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.

Shovel Knight was released back in 2014 but it just wasn’t enough. Luckily, Yacht Club Games came out with a whole new storyline and adventure centered around Plague Knight with Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows. In it we’re playing as one of the bad guys as we go off to do bad guy things, but is Plague Knight really all that bad? He’s definitely one of the most interesting characters in the MOBA game champions and ditching the shovel in favor of potions and explosives is a great change of pace. Altering the story to fit Plague Knight is a great addition to the classic NES-style platformer. Playing through all the same levels we’re used to but as a different character bring a new perspective to the world. We can only hope every knight will get their chance in the spotlight.

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 game 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.

Now, let's not get carried away. Making money is a company's goal, and there's nothing wrong with that. The issue is, this benefits the company at the expense of the player. Consider this: what's to stop Plants vs. Zombies 2 from perpetually releasing new plants while balancing the zombies and expansions in a way that necessitates their purchase, as they already have? This turns the game into an infinite cash-cow that will likely make more money than if they charged a $60 flat fee by grinding it out of players who want a full gaming experience.


No list of Blizzard cinematics would be complete without mention of the original World of Warcraft reveal trailer. In many ways, this is the trailer that kicked off the modern era of Blizzard gaming. The reveal trailer takes players back to Azeroth after Warcraft 3 and offers a brand-new perspective on the Warcraft setting. Aside from Trolls, just about every race and class get some love in this trai

While the whole editorial staff contributed to our 2015 awards, we wanted to allow everybody the opportunity to publicly name their personal top 10 games of the year. While many did play the majority of releases in 2015, please remember that unlike our main awards, the editors are not naming the best games, but their personal favorites out of the selection they played.


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 Click To See More 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


Crisis on Earth-X, however, was undoubtedly a hit with critics and fans. Though The CW's crossover episodes aren't necessarily the best each show has to offer in terms of story, well-developed villains, or compelling character arcs, they're often beloved by fans because, at the end of the day, they're made for the fans. The annual crossover events are often the height of comic book fun in the Arrowverse, with the TV superheroes uniting to take on a threat pulled right from the comics. With Crisis on Earth-X going bigger than ever before, The CW was able to deliver even more comic book fun. Ultimately, though Crisis on Earth-X and Justice League are two DC Comics events that were aiming to do different things across different platforms, the Arrowverse crossover was better than the highly anticipated big-screen team-up of the World's Finest her