Top ten games of 2008

10) Spore

No, it did not live up to its billing.  Yes, it is still an incredibly fun game.  But more than being a sim game, Spore echoes many titles on this year’s top ten list by being a creation engine.  Half the fun of the title can be had from creating different creatures, homes, ships, etc. through an incredibly intuitive interface.  Not what you wanted from the game?  Perhaps not for you, but it hardly keeps it from being a good game, or in this case one of the best of the year.

9) Boom Blox

Here’s a prediction: one of the best games of 2009 will be developed by an acclaimed director and be loosely based upon a decades old wooden toy.  Sounds ridiculous, right?  And that was everyone’s reaction when Boom Blox was announced.  Then it just so happened that the Jenga-inspired (being kind here) title proved to be one of the best titles for the Wii so far.  The best of the year for the Wii?  Not quite, but it certainly gave the rest of the lineup a run for their money.

8 ) Far Cry 2

An acclaimed sequel not being developed by its original creator is sort of an unknown quantity in the world of video games.  And yet, this year brought us Far Cry 2, easily the best traditional FPS of the year.  And by traditional, only in the sense that you walk around with a gun shooting things.  Otherwise the open world more resembled Grand Theft Auto.  Ditch the malaria caveat and the game could have ranked much higher.

7) Super Smash Bros. Brawl

This year’s list is a bit light on sequels, which is a good thing.  However, incredibly crafted sequels that improve upon already great games is also a good thing.  More fighters?  Check.  More stages?  Check.  A Spore-like build your own content emphasis?  Check.  Even the slowing down of the game, which angered many, was a blessing to those who favor the original Smash Bros. more deliberate pace over the frantic mess of Melee.

6) Left 4 Dead

If the game featured 2-3 times the numbers of levels, then it could have easily become the number one online game of the year.  Even with the paltry number of stages, Left 4 Dead is a fantastic experiment in multiplayer gaming.  When it works, it works unlike any other experience out there.  Hopefully enough players stick around playing it for the next year to make it worthwhile.

5) Mirror’s Edge

Gamers love to complain about nothing new ever getting a try in gaming, and to a large part they themselves are to blame.  Take a title like Mirror’s Edge.  Such an original vision of gaming should be hugely successful, but it hasn’t so far.  The parkour over guns emphasis of the game makes it not only different in style, but one of the few titles this year that truly tried to change gaming as it’s conventionally viewed.

4) Wii Fit

If Mirror’s Edge was noble attempt at changing the face of gaming, Wii Fit actually was a successful one.  Across the nation housewives and young women lined up to buy Wii Fit and the included Balance Board.  Hardcore gamers balked at what they saw as another minigame collection, but look deeper and you see a title that has fundamentally changed gaming.  Again, gamers cry out for innovation, and in Wii Fit Nintendo delivered it.  A game about working out?  That actually gets you to interact with the game, and your workout, in an innovative manner?  When was the last time you even worried about balance when doing a push up?  Not everyone’s game of choice to be sure, but easily one of the best titles published this year.

3) Metal Gear Solid 4

The Metal Gear series is an odd one.  It feels stale between titles, but each new title has brought something fairly fresh and new to the series (as opposed to many other current series).  Metal Gear Solid 4 brought perhaps the most accessible yet version of the series, and with it an epic storyline that tied loose ends most had long forgotten.  More than that, though, Metal Gear Solid feels like a huge blockbuster film franchise.  The best voice acting, cinemas, graphics, story, etc.  All of it wrapped up neatly every few years and delivered to eager gamers.  It isn’t the best game of the year, but it easily has the best production values.

2) Little Big Planet

Already this list has been populated by build your own content titles, but Little Big Planet is the king of them all.  Many joked that if the title had been released for Xbox Live it would have easily dominated the Christmas sales season, and while there might be some truth to that assertion, a greater truth lies in that had it been released for the Wii (with an actual decent online component), you could be looking at a ten million plus seller.  Little Big Planet is everything you ever wanted in a game when you were ten years old: an endless supply of levels coupled with perfectly suited graphics.  Sony has a slow burner on its hands.  Keep the fire well lit, and by this time next year Little Big Planet could finally be pushing consoles.

1) Fable II

Best game of the year?  Yes and no.  Fable II is far from the most creative title of the year.  It’s far from the most inventive of the year.  And as noted, it doesn’t even have the best production values of the year.  Still, the best game of the year is the sum of all its parts and they make up a towering achievement for a sequel.  While the original Fable was burdened with unrealistic hype, the sequel came in with far less.  While the original failed to deliver on several key features, the sequel delivers on those features and then some.  Fable II is the masterpiece that the original was supposed to be.  A few years late, sure, but that doesn’t make it any less quality of a title.  In a year of outstanding creative achievements, Fable II was Lionhead’s creative ambitions finally coming together.  Well played.

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4. E3 2008: Microsoft press conference review
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