The last game you beat,did you like it and what are you playing next?

[Spaceman Spiff]

My gaming recap for 2009 (and my to-do list for 2010)


Games Started (but unfinished) in 2009
(no particular order)

-Xenogears (PSX)
-Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360)
-Left 4 Dead 2 (PC)
-Prey (PC)
-FallOut 3 (PC)
-Supreme Commander (PC)
-Chrono Cross (PSX)
-Europa Universalis Rome (PC)
-Dragon Age Origins (PC)
-Sins of a Solar Empire (PC)
-Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (PC)
(Christmas 2009 gifts):
-Forza 3 (PC)
-Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising (PC)
-Final Fantasy IV (DS)
-Final Fantasy III (DS)
-Chrono Trigger (DS)

Games Finished in 2009
(no particular order)

-New Super Mario Bros (DS) (Very good)
-Final Fantasy X (PS2) (Enjoyed, but there are better in the series)
-Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (Xbox 360) (Loved, great for co-op)
-Star Wars Force Unleashed (Xbox 360) (see below)
-Resident Evil 5 (Xbox 360) (see below)
-Spiderman 3 (Xbox 360) (Ragged on, but once you get past the QTE moments, a satisfying game overall with plenty of freedom and openess)
-Deadspace (PC) (superb)
-Left 4 Dead (PC) (see above)
-Crysis Warhead (PC) (better than the original, they removed the sucky parts of Crysis and kept what worked)
-Empire Total War (PC) (great, AFTER you patch the hell out of it. A Total (ha!) mess if you don't)
-Brothers in Arms Hell's Highway (PC) (excellent WWII shooter, but borrows a bit too heavily from Saving private Ryan. Heavy on the melodrama, but solid shooter)
-Batman Arkham Asylum (PC) (Game of the Year. Without question)


Best Game Played in 2009

Batman: Arkham Asylum (PC) (Came out of nowhere. I hadn't been following this game at all, and only picked it up after reading so many good things. I had no idea what to expect. What I got was a game that lived up to all the hype, delivered the best superhero/comic book experience ever in a game, and made me want to keep playing and playing.

Honorable Mentions:
Left 4 Dead (PC) (I still maintain that with a good group of friends and a few hours to kill, NO co-op experience is as fun and balanced as L4D.)
Deadspace (PC) (Another great surprise, the best survival horror in a long, long while)



Biggest Disappointment of 2009

Far Cry 2 (I LOVED the first Far Cry. I LOVE sand box games. I love shooters. I should have loved Far Cry 2, but it didn't grab me in the slightest. The redundant missions, the lack of any real story or motive, and...oh yeah...the motion sickness-inducing movement made it my biggest disappointment of a game played in 2009)

Dishonorable Mentions:

Empire Total War (unpatched/launch) (The Orkin man couldn't kill all the bugs in this mess before the myriad of patches. Made the game nearly unplayable for months after release)
Assassin's Creed (just couldn't get over the nonsensical story and repetitive missions. And I adore sneak/stealth games)
Resident Evil 5 (It wasn't BAD by any stretch, but as a die-hard RE fan, it was easily one of the weakest of the series. A very solid 3d action game that kept very little survival horror or suspense, or frankly, SCARES whatsoever. Throw in a goofier-than-usual story and I was more than a little disappointed in RE 5)

Games not yet opened

-Call of Duty World at War (PC)
-Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360)
-Radiata Stories (PS2) (Christmas 2009 item)
-Assassin's Creed II (Christmas 2009 item)
-Battlestations Pacific (PC) (Christmas 2009 item)
-From the Abyss (DS) (Christmas 2009 item)
-Halo 3 ODST (Xbox 360) (Christmas 2009 item)
-NiGHTS Journey of Dreams (Wii) (Christmas 2009 item)
-Hearts of Iron III (PC) (Christmas 2009 item)
-Ghostbusters (PC) (Christmas 2009 item)


Games resolved to finish in 2010

-Shenmue 2 (I played 75% of the way through at least five or six years ago. Now, I aim to restart and finish)
-Deus Ex (yes, I've never finished it. And I will MAKE myself finish this year. Swear on a stack of Dreamcasts)
-Xenogears (about 50 hours in and chugging along nicely, no way I don't finish this game now)
-Lost Odyssey (haven't even opened it yet, but I hear good things and I'm always down for another great JRPG)
-Ghostbusters (who ya gonna call?)
-Dragon Age Origins (about 10 hours in. Very good BioWare RPG, a smidge overhyped so far IMO, but I really hope to finish it)
-Left 4 Dead 2 (played the first game to death. Loved it. 2 hasn't grabbed me in the same way, but I will likely finish it anyway)
-Super Mario Galaxy (It's Mario. End of Story.)
-Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising (really liked what I've played so far. The REAL successor to the first Ghost Recon)
-Halo 3 ODST (It's Halo. Next to GoW, the co-op fun is hard to beat)


Games I'll Try to Finish in 2010

-Assassin's Creed II (hope it's better than the first)
-Call of Duty World at War (CoD style is wearing a bit thin for me, but I'll give it a fair shake)
-Prey (only gave it a couple of hours, and it was decent. Will give it more time if I get some free time this year)
-Fall Out 3 (just couldn't get into it the first time I played like I did with Oblivion. Resolved to give it another good try after a long break)
-Supreme Commander (played briefly in '08 and just couldn't get into it. It deserves another try)
-Sins of a Solar Empire (ditto above)