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itchyeyes

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Best of 2009

First let me take a moment to call out a few games that aren't on this list.  Obviously I have not been able to play every game that came out in 2009, not because I didn't want to but because I simply haven't had the time or money to get to them.  Of the games that aren't on my list for this reason, the most notable would be Borderlands, Infamous, Beatles Rock Band, and Machinarium.  Hopefully, I'll get a chance to visit all of these games eventually, but unfortunately probably not by the time Giant Bomb's voting is through. 
 
Now, looking at the games that did make my list, one thing in particular stands out.  A large number of these games aren't full retail releases.  I would say that this is likely due to two factors.  First, the shorter, cheaper nature of these games simply means that I have the time and money to play more of them.  Second, I would say that 2009 is the year that this segment of the games market really came into its own.  Though the games on this list may cost less and take less time to finish, every single one of them sports top notch production values.  This is a trend that I truly hope will continue on into the future.

List items

  • If I could sum up Uncharted 2 in one word it would be polish.

  • If I were going by games that I simply poured the most amount of time into this year, Dragon Age would win by a large margin. It's hard to point to any one thing that Dragon Age does spectacularly well, but it scratches that itch for a certain type of gameplay that Bioware knows so well.

  • Considering that I actually quite liked the 1st Assassin's Creed, a game that nearly everyone else loathed, it was pretty much a given from day one that I'd like this one. But Ubisoft went above and beyond, and improved just about every aspect of the original game.

  • Without a doubt this was the most surprisingly good game of the year. I'm always wary of games based on IP licenses, and this game blows away every expectation I had going into it. The fact that it came from a practically nobody developer just makes it all the more spectacular.

  • Bejeweled may have been PopCap's first hit, and Peggle may have been the game that made people sit up and take notice of them as a developer, but PvZ is the game that solidifies PopCap as a genuine AAA developer. It's pure addiction in digital format, done with so much love and attention that only a truly great developer could have made this game.

  • A lot of people have criticized DoW2 for what it is not, a RTS. But in doing so they've overlooked what it is, pure unadulterated fun. Its unique blend of real time squad based tactics and Diablo-style point-&-click role playing is insanely addictive.

  • Yes it came out in 2008, but nobody actually finished it last year. Plus, the shear volume of DLC that came out for Fallout 3 in 2009 practically qualifies as a new game in and of itself, so it makes my best of 2009 list.

  • I'm a pretty thrifty gamer (Dragon Age is the only game on this list that I paid more than $30 for). It's can be frustrating to wait for prices to come down sometimes, but it completely changes your outlook on some games. In the case of ODST, pretty much the primary complaint leveled against it everywhere I look is that the price is too high. The only problem is that complaint really isn't relevant anymore, and it can readily be found as low as $30 from many online retailers. Once you've stripped away the price issue, what's left is a great new take on one of the mainstays of console gaming.

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