My Best of 2008
By Gigastormz 10 Comments
At long last, I now present to you my personal best of 2008 "awards." First up, video games. 2008 was a great year for video games and saw a slew of great titles in various genres. I consider myself fortunate to have been able to play a lot of these, thanks to Gamefly, and to be able to complete most if not all of them. I will mention that I have not played one of the most nominated game of the year titles, Metal Gear Solid 4. I do in fact own the game, but I haven't even opened it. Yes I'm horrible, I know. This is probably my biggest regret of the year. The reason I haven't played it yet, is because I want to play and complete MGS3 first. I own that game as well, I just haven't got around to playing it yet. Mainly because of all the other great games that have come out in the last few months. I'm also not looking forward to playing MGS3 as much as MGS4 though. I think that will be my New Years Resolution for gaming, to play MGS3 and 4. Anyway, on to the awards.
GAME OF THE YEAR 2008
10. LEGO Batman
The only LEGO game I've spent time playing and I really enjoyed it. Tons of stuff to unlock, great humor and a unique take on Batman.
9. Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise
Rare did it again. Viva Pinata is better than it ever was and even more addicting than the original. Some people say this is just Viva Pinata 1.5. I can see their argument, but that doesn't matter to me. The game is great and I had a lot of fun with it.
8. Burnout Paradise
I was a little leery about this game when I heard about all the changes they were making from the previous incarnations. I absolutely love Burnout Revenge and I still consider it my favorite Burnout game to this day. Paradise is probably my second favorite now. Once I turned the game on for the first time, I could see why so many people enjoyed it. The graphics are amazing, the sense of speed is insane and the variety in events make this game great.
7. Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
I've put over 130 hours into this game and I STILL haven't completed the main quest. What I like most about FFTA2 would have to be the various jobs available. There close to 40 jobs in this game! The battles are as fun as ever and the characters are very interesting. I only wish they had the same death cry as in the original Final Fantasy Tactics. lol
6. Gears of War 2
Overall a huge improvement over the first in terms of story and the single player campaign. I am not a big fan of Gears of War but I really enjoyed the sequel. I hear that the multiplayer still doesn't work well though.
5. Grand Theft Auto IV
This game has been chosen as game of the year by many people and I can see why they like it so much, however I didn't enjoy this game nearly as much. I think this game's story and characters are easily the best of the year, but i found the rest of the game lacking.
4. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Sure there are some issues with this game, like that damned Star Destroyer, but other than that I love it. This is the best Star Wars game I've played since the original Knights of the Old Republic. Force powers and physics have never been so much fun.
3. Saints Row 2
I like how Volition went in the opposite direction that GTA IV did. Instead of the hyper realism they went completely over the top and made a game as fun as crazy as possible. Spraying sewage on houses, posing as a cop and committing crimes along with a COPS style camera crew and protecting celebrities by beating fans into submission are just some of my favorite things to do. Sure the story isn't the greatest, but the large variety of activities and the deep customization system (for your character, cars and gang) more then make up for it.
2. Fallout 3
I absolutely loved this game and if it weren't for Dead Space, this would have easily gotten my Game of the Year. I was addicted to this game for all 75 hours that I played it. I loved wandering around the wasteland and discovering new places and new characters. Check out my blog post from November for more detailed thoughts.
1. Dead Space
I made a blog post back in October of 2008 about Dead Space and how much I love it. I also claimed that it was my 2008 game of the year back then as well. I have since played several other games that I have nominated for GoTY, but Dead Space retains that honor. Scroll down and read that blog if you want to know the details on why I like it. To put it simply, it is hands down the most immersive game I've played this year and the most fun.
Best Film of 2008
1. The Dark Knight
Self Explanitory
2. Cloverfield
A lot of people didn't like the shaky cam, but I didn't mind it. This was the most intense movie I saw all year.
3. Iron Man
Robert Downey Jr.'s finest. His portrayl as Tony Stark deserves an award. The only thing I didn't like is that there wasn't as much action as most comic book movies, but Robert Downey Jr's performance makes up for it. Can't wait for the sequel.
4. CJ7
I love everything Stephen Chow does and this movie is no exception. Even though it was aimed at kids, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
5. Son of Rambow
Nice little coming of age indie flick from people involved in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, (but thankfuly much better than that film). I recommend you check it out.
Best Blog of 2008
Ethan Van Sciver's "Your Time is Now Mine" on Newsarama.com
Even though there are only 6 entries, I haven't read anything so clever and funny in a long, long time. Be sure to check out the third entry, it's absolutely hillarious!
Best Anime of 2008
Gurren Lagann
I haven't kept up on new anime as much as most anime fans, but this anime I made sure to watch. Easily the best thing Gainax has done since Neon Genesis Evangelion, and quite possibly the best thing they've done since Gunbuster. Even if you're not a fan of giant robots, you will love this anime. The characters are great, the animation is superb and the action is completely over the top. There's nothing I didn't like about this show.
"Whether it's laughable or irrational
This is the path that ALL great men walk!
If there's a wall in our way, we'll destroy it!
If there's no road, we'll pave it with our own hands!
The magma in our hearts is blazing like flames!
The perfect fusion: GURREN-LAGANN!
Who...
...all of you...
The hell do you think we are!?!"
Best Metal Album of 2008
1. Equilibrium - Sagas
2. Dark Fortress - Eidolon
3. Septic Flesh - Communion
4. Eluveitie - Slania
5. Zimmer's Hole - When You Were Shouting at the Devil...
6. Bloodbath - The Fathomless Mastery
7. Draconian - Turns Season Within
8. Ayreon - 01011001
9. Opeth - Watershed
10. Dragonforce - Ultra Beatdown