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The Video Game Canon’s 2020 Update is Here

The Video Game Canon is a statistical meta-ranking of dozens of “Best Video Games of All Time” lists that began in 2017 with Version 1.0, and the ranking has been updated several times since then. Which game is #1? There’s only one way to find out…

The latest update to the Video Game Canon, Version 4.0, has arrived!

The Video Game Canon now includes a total of 1,232 games, which were pulled from 59 “Best Video Games of All Time” lists published between 1995 and 2020. Each game was ranked against the rest of the field using the C-Score, a formula that takes into account a game’s “Average Ranking” and the complementary percentage of its “Appearance Frequency” across all lists.

Finally, games released after December 31, 2016 were excluded from the ranking because of their newness.

Three brand new lists were added to Version 4.0 of the Video Game Canon, including “The 100 Best Video Games in History” from GQ Spain, a “Top 100 Video Games of All Time” ranking from Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture, and a massive look back at “The Best Video Game the Year You Were Born” from Popular Mechanics. Alongside these new additions, updates to IGN‘s “Top 100 Video Games of All Time,” Popular Mechanics‘s “The 100 Greatest Video Games of All Time,” and Slant Magazine‘s “The 100 Best Video Games of All Time” were also added to the calculation. Thanks to reader CriticalCid for providing research assistance with some of these new lists.

But even with all this new data, there was surprisingly very little movement near the top of the Video Game Canon, and the Top 3 was once again represented by Alexey Pajitnov’s Tetris (#1), Valve’s Half-Life 2, and Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 (#3). There was some slight shuffling in the rest of the Top 10, but no new titles were able to crack the highest tier. Nintendo’s classic quartet of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (#4), Super Mario 64 (#5), The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (#6), and Super Metroid (#10) all hung around, as did Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us (#7), Irrational’s BioShock (#8), and Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption (#9).

Things get more interesting as you move further down the Top 100, especially for the 2015 and 2016 releases that now qualify for inclusion in the Video Game Canon.

Visit VideoGameCanon.com to learn more about this year’s update to the big list and to explore the rest of the Top 1000.

Posted in Features, Mobile, PC, PS2, PS3, PS4, PSP, Switch, Video Game Canon, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged

World Video Game Hall of Fame welcomes its Class of 2020: Minecraft, Bejeweled, Centipede, and King’s Quest

After selling more than 200 million copies over the last decade, it’s hard to remember a time when Minecraft wasn’t nearly synonymous with the entire medium of video games. And though it was only available in an unfinished form from 2009 to 2011, it seemed to emerge from Mojang’s offices as a fully-formed phenomenon even in its earliest days.

So as players continued to flock to its Lego-like world in droves, it was a bit of a shock when the game was denied entry into the World Video Game Hall of Fame three separate times. Shortlisted as a finalist in 2015, 2016, and 2018, the title was passed over again and again and again. But Minecraft’s creative sandbox become too big to ignore this year, and it has finally been enshrined among gaming’s greats.

In a stunning upset, three unlikely candidates also garnered enough support from the Hall of Fame’s Selection Advisory Committee to join the Class of 2020. A genre-defining match-3 puzzler from PopCap (Bejeweled), a classic coin-op from Atari (Centipede), and one of earliest adventure titles from Sierra (King’s Quest) won out over more popular titles such as NBA Jam, GoldenEye 007, and Guitar Hero.

While this year’s class might look a little surprising, historians working at the Hall of Fame’s parent organizations, the Strong Museum and the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, helped put their importance into perspective. (more…)

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God of War: Fallen God is an upcoming comic miniseries that fills in the story between GoW3 and GoW2018

Kratos spent decades wandering the world in between the events of 2010’s God of War III and 2018’s God of War. Rather than leave this story untold, Sony Santa Monica is teaming up with Dark Horse to give fans a glimpse at part of his travels in an upcoming comic miniseries.

Told over four issues, God of War: Fallen God will be written by Chris Roberson, with artwork from Tony Parker (artist), Dan Jackson (colorist), John Roshell (letterer), and Dave Rapoza (covers):

Can a man ever be free of his past? Can the tides of time ever wash away the bloody sands of sin? Or do transpired trespasses permanently and inescapably stain one’s soul?

God of War: Fallen God follows Kratos after conquering Zeus and thwarting Athena. Believing himself to be finally free of his bondage, he sets sail for the desert in an attempt to distance himself from his home and his shame only to find his rage and guilt follow close behind. Kratos rages against the one foe that has proven to be unconquerable—himself. But a war against oneself is unwinnable, and only invites madness.

The first issue of God of War: Fallen God will be available on June 24, with a collected edition sure to follow sometime after its conclusion.

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Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020 have been announced

The finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020 have been announced… and they’re on fire.

This year’s honorees include titles from every era of gaming, though the Star Power of Guitar Hero looms large over the competition. But that’s OK, because there’s a few other firestarters vying for a spot in this year’s class, including Midway’s NBA Jam, Mojang’s Minecraft, and Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Melee.

There’s also the groundbreaking GoldenEye 007, the unforgettable Nokia Snake, the edutaining Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, and the addicting Bejeweled. Rounding out this year’s crop of finalists is Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and a trio of classics from the early 80s (Centipede, Frogger, and King’s Quest).

This isn’t the first opportunity to join the World Video Game Hall of Fame for some of these games, and fans will have the chance to make their voice heard by submitting a Player’s Choice Ballot. The public can vote once per day now through April 2nd, and the three games that receive the most votes will join the 29 other ballots submitted by members of the Hall of Fame’s International Selection Advisory Committee.

The Strong Museum’s International Center for the History of Electronic Games, the entity that oversees the World Video Game Hall of Fame, will announce the inductees from the Class of 2020 at a date to be determined in a special ceremony. For now, you can learn more about this year’s finalists after the break. (more…)

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Red Band trailer for Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge is ridiculously bloody

A few weeks ago, Warner Bros. Animation unveiled a Green Band trailer for Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge, giving fans their first look at the latest adaptation of the popular fighting franchise. But I’m not sure anything could prepare us for the film’s Red Band trailer, which has been embedded above.

The two-minute clip is not for the faint of heart, and it’s packed with spurting blood, severed limbs, gory Fatalities, and even a little swearing. Needless to say, it is very much not safe for work.

Retelling the story of the first Mortal Kombat game, Warner Bros. Animation also announced that Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge will be released this April. The film will be available to rent through video-on-demand platforms beginning on April 12, with a 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD launch to follow on April 28.

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HBO is turning Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us into a limited series

HBO is one of the many channels that have given new life to the “limited series,” and it looks like they’ve zeroed in on their next project… Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, HBO will partner with PlayStation Productions to produce the post-apocalyptic series alongside Craig Mazin (the creator of HBO’s Chernobyl) and Neil Druckmann (the Creative Director of The Last of Us):

Mazin, who is said to be an avid player of the game, stated, “Neil Druckmann is without question the finest storyteller working in the video game medium, and The Last of Us is his magnum opus. Getting a chance to adapt this breathtaking work of art has been a dream of mine for years, and I’m so honored to do it in partnership with Neil.”

“From the first time I sat down to talk with Craig I was equally blown away by his approach to narrative and his love and deep understanding of The Last of Us,” said Druckmann in a statement. “With Chernobyl, Craig and HBO created a tense, harrowing, emotional masterpiece. I couldn’t think of better partners to bring the story of The Last of Us to life as a television show.”

The adaptation will cover the events from the first game, but HBO told The Hollywood Reporter that a second season of “additional content based on the forthcoming game sequel” is also a possibility.

Sam Raimi was previously attached to a film adaptation of The Last of Us, but it seems that that version of Joel and Ellie’s story is no longer in development.

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Co-founder Dan Houser will leave Rockstar Games in March

Dan Houser co-founded Rockstar Games in 1998 alongside Terry Donovan, Jamie King, and his brother Sam. Currently serving as Vice President of their Creative division, he has lent his writing talents to almost all of the publisher’s most popular and well-received games, including the Grand Theft Auto franchise, Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2, Max Payne 3, and Bully.

But after an illustrious career, Rockstar’s parent company, Take-Two Interactive, has announced that Houser will be leaving the company in March.

This is definitely a huge blow to the creative side of Rockstar Games, which is widely believed to be hard at work on Grand Theft Auto VI. How this news will affect the sequel’s development remains to be seen, but Take-Two said the rest of the development team “remains focused on current and future projects”:

After an extended break beginning in the spring of 2019, Dan Houser, Vice President, Creative at Rockstar Games, will be leaving the company. Dan Houser’s last day will be March 11, 2020. We are extremely grateful for his contributions. Rockstar Games has built some of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful game worlds, a global community of passionate fans and an incredibly talented team, which remains focused on current and future projects.

While it’s a few years old now, the most extensive look back at Houser’s career can be found in David Kushner’s excellent behind-the-scenes investigation into Rockstar Games, Jacked: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto.

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Warner Bros. releases first trailer for Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge

Warner Bros. Animation gave us our first look at Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge earlier today when they shared a brand new trailer with IGN.

Scorpion’s Revenge will focus on Scorpion’s quest for revenge against Sub-Zero, including his first meeting with Quan Chi, and his entrance in the Mortal Kombat tournament. But the R-rated film will also follow the heroes of Earthrealm as they do battle with Shang Tsung and Goro in an animated retelling of the first game:

Based on the worldwide hit game created by Ed Boon & John Tobias, Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge spotlights the once-in-a-generation tournament between the champions of Outworld and Earthrealm – a competition that will ultimately determine the fate of Earth and all its citizens. Lord Raiden, protector of Earthrealm, must gather the greatest fighters of his realm to defend it from the evil Shang Tsung in the battle to end all battles – Mortal Kombat!

Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge will be available to purchase on Blu-ray and through video-on-demand platforms this Spring.

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