Game of the Year

I haven't been posting much lately because I've been too busy actually playing video games. The last several weeks have seen more great games released than the rest of the year combined. This is also the first time in a long while that I've felt like I need to hurry to play a game so I can move on to the next one. Even better, I feel like I need to complete each game, where my normal MO is to play until I get bored and then move on. That means I've got stacks and stacks of half-finished (or never started) games. But now I'm putting a good solid dent in my backlog.

Rock Band - Man, I've played a ton of this. I got just the game, since I'm waiting on the wireless guitar for the XBox 360. It seems easier to me than Guitar Hero, but I like it better. I still haven't picked up GH3, but I've played my friend's copy of it and this is the better game. But don't take my word for it, my friends agree, too. When we get together, we're playing Rock Band, not GH3. I can't wait for February to get here so I can pick up the drums.

Call of Duty 4 - This is actually the first CoD game I've spent any time with. I've played 1 & 2, but only for about 30 minutes each. I guess that from buring myself out on WWII with Medal of Honor. For those of you that don't know, CoD4 is a modern day shooter and a damned fine one at that. I picked it up during a pre-Xmas sale on the cheap since I wasn't sure I'd put much time into it. I couldn't have been more wrong. This game is fantastic. I also give it points for not making me sick like many FPS's do. I have to build up a tolerance for first person views or I get a headache, but there have been no ill effects from CoD4, which is nice. The missions are fun and varied, plus there are multiple ways to finish them. I prefer to take a slower, sniper kind of route and am able to do that with no problems here. I should also mention that the tutorial put me in the average difficulty level, which is fun. I normally play an FPS on easy for two reasons. First, I suck at the FPS (though I can usually hold my own in local multiplayer. Maybe my friends suck, too) and secondly because I like to play games for fun not for frustration. But the average difficulty is challenging for me without being annoying. In fact, once I finish the single player campaign, I plan to retry it at a harder level. Now, why haven't I finished the game when it is only 5-6 hours long?

Mass Effect - The first few hours can be kind of slow, but once the story really gets going, this game is amazing. I was rushing home every day after work to play this and once I beat it, I started a new playthrough. I did the math, and it is going to take me 4 playthroughs to get everything I can out of this game, and I'm perfectly fine with that.

Assassin's Creed - This is a late-comer to the party, but a very welcome one. This is another game I picked up cheap after Xmas because I had read some spotty reviews. Turns out the reviews were wrong. I think that the nature of reviews ruin this game for the reviewer. The reviewer has to play and beat several games in a short amount of time, so they don't get to really savour what they're playing. AC is a game that is best played slowly and carefully. If you just rush through the game, you're missing out on all the best stuff. In fact, you can complete an assassination with very little investigation, but if you do that, you're really missing the point. I also think this is the best Batman game ever made. You're running on rooftops, climbing, and kicking ass. Just reskin this puppy and you've got an amazing Batman game.

Ratchet & Clank - I haven't gotten too far into this one, but I'm really enjoying it so far. A fine platformer with some good humor and fun puzzles. The graphics are fantastic, but that wouldn't mean anything if the gameplay sucked. Luckily, it doesn't.

Ok, so after all that, what is my game of the year? I've got to go with Mass Effect. No other game this year made me start to replay it as soon as I'd finished it. The fact that I'd just spent over 20 hours playing it and still wanted more is the sure sign of a great game to me.

So, here's my top games. I'm factoring in fun plus the amount of time I spent playing each one. Unfortunately I missed some games that look great this year (Uncharted: Drake's Fortune) and haven't spent as much time playing some as I would have liked (Super Mario Galaxy).

1. Mass Effect
2. Bioshock
3. Rock Band
4. Assassin's Creed
5. skate.
6. Call of Duty 4
7. Rachet & Clank - Tools of Destruction
8. Pokemon Diamond
9. World of Warcraft - Burning Crusade
10. Lord of the Rings Online