The obligatory Game Of The Year post
Despite that feeling of fleeting time that retrospection gives us, it has been quite a year in gaming. Not as good as 2008, but pretty gosh darn close thanks in part to the huge volume of sequels that made it unscathed by the great release date cull that seemed to occur in tandem with the financial crisis across the world.
On a personal note, it has been a year of joy and sorrow, but the friendships I have within the gaming community have come to fruition and allowed me to soldier on at this journalism lark. By now I’m sure you’ve all had time to look at what the ‘big boys’ (Kotaku, Joystiq, Edge et al) have had to say on this matter, but what of this lowly writer? Well my friends, below you will find out what games filled my heart with joy during 2009.
Game of the Year – Halo 3 ODST
The Bungie boys have done it again. Despite the potential for being naught so much as overblown DLC with a patched on survival mode, I was overjoyed by the sum of its parts. Encapsulating the majestic set pieces that make up the core Halo gameplay, adding a mysterious and threatening hub world in an effort to “de-linearise” the gameplay and having Nathan Fillion play the main character made this the most enjoyable Halo campaign I’ve played. The bonus teaser of Halo Reach beta access also makes this game an essential purchase for any Halo fan.
Game of the Year runner up – 50 Cent Blood on the Sand
Seriously, I’m not joking. I got this game purely by chance thanks to Lovefilm and it is one of the funniest games I have ever played. Rap music is often known for it’s over the top lyrics where “pimps” get to boast about their “AK’s” and their “bling”, but not many can boast about the time they performed a concert in the middle east, got a diamond encrusted skull as payment, had it stolen by a militant group and then fought wave after wave of enemies to get it back. Yes, it’s just a Gears clone, but it is such a far out concept that I could not help love it.
The rest of the best of 2009
If you didn’t play these games then you owe it to yourself to make a New Years resolution and pick them up as soon as possible!
- Batman Arkham Asylum - Having only played this in the last few days of the year, I can see why everyone has been raving about it. Thankfully avoiding some of the franchises tackier villains, I enjoyed the smooth flowing combat and the revitalised “hidden package” subgame.
- Borderlands – Almost effortlessly combining the FPS and RPG genre into an approachable and enjoyable package, this was one of my highlights of the year. It didn’t make top spot simply because of the terrible ending and a few achievement bugs that marred an otherwise enjoyable experience.
- Guitar Hero Metallica -I was sick and tired of guitar hero/rock band games until this came along. Despite not being a huge Metallica fan, this introduction to an immense body of work rocked, to the point where I had blisters on my fingers!
- Noby Noby Boy – I like Katamari games, there’s something special about the bright colours, novelty concept and japanese soundtrack. This however takes that whole concept and sticks it somewhere very strange, almost to the point where it doesn’t feel like a game, rather a modern interactive art piece.
- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – As far as the gameplay concepts go, this game isn’t anything special, third-person dungeon exploration and shoot-em-ups have been done to death. Where this game shines is the fantastic approach to the voice acting, the facial expressions, the camera work and the script, which are on a par with most major action movies. A must have for PS3 owners.
In case you’re wondering, I purposefully ommit Modern Warfare 2 due to it’s poor storytelling. Also, while Left 4 Dead 2 is great fun, it hasn’t compelled me to play it in the same way the first did. Finally, my last big title that didn’t make the cut was Assassins Creed 2, but that’s simply because I wasn’t able to pick up a copy before the year ended.
So, now you have my list, what were the games that rocked your world in 2009?
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