Exactly.
Printable View
Weeman: Braid has no flaws. There are none. Unless you are a wah wah whiner about length.
World of goo sounds great.
I also didn't play many new games this year.
1) Lost Odyssey - My GOTY. Lovely old-school turn-based gameplay with modern visuals and a fantastic soundtrack. It sunk its claws into me and didn't let go until I'd explored every nook & cranny. It's right up there with Bioshock as the best game I've played this gen, and is my second-favorite turn-based RPG of all time (next to Shadow Hearts).
2) Fallout 3 - For the first 30 hours, it was incredible. After that, it gradually declined in enjoyment, and once I hit the far-too-early level cap, it became a boring grind (it also RROD-ed my 360). As good as it is, it desperately needs more variety and a better interface, for starters.
3) Burnout Paradise - I wanted to hate the open-world design, but grew to appreciate it. I applaud Criterion for being ambitious, but the formula needs a lot of work. It's the spiritual successor to my beloved Burnout 2.
4) The Club - Surprised the hell out of me. Just a well-done, old-school, pattern-based, score-attack shooter, and its multi had some darn fun moments too.
5) Gears 2 - Disliked the choppy schizo campaign. Multi is kind of a mess. Horde has its problems, and isn't as fun as I thought it would be, but it's still quite a blast in the right circumstances.
I was severely disappointed with DMC4 (poor level design) and NG2 (absolutely horrid camera), and unfortunately the perspectives of Mirror's Edge made me seriously motion-sick. I applaud Braid but found it annoyingly pretentious.
I honestly can't even come close to making a top ten list this year, let alone a top 3.
Dead Space is my GOTY though.
The new Alone in the Dark game wins my award for "very flawed game that I liked way more than I should have."
Oops. Anyway, the PC one is a new release, so I'll go in my list and make a change. And now I realize I'm breaking Rule #3 with Rez HD, so here's my redone list:
1. Raiden IV (360) - The graphics are improved a bit over the Taito Type X arcade version, with clearer textures- and there are two more levels in 360 mode. Raiden II's "Purple Toothpaste" laser makes a welcome return.
2. Fantasy Zone 2 (System 16) - Way better than the original FZ2 overall, especially with Manabu Namiki's remix of the soundtrack and the Bright/Dark side system which lets you play a harder area for more potential gold. Easily justifies the $30 price of FZ Complete Collection by itself.
3. Battle Fantasia - A 2D fighter with 3D graphics that look nearly as good as hand drawn. Even before SFIV did it.
*4. Space Giraffe (PC) - Rather than doing Tempest 4000, Jeff Minter did an original game in the same genre. Bulling enemies off the rim makes for good score play- raise the multiplier, then keep doing it for even more points (Rinsin'). The PC version contains the original 360 game (Acid mix) and the new Nuxx mix with better graphics and toned down psychedelic effects.
5. Call of Duty: World at War - The flame thrower rocks, and it's great to pick up the Panzershreck again. Sometimes it's hard to resist shooting a PS rocket into a group of German infantry, watching them get tossed around like ragdolls and/or ripped apart. Fighting against the Japanese army helps mix things up a little, especially with their tendency to use "Banzai" attacks.
6. KOF'98 Ultimate Match (PS2) - What is probably the best KOF game gets even better.
7. Ketsui Death Label (DS) - It may be just a boss rush, but it's still good on a portable. You can take on Doom anytime you want.
8. Raiden Fighters Aces (360) - All three Raiden Fighters games on one disc, finally.
*9. Thunder Force VI (PS2) - Not a bad entry in the series, and the new soundtracks are actually good (especially Tamayo's stage 3 BGM). I hope this isn't the last TF game, and that the next one will really improve- TF VII needs to be a bit tougher, like TF IV is.
10. 007: Quantum of Solace - A bit on the easy side, but still a good 007 game which does a decent job of merging both Casino Royale & QoS into one title.
I'm along the lines of most of TNL, I haven't played ten games all year, here is what I have.
1) Call of Duty WAW: Simply the best multi and co-op game modes in the business right now. Took COD4 and made it more fun by adding WW2 era weapons. I'm having a blast with this. If you happen to be on the fence, get off it, it's a great game.
2) Bionic Commando re-armed: A great remake of a classic game from my youth. Kudos to the developer of this game.
3) NHL 09: Weeman summed it up, best online sports game...ever.
4) Gears of War 2: Had some good times with this. Campaign was awesome, but the broken multi-player has caused me to shelf this until they patch the significant and numerous glitches.
5) Left For Dead: For the first few weeks, this is the #1 game of the year, then the drop off in interest hits you like a hammer. DLC please.
6) UNO: It's great, but I can play this with my friends IRL, so it goes here.
In no specific order.
Call of Duty WAW: It does indeed rule. Online is fun but not as good as 4. Still the best online game this year though.
Gears 2: Co-op kicked ass. Online not so much.
Saints Row 2: Love this game. Its more fun that GTA 4.
GTA4: Great game until Saints Row 2 came out.
Fallout 3: Still trying to finish it. Theres too much to do! The side quests really suck me in.
Fable 2: They fucked up Co-op! Everything else was good though
SW the Force Unleashed: The story was actually good!
Metal Gear Solid 4: The only game that I'd still buy a PS3 for. At least I got a sweet Blu Ray player now.
Rock Band 2: I bought a guitar game and it rules!
Brother in Arms: Hells Highway Better than I thought it was going to be!