I cried like a baby for most of the final few hours of MGS4. Never felt an emotional connection with any of the Gears characters though. Not even for a second.
Arguably the greatest masterpiece of the Metal Gear franchise and Kojima's best game to date.
The final chapter in Solid Snake's epic story is very unlikely to be topped between now and the end of the year.
2. As much of a leap forward for the series as GTA III was from the original 2D games. GTA IV may have displeased some fans with its more realistic direction, but there can be no argument that it is still an astounding game.
3. In an era where every game seems to be dominated by space marines and violence LittleBigPlanet has been a breath of fresh air. A gorgeous visual style, great old skool platforming and its ground-breaking creation tools have made this a must-have for every PlayStation 3 owner.
4. Gears 2 presented a much more refined experience than the first game, while maintaining everything that was so great first time around.
The campaign is much more enjoyable and the new additions to multiplayer, especially Horde mode, mean that we're all going to be playing this for months to come.
5. Here in the UK, we're yet to see Rock Band 2 released (though it is out later this week). For now though, we're more than happy to make do with the first game.
There's nothing quite like rocking out with your friends and Rock Band nails this experience far better than any other game.
Weekly DLC also keeps players coming back for more.
6. By borrowing Test Drive Unlimited's open-world model Criterion Games revolutionised the Burnout franchise.
Frantic races, all new events, sublime online play and terrific crashes make it one of the most adrenline-fuelled racers around. Add to this the copius amounts of free DLC and you've also got one of the best value-for-money games of 2008.
7. It hasn't been a great year for Wii software, but No More Heroes definitely stood out from the crowd.
Suda-51's mad style of art and design has never been more obvious than this game, which follows the story of an otaku who buys a Beam Katana (read: Lightsaber) in an online auction and sets about becoming the world's greatest assassin, just to get a hot blonde chick into bed with him.
If that last sentence didn't sell it to you, then I don't know what will!
8. Battlefield developers Dice took the FPS handbook and tore it up when they set about making this platformer. A truely unique visual style and incredible controls made for an enthralling experience once you look beyond the occasional bit of trial and error.
9. The quality of downloadable games on XBLA and the PSN has improved dramatically this year and Geo Wars 2 is certainly one of the stand-out titles.
No other game this year has a more engrossing "just one more try" effect on your gaming.
10. Comfortably the best football game released for this generation of systems.
I imagine this list will change in the next few weeks, with games the likes of Left 4 Dead, Prince of Persia and Rock Band 2 (in the UK) still to be released.
I don't agree that its as groundbreaking or mindblowing as you seem to suggest. Its definitely one of the more enjoyable co-op experiences that there's been for a while though.
I understand where she's coming from on this, but there's a difference of culture to consider here. Most women in Japansese culture would be honored to be portrayed in this manner and a lot of games like this made in Japan actually have female designers that have crossed over from Manga.
This isn't a game cut from the same cloth as Leisure Suit Larry or the design philosophy of Lara Croft.
I'm concerned that this rant shows a pretty large knowledge gap on her part. Also, because she's modelled in a bikini before and thus had a personal involvement in the sexualisation of women, this rant seems mighty hypocritical.
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