Tiger, NCSoft and Doom top list of 2004 Bermie Award winners

Turn down the house lights. Bring up the music. It's the beginning of December, which means it's time for the 2004 Bermie Awards!

The envelopes have been tossed on the floor with care and it is, once again, time for me to bestow the coveted Bermies on games that have made me say "I've gotta have it" during the past year.

The 2004 Computer Game of the Year: This one's easy. In fact, several visitors to my Web site have actually told me they'd trade their wives and favorite dogs for a copy of "Doom 3" from id Software. Although, on the surface, this is just another "splatter" game from id, it's addictive and --- hold onto your hats, folks --- actually has a story line.

Most Anticipated Game to Never Materialize: "Duke Nukem," where are you? We've been reading about it for three years now, our mouths watering in anticipation. But the new Duke has yet to make an appearance. Well, maybe he's shy.

Best War Game: "Rome: Total War" from Activision simply blows away the competition. The graphics are superb and the game play is to die for. This is one of the best war simulations to come along in a long time, rivaling "Call of Duty" for the top spot.

Best Civilization Clone: "Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots" from Big Huge Games, and distributed by Microsoft, takes top honors here. Yes, it's an expansion pack, and you have to own a copy of the original "Rise of Nations" game, but, the trip through history is worth the effort.

Best Role-Playing Game (RPG): The day of the single-player role-playing game has been cast aside as online RPGs become more popular, and thrusts "Lineage II" from NCSoft into the top spot. This is a huge game and continues to expand, with its only confines being the expanse of cyberspace.

Dumbest Idea to Come Along Since "Enhanced for AMD": "JFK Reloaded" is dumb, despicable and _ overall _ just a bad idea. The concept is to win $10,000 by doing a better job than Lee Harvey Oswald did by shooting JFK in the head (points are deducted if you shoot Jackie). The ultimate in bad taste.

Best Sequel to a Game We're Already Addicted to: "The Sims 2" from Electronic Arts has arrived. And, although I haven't received my copy yet, I'm willing to go out on a limb and give it a Bermie. Hey, this is a no-brainer in my book.

Best Sports Simulation: It's time for John Madden to step aside and make room for the Tiger. The new "Tiger Woods PGA Tour" golf game from Electronic Arts is a big improvement over past attempts at even making golf interesting on the PC.

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