Each week Mark Methenitis contributes Law of the Game on Joystiq ("LGJ"), a column on legal issues as they relate to video games:
It seems around this time every year, with W2s and 1099s filling mailboxes, that someone thinks it's a good idea to bring up the idea of taxing the virtual world. The irony really is that most of these discussions are far from complete and often only address one potential viewpoint that could be taken.

The latest commentary comes from the Washington Post (via GamePolitics) with further follow up on New World Notes based on a recent publication by the IRS. Their basic contention is that the essential difference in the Terms of Service between the Second Life model and the more traditional MMO model (i.e. World of Warcraft, Ultima Online, Everquest) would mean different tax treatment. I don't think it's nearly so cut and dry.

There's a man waiting for you at the Bowerstone docks. He's eager to stick you into his aquatic taxi and drop you off on the shores of Knothole Island. Like most helpful RPG citizens, he's been roped into a fetch quest: Find a hero and bring him or her back to the island community, which currently finds itself immobilized by frigid weather. At least, that's what you gather from the chief's note, gracelessly read to you word for word. Whether intentional or not, the sequence works as a cheeky parody of the add-on's Xbox Live Marketplace description.

Is it worth the $10 asking price? Well, the truth is that your feelings on the main game will have already pushed you to the brink of a decision, and you just want us to push you that little bit further. We can tell you that everything you love (or loathe) about Fable 2 is on Knothole Island: the unwaveringly witty writing; the real estate opportunities; the charming townsfolk; and treasure. Oh, the treasure.

We learned a valuable lesson at CES last week: Don't demo an RTS game on a trade show floor. Why? Because it's nigh-impossible to hear a developer's instructions over the deafening noise of geek-outs. It turns into something like this dialogue snippet from our hands-on experience with Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War 2:

Relic: "So, you'll quickly want to set a rally point here." *taps screen*
Joystiq: *clicks on random units* [units march off-screen]
Relic: "Okay, so if you look at this icon, you'll see that your character is earning zeal. You might want to build some heavy firepower units for support."
Joystiq: *attacks enemy power generator* [cue: bad move!]

It was just too darn loud at CES to get good instructions, and Relic only had one demo station on hand, which obviously did not feature any PVP gameplay. Naturally, we had StarCraft 2 in mind as we fooled around with Dawn of War 2, measuring Relic's RTS against what we've played of Blizzard's next blockbuster. We can say that Dawn of War 2 is currently winning in the looks department. As we watched an Imperial Tank literally roll through walls and crush them into powder while Space Marines jumped over the action with jetpacks, we were remiss to have left our drool bib back home in the hamper.

We've embedded a pair of videos from our session after the break, including producer Mark Noseworthy blowing stuff up!

Our very favorite game of the year is a sequel. There's a hideous number appended to its title, a numeric symbol meant to conjure up lukewarm reassurance and a promise of something familiar, proven and agreeable. Odd then, that another number -- 2008 -- evokes something else entirely.

If anything, 2008 was a year marked by unpredictability, polarization and ... whatever fancy word that adequately encapsulates people yelling at each other on the internet. For every refined sequel we loved, there was an ambitious experiment to be loathed. And for every disappointing been-there-done-that, somebody was taking us to places we'd never been to nor done.

This mix of new and old (Did you know? Our ten picks this year contain 50% new IP!) made our selection process particularly tumultuous, with many a flared temper and obnoxious remark clashing in the echoing realm of the blogosphere. And it's not because we liked a lot of games. It's because we loved a lot of games, whether they were brave, bigger, bold or more badass.

Besides, it's not like we can make it a top seventeen or something. That's just a weird number.

First: Only the reviews made us throw up.