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Vote here: http://www.wcg.com/6...LL/poll_PTT.asp
This voting guide was created to promote the growth of North American Gaming in preparation for the 2010 WCG WOrld National that will be held in LA. If you are not sure of the games in a particular genre (or don't care), we ask that you vote the way we recommend. We know that some of you will have a different opinion, and that is OK. Again, we ask that if you don't care about a particular genre that you vote according to our guide.
vVv Gaming recommends that you vote as follows:
Fighting
Dragon Ball: Raging Beast
Street Fighter IV
Tekken 6
Virtua Fighter 5
WWE Smackdown vs RAW 2009
Let me explain something about this category. WCG really likes VF5. And for good reason, it is a balanced fighting game. Now, why did we pick Tekken 6 over SF4? The Tekken series is the King of Iron Fist Tournament. Tekken 6, like its predecessors, combines a pick-up-and-play mentality with the potential for seriously in-depth strategies and mind games. One of the first gameplay elements that might tip off a new player to the underlying depth of Tekken 6 is his ability to block from a neutral position. Players do not have to hold "back" on the D-pad in order to block in Tekken, which means you won't have to perpetually move backwards if you're trying to anticipate an oncoming attack. Of course, players must still perform a crouching block to defend against low attacks (the crouching block also helps you avoid high attacks), but this just enhances the amount of options you have for your defensive game.
More depth emerges when you examine the proper way to string combos together, which must be varied enough to prevent your opponent from predicting your next move and responding with a counter or side step. If you do happen to find your character on the ground and vulnerable to a follow-up attack, you'll have to learn the best way to get up. Do you roll to the foreground, background or away from your opponent? Do you get up right away and immediately block and/or crouch block? Or do you try and catch your opponent with a standing kick? Clearly there are subtleties at work here that must be studied. Therefore, Tekken 6 is our choice.
First Choice: Tekken 6
Second Choice: Virtua Fighter 5
First Person Shooter
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2
Counter-Strike
Gears of War 2
Halo 3: ODST
Left 4 Dead 2
Let's face facts. We are tired of Counter-Strike. For North American eSports to grow, we need something fresh, balanced, and tactically rewarding. We have often felt that the first Left4Dead went unnoticed when it was first released. Let's not make that same mistake with Left4Dead2. We may not have understood why Valve released this second title so quickly, but once you play the demo it becomes immediately apparent that Valve knew exactly what they were doing. Forget the fact this game is fun, forget the fact that it's set in the south, and filled with the mystical elements of New Orleans, and forget the fact that everyone you know will tell you they love this game. This series is designed for 4v4, from resource management, to how to launch an attack and defend against attacks. It's the best competitive title.
Gears of War 2 and Modern Warfare 2. We're neutral on this. Gears of War 2 is a tested title and we know it works on lan. Although MLG, with a failed Anaheim event locking rosters for Orlando, may have damaged the Gears of War community and many fans' interest in this competition, there is no reason to believe that the game is going to die or that it is still not exciting to watch. 2010 is a new year and a new season. That being said, Modern Warfare 2 is the highest selling game in history, partly because everyone was desperate for a new shooter, but the big question is will it work on lan. Until we know this, it's hard to say yes to this game. So, we recommend you choose one of these two as your second choice.
First Choice: Left 4 Dead 2
Second Choice: Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 or Gears of War 2 (You choose!)
Racing
Burnout Paradise
DiRT 2
Forza 3
Gran Turismo 5
NFS Shift
TrackMania Nations Forever
In the racing games genre, there will always be a segment of games which are considered to be for hardcore racing fans only. Until Forza, the only game franchise that really stood out as a series that sought to really appeal to this segment was the Gran Turismo series. It was a real toss up between these two titles. With GT5 not out, it's a tough call. Forza 3 did so many things right, and to be honest if you vote for GT5, it's probably not a bad vote.
TrackMania Nations Forever is a WCG staple. It's less realistic than Forza 3 or GT5, but no one can argue that its balanced gameplay makes it a consistent, reliable racing game that makes it good for competition.
First Choice: Forza 3
Second Choice: TrackMania Nations Forever
RTS
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3
StarCraft 2
StarCraft: Brood War
WarCraft 3: Frozen Throne
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 2
How can anyone compete with the Starcraft series? With Starcraft 2 having a late first quarter release, provided that Blizzard doesn't change the date, Starcraft is clearly the king of competitive RTS games, and I think we can all agree that it belongs at the WCG. The real question is what other game COULD be included in this category?
Warcraft 3 is an aging title, and although not exactly the same, new games like Heroes of Newerth and League of Legends provide so much more opportunity in the sub-genre of Massive Online Battle Arenas. Now we know the Warcraft 3 fans will say, "Don't confuse Frozen Throne with DotA, they're not the same thing." We understand. We need something new.
Looking at both the C&C series and DoW2, it became clear that DoW2, with all of its improvements, and the fact that it had a fantastic Warhammer 40k lore surrounding the title, made it the right fit. Sometimes competitive games are chosen by its popularity. Other time, a game becoming competitive can make it popular. This is exactly what we hoped would happen with Dawn of War 2. It may be a surprise to some of you, but until you play the game, which we highly recommend you do, we ask that you consider our position.
First Choice: Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War II
Second Choice: StarCraft 2
Sports
Carom3D
FIFA Soccer 10
Madden NFL 10
NBA 2K10
NBA Live 10
PES / Winning Eleven 2010
Yes, we know that Carom3D is at the WCG right now. And yes, we know that Neoact was formed by gathering members from the Samsung Software Membership program, and that Neoact's efforts has always been focused to create high quality games based on it's 3D technology and network skills. This doesn't mean that we have to vote for this. We love and respect Samsung for sponsoring the best gaming event on the planet, but that does not mean we should not challenge them to make better games.
The world cup is coming up, and FIFA 10 rightfully belongs on the WCG circuit. It's the most popular sport in the world and its popularity is growing in the United States. In fact some vVv members are going to school on soccer scholarships. This makes it the clear first choice for a WCG sports title.
The second choice is a little bit tougher. The basic question is football vs basketball. We also have to be realistic. Although Madden is more popular in the United States, basketball is a true global sport and also very popular in the United States. Both games are competitive and challenging, so it was a tough and close call, but at the end of the day we felt that Basketball was a better sport for global competition.
First Choice: FIFA Soccer 10
Second Choice: NBA 2K10
RPG
Aion
Atlantica Online
Red Stone
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
This category is probably the easiest to choose. Everyone knows that WoW is popular, and everyone knows that Aion is a masterful blend of all the best elements from all MMO games combined into one (and it includes flying!). Both Aion and WoW have tournaments around them, so this category requires the least analysis. I am sure the WCG is looking forward to have two strong titles in this category, replacing a pathetic Red Stone, which only drew three teams to the world finals.
First Choice: Aion
Second Choice: World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
Casual
Audiosurf
Bejeweled (version tbd)
DJ Hero
Guitar Hero 5
Tetris (version tbd)
The Beatles: Rock Band
We had to think about what this title was called: casual gaming. And vVv Gaming's position is that casual means entertaining. How do you balance entertaining with competition? It's tough, but we do think it has to be something that engages the audience that is attending the event. In this particular case, the choices rule out games like Bejeweled, Tetris, and Audiosurf. Those don't engage the audience. And as much as we love the Beatles, hearing the same Beatles songs over and over again, in a game that is relatively easy, also is probably not the way to go. Guitar Hero 5 has been tested in tournaments, is competitive and engaging.
Let's talk DJ Hero. You MUST get this game. Get out of the house. It's the 21st century, people are clubbing, dancing, socializing and this game knows it. The best part is that with over 90 songs and support from all the major DJs around the globe, this game is perfect for the WCG. If you don't like dance music, this is not the place to be bitter. Dancing has been an art form since man's earliest time, and thus the music that goes with it becomes equally important. DJ Hero belongs in the WCG.
First Choice: Guitar Hero 5
Second Choice: DJ Hero
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. Oh well, still two other rhythm games there, so I'll see what I can do.
