lost in games

Another good year for games has come to an end. Some people would say that this one was even better than the last, but i am not one of them. Still, in a year that saw the release of GTA IV, LittleBigPlanet, Fallout 3, Metal Gear Solid 4, Left 4 Dead, Fable II, Far Cry 2, Lost Odyssey, Valkyria Chronicles and so many, many more excellent games how can one complain.

Yet, my game of the year is not among the afforementioned. My personal choice Game of the Year 2008 is Braid on XBLA, one of the best puzzle/platform games i have ever played. A game that had caused me to curse so much and yet was so satisfying to play. I enjoyed every minute of it.

It’s ironic that almost a year ago i blogged about how XBLA, WiiWare and PSN were irrelevant to my gaming. That was a major error of judgement and i am glad i was proven wrong. Downloadable games from these services have provided me with some of the most memorable gaming experiences in 2008. Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 would probably feature in my 2008 top 5 list, if i had one, and Lost Winds together with Wold of Goo on WiiWare are two more must play games.

There are more to come, i am sure of it.. Now i have no more doubts.

What a year! One of the very best i can remember.

I could start by explaining what my decision criteria were for the titles nominated to be game of the year. I have to actually have played and finished the game. So although Super Mario Galaxy, Uncharted and Bioshock must be great games there are not on my nominees list as i have not played them.

Basically my game of the year 2007 is not based on release dates but on played and finished date and here are my top three games for the year 2007:

1. Okami (PS2) - A game that i enjoyed and loved a lot more that The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. It simply stole my heart.

2. Call of Duty 4 (360)

3. Jeanne D’Arc (PSP)

There are many more that could have made it on the list like Farhenheit, SW:KOTR, Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction, Colin McRae: Dirt, and of course Portal.

Okami has shown me that we have a reason to go back and play titles on the PS2, Xbox and Gamecube. Maybe when we play Super Mario Galaxy in 2-3 years time we can really appreciate what a great game that was for its time.

Don’t give up on older games!