Top 10 games of 2008

So 2008 is done and its been over a month for me to try out some games and all. So what did I find? 2008 has been one blast of a year for video games with major long-awaited titles being released such as Fallout 3, Fable II, Grand Theft Auto IV, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It really makes me wonder how 2009 will top this but we shall see!

So here are my top 10 of 2008. Yes I am missing quite a few games that should make it but I didn't have enough time to get around to playing them as now I work so my summer holidays was pretty much cut short.

10. Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (Dimps/Atari | PS2, 360)

Ah Dragon Ball, you guys never fail at releasing minimum one game a year and as most of the other fighters, its a good one! However this game goes back to the good'ol Budokai days and throwing out the Tenkaichi fighting mechanics for the more traditional ways for its exclusive next-gen debut! Character roster is lacking but the ones that were included are animated so nicely and precise its like watching the anime in HD! The voice-actors from both the English and Japanese camps return to voice their characters and sounds surprisingly good no matter which language option you pick! The DBZ game for everyone! Much better than the PS2's crap DBZ swansong Infinite Worlds.

9. Guitar Hero: World Tour (Neversoft/Activision | Wii, PS2, PS3, 360)

So how do you get back at your former employees for joining a rival company? Show them that you don't need them and that you can do it better! So thats prety much the skinny on what happened when Harmonix jumped ship to EA to create Rock Band that adds drum and voice-play into the foray! Activision decided to copy and included those things as well but wasn't as successful huh. But I still enjoyed the guitar aspect of the game as it should be... its not called Guitar Hero for no reason -.-

8. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (Capcom/Nintendo | NDS)

A new chapter in the Ace Attorney series and it was a good one! While not as challenging as the previous three, it was still as fun to play and also to tie up some loose ends the original trilogy left behind. Not much I can say that won't ruin the story... this game was built from the ground up to ultilise the DS' features unlike the previous three (excluding the last episode of the first game) so now you know you paying top price for new game and not lazy ports so everyone please give it a go :)

7. Soulcalibur IV (Namco | PS3, 360)

While some of the costumes in this game scared me, this is a very good fighting game that totally kicks Soulcalibur III's arse. This time round the character customisations are done a lot better, no lag and online play! Theres also a way to penalise guard-happy players which is a nice touch from the first Soul Blade game. While the inclusions of some new characters scraches my head, its still a very decent game with heaps of replayability! I really wished that Hwang was back in this game -.-

6. Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- (Square-Enix/Ubisoft | PSP)

Pretty much PSP's only blockbuster game of 2008 and what a game it is. Finally we get to see who Zack Fair is after 11 years of waiting. This game was announced when the PSP was announced so it has been a long time coming. Theres problems with the battle system but everything else is pretty much flawless from the graphics to the beautiful music. Even though we know Zack dies, it was still a treat to follow Zack around Gaia seeing him mentor Cloud Strife meeting familiar faces (Yuffie and even Vincent!) and new ones (Cissnei!!!!) until his timely death. I will miss him and it was the only video game that made tears come to my eyes, even Aeris didn't do that for me.

5. Disaster: Day of Crisis (Monolithsoft/Nintendo | Wii)

The game that America never got is one hell of a game. Blue Ridge City is being contiously bombarded with natural disasters and terrorist and its up to one man to save the day: Ray. The former Internatinoal Rescue Team member must save the city from total destruction and at the same time save his best friend's sister from the terrorist. Sounds like a movie plot eh? Well it sure plays like a movie and I wouldn't have it any other way! From the cheesy dialogue to the different types of gameplay this game has, it is always kept fresh and never takes itself seriously. Also this is like the first Nintendo-made game wheres theres swearing... now thats a treat to all fans around the world (sorry America, blame Reggie)

4. Yakuza 2 (Amusement Vision/SEGA | PS2)

This is probably the most anticipated PS2 game of my life! i first got this game in Japanese at the end of 2007 but it had no subs and being such a story-driven game... it didn't work for me... So after two years of waiting, I finally got a copy in English!!! Man this is like the best original last game for the PlayStation 2, can't think of any others! Being a two-year-old game, it still makes my list! Everything was pretty much improved over the original from the graphics, music and even to the gameplay! The camera in the original really was annoying but they fixed it in this one and the leveling up system is made easier and more diverse! Oh and the cut-scenes are superbly shot just like the movies, very nice. If you are stuck in last-gen and love Japanese culture, give this a go guys,

3. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Sora/Nintendo | Wii)

Heres the next part in the every-nintendo-fans'-wetdream series. Having to endure many years of delay, Brawl has finally appeared on the Wii. With brand new characters, stages, customisations, online play, stage sharing and many more things, this game is a dream. Also included are Solid Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog to fight against their Nintendo rivals. While everything seems cool, there are some flaws like some characters being WAY overpowered, some even became much weaker and the fact the game only plays well with a GameCube controller that are so hard to find outside of Japan and Nintendo Australia doesn't seem to want to fix it... idiots. All and all, brilliant game that I can see myself playing till the end of the Wii's lifespan.

2. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo | Wii)

So why is this game on top of Super Smash Bros. Brawl? Quite simply cause this was way more fun for me. No other console game had me eating dinner with one hand and playing with the other thanks to the Wii Wheel :p This game also included the best online play I've ever played. There was virtually no lag and you could play co-op as well! Compared to other home online games with fast paced action, Mario Kart Wii takes the top, it was THAT good. So good that I bought four copies of it :)

1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Kojima Productions/Konami| PS3)

Now while I had a way more fun experience with some of the other games in this list, this game here is technically flawless in everyway possible. The gameplay doesn't fight with you, the controller becomes like a part of ya hands as you move around in the beautiful environment and pulsing at every enemy so they don't spot you. What is flawed is the long as cut-scenes, while I still enjoyed but I can see why the majority of people disliked. Coming packaged with this final game is Metal Gear Online to allow players to verse eachother to see who is a better Foxhound so thats a pretty good deal there too. So after six canonical games, what does happen to Solid Snake? We all know he grows older but what is to become of him? Well the only way to find out is to catch this on a PS3 cause Konami and Kojima Productions has no plans at all to bring this elsewhere!


Now thats a lot of writing I did and I know some people won't agree with it or not at all. So I'll list some of the games that didn't make it but was still enjoyable for me:

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen
Prince of Persia
Mirror's Edge
Call of Duty: World at War
Red Alert 3
No More Heroes
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Sonic Unleashed
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
Lock's Quest
littleBIGplanet
Grand Theft Auto IV
God of War: Chains of Olympus
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009

Having such a blast of a year, makes me wonder how 2009 will fair. It has however brought out the RPG classic Chrono Trigger and probably the most anticipated follow-up fighting game of all time Street Fighter IV is just around the corner so it shouldn't be too bad. I am looking forward to these following games:

Dragon Quest IX
Street Fighter IV
Tekken 6
Killzone 2
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
House of the Dead OVERKILL
Madworld
Tales of Vesperia
Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games
DJ Max Fever
Star Ocean: The Last Hope
Resident Evil 5
Resistance: Retribution
The Conduit
Bayonetta
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Have a good one guys and keep gaming :)

Too Many

Wow dudes, I've been getting way too many new games than I can handle and some aren't even opened yet! Still freshly sealed. People have been questioning me why I buy so many than I can play... well I can play them and will finish the interesting ones but they're all so cheap for new release games. I'm getting them at an average of $40 each when each of these console games RRP $100+.

So right now I have these games that are still sealed and waiting for me to play them:
Animal Crossing: Let's go to the City (Wii)
Call of Duty: World at War (PS3)
Enchanted Arms (PS3)
God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP)
Mirror's Edge (PS3)
Prince of Persia (PS3)
Virtua Fighter 5 (PS3)

Currently working on Resistance: Fall of Man, thats a hard game and I really want to get that game out of the way first then I'll probably move onto GTAIV, well letsee how I go eh.