Editor’s Choice: Jake s Top 10 Games Of 2015

I don't have many vivid memories of things I saw on my Facebook news feed, but this is one of them. I'm scrolling past updates from my friends who play League of Legends, and one post was about how a new champion added was so good. One of their friends commented "Is he worth?" to which my friend responded "So worth."


Certainly, at the end of the day, movie and TV viewers can - and should - like what they like. In terms of which event, either Justice League or Crisis on Earth-X, was more successful in achieving what they set out to do, however, the Arrowverse crossover clearly pulls ahead. It's much more consistent in tone than Justice League , a surprising feat given it unites four different TV shows, and ups The CW's superhero game, improving upon crossovers that came before it. All in all, Crisis on Earth-X is a better, more cohesive team-up event than Justice Leag


"Time is money, friend." You've played Monopoly before but never like this. Monopoly: World of Warcraft Collector's Edition features a custom game board designed by Blizzard, and all of your favorite zones from Azeroth are here for the taking. Faction capitals Stormwind and Orgrimmar take the traditional spots of Boardwalk and Park Place, and the player tokens were voted on by fans. Try to stay out of jail as you move around the board as the Corehound Pup, Murky, Doomhammer, Hearthstone, Mechagnome, or Flight Path B

I admit that Dota 2 has the benefit of an established fan base unmatched by almost any free-to-play game (League of Legends excluded). Not many games have fans who are willing to pay for something that doesn't benefit them in any way. Taking that into account, though, there still is no good excuse for free-to-play micro-transactions that benefit the company more than the player. Honestly, the solution is just to make your game cost money. Remember that? When games cost a flat fee for the entire thing? This was a largely successful model, and the only reason I can see for the shift is pure greed, especially by a company like EA that already has boatloads of money to roll in.

That would be like the U.S. claiming it isn't a militarily focused nation, because they spend a relatively small percentage of its GDP on military. This overlooks the fact that the U.S. is perhaps the richest nation in the world, meaning that that small percentage is more than the next 30 or so developed countries combined. So how much money do free-to-play games make off micro-transactions? I don't know. But I know it's more than enough to stay in business, it's more than enough to make PopCap not even consider bringing Plants vs. Zombies 2 to any other platform besides mobile , and it's more than enough to entice several other games to go free-to-play, or at least to use micro-transactions.

Plants vs. Zombies 2 already has 10 "premium plants" for a total cost of more than $30 altogether, tax included. And that's just plants. You can also pay for upgrades and in-game coins. To my knowledge, Plants vs. Zombies never went higher than $20 for the whole game, with no micro-transactions, so I can only assume PopCap is making a truckload off of this. Now I know people like to point out how less than 10 percent of people who play free-to-play games participate in micro-transactions. This makes it seem like the companies are doing what's best for the player by offering a portion of their MOBA game walkthrough for free, while only making a small chunk of change on the side to get by. It's a compelling narrative that doesn't hold up to scrutiny. This number conveniently leaves out how much money they're actually making from those ten percent of people who want a full gaming experience.


It's no secret that Mists of Pandaria is not the most beloved World of Warcraft expansion. Many players were disappointed by the game's move in a seemingly less serious direction, especially as it arrived just after one of the darker stories in the game's complicated l


Of course, it's also possible that The CW's "Crisis on Earth-X" is a little fatigued by viewers tired by either superhero content on the whole, or comic book media that feels too similar to something else. This year's event couldn't top the ratings of the 2016 Arrowverse crossover , and according to TVLine , only averaged 2.7 million viewers/0.9 rating compared to last year's 3.7 million/1.3 rating - though those numbers could change as fans tune into the shows on streaming services in the coming week. Undoubtedly, though, more people went to theaters to see Justice League than tuned into The CW to watch Crisis on Eart

This benefits the player and Valve equally, because Valve offers players items they genuinely want to buy, not have to buy or be left behind. Valve makes money, Dota 2 players look pretty. But Dota 2 players who haven't spent any money can still stomp into the ground players who have a cosmetic set for every hero. Moving away from League of Legends (since that debate is a particularly stomach-turning can of worms), consider Plants vs. Zombies 2. PopCap was sold to Electronic Arts after the first game, and EA moved the sequel to an all-mobile platform that's free to play, but it's the wrong kind of free to play. It's the kind with micro-transactions that offer a better gaming experience.