N-Philes

Our Favorite Games of 2009

Posted January 24th 2010 by Brandon Schmidt.

With 2010 well upon us and our thoughts turned to what the year will bring, it's a good time to look back and reflect on the year that was. While the releases of a number of highly-anticipated titles being pushed back was a recurring theme, 2009 still brought us a lot of strong efforts from both big developers and small.

The N-Philes crew with all our quirks, likes, and personal biases would like to present to you our top three individual choices for game of the year  of 2009.  As varied as both our staff and all of you fans are, there's sure to be something in here we can all agree on, right? ....Right?

Brandon

1. Batman: Arkham Asylum - Truth be told, I was excited for this game the first I heard of it, but was certain it would be a disappointment like most comics-based games.  Boy was I wrong.  From start to finish this was a game I had a difficult time putting down.  Although I'm a Superman fan above all else, Batman ranks a close second and I was always a huge fan of The Animated Series.  The fact that they brought back the major players from that series to do the voice acting is one of the things that put this game over the top.  That, and the Scarecrow sequences are some of the coolest scenes I've ever seen in a game.  Arkham Asylum has set the bar to incredible new heights for all future games based on a comics property, and to a lesser extent all games in general.

2. Plants vs. Zombies - Yeah, yeah, you can call me crazy for picking this so high, but if you're one of the few people it seems have played this game, you'll understand why I think so highly of it.  Whether you're a fan of the tower defense genre or not, this game oozes so much humor and charm that I can't imagine anyone not enjoying it.  The concept alone should be enough to at least make you take a second look.  If you haven't played this Popcap Games gem, try it out ASAP.

3. Borderlands - This is a game I'm still playing to this day and part of that is due to the continued DLC support. This hybrid FPS-RPG is entertaining to play alone, but becomes a blast with friends, particularly when you diversify with the different player classes, each of which has its own varied skill paths. It's a game that doesn't take itself too seriously, either, as it continuously has some of the funniest dialogue you're likely to hear in a game. The numerous references to the Mad Max movies, including much of the world itself, are an added bonus.

D.C.

1. Beatles Rock Band - The visualizations are amazingly accurate, the songs are great, and the harmonizing aspect of the game is some of the most fun to come out of the rhythm genre.

2. Scribblenauts - While there are some technical issues, Scribblenauts has opened up an entire new world in engaging its audience into being as creative as they can be, pioneering a new way of interacting with the game.

3. Left 4 Dead 2 - The haunting music, the accurate aesthetic depictions of various places in the American South, and the ability to keep people entertained for hours makes this one sequel that has definitely surpassed its predecessor.

Will

1. Street Fighter IV - Not many games can steal 300+ hours from my life, and by introducing the Street Fighter franchise to me, and subsequently the scene itself, I can't believe I almost didn't buy this game.

2. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - The most action-packed, cinematic and visually mind-blowing game that I've ever played.  Everything about this game is top notch, and I hope the series continues for years to come.

3. Borderlands - It's almost as if this game was built for me. Having played through the game twice in co-op and putting in almost 70 hours of gameplay, there's still much more room for this game to grow via DLC.  Simply put, it's great fun.

Jacob

1. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - I had my doubts seeing this at E3, but it turned out to be one of my all-time favorite DS games.  It takes everything that made the previous two games great and improves upon them.

2. The Conduit - Certainly not the best Wii game of the year, just the best I've played.  High Voltage Software deserves some credit for bringing this shooter to the Wii.

3. Rhythm Heaven - I'm a sucker for rhythm games. It's a fun, challenging, quirky little game that everyone should check out.

Frankie

1. Batman: Arkham Asylum - In my opinion, not only is this the best comic book video game ever, but the best game of the year.  The execution in all facets was fantastic, and raised the bar for its entire genre.  I had almost nothing to complain about in this game except that I don't own it.

2. Assassins Creed 2 - This game is what a sequel should be: keep what works, and make everything better.  The story might have been a little wonky at times, and the manipulation of history and little far-fetched, but the gameplay is fluid and intuitive, and just fun to play.

3. Halo 3: ODST - Although the absence of a certain Spartan might have kept most people from picking this one up, ODST was pretty awesome.  The story mode was interesting and a breath of fresh air from the normal Halo lore, and kept me interested in the characters.  The fact that this game was able to happen in the same world as Master Chief, without him in it, was very impressive.

Adam

1. Left 4 Dead 2 - I was worried that this game would feel more like an expansion pack than a sequel.  Luckily, this wasn't the case.  Pretty much every issue I had with the first game has been fixed in part two, and then some.  Plus, great new characters and locales that remind me of places near home.

2. Torchlight - If you read my review for this game then I'm sure you're tired of me going on about it.  Streamlined, addictive, fun.  One of the peaks of independent game development.

3. Mini Ninjas - My third choice was really hard. There are a lot of games that deserve the spot – Muramasa, Borderlands and Brütal Legend come to mind.  I ended up picking the non-obvious one for a few reasons.  One, it deserves more credit than it's getting.  It's a great, engaging action platformer, something there just isn't much of anymore.  It's one of those "just one more level" kinds of games.  Two, I really couldn't decide and ended up just picking the one I've probably put the most hours into (to date).

Jared

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - The engaging single-player Campaign and co-op Special Ops modes aside, Multiplayer is enough to put this at the top of my list.  The RPG elements are just as addictive, if not more, than the first time around. The rise of Witchblades and double-shotgun dog rapists has somewhat dulled the experience, but there's something about the blend of RPG and FPS that grips the mind with near-clinical accuracy.  It reminds me of when I was a kid, where now and again a game came along that I'd think about all day long.  As I sit at work I find myself – even months after its release – arranging my custom classes and pondering flag-siege strategy in my mind for hours on end.

2. Left 4 Dead 2 - I could have written this one back at the announcement that this game was being made.  The first game created such a bottomless pit of desire to play it, any half-competent sequel would only serve to pick up the task where the original left off.  More than half-competent, the new direction Left 4 Dead 2 takes – less B-movie horror, more rock n' roll zombie-blasting – works perfectly with the Southern setting and the exceedingly interesting characters.  It's one of those rare sequels that sets such a new standard that it fades the memory of its predecessor, turning it into more of a preface for the real fun to follow.

3. Beatles Rock Band - One of the best games I played last year was also one of the biggest disappointments.  The realization that I wouldn't be able to port songs off the disc into my Rock Band 2 cache was harsh, and meant that The Beatles would never be the party game that Rock Band 2 had been for a year.  Nevertheless, the singular experience of the game drenched in Beatles lore and imagery to match the music is more of a treat as a Beatles fan than as a gamer.

Jordan

1. Demon's Souls - Honestly, I'm still not sure how something this skillfully designed managed to emerge out of From Software.  The atmospheric, maze-like levels are designed so well they make save checkpoints in other games look lazy, and the combat is so weighty and deliberate that no matter how many times you've gone through an area you can still die if you're not patient.  There's been a lot of noise made about how difficult Demon's Souls is, and while it is hard it is not cheap or unfair.  This is a game about patience and deliberation, and the fact that it doesn't simply bow down to players that hack away at it just makes it all the more rewarding.

2. Flower - Thatgamecompany's sophomore effort was only two hours long, yet managed to be more exhilarating and memorable than most games boasting 30-hour playtimes.  Both visually and audibly impressive, Flower is also a great example of how gameplay and narrative can fuse together to tell an effective and emotional story.

3. Noby Noby Boy - Director Keita Takahashi had trouble describing this project in nearly every interview he granted, but the best way to think about his latest endeavor is to remember his wish to create playgrounds.  Noby Noby Boy offers no real objectives, goals, or enemies.  It simply drops you in a place and implores you to explore, experiment, and do whatever pleases you as you stretch your character around.  The aimless nature of the game was a turn-off for many, but for me it's the perfect place to revisit and simply toy around.

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Hey, how about that?  We managed to agree on quite a few of those after all!  2010 has kicked off strong with titles like Bayonetta and Darksiders already sucking up free time around the world, but it looks like there's quite a lot to live up to.  Here's hoping the best is yet to come.

Posted in: Gaming, Features

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