Best of 2009
DJ_Lae: Best of 2009
List items
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From the moment you click an enemy to death and scoop up the loot that explodes out of him you know this game was crafted by ex-Diablo guys. It's the only one since Diablo 2 to capture the right feel of the action RPG/loot whoring genre and in many ways the streamlined gameplay is superior. Sure, it doesn't have multiplayer, but it's cheap, runs beautifully on pretty much any system and is addicting as hell.
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Forza 3 may be little more than Forza 2 with a revamped handling model, cockpit views, and a wonderfully designed online storefront system for sharing user-created content, but...
Well, all that adds an awful lot to the game, not to mention more cars and enough tracks that you won't feel deja vu every other race.
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Shadow Complex is to Super Metroid what Torchlight is to Diablo. It's also as good - manages to capture the right old-school feel while inserting more modern gameplay elements.
Bashing dudes in the back of the head never felt so good.
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It may not be on par with Baldur's Gate 2, but it comes close - and is one of the few games with choices where you actually have a tough time picking an option.
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Telltale somehow managed to make Monkey Island relevant again, and did so without tarnishing anything that made the old games great. Sharp writing, (mostly) logical puzzles, great music, and a nice simple art style all come together to make something that's truly worthy of the Monkey Island name.
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But, Professor! Where the first game was a bit too dialogue heavy and constricting in its environment, Diabolical Box serves up more variety, more puzzles, and more euphemisms than the first game. And no matchstick puzzles. Thank god.
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Popcap is already synonymous with simple gameplay and addiction, but they managed to best even Peggle with this offering as well as make the tower defense genre playable (and fun). And in light of this year's events, the Michael Jackson zombie will forever make a fitting tribute as he summons backup dancers and chews your sunflowers up.
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Sure, the game's idea of 'choice' is contrived and the Sly Cooper patch on the main character's backpack just makes you wish for another Cooper game, but inFAMOUS is a more than competent open world superhero game, and manages to serve up an interesting backstory for its characters as well as satisfying powers to smite your foes.
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In some ways Shatter feels like a poor man's version of Geometry Wars with a breakout theme, but that does it a disservice. Not only is the gameplay a great extension of the old mechanics, but it's also fitted with the best soundtrack of the year.
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No one thought this game would be good. It had no right to be good. And it certainly had no right to be amazing.
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