright series
Heavy Rain (mature audiences only)

Final Thoughts
In the end, I think video games are generally pretty hit or miss with non-gamers. It all comes down to personal preference, whether you catch them in the right mood, etc. etc. Hopefully, this little guide can give you some ideas if you’re looking for something to play with that non-gamer in your life. Remember, though – nothing beats REAL quality time. Of course, if you can pull off spending some of that time with controllers in your hands…there’s no harm in that either!

If you’re short on time, here’s the gist of this review: if you like Green Day, then you’ll like Green Day: Rock Band. Despite the music genre getting a little over-saturated these days, Green Day: Rock Band is still a solid entry in Harmonix’s lineup that is sure to please fans of the band. The music game does show signs of old age though, and it’s just not as compelling as The Beatles were last year. Hit the jump to find out why.

Soundtrack – Having a Blast
There are very few albums that I consider worth listening to from start to finish without skipping any tracks (Weezer’s blue album, Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream, and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Blood Sugar Sex Magick come to mind). Green Day Rock Band features two such albums: Dookie and American Idiot, which are what I consider to be Green Day’s best two albums and the strongest aspect of Green Day Rock Band. In addition you get a smattering of tracks from Green Day’s other albums, including the majority of 21st Century Breakdown (the other songs were featured as DLC in Rock Band 2 and are compatible with GD: RB).

American Idiot and Dookie warrant a purchase on their own. Dookie is a throwback to the time when punk went mainstream in America, and its fast strums and lyrics about um…creative time wasting recall a time when MTV still showed music videos. I’ll never forget the video for Longview – a classic. American Idiot, released 10 years later, shows a real evolution in Green Day’s music: it’s a rock ballad, one that you can now see on Broadway if I’m not mistaken. Crazily enough, if you listen to American Idiot in sequence, it tells the story of “Jesus of Suburbia”, the album’s protagonist and the name of my favorite song on the album. It is an amazing musical piece of work. These two albums plus the other tracks, which are all the ones you’d really want anyway, make up a solid library, provided you like Green Day of course. You can also export the songs to Rock Band 2 or 3.

Gameplay – The Static Age
There aren’t really any gameplay innovations in Green Day Rock Band. There are only three venues, which is a bit of a bummer, and the 40+ tracks are split into these three venues. They are broken up by sets, which you can play through in any order you like. One thing that really bugged me is that I couldn’t make a setlist – I had to play one song at a time. With load times and with added animations before the song starts, I felt it was a bit of a drag – I just wanted to get to the songs.

Difficulty wise, it’s definitely more challenging than the Beatles: it’s a lot of fast strumming. There are also some tricky chord progressions that are a lot of fun to play. That being said, I haven’t even been in the red at all on Expert difficulty for guitar, so it’s definitely doable. The bass lines are definitely a highlight in this game, as are the drum sections. Green Day features three extremely talented musicians, and the style of music changes throughout the game. The vocal parts are a lot of fun to sing along to and the game includes harmonies as well. Harmonix seems to have basically adopted an “ain’t broke don’t fix it” mentality, and it serves them well.

Nitpicks – Give Me Novocaine
I don’t know, I love Green Day, but I think the music game genre is getting old. For this game, I found myself just trying to get through the songs, and so the aforementioned load times/animation sequences didn’t help that. Another thing that bugged me about the game was that my calibration was all off and I had to recalibrate my rig. I’m not sure if it’s because I got a new Jasper unit or what, but it’s frustrating, plus my guitar and drums don’t calibrate with exactly the same numbers.

I also think the setlist/venue thing is outdated in general. I don’t know if Guitar Hero’s “warrior of rock quest-line” business is going to help change things up, but the genre is screaming for something new. Another nitpick I have is the fact that this game came AFTER The Beatles Rock Band. It doesn’t make sense. I love Green Day, but they aren’t The Beatles, and although their music lends itself well to this type of game, I don’t think they are quite deserving of their own title.

Final Thoughts – Welcome to Paradise or Boulevard of Broken Dreams?
As I said in the intro, it comes down to this question: How much do you like Green Day? That will determine how much you like the game. It’s a solid music title, and there were definitely multiple tracks that I really rocked out to. The drums in particular are tons of fun. I’d say wait and pick it up when the game is cheaper (I got it for $45), or borrow a friend’s copy. Still, I could play Jesus of Suburbia all day and be happy – that song is awesome.

Final Score: B

For some reason I have been doing a lot of random stuff lately in my gaming life. I don’t know if it’s because it’s nice out and causing me to hunker down and play marathon sessions less or what, but recently I haven’t stayed too focused on one game and am just kind of going wherever my Xbox takes me. This has led to some fun gaming experiences so I figured I’d share with everyone, plus there is some stuff that I think others might like to check out as well!

I went nuts last week on XBLA. I bought the entire Abbey Road album for the Beatles Rock Band and three other songs. I dunno if it’s worth it but those tracks are pretty good! I think I started when I convinced my wife to play Beatles Rock Band with me but it ended with me spending over 15 bucks. Then I bought Defense Grid: The Awakening, a tower defense game that came out over a year ago. But the downloadable item I spent the most time with? None other than the FREE FIFA 2010 World Cup demo.

I ended up playing something like 30+ matches in the demo over the course of the week. Let me point out a few things. First, each half is only 2 minutes long, so the games only take about 10 minutes. Secondly, I barely ever play sports games, so I started out having trouble even beating the computer on amateur. Finally, you only get to play one specific game in the demo: Spain vs. Italy. I chose Spain every time, meaning I played 30 matches as Spain vs. Italy! Not thrilling stuff, but somehow I managed to sink most of my time into that.

As for Defense Grid, it’s actually pretty fun and at least in the earlier levels I don’t feel hamstrung by the gamepad when trying to manage my towers. I like the sci-fi aspect of the game although it’s silly that the game seems to be trying to tell a story. I can see how it can get pretty challenging and am looking forward to taking it up.

The rest of my time has been spent playing Modern Warfare 2 (oh yeah, I spent $15 on THAT DLC too!). I am slowly but surely inching my way towards prestiging which is pretty exciting. I am also absolutely in love with the demolition mode, it is the kind of madness that is equal parts infuriating and exhilarating. Hopefully I will have a new icon by next week!

Last but not least, I wanted to share with you all a pretty cool (and free!) game called Synopsis Quest. It is a bunch of minigames that essentially make up a RPG. If you are familiar with standard JRPG conventions you should be able to solve most of the puzzles. None are really unfair, although some assume prior knowledge of some of the more famous JRPGs out there. Check it out, it’s a fun little game and it’s free!

Final Four Results

(3) Starcraft defeats (1) BioShock (50-50, tiebreak)
Starcraft isn’t as powerful as it used to be I guess. I thought this would be a walk, but BioShock continued to prove its popularity and this poll came down to a dead tie. Unfortunately for Andrew Ryan, registered users voted for Starcraft at a 2:1 ratio, so Starcraft took the matchup via tiebreaker. Even though Starcraft emerged from the RTS region, I think it should be noted that Starcraft had an excellent story in its own right, and I think could have stood toe to toe with (though probably not beaten) BioShock on that merit alone. Add in the gameplay, and Starcraft is a worthy participant in the championship game.

(8) Rock Band 2 defeats (3) Goldeneye (50-50, tiebreak)
Another tiebreaker, but this one went to Rock Band 2 in a 5:1 ratio of registered users voting. Rock Band 2 has been on quite a ride – I still can’t believe I forgot to include it in the original group. But hey, power of the people! It looks like people enjoy sitting on their couches with plastic instruments as opposed to sitting with N64 controllers in their hands. I was hoping to see a Starcraft/Goldeneye old school matchup in the finals, but it looks like it wasn’t meant to be.

Championship Analysis and Prediction

Starcraft: The Old School Favorite

Who it beat to get here:

Round 1: Halo Wars (61-39)
Sweet 16: Final Fantasy Tactics (58-42)
Elite 8: Civilization IV (55-45)
Final Four: Bioshock (50-50, tiebreak)

What does Starcraft have going for it? It’s only the defining real time strategy game. It defeated the best console RTS out there, the best tactical RPG out there, and the best turn based strategy game out there. Starcraft introduced 3 races and remains to this day one of the most balanced real time strategy games out there. Starcraft is my favorite for the championship and I’m pulling for it to win! How can you turn down Tassadar?

Rock Band 2: The Crowd Pleaser

Who it beat to get here:

Round 1: Super Mario 64 (52-48)
Sweet 16: NHL 94′ (71-29)
Elite 8: Street Fighter IV (58-42)
Final Four: Goldeneye (50-50, tiebreak)

Rock Band 2 is truly the people’s choice. Even non-gamers know what Rock Band 2 is, and I’m sure many have played it as well. It is the ultimate party game, especially for people who love music (and really who doesn’t?) Its enjoyable gameplay, party play, and of course, the ability to pretend you are a real rocker have propelled Rock Band 2 to the championship game. Will it be enough? Will millions of fans beat out millions of zerglings? It is up to you, the Leveling Down reader, to decide. VOTE!

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With only a few games left in the running, cmfl3x and I have decided to combine the results discussion from Round 3 along with the starting the polling for Round 4.

Round 4 polls will close Monday, April 5th, at 6pm EST. cmfl3x will announce the two games moving into the Finals and open the voting on Tuesday. Hit the jump to see some commentary on the results and to vote for the Final Four…

Hollywood Region – Round 3 Results

(1) BioShock defeats (3) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic [82-18]
I was actually surprised how much of a trouncing Star Wars got when it went up against BioShock, as it was able to squeak past Metal Gear Solid. Would Metal Gear Solid have also gotten destroyed by BioShock, the game that Leveling Down considers perhaps the best storyline in all of gaming? Talk about crazy. I voted for BioShock myself, as it was a gaming experience with a storyline and premise that still stands at the top today. The world of Rapture, its memorable characters, and the unforgettable plot twist helped BioShock easily make its way to the top in our Hollywood Region. I fell asleep a few times playing Knights of the Old Republic, but I did rebuy it on Steam recently and plan to make my way through it at some point because it does have its fair share of fans. I need to go back and see what I missed.

M16 Region – Round 3 Results

(3) GoldenEye 007 defeats (4) Halo 3 [58-42]
Is this an upset?! To me it was, even if GoldenEye ranked slightly higher than Halo 3 in the ratings. The score wasn’t that close – which means for us Leveling Down members, we are an older crowd that appreciated what GoldenEye did for shooters more so than what Halo 3 did. This is quite a shock for me, because we’re talking about a game that is two generations back that is going to make it into the Final Four. And unlike Starcraft, GoldenEye isn’t a game that quite stands the test of time (as eeyore has pointed out). Still, I voted for it, as I have never really loved Halo multiplayer, but I guess I’m not alone in this.

Sun-Tzu Region – Round 3 Results

(3) Starcraft defeats (1) Civilization IV [55-45]
Of the four matchups for the Elite 8, this was the only one that I was nearly certain Starcraft would win. Yet as I checked the polls over the last two days, the voting was pretty neck and neck. “Who are these people that are voting for Civilization IV?” I thought to myself. Well, in Civilization IV’s defense, its sequel is around the corner as well, so there are fans in both camps. It’s all about real time strategy versus turn based strategy. But, as the dust falls, we see that Leveling Down readers prefer a little more action mixed in with their strategy, and have gone the real-time route. Starcraft was almost defeated by Halo Wars in the first round, and almost defeated by Civilization IV in the third round, but in my head, it’s probably the #1 seed in this entire tourney.

(8) Rock Band 2 defeats (2) Street Fighter IV [58-42]
This is more of an upset in a technical way, as Rock Band 2 was not even among the initial list of games that cmfl3x considered for the Hodj Podj region. It went up against tough competition: Street Fighter IV is arguably the best Street Fighter game out there, and on top of that, Super Street Fighter IV releases this month. Still, there are many music game fans on our site, and the vote for Rock Band 2 is probably not so much a vote for the game as much as it is for the developer, Harmonix, and what they’ve done for music gaming. They brought Guitar Hero to us. They brought Rock Band to us. And while I personally feel they’ve kind of sold out, for anyone that enjoys musical gaming today, you still have to give Harmonix props.

espion4ge’s Forecast, West Region
Now it’s getting even tougher as we pit the champion of one region against another to see which game Leveling Down believes to be the better game. BioShock and its wonderful storyline goes up against Starcraft, the real-time strategy game that is treated like a sport in Korea with sponsors, “athletes”, and several television channels. With its near infinite replayability and sequel on the horizon, I would expect Starcraft to win by a longshot, but it didn’t have an easy victory against Civilization IV, and the majority of our readers are 360 owners so anything is possible!

espion4ge’s Forecast, East Region
What a strange East Region Finals matchup: GoldenEye against Rock Band 2 – I will dub this the couch multiplayer battle. Memories of us as kids playing GoldenEye on our couches with friends or playing plastic instruments with our friends – which one did we enjoy more? I’m actually having a tough time voting the winner of this one as well. GoldenEye and Rock Band 2 both surprised me with their respective Elite 8 victories, so this time we have two underdogs trying to move into the finals, where I have a feeling Starcraft will await. Can either of these two games defeat Starcraft? GoldenEye had a strong victory over Halo 3, while Rock Band 2 narrowly made it past Street Fighter IV. I actually have no idea which way this matchup will go. It’s too close to call! But either way, I will be happy for either game that moves onto the finals.

Now it’s up to you guys to decide:

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Voting for Round 3 is now open.

Polls will close this Thursday, April 1, 2010 at 6PM EST, so you will only have today and tomorrow to vote. I will post the winners for each of the four regions on Friday. These winners will move onto the Final Four next week as we get closer to the 2010 Finals. Hit the jump to cast your votes!

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After another furious round of voting, the Elite 8 is set! There were some pretty interesting Sweet 16 matchups, and a lot of the polls were closer than in the first round. At this point, 75% of the field has been eliminated, and we are 3 rounds away from finding out who is the winner of Leveling Down’s Video Game March Madness 2010! Hit the jump for a full recap, and feel free to express your utter outrage at the results in the comments!

Hollywood Region – Round 2 Results

(1) BioShock defeats (4) God of War [67-33]
This one was a real squeaker. I ended up voting for BioShock, but that’s a bit unfair since it’s the only game of the two I’ve played. And reading God of War’s story makes it sound really awesome. And I’m not sure if it’s BioShock’s story I love, or the setting. So maybe my vote was unfair. I also wonder if this is a referendum on Sony vs. Microsoft, since BioShock was an Xbox exclusive for a long while. Regardless, both these games are worthy titles, but in the end, it looks like Leveling Down users enjoy BioShock more, keeping the #1 seed alive.

(3) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic defeats (2) Metal Gear Solid [55-45]
KOTOR has an excellent story, but Metal Gear Solid is tops in my book. Both games feature shocking plot twists, humorous moments, and mysterious sword wielding characters. Both also feature a memorable cast of characters, friend and enemy alike. But one, only ONE of these games features a scientist peeing their pants: and that is why it is a winner. Except it’s not the winner. In a close upset, KOTOR edges out Metal Gear Solid.

cmfl3x’s Forecast, Hollywood Region
I thought this was going to be God of War vs. MGS, but it turned out to be the exact opposite. It looks like the Star Wars license is carrying KOTOR, but we’ll see if the deep setting of Rapture puts Bioshock on top. I think KOTOR is going to take it to the Final Four in a squeaker.

M16 Region – Round 2 Results

(4) Halo 3 defeats (8) Resident Evil 4 [68-32]
The first Cinderella seed falls. Resident Evil 4 was a huge leap forward for shooters, but the fact of the matter is, Halo DEFINED this generation’s console shooters, at least until COD4 came along. Coupled with the incredible love for Master Chief, it looks like RE4 just couldn’t hold up. I voted for Halo 3 as well, and am pretty excited for its upcoming Elite 8 matchup!

(3) Goldeneye defeats (2) Uncharted 2 [67-33]
These results surprised me. I agonized over this decision, I loved both games, but ultimately, the nostalgia factor won out and I voted for Goldeneye. One thing that hurts Uncharted 2 is the fact that its probably not thought of as a shooter first and foremost – the first thing I think of when I think of Uncharted 2 is that its an awesome cinematic experience. It may have even done better in the Hollywood Region. But for 2010, it looks like James Bond > Nathan Drake.

cmfl3x’s Forecast, M16 Region
This is a really cool matchup, the defining shooter of this generation vs. the defining shooter of the past. Master Chief vs. 007. Brute hammers vs. golden guns. Online play vs. your best friend’s living room. In the end, I think it’s been too long, and Goldeneye may end up losing out because of it. My heart wants Goldeneye to win, but my mind predicts Halo 3 will.

Sun-Tzu Region – Round 2 Results

(1) Civilization IV defeats (4) Warcraft III [61-39]
Warcraft III, even though I voted for it, sometimes has the misfortune of being considered the fantasy version of Starcraft. That’s really unfair, since War 3 is completely different and introduced some really new ideas into the RTS genre, but that’s the reality. Civilization, on the other hand, stands heads and shoulders above other world conquest games. So it’s no surprise that Civ 4 ended up finding better traction, and thus it moves on to play another day.

(3) Starcraft defeats (7) Final Fantasy Tactics [58-42]
“The winner of this matchup goes to the Final Four.” – Leveling Down user. A bold prediction, and one that I think will bear out. Starcraft is the best RTS game out there, and FFT is the best tactical RPG out there. It’s a shame these two had to meet so early, but really, Starcraft is a juggernaut that cannot be stopped. Who will ever forget: “2v2 Lost Temple!!! 2v2 Lost Temple!!! 2v2 Lost Temple!!! Gone.” Heck, who just did that yesterday?

cmfl3x’s Forecast, Sun-Tzu Region
Let’s look at the tale of the tape. Round 1, Starcraft defeats the best console RTS out there. Sweet 16, Starcraft defeats the best tactical RPG out there. Who does Starcraft face in the Elite 8? Only the best turn-based game out there. Can this 12 year old game continue its run? You bet it can. It won’t even be close.

Hodj Podj Region – Round 2 Results

(8) Rock Band 2 defeats (5) NHL 94′ [71-29]
It was nice to see NHL 94′ make it to the sweet 16, but the reality is it had an easy matchup. Rock Band 2 is one of the most popular party games out there, and even though I loved NHL 94′ multiplayer, I voted for Rock Band 2 because it is way more universal. This is the only 8-seed remaining in the tournament, but it will be up against its toughest test in the next round. Which leads me to…

(2) Street Fighter IV defeats (3) World of Warcraft [82-18]
Wow. Pun intended. I thought this one was going to be closer, but I guess we have more console players than PC players on this site. It’s really amazing how Street Fighter IV put fighting games back on the map, and its success in this tournament is indicative of that. Just in time for Super Street Fighter IV! Hello, T-Hawk!

cmfl3x’s Forecast, Hodj Podj Region
The Hodj Podj Region was the most random region, since it literally hosted a hodj podj of games. Now we have a fighting game and a music game remaining, and the winner gets to avoid a potential matchup with Starcraft in the Final Four. Either of these games has a chance to make it to the final round and maybe win this whole thing. My prediction? I think Street Fighter IV is gonna pull an upset against Rock Band 2, which would likely be the people’s choice.

Final Thoughts
So, what do you think of my predictions? Am I crazy? Let me know in the comments! All I know is that the Sweet 16 was a lot of fun, and I expect the Elite 8 to be no different. Anything is possibleeee!

Voting for Round 2 is now open.

The polls will close on Monday March 29th, 2010 at 6PM EST. cmfl3x will announce the 8 winners moving into Round 3. Hit the jump to cast your votes!

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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!

Leveling Down’s 2010 Videogame Tourney Has Officially Started! The rounds will take place over the next couple of weeks, and will be heavily decided by you, our Leveling Down readers.

Voting for Round 1, which consists of all 32 games in the tourney, will close on Wednesday March 24, 2010 at 6PM EST. On Thursday, cmfl3x will announce the 16 games that will move onto Round 2 and we will open Round 2 voting Friday morning and end it Monday at 6PM EST.  Hit the jump to read more about our first tourney and to cast your votes!

Thanks to all of you that participated in voting for that 8th seed in each bracket. Unfortunately, 3 of those 4 8 seed votes were all ties: Prince of Persia: Sands of Time and Assassin’s Creed II for the Hollywood bracket, Resident Evil 4 and Counter-Strike for the M16 bracket, and Rock Band 2 and Shadow of the Colossus for the Hodj Podj bracket.

This weekend, cmfl3x and I discussed what to do with ties (in both the 8th seed voting and in the actual tourney itself). We originally considered allowing both games that tied to move forward into the next round, so instead of two games for that next matchup, it would be three: the winner of one half of that matchup and both games that tied from the other matchup. Ultimately, we decided against it because to see three games in a matchup may skew the voting too much (anyone remember Ross Perot?).

Thus, for ties, cmfl3x and I will use some sort of criteria to decide who moves onto the next round. With this being our first videogame tourney and all, this may not be the best approach, but we’re learning as we go. I’ve decided to use the metacritic game averages to determine which game in a tie move forward. Unfortunately for Assassin’s Creed II and Shadow of the Colossus, their competitors ranked 1 point higher on the average review score. Heartbreaking – just like when I nearly cried as Michigan State sunk that three pointer at the buzzer to send the Maryland Terps home yesterday afternoon but we had to narrow it down to one winner each round.

Having said that, let’s get on to the voting for Round 1:

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Please feel free to share your thoughts!