EvaUnit02 on 26/12/2008 at 20:19

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You're gonna break Dethtoll's heart.

Koki on 26/12/2008 at 22:16

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Only good thing about Valkyria Chronicles is that it serves as an excellent example why TPP is least immersive view available.

Malleus on 26/12/2008 at 22:49

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Though I'm yet to finish Clear Sky and the new Prince Of Perisa, they still made it onto my list.
So I liked these this year:

Dead Space
Crysis: Warhead
Prince Of Persia
Stalker: Clear Sky

Malf on 26/12/2008 at 23:49

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This is the list I posted at another of the forums I visit, and I still pretty much stand by it, although Valkyria Chronicles and Storm of Zehir get honorary mentions now:

In alphabetical order...
Audiosurf
Bionic Commando Rearmed
Fable 2
GTA IV
Left 4 Dead
Little Big Planet
N+
Okami Wii
Wipeout HD
World of Goo

Notable mentions:
Witcher Enhanced Edition - Didn't make the top ten, as it isn't different enough to the original release to really qualify in my eyes. Doesn't stop it being a fantastic game though.
Rez HD - I don't feel comfortable saying any of the others in my top ten are worse than this, so this is my "Joint 10th" game.
Spiderman Web of Shadows - brilliant fun, but a bit of a slog late on in the game and could have used more content. Oh, and it got panned in the reviews, but that didn't stop it being fun.

TTLG additions:

I can't really say what the worst games of the year were, as I try to stay away from things I know I won't like, but my biggest disappointment was Tomb Raider: Underworld. I was expecting more Legend/Anniversary goodness, and what I got was decidedly "Meh".

Games I wouldn't buy out of principle:
Gears of War 2 - FOR FUCK'S SAKE PEOPLE! ALL IT CONSISTS OF IS SHOOT FROM COVER UNTIL EVERYTHING'S DEAD, THEN RINSE AND REPEAT! dethtoll has it right here: buy the sublime Rogue Trooper instead.
Fallout 3 - because I am a nutjob Fallout traditionalist.
Dead Space / Crysis Warhead / Far Cry 2: SecuROM? No thanks.

Games I wouldn't buy because even the bent sycophantic gaming press is reporting them as being a bit iffy:
Prince of Persia
Mirror's Edge

Game everyone should buy now 'cos it's finally out on PC and it's really quite ace if your brain can get used to it:
Space Giraffe.

Jackablade on 27/12/2008 at 01:06

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First off, who writes worst of the year lists except bitter old basement hermits. Secondly, here are my personal best games of 2008.

5. Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Yes, it is a silly series but I don't care because it is presented with such polish and the game mechanics are amazingly deep and simultaneously easy to understand. That said even with the new characters I don't see anything in Brawl that I don't get in Melee, in fact, there are a few things that I think Brawl does worse, most notably the musical arrangements, which are of surprisingly low quality both instrumentally and compositionally.

4. Braid - The writing in Braid comes dangerously close to melodrama but it never quite crosses the line and as a result Braid is one of the most well written games ever released. On top of Braid's surprising literacy the game has top notch music, art, and gameplay mechanics that all interact to create a thematically complete, engaging experience.

3. Rez HD - Yeah, it's a remake but everybody is putting Mass Effect into their list and I've seen some critics include Bioshock as a 2008 game (PS3) and this game is better than Mass Effect and it's probably better than Bioshock. I lose myself in the *boom* *bwuanow* of the rhythm (without drugs to boot!) and, frankly, that's all I need to have a good time.

2. Gears of War 2 - I haven't finished it but I'm close. I admit it isn't quite as compelling as the first but I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because I've done it all in coop so far and I find it a bit hard to see everything in split-screen. That said Gears is still beautiful, intense, funny, and every bit as awesome as the first. Look up 'awesome' in the dictionary and the first two entries would be Gears of War 1 and 2, respectively.

1. Mirror's Edge - The sense of movement and body awareness of Thief, the aesthetics and gameplay innovation of Portal, the seemingly natural linearity of Half-Life 2 and, well, the story is merely ok but still, this is the game critics and forum posters should be falling over themselves praising like Portal in 2007 (except Bioshock was better. Take that!). However, unlike Portal I will run through Mirror's Edge a few times instead of the one time in the two days after Christmas that I did with Portal.


Honourable Mentions

Fallout 3 - There were a couple brief moments when I found the setting beautiful but for the most part I don't find Fallout 3 very compelling. I would never say that it is not an expansive, well thought out game. There is a lot you can do but I don't care about any of the things I can do nor do I care about the results of my actions. I played it for awhile and I did enjoy some of it but now that I have Mirror's Edge and Gears of War 2 I don't think I'll be returning to the wasteland, at least not out of anything other than a sense of obligation.

Lego Indiana Jones - This game is cute and charming and you can play through The Last Crusade, with the music and everything.

Tomb Raider Underworld - This would probably make it on to my list at around number 6 but I haven't opened it yet and I'll be damned if I'm doing that right now for all you sad sacks. Don't worry I still love you all.

Games I haven't played but deserve mentioning:

Grand Theft Auto IV - I don't think I would like this game.
Metal Gear Solid 4 - Would probably make it on to the top 5.
Spore - I don't think I would like it too much.
Dead Space - I'm a little bored of Resident Evil 4 so I'm not too excited for this but I'm sure I would enjoy it.
Left 4 Dead - Feels too much like an online shooter and not enough like a zombie apocalypse. (based on demo)