Game of the Year?
polycounter lvl 8
I don't think it's too soon to start thinking about the best game of 2009.
A lot of contenders for sure, and there would have been many more if Modern Warfare 2 wasn't solely responsible for most of Q4's releases being bumped to next year.
For me, best game of 2009 has to be Batman: Arkham Asylum. Very impressive graphically, great dialogue and writing, diverse and fun to play and great value for money.
What's your game of the year?
A lot of contenders for sure, and there would have been many more if Modern Warfare 2 wasn't solely responsible for most of Q4's releases being bumped to next year.
For me, best game of 2009 has to be Batman: Arkham Asylum. Very impressive graphically, great dialogue and writing, diverse and fun to play and great value for money.
What's your game of the year?
Replies
Killzone 2 was great...
every year
always
(side note, can I change my user name somehow? I feel like an idiot when people refer to me as jimmies the squirrel, which i can only blame on myself at the age of 12. If not, that's fine)
Happy to hear that I'm not the only one that REALLY REALLY liked that game
As much as I wanted to love Brutal Legend... it just doesn't make me want to play it.
dont have a console
most disappointing game is much much easier - hello Aion
it's day and night compared to nwn2 though, much better in all the ways.
But on a serious note I really cant decide!
Left 4 Dead 2 vs Dragon Age - FIGHT!
Uncharted 2 - Probably my fave game of the year, and if they don't announce a movie version soon with Nathan Fillion I don't think there will be a power in the verse than can stop me sending them some dirty granny porn hate mail...
Batman: Arkham Asylum - Because it just came from nowhere as a kick ass game and nobody was expecting it to be.
Shadow Complex - Took Metroid, brought it up to speed with this generation, made me SQUEEEE... Are you listening, Metroid Hunters, you pile of piss? Where’s my 2D Metroid on the DS, its only like the map system was MADE for the console?!
Modern Warefare 2 - Only because it has to be there, but it didn't impress me as much as COD4 if I'm 100% honest, but its still good.
Assassins Creed 2 - Did everything it should have done, fixed all the issues and added so much new, good stuff, and isn’t that what a sequel is supposed to do?
New Super Mario Bros. Wii - If I smiled any more while playing this game, my face would bleed... I mean, its like Mario Bros 3 had sex with Mario World and THIS fell out! And who DIDNT scream like a school girl the first time that Yoshi egg cracked open
Flops of the year (Again these are what I think):
Killzone 2 - Boring single player, and sorry but not as graphically impressive as everybody makes out. The control issues alone ruined the game for me. The single player was just far, far too dire, and over in one sitting, and the MP tried to be COD4 but failed.
Wolfenstein 2 - It was a good game... That was it. Maybe if Activision removed their heads from their collective anus they would have seen that all they needed to do was port RtCW's MP 1:1 and leave it at that, but no, it was a let down... They also turned BJ into a total Fonz like TWAT...
Left 4 Dead 2 - Sorry guys, not feeling it... I'll get a lot of hate for this I'm sure, but for me, it just doesn't work. Daylight, awful weapons that are huge onscreen with terrible envmaps on them, the worst cast of survivors I don't care about at all... Ugh... Maybe the Source engine just needs a big upgrade now...
Borderlands - Just... Don't... Get it... Sorry, it just doesn't work for me... Too much running about, and this is from a guy who LOVED Fallout 3 and Oblivion... It was just so empty and dull...?
Special Nomination!
Black Mesa Source - Because after 97 years in development, you kind of get pissed off when you have the promise of "This year guys!" all year and then at the last second they say "yeeeeeah, about that release date...". Meh, its not looking as sexy any more graphics wise so I hope they get it out the door soon before it becomes old...
Killzone 2 was a massive let down for me. pretty graphics, atrocious gameplay.
Honorable mention for Skate 2 as well. I probably played that more than anything else as it's one of those titles that's perfect for playing for 30 mins/an hour at a time.
Dwarf on a Wharf
red faction was pretty awesome though. and of course ghostbusters
My hands-down favorites were Batman: AA and Assassin's Creed II. Going through ACII, I realized that the gameplay in both games is very similar (stealth/action free-running hybrid kid of deal) - not sure what we'd call that genre, but it has two fantastic examples. It's amazing how fun the combat can be despite largely being a single-attack button masher, and the combination of exploration, puzzle-solving and fighting is so satisfying. Batman gets a few extra points for successfully adapting some of my favorite comic source material, but ACII ties it back up with one crazy-ass plot (I was more interested in learning 'The Truth' than in winning the game.)
Runner-ups for extreme awesomeness include Borderlands, MW2, Uncharted 2 and Fallout 3 (on the strength of the DLC released this year.) None of these absorbed me quite the way that Batman and Assassin's Creed did, but they were each tremendously enjoyable. I've got to give special props to Uncharted 2 for being the best looking video game ever, and the script and acting chops to bring the cinematic experience to video games better than anything else ever has.
Followed by Trials HD, and Torchlight.
Honorable Mention goes to Uncharted 2, and MW2.
Shadow Complex wins Xbox Live game of the year
GOTY for me likely goes to Assassin's Creed 2. It's refreshing when a sequel comes out that totally trumps its original incarnation because the developers listened to their audience.
Runner up would have to be Shadow Complex. I say this because lately my attention has been on the casual/arcade side of game development. They tackled a genre of games that seems to be you either have to do it 100% great, or it busts completely. And to me, the game was 110% great (+10% for being 3D).
EDIT: DarthNater - nice! LOL.
Not GOTY material but damn, I played it sooooo much, and the laughs we had when I had some non gamer friends over for our pokernight and they just crashed the player off roofs, priceless, it should get a special award
Actually Assassins Creed 2 is also brilliant, but I think I'm still saying Batman because I really didn't expect such an awesome game suddenly!
The versus is sooo perfect and the other modes are just what was missing in the first one. PERFECT game !
Edit : Lots of "2" in this thread
Stalker:COP would've probably got my vote but it's slipped into next year.
Killzone 2, and Forza 3 as my honorable mention.
I was some what surprised with my PS3 this year, to bad its online is terrible for me. Being able to play with 10+ friends on the 360 any day is awesome. Playing with 1-0 people on PSN = fail.
Borderlands
MW2
I'm with brome on the Shadow Complex....but we all know that won't happen.
LOL@L4D1.5 amirite!? :x
Batman for something I actually played.
Oh and L4D2 probably makes a 2nd or 3rd spot, had some awesome versus games!