2009 Game of Year Email

Posted on 04 January 2010

Every year I send out an email like the one below.  Figured this year I would share with the whole world.  Feel free to respond in the comment section or email.

Yeah, I know I do this every year.  I pick my favorite games for the past year and then make every else do the same.  Well we’re doing it again.  Why?  Cause its awesome.  Deal with it.  The rules are, as always, pick 5 games released this year that you liked.  Can’t find 5? Just list what you can.  I won’t think less of you.  Ok I will, but you can pretend I don’t.

Top 5 Games of the Year:

5.  Red Faction: Guerrilla – Any game where the default weapon is a sledge hammer is good in my book.    The single player game is fun although flawed (unlimited spawning of bad guys = boo), but the online mode is a great update to the old stand bys.  The first time I stopped someone from c capturing a flag by dropping a building on them, I knew this game was for me.

4. Street Fighter 4 – I just wanted to hug this game.  The one game I wanted most this year and it certainly lived up to the hype.  The only draw back?  A really cheap end boss.  Otherwise lovely.

3. Plants vs Zombies – The guys at pop cap know how addict people.  This is a really a great tower defense game.  It does start slow, but a few levels in and you start seeing how deep things can get.  I think new it goes for 10 bucks.  Everyone should have it.

2. Super Mario Brothers Wii – Half classic Mario game, half super smash brothers, all ultimate party game.  Somehow this game manages to improve on the  8 and 16 bit greats.  The level design is just amazing.  Plus it’s the ultimate game to screw with people.  I’m hoping some day to find some folks to be play the competitive modes with.

1. Batman Arkham Asylum –  Pretty easily the best game of the year for me.  A great story with great controls, I could sneak up on thugs all day.  Loved it.  The best license game in history.

Runners up:
splosion Man
Little Kings Story
Wii sports resort
Torch Light

Best games of the Year that should probably be on that list I just haven’t played enough of yet

I’m old and missed a lot of great games this year.  Here are the ones I played for an hour or two, just not longer to give a final review for.

5. Shadow Complex
4. Infamous
3. Halo ODST
2. Left of Dead 2
1. Uncharted 2 – I’m a few hours in and can easily say it’s a great game.  If it keeps up this pace it may give batman a run for its money.

Games that should have sucked but just didn’t

1. 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand – No idea why this game rocked as much as it did, but wow did it ever rock.  I would add it to my best of the year list, but I think I would just feel too dirty.  Still if you love a good action game , you have to play it.  Just turn the music down.

2. EA Sports Active – This game really isn’t that fun, but its actually a decent workout.  The punching mini games alone make me happy.  All the motion stuff seems to work as well.  Odd.  Did EA just out Nintendo Nintendo? Someone check Hell.

5 Biggest disappointments

1. Bionic Commando – A classic remake gone bad.  With ReArmed being so good, I had hope.  But nope, this game bites.  At least the company that made it went out of business.  That what you get for ruining my childhood dreams ya punks!

2. Wolverine – This actually isn’t a bad game, it just has some major annoying aspects that keep it down.  Talk about painfully repetitive bad guys.  If I have to jump on the back on one more bad guy… ugh.    Still rent it, play it for 4 hours, and just don’t bother finishing it.

3. Fat Princess – I wanted to like this game.  It had some cool ideas.  Sorta like Team fortress with fat people and cake.  Turns out though kinda dull and flat.  Even sweet sweet cake could not save it.

4. Marvel vs Capcom 2 – A classic game, I mean classic.  But no update to the graphics at all?   No unlocking new characters?  Talk about lazy releases.  Booo.

5. Punch Out – I dream of the day of getting a good boxing game for the Wii.  Instead I get this 8 bit game with better graphics.  Some old school games are better left off in the past.

Honorable Mention:  Mad World – I really wanted to like this ultra violent Wii game.  Truth is, it gets boring … quick.  Fun in short bursts, but certainly not worth the hype.

5 more reasons why the Wii doesn’t suck.

So the wii is always taking crap for having no good games and every year I try and defend it.  Last year was pretty tough, but this year was ,in fact, a really good year for Wii software.  As usual, I try and avoid the Nintendo made ones, since everyone knows they rock.  There are actually quite a few more than 5 games, but we’ll keep it simple.

5.  Little Kings Story – A really nice twist on the city building genre. It seems all cute and cuddly until you realize this little boy in bent on world domination.  He also gets people to do his bidding by throwing them around.

4. Excite Bike World Rally – This is a minimal update to the classic 8 bit excite bike game but somehow they made it as addicting as crack.  It can’t be explained only experienced.

3. House of the Dead: Over Kill – The winner of the most swear words in a video game ever.   You shoot zombies with a friend.  Do I need to say more?

2. Swords and Soldiers – A group of Vikings on a search for great BBQ. A 2d RTS that works like a charm Awesome.

1. Contra: Rebirth – New contra!   You jump, you shoot, its wacky.  You’ll love it.

So that’s it in my opinion.  What are your picks?