Top 10 best–and worst–games of 2008

THE TOP TEN GAMES OF 2008

Platformer–LittleBigPlanet (PS3)
Though the genre is in its death throes, LittleBigPlanet brings a quirky presentation, simple-yet-fun 2D gameplay and DIY originality together in one cohesive package.
Runner up: Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts (Xbox 360)

RPG–Fallout 3 (PS3, Xbox 360)
Fallout 3 lets you choose the way you play while navigating the nuclear wastes of Washington, D.C. Be good, evil, somewhere in between or just screw around–it’s up to you, and boy, is it awesome.
Runner up: Valkyria Chronicles (PS3)

Survival Horror– Dead Space (PS3, Xbox 360)
Limb-blasting undead-like aliens on an abandoned mining ship in the far reaches of space has never been better. Dead Space is damn scary too–nothing else even comes close.

First-person–Call of Duty: World at War (PS3, Xbox 360)
World at War‘s fantastic attention to detail, WWII authenticity and fun online modes make this one a worthy addition to your collection.
Runners up: Left 4 Dead, (Xbox 360) Mirror’s Edge (PS3, Xbox 360)

Downloadable game of the year–Bionic Commando: Rearmed (Playstation Network, Xbox Live)
Twenty years after Bionic Commando made its 8-bit debut, Rearmed hits the ground running with fantastic, tough-as-hell old-school gameplay and a slick HD presentation.
Runners up: Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD remix (PSN, Xbox Live) Castle Crashers (Xbox Live)

Adventure–Prince of Persia (PS3, Xbox 360)
A new look and feel in this one prove the retooled, newly-Dante-esque Prince can still kick ass.
Runners up: Tomb Raider: Underworld, (PS3, Xbox 360) Okami (Wii)

Action–Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3)
Anything MGS creator Hideo Kojima touches is pure gold, and MGS4 is absolutely no exception. Go buy it. Now.
Runners up: Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360), No More Heroes (Wii)

Racing–Burnout Paradise (PS3, Xbox 360)
EA’s Burnout series is the king of arcade racing with sweet crashes, a great sense of speed, and the usual slick EA presentation.
Runners up: Gran Turismo 5: Prologue (PS3)

Portable–Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (Nintendo DS)
2D Castlevania games have tweaked and improved action RPG elements on Nintendo handhelds for years. Ecclesia is the best to date.
Runners up: Echochrome (PSP)

Game of the Year–Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots/Fallout 3 (tie)
Although Fallout 3 is arguably a less cohesive game, both it and MGS4 were meticulously developed, and are a blast not just to play, but experience. Definite must-buys for any gamer.
Runners up: LittleBigPlanet, Prince of Persia

TOP TEN GAMING DISAPPOINTMENTS AND DISASTERS OF 2008

10. Castlevania: Judgment (Wii)
Finally, a next-generation Castlevania game. Oh wait–it’s a terrible, shoddily made 3D fighting game for the Wii. Hot damn. That’s exactly what I, along with the millions of other Castlevania fans, want. What a great way to branch out the series. I’m going to go put a gun in my mouth.

9. Too Human (Xbox 360)
Too Human‘s started development as a PS one game (scrapped), then moved to the Gamecube (scrapped) and was finally released for the Xbox 360 this year. Guess what–the game’s shoddy combat and ho-hum story is a testament that even after so much development time, not all things age well.

8. Console-exclusive DLC on multi-platform releases
Fallout 3, Tomb Raider: Underworld, Grand Theft Auto 4–these are all multiplatform games getting new downloadable content, but not on all systems. C’mon–it’s not that hard to make new content for both the 360 and PS3. What’s the point of releasing it at all if it’s only hitting half the target audience, anyway?

7. The laziness of Square-Enix
Speaking of lazy–how the mighty have fallen. It seems like all Square-Enix wants to do anymore is remake their entire SNES library, develop derivative, boring RPGs for the 360, and further delay the release of Final Fantasy XIII.

6. Continual lack of innovative Wii games
The Wii started the year off strong, with new entries to popular Nintendo series with titles such as Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, alongside underrated gems such as No More Heroes and Okami. Then developers started huffing paint thinner and only releasing licensed tripe such as Rock University Presents The Naked Brothers Band: The Video Game. Oh wait–that’s a perpetual trend. That doesn’t make the lack of innovative titles any less noticeable, though.

5. Continual lack of good PSP games, period
The PSP had a good year–God of War: Chains of Olympus and Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core and Echochrome were Sony-exclusive titles that were pretty awesome. As for the rest of the year, well, the PSP sure makes a nice expensive coaster, doesn’t it?
 
4. Fable 2
Boy, am I sick of Fable 2 developer Peter Molyneux, who seems to think that he’s some kind of transcendent figure whose games will have profound effects on the way play them, both socially and in, uh, other ways. Then his company releases games such as the much ballyhooed Fable 2, which can be beaten in a handful of hours and had one of the worst game endings in recent memory.

3. Final Fantasy XIII never coming out
Oh, Square–first you said FFXIII, the first next-gen entry in the series, was going to come out around this time this year (that was circa summer 2006), which we all knew would never happen after FFXII took a whopping five years to release. Then the release got pushed to “sometime in 2009”. Then “sometime in fall 2009,” then “unannounced winter 2009”.
By now the game has been delayed so many times, it probably won’t see the light of day until the PS5 is well into its lifecycle. I pity the fool who’s pre-ordered this one–their money will probably be lost in the midst of so many delays.

2. The DSi
For those of you who are old enough to remember the monochrome wonder of the Game Boy Camera, take note. After years of rumor and speculation, Nintendo announced the DSi, the next iteration of their bazillion dollar selling handheld. The DSi has a built in camera, which you (at least, if you live in Japan) can use to take picture of yourself to put in games. Oh boy! How revolutionary! Seriously—where’s the damn dual touch screens?

1. E3 2008
Without a doubt, the biggest failure of 2008 was E3, which used to be the most bombastic and awesome gaming trade show ever. In recent years, E3 has been scaling back and embracing the “business” side of “business trade show”. 2008’s E3 was so underwhelming that instead of announcing new, exclusive titles, console additions or other goodies, Microsoft and Sony’s big announcements were a new interface for Xbox Live and new hardware packages for the PS2 and PSP. Let’s hope for E3 2009’s rumored return to form and never speak of this again.