20 Games of 2008

The last few years have seen my game collection increasing steadily, whilst the amount of games I've actually finished hasn't really gone up much. In fact, last year I bought somewhere around 20 commercial games, and only managed to finish 2 commercial games for the year! Determined to break this trend, I decided that I'd make this a big year in gaming, setting myself a goal of finishing at least one commercial game every month. I easily beat this with a total of 20 for the year, and I've written a short comment about the 20 games whose end credits I saw roll in 2008. (Keep in mind that this list excludes free games and the couple of commercial games that I used a walkthrough to beat puzzles on. These are the games I finished, not games that a walkthrough (or cheats, for that matter) finished for me)

Planescape: Torment (PC)

The best game I played all year. Incredible storyline, lovable characters, breathtaking music, thought provoking concepts. No game before this has ever made me go through the whole range of emotions, from laughter to sadness, from shocked to breathless, from sickened to elated. One of the most inspiring things I have ever come across. I will definitely play this game through again later.

Bully: Scholarship Edition (Wii)

GTA mechanics in a much more enjoyable universe. No need for guns, cars, grenades and prostitutes when you can have potato launchers, skateboards, stinkbombs and girlfriends. Cute minigames meant that going to class has never been more fun and, aside from the soundtracks (which this game was missing), I found Bully easily as enjoyable as the best of the GTA series.

Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (PC)

I picked this up at a time when I was really very uninspired by adventure games and was looking for something new. There were certain bits that were less enjoyable gameplay wise, but I found the story and characters quite engaging (I started off rather disliking the main character and ended up feeling quite sorry for her). Excellent presentation of a well thought out story.

Sam & Max Season One (PC)

Being a fan of the original, I was worried about how this would turn out. After playing episode 4 for free, I was impressed and grabbed the boxed set. I actually found all 6 of the episodes really enjoyable, although some bits more so than others, and unlike the old game, the puzzles made sense. Sort of. The humour was spot on for me, and the graphics and sound were neato as well.

Fallout (PC)

If I haven't said it before on here, let me say it now. I love Arcanum. This meant that I simply HAD to go back and play Fallout, obviously. While initially I found it quite difficult to play and unintuitive, I was soon hooked, though more because of gameplay than because of story. Hilarious characters and random events made this the funniest RPG I've played since Baldur's Gate, and it really does deserve the 'classic game' title.

Assassin's Creed (PC)

I had no idea what to expect here. Would this be a Thief or a Prince of Persia or somewhere in between? I still have no idea, really. The graphics and presentation of the environment really is something to marvel at, and although the combat does get a bit long winded in certain situations, I enjoyed the timed attacks and blocks quite a bit. Short and quite easy - still worth a playthrough.

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines (PC)

As one reviewer put it: For the first half of the game, this is the best game ever. A pretty big call to make, but he's not far off, methinks. Easily the closest thing I've found to Deus Ex (which I fell in love with during high school), this game gives you some interesting choices, including the option to be insane, literally hearing voices. Oh, and the guy who does Bender's voice is in the game as Jack, who is the coolest 'tutorial guy' I've ever met.

The Shivah (PC)

You should all have played this one! Dave Gilbert is a pretty inspirational guy for us AGSers, and I was really quite interested to see what he could do with his first commercial release. A good fun adventure game with an interesting and well written story, and puzzles that I found much more intuitive than ordinary adventure game puzzles, making the game very playable.

The Blackwell Legacy (PC)

Another Dave Gilbert effort, and I loved the demo so much I just had to get this. I really enjoyed seeing how far this game had come since Bestowers of Eternity, and I really enjoyed playing through the story. Joey and Rosangela make an interesting pair to play, and I enjoyed the teamwork between the two of them. Oh, and the dog leash puzzle really made me go "Wow, that's a great puzzle!".

Super Jazz Man (PC)

The Apprentice was the game that led me to find AGS, so I have a lot of respect for games by the Herculean Effort team. This game is no different. In fact, I really, really enjoyed playing this one. Stylish graphics and fun puzzles, with a storyline that knows not to take itself too seriously and some well engineered "Hey, cool" moments. Beating up gangsters has never been this stylish!

Noitu Love 2: Devolution (PC)

I love Metal Slug games. Fighting really strange and really huge bosses after wading through a horde of enemies and the occasional puzzle bit is right up my alley, so this game was a must buy for me. Incredible music, graphics, animation and gameplay, and it is all by a single guy. Unlockables that are actually worth unlocking are the icing on the cake, and I'll give bonus points here for having a palindrome as the title (ignore the 2, ok?).

Jade Empire (PC)

I bought this game thinking it was Beyond Good & Evil (Don't ask...). Disappointed, I nevertheless decided to try the game and really enjoyed it. The gameplay is quite fun, with a range of different fighting styles meaning you have to use your brains as well as your fists, and the graphics are quite enjoyable. The storyline is nice, with a big twist, and there are some funny characters inside. Big bonus points for being able to fight John Cleese.

Guitar Hero 3 (Wii)

Nothing really needs to be said about this one. It's fun, it's stylish, it's silly and it's addictive. Giving me stickers to put on my guitar really made me smile, as did the cool wow moments in game. Making one play a Dragonforce song during the credits is an idea that made me laugh when I first finished the game, and I'm amused to say that this is one of very few games that I've convinced my Dad to play.

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Wii)

I loved Lego as a kid, and I loved Star Wars as a kid. How can you get a better match than this? You can't! Cheeky references to the movie (genuine silent humour in a game!), interesting puzzles and big battles made this one game that had me coming back for more. The fact that there are about 30,000 things to collect throughout the game means that there's plenty of content for those who love unlocking things (me).

Lego Indiana Jones (Wii)

This is the exact same idea as Lego Star Wars but the fact that there are new characters and locations means there are new puzzles to figure out. This is a good thing. Stylish, fun, amusing - this game has it all. Probably a little shorter than Lego Star Wars (well, there are only half as many movies they referenced) but still worth the entry fee.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)

I never thought I'd be a Zelda fan. I was wrong. The best visuals and music of any Wii game in my collection, fantastic puzzles in the dungeon and hilarious characters. Never has fishing in a virtual world left me feeling so at peace. This is my first Zelda game ever and boy, did I enjoy this. I even felt sad at the end. This game made me feel like I was a kid again, discovering video games for the first time.

Fable: The Lost Chapters (Wii)

The easiest RPG I have ever played. Not that this makes it bad. After playing the likes of Fallout this year, and enjoying titles such as Baldur's Gate in the past, Fable really was an easy game. But it was fun, had plenty of content to play with and was set in a bright colourful world. Not as epic as I usually take my RPG gaming, but certainly an enjoyable experience.

Call of Duty (PC)

I saw this for really cheap and I thought "Why not?". Not a decision I regret, this was one of the most exciting FPS games I have ever played. Proving that linearity CAN be good in games, this had some heart pumping moments the whole way through. It was great to get some solid shooter action in between all the Adventures and RPGs, and they don't come too much better than this.

Medal of Honour: Pacific Assault (PC)

Call of Duty left me hungry for more cinematic action, so when I saw a copy of this at a low price I took the plunge. Not quite as enjoyable as Call of Duty, and a touch uninspiring at certain points in the game, I still enjoyed playing through to the end. Not one I'd recommend over any others on my list (considering all the other great games on my list) but if you love shooters as much as I do, well, it's worth playing through once.

Guilty Gear XX ^ Core (Wii)

Last year's arcade game on Wii was the Metal Slug series (the reason I bought a Wii) so to give myself some fresh arcade action this year I bought a fighter. Home to some of the strangest characters and moves I have ever seen, I quite enjoy this game even though I am hopeless at these sorts of games. I managed to beat it with the difficulty turned down, and it's a fun game to play once in a while when you need a break from all the strategy and story based games out there.

On a slightly amusing and related note, after coming home from New Years Eve celebrations early in the morning and finding myself unable to sleep, I switched on my Nintendo for a bit of 2009 gaming action. I accidentally ended up finishing the last 2 levels on Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam (which I had been stuck on previously), meaning that I saw my first end of game credits sequence for 2009 a mere 3 hours and 45 minutes in. What a way to start the year!