aukevin
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Game of the Year: - Burnout Paradise
This game has been outstanding for me all year, and I really mean all year due to all the effort Criterion Games has put into this game throughout 2008 in regards to adding more content. Just the content of what the game debuted with gave me around 30-40 hours of fast-paced driving action both offline and online with a bunch of buddies. I put Burnout away for a couple months in the middle of the year but then came the new online Timed Challenges and game modes that brought many people back online to Paradise City. Then when the bike and trophy patches came out in the fall, I found myself with another 10-15 hours of fun in the game. So Burnout definitely earned its place as my game of 2008 literally because it provided me great entertainment throughout all of 2008.
Honorable mention: Rock Band 2
Sports Game of the Year - NCAA Football 09
It's hard not to name MLB The Show 08 my sports game of the year, but EA Sports NCAA Football 09 was my winner solely because of the online dynasties. The gameplay had a few problem areas like the lack of pass rush and pretty accurate CPU QBs, but online dynasties brought back a gaming experience for me that I haven't had since the early 90s, that is playing football games with my brother again. We used to play the old college football games all the time together when we were in junior high and high school, but once we grew up, we never could play these games together anymore because we haven't lived in the same cities (even states). We'd just have to talk about them to each other. But online dynasties changed all that and that definitely made this game my favorite sports game of 08.
Honorable mention: MLB The Show 08
Multi-player Game of the Year - Rock Band 2
I just had to make up a category so that I could mention Rock Band 2 because it is a fantastic game as well. This could have just as easily been my game of the year. This is a game that I pretty much play every single night. Some nights I might just play a 4-song gig, but most of the time I put on a full show. The online tour in the game is a very nice new addition, but what makes this game great to me is the 3-6 new songs offered to us weekly by Harmonix. It causes my wallet some pain, but being able to bring a game new quality content week after week is an awesome thing. This is my multi-player game of the year because this is a game that I hardly ever play just by myself. My wife is usually right next to me jamming with me, and if she's not around, it doesn't take long to find someone online to rock out with. Just like Burnout was to me, this is one of those games that has a shelf life way longer than many of the games I play.
Honorable mention: Mario Kart Wii
Disappointment of the Year - Wii Fit
This game failed me because it didn't go that extra step to separate itself as a tech demo in my eyes. I liked a lot of what Wii Fit had to offer in terms of the different exercises and mini-games, but the lack of any kind of training program kept me from going back to the game each day. Wii Fit tracked your daily weight and BMI, but offered little to no help in structuring some kind of workout plan for you to reach the goal you set for yourself within the game.
disHonorable mention: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Here's my grades for all the games I got in 2008:
1. Burnout Paradise - A+: Lots of gameplay, great online mode
2. Rock Band 2 - A+: Multi-player awesomeness, unbelievable DLC support
3. NCAA Football 09 - A: Online dynasties rock, improved gameplay
4. Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds - B+ - Just needed online voice chat and a couple more courses
5. Mario Kart Wii - B+: Online racing was a welcome addition to the series.
6. Lego Batman - B: Lego format is starting to get stale, but really good characters in this game.
7. MLB The Show 08 - B: Top quality baseball game, just didn't wow me as much as 07 did.
8. Guitar Hero World Tour - B-: Still not enough change in career mode, but song selection is solid.
9. Madden 09 - B-: Still fun to play, but lack of online seasons make it fall short.
10. Lego Indiana Jones - C: Fun game but way too short.
11. Super Smash Bros Brawl - C: I've never been a fan of button smashers, this one didn't change my mind
12. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - C-: Fun gameplay, but too many camera angles problems and glitches
13. Wii Fit - D+ - Good concept, just not followed through to make it a habitual game.
Monday, November 10, 2008
First is Shaun White Snowboarding. I can't wait to hear more impressions on this game. The mountains look big enough to provide many unique routes down the slopes. The game looks similar to skate, just on snow to me. I hope so.
I also want Animal Crossing: City Folk for the Wii. I don't game too much on the Wii these days, but I was addicted to the Gamecube version of this game. The Wii version doesn't seem to have that many new features, but the online aspect of it with the WiiSpeak add-on should be interesting to say the least!
NCAA Basketball 09 has also caught my eye. I liked the demo, kudos to EA for putting out an 8-minute half demo. It really lets you get a feel for the game. I'm not a basketball fan (I don't even know who that is on the cover), but this game seems fun enough to play a few seasons with Auburn.
I've never played a Tomb Raider game before, but Tomb Raider Underworld looks very nice and it will be my first of the series. I'm a bit bummed that the 360 is getting the DLC extras since I'm a PS3 guy, but the game looks very good. It has an Uncharted look to it and that game was outstanding.
It's not a game, but the PS3 wireless keyboard is also on my list. I have a small thumbpad for the PS3 but it always has to have an USB sensor plugged in, this official PS3 keyboard is bluetooth, so I want that.
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