A bit of fun and best of the year
I thought I'd start today with something that made me chuckle while I was playing Assassin's Creed 2 the other night. It's not a plot spoiler so won't ruin your enjoyment of the game but it'll probably make you chuckle as well.
Not long into the game you'll come across the uncle of main character Ezio who, when introducing himself, spouts a phrase more commonly associated with a pint-sized Italian plumber than a Renaissance freedom fighter. You can find a video of it at Kotaku.
OK, it's about that time of year when a lot of gaming writers, myself include, sit down and start pondering what our best games of the year were. It's something we do, year in, year out.
I'm doing a cover story and feature for our hardcopy The Box and I've narrowed down some of my best games of the year, and some other categories. Here's what I've got so far. Remember, these are based on games I've played.
Game of the Year Uncharted 2: Among Thieves; Modern Warfare 2; Batman Arkham Asylum, Assassin's Creed 2, Left 4 Dead 2.
Handheld game of the year: LittleBigPlanet (PSP), GTA: Chinatown Wars (DS/PSP), Bejewelled 2 (iPod/iPhone).
Action game of the year: Batman Arkham Asylum, Assassin's Creed 2.
Best shooter: Killzone 2, Halo 3: ODST, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Left 4 Dead 2.
Nintendo Wii Game of the Year: Dead Space Extraction, Wii Sports Resort, New Super Mario Bros Wii.
Sports game of the year: Forza 3, Fifa 10, Need for Speed Shift.
Xbox 360 game of the year (exclusive): Forza Motorsports 3, Halo 3: ODST.
PlayStation 3 game of the year (exclusive): Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Killzone 2.
PC game of the year: Dragonage Origins, The Sims 3, Plants vs Zombies (Popcap)
Best downloadable content: The Ballad of Gay Tony, The Lost and Damned.
Best music game: Rockband: The Beatles, Guitar Hero 5, DJ Hero, Beaterator.
Best downloadable game: Shadow Complex, Fat Princess, 'Splosion Man.
Best RPG: Borderlands, Fallout 3, Dragonage Origins.
Best voice acting: Nolan North (Uncharted 2), Mark Hamill (Batman Arkham Asylum), Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters)
What do you think? Anything you'd like at add to the list? Do you know what your Game of The Year will be?
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I agree with your list. But I would like to add Claudia Black (Morrigan in Dragon Age) that woman's voice makes my toes curl.
Can't argue with those titles...
Actually...
Handheld game of the year = Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
It's certainly on my list anyway, a game that actually relies on the gamers ability as opposed to simply the ingame characters lvl etc. AWSOME!!!
My personal favourite games of the year were downloaded on XBOX live - Shadow Complex (which I became aware of thanks to this blog) and Battlefield 1943 (there's just something so satisfying about getting headshots against unsuspecting snipers!)
Wasn't GTA 4 released this year?? Surely this deserves a spot ahead of Batman or Left 4 Dead 2??
Brutal Legend deserves a vote!! It was a great game.
I personally found Modern Warfare 2 underwhelming. Second half of campaign was certainly better than first half but thought MW1 was better.
I am expecting Mass Effect 2 to make a massive push for GOTY for 2010....pity it didn't make 2009.
Ooops...GTA 4 was Apr 08 not Apr 09.....my bad! Please ignore that comment.
I agree with Paul above re Morrigan for voice acting.
I personally would add Dragonage Origins to the list for Game of the Year.
Another contender, in the cheap game category for RPG would be Torchlight. Remarkably addictive, and brings back many Diablo memories, but with some rather stunning yet cartoonish graphics.
Downloadable content should include Magic The Gathering.
best downloadable game.. come on dude. how can you overlook Combat Arms... and its free!!!! Many say its even better than Call of Duty. It is!!! Best FPS out at the moment. Did i mention its free. Please check it out and tell me what you think. you obliously havent checked it out yet cause its not in your top 5 LOL. You'll love it.
i agree with what you have written gerard. played borderlands the other night and its awseome as i played as the juggernaught quite funny really .Also ODST gets a mention bloody great game . What about fight night 4 thats a good game under sports???
Uncharted 2 seems to be leading at present, what about Skate 2 for sports games ?