2009 was an interesting year for gaming. It was a year filled with sequels and a year capped off by the largest entertainment release ever. Gamers got a first glance of the future of motion controls from both Microsoft and Sony. Hardware wars raged between Sony and Microsoft with both slashing prices and turning out exclusive bundles, meanwhile Nintendo continued its lead on both and grew its userbase.
Overall as a gamer this was a decent year. There were plenty of stellar titles released covering a wide range of genres. All consoles had amazing exclusives, from Sony’s Killzone 2 and Uncharted 2, Microsoft Halo 3: ODST and Forza 3 and Nintendo revamping the Mario series on the Wii and bringing us a new Zelda on the DS. Besides exclusives, third party developers were turning out amazing titles themselves, EA revamped the Madden series to much applause they also brought back the Need FOr Speed series with Need For Speed: Shift. Ubisoft also brought us some great titles, Assassin’s Creed 2 topped the original ten fold, and Tom Clancy took to the air with Hawx. But lets not forget Activision who was hard at work publishing some of the top sellers this year. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 broke all records and is now the biggest entertainment launch ever, we also got a new Guitar Hero and new Hero titles named Band Hero and DJ Hero.
Also 2009 can be called the year of social networks, both Sony and Microsoft adopted Facebook and Twitter with some level of integration right into the consoles. Now gamers have more ways to stay connected to their friends.
Even in this hard economic times one thing remains, gamers will by games and if you make a good game your gonna sell boatloads of them. This was a great year for all in the industry.
Before I get to our top 7 games of 2009, I’d also like to mention that this has been a big year for us, from our adventures at E3 this year, to our new site, you the readers and the various publishers and developers have made this an amazing year for us as well and I’d like to thank you all. We have lots planned for next year and look forward to entertaining you more!
And now our Top 7 Games of the year:
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
With so many great games this year its hard to put one on top, but Uncharted was great and Uncharted 2 was even better. With an amazing storyline, great gameplay and unbelievable graphics and sound Nathan Drake and Uncharted 2 deserves the top spot.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2
Modern Warfare 2 might not have as compelling and as solid of a single player storyline, but the first game was a multiplayer juggernaut and so is number 2 plus it was a record breaker. The games graphics looked even more amazing then the first, and the new Spec Ops mode lends itself to so many hours of play with friends. Oh and the online multiplayer that was such a hit in the first game has been tweaked and added to to make it an even bigger hit.
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Usually movie based games fail, well not this time. While not truly ripped from a Batman movie, BatmanL Arkham Asylum brings some of your favorite Batman characters to a new adventure. Also featuring a new free flow combat system, this game not only plays well but looks great to. WIth a rather long story mode and an extra combat challenge mode any fan of the Dark Knight will be in bliss playing this game.
Assassin’s Creed 2
Unfortunately for AC2 it released right after MW2 and was over shadowed by all the MW2 sales news. And it shouldn’t have been, the first game was ground breaking it looked amazing and used some rather advanced technology under the hood. AC2 really fixed all the problems gamers had with the first game and gave us a great new experience. Picking up where the first game left off we get to play out the story of a new Assassin in a new time and world. Unlike the first game AC2 gives gamers many more options and lots of more freedom. It’s a great action game with plenty of old world history to go around.
DJ Hero
I won’t lie, at first I didn’t think DJ Hero would deliver, and boy was I wrong. DJ Hero give the Hero franchise a nice little boost of freshness. With its great turntable controller and amazing soundtrack this offers music rhythm fans something new. While the soundtrack might not be everyones cup of tea, once you get your hands on it you’ll be playing for hours.
Killzone 2
Ah another great sequel. While most times I’m not a big fan of sequels this year has been filled with them, and most of them have been just light years better then the first. Killzone 2 is one of those that built off the first game and made an amazing time consuming fun game. The story mode is good but this like many other games this year excels in the multiplayer department. Using a great medal system as you play you earn the better weapons and different upgrades, plus keeping track of your rankings in nothing short of addicting.
The Beatles: Rock Band
This is another title that I thought would be very niche, but again I was wrong. The Beatles still have such a mass appeal that this game is loved by both young and old. Plus the game was just done perfectly. The development team did a great job putting together a game that really honors the greatest rock band of all time.
While those are our Top 7 games of the year there are a few notable mentions that must be made:
Madden 2010, Dirt 2, Halo 3: ODST, Forza Motorsport 3, NBA 2k10, Need For Speed: Shift, Bordlands, NHL 10, Fight Night Round 4, UFC Undisputed 2009, The New Super Mario Brothers, Tropico 3, Band Hero, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, and Wet.
Like I said at the top of this article this year was jammed packed with stellar games, all of which I would suggest buying or at least renting.
