And this leads to my first point. Skyrim is designed in a way that your first playthrough is going to last a long time, and then you’re going to want to replay it to do even more stuff that you didn’t get to the first time. There’s a lot of game here, and it’s lasting appeal means you’re getting a lot for your $60.

Of course, a game being long and drawn out is no fun if the game is no good. But this is the Elder Scrolls we’re talking about. Unless you revile the concept of open world games and everything they stand for, of course it’s good. You may quibble about which one you like best, but every one that I have played (Morrowind on) has been a great experience. I’ve found the series has become better with each iteration, culminating in Skyrim being clearly one of the best games I’ve played. Yes, even though you can’t levitate, and there are no Oblivion gates. Actually, both of those help a lot in providing a better crafted experience. Quest markers are nice too, no matter what the Morrowind fans are telling you.

Getting to the meat of things though, Skyrim grabs you right from the beginning. You aren’t stuck in a dungeon following the emperor and killing rats. You don’t have to go through some dumb checkpoint in Seyda Neen. No, you’re about to die by the executioner’s hand, then a dragon attacks, and suddenly you’re fighting your way out of this place you’ve been brought to trying not to be killed by the dragon or any others who would impede your progress. Ah yes, much, much better. After that, you’ll be given some clear direction on where to go to get the main quest rolling, and not long beyond that, you’ll have more sidequests than you know what to do with. And when I say that, I mean in the sense that Baldur’s Gate II threw quests at you, and you would never run out of anything to do. In fact, if you focus on sidequests, you could ignore the main quest entirely and build your adventuring career on everything else you do.

That leads me to something else I feel Skyrim has done very well. The guild quests that I have done so far feel more like stories in their own right, rather than mini-quests meant to supplement the main quest. Playing through the guild quests feels, for the first time, just as rewarding as playing through the main quest. And that is meant to say I felt the guild quests were that good, and not meant to detract from the main quest.

Also, the new character building system is much nicer as well. No longer do you choose to define your character by choosing your primary skills, pigeonholing you into one playstyle. Instead, you just play the game as you want to play it, and your character becomes what you play. This is a very natural evolution of the Elder Scrolls, and one I’m extremely pleased has come to pass. As you level up, you can specialize your skills by choosing perks, but having played the game, you’ll know where to put them based on what skills have been leveling up. It’s a much more natural character generation system than just picking some skills or a class at the beginning of the game.

Moving into gameplay, this translates into you being able to do whatever you want effectively. Until I was heavily invested in the perks and gear I had chosen to define myself with, it was common for me to unleash all my magic at an enemy, then pull out my bow for some damage from afar, followed by mopping up with sword and shield. That could change in a boss fight, where there’s more running, shooting, and nuking, but let that boss get close enough, and you’ll be happy you have that shield to pull out. Moreover, I’ve noticed that making subtle changes to the way you fight a boss can be all that is needed to mean the difference between victory and reloading after an untimely death. Still, these things add a depth to combat that didn’t exist in previous Elder Scrolls games, and that I have yet to experience in any other first person adventure/rpg.

Then there is the newly revamped crafting system. Through most of the game, this system will let you upgrade your gear frequently, but it will commonly be replaced by better gear you find while adventuring. It’s a good balance that makes crafting useful, and keeps exploring fun. As you come closer to maxing out your enchanting and smithing skills though, you will eventually find that it is possible to create sets of gear better than anything you can find adventuring. You will still find single pieces better than any single thing you can create, but having a set of gear designed for one purpose will always outweigh the benefit of having that one more powerful piece. It’s very close to as good as you can balance a crafting system against the world though. Of course, it is also possible, with a lot of time and effort, to break the crafting system and make stupidly powerful gear, but for my purposes, it’s quite balanced, so long as you don’t make the effort to break it. If you are making that effort, you probably like doing that kind of thing anyway, so probably appreciate the ability is there.

Let’s move on though. I haven’t yet talked about the look of the game. Skyrim is hands down the best looking game I have played. It’s a bit dreary, as we are adventuring through the frozen north, but it is also a gorgeous land. Bethesda really outdid themselves this time, truly rendering the landscape as far as the eye can see. If your PC can handle it, they game can, with some tweaking, literally be set to render everything in sight. Otherwise, if you game on a PC like mine, the game is set to render the big stuff you’ll notice, and leave out the little things until you get closer and will actually be able to see them. And like most Elder Scrolls games, if you can see it, you can get to it. No prerendered backgrounds here. Then, there is also now a third person mode that looks good and plays fluidly. No more stiff animations for your character, and with the crosshair remaining on screen, you can still see what you are doing. I still prefer first person, because it is how I’ve always played The Elder Scrolls, but for those who like third person gaming, it is truly a viable gameplay option for the first time. Also, for those playing on PC, like me, there are already tons of texture packs and a couple post-processing mods coming out to enhance the visuals even more. And if, like me, you prefer a brighter look, that is also an option.

The soundtrack is also amazing, which you’ll know as soon as you hear the main theme, a version of which is played not only at the title screen, but also during some dragon fights. While that particular theme is a favorite of mine, the other music is also very well done and suits the game very well. The shift of music between different events is also handled very smoothly, and is done in a way that shifts you into and out of combat appropriately.

Finally, there are the iconic dragon fights. When first starting out, these are what the game is all about. Open world, many of them random, boss fights with the creatures threatening to destroy the world. An awesome soundtrack to go with them. And a good, solid level of difficulty in each fight. Unfortunately, as you become more powerful, even with the difficulty cranked, the dragon fights do eventually become a bit of a sad joke, and more an exercise in farming souls for your shouts. It takes a long time, and doesn’t happen until near the end of the game, but a method of scaling dragon power to level and gear would go a long way toward fixing this. Not a major issue, but it does kill end-game immersion a little bit. In any case, with that bit out of the way, the dragon fights are otherwise an exciting element of the game, and perhaps one of the defining elements, given that the game is built around them. And they play out far differently than any other battle as well, since dragons are the only enemy that can actually fly out of range of your attacks, changing the dynamics of the battles significantly compared to any other fights in the game.

Unless you have something against open world games, there is no reason to not buy this game. In the event you just usually aren’t a fan, you should probably try it anyway, as it really is that good, and will make you a believer. This is everything an epic fantasy adventure should be in game form.

Kylak presents VG Talk #6 To Reboot or Not to Reboot posted at All Geeks Rejoice. Kylak discusses the idea of reimagining a series to give it a fresh start. I agree that, so long as it’s done well, it can definitely breathe new life into a series.

Kylak presents VG Talk #7 Dark Souls Loves You posted at All Geeks Rejoice. Another piece from Kylak, discussing the difficulty of Dark Souls. Wish I could weigh in, but there’s currently no PC version for me to sink my teeth into. I do like the concept of a very difficult game to play once in awhile though.

Zack K. presents The Four Parks: Kirby Mass Attack Review posted at The Four Parks. Zack has a brief review for us of the new Kirby game recently released.

wearechange tv presents Warco: an FPS where you hold a camera instead of a gun posted at WeAreChangeTV.US. Wearechange talks a bit about Warco, which looks like a nice spin on the usual fps setup.

Marcy L presents A noob gets pwned: Giving World of Warcraft a try at my children’s insistence | (Don’t Be) Too Timid and Squeamish posted at (Don’t Be) Too Timid and Squeamish, saying, “A humorous look at two gamers’ mother trying World of Warcraft for the first time.” The experience of an inexperienced gamer trying out WoW for the first time. Perhaps a bit heavy on buzzwords, but that’s likely for effect. An interesting read to see perspective from those less inclined to gaming.

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers. Join us next month for more great gaming info. You can use the carnival submission form to submit posts for January’s carnival, as I’ll be taking a break from the carnival for December for Christmas. Be sure to check out some of the posts of other submitters and perhaps leave a friendly comment or two if you like their work.

Garret Moniz presents Gears of War 3 – For those who can’t game 9 to 5 posted at Gamesters Paradice, saying, “The Gears of War trilogy is finally over. Took a look back at an iconic moment that wasn’t even a part of the game.” Garret discusses some of the emotional impact Gears of War had for him. Short, but a good read.

Valaney presents Which Gaming Console Will Create the Next Big Thing posted at Techchai – Technology Tips, Tutorials, Articles and Updates, saying, “Rumors of next-gen consoles are starting to heat up, what do you think will be hot?” Some conversation about what consoles will be big next generation. Not a lot of talk of specifics, but Valaney still has a winner in mind.

Victor Stanescu presents Online Social Games ? Billion Dollar Industry posted at Vectorash.ro, saying, “A Sociable and Nice take on Online Social Games, a billion dollar industry for Facebook Games and Google+ Games!” Victor lays out some statistics on social network gaming and discusses a bit about what he sees as the rather mindless experience of playing social network games. I’m inclined to agree, and can happily say I play none of these Facebook games. Want a real social game? Invite some friends over for some Smash Bros., Mario Kart, or Gears of War, and actually socialize while you play a game.

Mark Roberts presents Man of Few Words posted at Alatar Tales, saying, “An investigation exploring the effects of a certain theoretical physicist’s lack of vocal chords.” Some thoughts on a certain main character’s lack of speech, and how Mark feels it takes him out of the game. Personally, I’ve never minded a mute main character. It’s a little odd at times, but it’s never pulled me out of the game experience.

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers. Join us next month for more great gaming info. You can use the carnival submission form to submit posts for next month’s carnival. Be sure to check out some of the posts of other submitters and perhaps leave a friendly comment or two if you like their work.

Zack K. presents Nintendo Video posted at The Four Parks, saying, “My Reccomendation of the Nintendo Video App for the 3DS.” Zack wants us all to know that Nintendo currently has some new video features on the 3DS. While the concept is cool, I’m not sure how useful it is when the Internet is open to anyone on many different devices to get any video online they would like. Still, it’s entirely possible this will develop further into something very cool.

Next Island presents Blueprint Development posted at Next Island Dev Blog. Next Island wants to let people know that they are working on blueprints for Entropia. As I’m not familiar with the game, I can’t comment too much, but it seems like they want to keep it moderately quiet for now other than letting the news out.

Jake Moses presents Anomaly Warzone Earth HD review | Best Kid iPad Apps posted at Best Kid Ipad Apps, saying, “In depth review – A good game for PC/Mac becomes a great game thanks to the iPad’s touch interface.”  Jake has provided a great review on Anomaly Warzone Earth HD for the iPad. Tower defense game, except you’re the aggressor?  Sounds pretty cool, and the rest of the review makes it sound like a good choice for iPad owners.

Video Game Llama presents New Details About PS Vita Online Features posted at Video Game Llama.  Video Game Llama delivers some information on some new features of the Vita.

Elijah Obasanya presents Are We Witnessing The Death of The Call of Duty Franchise? posted at The Game Maestro, saying, “An article on the well known BF3 vs. Mw3 debate” A quick piece talking up the differences of opinion on Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3. Both games will sell like hotcakes though, so I’m thinking it’s probably a moot point. Others may disagree though.

Zack K. presents Kirby’s Adventure Review posted at The Four Parks. Here Zack gives us a brief review of Kirby’s Adventure. Mostly opinion, with a few nuggets of information about the game.

The Legendary Carmine presents No Girls Allowed posted at Side Story Games – Carmine’s Comments, saying, “Video games are notorious for being a “boy’s club”. Most of the games that are developed for girls are a waste of time and money. Carmine seeks to establish what needs to be done to create better games for girls and how it fits into the industry’s current model.” Carmine discusses some thoughts on the state of games that attempt to appeal to girls instead of accepting they will likely have similar interests in gaming as guys do. Definitely worth a read, though I think it’s possible that we’ve begun reading too much into this. Make good games, and people of all genders will play them. Make bad games, and they’ll be relegated to the trash.

The Legendary Carmine presents A “Bad” Game vs A “Mature” Game posted at Side Story Games – Carmine’s Comments, saying, “Side Story Games is all about creating game reviews for parents, focusing on the mature content that may not be appropriate for kids. But sometimes the reviewers seem to think that certain ‘mature content’ is acceptable or even appropriate. Carmine clears the air as to what makes a game ‘bad’ vs. what makes it ‘mature’.”  I’m not sure I would say this piece clears the air on “bad” vs. “mature”, but it does get to the point that we use mature to denote adult themes, whether or not those themes are presented maturely. I personally think any amount of mature content is acceptable in a game, so long as those purchasing are aware of what they are getting into and adult games aren’t sold to children, and every gaming store I’ve been to has been very good about this.

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers. Join us next month for more great gaming info. You can use the carnival submission form to submit posts for next month’s carnival. Be sure to check out some of the posts of other submitters and perhaps leave a friendly comment or two if you like their work.

Colin Whaley presents The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D Review posted at OtherLoop. Colin’s review of Ocarina of Time 3d is extensive and very nicely detailed. It definitely paints a great picture of the experience, and, combined with my memories of what the game was, almost makes me want to go out and buy a 3ds for this game. Unfortunately, money is a finite resource.

John presents Is £10.99 too expensive for a Mobile Game? | jpmblog.com posted at jpmblog.com, saying, “Blimey a £10 iPhone game. Yes its good but is it too much to pay for a mobile app?” Well, $15.99 for a port of one of the best tactical RPGs ever made? Yeah, that sounds fair to me, so long as you’re cool with the model of digital distribution. This isn’t a tiny game. Porting it wasn’t a simple, quick task. Yeah, they had an engine and a story and all of that figured out, but they had to recode it to work with the iPhone, which is a very different beast from the hardware it has run on before. Final Fantasy Tactics is not a typical release for a mobile app, and that’s why it doesn’t have a typical price. I can understand why some may not want to pay it, but that doesn’t mean the price should be lowered. Now that you’ve read my editorializing, or perhaps before, you should go read John’s take as well.

John M presents A Fun Stress Relieving Game for the iPhone | iPhone Experience posted at iPhone Experience, saying, “Mobile phones are a great platform for stress relief games, and they don’t come much better then this ” Want to squish some rats? John M has a review of the game for you. Sounds like a simple concept, and looks great for killing time if you have an iPhone.

Eric Gargiulo presents Madden 12 Video Game Pre-order Deals & Bonus Offers posted at CamelCluchBlog.Com. Unfortunately, this one isn’t very timely, as I’m running a once a month carnival here, but if you’re curious what pre-order offers were going around for Madden 12, there’s a good collection in here.

Garret Moniz presents Modern Warfare 3 vs Battlefield 3 posted at Gamesters Paradice, saying, “Just taking a quick look at the upcoming competition between Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3.” Garret has some predictions about whether Modern Warfare 3 or Battlefield 3 is going to come out on top this year. Click through to see who he believes is coming out on top and why.

Eric Gargiulo presents Madden 12 Game Achievements & Awards posted at CamelCluchBlog.Com, saying, “If you’re like me, you ran out on Madddenoliday and purchased your copy of Madden 12 or pre-ordered it. Before I even have a chance to unwrap Madden, I got an early tip on the newest Madden 12 achievements & awards, and there are some real fun ones in this year’s game.” I’m not too much like Eric in this regard, as I tend to shy away from sports games, but for those of you into Madden 12, or simply curious, you can find out some information about achievements in the game right on this piece here.

Almigo presents The Need. The Need for Speed. And Scigheras. posted at Almigo’s Adventures. An interesting piece about the history of a car that made an appearance in Need for Speed 3 for PC, and was never seen again. And no, it wasn’t merely a made up car, it actually does (did?) exist. Click through and read on for the full story.

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers. Join us next month for more great gaming info. You can use the carnival submission form to submit posts for next month’s carnival. Be sure to check out some of the posts of other submitters and perhaps leave a friendly comment or two if you like their work.

The Legendary Carmine presents Dante’s Inferno posted at Side Story Games – Game Reviews. Here’s an in-depth look at the game Dante’s Inferno. Worth a read, especially if you might be interested in the game about the epic poem.

Maxwell randomly presents E Rated Games Aren’t All Crap posted at Maxwell Randomly. Sounds like someone other than me is fed up with the stereotype that E rated games are only for the wee ones.

Jeski presents Drawn: Dark Flight posted at Sublime Play, saying, “This is a pretty blog full of pictures and reviews of particularly beautifully designed puzzle and adventure games. The linked entry is one such review. ” A nice detailed review of the game Drawn: Dark Flight. Looks like an interesting game, hopefully I’ll find time to try it out sometime.

Grady presents To Washington: A Few Tips from the World of Video Games posted at The Outlaw and The Elitist. An amusing look at some lessons politicians could learn from video games. Of course, that would require them to play the games instead of trying to ban them.

Meg presents The Cave Is A Lie posted at Simpson’s Paradox. A quick bit of info about a bug suffered in a game Meg’s working on, and the achievement players suffering from this bug can find. For the reference of those reading, any chance we could get the name of this game so anyone possibly affected knows to be careful here?

Niels Van Hellemont presents Pre-Played: Star Wars: The Old Republic posted at The Grumbler, saying, “Taking a look at the upcoming BioWare game The Old Republic.” Niels has a preview for the new MMO coming from Bioware. Looks awesome, but my longstanding prohibition against paying monthly for MMOs means I’ll still likely be passing on this one.

Niels Van Hellemont presents Character Bio – Kratos posted at The Grumbler, saying, “Enjoy this in-depth look at the God Of War protagonist, Kratos.” A recounting of the story of the God of War series, a good read if you don’t mind spoilers or have already finished the game.

Jeremy Friedman presents How to Set Up a Minecraft Multiplayer Server posted at GeekGamut.com, saying, “A complete guide on how to set up and run a Minecraft Multiplayer Survival server.” As it says, instructions to set up a Minecraft server once you have the game. Great for those who want to play host to other gamers, but aren’t quite sure how to get started.

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers. Join us next month for more great gaming info. You can use the carnival submission form to submit posts for next month’s carnival. Be sure to check out some of the posts of other submitters and perhaps leave a friendly comment or two if you like their work.

Dan presents Video Games are a Form of Art posted at Dan’s Gaming Blog. Dan talks about games as art a bit here. I’m sure he’ll be happy to know that here in the U.S., the National Endowment for the Arts now recognizes games can be art.

ds presents The 10 most common clichés in video games posted at My little gaming blog. Some video game cliches, heavy on rpg stuff, but some other good ones in there as well.

ds presents Games + girls = ? posted at My little gaming blog. Here ds shares his experiences with girls and games. Personally, I find that women play games about the same as men, and not with the giant disparity between different types of games mentioned in the article. But everyone always tells me my experiences on this are weird. Maybe, maybe not, but I’ve never really seen a difference.

Jordan Vigil presents Microsoft’s Kinect and the growth of Motion Gaming posted at stratagonline. Jordan shares his thoughts on motion gaming. While I agree that motion gaming suffers from a lack of experiences outside the typical sports, workout and kids games, there are a few gems outside those genres, and if developers would spend the time to make *good* motion control games, it would work out quite well.

Joe Lutovsky presents It’s Just a Game. posted at It’s Just a Game. While I like the overall message, sometimes playing to win is the best way to have fun in a game, and *some* frustration and anger is a natural side effect of playing. So long as it’s not overwhelming the fun, or seriously stressing you out, I don’t think it’s too big an issue. Still, definitely good to keep games in their proper place.

Niels Van Hellemont presents World of Warcraft is losing subscribers posted at The Grumbler, saying, “Following the news that World Of Warcraft lost over 500k subscribers since the release of Cataclysm I posted my thoughts on these numbers. Let’s just say WoW is far from dead!” I’m not surprised  WoW is losing subscribers, for many of the reasons noted in Niels’ post. There’s only so much to do before it’s time to look for a new experience.

John M presents Which is better FIFA or Pro Evo Soccer on the iPhone posted at iPhone Experience, saying, “The age old battle of Football Video Games comes to the iPhone.” Here we have two soccer games (football for our friends in the UK, I know) for the iPhone and a comparison between them.

Sean McGeady presents The Teachings of Fiction: What Games Have Taught Me | Anti-Bandwagon Propaganda posted at Anti-Bandwagon Propaganda, saying, “This is an insightful, if slightly satirical account of the many facts bestowed on me by our mutual hobby. It’s a serious case supporting the beauty and wisdom of video games, but told by a witty and humorous host who knows not to take himself too seriously. I hope you enjoy it.”

Brandon Janko presents NBA 2k11 Review posted at Game Reviews and Articles. Here we have a review from Brandon for NBA 2k11. I’m a little confused as to how a game can have (according to the author) major flaws and score a 9.5, but reading the review I get the feeling it’s more little minor stuff than anything major that plagues the game. Still a good review and worth a read, of course, or it wouldn’t be here.

RandomGreatness presents Rank vs Actual skill in FPS posted at RandomGreatness’ Gaming Blog. And here we have the issues of using rank in a game as a determinant of skill. I have a solution for this though. Use the win/loss ratio over the course of the past month of gameplay for matchmaking purposes. No, it’s still not perfect, but no matchmaking system is, and it at least takes into account players who support their team as well as those doing all the scoring. Also, unlocks over time is never a good idea in a competitive game. It just isn’t. But then again, we see it all the time in rpgs, and shooters are doing the same thing to try to expand their life.

Samantha presents Rally the Horde!: Preview: Grim Dawn RPG posted at Rally the Horde!, saying, “Preview for the upcoming Grim Dawn RPG.” Samantha has a preview ready for yet another Diablo clone. For some reason, these games always suck me in, despite being the same thing over and over again. Will probably check it out eventually, especially if there’s a demo to try first.

Jon Parsons presents Paper Glider Para Drop iPhone Game Review posted at Vortex Game Reviews For iPhone. Here’s a look at an iPhone game that appears designed as a quick way to take care of the five minute wait you may be experiencing while taking care of various errands. Definitely the goal of many portable games, and looks successful if that’s the aim.

John presents Dead Space 2 Review posted at Game Reviews and Articles. A review for Dead Space 2, check it out if you’re into the genre, or just want to see what a fellow gamer has to say about it.

Nick H presents Sony Announces ‘PSP Remasters’ for PS3 posted at IGXPRO. For those itching to play some PSP games on their PS3, this post should be some welcome news for you.

Bryan Keithley presents Top 10 Sega Genesis Games Of All Time! posted at Finally Fast, saying, “You’ve waited. You’ve wondered. And now it’s finally here: the list of the hands-down, no-doubt, slam-dunk top 10 Sega Genesis games of all time (and all parallel universes). This list will either be a quaint history lesson or a nostalgic trip down memory lane. Either way, you’re sure to enjoy it!” And Bryan has a top 10 list of Genesis games, most of which I agree with, but not necessarily the ordering . Always nice to see the Genesis getting some love.

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers. Join us next month for more great gaming info. You can use the carnival submission form to submit posts for next month’s carnival. Be sure to check out some of the posts of other submitters and perhaps leave a friendly comment or two if you like their work.

Mike Ross presents Cosplay Creator Dan Lewis Speaks Out on Mass Effect Costumes posted at CosBlog!, saying, “Dan is the creator of three highly detailed costumes from the video game Mass Effect 2.”

Reece Bennett presents I Acquire a Horse! posted at BenneyBoy444′s Blog.

Crashmaster Joe presents Why You Need A Custom Computer For PC Gaming posted at CRASHMASTERS Computer Sales & Repair – Our Custom Computers Are Built To Your Needs!, saying, “The epic debate between PC and Console gaming, plus why you need a custom PC for PC gaming.”

KateAddict presents Mortal Kombat 9 posted at MMA, Wrestling, Comic and Gaming News.

Niels Van Hellemont presents Voice acting in video games posted at The Grumbler, saying, “An article where I elaborate on the importance of voice acting in video games. About how it makes or breaks a video game, along with a table of well-known voice actors.”

Spaz presents The five things every serious gamer needs posted at Puter Gamers [dot] com, saying, “My first ever experience with a Lan Party.”

Jordan Smith presents World of Warcraft By the Numbers posted at Videogamedesigncolleges.org.

Stephen presents Linux for Playstation 3 – Turn your console into a desktop posted at Gamer D.I.Y.D.

Antti Leivo presents Retrogaming in Osaka posted at Sebaattori, saying, “Blog is not solely a gaming blog, although more gaming content will be published in the near future.”

DocStout presents Can’t Stick the Landing – RPGs and poor endings. posted at What’s Next? – The Unemployed Geek, saying, “Though my blog is far from exclusively about video games, I write at least once weekly about them, and this is one of the articles I think would be of greatest interest.”

Gabriel Monroe presents Minecraft? More like Minecrack! posted at Daily Game Review, saying, “Enjoy =]”

John M presents Table Top WarGaming with Lead Wars on the iPhone | iPhone Experience posted at iPhone Experience, saying, “Using the larger screen of the iPad to good use, Lead Wars combines the traditional style of Table Top WarGaming with modern technology.”

David Avetyan presents How to Deal with Those Big Guys – Buying from them posted at Wholesale Games, saying, “A user guide for small traders on how to contact, open an account, and buy from large distributors and wholesalers of video games and consoles.”

Niels Van Hellemont presents 100 Greatest Video Games Of All Time (100 ? 80) posted at The Grumbler, saying, “The first installment of The Grumbler’s top 100 video games of all time. Provided with a bit of text and an image. By the time you see this we’ll be (almost) done with the series.”

yudhi presents Sales of PlayStation 3 Translucent 50 Million Units posted at News Today.

Kabalyero presents Super Hero Squad Online Beta posted at Free Play MMO, saying, “Everyone is now welcome to create an account and play Super Hero Squad Online. Before, players are required to enter or use a Beta Code to be able to create an account in Super Hero Squad Online but that is no longer the case. Anyone who wish to play Super Hero Squad Online are now free to create an account and play the game for FREE!”

vicky presents Sony Ericsson Xperia Playa Play Review posted at Games World.

Meg presents Overheard in New York posted at Simpson’s Paradox.

Scott Schriefer presents Are RPGs Better than Reality? posted at Shame Pile, saying, “What do role-playing games have on reality? Escapism, fun, improbable physiques. Beyond all that, here are four ways RPGs sometimes meet needs that the real world doesn’t. And no, I’m not talking about sex.”

Scott Schriefer presents RPG Character Creation Anxiety posted at Shame Pile, saying, “RPG character creation anxiety is a real condition and I have it. I don’t believe I’ve ever made it through the introduction of any computer RPG without scrapping my character and starting again.”

Bryan Keithley presents Trying to Be Bad: A Gamer’s Quandary posted at Finally Fast, saying, “A lot of games nowadays allow you to be good or evil. Champion or conqueror. Valorous or villainous. Savior… or sinner!…but is it good to be bad?”

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers. Join us next month for more great gaming info. You can use the carnival submission form to submit posts for next month’s carnival. Be sure to check out some of the posts of other submitters and perhaps leave a friendly comment or two if you like their work.

Level 0 – All of them. You’re a wizard, you start the game with all level zero spells, congratulations. So, I’ll go with good choices for memorization here:

Prestidigitation – This should be memorized all the time. Unlike in 3.5, having this memorized once means you can always be ready to create the minor effects wizards are known for, such as constantly glowing eyes, a breeze whipping your cape in the wind, lighting a pipe with your finger, and so on. Great for performances, parlor tricks, and any other little effects you might want.

Mending – This basically makes you the new repairman in town, able to fix up anything non-magical with a few spells. Very handy spell to have if things break a lot in your games.

Read Magic – Makes it a lot easier to learn spells when you can read them outright, instead of puzzling through the other wizard’s spellbooks. Also great for identifying scrolls.

Spark – Finally, a level 0 spell that makes fire. Sure, you need small, flammable, unattended objects to do so, but creative use of this spell could be used to create some significant havoc, assuming there’s no divine caster waiting to cast create water over your conflagration.

Level 1 – I’m going to assume an intelligence of 15 starting out, which means we get to choose 7 first level spells.

Magic Missile – This will be your bread and butter damage spell for awhile, and it’s a great fallback when other options don’t work. This spell allows no save, always hits unless the target has spell resistance, and deals force damage which can be used to hit incorporeal creatures with no miss chance. The damage is small, but it’s still good for a 1st level spell.

Ray of Enfeeblement – Not as good as it used to be in 3.5, as it now deals a strength penalty, but still a fine selection when it gives such a harsh strength penalty for a 1st level spell. This spell is good well into the middle levels so long as you can cause your target to fail the 1st level spell save DC.

Grease – This is a great multi-effect spell. First, it can be used for battlefield control. Cause enemies to fall prone and move more slowly through a specified part of the battlefield. Or, it can be used to cause enemies difficulty in using any item that needs to be held, such as the sword or staff they’re swinging at you. Finally, it can be used to grease up an ally to let him squeeze out of tight situations, like grapples or that post he’s tied to.

Burning Disarm – On a successful save, the enemy whose metal item you’ve targeted chooses: drop the item, or take up to 5d4 damage. If the save is failed, or if the item can not be dropped, then the enemy takes the damage automatically. Whether they save or not, you get something good. Unless they have immunity to fire, of course.

Expeditious Retreat – Gives you an enhancement bonus to your move speed (walking and running only) of 30 ft. Great for running away, per the intent of the spell, or also just better combat maneuverability if you’re staying on the ground.

Protection from [Alignment] – Pick an alignment you’ll be opposed to most of the campaign, and you have single target mind blank (the good, D&D 3.5 version) against that alignment as a first level spell. Yes please! Oh, and +2 to AC and Saves against that alignment. Oh, and some summoned creatures of the appropriate alignment are also barred from touching you, preventing them from engaging you in melee.

In fact, if you have the space in your spellbook, learn every version of this spell your alignment allows, and prepare the most appropriate one for the day. If not, pick the one you’ll use most often.

Comprehend Languages – Understanding what other people are saying when they don’t want you to know it is useful. In battle, it tells you what they plan to do to you. In diplomacy, it tells you what they’re saying behind your back in your very presence. And it also allows two people with no common language to speak, assuming both can be recipients of the spell.

Level 2

Web – Even though it got hit with the nerf bat, Web is still a good spell to have in your arsenal. Creatures failing CMD or Escape Artist checks against this spells DC are caught within the Web and grappled, severely hampering them. The web can also be set on fire, causing it to incinerate and deal damage to those inside. Finally, it can be used to provide cover when placed between you and your opponents. Great if you need a quick breather in the midst of battle.

Mirror Image – Some of the best protection you can get (from attacks that require attack rolls). Every time an opponent attacks you, they have a chance of hitting one of your many duplicates. This amounts to a close to 90% (88.88…%) miss chance when you’re lucky enough (or high enough level) to get all eight images. Even with four images, your opponents have an 80% miss chance, and with one it’s 50/50, the same as improved invisibility when your square can be pinpointed. Get this spell, it will serve you well.

Alter Self – Although this has also been hit hard with the nerf bat since D&D 3.5, it’s still a great utility spell. Use it anytime you need darkvision, low-light vision, the ability to swim, a bonus to strength or dexterity, or scent. Forms exist for all of these, and they’re specifically listed as the abilities you can use with this spell.

Resist Energy -While mirror image will protect you from most physical attacks, this spell should handle many damaging magical attacks. Specifically, energy attacks that you get caught in, providing you choose the right energy to defend yourself from.

Level 3

Dispel Magic – You know how you like weaving defenses around yourself? Other casters will like doing so too, so you’ll use this to clear those spells out leaving yourself and opening to attack. Also the universal counter spell if you have a high caster level.

Lightning Bolt – Here’s the big damage spell of choice this level, and your first big damage dealer. I like lightning bolt over fireball because it’s a little easier to fire into a crowd without hitting allies, and lightning resistance is less common for enemies to have than fire resistance in many campaigns.

Fly – You know what hurts a lot? Getting hit by the business end of the big pointy sticks that melee loves to carry. You can avoid this unpleasant experience by flying above the battlefield and raining destruction from above. Sure, you can still be hit by arrows and other ranged attacks, but they tend to hurt less than the melee weapons. And next level, you get improved invisibility, making it much easier to avoid those ranged attacks.

Haste – Move faster to gain maneuverability on the battlefield, give those who attack with physical weapons extra attacks, and get bonuses to some offensive and defensive rolls. Very helpful spell.

Level 4

Enervation – Give target temporary negative levels. No save. So it makes a nice nerf to use when you really don’t want to deal with saving throws and would like to lower an enemy’s effectiveness across the board.

Greater Invisibility – Like invisibility, but it continues working even after you attack. Great for the 50% miss chance, if the enemy can find you in the first place.

Bestow Curse – This spell can kill an enemy’s action economy, or just kick any ability score down by 6. -4 to most rolls is another good option, though I like the first two better myself. This spell always has what you need though.

Fear – Panics enemies. Making them much easier to mop up as they stop resisting. As long as they aren’t capable of running away faster than you, in which case consider it a nice way to keep your enemies spread out and not working together.

Level 5

Hold Monster – Paralyze a creature and make it helpless. Full of win.

Cloudkill – Outright kills some creatures, and deals constitution damage to the rest. Either way,  this is a great one to have available, as con damage hurts. And since it’s con damage, you can keep casting this one until the enemy is dead, assuming you can’t force them to stay in the field of poison.

Teleport – Yeah, there’s that small chance you could end up off target, but really, it’s small and who worries about that when you can traverse the world in an instant with only a  few words of power. Also great for escaping grapples as there is only a verbal component, so you don’t have to move your hands to cast this one.

Feeblemind – Great for taking arcane casters out of the game. They aren’t casting anything with a 1 for their casting stat. Will still cripple other characters, though not quite as harshly as the casters.

Level 6 – I expect my choices here will be the most hotly contested. And yes, I did choose two spells with costly material components (250 GP each), because they are that good.

Flesh to Stone – Fortitude save or lose against most living creatures.

Contingency – Set up a spell to go off at a time certain conditions are met. Great for lifesaving buffs or other protections.

Unwilling Shield – Force an opponent to share in the damage dealt to you, for the low, low cost of 250 gp. It’s a lot harder to kill you when doing so will severely injure or kill the person trying to kill you.

True Seeing – Essentially immunity to illusions, along with some other goodies. For 250 GP a cast, having this in your arsenal will make your life a lot easier when you face casters with lots of illusions, or even a couple choice ones such as greater invisibility.

Level 7

Spell Turning – Deflect a spell or two back at the person who cast it on you. Only works on single target spells. Very nice against other spellcasters.

Plane Shift – Travel the planes. Also good for fast getaways when you don’t have a better option available for some reason, or if your opponent can scry and fry.

Finger of Death – High damage single target spell that hits weak fortitude saves. Also, one of the first spells available with no damage cap.

Reverse Gravity – Messes up anyone without air mobility quite nicely. Nothing quite like picking off easy targets just floating in midair.

Level 8

Protection from Spells – +8 to all saving throws vs. spells. Sign me up.

Wall of Lava – Use as a defensive measure, or use to inflict 10d6 damage/rd as a move action until wall is depleted. Continue using your standard actions for other spells. I like this plan. Also, no save, no sr. Just a ranged touch attack.

Irresistible Dance – Denies actions for at least 1 round, even longer against opponents who fail will saves. Also lowers defenses against the target. This is still one of the greatest spells in the game, even after the nerf from D&D 3.5.

Stormbolts – Nice AoE fort save spell. Can be made to not harm allies. Keep this in your repertoire for when the typical AoE blasting just isn’t working. Only works on creatures within 30 ft. of you though. Can cause stun for a round too.

Level 9 – Here’s what you’ve been waiting for, the most powerful spells in the game. You get 8 of these, unless you decide to pick some of the other great spells from lower levels for some reason. Either way, here are my 9th level picks.

Mage’s Disjunction – This spell has been heavily nerfed since D&D 3.5, and is now at a level of power below “tactical nuclear strike against the PCs.” As such, I’d consider it fair game on both the part of the GM and the players now. This beauty is able to dissolve all magical effects in the area and suppress all magic items, just as dispel magic, without the dispel check.  Has a small chance of permanently destroying any given magic item instead of suppressing it too.

Can also single target a magic item for a simple save or destroy, or to destroy artifacts at a low rate. Destroying an artifact will cause you to never cast spells again if you fail a will save though, so be careful.

Also, discuss this spell with your group first. I think the nerfs make it ok, but some people might still prefer the game without it.

Astral Projection – Great for planar travel, as you can get anywhere from here. Just make sure you’re physical bodies are well protected first, as you’ll be leaving them behind. So long as you’ve done that, planar travel by this method is considerably less risky than via plane shift, as dying in an astral or second body only deals two negative levels to you, which the party cleric should be able to fix up nicely. Just watch out for the Gith.

Time Stop – Get extra rounds for buffing, running away, or setting up damage spells that have durations long enough to persist after the time stop runs out. Great for when you’re caught by surprise.

Prismatic Sphere – The ultimate magical defense, this wall takes seven specific spells, in the right order, to bring down completely. The caster can move in and out freely, but everyone else will suffer horrible agony in attempting to breach it, likely being severely injured, dying, or being transported to another (likely unfriendly) plane of existence, among other fates.

Gate – As a summoning spell, this spell has a high cost, but allows you to call on extraplanar creatures up to your HD to aid you, or up to twice your HD if you’re willing to forgo automatic control of the creature (a dangerous proposition). Can also be used in a manner similar to planar binding for longer tasks.

Finally, gate can be used like plane shift, except bringing you exactly where you would like to go on the plane you’re traveling to.

Energy Drain – 2d4 negative levels. Which can’t be negated by a saving throw. And become permanent after 24 hours with the failure of a fortitude save at that time. Yeah, we have an awesome debuff here. Think about losing 5 levels instantly for a second. You would cry, wouldn’t you? So will the DM, as long as the monster isn’t immune somehow.

Imprisonment – Will save or lose, and may as well be dead until someone manages to find you with freedom, another 9th level spell. Possibly a fate worse than death in Pathfinder, as it’s probably going to be harder to bring someone imprisoned by this spell back than it would be to bring back a dead person.

Suffocation, Mass – Essentially a fortitude save or die, but gives the target a slightly better chance of survival by giving them chances to stave of the suffocation. Still, with the nerf to wail of the banshee since D&D 3.5, this is now the best replacement for it, and with the duration of the spell, it’s unlikely for a target to throw it off unless you’re relying on them to keep rolling really low. Basically, no more lucky victories against dragons, but still works great for circumstances where instant death spells shine.

Below here, I’m offering some additional options. These, as mentioned before, are for those who have access to learning spells beyond those allowed to a universalist wizard upon leveling up. Consider these as supplementary spells to round out those above.

Level 0 Supplemental Spells

Detect Magic – If you have the time before battle, knowing where the magic loot is tells you which enemy should go down first. If looking for treasure, this tells you where the magic loot is, and with a little time and sufficient spellcraft, what it does.

Light – Playing a vision-challenged race such as human? This will let you negate that disadvantage easily enough.

Disrupt Undead – Great for campaigns heavy in undead, infinite pings for 1d6 when other options are gone. Otherwise, skip this one.

Ghost Sound – Making people thing there are things scampering around in the dark where there aren’t is fun. And useful when you need to herd them someplace when used well.

Level 1 Supplemental Spells

Break – Make the equipment of your enemies less effective. With two castings, destroy it completely, assuming the item fails both of it’s saves. As you don’t have to touch the equipment to be effected (the spell is close, not touch,  range) this is a surprisingly useful spell at times.

Sleep – This is only listed as another option due to the hit die cap the spell has. Once you get to fighting creatures with more than 4 HD, this spell becomes useless. However, before then, this spell is your first save or lose, and effectively ends encounters very quickly. Pass the fort save or go to sleep. Not effective against elves though.

Charm Person – Makes people who dislike you like you temporarily… though they’ll probably hate you more once the spell wears off if they realize what happened. Make the most of your time with your new friend to learn about any hidden information they may have, or simply convince them to do you a favor and let you in early for an audience with the duke. Very useful to have at the ready.

Mage Armor – Use this with shield to give yourself a nice boost to AC. Assuming dex 10, this puts you at AC 18, which is respectable at 1st level. At higher levels, pairing these  spells with other AC boosting effects, like Cat’s Grace, will be useful against weaker enemies when you don’t want to blow your good spells, assuming you have time to prepare and aren’t going to just wipe the combat with one powerful spell.

Shield – See mage armor. Also blocks magic missiles.

Burning Hands – For those who absolutely must have an AOE for their first level slots, this is the one you want. This spell is at it’s most effective between 2nd and 6th level in my estimation, and it is useful, but it will quickly become outclassed by better options that let you wreak havoc from afar.

Level 2 Supplemental Spells

Scorching Ray – In most circumstances, this will be your best bet for a straight up attack spell in this spell level, so I’d go with this one. 4d6 damage per 4 spell levels is nice for a second level spell, even if the scaling is a bit wonkier than I would like.

Gust of Wind – Blow away excessively small creatures, and slow the movement of those that fall in normal size ranges. Also great for blowing hazardous gases away from you and your friends.

Darkness – Exactly what it says. This is best used if you have a method for seeing in magical darkness, if you’re attempting escape, or if you or your friends will be at less of a disadvantage blinded than your enemies will be.

Touch of Idiocy – Casters hate getting hit by this one. Lowering their casting stats makes their spells less potent, and sometimes causes them to lose the ability to cast them outright.

Blindness/Deafness – Blind or deafen an enemy, make your life easier. Spellcasters who are deafened risk losing a spell if by mispronouncing the verbal portion of the spell, while anyone blinded risks missing their target with any kind of targeted attack, assuming they can even find that target. Then their are all the normal drawbacks to these conditions as well.

Acid Arrow – This is a great alternative for a damage spell if scorching ray isn’t your thing. This spell has the advantage of dealing acid damage, which fewer enemies will be resistant to, and it bypasses spell resistance, all while allowing no save. So while it does less damage, and that damage is done over time, it bypasses some of the better defenses against magic in favor of forcing the caster to hit with a ranged touch attack, something even most casters can handle easily.

Invisibility – Be invisible, get sneakier. Great for getting into a better spot to unleash your fury upon the battlefield, or to allow the party rogue to do his sneaky spying thing even better than could be imagined.

Fox’s Cunning – Boost intelligence for stronger spells. Simple, really.

Bear’s Endurance – Boost constitution for more hit points. This is helpful if you like your character to continue living.

Spider Climb – Walk on walls and ceilings. This is really fun, and provides some tactical advantages until you get to fly.

Level 3 Supplemental Spells

Keen Edge – Make your friends crit more often, they’ll appreciate it, especially if they have a scimitar.

Water Breathing – Breathe underwater. Useful for daring escapes and underwater adventure.

Deep Slumber – Like sleep, but works on up to 10 HD creatures. A great battle ender while it remains effective.

Protection from Energy – Good when you need to resist lots of energy damage right now, all at once… but resist energy is better long term protection.

Hold Person – When you really need a humanoid to stop moving, this is your go to spell. Goes great against weak will saves.

Fireball – Take this over lightning bolt if you prefer large blasts and fire damage.

Level 4 Supplemental Spells

Stone Shape – Useful for reshaping battlefields, trapping opponents, and making new exits from difficult situations.

Fire Shield – Use this to protect yourself from cold or fire damage. In addition, it also deals cold or fire damage to those hitting you with non-reach melee weapons, and while the damage is small, it adds up over time, and is a great psychological deterrent to attacking you.

Phantasmal Killer – If you’re optimized for high saving throw DC’s, especially for illusions, this is a good choice. It’s now one of the few spells that cause instant death, though it still requires enemies to fail two saves to be effected by it. Still, if you’re looking for spells that deal death instantly, this is a good place to start.

Firefall – Requires a fire source, but does a lot with it. 5d6 damage to those within 60 ft, and they catch on fire. Also temporarily blinds people at twice that distance.

Resilient Sphere – Imprison a creature in a sphere to keep it out of battle with you for a time, or surround yourself or an ally with it to keep you protected (though also out of the battle) until you can rejoin the fight in a better position, such as after healing or applying a couple choice buffs.

Scrying – For GM’s who make scrying an effective option through well-planned (or well-improvised) campaigns, this spell is an integral part of the scry and fry technique. Scry on your enemy, teleport in (available in one more spell level), roast your enemy, and teleport out. Naturally, your GM will make it harder to effectively apply this technique than that, but it is fun when it works. Also useful for gathering information without putting yourself in danger.

Dimension Door – Short teleporting hops can get you out of danger very quickly.

Stoneskin – If you have the money for casting this one (250 gp costly material component), it’s a great defense when your opponents have true seeing and your illusions just aren’t going to cut it. DR is always a good thing to have on your side.

Level 5 Supplemental Spells

Cone of Cold – If you have any extras this level, or if you can bring yourself to give up one of the above spells, take this one to have a spell that targets reflex saves. Cold damage against lots of enemies in a cone shape.

Telepathic Bond – How useful this is depends a lot on how strict your group is about metagaming, but it’s generally a useful option when you want to communicate with allies over a long distance, assuming you planned ahead and cast it on those wanting to communicate ahead of time.

Break Enchantment – Frees subjects from mind control, polymorph nerfs, and other such horrible effects. Probably a good one to have in your repertoire, though divine casters (except druids) could also take care of this one if you need other spells instead.

Life Bubble – Makes it possible to survive in conditions that would normally kill you, like being in a vacuum or underwater. Great option for some of the more difficult adventures.

Level 6 Supplemental Spells

Chain Lightning – AOE that won’t hit your allies. Nice to have in your arsenal.

Disintegrate – High damage spell that targets fort saves, also makes it impossible to bring creature back with a raise dead if it deals the killing blow. Useful in other ways as well, such as bringing down walls, and negating some force spells that are a pain to get rid of. Chain lightning beats this one out solely because stone to flesh is on the list already, and it’s good to vary your saving throws a bit with spell selection.

Getaway – If you’re going into a rough battle, this one is a great one to cast ahead of time so everyone can get out quick without having to all gather around and grab onto the wizard. Plus, it’s a swift action once actually cast.

Greater Dispel Magic – As dispel magic no longer caps your effective caster level, this spell is less important to pick up than it used to be. On the other hand, the new distinction is that this spell can negate more than one magical effect at a time, making it way more efficient when it comes to action economy and bringing magic down fast. If you only use dispel magic as a counter spell or to strip really annoying effects, you can skip this one, but if you like getting rid of lots of opposing magic, you’ll want to make room for this one.

Level 7 Supplemental Spells

Mage’s Magnificent Mansion – Live a life of luxury whenever and wherever you take a break from your adventure. Or use this spell to blow a level 7 spell for resting overnight if you must.

Greater Teleport – For those coddled mages who insist on appearing exactly where they want, when they want. Also works over longer distances, for those who are playing in very large worlds. For most, teleport should be enough, but by all means, this is a useful spell if you prefer the extra benefits and spell level trade off.

Delayed Blast Fireball – Nice high power nuking spell, good if you need an upper level boom to hit those with weak reflex saves. Or just blast everyone in the area aside from the rogues you’re picking off with finger of death.

Greater Polymorph – Use this when you or an ally wants a different, more useful form for specific purposes.

Level 8 Supplemental Spells

Horrid Wilting – Nice AoE fort save spell. A good alternative when you can’t use stormbolts for some reason.

Mind Blank – While not the powerhouse it used to be in D&D 3.5, this is still a useful spell. Protects you from all forms of scrying, and gives a +8 to saves on all mind-affecting spells targeting you. Usually you can get either effect better from Protection from Spells or Protection from [Alignment] now, but when you can’t, this spell will probably have you covered.

Binding – This spell is just awesome in terms of flavor. Uses in a typical adventuring party a bit limited, which is the only reason this is listed with other options. Still, I’m sure enterprising mages can come up with some interesting uses of this spell, and it’s possible effects are so amazing it simply has to be included here. The best of these condemns the target to forever be imprisoned in a jar, mostly in gaseous form except for the head, conscious and able to speak, but unable to take any other actions, but with life sustained by the imprisoning magic.

Seamantle – Water surrounds you, but you continue breathing normally. Enemies attacks treat you as though you’re underwater, but you continue attacking them normally. Fire spells fizzle on the water wall unless cast directly into the water, forcing enemy mages to approach you if they wish to land these spells. Also grants cover against opponents who don’t have freedom of movement. You also get a slam attack with 30 ft. reach. Hope you took combat reflexes and have a high dex, because threatening a 30 ft. radius is awesome.

Polar Ray – High damage single target cold spell, also causes dexterity drain. What’s not to like?

Level 9 Supplemental Spells

Weird – One of the few sources of instant death still in the game. Works best against those with both weak will and fortitude saves, but as an AOE, you can probably pick off one or two enemies with this one.

Soul Bind – This spell is for when you really just need something to stay dead. Sealing the ancient evil as it were. You probably won’t need this one too often, but it’s good to have on hand if necessary. Such as defeating someone who auto-reincarnates, or somehow has a contingent resurrection or the like set up.

Wail of the Banshee – Large AOE that deals lots of damage in a big radius. Useful against weak fort saves.

Wish – This is your get out of jail free card. It has a steep cost (25,000 GP in diamonds), but generally allows you to pull out almost any magical effect you could need. Good to have one in reserve for emergencies where you just don’t have another answer. Also cheaper and easier to find than stat tomes when you want to purchase inherent bonuses.

So there you have it, a long list of great spells based on effectiveness and fun. All in a nice list designed to let you deal with most situations in some helpful manner, as long as you prepare well each day. Also, in making this list, I’ve learned spells that allow reflex saves generally don’t make the cut for my favorites, with a few exceptions. Must be something about dealing with rogues.

Jasen Choi presents Crytek announces their first Free 2 Play FPS – Warface posted at Gamers News Online, saying, “I submitted an article before but you guys told me the website seemed to be down and it was because I am now improving the website by using Joomla instead of Blogger.”

Jasen Choi presents Section 8: Prejudice Ridiculously Low Price! posted at Gamers News Online.

Jasen Choi presents PS3 players get to taste Mass Effect 3′s Engine earlier posted at Gamers News Online.

Welcome back Jasen, I’m happy to see your site is back up with your improvements. Jasen has some information about a new online shooter, a bargain of a game, and some juicy details about Mass Effect on the PS3.

Robert Chapman presents PSP is Still Alive and Kicking posted at Bob’s Blog, saying, “A few reasons to be excited for the PSP next year.”

Robert Chapman presents DC Universe Online PS3 Beta Impressions posted at Bob’s Blog, saying, “Curious about the DCUO PS3 beta? Not a PS+ subscriber? Check out this in depth preview.”

Robert let’s us know why we should be excited for the next year in the PSP’s life, and if I had one, I would be pretty excited after reading about the new games coming out. Then he moves on over to the PS3 to talk a bit about DC Universe Online, and he has a nice preview for anyone interested in online superhero games.

Meg presents Original Sims posted at Simpson’s Paradox.

Meg presents Press Room Antics posted at Simpson’s Paradox.

Meg starts off with some amusing reminiscences playing the original Sims, and denies any wrongdoing that may have (theoretically) occurred at her hands in Sim land. She then moves on to talk about some experiences with the Spike Video Game Awards, and some other thoughts on our hobby and how it’s represented.

An presents The computer market in the early 1980s posted at Commodoremagazine.

An talks about the old computer market a bit, which was a lot more of a free for all with very little compatibility between platforms. I’m glad I joined the computer world as that era was coming to end, as it makes things much easier now.

Emaj presents Kontrol Freek – FPS Freek – Review posted at The source for randomness.

Emaj has a review of FPS Freek, which he thinks will help you with your console FPS games.

Meg presents Treyarch: No longer the red headed step child of COD games posted at Movie Scanners.

Meg has some thoughts on a new game from Treyarch (I caught that it’s Call of Duty,and a knockoff of Modern Warfare 2, but not specifically which COD game she’s talking about, couldn’t seem to find it in there). Check it out if you’re interested in the Mystery COD title.

Will Green presents CES 2011: iCADE for iPad, Magic Mouse Inductive Charger posted at Apple iPad News CENTRAL – Tech News, Apple News, iPad News and Rumours, saying, “A number of accessories for Apple products were on display at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show this week. Among them were a few unique products…”

Will Green has some info on some upcoming Apple products. The iCade looks moderately interesting, though personally I’d likely hold out for a more open solution to playing the arcade games, or just grab them for a console if they’re available.

Sara McDowell presents Top 30 Mobile Gamer Blogs posted at Video Game Design Schools, saying, “The article has listed top 30 mobile gamer blogs to help put you in touch with the latest and greatest in gaming, along with tips for what to get next, how to beat it, and what to stay away from. Whether for the latest iPhone or classic Gameboy, there are loads of mobile gaming blog entries for everyone.”

Sara has the list of sites for you if you’re looking for cell phone friendly game sites. With links to 30 different sites with cell phone games, hopefully you’ll find a good fit for you.

Next Island presents Killer Monkeys On The Loose! posted at Next Island News.

Next Island writes in to tell us that while there are some bugs they’re still working out in Next Island, they’re enjoying the community.

Jeremy Friedman presents The Health Potion: How Video Games Can Improve Your Health posted at GeekGamut.com, saying, “A look at the beneficial effects of video games!”

Jeremy has a great article on the health benefits of gaming, which is always welcome to see. With how much I spend (and how much more I would like to spend) on the hobby, it’s nice to see their are returns aside from great entertainment.

Liam Wood presents Call Of Duty – Black Ops posted at The Winner’s Playground.

Liam has a review of Call of Duty: Black Ops, and it looks like FPS fans will be pleased as usual.

Ian Lurie presents The Archon – Not A Pirate Convention At All – Starcraft, Starcraft 2 and Other Obsessions posted at Starcraft, Starcraft 2 and Other Obsessions, saying, “The Archon – Not A Pirate Convention At All.”

Ian has a highly entertaining analysis of the Archon from Starcraft II. And I don’t even play Starcraft, so I imagine those who do will enjoy it even more.

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers. Join us next month for more great gaming info. You can use the carnival submission form to submit posts for next month’s carnival, to be hosted on February 24, 2011. Be sure to check out some of the posts of other submitters and perhaps leave a friendly comment or two if you like their work.