The Third Annual Coint and Plick Poll: ILG’s Best Video Games of 2009 - Part Three: #21 through #51

Continuing from here:
The Third Annual Coint and Plick Poll: ILG’s Best Video Games of 2009 - Part Two: #52 through #75
The Third Annual Coint and Plick Poll: ILG’s Best Video Games of 2009 - Part One: #77 through #93

Here's what's come before:
#93: Bomberman Ultra – PSN – 1 point – 1 vote
#92: HALO 3 ODST – 360 – 3 pts – 1 vote
#91: Colin McRae’s Dirt 2 – 360 – 4 pts – 1 vote
#77: Virtual On Oratorio Tangram 5.66 – XBLA – 5 pts – 1 vote
#77: 50 Cent, Blood On The Sand – 360 – 5 pts – 1 vote
#77: Rock Band – iPhone – 5 pts – 1 vote
#77: Red Faction: Guerilla – 360 – 5 pts – 1 vote
#77: House of the Dead: Overkill – Wii – 5 pts – 1 vote
#77: PixelJunk Shooter – PSN – 5 points – 1 vote
#77: Muramasa: The Demon Blade – Wii – 5 pts – 1 vote
#77: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2010 – Wii – 5 pts – 1 vote
#77: Forza Motorsport 3 – 360 – 5 pts – 1 vote
#77: Critter Crunch – PSN – 5 pts – 1 vote
#77: Need For Speed: Shift – 360 – 5 pts – 1 vote
#77: DeathSmiles – 360 – 5 pts – 1 vote
#77: NHL 2010 – PS3 – 5 pts – 1 vote
#77: Droplitz - XBLA – 5 pts – 1 vote
#75: Way of the Samurai 3 – PS3 - 7 pts – 1 vote
#75: Anno 1404 / Dawn of Discovery – PC – 7 pts – 1 vote
#72: Madden ’10 – PS3 – 8 pts – 1 vote
#72: Infamous – PS3 – 8 pts - 1 vote
#72: Trash Panic – PSN – 8 pts – 1 vote
#61: Professor Layton and The Diabolical Box – DS – 10 pts – 1 vote
#61: Bayonetta – 360 – 10 pts – 1 vote
#61: Wordjong Daily Challenge – iPhone – 10 pts – 1 vote
#61: Style Savvy/Style Boutique – DS – 10 pts – 1 vote
#61: Half Minute Hero – PSP – 10 pts – 1 vote – Top PSP game
#61: Tekken 6 – 360 – 10pts – 1 vote
#61: Bookworm – iPhone – 10 pts – 1 vote
#61: A Boy and His Blob – Wii – 10 pts – 1 vote
#61: Ghostbusters – 360 – 10pts – 1 vote
#61: Killing Floor – PC – 10 pts – 1 vote
#61: Shatter – PSN – 10 pts – 1 vote
#59: Money Seize – Flash – FREE - 11 pts – 1 vote
#59: Games by JTMB02 (Achievement Unlocked, This Is the Only Level, Run Elephant Run, et. al. – Flash – FREE - 11 pts – 1 vote
#58: Suikoden Tierkreis – DS – 11 pts – 2 votes
#57: MLB 2009: The Show – PS3 – 12 pts – 1 vote
#56: Saint’s Row 2 – PC – 13 pts – 1 vote
#54: Fallout 3: Broken Steel – 360 – 15 pts – 1 vote
#54: Madworld – Wii – 15 pts – 1 vote
#52: Big Word Puzzle Book – DS – 15 pts – 2 votes
#52: Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes – DS – 15 pts – 2 votes

#51 goes up tomorrow.

what did you reply (if it all) to my question in the last thread? cuz i aint opening it

This list thread is so much more civilized than the goddamned 00s film thread.

ha, i was going to post a rant about how terrible Madworld was, but now we're on a new thread i can't be bothered!

haha. GOD, madworld? you people are idiots

"you people" = the one person who voted for it?

Nothing I've voted for has placed yet!

half my ballot has placed so far iirc

oh come on; MadWorld isn't a bad game, it just turned out to be hell of shallow

s1ocks: "I didn't intentionally add any flash? Is it maybe the youtubes?"
it's working fine on chrome for me btw. anybody else having issues?

we're mostly out of one vote territory now; just six more in the next thirty.

haha. GOD, madworld? you people are idiots

― brews before HOOS (s1ocki), Thursday, February 4, 2010 7:16 PM (30 minutes ago)

"you people" = the one person who voted for it?

― PIES! PIES! PIES! PIES! PIES! (HI DERE), Thursday, February 4, 2010 7:16 PM (30 minutes ago)

:(

obv u dudes are not stuck with nintendos plastic disappointment machine as one of your game systems

i was joking dudes!!!!!!!

oh and forks by flash i mean toobs

oh hahaha i see

yeah s1ocks, there's about three youtubes per game; you seem to be the only person who's really hurting from it.

imgs off imo

madworld did kinda suck tho

best 2 just killfile slocki it's what I did

his canadian ebullience was just too darn much

that option makes pages load faster and with less corny jokes

imgs arent the prob i dont think

its confounded YOU TUBE S.

μtube embeds appear as links if u read the board w/img off. i mean i was having a similar problem reading this thread and have 0 problems loading it when i have images off so...

the large # of 1 vote entries makes me think that there will probably be maybe 5 or 6 real consensus titles that get waaaaaaaay more points than everything else

and what would those be?

lots of stealth WoW addicts here

is there any doubt that MW2, Batman and Uncharted are gonna be at the top

idk really but i guess:

arkham asylum
assassin's creed 2
demon's souls
peggle
street fighter iv
uncharted 2

Demon's Soul is going to be up there

if had to guess order id guess mw2, peggle, uncharted, demons, arkham, sfiv

Was skeptical about Peggle but then I looked on wiki - it was released for DS, 360, PS3 and iPhone all last year! Though it was more spread out than that, but I guess a lot of people may have played Peggle for the first time in 2009, despite its original release in 2007. TBH I didn't even get it until last year, because there was a sale on the Mac version (but ineligible for the poll).

Forgot about Demon's Souls... that will probably place high.

I expect stealth shock high placing for Orbital

also: L4D

my top 5 guesses:

- Arkham Asylum (probably going to end up being #1 just due to being multiplatform if last year's poll is anything to go by)
- Demon's Souls (it was my #1 and I'm far from its biggest fan on these boards)
- SFIV (wouldn't be too surprised if BlazBlue took its place instead; imsmr Lamp & Jeff preferred it to SF4 and since the voting pool was so small their ferocious advocacy would probably count for more)
- Uncharted 2
- Modern Warfare 2

BlazBlue, Orbital, Canabalt, or Plants Vs Zombies placing in the top 5 wouldn't surprise me either.

#51: Chrono Trigger (UK Release) – DS – 16 pts – 1 vote – 1 Top Game Vote
Official Game Site

If: Well worth the wait to play this! Maybe helped by the slightly reswizzled DS presentation but it didn't feel dated in any way - quite the opposite in fact. I knew next to nothing about it before hand and certain moments were just jaw-dropping - walking through the ancient snow to discover a teleporter to a cool futuristic world, whoa. Totally charming, really beautiful in places (the music in the medieval world!) and with combat that's so enjoyable you wonder why its ideas aren't more widespread.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Dmi7Txvz7iI/R-gy7EHEVrI/AAAAAAAAAMk/5-HFmtB-zO0/s400/chrono-trigger-return.GIF

"Fight the same series of wimps in the forect for an hour or two? I DON'T THINK SO. I think I'll BEAT THE GAME 3 times."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTBb1OBYA_I

Cankles: Best game ever and anyone who disagrees can eatadiccup. Revisiting a lot of older games (or really just shit in general that I loved when I was ten or eleven years old) is almost uniformly v.v.v.v. unrewarding. Except for Chrono Trigger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's pretty unique among Squaresoft bullshit in that regard. FF7 is atrocious to me today, but I could probably sit down and HELLA dig on some CT.
It was the first videogame I was actually able to BEAT on my own. *** lone, manful tear trickles down face, is absorbed by neckbeard ***
There's a puffed-up, Fisher Price, safety scissors quality to CT that really helps it out in the long run. CT just wanted to be a shiny, flashy experience that fleshed out a smaller, simpler world (gaming- and narrative-wise) and ended up succeeding on all the levels that all the FF games flailed and failed at.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-PF0tuDliI

Will M: The great thing about CT is that there's virtually no running around in circles to get experience points; there's almost no item management (aside from buying new weapons when you can and the occasional potion) and talking to the villagers is pretty fucking entertaining. The game never wastes your time with MEDIEVAL VILLAGER #457 FROM THE TOWN OF LUHIM or whatever. Battles are fast. The sheer lack of a “battle screen” saves about 6 seconds per battle versus, say, FF3. Beyond that, you can avoid battles when you want to. You can't avoid them ALL, but you can avoid enough of them that it's awesome. Add up the speedy battle pacing and perfectly metered episodic quests and adventures and you've got a game that is fun to play at all times. There's always something to do; there's always at least a mild sense of urgency and there's always new environments to explore.

http://www.infendo.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/495_robo-man-490.jpg

Nhex: It's one of my all-time favorites but still, try not to let the nostalgia/hype faze you. You're starting with probably the most distilled essence of the SNES DQ/FF formulas at the end of an era so if you're not already into that genre, it may turn out not to be your thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVl6Ue9r-Oo

Lamp: For me, the point where you first get the ship is when I fell for Chrono Trigger. Once the game opened up a little and offered the ability to pursue each of the character's individual stories at my own pace, to create random parties and discover new abilities, it just got crazy rewarding and immersive. Superfun.

#50: Time Fcuk – Online Flash Game – FREE – 16 pts – 2 votes
Official Game Site

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/timefcuk_screenshot.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpiuzlBTra0

http://newsimg.ngfiles.com/170000/170803_timefuckfanart.jpg

Developer Blog

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy4x1HEYRK8

http://www.offworld.com/assets_c/2009/09/timefcukhickeys-thumb-620x398-26294.jpg

Gamasutra Post-Mortem

http://gamersyndrome.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/TimeF3.jpg

MTV Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cd4BXZm0xc

gzeus sends his regards xpost

#49: Wii Sports Resort – Wii – 17 pts – 2 votes
Official Game Site

http://blackchristiannews.com/news/images/wiisports.jpg

Metacritic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH8NCtrfNTs

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m43/panosole/wii-sports-resort-basketball-screen.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsLt4GijqSw

Polyphonic: Wii Sports Resort is way better than Wii Sports. I was pretty impressed.

http://www.endsights.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/wii-sports-resort-archery.jpg

Iwata Asks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNrByVfhsaw

Zappi: Surprisingly good; much more content than I was expecting.

http://spawnkill.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/wii-sports-resort.jpg

Eurogamer Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI6ptNmCQtA

EZ Snappin: Improved on the first Wii Sports in every way, making what could have been a tech demo into a captivating and challenging experience... as long as you skip biking and rowing.

oh hey, i think i voted for time fcuk. good stuff

oh, i didn't. but still good game.

#48: Killzone 2 – PS3 – 18 pts – 2 votes
Official Game Site

http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf/files/2009/03/killzone2.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gaMA6Vg1eA

S1ocki: Okay, I borrowed this from work yesterday, played for a bit and was like "This is ooooookaaaaaaay..." and then all of the sudden it was two in the morning. Hey, imagine eating a calzone while playing Killzone!!!

Metacritic

http://dlb-network.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/killzone2teamforumhv3.png

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHl_PB39pEY

Guerilla Games Post Mortem Interview

JeffLevine: There are lots of great things about this game, not the least of which is the best graphics of any console multiplayer game so far. The multiplayer is particularly strong. I do feel that as you rank up and unlock over-powered abilities, the game gets worse. I had a lot of fun getting to the tipping point, though I still haven't bothered finishing the single player campaign. If you're a bit burned out on this kind of walking through gray worlds shooting dudes type game already, it probably won't rock your world.

http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/871/871951/killzone-2-20080506020316134_640w.jpg

Forksclovetofu: When games look this realistic and take themselves this seriously, I tend to feel guilty playing them; they become more ultra-realistic murder simulators than recreation. Undeniably gorgeous and likely fun to play if I could get past the squickyness, but I just got a little turned off after only an hour of play. Back to Rittai Picross for me; at least it doesn’t make me question my humanity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM1rNXypKo4

Cutty: I had to change the sensitivity and the control layout (too heavy and sluggish on both the X and Y axis and zoom/aim was mapped to the right thumbstick instead of L1; what were they thinking?) but besides that I'm into this for sure. The enemy AI is GREAT.

"In Killzone 2, you play a midget on a rampage."

Skygreenleopard: My biggest frustration is that no one seems to use the squad feature well. Occasionally I'll play with some clan dudes that roll together and take out everyone as they converge upon them, which is awesome. I vow never to use a headset, but working with a guy who has one makes me feel bad. Ninety percent of the time I'm working with people with better ranks and abilities than I have and they are WAY better at the game, yet they'd win that many more matches if they just covered my ass once and didn't get me shotgunned in the back.

Two way tie for #46.

#46: Azkend – iPhone – 20 pts – 1 vote
Official Game Site

http://www.touchmyapps.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/azkend-1.jpg

Try it free online

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPiqnix3JoU

http://www.touchmyapps.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/azkend-6.jpg

Euler: This was the best iPhone game I played this year; yeah it's basically a pumped-up match-n with a dumb plot to stitch together boards but the dynamic of sliding chains with your finger is excellent, great tactile feedback.

http://www.iphoneappreviews.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/iphone_azkend_bigchain.png

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB7JZEyHaEM

http://www.touchmyapps.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/azkend-4.jpg

took forever to find this, but my chrono trigger gzeus tribute:

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/545351/

#46: Wipeout HD Fury – PSN – 20 pts – 1 vote
Official Game Site

http://gamzsonev3.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/wohd_20090730_031207.jpg

Metacritic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGNbrQM5e54

http://www.pixelatedgamer.com/wp-content/uploads/wohd_20090723_172100PG.jpg

The Making of the Original Wipeout

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fsa2EVftuvE

Telephone Thing: So yeah, Fury is awesome. Still a bit iffy on Zone Battle, but the other modes are fantastic, the new tracks are great (with one exception- I forget the name, but there's one track where most of the ground is the same color as boost pads, argh), and the presence of brand-new models and skins for every single ship is a nice bonus.

http://www.thelostgamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/wipeout_hd_fury-playstation_networkscreenshots16002wohd_20090518_173146-506x285.jpg

Developer Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNHUvEpxqQI

Jeff LeVine: It really feels like a full game now! I especially love that they finally added in stats. I was suprised to learn I'd only played the game for 29 hours so far. I love that the remixed tracks start with that same pure light blue of the PSP game before getting all crazy. I’m sad to see they've put the advertisements back in :(

http://ps3media.gamespy.com/ps3/image/article/993/993796/wipeout-hd-fury-20090611021655182.jpg

"Why Wipeout HD Fury=The Future of Downloadable Games"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqmsOXUJAE0

HIDERE: This is still the only racing game worth a damn. Fucking fantastic tracks, fucking fantastic music, fucking fantastic ship design. So so so great.

aw, i love that xtranormal thing.

ok a couple of the things on my list are going to place way higher than expected!

Really do think Wii Sports Resort fulfills the promise of the first one. Table tennis rules.

Who's the other Resort voter? They liked it even more than I.

before wipeout went to it's full potential it had a star wars jedi racing game thing that was just as good.. for n64 I think

Hey, imagine eating a calzone while playing Killzone!!!

still stand by this tbh.

Lol at my inflated point value giving WipeoutHD such a high placing

This was my #2 game because Eliminator mode owns so hard.

played wipeouthd once and was terrible at it, so obviously its a terrible game :)

i am pretty awesome btw

Failing at WipoutHD is like failing at life

My condolences to your poor, ashamed parents

haha as you could well guess, me being good at any video game would dismay and unsettle my father

"grown men play video games? also, people enjoy movies and fiction books, what the hell is wrong with kids these days etc etc"

he is a charming curmudgeon.

"You must be so proud of your son, running the family business!"

"I suppose... He is terrible at WipeoutHD, though."

"Oh you poor thing. How are you holding up?"

"I won't lie, it's difficult... *sob*"

We don't date n00bs, we pwn them!

ilx w/images off is like going to see avatar w/out 3D glasses

where's forks

Two way tie for #44.

#44: Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 – Wii/360 – 20 pts – 2 Votes
Official Game Site

http://www.avforums.com/forums/attachments/xbox-360-game-previews/137296d1252229157-pro-evolution-soccer-2010-uk-release-23-oct-2009-rooney.jpg

Metacritic - 360

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JG2wzaeXrMU

Ste: Is it me or is the ref a bit 'handy' with the cards? The game seems a bit twitchy in changing the controlling player at times, kind of annoying. Pressing start to skip replays is hugely frustrating; what was wrong with just pressing X? Do the player graphics not get muddy after a while? Seems visually rather boring. In summary, yeah FIFA was slightly better.

http://image.jeuxvideo.com/images/wi/p/r/pro-evolution-soccer-2010-wii-020.jpg

http://winningelevenblog.com/files/2009/08/pro_evolution_soccer_2010-xbox_360screens90pes2010_gc_madvsbar-700x393.jpg

Metacritic - Wii

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txas4kc4UuY

http://cache.g4tv.com/ImageDb3/181474_S/Pro-Evolution-Soccer-2010.jpg

EZ Snappin: Took the revolutionary control of the debut and tweaked it in all the right ways.

#44: Prototype – PS3/360 – 20 pts – 2 votes
Official Game Site

http://bulk2.destructoid.com/ul/131196-prototype.jpg

Metacritic - 360

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnNcwtiYj24

Cozwn: It's a fancy sandbox button basher with combat not as deep as something like Ninja Gaiden 2 but it's certainly better than Crackdown. It can be hard to get a bead on who is attacking you at some points but thankfully your powers seem 'intelligent' and only attack 'baddies' and your lock-on seems quite smart too (i.e. you can't lock-on civilians). You have a lot of health so bullets don't do much damage but as bazookas and the brutes can mess you up, you can't just be mindless.
http://www.gamesbasement.co.uk/userfiles/image/P%20P1.jpg

Metacritic PS3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqzpYy1_-SE

Telephone Thing: I'm having so much more fun with Prototype than I was with Infamous it's not even funny. Infamous just seems so mannered and restrained in comparison; even playing as a bad guy, there's not really much potential to Fuck Shit Up beyond three or four gas stations that all go up in the same, minimally destructive explosion and cars that detonate in the feeblest way imaginable. Meanwhile, Prototype lets me destroy a Blackhawk by throwing a goddamn tank at it. And the Whipfist! Oh my god, the Whipfist alone is more fun than any of the powers in Infamous by an order of magnitude.

http://www.destructoid.com/elephant//ul/12976-550x-prototype4.jpg

Eurogamer Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14_y6ESDvYE

Polyphonic: This game might be straight-up garbage in some ways, but the core experience is flying around, swooping into crowds and murdering people in the most absurd and satisfying ways. Then, run up the side of a building and glide away on your squirrel wings.

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2009/02/prototype1%282%29.jpg

EZ Snappin: One of my favorite last-gen games was Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. This is Hulk with more people, more powers, and better graphics. It's a mayhem simulator without equal, despite the creepy emo hero.

#43: Fallout 3: Point Lookout – 360 – 23 pts – 3 votes
Official Game Site

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/fallout/images/thumb/1/14/Fallout-3-point-lookout-pc-005.jpg/800px-Fallout-3-point-lookout-pc-005.jpg

Metacritic

BNW: The game’s best and most creative DLC yet.

http://planetmedia.gamespy.com/images/00/27/2748_Swamp_normal.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5Wi8F0n3SE

http://cache.g4tv.com/ImageDb3/163854_S/Fallout-3-Point-Lookout-Screens.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agGP6O-afrM

CraigG : This DLC returned me to the original creepy atmosphere of the original game. I remember when first playing Fallout 3, sneaking through big dark buildings, wondering what is around the next corner, etc. Operation Anchorage and Broken Steel didn't really have this, and the only time I felt the same in The Pitt was the train yard when collecting the steel bars. Point lookout was altogether more sinister (perhaps because of that Ferris Wheel and my deep seated fear of carnies), and the punga fruit trip sequence was pretty cool, albeit pretty Max-Payne-dream-sequence-y. I also genuinely felt a little violated at having part of my brain removed, but was glad I could pick up the jar with it in later.

http://images.g4tv.com/ImageDb3/164721_S/Fallout-3s-Point-Lookout----One-Mans-Verdict.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTHGUjR1M2c

JimD: The reason there aren't many big games in my list is that I spent most of my year playing Fallout 3. This is the best of the expansions, and when I finally decided I was ready to stop playing, I went and got on the boat with that girl I'd rescued, turned off the 360, and imagined myself making a little life with her. Let's be clear - I've never imagined the post-game life of any of my RPG characters before, and it's not something I intend to make a habit of. But that's how good Fallout 3 is, I guess.

#42: GTA Chinatown Wars – DS – 24 pts – 2 votes
Official Game Site

http://www.perezstart.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/grand-theft-auto-chinatown-wars-3.jpg

Metacritic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFS5MBy0L8Q

GM: It's actually my favorite GTA thus far. None of those clunky controls to slow things down.

http://techmirage.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/gta_chinatown.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLvthwZCXWY

Cozwn: So many little touches in this game make it much better, for my money, than GTA IV. I love the dealing; I'm loaded. Sold $17k of heroin in one deal. :D

http://reviews.cnet.com/i/tim//2009/12/16/cwboth.jpg

Eurogamer Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkG9xnd6_Hs

Haitch: I’m only a couple hours in but this is pretty good! I really like the hot-wiring element.

http://www.videogamesblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/gta-chinatown-wars-ds-drug-mini-game-screenshot-big.jpg

"Frustrating Sales"

If: I have never played GTA before, but some combination of the setting and format got me to try this one and it's really great fun! I think the mad taxi dashes are the best part, though setting up lucrative drug deals is also great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un1EUORbKSI

#41: Worms 2: Armageddon – XBLA – 25 pts – 1 vote- .5 Top Game Vote
Official Game Site

http://www.wonderwallweb.com/Worms_2_Armageddon_Screen_03.jpg

Metacritic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW09vWQQpuA

Stevie: The games themselves - and the new weapons - are killer. Forts is great, though I'm not crazed about the races, mostly because i still haven't mastered ninja rope on the 360 controller. Crazy crates is tons of fun; just an avalanche of plentiful nonsense weapons and health upgrades tumbling from the sky, ensuring a pretty quick and destructive game.

http://www.seasonedgamers.com/home/images/stories/games/worms2_screenshot1.png

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5VFA7ErgKU

http://www.xboxist.com/xbox-360/2009/06/30/worms_armageddon_screen2.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYKPB4Tfzws

http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/forums/a/ga/ul/851007130041/inlineimg/Y/worms2.jpg

More later; likely Sunday.

Only one other vote for Chinatown Wars? :(

it's an awesome game but 2009 was a year full of awesome games

yah like big word puzzle book :/

and worms

yeaaahhh this list so far isn't exactly convincing me

It does go to show you though that the people posting here (or or the people forks browbeat into submitting ballots), have pretty diverse taste - which is a good thing, I think...

I loved Chinatown Wars too but it had the disadvantage of being early in the year. My list is heavily weighted with games I've played since the summer. I didn't even have a PS3 until May and almost all my console picks are PS3... :/

25 points for a decade-old game is super weird.

I keep getting confused about these three games

Prototype
Infamous
Uncharted

like I get they're different games but their names are so...unevocative...that I kinda blur out when I see one of their names. That's to say nothing about the quality of the games, just about their names. I figured they were all PS3, but evidently the one that just placed here is on 360 too. Am I the only one who feels this way?

I think you mean Uncharted II: Among Thieves.

Prototype and Infamous especially since they both seem to be similar superhero-GTA concepts with generic I AM UNFETTERED RAGE protagonists. Uncharted II only sticks out to me since its gotten such raves, but stylistically it seems unremarkable. I haven't played any of these, in their defense.

Uncharted II is to video games as Avatar is to movies.

yeah, Uncharted II which haha doesn't help.

Have we had a thread about the best named video games?

start it

its unstarted

no way prototype is better than crackdown, what was I on up^ there?

shd've voted for kitn ;_;

#40: Henry Hatsworth in The Puzzling Adventure – DS – 26 pts – 2 vote
Official Game Site

http://www.wiids.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/henry-hatsworth-banner.jpg

Metacritic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic1Fvexrfcw

Hatsworth Flow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK7Tqqvmkbw

NI: Hatsworth is great. I love the way things shift up a gear from 'woah woah this is a bit crazy' in the normal (very good) platform game to 'SHIIIT BZZZTT' in the also very good tetris-alike side game. It's a headfuck though, on the difficult side and colorful/manic/bleepy to the extreme. My head feels like it's jammed full of popping candy

http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/123925-review-henry-hatsworth-and-the-puzzling-adventure/hat03-620x.jpg

Kyle Gray interview and his resignation letter to EA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGhrxsiMA0c

Abanana: I love the intermission/"world of chocolate" music that plays during the bonus sections.

http://www.gameandplayer.net/images/inset/inset1_09_0427_hatsworth.jpg

Free soundtrack

Forksclovetofu: This is a good time but I really need designers to stop making DS games where you have to juggle using the stylus and using the buttons, especially when it’s time sensitive. EA is making games for people with three hands.

http://www.offworld.com/assets_c/2009/04/Hatsworth_Enemies01-thumb-550x357-19440.jpg

Hatsworth doll

Hatsworth on Twitter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvRTvYnYPzg

N/A: Shit is pretty hard.

#39: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor – DS – 27 pts – 2 votes – 1 Top Game Vote
Official Game Site

http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/137924-the-best-videogames-of-2009-so-far/Best%20Games%20of%202009%20So%20Far%20-%20Devil%20Survivor-620x.jpg

Metacritic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oX8K4dpWpw

Forksclovetofu: I tend not to dig handheld RPGs; they either demand all your time and then you’re staring at a tiny screen or they try to pack too much into the experience and I lose interest. SMT: DS bridges the gap nicely; each fight is only about fifteen or twenty minutes; the storyline is surprisingly not lame, play mechanics are easy to use and engaging (love the demon auction and fusion system!) and the atmosphere/art is great. This is what I wanted The World Ends With You to be like. Totally recommended and would have made my list if I’d played it before I cast my vote.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92g87ZHX96M

http://media.avclub.com/images/media/game/545/devil-survivor_jpg_595x325_crop_upscale_q85.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53M8PwCgdis

http://pfcdn.net/site/t/content_image/image/65/28/65282__shin-megami-tensei-devil-survivor-lucifer-secret-boss.jpeg

Siliconera

Cozwn: devil survivor is rad btw fuiud

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6Nx9vyLsyk

http://www.gameplayreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/devilSummoner.jpg

Will M: This game manages to be both familiar (grid-based tactics gameplay, Dragon Quest-style battles, hip-kids-in-Shibuya storyline) and somehow simultaneously refreshing and new (I am not sure I can justify that, because I don't understand why it's actually "new" in any way). It also has the most clever "who you make friends with defines your ending" mechanics I think there's ever been in a game; it susses out your philosophy on life and crisis and shapes the fate of Tokyo around it.

#38: Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story – DS – 27 pts – 3 votes
Official Game Site

http://gamerlimit.com/files/2009/12/mario-and-luigi-bowsers-inside-story-wallpaper-small.jpg

Metacritic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKSBjeBDGkI

Abbott: I am having a lot of fun playing Inside Story; like, too much fun. But I hate when a game throws in something needlessly difficult as an aside that you have to do before you can proceed. The carrot-eating stylus minigame is just pissing me off.

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/9/2009/11/500x_bowsers_inside_story.jpg

Localizing Mario

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k--9_Z4-pW0

Toastmodernist: The best DS game I've played in a long time; much better than even Partners in Time.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c237/RogueLemon/storytime/CropperCapture18.png

Some Basic Concepts

Jamescobo: It's very stage-managed insofar as that it's really hard to get lost (which I personally appreciate like crazy) and I do kind of miss PiT's second-screen map, but between Bowser and Fawful there's allllllll kinds of fun to be had here.

http://www.teamteabag.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/bowserinsideds.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URuJ7_vZ-ZI

CraigG : I played Mario & Luigi Partners in Time last year, which I never finished thanks to a corrupt save game 30 hours in, so I looked forward to this for a long time and it didn't disappoint. I love the humor in the Mario & Luigi RPGs, and the RPG-Lite nature makes this perfect train fodder, but for one fatal flaw: I hate hate hate having to blow at, shout at - or otherwise make a tit of myself with - the DS. These features are fine for inclusion in a game, but make it an option. It's the same rant I always seem to have about the Wii; all the waving of controllers is fine, but give me the option to press a button instead. Sometimes I reach a point where a game needs more than just button input, so I have to stop playing it, which can be annoying if it happens early on a long journey.

Two way tie for #36.

#36: Punch Out! – Wii – 27 pts – 4 votes
Official Game Site

http://www.perezstart.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/punch-out-wii-500x274.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhVXJ-dB4MU

Metacritic

http://stevemccutchen.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/punchout-wii.jpg

Iwata Asks

Forksclovetofu: Motion controls basically sucked on this and led to long tirades of “But I totally threw a punch there!” but when you’re sitting on the couch reveling in the real old school controls, this is fun as hell. I like the option of learning a boxer in practice before actually having to fight them. Maybe a little lacking in depth but makes up for it with pure golden nostalgia.

http://blogs.sfx-360.com/jon/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/640-wii-punchout-german-thumb-640xauto-2837.jpg

Producer Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_F0p1ydspg

http://www.mywii.com.au/img/game/large/Punch-Out-Wii-9.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVWnwPml7aY

Boxing Glove peripheral

Polyphonic: The best boxing game ever, with an attractive new coat of paint.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKMA9aOnK-E

The Rise and Fall of the WVGBA

#36: 1 vs. 100 – XBLA – 27 pts – 4 votes
Official Game Site

http://gamernode.com/upload/manager///News%20Images/Microsoft/1_vs_100_season_21257788064.jpg

Eurogamer Thoughts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TYqWCf_kPg

Will M: It's astounding that it took this long for this game to be made. I was playing "What's the big idea?" and "Acrophobia" a dozen years ago, and have always, always loved the idea of game shows online. This game does it perfectly, and it is far more fun with four people sitting around the TV than it has any right to be.

http://gamerzines.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/sim1vs10001.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7ymCV0QGlc

Forksclovetofu: Really more of a rough draft than a final product but this is some real “future of video games” happening as we speak. Once they bump the schedule up to four live hours of this sort of programming per night, I may stop watching television… though I need more friends playing this live for me to waste that much time without shame.

http://images.g4tv.com/ImageDb3/166832_S/1-vs-100-Free-To-Play-For-Xbox-Live-Silver-Subscribers-This-Weekend.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n690X8c0KJs

Winning at 1 vs. 100

JimD: This is still totally flawed, but they seem to be improving it as they go along, and even in its broke form it's still a really fun night in. Haven't yet been the one. Or even in the mob. Kinda dreading it ever happening.

http://gamingconsolenetwork.com/wp-content/gallery/1vs100/en_mobelim1.jpg

Inside the Studio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2_iRVu2WmI

Jjjusten: It's bar trivia in your house, with less drunks but more product placement than you can shake a stick at. Kudos to Microsoft for making it work, though. Thankfully it isn't just dolt level trivia. There seems to be some magic involved in the high scores that I don't comprehend, and the new way selection to be in the mob or be the one seems to reward obsessive time suck that I will never be a part of and the prizes seem pretty ungenerous compared to the odds of winning them. Hey, it's free so what the hell.

More on Tuesday; the plan is to get this to the top ten by friday and then drop the top ten on Monday next.

AND THEN I CAN STOP

<3 Hatsworth doll

You sure are including a v thorough amount of groovy info w/each post, I'm really digging reading this.

Thanks! I'm kind of intending this as a time capsule of attitudes and visuals so ten years down the road it's easier to understand why people were all excited about game X and so that great nuggets are easier to unearth.
Suppose I should really be hosting the youtubes/pics, but I ain't THAT real...

Glad Punch-Out!!! got some votes - nobody else mentioned them in the Punch Out or Wii threads. It's such a fun game, but it seemed a little buried under a lot of this year's other games, despite being the first new entry in a beloved franchise in years. (Or maybe just compared to other first-party Wii games... or maybe it's just being a Wii exclusive) Maybe because it was so simplistic and not much different from the old games. Perfect pass-the-controller-around game, too.

I hope to get around to all the DS games mentioned in today's update, they all sound pretty good. What does "fuiud" mean?

fuk u if u disagree

my votes so far:

#77: Virtual On Oratorio Tangram 5.66 – XBLA – 5 pts – 1 vote (10)

not really sure y i voted for this just kinda making a statement that i tht most games released this year kinda sucked

#77: Muramasa: The Demon Blade – Wii – 5 pts – 1 vote (07)

welllll it was better than nsbmw. and its just so pretty! mb not the greatest handling game ever made tho~

#75: Anno 1404 / Dawn of Discovery – PC – 7 pts – 1 vote (05)

already posted a bit abt this when it came up but its greatest virtue is that its complex enough to be engaging but the array of options are limited enough that its never overwhelming. its a really soothing game for me to play (dig that illusion of total control imo) and i played the fuck outta this the week after midterms

#58: Suikoden Tierkreis – DS – 11 pts – 2 votes (08)

i think i only voted for games that i tht were pretty even if they arent really v smart. games is kinda balanced weird ime but its p compulsive.

#52: Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes – DS – 15 pts – 2 votes (dnp)

thought i voted 4 this guess i didnt ?_? really i will rep for anything that feels even a little like sf2 but the puzzle stuff - even if kinda superfluous - makes for a great dynamic although i wish theyd thought more abt the battles~~

#39: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor – DS – 27 pts – 2 votes – 1 Top Game Vote (04)

cozwn otm

^ kinda

#77: Muramasa: The Demon Blade – Wii – 5 pts – 1 vote (07)

welllll it was better than nsbmw.

http://www.greenpeaness.org/pictures/wat.jpg

The only one of those games I would ever play is Anno 1404, I think. The others are definitely not my thing.

Well maybe I'd try Muramasa.

okay, I wanna get this done by Friday now, so here we go.
Two way tie for #34.

#34: World of Warcraft (2009) - PC – 30 pts – 1 vote - .5 Top Game Vote
Official Game Site

http://www.onlinemassivelymultiplayer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/wrath-of-the-lich-king.jpg

Metacritic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=066_q4DIeqk

HIDERE: This game is my crack. Since discovering the joys of raid instances and Blizzard deciding to lower the barrier of entry to them in order to ensure most of their customer base gets to see the content, I've invested more time in playing this game than perhaps any other game I've owned in my life. The storyline is more prominent and more interesting but where it really shines is in the fantastic mix of races and classes and the (for all practical purposes) limitless number of gearing choices you have to tailor your character's role to a particular encounter. I love playing a healer in this game. I love playing a class and spec that focuses on preventing damage from happening rather than bringing you back up to full health after eating an attack (go go discipline priests!). I love that Blizzard continues to be the gold standard company in terms of game quality and play experience. I don't love the bratty 13-year-olds, but life isn't perfect, and anyway they're much wimpier and easier to ignore than the average FPS fuckface.

http://snarkerati.com/movie-news/files/2009/07/world_of_warcraft_guild.jpg

Detox

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw8gE3lnpLQ

http://videogames.techfresh.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/world_of_warcraft.jpg

N00b Guide

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4TyqYsC26g

http://cache-media.britannica.com/eb-media/30/93230-004-35B0C3AA.jpg

Production Director Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkCNJRfSZBU

#34: Blazblue: Calamity Trigger – 360 – 30 pts – 1 vote – 1 Top Game Vote

Official Game Site

http://acgnorthamerica.com/img/blazblue/blazblue_01.jpg

Metacritic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6CGkjEPxVg

Lamp: I dont care if u like this game. I dont care if its "good" by some objective measure. I dont care if you've heard of it or if you've played it or if the very idea of a 2-D fighting game with a bunch of anime cliches makes u sick to your fukken stomach. Because this game owns. Describing why it owns is a lot harder but it probably has something to do with the learning curve, which is surprisingly gentle, or the fact that the on-line play was relatively open to start with. There's also something vaguely hypnotic about it and i spent countless hours in a rhythmic, weeded out trance making marginal improvements to my play. The game has a Skinnerian way of doling out its rewards, all of which are in service at making you better at doing cool-looking shit to humilate strangers on the internet. Really, graphics aside, blazblue is like a throwback to old skool videogames or an iphone game: its only goal and its only pleasure is in the repetition of small movements, the honing of basic, animal-like reflexes, the throb of your sympathetic nervous system.

http://gamernode.com/upload/manager///News%20Images/Sony/blazblue1257381949.jpg

A closer look

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1Wsu2g5jqw

Jamescobo: I think this is the game I regret passing over more than any other this year. I just don't have the time to learn how to be even not shitty at a fighting game these days but everything I see and read about it makes it seem like this generation's "Every Button Makes A Ton Of Ridiculous Shit Happen" title.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pk9TR9A6ls

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n205/shalter20/blazblue-20080411024255717_640w.jpg

"Thoughtful Online Multiplayer"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEsa-j4b50g

Jeff LeVine: I don't think it compares very favorably to Street Fighter. It seems to lean on offense to an excessive degree and lends itself to button mashing. The screen can get rather busy and it's hard to react to or even visually understand what the other player is doing. If Street Fighter equals speed chess, BlazBlue equals trying to shoot somebody with a machine gun while you're both mounted on motorcycles racing around each other at 100 mph.

#33: Skate 2 – PS3 – 31 pts – 3 votes
Official Game Site

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_9fcPb-VtKkc/SXu2jQ1-p_I/AAAAAAAAAPk/mg29FxH82Kk/8869.jpg

Metacritic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWkh0AsKBJc

CraigG : After hearing good things on ILG about the original Skate, I picked it up for £7, and two weeks after finishing it I bought Skate 2. It has filled the ‘pick up to pass 20 minutes‘ void left by the shitness of recent PES iterations very well. The controls are spot on, there's a genuine reflection of your "skill" in the tricks you pull off (people who are rubbish can't button mash to beat you, or accidentally pull off consistant noliie inward heel flips, etc) and most importantly, the physics feel right most of time. There's no magnet that drags you to the rail you're trying to hit just because you press a button.

http://www.aeropause.com/wordpress/archives/images/2009/01/skate2review.jpg

EZ Snappin: Brutal learning curve eventually turned me off but until I hit that wall I had a helluva good time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5tjlDV3tX0

http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/skate2to1.jpg

Producer Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1whlVieRrA

Cozwn: I’m so glad you can walk up stairs this time; the little dude in Skate 1 was one dalek-ass motherfucker!

http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/911/911691/skate-2-20080919105241490_640w.jpg

If: I get points and rewards based on killing myself in hilarious and inventive ways? What a great idea! The rest of the game is also impressive. Special award to the incompetent GAME employee who put this in the box without realizing when I was trying to buy Skate 1 for less than half the price.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwyh3JfPQSM

I beat Skate 2 in like four hours and I was like Now What

#32: Scribblenauts – DS – 31 pts – 4 votes
Official Game Site

http://wedonetwork.co.uk/wedotech/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/scribblenauts2.jpg

Metacritic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWIw4WR3aXQ

Will M You know how people invent "hard modes" for games arbitrarily, like beat Ikaruga w/o shooting, or only tranquilize people in an MGS game, etc?
I started making a list of "hard modes" for this game.
1. Played-Out Mode: Beat Scribblenauts without summoning zombies. ZOMBIES ARE PLAYED OUT.
2. Acrophobic Pacifist Mode: Beat Scribblenauts without use of height-assisting items or weapons (although, in true Pacifist style, tools which are also weapons can be used for their original tool-like purpose, so a chainsaw can be summoned but only to cut down a tree).
3. Fantasy Mode: Beat Scribblenauts summoning only items that only exist in the realm of fantasy. If a replica has been created of an item, it is okay, but use your discretion: a Bat’leth is okay because it is strictly from the realm of fiction, but a robot may not be, despite its birth in the realm of sci-fi.
4. Alphabet Aerobics Mode: Beat the first “level” (or stage, or starite, or whatever they end up being) using only items that start with A. Beat the next with B. The next with C. You know how the rest of the alphabet goes. Flip back to A, I guess, if there are more than 26, flip back to A, I guess. Have fun on level 24! (For the record, though, Phi-Life Cypher did the ABC thing better only a year later.)
5. Conversationist Mode: Beat Scribblenauts without destroying any of the environment. Summoning animate objects to do the destruction for you is also not permitted.
6. Breath of Life Mode: Beat Scribblenauts summoning only items that are alive upon their summoning. A tree is okay; a wood pole is not.
7. Midas Mode: Beat Scribblenauts summoning only gold-coloured items.
8. Intangible Mode: Beat Scribblenauts summoning only items whose noun is an “intangible.” While they typically become tangible once summoned in the game, words like “dream,” “temptation” or “theorem” is acceptable while “pillow,” “chocolate bar” or “right angle triangle” are not. Homonyms are a cheeky way to get around it, but are not allowed if the word you’re pretending is allowed isn’t a noun. So, no using stalk and saying “but the verb is intangible!”
9. Gadsby Mode: Beat Scribblenauts without using the letter E.
10. Summon Nothing Mode: Beat Scribblenauts summoning only items that rhyme with wolf. Remember that wolf does not rhyme with wolf. They’re the same word no matter what terrible rappers may try to trick you into believing.
11 (yes, THIS LIST GOES TO 11). 43 Mode: Beat Scribblenauts summoning only words that are a part of George W. Bush’s active vocabulary.

http://seriousgameplan.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/scribblenauts-ds-game-objects1.jpg

Zero Punctuation Review

Noodle Vague: I made some guy, can't remember what type, then I made some plutonium and dropped it on him and he turned into a green mutant and started chasing me. Hannah made a clown car and put a bride with a bazooka into the car, she fired the bazooka and loads of angry clowns came out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZgdW42Cwwk

cozwn: omg first thing I typed thinking no way this stupid game has this:
colostomy bag
and bam there it is
mind. blown.

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/kotaku/2009/06/scribbledudes2.jpg

If: In the end this felt like a half-finished version of a way more awesome game and it definitely got old, but the first couple of hours are like nothing else. Tractor beams ftw!

Word List

MPx4A: I threw a tumour at a bee.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDJVBRyEEPk

Antexit: Is it me or do 85% of the objects in this game exist purely for their novelty value and NOT DO ANYTHING? A game can only reward lateral or imaginative thinking if it actually WORKS. How can you have a puzzle where you have to wake up a sleeping boy, and spawning a smoke alarm and a fire doesn't work, and spawning a rooster and a sun doesn't work? There's a lot of fun to be had in it-- it's totally worth getting. But I really would have liked it better if they had a fiftieth as many spawnable objects but they all did what they were supposed to. Or did, like, anything.

http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/gamelife/2009/06/scribblenauts.jpg

Edgertor: Good but also, sadly, terribly annoying.

Scandalous Sambo Silliness

Forksclovetofu: The game genuinely taxes your imagination. You find yourself looking at a starite in a hole and not having any idea what to do. It sorta highlights how limited our games are when we would prefer somebody to just give us a hook. The MAJOR issue with this thing is the control scheme. Maxwell moves when you tap the stylus. The Camera moves when you move the joypad. You interact with things in the world by tapping them with the stylus, so rather than interact with a shark by shooting it, your guy runs headlong into the pool and you get eaten. I move the camera to look at something to the right and then it shoots back to my guy before I have a chance to survey the area. The controls being so fucked up really does reach a frustration point. I love Scribblenauts, but it's more a step toward the game I want a finished product.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbeTtfTuKbw

JimD: Sure, it's nice to have access to EVERY CONCEIVABLE REAL LIFE OBJECT; it doesn't change the fact that if I need to change a light bulb I can't reach, I use a ladder, not a pile of octopuses. This game isn't actually very good. As a game.

#31: Metroid Prime Trilogy – Wii – 32 pts – 4 votes
Official Game Site

http://www.videogamesblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/metroid-prime-trilogy-prime-2-screenshot.jpg

Metacritic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb0Uh7u4zQw

http://wiimedia.gamespy.com/wii/image/article/101/1010497/metroid-prime-trilogy-20090804025008646.jpg

Jamescobo: Buy it quick before Nintendo comes to their senses!

Discontinued!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yphvguaZC6c

Abanana: The widescreen support and motion controls definitely improve the Gamecube titles. Also, they don't give me motion sickness like the originals did.

http://www.mywii.com.au/img/game/large/metroid-prime-3-2.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtttaQdEBg0

http://games.softpedia.com/screenshots/Metroid-Prime-Trilogy-Debut-Trailer_4.jpg

EZ Snappin: The first game is one of the best games ever; now it has the control scheme it deserves. Can't beat the value for the money.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TUSjRA0IZE

Eurogamer Review

#30: Canabalt – Online Flash Game – FREE – 33 pts – 3 votes – Top Flash Game – Top Free Game
Official Game Site

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_UFSSsONBHAQ/SqHxYsL2AOI/AAAAAAAACgo/1DW_DOc4ix0/s800/canabalt.jpg

Ned Trifle II: I am enjoying this - but it is giving me a headache.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-A-3HFbgPQ

Forksclovetofu: I assume that the reason all the non-gamer nerds are freaking out over this is because of it’s “simplicity of design” and “elegance”. That’s fine and I don’t want to hate on this trifle, but watching Michael Jackson run gets tired for me after about five minutes. Must be an iPhone thing.

http://nodpad.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/canabalt1c.jpg

Developer sketchbooks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3SCAmoFyB4

Toastmodern: I cannot get enough of this.

http://dailyiphoneblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/500x_canabalt_iphone.jpg

Sophism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCKvdBDq5L8

Gravel Puzzleworth: I hate the canonization of Canabalt as some sort of golden model of game design :(

http://www.cultofmac.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/canabalt-1.gif

Doctor Casino: Canabalt was fun for a couple runs but the rando factor becomes quickly obnoxious - every time you die, it's to a beginner's trap. Basically a whole game of the classic platformer annoyance "in real life, i would KNOW there was an enemy/pit/wall just off the screen!" But as with, say, Dino Run (or Sonic the Hedgehog for that matter), I *love* the sense of constant forward momentum.

Developer Interview

S1ocki: Makes you feel like you're an action hero in the movie's best set piece; the reward for doing well is getting to maintain that feeling. Pretty neat.

#29: Mushihimesama Futari Version 1.5 – 360 – 35 pts – 2 votes - .5 Top Game Vote
Official Game Site

http://www.thegameover.eu/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/mushihime-sama-futari-ver-1-5-xbox-360-003.jpg

Alan N: my first reaction is @__@

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gslCMU3y2_Y

No Region Lock

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nscP9QpXoFM

Jeff LeVine: I'm REALLY loving this. So beautiful and satisfying and challenging. Still getting my head around the different modes and scoring systems. Ultra 1.5 is absolutely insane. Basically perfection. I'm so happy to be able to own a port of this classic Cave shooter (nobody does it better), with improved HD graphics and an almost endless variety of modes. I could play this game forever.

http://semibeta.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/017fcbb5aeadline.jpg.jpg

What is Bullet Hell?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Krg11W6xY0c

http://people.emich.edu/rcross1/ultispam.jpg

Info bomb!!

That first Skate 2 pic is me looking badass. I do wish I hadn't sold it, because it was a great screw around game, but between online asses and my brickwall of skill advancement I was fed up.

By the way, the Metroid Prime Trilogy collection is now out-of-print.

lol @ me

Should I try out WoW one of these days? I've never tried a MMORPG.

YES

Two way Tie for #27

#27: Battlefield 1943 – XBLA – 39 pts – 4 votes
Official Game Site

http://playstationlive.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/custom_1233846817377_bf2.jpg

Metacritic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K36sYJsW7rA

BNW: A fun game but too limited and repetitive.

http://cache.g4tv.com/images/ImageDb3/150234_S/Battlefield-1943-Hands-On-Preview.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTfEwcviz58

JimD: I'm bloody rubbish at it but it's great. First military shooter I've ever loved, because it doesn't actually feel military, it just feels daft.

http://www.techspot.com/fileshost/newspics2/2009/battlefield-1943.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9lcwA3z8kY

Jeff LeVine: I think what makes Battlefield 1943 the most fun is the persistent damage and the way it really feels like you're on a crazy, huge battlefield, instead of inside a Call of Duty killbox. There seems to be a good variety of stuff to do on each map: from flying planes, to driving tanks or jeeps or boats, to manning anti-aircraft guns or stationary heavy weapons, to the usual running around on foot shenanigans.

http://fakehustle.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/battlefield-1943-3.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx634GgQceg

#27: Peggle – iPhone – 39 pts – 4 votes
Official Game Site

http://touch-mania.com/wp-content/uploads/peggle-iphone.jpg

BNW: Deceptively simple, totally addicting.

Metacritic PC

Euler: All interface again: my three-year old daughter is getting pretty good at it on this platform, which tells you...something!

http://www.iphonic.tv/assets_c/2009/05/peggle-iphone-4-thumb-430x286-89824.png

If: So having an iPhone and access to the internet almost everywhere, taking over most of my waking life, wasn't enough. Can't get signal on tube journeys! So it had to go and get a definitive version of a simple yet totally addictive game to take over that time too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t5nmAFGRZk

Jamescobo: No Peggle, no peace.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYX9q2Y10b4

Jeff: It may have the most replay value of any iPhone game.

http://www.downloadatoz.com/resources/200912/pic/1262162855.jpg

S1ocki: Like Drop7, the Peggle game play just meshes so well with the touch screen. After all, you're only making some small adjustments and hitting "fire"; most of the game is spent watching the physics engine do its thing, perfect for a platform where too much controlling gets in the way of seeing what's going on.

#26: Orbital – iPhone – 40pts – 2 votes - .5 Top Game Vote
Official Game Site

http://www.appsmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/0091.PNG

HIDERE: After WoW, this is my other main source of crack. I play this constantly as I travel. The concept is simple enough: shoot a bullet that blows up circles it bounces off of, which then turns into a circle itself. Each circle must be hit a certain number of times to be blown up. The addition of Supernova mode, with the ability to aim shots and blow up nearby circles, make this the most involving handheld game I've ever played. I can't wait until I break 500.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNqVvIbroRA

http://www.appsmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/005.PNG

CraigG: I shouldn't have decided to give Orbital 'a quick try' at midnight last night... Current high score on Gravity: 18! :(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xukCphY6w6Y

"Everything But Sales"

http://www.appsmile.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/003.PNG

TVGB Review

#25: Persona 4 (UK Release) – PS2 – 40 pts – 2 votes – 1 Top Game Vote – Top PS2 game
Official Game Site

http://playstationlifestyle.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/persona-4-joyswag-490.jpg

Metacritic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6_rl_ldcj4

If: I don't tend to have time for long games. When I see people say 'that looks like it's only going to be 6 hours' I think 'ooh, something I might actually finish'. This one takes nearly that long to get past the point where you are just pressing X repeatedly. Yet it's awesome! The story is really unusual and well told for a game, the combat when you get there has just enough twists on ancient turn-based tropes to not be a drag, and the social link mechanism is so rewarding you start wishing things actually worked like that. 'The Singles Jukebox crew also weren't impressed by Animal Collective. You feel closer than ever.'

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/kotaku/2009/02/persona_4_teddie.jpg

"Sexuality and Homophobia in P4"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxL5U7ZJtCo

http://www.gameandplayer.net/images/inset/inset2_09_0126_persona4.jpg

"The Most Fulfilling Game I’ve Ever Played"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGnIv-uOEgQ

http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/resources/2008/03/pers4top.jpg

Atlus Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYQ8ali63jY

Zappi: Finally, a JRPG with a story that i didn't find painfully embarrassing! could have done without Teddie really, but the detective story setup, dungeon crawling through peoples' psyches (very reminiscent of Psychonauts), the fun battle system - it improved in almost every way on Persona 3. It also gave us this brilliant webcomic.

NO

#24: Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride – DS – 43 pts – 2 votes – 1 Top Game Vote
Official Game Site

http://dsmedia.ign.com/ds/image/article/947/947891/dragon-quest-v-hand-of-the-heavenly-bride-20090123025947465.jpg

Metacritic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NaWI8KEX98

http://dsmedia.ign.com/ds/image/article/952/952928/dragon-quest-v-hand-of-the-heavenly-bride-20090210095816245-000.jpg

Localization Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Dmb7QQN9dk

Nera’s Dress as a paper doll

Alan N: Dragon quest V was probably my fave DS of the year. Pretty hard not to like if you're into jrpgs.

http://dsmedia.ign.com/ds/image/article/953/953411/dragon-quest-v-hand-of-the-heavenly-bride-20090211021640849.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvoMZh89ShI

Lamp: It's a pleasurable rerelease of a classic 90's RPG; doesn't really do much, but what it does, it does really, really well.

MAYBE

what're you all up in arms about Jim?

Haha! I just meant "don't try Warcraft". No xpost warning on iPhone though, it seems.

#23: Machinarium – PC – 46pts – 4 votes
Official Game Site

http://www.trashbag.com.ar/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/machinarium__large.jpg

Metacritic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLTyxcxDUH8

Abanana: Great art style and some good inventory puzzles. I could do without the minigames.

http://static.arstechnica.com/assets/2009/10/machinarium-thumb-640xauto-9157.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5tNmVjGCgs

Jjjusten: Really beautiful game, charming and lush in a way that Braid pretended to be but never was. It's really an homage to ye olde point and click adventures, which carries with it the unfortunate caveat that you'll probably be running to the walkthrough time and time again because let’s face it, some of the puzzle solutions make no logical sense. It's a stunningly pretty and adorable movie that you get to poke at and live in a little bit, and that’s worth something though.

http://bulk2.destructoid.com/ul/152301-review-machinarium/hires_Machinarium_dno-noscale.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKjG0K7ulBs

Mordy: Great, gorgeous, and brutally difficult.

http://www.endsights.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/machinarium_02.jpg

Designer Interview

Polyphonic: A great point-and-click Flash game with beautiful art and a lot of style.

#22: Borderlands – 360/PS3 – 47 pts – 3 votes – 1 Top Game Vote
Official Game Site

http://gamingbolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/borderlands-1.jpg

Metacritic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quxei5I533w

Jjjusten: Yeah so we all saw the annoying endless "EIGHT BAGAZILLION GUNS WAHEY LOLOMGWTF!!1!" ads and the driving sections are tacked on and sub halo warthog quality control wise, and storyline and characters need not apply. None of that matters though, because the game is one endless effort at FUN without bothering with all that wheedling "how do we make this a compelling tale of loss and redemption?" This is a game about how fun it is to shoot shit and loot corpses, no soul-searching about yer motivations, because let’s face it, yer a merc dick out to make a bunch of $$$ by plowing through any unfortunate schlubs that happen to be standing between you and some stuff you want, or carrying a cool gun that you like. There's a palpable sense of humor about the carnage too, and amazingly the wacky claptrap robots are funny, not irritating (as you would expect). A lot of noise has been spent on the online co-op (which is kind of broken in a lot of ways), but this is a 100% rewarding, surprisingly difficult and hardcore single player as well. And those bagazillions of guns? Believe the hype; the weapon looting is endless and full of so much weird insane shit that it honestly never gets unexciting to examine some new weapons spec list. Seriously.

http://brutalgamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/borderlands_09.jpg

Developer Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huCbX4b2d7U

Cutty: Krangor elicits respect from all.

http://scrawlfx.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/borderlands-e3-shots.jpg

Producer Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkmLE6n8bH0

Mayor Jingleberries: Only thing really RPG about it is character classes, fetch quests, experience points, damage shown in numeric form and a progression tree for your skills.

http://bulk2.destructoid.com/ul/152281-borderlands.jpg

Gamasutra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmUJrKGN3C0

Antexit: I am having remorse about not including Borderlands on my ballot. :(

#21: Assassin’s Creed 2 - PS3/360 – 50 pts – 3 Votes - 1 Top Game Vote
Official Game Site

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8Qz9ah8cKQ

Metacritic

BNW: A sandbox Prince of Persia grounded in actual history. More gameplay outside the simulation would be nice.

http://www.dasgamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/assassins_creed_2_dive.jpg

Fail Early, Fail Often is the wrong approach

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct2kbLBuSOg

EZ Snappin: Fixed everything that was wrong with the first one, added more stuff and still ended up with one of the more polished games of 09. Instant classic.

http://360gamercast.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/ac3.jpg

Creative Director Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnQZHBodpwk

Jeff LeVine: An interesting example of the range of experiences currently available in big games. The only turn off so far is some of the facial animation (particularly noticeable with the women characters), it really looks surprising ass. The city atmosphere and pulled back stuff is great though.

http://loot-ninja.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/assassins-creed-2.jpg

New thread tomorrow. Yak these up now.

borderlands deserved better. ac2 is obviously a victim of its release date. extremely interested to see what crazy entries pad out the top 20 in front of them.

Wow, thought AC2 would be top five. But I've not actually played it yet.

the rest of the things i voted for rundown:

#34: Blazblue: Calamity Trigger – 360 – 30 pts – 1 vote – 1 Top Game Vote (01)
lol @ me tryna defend the game balance (dont think its thaaaaaat bad but w/e) only game of 09 that i really love

#25: Persona 4 (UK Release) – PS2 – 40 pts – 2 votes – 1 Top Game Vote – Top PS2 game
didnt vote for this because it was an 08 release but <3 <3 <3 this game and this better than the 60th place it landed last year

#24: Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride – DS – 43 pts – 2 votes – 1 Top Game Vote (02)
really, really surprised only one other person voted for this. fuk u ilg

yep, this poll definitely doing what it should ie telling me which games to play this year. think i'll start with borderlands.

also, you guys otm about canabalt (even if it placed at 30), did not get the hype

thought peggle would be top 10 easy. that is my go to stress relief/time kill.

AC2 was my #1. Half of its points are from me.

Seems a mixed bag of recommendations for WoW. My big concern is I just wouldn't put the time in or find a group to play with. Looks hella dull as a single player experience.

It looks like my entire ballot is going to place. What's left should be near the top.

everyones entire ballot is getting listed?

Seems so, with all those low pointers at the beginning.

Especially since forks pointed that out at the beginning. Note to self: Reading Is Fundamental!

For a moment there I felt securely part of the mainstream, unlike in the film poll (where I'm at 7 of the first 60).

Prototype and AC2 have a lot of overlap in design. which is weird b/c Prototype is very dumb and AC2 tries (and often succeeds) to be pretty intelligent. The biggest drawback is that its so crammed with mini-events (like prototype) that it takes away from the story. Also those mini-events are way too repetitive. But its hard not to root for a game that states proudly how it was designed by a multicultural team, and one that is actually trying to make history cool for gamers.

Five out of my ten votes have yet to show up. And two of those were for games I'm amazed have even made the top 60, let alone the top 20.

Whoa, we're already up to #22!

Cutty: Krangor elicits respect from all.

lol why is this in the borderlands entry?

well it was in the thread and i haven't played borderlands so i assumed it meant something game related. No?

it's my PSN tag!

i've never even played the game - i guess we were talking about something else?

re:BF1943 bnw is a fun poster but too limited and repetitive

Assassin's Creed 2 looks like a really cool game. I'm going to get it when I've beat the unplayed games in my pile and my other commitments slow down, in approx 2071. Will M did you actually attempt any of those Scribblenauts challenge modes?

lolling @ "krangor elicits respect from all" -- slocki on the borderlands thread you pointed that out as a truth bomb so it must have seemed extra important to the discussion of the game

same here re. Assassin's Creed 2. Was the first one really that boring? B/c I prefer its milieu.

Glad to see Borderlands placed high. I tend to wait for games to come down in price before buying them, so only just got it a couple of weeks ago, but it would definitely have been top 3 for me if I had played it before the ballot.

Seems a mixed bag of recommendations for WoW. My big concern is I just wouldn't put the time in or find a group to play with. Looks hella dull as a single player experience.

Blizzard has done a lot to address some of these issues; they've added in an automatic dungeon-queuing system that lets you continue questing while the game builds a dungeon group for you, something that helps you meet ppl and teaches you more about how group dynamics work as well as greatly reducing the amount of time it takes to level a character. Also, depending on which server you pick, there is likely a guild out there that matches your gaming goals who would be more than happy to accept you and help you level, or at least distract you with goofy guild chat as you grind levels/gold.

i played an hour of assassin's creed 2 and i know it gets better but the beginning is so, so bad. like in every way. also i really resent that you have to hold down TWO buttons to run/parkour. it's like the most important control element of the game and they can't even map a single button to it?!?

AC2 is on my eventual list of games to pick up. Also I am totally jumping the gun but I just ordered Arkham Asylum from Amazon (thankig u, gift certificates!)

or at least distract you with goofy guild chat as you grind levels/gold.

See, this is a game where you need something to distract you from the tedium of playing the game. Goofy guild chat could do that, sure. But so could playing a different game.

also i really resent that you have to hold down TWO buttons to run/parkour.

yeh i rented the first game & only played for a couple of hours, but seem to remember you had to hold down two buttons and move the analog stick just to move through a crowd? seemed so stupid.

xp lol!

Please note that said tedium only really sets in if you can't get into dungeons, which used to be a huge problem but has (in my experience) gone away with the most recent update. I used to spool up side characters and then abandon them because finding other people to play with while leveling was a soul-crushing chore; I've since leveled two side characters and am well on my way to a third.

Not claiming WoW is for everyone but they've certainly fixed a lot of what made it only cool for people willing to devote their lives to it.

(lol making it easier to devote your life to it, um)

I dunno, I think there's something to be said for soul-crushing tedium in gaming.

Persona 4 is pretty much the only thing that stops me packing my ps2 away into a cupboard. The whole tv world, psychology thing is far superior to traditional JRPG save the world fantasy nonsense and the social link / life simulator bit is an excellent mechanic fr jrpgs. More games should be like princess maker.

Also wow placing started my withdrawal symptoms again. I really wish i had the time to play it again.

The storytelling conceit in both Assassin's Creeds that you're a future guy embodying a guy in the past really annoys the shit out of me. Also, the voice work is pretty hackneyed. But some of the gameplay is quite fun, and climbing around is bitchin'. Mixed bag.

I HATE the framing device

why could they not just like, make a game set in old timey times

I always figured the framing device was something which allowed them to wall off sections from the player. does the new one work like that?

if so that's the most contrived, time-wastey thing ever

like, people are used to conventions like that in video games. you don't need to build a giant apparatus that's just as unbelievable as "a big wall you can't climb" to get around it

the travels-thru-time stuff gets more fleshed out in ac2, so the device at least seems to have a point, even if it is an utterly retarded one, and there is some fun with it along the way. the future sequences are fewer but just as terrible. it does all come off as a convoluted excuse to make a series of sequels in different eras, tho, and they didn't really need an excuse, cos that would've been okay on its own.

and in terms of directing the character's experiences and walling areas off, they could've used the 'memories' device on its own and that would've been kinda cool.

i hate the idea that you're just in a big training device in your head

I LOVE the idea that you're just in a big training device in your head!

I always figured the framing device was something which allowed them to wall off sections from the player. does the new one work like that?

This is exactly what happens.

You'll be on one building, and there'll be another building near you, and it's like "NOT DOWNLOADED YET" or some shit.

The sandboxy stuff in AC2 is a nice diversion but pointless. Once I realized there was no benefit or achievements for doing the races, etc I stopped doing all of them. It would make more sense if your villa didnt give you 50 g's for dicking around every 30 minutes in the game.

Concluding The Third Annual Coint and Plick Poll: ILG’s Best Video Games of 2009 - Part Four: #1 through #20

the races are fun tho? isn't that the point of the game, to have fun? have we disappeared so far down the tawdry path of trophies and achievements that etc etc etc. you get my point. fun. the nice diversion is the point. have fun.

I wasnt having fun because I kept accidentally climbing up something that wasnt en route and had to stare at a loading screen over and over when I failed.

I think all but one of my votes has charted

style savvy had a sequel last year?????

can i get some achievements for reading these threads cuz if not, then i aint gunna

Will M did you actually attempt any of those Scribblenauts challenge modes?

Fuck no, I used jetpacks and weapons all the time. No zombies though so I guess there's that. I still maintain that Phi-life cypher's abc's is better than blackalicious's alphabet aerobics though.