Game of the Month: November '09

If you are reading this then you survived the fall gaming push. Congratulations, it's been a doozy. This past month has seen a lot of great games and if you're as hardcore as us then your wallet has been completely depleted and your loved ones are contemplating checking you into an institution for therapy because you've clearly shown you care more about people on a screen than those standing right in front of you. But whatever, you got to enjoy Modern Warfare 2 and New Super Mario Bros. Wii. So screw 'um. And with that, on to our very prestigious monthly award for game of the month...

The Competition:

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

"Infinity Ward knows how to deliver on scripted events, they just now need to get a bit tighter with their story-telling on all future titles (which we'll obviously be seeing). But as it stands, Modern Warfare 2's single player campaign is pretty much a bust...But I don't think I could really ask more of Modern Warfare 2's competitive multiplayer angle.  Everything Infinity Ward did so well in the first is back again, and bigger....this is still a world class shooter that deserves every fan of the genre's attention." - Joey Davidson & Erik Norris

Left 4 Dead 2

"So here's the deal. If you're picking up Left 4 Dead 2 because you loved the original game and the thought of blowing away more zombies on new maps, with new weapons, and with one added game mode is too good to resist, then Left 4 Dead 2 will make you a happy camper. But if you were looking for Left 4 Dead 2 to innovate the cooperative zombie fragging genre, it doesn't. The game brings a number of cool additions to the franchise and feels more like a complete package out the gate than the first game did, but still boils down to pushing forward and destroying hordes of zombies with little to no story driving the experience." - Erik Norris

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

"This game is what Mario Party should have been from the very start... a perfect blend of platforming and group fun.  Aside from group difficulty and Yoshi, I can't really dock this experience for much of anything.  I suppose I could come out and say that Nintendo should do this more often, but hopefully they already know that.  Nearly two decades is too damn long to celebrate Mario and his roots on my living room TV." - Joey Davidson

Assassin's Creed II

"Assassin's Creed II fixes a lot of the problems that plagued the original title. The storytelling is rock solid, the layout of missions flows nicely, and Ubisoft Montreal absolutely nailed all facets of how Italy looked during the late 15th to early 16th century. But faults do still exist; the combat is bare outside some cool fatality animations, character models need work, and for the love of god, do something with the present day story arc. However, problems aside, the big picture is that you're getting a game that's at least 18 hours (more if you must collect everything) that does more right than wrong. Plus, you can finally swim in the sequel. So, you know, that's huge. Assassin's Creed II is worth checking out as long as you don't go into it expecting a renaissance for how open world gaming is handled." - Erik Norris

And the lucky lady is...