I would give the blogging system over here at CAG a shot, and lurk a little less. All of these are obviously just my opinion based on what I was able to play this year.

Best Retail Game of the Year: Batman Arkham Asylum

Amazing game. The graphics, the gameplay, the art style, the story...it was all fun. And there was a lot of love for the source material which you could see in some of the hidden details in the game. I would probably consider this the best game based off of a comic franchise, it is THE Batman game, and I am beyond excited to play the sequel.

Honourable mentions:

Assassin's Creed 2

Thought it was a good improvement from the first game. I love the fact that you could buy things to improve the town, dye your clothing, and buy other upgrades. I found a lot more fun just exploring Italy than I did exploring in the first game. I was also happy to have been able to get 1000/1000 Gamerscore in this game.

Modern Warfare 2

I am probably one of the few people I know who plays games like these for the single player experience. I do not game online too much, because I am usually pretty bad at first person shooters so when I am online it is just a bunch of frustration. I actually really enjoyed the story line in this game, and a lot of the story twists. I do also like the addition of Spec Ops mode which I need to more fully explore.


Best Downloadable Game of the Year (DSiware, Wiiware, PSN, XBLA, PC): Peggle

Addictive as hell, amusing, and satisfying. I found it hard to not smile whenever clearing a board.

Honourable Mentions:

Pixel Junk Eden

An audio visual treat. This was a fun game just to put on and play without really putting too much thought into it. I absolutely loved the visual style and the music in this game, though I unfortunately have not gotten too far into the game.

Splosion Man

Hilarious and challenging. Also love the fact that they included unlockable gamerpics and avatar awards in this game. I need to play further in this one though.

Best Handheld Game of the Year: Scribblenauts

Great idea and lots of fun. Missed a little on execution, but I am not a big handheld gamer at the moment so this takes top spot for me.


Best game of the year that shouldn't be a game of the year (IMO): DJ Hero

It is challenging, but I found the gameplay rewarding, and the music fantastic. Unlike when I play Guitar Hero or Rockband, I felt like I had an actual effect on the music. I found A LOT of fun with this game.

Honorable Mentions:

Beatles Rock Band

What I like about this game isn't just the difference in visual style or the fact that it is the first Rock Band game where I actually know and like all of the music on it. But there is also a lot of love poured into this game, and you can feel it.

Punch Out

This game was an excellent throwback to the NES game, which was a game that I loved. I loved the visuals in this game, the music was great, and the characters were as fun as I remember. The new additions were a nice welcome and mixed well with the nostalgic elements they provided.


That's all I've got. I spent a bit of my gaming hours in 2009 revisiting older games though, so I didn't get to play all of the year's big titles. Hope everyone had a great gaming 2009, and an even better 2010!