all games are not created equal

This is such an easy win for Uncharted that it's not even funny.  We'll, it kind of is.

Killzone 2 has some of the worst voice acting I have heard in a while.  The soldiers have totally empty dialogue whose whole purpose is to make you think "man, these guys are tough".  They swear a bunch and say a lot of tough guy things, but they do it very unconvincingly, as if there is a convincing way to do it?  Anyway, I've learned to ignore practically every word that comes out of any characters mouth because it probably will only annoy me.

Uncharted.  Oh, Uncharted.  You are an amazing game.  You have great voice acting that, when I look back on it, just added to the feeling of playing a live-action movie.  Some really good stuff.  The lip-syncing too was great, from what I can remember, which just makes the impact of the voice acting that much bigger.

Borderlands coop gameplay is simple, but for some reason, I just love playing it with friends.  L4D2 is fun too and also simple in its own way, but it's definitely not a relaxing game.

L4D2 requires a lot of focus to make sure you don't disturb a witch or set off a car alarm or are just generally aware of where your teammates are.  Borderlands plays more like an MMORPG, so you're questing most of the time and can semi relax while you play.  What that means is you can actually chat with your friends on a headset about whatever you like while you play.  It actually feels like you're playing a fun game with friends instead of some game where you and your friends dish out orders to one another.  It just isn't nearly as enjoyable.  When you're playing L4D2, your friend becomes just another player because of the way you have to play the game.

Kind of a weird comparison, but this really matters for me.  If I'm on a headset chatting with friends, it's kinda nice to be able to relax and talk to them about whatever you like instead of stressing out about the game.  I guess it's kinda like having a friendly conversation with a friend while disarming a bomb: it just isn't fun.

Both of these games are a lot of fun when playing online for totally different reasons.  It's cool to kill a bunch of zombies.  It's also cool to kill a bunch of people on the other team.  The one thing that makes L4D2 a big loser in my book is that there seems to be a thousand different ways to do something wrong.

Everything is going all nice and good and, whoops, a witch gets hit by one of your stray bullets.  We'll don't you feel stupid now.  Or how about accidentally getting trapped in a corner with a tank and you lose almost all your health.  Or maybe I'll use my medpack now but oh wait, I should have just died and let someone revive me.  Stupid me. Accidentally get stuck outside with the horde?  Ain't that a shame.

It can get pretty frustrating when there are a thousand ways to lose the game for your team. Everyone hates being the guy that screws it up for everyone else.  Like Chris Webber calling for a timeout and getting a technical because they were out.  Or Ty Law not defending the Colorado hail mary properly.  Sorry for the Michigan sports references, but I'm sure you know what I mean.  It feels like crap to be that guy and L4D2 makes sure that at least once a game, it can be you.

MW2.  You kill them.  They kill you.  You kill them some more.  Nice and simple and totally addicting.

This is actually a really hard comparison.  Both games brought something new to gamers and both were and are a lot of fun to play.  Both take a new angle on the puzzle-solving game and made it fun.  Braid has a lower price point, but price point really doesn't matter.  What really tips the scales to Portal is one simple thing.  Portal has personality that Braid doesn't quite have.

Throughout Portal, GLaDOS talks to you as you complete the levels and it's hilarious.  I'm sure some of the driving force behind some people finishing the game was just to hear more from her.  And not to mention the finale of Portal during the credits, which will probably go down in gaming history as one of the best songs ever written for a video game.  I hate saying broad statements like that, but that song really was something special.  It fit the personality of the game perfectly and left me with something I'll never forget.

Braid is a fantastic game, yea.  But it just doesn't have that GLaDOS charm that Portal has.

Braid is just incredibly refreshing to play.  Killzone 2 is, at best, a totally typical FPS game.  It's a good one, but we've all played a game like that before.  It doesn't bring anything new to the table.

Braid is all new.  We'll, it did come out a little while ago, but it's fresh, just like when Portal came out.  Totally new way to play a game.  And totally awesome.  Worth the 15 bucks to play something unlike anything you've ever played before.  Try to find a friend that owns it though, because once you beat it, you're done and probably won't touch the game again.