2008 was great year. But it was an amazing year for gaming. With so many damn games coming out in the tail end of the year I think I spent over 200 dollars on games during the holidays. Some of them amazing and some not so amazing. Anyways lets get right to it. These are my games of the year for 2008:
NINTENDO Wii GOTY: Super Smash Bros. Brawl
For the lack of better words I think I only played my Wii maybe 10 times max the whole year. And the only game I played was Super Smash Bros. Brawl and it is the only game I currently own for my Wii. This game is extremely fun with so many damn characters you can never get bored. It kind of gets dumb playing by yourself but when you have 4 on 4 free-for-all with some of your buddies, let the trash talk begin.
Honorable Mentions:
Well none because this is the only Wii game I played, sorry Nintendiana.
PC GOTY: Left 4 Dead
Two words can describe this game: Zombie Apocalypse. I have had so much damn fun with this game. AI is amazing zombies move frickin fast, It you want to know more I will have a little review after this post goes up.
Honorable Mentions:
PSP GOTY: Patapon
This one is a tough one because there were two games that were eligible for this position; Patapon and God of War: Chains of Olympus. I have been a HUGE fan of the God of War series but this one is not as epic as its PS2 counter-parts. Don’t get me wrong graphics were amazing but I really need a second analog stick. Now Patapon stole my heart right from the beginning. Using musical elements with strategy RPG with some epic boss fights Patapon gets my PSP goty.
Honorable Mentions:
XBOX 360 GOTY: Left 4 Dead
This game is a 4 player co-up paradise. Blasting the heads off of a shit ton of zombies never gets old. The game is very simple; pick a gun, get health pack, get pipe bomb or Molotov and go wreak hell. Before I bought this game Gears of War 2 was in this slot and although horde mode is fun nothing compares to the horde in Left 4 Dead. In addition the Gears of War 2 multiplayer has been broken for a while and has gotten to the point where it is unplayable. Since this game is backed by Valve you can’t go wrong here.
Honorable Mentions:
This year saw some quality titles come out for the xbox 360. GTA IV had fantastic story telling especially in the beginning. You really felt a strong connection for what is happening to Niko Belic. However the story gets kind of weird and you lose that connection you had for the character in the beginning. Fallout 3 has one amazing game world. I have put a total of 70 hrs put into the game so there is definite longevity and with the new DLC coming you can’t go wrong. What killed it for me was the ending. It was dull and meh and no replayability after you finished the main quest? DLC looking good but it could have been at the top spot if it wasn’t for the ending.
PLAYSTATION 3 GOTY: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
This category was by far the hardest to come up with. Little Big Planet was innovative and nothing we have ever seen. The online interaction is quite fantastic. However the story-telling and new gameplay innovations in MGS4 are just brilliant. You Hideo Kojima are a genius.
Honorable Mentions:
CRAZYMEESHU’S GAME OF THE YEAR 2008: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
When I was going through all the games that had potential for this position, I tried to put together a list of the games that affected me the most. The one with combination of great gameplay and great story. I thought why not Fallout 3. The game is long, has a fantastic world and some very unique quests. However the shooting mechanics is wonky, lets just say it will be the worst FPS you will ever play. Since Fallout 3 is not an FPS I thought the RPG elements to be quite fantastic. The problem I had was the ending. I was expecting much more for putting 70 hours into a game. Then there is Left 4 Dead which is great example of telling a story without any dialogue. As the same in portal each of the 4 campaigns have a unique story and this can be seen in the world with writing on the walls and unique objects or bodies scattered throughout the campaign. Then there is Gears of War 2 with an epic single player campaign and very good multiplayer. The only thing that brought this game down was the amount of glitches, exploits, lag issues throughout the multiplayer which made the game pretty much unplayable. Horde mode however is fantastic. Patapon with its very unique gameplay and fantastic characters, provide enjoyment on the handheld side.
To be honest it came down between Metal Gear and Little Big Planet. If there was innovation award LBP should rightfully get this award. What media molecule has created is quite revolutionary in the gaming space. With amazing story levels and ability to create whatever you want. Some of the user created content are amazing and its only just going to get better. And who doesn’t love Sackboy.
With all that said Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots was my game of the year. I think Kojima had something to say and he said it in this game. The story is by far the best story I have ever seen for a long time. New controls to help with the western audience which were greatly needed. To give you an idea I have played this game 8 time through and every time I didn’t skip any cutscenes except for when I was going for the Big Boss Emblem, which I did get. With such a convoluted story I didn’t think Kojima would be able to wrap everything up in one game, but damn he did it. You can call me a Metal Gear fanboy but from my perspective this is the best game I played this year. And now it is on my list of favorite games of all time.
Honorable Mentions:
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