The (Other) Top 10 Games of 2008 List
Krish Raghav -
Thursday, December 18, 2008 12:52 PM
(The official one, as far as it can be called official, is here)
So, 2008.
It's probably the first year I can recall, as a gamer, not being able to play all the games I wanted to...and not just because of financial and time constraints, but also because sometimes, you really had to choose between two or three excellent titles, and invariably postpone the other for later.In that sense, this was a stunning year - one full of wonderful polish, and excellent quality, and some real, often surprising innovation across most genres.
(Far Cry 2 image from GameWeasel)
The first person shooter, in particular, was rebooted and defragmented, all the dust blown off, and a little bit of spit and polish restored to its grey, tired form. Sure, we had the customary World War II shooter in Call of Duty: World at War (Please stop making them now), which, in its defense, did try as hard as it could to cram in something new and different. We had Far Cry 2, with it's gritty savannah edge and stunning visuals (and Fire Propagation!), Mirror's Edge, with it's flawed but exciting parkour mechanics, and Left 4 Dead with it's co-op multiplayer gameplay.
(Mirror's Edge screenshot from IGN - (Voodoo extreme watermark on the bottom-right))
I remember grinning from ear to ear as each new mechanic in Far Cry 2 was introduced - the in game map, the GPS tweaking, jammed guns, malaria medicine, day/night cycles, weather, and dubious morality. I remember shouting in frustration at (another) death in Mirror's Edge, and the (surprising) rush and relief of complete and utter failure in Left 4 Dead as our ragtag team got swarmed by zombies after aparticularly tense round.
The action-adventure, which is a dubious genre to define, also saw some great stuff. While everyone may not agree, I particularly enjoyed the new Prince of Persia, with its wonderful cel-shaded visuals, and laid-back popcorn romance ambience. I specially liked how most of the dialogue was optional - and it pleased my cutscene skipping, 'dont-want-the-boring-story', itchy trigger finger friends (Philistines, the lot of you - you know who you are)
(The original 1989 Prince of Persia, and (right) the 2008 remake)
2008 was also the year non-gamers saw what the big deal was.
When, halfway through playing Spore - I realised the almost-magical hold it seemed to hold with my non-gamer friends, where I rather cynically anticipated losing interest in it after a playthrough or two.Or the sheer number of times my Nintendo DS was confiscated and played with - and I later found traces of saved games I never remembered having. Or playing LittleBigPlanet with kids at the Playstation Experience Expo, and finding a healthy queue of people wanting to play the wonderful Loco Roco 2 for the PSP.Sidin reports a similar response for Patapon, and lets not even get started with the Wii and Guitar Hero.
2008 was also the year Nintendo scored a rare dud with WiiMusic - though some people, rather articulately, tend to disagree.
And, yes, while Im approaching stuck-record territory - this was definitely the year of the Indie game. From the equivalent of a little verse in poetry, to riddles in temporary, globular construction, to everything that Blurst bought out - including the new, and fantastic, Minotaur CHina Shop.
So, very quickly, we'll hand out the certificates of participation. Go play!
5. I Wish I were the Moon, and other lovely little games at Ludomancy.org
4. The room-escape games over at Pastel Games, and the intriguing mind of Mateusz Skutnik
3. The games over at MolleIndustria
2.The games at Amanita Design - especially the Samorost Series
1. Minotaur China Shop, and others at Blurst.com
Next week: What to look forward to in 2009.