Games Of The Year 2009: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Not too long into the first act of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Nathan and Chloe bump into a familiar face in the form of Elena Fisher from the first game. In the introductory moments between Chloe and Elena, Elena makes the remark that she is "last year's model" -- while intended to be humourous, the remark sums up precisely how Elena feels about seeing a new woman alongside Nathan Drake, as well as her thoughts on the abnormal situation they all find themselves in. Furthermore, it also sums up the entire game by demonstrating the subtle nuances that make up the game's brilliantly written dialogue, and the characterisation that occurs for each of the characters in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

Put simply, the characters matter in this game. Despite the sometimes insane situations they find themselves in, each event, moment and conversation these characters have contributes to the overall experience. You're not just here to observe their story and be an audience to it, you're here to join them as the insane situations are dealt with on the fly, improvisations are made and unbelievable outcomes occur. They aren't your typical videogame characters, they are your friends. The end result is an adventure you care about, and a gaming experience that you do not want to end and certainly will not forget. Add on top of that the iterative and remarkable improvements upon an already strong introduction to the series, and you have a game that is truly one of the best of 2009, if not the decade or all time. Last year's model indeed.
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That wraps up my little Games Of The Year series. In hindsight, I didn't play enough of the year's games to gain a proper idea of the year's best, but even so, by doing this series I was able to think about the games that impacted upon me the most, as well as show you which games I'd like developers to aspire to in the future. There were of course some other games I enjoyed in 2009, such as Race Pro and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, but mostly the year was about playing the onslaught of titles I purchased in 2008, and catching up with other games I may have missed. With games like Batman: Arkham Asylum, Dragon Age: Origins, inFamous and Demon's Souls out there, it looks like this year will be similar. Considering the incredible amount of potentially awesome games coming this year, I'm actually content with the idea of looking backwards instead of forwards. It might prevent me from participating in the conversations these games will no doubt inspire, but I'll certainly appreciate not being so overwhelmed by it all as well. Onwards and upwards.

Games Of The Year 2009: Flower

Communication is an interesting component of the human condition. Not only does it allow us to converse in our day-to-day environment, it also defines our interactions and our understanding of them.

Flower communicated with me. It spoke with me on a level that I'm unlikely ever going to be able to articulate, but what I do know is that it goes beyond the mere mechanics that make up the game; beyond the intentionally evocative experience it provides; and beyond the sheer joy and awe as I experiment, explore and discover within its suitably small yet entirely effective spaces.

It was a game unlike anything else I have played before and one I suspect I won't see replicated in the future. It was truly unique, and while some were skeptical about the developers' intentions -- thatgamecompany constantly discussed pre and post-release about how they were trying to instill emotions in the players that they were unlikely to find in other games -- the end result, for me, was a game that demonstrated crystal clear just why I play videogames, why I will continue to play them, and why I am blessed to be able to see the medium meet its potential as it continues to expand, evolve and establish itself alongside the other entertainment mediums we all know and love. The fact it achieved all that, and much much more, through simplicity and a theme that almost everyone would understand immediately, is just the icing on the already amazing cake. Pure, epic, natural, fun.

Games Of The Year 2009: Assassin's Creed II

Above: How not to play Catch-And-Kiss.

I almost didn't include Assassin's Creed II in my list this year by virtue of the fact that I have only just finished it and that I was still in the process of writing about it, but there's no denying that it doesn't deserve a nod.

Assassin's Creed II is a game rife with quality, with every aspect of it created with the overall experience in mind: The story of Ezio is fleshed out more cohesively than that of Altair's, making his desires for revenge more interesting and compelling; the fluidity of movement is more refined, allowing subtle yet effective maneuvers throughout the streets and rooftops that make up the game's cities; secondary quests and collectibles are tied into the main narrative, making them more fun to do or find, and less like a chore as a direct result of blatant attempts to extend gameplay; and the sense of place -- be it where you are within it, or the awe that stems from the beauty of the Italian Renaissance setting -- is a lot more fun to just be in, the discoveries leading to unexpected and fulfilling rewards.

To put it simply it's hard to fault, making it a remarkable improvement on the original, but the praise stops there because, while it's impressive, it's also exactly what the first game should have been. I liked the original Assassin's Creed, loved it even, but it did have its flaws. Assassin's Creed II fixes them, shows how enjoyable and fun the franchise can be, and not much more. As it stands, that's a good thing, but it's not the ideal thing. If it took Ubisoft two games to get their formula right, then let's hope it only takes one more to completely blow us away; to meet the incredible potential the franchise has; and to elevate the repution of the Assassin's Creed name to the level that the likes of Grand Theft Auto, World Of Warcraft, BioShock and Metal Gear Solid all share -- the absolute cream of the crop. That's what I would like to see. That is what I believe would be ideal.

Games Of The Year 2009: Trials HD

2009 was quite the year for games on downloadable services. Whether your platform of choice was the consoles or the PC, there were definitely some games worth playing, worth thinking about and worth discussing. As far as console titles are concerned, the two big ones were probably Shadow Complex and Flower -- both of which did some interesting things in the digital distribution space and gave way to some fascinating discussion -- but for my money there was another title that was as good, if not better, than those two.

Trials HD may have originated from the indie development scene on the PC, causing some people to scoff at the positive reception the Xbox Live Arcade release was receiving, but regardless of that there is no denying that the game was exactly the kind of thing digital distribution is perfect for, and I am definitely glad that I got the chance to play it. The best thing about Trials HD is definitely its accessibility: here is a game that is extremely easy because it uses just three buttons -- one for acceleration, braking and controlling the rider's balance -- allowing the physics to take care of the rest. Anyone can play this game and enjoy it instantly, its experience similar to dirt-biking or performing stunts on two wheels but distilled to its most basic level. The beauty lies in the progression of the game's levels: the initial levels being easy affairs that demonstrate precisely why the game is fun while the harder levels contain puzzles that are absolutely mind-boggling, making failure a common occurrence and ensuring that you will be retrying over and over again. Despite the repetition the game is never frustrating, the player usually at fault for any mistakes, making way for that elusive "just one more go" mentality that a lot of games strive for but unfortunately don't successfully manage. All in all, it is a game that joins the likes of Geometry Wars and Peggle as one that I play randomly but consistently, and besides, like it isn't cool being able to double-flip off a massive jump and crash into an explosive barrel.

Games Of The Year 2009: Forza Motorsport 3

[My apologies for the slight delay with this one. An unexpected interstate trip meant I had little time to get online. Thank you for your patience.]

I suppose it's no surprise for anyone who has been reading this blog for a while to see this game as one of my choices. In the short time that I have been blogging about videogames, I have intentionally tried to establish myself as someone willing to give the racing genre a more critical eye. For whatever reason, the genre doesn't garner the amount of attention or discussion that others do, despite the fact that it is one of the more prolific (in terms of releases) genres out there and generally one that people play for fun when they have a break from the next big FPS, RPG or blockbuster title. It's like the sports genre -- no surprise considering that, depending on which game you're talking about, racing is a sport -- in that, a huge amount of people play these games but rarely do they ever speak about them. It's a little puzzling to me as I've discussed here before -- Surely these games are just as ripe for discussion and analysis as your BioShocks and Fallouts? Apparently not... so far at least.

Anyway, Forza Motorsport 3 is quite simply the best installment in the franchise yet, iterating on everything the previous two games did whilst adding enough new features to not only justify the sequel, but open it up to more players as well. The biggest selling point for the game is how accessible it is now: despite being a simulation racing game at its heart, there's enough driving aids, options and mechanics (such as the rewind feature) to allow players of any skill level to enjoy Forza Motorsport 3. Such additions might be irrelevant to people like me, hardcore racing enthusiasts who eat these types of games for breakfast, but in terms of mass appeal they're worthy additions and as such, are notable inclusions to the formula. Some new and welcome tracks, the obligatory graphical upgrade, refinement of the game's already superb handling physics system and a fostering of a passion for car culture through its online community, tuning and painting options are just added bonuses for a game and franchise that has established itself as one of the best simulation experiences available on consoles. Whether it's the definitive racer -- the description overused throughout the pre-release hyperbole -- on consoles is up to you, but it certainly is the most comprehensive one. Car enthusiasts the world over can't wish for much more than that.

I'll have much more detailed thoughts and discussion on Forza Motorsport 3 soon.

2009's Best

Every year a multitude of publications post their Games Of The Year. In 2009, a lot of them are also reflecting back on the decade that was, reminding us what has come out within that time frame and demonstrating, even if unintentionally, just how far videogames as a medium have come. Ten years ago, the phenomenon that is Guitar Hero and Rock Band didn't exist; Nintendo's Wii and its dominance was unthinkable, as the company was the joke of the industry -- to some people at least -- thanks to the GameCube's clear and unfortunate last place in the console wars; Big name franchises such as Grand Theft Auto, Halo and Call Of Duty didn't exist, or were nowhere near as popular as they are today; and a little something called World Of Warcraft was nowhere to be seen.

Reading these nominations, reflections and opinions of a year and decade gone by has been amusing, while choosing my own games has been a struggle. Basically, I always thought the process was pointless -- the choices were always going to be subjective for one, and for two, no one's going to remember once the new year's games distract us with their flashy graphics, fancy mechanics and general splendor -- and beyond that, I could never choose anyway. Last year I thoroughly enjoyed the likes of Fallout 3, Burnout Paradise and Grand Theft Auto IV -- among others -- while in 2007 it was BioShock, Forza 2, Portal and The Darkness; How, just how, can one choose a favourite title amongst that lot? I always figured the answer was simple: one can't.

This year has been a relatively similar process, but then I started to think about it some more. I realised that my point of view has always been that of a gamer or consumer: someone who devours the games that pique the interest, enjoys them for what they are and then moves on, forgetting their relevance to the overall medium as soon as the next big thing becomes available. Meanwhile, the past two years, but particularly 2009, has seen my perspective evolve from just your average gamer to one who thinks about the medium: someone who contemplates the meanings of the games they play, who enjoys reading and discussing videogames in any manner you can think of and, obviously, someone who enjoys writing about them too. This blog wouldn't exist without this newer perspective of mine, but it does and now that I've established my little corner of the blogosphere, I thought it was time to change my previous way of doing things and offer my own games of the year. In doing so, I can reflect on the year that was, but more importantly, I can also offer a little insight for my readers by showing them the games I thought were relevant, important or interesting in 2009.

So, starting tomorrow, I will be posting the games that I believe were the year's best, and that I hope future games in development aspire to.