Playing the Games: Game of the Year 2009 - VOTE NOW

[Flabio]

As the nights draw in and the year grows short it's time to turn our thoughts to choosing our game of the year with the fourth Annual Playing the Games Game of the Year vote!

2006 saw Gears of War take the crown. In 2007 Mario Galaxy stood tall. Last year we choose Fallout 3 as the top title.

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Voting is very straightforward, all you have to do is choose your ten favourite games of the year. You don't have to put them in any particular order, and if you can't think of ten then don't worry, ten is just the maximum number of games you're allowed to vote for.

Once you've decided, either post them in this thread or send them to me via PM. Because we can't edit posts now, if you change your mind just post a new list and I'll use the most recent list I have from each person when compiling the results.

A game is eligible for the vote if it was released anywhere in the world, on any platform, between December 21st 2008 and December 22nd 2009. Voting closes on Wednesday the 23rd of December, with the final results going up along with the usual writeup and trivia somewhere between Christmas and New Year.

The most important thing to remember is that this is just a bit of fun. Although maybe we should make a trophy up one year and send it to the winner, just to see the reaction.

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It's been a quieter year for gaming has 2009. Not a bad year by any means, but both 2007 and 2008 were truly exceptional which is why this one feels a little low key. A good number of titles also ran away screaming from Modern Warfare 2 into the first quarter of 2010.

Because it's always good to jog your memory, here's a list of some of the bigger releases from 2009 in roughly chronological order.

House of the Dead: Overkill, F.E.A.R.2: Project Origin, Flower, Street Fighter IV, Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War 2, Puzzle Quest Galactrix, Star Ocean: The Last Hope, Halo Wars, Empire: Total War, Resident Evil 5, GTA: Chinatown Wars, Ninja Blade, Plants vs Zombies, Bionic Commando, inFamous, The Sims 3, Prototype, Ghostbusters, Overlord 2, Fat Princess, Trials HD, Shadow Complex, Professor Layton 2, Final Fantasy Dissidia, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Guitar Hero 5, The Beatles: Rock Band, Dirt 2, Scribblenauts, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, WET, Halo 3: ODST, Gran Turismo PSP, Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising, Demon's Souls, GTA4: Episodes from Liberty City, Brutal Legend, Borderlands, Uncharted 2: Among Theives, DJ Hero, Tekken 6, Forza Motorsport 3, Dragon Age: Origins, Lego Rock Band, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, New Super Mario Bros Wii, Tony Hawk Ride, Assassins Creed 2, Left 4 Dead 2.

YOU VOTE NOW!

[PVB]

Haven't played/bought many games this year, so my list is, as ever, a little short.

Gridrunner Revolution (PC)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (360)
Borderlands (360)

[Anders]

Oh, this is going to be hard.

First out are...

- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Dragon Age: Origins (despite many flaws...)
- Plants Vs Zombies
- Left 4 Dead 2

A couple more to come. All PC games, btw. I don't think I have bought so many PC games in a year before, but Steam and GOG are hitting my wallet hard. On the other hand, I have hardly bought any 360 games.

[grue]

Tales of Monkey Island
Gridrunner Revolution
Left 4 Dead 2
Risen


Well, that's it really. Didn't play much this year. It was LoTRO until May, then a three months of gaming fasting, and then the above. All top games though IMHO.

[Zzap64!]

Dragon Age:Origins (PC)
Uncharted 2 (PS3)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3)
Borderlands (PS3)
Machinarium (PC)
Dirt 2 (PS3)
Assassins Creed 2 (PS3)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3)
FIFA 10 (PS3)
Flower (PS3)

[Mark]

Phew! By the looks of it Spelunky scraped in to eligibility (first posted on the Tigsource forums on December 21st last year). I didn't get around to playing it properly until this year, so wasn't sure if it would be OK. It's my most played game of the year by far, and a serious contender for my personal GOTY. Still playing it pretty much daily even now.

But yeah, bit of a quiet year - especially since many of the big names didn't appeal to me (didn't need any more Forza, Halo or COD). So I'm probably going to have a bit of struggle to get a list together. Chances are it'll end up with a few XBLA/PSN games, and things that in other years perhaps wouldn't have made it, like Call of Juarez: BIB and WET (stop sniggering, I really enjoyed it ).

[Tanatoes]

Well this being a Llamasoft forum I think I can guess what will come out on top (as well it should) but here's my list anyhow:

For the PC:
Gridrunner Revolution

For the 360:
Dragon Age: Origins
Beatles Rock Band
Batman: Arkham Asylum

For the Wii:
Little King's Story
Rabbids Go Home
House of the Dead Overkill
Dead Space: Extraction

For the iPod:
Civilization Revolution

For the DS:
Mario and Luigi's Inside Story

[grue]

I enjoyed House of the Dead Overkill but I hardly find it game of the year..

[Mat]

Even though there's still more to come this year, I'm pretty confident that this is my final list now (although I have just bought Mini Ninjas...)

Assassin's Creed 2 (PS3)
Improving on the first game in every way, this is very much what that title should have been. Intriguing story, wonderful historic touches presented with a deft hand, and sublime architecture all serve as a great background to the slaughter. A shame it couldn't be more stealthy, but otherwise a fantastic game.

Batman Arkham Asylum (PS3)
Superb voice acting punctuated a virtuoso performance by new Brit studio Rocksteady. I'm not usually a fan of Batman, as I find the character often serves as a blank slate for his more interesting enemies to write on, but this was executed nigh-on perfectly. Even though the boss battles were a little tedious, this was still game of the year for me up until I played a certain other title on this list.

Bionic Commando (PS3)
Panned by critics, the last, dying breaths of Grin brought us what I regard as being the most mis-understood game this year. Due to the way the game is presented, a lot of people seemed to expect some sort of free-roaming, third-person sandbox game. What Grin were actually aiming for was a 3D translation of Re-Armed, and to my mind, they succeeded. Where reviews and critics saw the radiation as an irritating barrier, I saw a 3D representation of a solid 2D platformer's needed barriers. To me, they served to direct the action and keep the player focussed.
And when you learned to play within these constraints, mastering the tricky bionic arm as you went, you were rewarded massively for your efforts.
Where critics saw a ridiculous story taking itself far too seriously, I saw a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek update of the quite frankly joyously stupid story of Re-Armed.
Granted, the game could have done with a little more polish and the removal of in-game advertising, and the exclusion of challenge rooms was possibly the biggest let-down coming from Re-Armed, bet it still remains a firm favourite with me, and the music is simply the best game music this year.

Borderlands (PC)
In a year with 2 sublime Diablo clones, this one nudges out Torchlight by a gnat's pube.
Fantastically humourous with an incredibly inventive world and a visually striking aesthetic, Borderlands really delivered on its "Diablo with guns" promise.
Only let down by a frankly bizarre ending and an interface that could have done with a bit more fine-tuning, Borderlands otherwise "pwns" all other FPS titles this year for me. It's the first game in years to do something truly original in the genre.

Warhammer 40,000 - Dawn of War II (PC)
Do you live for the sound of bolter-fire? Does your heart soar along with the whoosh-stomp of an assault squad's jump pack attack? Do you long for a portrayal of space marines that is so testosterone driven and war-hardened, it makes Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago look like a couple of X-Factor rejects?
Do you shout "For the emperor!" on a regular basis, much to the confusion of friends and neighbours?
Then Dawn of War II is the game for you.
Even though I still long for a proper, turn-based interpretation of WH40K, DoWII captures the feel of the universe perfectly. More, it lets you revel in the unashamed bad-assery of WH40K space marines. And Davian Thule, man. Davian freakin' Thule. Being a big, stompy, death-machine has never felt quite so bombastic.
It's not without its weaknesses. It repeats itself far too often, and the multiplayer bears absolutely no resemblance to the single player (unless you play co-op).
But none of that really matters once you start beating down heretics.
"For the emperor!", indeed.

Demon's Souls (PS3)
If I could vote for one game ten times, no other game would get a look in on this list.
As yet un-released in Europe, Demon's Souls is nonetheless worth importing if you're a PS3 owner.
It is not an easy game.
It is not a friendly game.
You will repeatedly have your arse handed to you by the game.
And yet, you will continue coming back for more.
Some describe the game as a Rogue-like, but having not played any Rogue-likes myself (except Diablo), I find myself reminded mostly of games such as Dungeon Master, Severance: Blade of Darkness and Dark Messiah.
The game has an almost perfectly balanced carrot-stick style of gameplay. When you achieve something in Demon's Souls, it feels like no other game in recent memory. It will genuinely have you gripping the controller anxiously, in a cold, clammy sweat.
On top of this exhilarating gameplay is one of the most unique integrations of online play ever, where other players can leave hints, request your help or in turn help you, or invade your world. Hell, there's one utterly brilliant section where the boss of a level is actually a randomly chosen player.
In turns utterly innovative and incredibly nostalgic, nothing else this year can compare to Demon's Souls.

Shadow Complex (360)
A wonderful surprise, Shadow Complex unashamedly rips off Super Metroid, and by the gods, is it a good clone or what? Taking its cues from the Metroidvania genre, Shadow Complex offers excellent level design and solid action intermingled with compelling collect-'em-up gameplay. I used to think that no-one except Konami or Nintendo themselves could offer such a game up, but this ranks alongside the best games in the genre.

The Sims 3 (PC)
Look, basically, it's the same as The Sims 2, yet with an open world to explore and streamlining where it was needed. Easily dismissed by snootier gamers as a virtual doll's house, or a game for girls, The Sims 3 continues the series' exploration of non-violent, emergent gameplay, and delivers fun in spades. Only really eclipsed by the world-conquering Dwarf Fortress in its ability to compel the player to tell their story, The Sims 3 has already delivered up one of the most funny and touching pieces of game-related writing I've seen in the superb blog Alice & Kev.

Street Fighter IV (360/PS3/PC)
They updated Street Fight for 3D.
They didn't fuck with the formula.
They added multiplayer that's as close to taking turns pinging 10p pieces into arcade machines down your local grotto as multiplayer can get without leaving the comfort of your own home.
I went stupid and bought it on all 3 platforms. And I still suck at it.
But I fucking loves it.

Uncharted 2 (PS3)
The third game in this list featuring the lovable voice acting of the seemingly omni-present Nolan North, this is probably his best performance. And it's surrounded by equally fantastic talent in a game that's as close to the perfect Hollywood action-adventure block-buster movie as it's possible to be.
Now undoubtedly overshadowing Tomb Raider in games that are essentially takes on the classic Indiana Jones movies, Uncharted 2 delivers a cinematic experience that revels in spectacle, and always feels fresh, right up until the very end. You rarely, if ever, feel like you're repeating gameplay, and you'll find it almost impossible to put down until you're finished.
And I've never seen anything like the collapsing hotel in another game, ever.

In closing, as well as listing my also-rans, I'd like to say that for me, this has been the year of the PS3. With some exceptional exclusives and momentum gathering in regards to Blu Ray movie releases, the machine is finally coming into its own.
I barely touched the 360 this year, for a number of reasons: lack of compelling exclusives, perceived unreliability, noise, pay-to-play online services, awkard user interface, and media sharing that isn't as good as the PS3's, even though it can act as a media center extender.
The big loser this year for me has been the Wii. I don't think I've played a single game on it, and the release schedule has become over-saturated with shovelware. I've even considered selling my Wii, and I never sell systems.

Also-rans:
Wet: A mediocre reception didn't prevent me from thoroughly enjoying the game, even after reading the comments of a disgruntled developer who had worked on the game. Sure, it was big and dumb, but it was big and dumb and fun. Just not quite enough to make the top ten.

Prototype: Senseless destruction on an epic scale, although possibly a little too sensless for its own good. Thoroughly enjoyable all the same.

inFamous: Spoiled by a lack of variety and a weirdly vertically challenged city, this was otherwise agreeably good fun along the same lines as Prototype.

Torchlight: As mentioned above, a more-than competent Diablo clone. I suspect Blizzard saying that we can't expect to see Diablo 3 in 2010 is partly down to this game maiking them re-evaluate.

Left 4 Dead 2: More zombie shooting fun, but unfortunately not enough of an upgrade to really justify coming out so soon after the first game. Brutally hard too.

Dragon Age: Touted as the successor to the Baldur's Gate throne, this unfortunately comes off as more of a Neverwinter Nights game. Not a bad game, but not a great example of RPGs. Could have done with less combat and more proper areas to explore. The engine also seems to have aged before its time. Still, well-realised characters make it a worthwhile experience.

Risen: It was this or Borderlands. This lost out due to a shoddy and rushed final third. Still, it's great to have another Gothic game out there, even if not in name.
And no-one does world-design for RPGs quite as well as these guys.

Grid Runner Revolution: Sorry Jeff; lovely game though it is, I simply haven't felt it clawing at my soul as much as the other games listed. Wickedly good though, all the same, and the bullet-curving mechanic is genius. Don't ever stop making games like this

AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity: A Lovely little game from Dejobaan, this is one of those ones I'll fire up for a quick five minutes only to glance up and realise I've lost 2 hours. Simple gameplay, expertly executed.

Overlord II: Delivering some of the funniest moments in gaming this year, it falls shy of the top ten due to some minor irritations. I still can't get over how deliciously, hilariously evil it was driving a herd of seal cubs into a field of sea-mines

Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena: A fantastic re-release of a bona-fide all time classic, the Dark Athena chapter is unfortunately just not as good as Escape from Butcher Bay, meaning I can't really justify ranking this title. However, the prisoners on the ship are some of the finest examples of acting I've ever seen in a game.

Burn, Zombie, Burn!: A twin-stick shooter with a brilliant risk-reward mechanic, this title is well worth a look. Brilliant music too.

Game-that-would-be-game-of-the-year-but-hasn't-really-been-properly-released-yet-and-is-still-technically-in-alpha-and-has-been-for-years: Dwarf Fortress
I've put more hours into Dwarf Fortress this year than any other game I've listed. Even though Demon's Souls beats out all official games to be my game of the year, I suspect that Dwarf Fortress may eventually end up being the game I enjoy most, ever.

[The Captain]

I don't have a PC good enough to play Gridrunner Revolution, so haven't been able to put enough time in with it to judge whether it is game of the year for me. So here goes anyway.

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Predictable, I know, but this game had me thrilled in single player, despite and because of its outrageous silliness, and the multiplayer is obviously amazing. A stunning, slick ride.

Borderlands - Funny and goodlooking bang-shooty grind action, with some suprisingly adept voice acting which gives the bare-bones plot some meat and depth. Mordecai's increasingly hysterical chuckles as he gets headshots/criticals are brilliant.

Machinarium - Despite a couple of cunty bits this feels like how point-clicky adventures should always have been. An artistic triumph, and featuring the most amazing music I think I've ever heard in a game.

Left 4 Dead 2 A brilliant sequel to a brilliant game, and with an identity all of its own. Some incredible cutscenes are surpassed only by the ridiculously OTT action. The characters are fantastic, some of the best Valve have created.

I haven't been nearly as excited about games this year, although there have been some decent titles released, but nothing else that really deserves to be nominated GOTY that I've played.

[Phineasfool]

Batman Arkham Asylum
Borderlands
Uncharted 2

[CarlBillen]

1. Demon's Souls (PS3) : The best game I've played for many many years. It slaps you around , it kills you a lot, but all deaths are fair. It is hard, it is beautiful, it is addictive, it makes you unable to sleep at night because you are too busy thinking what strategies to follow and wonder in which stat to put your souls in. It makes you feel "victory" many, many times over (think how you felt finishing Elite Beat Agents). It is unbelievable. My GOTY.

2. Borderlands (PS3) : A close second my the GOTY list. It's Diablo with guns, and just as addictive. It has a nice graphic style, and it is both fun and funny. And we wake up screaming at night "Look at me, I'm dancing, I'm DANCING!" . The zombie expansions is even funnier

3. Batman : Arkham Asylum (PS3). It makes you feel like Batman. That should be enough

4. Flower (PS3) : One of the most beautiful and touching experiences ever to have graced a computer. Don't treat it as a game, it's an experience.

5. Gravity Crash (PS3) : Only just released, but one of the prettiest and most addictive Thrust clones ever. It has colour vector graphics, 35 levels (5 galaxies with 5 planets + 1 boss planet + 1 secret planet) which gives you a lot to explore and it has an editor which allows you to share levels!

6. Shatter (PS3) : Arkanoid in an update form. Very nice and very addictive.

7. Burn Zombie Burn (PS3) : a nice twin-stick shooter with fun graphics and you can play with two players at the same time. Nice and simple.

8. Wipeout HD : Fury (PS3) : I don't know if it is allowed here, but if a DLC adds 80 more races to the existing 87 races, and extra ships, and almost doubles the gamemodes, well, then it makes a damn fine game even finer.

9. Noby Noby Boy (PS3) : The weirdest thing you've probably ever played, but still fun. Is it a game? Is it an experience? Is it fun? They apparently recently managed to get to Jupiter!

Honourable mentions for being big timesinks : Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 (got my first platinum!) and Dynasty Warriors : Gundam 2. Definitely no games of the year, but good entertainment. Not good enough to get on the list.

Things I haven't played which probably would get on the list : Uncharted 2 and COD : MW2.
Things that probably would've gotten on the list if I had the machines to play them : Forza Motorsport 3 (if it is as good as Forza 2), Torchlight (I've seen it, it looked very addictive, so that's the most important thing of a Diablo clone).

Especially the last few months have been a real rollercoaster of a ride for 'very good games' : Batman + Uncharted + Demon's Souls + Borderlands + COD : MW2. They are so good that I have been so busy playing only 3 of them

I predict this year's winner to be either Batman : Arkham Asylum or Borderlands, because they have the advantage of being multi-platform. On the PS3-list though, it is very possibly Demon's Souls.

[jawafour]

1... Chrono Trigger (DS)
2... Wii Sports Resort (Wii)
3... Noby Noby Boy (PS3)

Not a great year for new releases; spent my dough on picking up classic Wii games from past years. For me, Metroid Prime 3, House of The Dead 2&3 Return and No More Heroes are my games of '09 :-)

[The ghost of raids past]

1 ) Call of duty - Modern Warfare 2 A Tad on the short side but perfectly formed. Multiplayer is perfect and the addition of the spec ops mode makes this game superb.

2) Batman Arkham Asylum - I was expecting this to be rubbish, but its an amazing game, full of atmosphere.

3) Forza 3 - Probably the best driving game yet to be relased.

4) Borderlands - Amusing but sadly flawed at the very end.

5) Bullet Candy Perfect - Take bullet candy and improve it and you have an amazing game.

6) Assassin's Creed 2 - Another game so much better than its first incarnation

[flookster]

Batman: Arkham Asylum has never been on my radar yet it seems to be getting a lot of love in this thread. Is it true? Has someone finally done a superhero licence justice?