Best of 2009
SoulEdgeSlayer: Best of 2009
SoulEdgeSlayer: Best of 2009
I tend to prefer the single player experience more than the multiplayer modes, and this game far and away had the best story mode. Loved searching for riddles, and the combat is perfect.
Probably my best co-op game of 2009. A group of us played together exclusively, keeping our levels similar, so the entire experience was wonderful. Realizing that it was 5:00 AM and that we had work that day was a common occurrence when this game first came out.
Sure, I like it. What's not to like? More multiplayer mayhem, a great single player experience, and a ton of polish throughout. Amazingly, I don't think that it is my "Game of the Year". Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I don't feel the same love for this game as I did for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
Regardless, this is a wonderful game.
Frustration! Anger! Rage! Who would have thought that one of my favorite games of this year would cause me to experience those emotions? Perfect gameplay coupled with an extreme difficulty make this one of the most engaging experiences available in the XBLA catalog of games. Player-made levels as well as the medal system are two reasons that I am still coming back to this game!
I absolutely love Strategy games, especially on the DS. Being able to take my portable system with me on vacation and play through a game that has serious depth is great. Devil Survivor had me covered this year! An offshoot of the Shin Megami Tensei games (or perhaps a brand new set of games. Who knows what the future holds?), Devil Survivor was difficult and fun to play. It gets slightly repetitive, but if you play it the way I did (pick it up every weekend and on vacations) gives you the best way to digest this game. Nice story, too.....kinda.....come on, it's a Japanese game. Ain't supposed to make much sense!
Greatest Castlevania/Metroid game that is not Castlevania/Metroid. These games cause an odd phenomenon in me: I almost religiously have to 100% these damn games. I wasn't quite sure how the whole "shoot in the background and foreground while being a 2D game" thing was going to work, but it is nearly perfect. Seriously, the shine coming off the polish of this game is almost blinding.
Also, though there was controversy over the story (or at least the author), I did not feel that it detracted at all from the overall experience.
I don't typically buy games day one, but inFamous made me do it, and I was not disappointed! The movement and intuitive "Yeah, I can tell you wanna jump on that ledge, let me help you!" system made exploring the rather large city very fun. It brought back my memories of Crackdown (which is always awesome) but in a more polished form.
I just realized that I have typed "polish" several times for this list. Perhaps.....Year of Polish?
It's Resident Evil. I liked RE4, and I liked this one just as much. Actually, I liked it more, due to the co-op mode. Levelling up and gaining experience is addicting, and allowing for infinite ammo upgrades was awesome, especially for that Professional playthrough!
I really only have a "Top 9" list, and ODST is my honorable mention. Why does it get an honorable mention, you ask? Well, because the ODST part was probably my favorite single player experience in the Halo franchise. But that is not the main reason. Actually, the second disk with all of the mutiplayer maps for Halo 3 is why I love this "package" so much. I can now actually play Halo online with my buddies again, and I have already had three LAN parties (yeah, some people still do them!) where there were massive 12-16 player battles. So awesome.