Topic: What are your top three games of 2009?

[K-man]

No matter the platform.  What are the three best games you've played that were released in 09?

Uncharted 2:  Among Thieves - About as close to a popcorn action flick as video games have ever gotten, the experience was overall very polished and you could tell that no corners were cut.  Superb storytelling, gameplay, animation, and graphics.  We can talk about how derivative it is, that it didn't push the envelope, but in end all that matters is that the game was extremely pleasurable experience from start to finish.  That's what a good game is supposed to be.  As a package, it's quite honestly the best game I've played in years.

Demon's Souls - Went from "never heard of it" it to raving over it in less than a week.  The online component is a very nifty mechanic.  While most messages I've encountered are trustworthy, you always have to decide if what is being said is truth or life.  That adds an altogether unique element.  It elicits a fear of "Oh no, what's next" like no other game I've played.  Death looms at every corner, and you potentially pay huge sums for dying.  The game is not cheap though and will reward you for good play.  My only knock on the game is that I believe in places the controls aren't adequate enough to perform the duties the game expects of you (like traversing the beams at the executioner's grounds in 1-1).  Otherwise the game is a terribly memorable experience.  Demon's Souls is definitely a title that will be discussed for years to come, and I think it will be looked back upon as one of the best titles to come out of this generation of consoles.

Punch Out!! - I know, oddball pick right?  I played the shit out of Punch Out on the NES.  This title managed to take that old game, dust it off, and come back with something that feels new while also paying tribute to the original.  Guys there's not many games I've played in the past 10 years that recapture those feelings of my childhood, but this game absolutely did it.

Honorable Mentions:

Street Fighter IV - Capcom listening to their fans + new Street Fighter Game = Win.  It's a title I spent nearly 200 bucks on.  I haven't played it nearly as much as I wanted to (I was really working on learning Fei until I got sidetracked), but Capcom soooo got this right.  In fact the only thing that sours me on this game is the knowledge that we're going to see a massive update to this game next year. 

New Super Mario Brothers Wii:  Got it for Christmas, so not a lot of time to get acquainted with it.  It's an old school Mario game for better or worse.  I'm personally cool with it, but I can understand why some others may not be.  It's pretty hard to screw up and old school Mario game, but I do find myself wishing for a bonafide flying powerup like the tail or cape.  I miss those.

Observations:

None of my top games were on Xbox 360.  In fact looking back I did not purchase a new disc-based title for 360 in 09 aside from Infinite Undiscovery (it was on sale and in fact is still in shrinkwrap as I type this).  This is weird because I was a launch day adopter of the 360 and for years it has been my mainstay console.  In fact upon thinking about it I've turned it on maybe 5 times in the past few months.  All multiplatform releases used to be bought on 360, but now I find that I'm starting to purchase them for PS3 (SFIV, DA:O).  Maybe the 360 is starting to lose some ground to the PS3.  Maybe it's just that the PS3 happened to have the better exclusives this year.  Could just be indicative of my change in buying habits, as I'm a lot more frugal than I used to be.  Who knows.  Definitely an interesting observation though.

[Xessive]

I'm gonna go with: (not in any particular order)

• Modern Warfare 2
• Batman: Arkham Asylum
• Dragon Age: Origins

[Cobra951]

I didn't buy any disc games this year until a few days ago, and only one of them is from '09 (with Fallout 3 being from last year).  So I guess Arkham Asylum is the best of '09 for me by default.  Not exactly meaningful.  I'm more interested in what everyone else has to say in the thread.

[Quemaqua]

Demon's Souls - PS3
What K-man said about sums it up perfectly.  I still haven't finished it, and this is due largely to the fact that I spend so much time with other pursuits now, and that the difficulty makes it hard to put down for a while and pick back up.  But everything else remains true.  It's an interesting game that draws on both old and new concepts and puts them together into a compellingly difficult and ragingly satisfying whole.

Borderlands - PC
Brilliant.  Take the essence of a run-n'-gun shooter and toss in RPG development, coop play, and random loot drops.  You end up with the start of a really refreshingly different franchise.  I hope the fixes keep rolling in for the PC... and this is one game where I actually look forward to the DLC because it actually seems (shock of shocks) worth the fucking money.

Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes - DS
If you haven't tried it, you really should.  It isn't perfect, but that's mostly because it lacks some of the more RPG-ish aspects of Puzzle Quest.  Still, it's got a fun little story, some absolutely brilliant sprite work, and some truly addictive gameplay that rewards your thinking skills a lot more than many similarly-styled games.  Probably the best thing I've played on DS all year, and I've played an awful lot of good DS games.

Honorable mentions:

ArmA II - PC
I haven't really had the time to get into this too much, but what I've played so far has been absolutely fantastic.  Yeah, the voice acting is totally bogus, the radio-chatter system is really wonky, and there are some very strange graphical quirks that occasionally make you wonder, but as far as military simulation goes, I don't think anything holds a candle to this.  It's realistic, well-paced, and despite the problems with the acting, it actually builds a compelling and very human story that makes you care about the people you come across.  I imagine most people will look this game over, and still others will be daunted by the huge list of commands and steep learning curve, and even others beyond that will pass it over because of some of the bugs or slightly off-kilter design... but if you've ever loved a game like this, you owe it to yourself to give it a shot.  I'll know more when I have more time to put into it, but this is something truly unique that I've really enjoyed and heartily recommend to anyone willing to sit down and give it a chance.  The story, the multiple ways you can take the campaign, the fantastic locales, the wonderfully rendered terrain, the multifaceted and deep gameplay... this game has so much going for it.

King Arthur: The Roleplaying Wargame - PC
Another interesting game that takes different elements from different genres.  Ultimately, it's a super-gorgeous, deep, rewarding strategy game along the lines of the Total War series, but focusing on Arthurian legend with some added bits of fantasy.  Released on Steam currently, but hopefully to get a retail release sometime in early 2010, this is something any fan of deep PC strategy should look into.  The developer seems to be taking time to listen to fans and add new stuff and balance changes in regular patches, too, and the community is pretty active.  This one could go places.  I wish it great success in 2010 and will be buying any retail release I can get my hands on.

Guild Wars - PC
Because it's still fun, it's still beautiful, and we still go back and get sucked in for hours even when we just plan to do one simple thing or other.  I still haven't gotten anywhere near where I really should have, but we're finally nearing the end of the first campaign.  It didn't come out this year, but it's still one of the best games I've played this year, and I've still played a pretty good lot of it.  Now that I've got a big, beautiful widescreen monitor... so much the better.  Though now my screenshots take up a ridiculous shit-ton of space.  I need to hurry up and get my new terabyte hard drive installed, and fast...

[MysterD]

1. Borderlands
2. Dragon Age: Origins
3. Still Thinking On This One Still (no, that's not a game name...)

[W7RE]

Only 3? I hate you.


Modern Warfare 2
I sort of hate to go with the huge blockbuster game of the year, but I'm still playing the multiplayer almost daily. The campaign story was barely comprehensible and really not believable at all, but was fun as hell. Where it didn't grab me in the story, it grabbed me a lot in the individual moments. Just talking about it makes me want to play through the campaign again.

Borderlands
When I try to quantify what this game had compared to Diablo II it seems to fall short (only upgrading like 4 items slots, only small differences in playstyle between weapons, etc), but I got hooked on it just the same. The art style is awesome too. I didn't even play it that much in multi, but had a blast even alone.

Assassin's Creed 2
This one I never really felt driven to play, and never told my friends "damn, you need this game!" But when I would start it up, I would be on for hours and lose track of time. Everything was done so much better than the first game, most notably assassinations from hiding spots and hanging position, and the ability to survive water. Though I still did kill myself a few times when I tried to jump one direction and the game misinterpreted what I wanted to do.



Honorable mentions:

Shadow Complex
Not a whole lot to say here, just that it's really polished and really addicting.

'Splosion man
When playing this game I kept wanting to compare it to Sonic. In many of the levels you rocket across the screen at high speed, very reminiscent of the 2D Sonic games. But instead of just running flatly into some obstacle and then proceeding slowly and jumping on enemies, you're given a second or two to analyze the situation, then rocket yourself back in the other direction. Those levels have the feel of old school Sonic, but do it way better.





I bought/recieved 37 games this year, 2/3 of which were from pre-2009, and 24 of which were X360 or XBLA games. So despite the PS3 having a bigger year for exclusives, I've been enjoying the hell out of my 360, and end up turning it on an least once a day still. Though there were a few PS3 games I really want to play (Killzone 2, Uncharted 1&2, Resistance 1&2).

[iPPi]

Demon's Souls
Modern Warfare 2
Assassin's Creed 2

Honorable Mentions:
Dragon Age Origins
Batman Arkham Asylum
God of War Collection
Uncharted 2

[Ghandi]

I dunno about the other two yet, but I played New Super Mario Bros Wii with three friends last night and it was awesome. One of my more memorable gaming experiences. So that's definitely one of my three.

[PyroMenace]

There's a lot of big ones I haven't played yet like AC2, Uncharted 2, Batman, Modern Warfare 2 so keep that in mind. Here's mine:

Dragon Age: Origins
Not surprising there. In a time where PC RPGs were no long capable of being held in the same light as old school titles such as the first Fallout and the BG games, Bioware has totally proven that such a game can still exist. I'm not even one to enjoy a typical fantasy setting, but the world is so rich, so large, so full of detail and paired with its leveling and combat system, 80 hours just wasn't enough for me. I am currently in the middle of a second play through which I find just insane since I rarely ever would do such a thing, especially of a game which takes so long to finish.

Borderlands
Have to agree with Que. I was a little wary at first since I never could get into Diablo 2 all that much and I just kept thinking its repetitious nature of just shooting stuff for so long would just get boring. However, putting some time in with some coop play with a bunch of friends has proven tons of fun, and even playing through the game solo was totally worth the investment. It's got a great look and feel to the world with some often hilarious humor to boot, and the loot system just worked so well seeing the guns just felt so right. Getting head shot kills on skags and bandits with a precision combat rifle was an addiction that never let go. And it's even got some promising and worthwhile DLC to look forward to.

Dawn of Discovery
This just sprung out of nowhere and I never would have checked it out if I wasn't craving a good sim builder and man did it ever satisfy that craving. Gorgeous looks graphics with a very robust and slick interface plus a deep economic and civ building system, all the ingredients you need with some fine polish to make a game stand out in the genre. I still plan to go back to this one since there is still things in the game I haven't checked out yet.

Honorable Mentions
Dawn of War II - Not much to say here that I'm sure many of you have heard. Great RTS and its got a fucking awesome single player campaign.
Dead Space: Extraction - Its a rail shooter, but a damn good one. Lots of great little mechanics sprinkled in to make it more refreshing.
 

[Pugnate]

To be honest, the only single player campaign games I really really played this year were Dragon Age and Civilization IV (which obviously wasn't this year's release.). I played about 20% of Arkham Asylum, and liked what I played. The rest were mostly two player games I played with my friends/family on the 360.

So here is my list:

1. Dragon Age: This and Civilization IV were probably what brought me back to gaming full time again. Otherwise I was hooked on titles that required less time commitment like the ones listed below. But, yes this game is really awesome. Having gotten back into the main storyline, at least on the PC, it is the best RPG I've played since Baldur's Gate II (though it doesn't surpass it). Yes the world and the mature/dark themes feel slapped on... but the game is more enjoyable when you accept it for what it is: high fantasy (I blame the developers for misleading us). As compared to any RPG (save Baldur's Gate II) the combat is fantastic, and unparalleled in its depth in planning and balance, and the level of satisfaction it brings.

The game looks plain at first, but near the end can get quite stunning on the PC. So yea, I have to thank both Dragon Age and Civilization IV. I am sure this will help me open the two dozen brand new and untouched titles I have with me.

2. FIFA 2010: I've been playing Fifa games since they started and reviewed a whole bunch of them for AOG. The started well, got better, and then went really bad. Fifa started to improve again in 08, and 09 shocked the football gaming community with how good it was. Fifa 10 is just even better, with amazingly realistic ball physics and 360 degrees of player control. It is a real gaming achievement.

3. Street Fighter IV: I liked it?

Honorable mentions:


UFC Undisputed 2009: It pleased me that a fighter/grappling game with such deep and complex mechanics could sell so brilliantly well. The game was quite excellent too.

Tiger Woods 2009, Fight Night Round 4...

[poomcgoo]

1. Dragon Age: Origins 
Did this get severely under-appreciated this year or is it just me?  The reviews were excellent, but I haven't seen one publication give this game their overall GOTY, which I think it wholly deserves.  Like Pug, this game got me back into sinking my teeth into a game and committing to it start to finish.  I had been losing interest and started picking new games up only to drop them in a week and I'm already on hour 30 of my second playthrough.  The last game I played through start-to-finish more than once was MGS1 on PSX. Damn that was a long time ago.  Anyways, the game is excellent and more rewarding than anything I've played in a long time and though I haven't played everything out there this year, I've played a ton of games and this is head and shoulders above the rest.

Screw two of my other favorites, I have to think about it and I'm too lazy.  Like I said, to me there's DA:O and then the rest.

[MysterD]

1. Dragon Age: Origins 
Did this get severely under-appreciated this year or is it just me?  The reviews were excellent, but I haven't seen one publication give this game their overall GOTY, which I think it wholly deserves.  Like Pug, this game got me back into sinking my teeth into a game and committing to it start to finish.  I had been losing interest and started picking new games up only to drop them in a week and I'm already on hour 30 of my second playthrough.  The last game I played through start-to-finish more than once was MGS1 on PSX.

Until my vid card died, 37 hours and counting into DAO. Game's downright amazing.

Only other game I played through w/ such ferocity was Borderlands - been through that one twice (with Lilith and Mordecai). Never got through time #3, though.

For me, it's Borderlands and DAO this past year....and then the rest....

[Quemaqua]

I think DA got the recognition it deserved.  It sold well, it appealed to the crowd it was aiming for plus a lot of others who were attracted to it despite not being the usual type of gamer who would be into it, it reviewed well as a solid, engrossing game, but didn't win a lot of overall GOTY awards, which IMO it doesn't deserve.  There were a shitload of better, more original games this year.  That doesn't make DA bad, it just shows how many damned good games there were to play.  There were tons.

[Pugnate]

Trouble is that most of the people making such decisions didn't actually play the game because it was such a time sink, and instead outsourced it. Plus the console version is "meaningfully different" according to a developer post, and it was probably the version the GOTY decision makers played if at all.

At IGN PC, there are sadly only two full time members on staff. One is Steve Butts, and the other is Jeff Haynes, a guy who joined the team only two months ago and was the reviewer for the game. Two people wouldn't be making much noise, when every other console has five to ten staff members.

At Giantbomb, none of the regular full time staff members played the game because they said they were "afraid". The only people on that website who played and finished it are the sound editor and webdesigner guys, and one of the new writers.

Gamespot gave it to Demon Souls, but did give Dragon Age a 9.5. In their reader's choice awards, the game got the most votes after Uncharted 2.

It did win all the PC GOTY awards and most of the RPG GOTY awards, and like Que said, it was a commercial success.

Also, the social website has gained about 5 million members after the release of Dragon Age...

[K-man]

I'd love to pat their backs after they patch the PS3 version

[Quemaqua]

Seriously dude, when was the last time you saw someone patch *performance issues* out of a console game release?  I'll give you a hint: never.

[iPPi]

I'm playing the PS3 version of Dragon Age and I can look past its technical issues and still love the game.  They do hurt the experience somewhat, but not enough for me to not play the game.  I'm 60+ hours into it on my first playthrough and near the end now.  It really grows on you -- the characters and the world draw you in. 

Really, the only thing you can fault Dragon Age for is playing it safe and the way it is treating its DLC.  It's not a very original game, and a lot of it feels 'recycled' (a lot of MMO style quests, talents, crafting, etc... it all feels lifted from WoW), but that doesn't stop it from being a great game (look at Uncharted 2, for example).  The more I play Dragon Age, the more I want to finish it up quickly so I can start a second playthrough.

And how bad is it for you on the PS3 K-man?  To be quite honest, the only issues I have are general sluggishness when navigating the menus (delay when you press buttons to move between tabs), and starting and ending a dialogue has a delay (sometimes long enough for a 'Loading...' to appear at the bottom of the screen).  The framerate is very much playable, though it does get noticeably slower if you fill the screen with massive spells (ie.  cast blizzard, then tempest, have your party fully buffed with their own magic like Bard's Song, use weapons that glow like Wintersbite).  Basically it chugs if you fill the screen with effects, otherwise it's completely playable.

[MysterD]

I'm playing the PS3 version of Dragon Age and I can look past its technical issues and still love the game.  They do hurt the experience somewhat, but not enough for me to not play the game.  I'm 60+ hours into it on my first playthrough and near the end now.  It really grows on you -- the characters and the world draw you in. 

Really, the only thing you can fault Dragon Age for is playing it safe and the way it is treating its DLC.  It's not a very original game, and a lot of it feels 'recycled' (a lot of MMO style quests, talents, crafting, etc... it all feels lifted from WoW), but that doesn't stop it from being a great game (look at Uncharted 2, for example).  The more I play Dragon Age, the more I want to finish it up quickly so I can start a second playthrough.

I think DAO feels like a cross b/t Drakensang (KO'ed party members come back to life after a battle, but w/ "injury" penalties added on top of them); The Witcher (very dark fantasy setting w/ lots of violence and some sexual content); BG2 (party-based RPG w/ classic Bioware pause and command); and NWN (game's in 3D w/ very nice camera controls and all).

[scottws]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
It's the only 2009 game I own.  So it wins by default.  But even if it weren't the only game I got from 2009, I think I would still rank it very highly.  It's a good second effort follow-up to the amazing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.  I found the original Modern Warfare more memorable, but this game has some really fun missions, excellent presentation, is technically impressive, and has an overall decent story that was excellent until an ill-conceived twist ruined it.

[K-man]

Seriously dude, when was the last time you saw someone patch *performance issues* out of a console game release?  I'll give you a hint: never.

Actually I can think of one right off the top of my head:  Oblivion for the 360.  A patch or two did wonders for performance

[W7RE]

At Giantbomb, none of the regular full time staff members played the game because they said they were "afraid". The only people on that website who played and finished it are the sound editor and webdesigner guys, and one of the new writers.

Well, they did let the one of those guys do the review, and I think he did a pretty good job. Also I think most of them have played it quite a bit by now, and are all loving it. I think it was mostly the time sink they were worried about. I still haven't started it yet for the same reason.