Didn't make a list in 2009 but after looking back at the year 2010 and realizing how amazing it was for video games I wanted to check out if 2009 had been as good as 2010. For me the year didn't have as many AAA titles, but even though that's the case I did play more games from 2009 then from 2010. But here are my thoughts on the best games from 2009, enjoy!
Naughty Dog is a developer I respect alot, and I fell completely for the original Uncharted on the PS3. So I had really high hopes for the sequel Among Thieves. Somehow Naughty Dog did the unbelievable and laughed at my hopes by being so much better game then I could have hoped for. The great action, story, gameplay, cinematics and just everything in the game is just perfect. Uncharted 2 is a cornerstone in video gaming, no other developer is getting so much power out of the PS3 or any other console these days or creating as intense experience for the player. If you barely play video games, then make Uncharted 2 number one on your list to play and you will probably end up being a hardcore gamer
I love my 2D platformers, and I love it when games do something new and clever with its gameplay. Therefore I couldn't get enough of Braid. Braid is one of the best games of all time, how the game manipulates time in different ways is just breathtaking. The puzzles in the game are amazing and you feel so smart when you finally get that puzzle piece that you thought you would never get. If you're a real gamer you have to play Braid. And it's amazing to think about that behind this masterpiece is mostly made by one man.
If you're one of the people that were dissappointed with how serious GTA IV was and that it wasn't as over the top as GTA San Andreas you have to play Chinatown Wars. Chinatown Wars takes all of what was great with the original GTA games and blends it with the best that the 3D games have to offer. Everything about Chinatown Wars is over the top awesome fun. The story doesn't take it self too serious and focuses on having fun with it's crazy characters. I had so much fun with Chinatown Wars that I really hope that some of the features the game had will be included in the next major GTA game. And drug trafficking is so much fun!
Superhero games aren't highly regarded amongst hardcore gamers but Batman has had some good games over the years. Arkham Asylum was a big surprise for many gamers for its quality, great gameplay and clever design especially since the game was developed by a little known studio. Arkham Asylum is a thrilling 3rd person action brawler that I really appreciated. If you managed to miss out on this game you have to give it a chance.
After hearing some great things about inFamous I decided to give the game a chance. And boy was that a good idea, inFamous is an excellent 3rd person action game. It will take you some time to get the game really started but after you unlock all the major powers the game really shines. The missions are pretty similar but since you have so many different tricks up your sleeve the combat is always very fun. And it's great that you have to choose between being good or evil, since you get to experience the game at least twice.
I adore the first Resident Evil games, still today I love popping the PSone versions of Resident Evil 1 and 2 in my PS3 and playing them. I did like RE 4 but it's definitely not my best RE game. Even though 5 does little to nothing that 4 didn't do I fell for RE 5. It took me some time but in the end I really enjoyed 5, especially when I was playing with a friend. Although I'm not that pleased with the progression of the Resident Evil series going from survival horror to straight up action games I have to admit RE 5 is a great action game.
I'm not a big fan of first person shooters, and I didn't cared much for the first Killzone on the PS2. I had alot of fun with Killzone Liberation on the PSP which was a 3rd person action game. But somehow I decided to give Killzone 2 a chance and I don't regret that. Killzone 2 is a great FPS, the graphics are just amazing although they are mostly dark and grey. I liked the way the game played, you felt that your gun was heavy and it was a different experience from other FPS. All in all, Killzone 2 is a great game and is for me the best FPS game of 2009
I love the GTA series and GTA IV is the second best game in the series behind GTA 3 in my opinion. But somehow I didn't enjoy the 2 expansion packs for the game as much as I had hoped. The Ballad of Gay Tony does alot of great things and focuses on just being fun and over the top, and is clearly the better episode in this collection. The Lost and the Damned was a bit of a let down for me, the atmosphere didn't grasp me and I didn't really care for the story. But this collection is still a great buy, and a good expansion on the masterpiece that GTA IV was.
I love 2D platformers and the old 2D Mario is of course high on my list of best games ever. I was really excited to play a new 2D Mario platformer and New Super Mario Bros. Wii is alot of fun and packs some great moments. But I have to admit that I wanted more out of this game. You will enjoy this game but there is some charm that the old 2D games had that's missing in this New Super Mario game that keeps the game from becoming a true classic.
The Rock Band series is great on the big consoles with its plastic instruments and the fact you're playing alongside with your friends. I had my doubts about playing Rock Band alone with buttons on the PSP but I decided to give it a try. Of course it's not the same Rock Band experience but you will definitely enjoy trying to master the different gameplay style of this portable Rock Band. I played this game to death, I was constantly grabbing my PSP and playing 1-3 songs at a time. Definitely a game that should be in your PSP library of games.
I love the Rock Band / Guitar Hero games and after having played DJ Hero and Rock Band Unplugged I was excited to play more and different rhythm games. When I stumbled upon Rhythm Heaven for the DS I was in Heaven, Rhythm Heaven! The game is so much fun, it has extremely tight controls and some crazy mini rhythm games to test your rhythm to the maximum. If you have a DS you have to buy Rhythm Heaven, it's simply amazing!
I have played the Rock Band games to death and enjoy every instrument. So when I heard of DJ Hero I was interested, and followed the game until it launched. DJ Hero is one of the gems in the genre of music games, the turntable works very well and the game makes good use of it. I'm not the biggest fan of hip-hop and remixes but I did enjoy playing the games tracklist and feeling like a real DJ.
I quite like the Resistance series on the PS3 and I really liked Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow on the PSP. So I was pretty excited when I heard that the guys behind Logan's Shadow were making a Resistance game for the PSP. It's really difficult to make a good 3rd person shooter on the PSP since the system is lacking a second analog stick but somehow the game really works. The story is exciting, the campaign is good and lengthy and the game does some amazing stuff. Definitely one of the best games out there for the PSP.
I'm not a big fan of first person shooters (FPS) but I do enjoy on occasion a good single player experience in FPS games. Modern Warfare 2 has a good action packed single player experience even though it's pretty short. It's also very similar to the original Modern Warfare. You will definitely get some quality hours playing Modern Warfare 2 and seeing it making it's way on to my top 20 list says alot about the quality of the game.
Valve makes great games, everybody knows that, so Left 4 Dead 2 is of course a great game. Playing through it's multiple chapters along with 3 friends is a thrill. Good variety of weapons and different challenges through the campaign keeps things fresh and tense. I can slice zombies with my Katana forever. If you want to know why co-op is the way to play multiplayer today then you have to try Left 4 Dead 2.
I have been addicted to the FIFA series since I first got to play FIFA 97. It has been great to see the quality of the games after FIFA 07 and FIFA 10 is a very good game. But somehow it didn't grasp me the way FIFA 08, EURO 08, FIFA 09, FIFA 11, WC2010 or FIFA 12 did. Don't get me wrong, it's a quality title and has alot going for it but it's the game I put the least amount of hours into out of all of the FIFA games this generation.
Demon's Souls is an amazing game, it's just beautifull, has a great atmosphere and deep gameplay. And I respect the game alot for daring to be as hard as it is. I tried to play the game for some hours but I just couldn't get far in this game. But I loved to watch my friend playing the game for countless hours and always getting a little more ahead each time. This is a game I respect alot but it would have ended up higher on my list if I could get more into it myself!
I love my retro games and the original Punch-Out!! is in my opinion one of the best games on the NES. This Wiimake of the game is essentially the best out of the NES and SNES games and what's not to love about that! I couldn't get enough playing this game, trying to figure out each opponent and mastering the gameplay. Quick reflexes are essential to conquer this great title, Punch-Out!! should be in every major Wii collection.
The House of the Dead 2 is one of the games I can always put in my Dreamcast and have alot of fun with. The House of the Dead: Overkill does the same thing with its over the top action, humour and atmosphere. This is one of the games an adult Wii owner should own, very simple Wii controls but a game that is hard to master. I will probably buy the upgraded version of this game for the PlayStation Move someday just to enjoy the game again and some extra content.
I have really enjoyed the MotorStorm series on the PS3 and this PSP entry doesn't dissapoint. Changing the style and going arctic was a great idea, and the MotorStorm formula really works on the PSP. I really hope that Sony makes a HD upgrade of this game for the PS3 some day, because I want to experience this game on the big screen!
I have had some fun with the Ratchet & Clank series through the years and A Crack In Time is a good way to finish things. It's a solid action platformer and any fan of Ratchet & Clank will have a great time cruising through this adventure. But somehow the game never wowed me like the previous entries. Don't get me wrong, this is a great game, but it keeps things a little bit too safe for my taste since I have played the previous games.
MadWorld is a strange exclusive game for the Wii. Wii is in most minds a family computer but MadWorld is definitely not a family game. The violence is just brutal and if you like killing people with as much style and different ways you will enjoy MadWorld. The artstyle is also very cool, 3D game that only uses black and white except for the red blood. It has it's flaw but nevertheless MadWorld is alot of fun.
Tower defense games are not my cup of tea but I decided to try out Plants vs. Zombies nevertheless since it was made by PopCap, and PopCap has made some fantastic games through the years. Plants vs. Zombies took a huge amount of time from my life which I was not expecting. It's very easy to get into the game but hard to master it. You will definitely enjoy your time in Plants vs. Zombies.
I couldn't wait for Brütal Legend to be released, the demo was amazing, the soundtrack is awesome and the characters are great. The game starts out great, the game is like some Heavy Metal God of War (which is awesome) but then the game throws at you this Real-Time Strategy theme where you have to fly over the battlefield and control all of your troops. Sorry Tim Schafer, Brütal Legend wasn't good enough. If you only would have kept the whole game like its beginning it would have been one of the best games of the year.
I love my Tekken games and I waited so long for 6 but for me this game was a let down. Long load times, many changes to fighting system that I didn't like. You can still enjoy Tekken 6 but most of the time playing it I wanted to play Tekken 5 again, and in the end I am still playing Tekken 5 instead of Tekken 6, not because Tekken 6 isn't good, just because Tekken 5 is excellent!
