My Blog: Cultural Bloggings To Benefit Boredom

So yeah, it's nearly 2010 and what will possibly be the best year of gaming since...well, 2008. I decided I should probably put together my list of my top five games this year, matched with a few that whilst not the best games, deserve a mention.


5: Scribblenauts (DS)
Scribblenauts is a game which is highly original, and that gives you so many opportunities, you'd be a fool to miss out on it. It's easily the best DS game since Animal Crossing, and the amount of oppurtunities is astounding. Do you want to spawn a spaceship to drive into the unknown, then jump out and shoot a ray gun at cows? Yup, you can do that. Want to be able to spawn a shark to kill a piranha then use a jetpack to get to a higher level? You can do that. You can spawn swords, knives, chainsaws, bats, guns, even bacon, and that's just the first levels. There's problems with the way the character walks, taking every small inch forward as RUN FOR YOUR LIFE WITH YOUR HANDS FLAILING - but it's still only a tiny flaw in a massive game brimming with potential. Everything is literally possible in Scribblenauts.

Recommended: Red Faction: Guerilla
Red Faction is a game which gives you some remote charges, an over powered sledgehammer and some huge structures and lets you go nuts. It's really good fun, and very enjoyable as both an evening time killer or as a way of taking your anger out on someone - taking out a water park, a huge mecano-esc structure or just pounding the EDF soldiers into the ground with your trusty sledgehammer. If I'd have played it for a bit longer (i.e - not only on Christmas and Boxing Day) it would probably be higher on my list. Until then, I'm happy for it to rest here until further notice.
(It also holds the award for the most times I've said 'STOP - HAMMER TIME' at a game this year.)


4: Trials HD (XBLA)

It feels strange to put an Xbox Live Arcade game here, but since I've played Trials HD so much (both over the summer break and just in general) - it's a ridiculously simple game, with a great hook in that it's easy to learn and hard to master. The difficulty curve however, whilst starting very subtly suddenly rockets up about the start of the hard tracks, and the extreme tracks - well, they are as they are stated extreme. The challenge modes however are ridiculously addictive - I've lost count of how many times I've flinged my poor, poor unfortunate rider down the stairs in an attempt to break as many bones as possible. But it's a game with lots of appeal, an almost insane of replay value, and a game which is so addictive you and your friends will spend hours at a time in high score chasing bliss. Worth very single Microsoft Point it cost.

Honourable Mention: Band Hero
Band Hero is the first game I have played with all of the instruments - and it's a blast. Simply get 3 other friends and enjoy the ride as you strum, whack or squeal through 70+ songs - including those by the Kooks, Snow Patrol, The Jackson 5 and Taylor Swift (the latter of which shall get into your head and stay there for days on end). It's a very fun party game, and the addition of drop in drop out gameplay is a good addition. Rock Band is still superior to the Guitar Hero series, but Band Hero comes pretty close.

3: The Beatles: Rock Band

The Beatles are the greatest band of all time. That's not a question, that's a statement. It's just as well that The Beatles: Rock Band is also the greatest rhythm game of all time. Despite the fact that there is only 45 songs (out of over 250, Harmonix? Could you not have spared us a few more) - but the majority of the greats are here (Octopus's Garden, With A Little Help From My Friends, I Am The Walrus, Yellow Submarine etc.) and the rest will be available as DLC in the near future. The soundtrack is amazing, as are the collectables but the thing that sold the game for me was the graphics. The game is so amazingly beautiful and artistic - the dreamscapes especially. I love the dreamy feel they all have, which gives off a soothing tone, something that the majority of the Beatles songs had. It's a tad easy, but it's still the best music game of all time, featuring the best band of all time. Neat.

One More Of The Best: Left 4 Dead 2
I loved Left 4 Dead. I love Left 4 Dead 2. That's pretty much all I can say about the series - if you think about it, it's such a simple game idea that has been done so many times before (a zombie apocalypse, with a group of survivors facing them), but Left 4 Dead does it so well, it feels like no other game. The sequel expands from the original in simple ways, givin goff the same basic experience, but with added insentives, especially the chainsaw and axe. Oh, and Nick. I love Nick.


2: Modern Warfare 2
I bet you all weren't expecting this. Yes, the biggest sequel of the year coming from one of my favourite series blew me away, with explosive action, great characters and just generally fun missions. It's a wonderful game, that has the cinematic experience neccesary, plus the gritty determintion of war that the others (COD4 especially) had. The multiplayer promises to be the best online, as soon as they get rid of the glitches that infest it, but hey, that's to be expected for a game this big. A great game in it's own right, with some compelling missions and amazing sights to see. The biggest game of the year is very nearly the best.

Another Selection: Borderlands
Borderlands is an RPGFPS - a genre which is surprisly funner than it sounds. The game gives you a large (make that ENORMOUS *bleep*ING COLLECTION) of guns, gives you a planet with the promise of treasure if you complete quests and let's you roam about. Borderlands is a game with a great setting and atmosphere, a massive variety of weapons and a great sense of humour. One thing I will suggest however is that you play it co-op. Borderlands is a lot better online, as it was planned with co-op in mind, but I digress. It's World of Warcraft with guns and less grinding, and more stuff to shoot at. Sold.

AND, DRUMROLL PLEASE...

THE BEST GAME OF 2009 IS ROCKSTEADY'S BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM.


Batman: Arkham Asylum is a phenomenal 15 hour experience, which will leave you wanting more. That's a guarentee. From start to finish, the game excels, offering a mix of Splinter Cell style stealth movements, to a very aware and able combat system, with great voice acting, story and characters, with an atmosphere unseen in any game before.

Arkham Asylum is like a mix of great games, all in one. It has the atmosphere and depth of Fallout 3, with scares comparisant to those of Dead Space. I'm going out on a limb here, but the voice acting and characters in general may well be the best I have ever seen. The Joker is an iconic villain, and in comparison from this year, he's a better villain than Albert Wesker - and he's not the only great character. Bane, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc and Scarecrow - holy shit Scarecrow scares the crap out of me - are all played brilliantly. Very little about the game is dissapointing - the challenges offer hours of replay value, as do the riddles - the only thing that could have been improved slightly would have been the slightly anti-climactic ending, but I can't really think of anything they could have put there instead.

Overall, this is a gaming experience you won't forget in a hurry, with villains that geniunly terrify and intimidate, with gameplay that is simplistic and yet competent and fun. 10/10, the ultimate Batman experience, which lets you be (and feel) like the Dark Knight himself. Very, very, very good.

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I understand there are a few games that are marked as greats I have not played yet this year - Asassin's Creed 2, Dragon Age: Origins, Uncharted 2 and inFamous among them. The first two are coming soon though - things may still change, but for now, these are the best five games of 2009. Play them and enjoy them. :)