Games of the Year
I wouldn’t consider myself a hardcore gamer — I don’t play Halo or Gears of War, or any of the sports titles — but I do occasionally get sucked in by well-crafted games. Here are my favorites of 2009.
Batman: Arkham Asylum
It deserves all of the awards being heaped upon it right now. I ended this game with a 99% completion, which is impressive for someone who usually plays a game once or twice and gives up. Arkham Asylum hits every note with pitch-perfection. While many superhero games (Web of Shadows, I’m looking at you) merely mimic the mechanics and semantics of the hero, Asylum does its homework and strikes at the essence of the character in a powerful way. The real magic is that the game doesn’t just let you pretend to be Batman, it lets you become Batman.
Assassins Creed II
A friend recommended this game based on my love for Arkham Asylum. He was right. Who knew that being an assassin in Italy during the Renaissance would be so interesting? Not only is the game beautiful, but the story is masterfully written and engaging. Ezio’s development feels natural and well-paced, yet the progression never feels like it impedes on the gameplay. The only flaw in this otherwise perfect game is the control scheme. I spend too much time screaming at the TV while Ezio falls, yet again, from some great height while performing a task that should, frankly, be child’s play for a stealthy, agile assassin.
New Super Mario Bros Wii
This game would be perfection if not for the ridiculous difficulty increase after the first world. Rather than fixing the bug and making the game easier, Nintendo invented a system where, after dying eight consecutive times on a single level, the player is given the option of watching the game play itself. Lipstick, meet pig. Otherwise, this feels like the natural followup to Super Mario World that we’ve all been waiting for.
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City
GTA4 is the game that solidified the Xbox 360 as a gaming system for me, rather than just a way to get downloadable tracks in Rock Band 2. While Lost and Damned didn’t do much for me — I’m not a fan of the motorcycle controls — The Ballad of Gay Tony takes everything I loved about GTA4 and cranked it up to 11. Explosions? Yup. Gun fights? You know it. Even more weapons with which to take on the cops in Star Junction before I shut down the game? Oh yeah. But like New Super Mario Bros, the best part was all of the great memories this game brought back. Liberty City is a hell of a town.
And the good news is that each of these games is guaranteed a sequel.