The best games of 2009. Well, the first six months of 2009.

[TomChick]

I meant to make a half-year list of the five top games of the year. I couldn't do it (http://fidgit.com/archives/2009/07/the_ten_best_games_of_2009_so.php). Can you?

-Tom

[Wheelkick]

I haven't played any of this years releases. So no, I can't help you.

But my next buy might just be RF:G. I'm usually not that fond of sandboxes, but given that this is a revolution that will color every game I play from here on out, I can't really go wrong can I?

[jeff3f]

I myself have been enjoying the bejeezus out of red fraction. I keep it on casual because I dislike loading times whenever I bring a building down on myself. Only thing, I wish it were possible to somehow whack myself with the sledge, for to jump higher. Or have my gorilla colleagues do it for me.

I got sims3 after having my sadistic sims side re-awakened by some online postings (Subject Beef). But in true form I started out sarcastic then wound up grinding to achieve that life dream of dying in a grill cheese spawned hausfire. if i can ever stop playing red factor I'm going to come back to this one.

Other than that I've been spending a lot of time on the iphone games--peggle, free solitaire, free crappy chess (I would buy a good chessmaster app), and now that I have more than 8GB to play with I did get the Myst port. The ultimate in guilty pleasures, now available in an easily concealable form factor!

[Lizard_King]

1. Demon's Souls-anyone who hasn't imported this doesn't yet know what the best game of 2009 is probably going to be. I guess in the fall when Atlus releases it in the US you can correct that. It takes everything that is good and right about traditional RPGs, mixes it with a bit of roguelike (but with much more forgiving progress), and an action combat system that rewards skill and a cool head as much (if not more) than it does raw power. The story is 90% the setting and the level design, giving it a survival horror flair at times and making it a refreshing change that Squenix could learn a lot from.

2. Resident Evil 5: I don't know what biohazarous means, but I agree.

3. Fallout III + DLC (PC Version with Mart's Mutant Mod and its companions, a zoomable sniper rifle, Extended galaxy radio and Existenz radio, etc). It's like a completely new game, even after having the original w/o DLC dominate my gaming last year.

4. Dark Spire: A perfectly balanced traditional RPG on the DS that blows Etrian's and recent roguelikes out of the water in terms of its depth and (relative) accessibility. The second part is key.

5. Prototymfamous: If you play them in close proximity to one another, they make one good game instead of two mediocre titles.


That was easy.

[SwampIrish]

The first comment is classic. I would would like add that Total Annihilation is also the funnest game ever.

[sam and the firefly]

1. Chinatown Wars
2. Rock Band Unplugged
3. Eliss
4. Art Style: HacoLife
5. Wii Sports Resort

[Omniscia]

I don't know that I have five yet, let alone the number you ended up with, but I'm quite sure that my list would not be complete without Plants vs. Zombies.

[Angrycoder]

I am shocked by the lack of Plants vs Zombies.

[Robert Sharp]

I haven't played ANY of the games on that list; not one. Very odd. I'm thinking RFG will be the first one I grab. I don't have a Wii, which excludes a couple of those games. I'm glad to see the system has some nice titles on it though.

REALLY REALLY looking forward to Demon's Souls though. Tempting to import it. Is it still in English, LK? Also, do you have to mod your PS3 in any way?

Personally, I would add inFamous to the list, but I understand that I like of Qt3ers don't care for it.

[Moore]

Demon's souls is really making me think ps3 this fall if they do a decent price drop.

[Jeff Green]

Okay, shit. I'm gonna have to break down and buy Red Faction now. Damn you, Tom Chick!

Also, alert! Amazon has Chinatown Wars as a "lightning deal" now for $19.99! I'mo buy one now, before you!

[Rob_Merritt]

1. Plants vs Zombies (PC)
2. Bully for the PC since it wasn't playable till this year (PC)
3. Ghost Busters (PC)
4. Sims 3 (PC)
5. Rocket Riot (xbox live)
6. Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War (PC)
7. Space Invaders Extreme (xbox live)
8. Wallace and Gromit by Telltale (PC)
9. Oregon Trail (iphone)
10. Miami Law (DS)

[Jon_Danger]

RF:G is probably my game of the year right now.

1. Red Faction: Guerilla
2. Arma: II
3. Rhythm Heaven
4. Sims 3
5. Plants vs. Zombies
6. Street Fighter 4

GAH! I couldn't do it. :(

[Lizard_King]

REALLY REALLY looking forward to Demon's Souls though. Tempting to import it. Is it still in English, LK? Also, do you have to mod your PS3 in any way?
The entire game apart from the instruction manual is in English, voice and text. You want to make sure you order the ASIA (http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-bp-49-en-15-demon%27s+souls-70-36pw.html) or KOREA version, not the Japanese. The Japanese is the only one that will not work for you language-wise. The only instruction manual you really need is the wiki (http://demonssouls.wikidot.com/) and the Demon's Souls thread here. Much like a roguelike, the game is scrupulously fair and insists on you finding the optimal way to address enemies; in a way, playing without the manual at first is a better experience (particularly for the first level).

The PS3 is region free for games afaik, but it's definitely going to play this title. You do not need a headset or anything beyond an internet connected PS3 in order to take advantage of its unique, counter-to-everything-I've-gotten-used-to-on-the-xbox coop and adversarial. With Play-Asia's cheapo shipping, I received mine in about a week and for around 72$, and it looks like it's a bit cheaper now. Stock fluctuates, but what I like about P-A is that they don't charge until they ship.

[Doug Erickson]

where are:

blazblue
devil summoner 2
knights in the nightmare
devil survivor
rock band unplugged
time gentlemen, please

[Doug Erickson]

lizard king: have you played class of heroes?

[gamadict]

I'd go:

1. Street Fighter IV
2. Prototype
3. Plants vs. Zombies

With nothing else I've played that's been released this year meriting a mention so far. I'm pretty sure Out of the Park X is really good, but I can't see that enough has changed to buy it yet again. Plenty of great stuff coming up though, particularly looking forward to HoI3, Modern Warfare 2, Arkham Asylum and Alpha Protocol.

And Just Cause 2, Solium Infernum, the new Monkey Island, Splinter Cell 5, Dead Rising 2, Football Manager 2010...

Thinking it over, it seems like this year is tremendously backloaded, even more then usual

[Lizard_King]

lizard king: have you played class of heroes?
Your post is the first I've heard of it, but I don't have a PSP so I'm guessing it's out of the question anyway. The only other game from your list that I've played is Devil Summoner 2, and it's impossible to pay attention to its retro ass right now with all of these bright shiny new distractions in front of me. Rediscovering PC gaming in the last few weeks at max settings has changed my priorities for the time being. The lull that's coming up should give me time to look deeper into it.

[TomChick]

3. Eliss

Huh...?


4. Art Style: HacoLife

Wha...?

I love lists with games that I've never even heard of!

Also, I can't tell if Doug is listing a game called Time Gentlemen, Please, which would be an awesome name for a racing game set in Victorian England in which you race various steampunk zeppelins -- an updated Flying Heroes! -- or if he's alerting us to put our pencils down.

I'm super-psyched about Demon Souls, but I'm going to wait until it comes to American for realz. I got the most godawful demo of it at E3. The Atlus guy showing it had no idea how to sell it. If it hadn't been for you guys who write long adoring posts about bringing it over from Japan like some sort of mail-order bride, I would have seen the demo and written it off as some horrible attempt at a God of War clone.

-Tom

[malkav11]

Sam and the Firefly lives in Japan and is taunting us with wacky Japan-only games.

And Time Gentlemen, Please is, I believe, an indie adventure game that's the sequel to Ben There, Dan That.

[Couchfire]

I've been on a half year trip around the world, so I missed pretty much everything so far. I need to start playing catch up.

[Jose Liz]

In no particular order,

Prototype
Red Faction: Guerrilla
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
GTA: Chinatown Wars
Resistance: Retribution
Killzone 2

I meant to make a half-year list of the five top games of the year. I couldn't do it (http://fidgit.com/archives/2009/07/the_ten_best_games_of_2009_so.php). Can you?

-Tom

I really, really want to hear more about how GTA: CW was the best written GTA game. I could have written that!

[TomChick]

I really, really want to hear more about how GTA: CW was the best written GTA game. I could have written that!

The story integrates into the mass murdering gameplay rather than existing as something tacked on alongside it and irrelevant. But mostly, it's funny and has a light touch. It isn't burdened by its own sense of self-importance. None of the writing in the previous GTAs was as good as it thought it was.

-Tom

[aphoristic gamer]

House of the Dead Overkill, Devil Survivor, Street Fighter IV, Infamous, and finally Demon's Souls would be the five games I enjoyed the most this year.

I'd put my hand in a oven that Demon's Souls is going to be the game of the generation, the scale and depth of this game is simply mind-blowing. There's NO WAY anything else will even come close.

[Doug Erickson]

jesus christos, tom: go to http://www.zombie-cow.com and pay yer 5 bux or 2.x quid for the funniest lucasarts adventure clone horked up by the indie game scene yet: time gentlemen, please!

[Lizard_King]

I'd put my hand in a oven that Demon's Souls is going to be the game of the generation, the scale and depth of this game is simply mind-blowing. There's NO WAY anything else will even come close.

Maybe I've already transitioned to a jaded afterglow, but I'm going to leave it at "likely number one for the year".

[Jeff Green]

I'd put my hand in a oven that Demon's Souls is going to be the game of the generation, the scale and depth of this game is simply mind-blowing. There's NO WAY anything else will even come close.

If we are going to engage in pre-release hyperbolic hysteria, I suggest we stop being so modest about it. Let's raise the bar on this sucker! Let's take it to the next level!

To wit:

Demon's Souls is quite literally going to be the best game to come out since before time began. Forget anything you've ever known about anything, this is simply the absolute apex of everything else. Not only would I gladly sell my mother into slavery just to play Demon Souls, but she would be glad for me. I do not plan on changing my underwear until it is released, and after that, I won't change either, because I will be too busy playing this certifiable masterpiece of creative genius, the likes of which hasn't been seen since at least the time of Mozart or even perhaps before!

See? Let's try harder here people!

[Lizard_King]

If we are going to engage in pre-release hyperbolic hysteria, I suggest we stop being so modest about it. Let's raise the bar on this sucker! Let's take it to the next level!

I respect your effort, but I wanted to clarify that for those of us that were willing to import it for a minor surcharge, it is in fact post-release hyperbolic hysteria.

[Jeff Green]

I respect your effort, but I wanted to clarify that for those of us that were willing to import it for a minor surcharge, it is in fact post-release hyperbolic hysteria.

I stand corrected, sir. :) Please edit my sample text accordingly.

[Angrycoder]

1. Demon's Souls-anyone who hasn't imported this doesn't yet know what the best game of 2009 is probably going to be. I guess in the fall when Atlus releases it in the US you can correct that. It takes everything that is good and right about traditional RPGs, mixes it with a bit of roguelike (but with much more forgiving progress), and an action combat system that rewards skill and a cool head as much (if not more) than it does raw power. The story is 90% the setting and the level design, giving it a survival horror flair at times and making it a refreshing change that Squenix could learn a lot from.

2. Resident Evil 5: I don't know what biohazarous means, but I agree.

3. Fallout III + DLC (PC Version with Mart's Mutant Mod and its companions, a zoomable sniper rifle, Extended galaxy radio and Existenz radio, etc). It's like a completely new game, even after having the original w/o DLC dominate my gaming last year.

4. Dark Spire: A perfectly balanced traditional RPG on the DS that blows Etrian's and recent roguelikes out of the water in terms of its depth and (relative) accessibility. The second part is key.

5. Prototymfamous: If you play them in close proximity to one another, they make one good game instead of two mediocre titles.


That was easy.

I nominate the LizardKing as our new overlord.

[Destarius]

I nominate the LizardKing as our new overlord.

You mean Overlord II?

[alexlitel]

In no particular order, favorites of the handful of games I've played thusfar.

Plants Vs. Zombies
Peggle Dual Shot
StokEd
Ghostbusters
Wallace & Gromit

[jfletch]

SF4 by a long shot. 160 hours in so far, no other game this gen comes close. I skipped BlazBlue because I realized I am far ftom done with this one.

I have played many games I realy enjoyed - Resident Evil 5, Infamous, Chronicles of Riddick, Red Faction, and Demon's Souls, but thanks to SF4 I haven't really played much of them. I want to knock out Infamous this weekend and move onto COR or RE5.

[sam and the firefly]

Sam and the Firefly lives in Japan and is taunting us with wacky Japan-only games.

Eliss is an iPhone game! I think it was made by a Spanish guy. It's not obscure at all, as that sort of thing goes.

And Art Style HacoLife is a DSiWare game - it came out in the US last week, though I think it's called BoxLife now.

I've played both games as much as anything else this year, so on the list they go. I think my stereotype should be 'really likes minimalist touchscreen puzzle games' rather than 'really likes obscure wacky Japanese games'.

[malkav11]

Well, admittedly I'd never heard of Eliss. But I did recall you talking about Art Style HacoLife and its Japan-only context. Evidently that has changed. But I still don't own a DSi, so, eh.

[Alex Hopkinson]

I definitely can't disagree with Red Faction, as it's my GOTHalfYear. However Street Fighter 4 was definitely second place in my own hypothetical list, and Dawn of War II was right up in there.

In the pool of "top quality" would also (probably) go GTA:CW, Sims 3 and Blood Bowl. Honourable mentions to GH: Metallica, Wolverine, Plants vrs Zombies and Dynasty Warriors Gundam II (and I bet I'm the only person here with that game swimming around such a list!).

[Enidigm]

I just ordered RF:G for the PS3 sight unseen, without reading a review (except the praise for the game here on Qt3). You guys better not be wrong!

[Equisilus]

I haven't yet bought a game that was released in 2009 for either the PC or PS3 (the two platforms I have), let alone have a top 5 or top 10. All the best games I've played this year were rereleases of games from 10+ years ago. I've high hopes for the second half (actually the last quarter) of 2009 to actually get me some games I can praise for this year.

[Staff Sergeant]

The only games from this year that I've played are Prototype, Demigod, and Blood Bowl, so uhh, those three and two blanks I guess?

[merryprankster]

1. Resident Evil 5. I think I have played this game a bit more than is probably healthy, but it's just so much fun.

2. Well, I meant to play other games (Killzone, inFamous..etc), but between Rock Band DLC, RE5 and Midnight club LA (which is apparently like crack to me) I never got around to it.

3. Flower.

[Jonathan Crane]

I'd put my hand in a oven that Demon's Souls is going to be the game of the generation, the scale and depth of this game is simply mind-blowing. There's NO WAY anything else will even come close.

Look, I know that this sentiment SEEMS over the top, but as one of the lucky few who imported the game (which works seamlessly with a US PS3) I agree entirely with the emotion, if not perhaps the specifics. It is a wonderful game, which felt tailored exactly to my gamer DNA. The dreamy, implacable hostility of this game was completely unexpected and entirely compelling.

[EvilIdler]

I wish it were possible to somehow whack myself with the sledge, for to jump higher.

We have the jetpack for this.

[lesslucid]

Spelunky is almost certain to be my GOTY for 2009. Depends on how Elemental shapes up.

[Squee]

1. Killing Floor
2. Magic the Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers
3. Sword of the Stars, which I'm counting since it got a mini-expansion and I hadn't heard of it before 2009 so what the hell.
4. Plants VS Zombies

Only 2009 releases I've picked up.

Edit: Ah! Looked at the rest of the thread and forgot PvZ.

[merryprankster]

2. Magic the Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers


for some reason I aways get a funny image in my head of magicans dueling on the wing of a plane whenever I read the title of this game.

[Squee]

Playable as a 4 player free for all on Xbox Live!
http://www.brettb.com/CanonEOS300D_Photos/Utterly_Butterly_Wingwalkers.jpg

[RepoMan]

WIN.

Dawn of War 2, Wolverine, Prototype, and Red Faction: Guerrilla pretty much do it for me this year. Hell, they're the only 2009 games I've played! And I found them all damned festive.

[Squee]

Oh, right. Dawn of War 2 was 2009, wasn't it? I guess that's my #5 then.

[Prodigy]

1. Plants vs Zombies
2. (as it is my current drug) Magic the Gathering : Duel of the Planeswalker
3. Red Faction Guerilla
4. Demigod
5. Battleforge (a GREAT game that has been overlooked, and that's a shame)
6. Drakensang
7. Sega Megadrive Ultimate Collection (yeah I know but I can cheat)
8. Cryostasis (don't ask me why, this game is full of flaws but it made a lasting impression on me)

....and that's it. Damn.

I've yet to play Resident Evil 5.

[Anti-Bunny]

1) Blood Bowl
2) Arma 2
3) Killing Floor
4) Neotokyo

[Juffo-Wup]

1. BlazBlue (Xbox)
2. Blood Bowl (PC)
3. Demigod (PC)
4. King of Fighters 98 Ultimate Match (XBL)
5. Dawn of War 2 (PC)
6. Prototype (PC)

Beyond #6 I start to struggle.

[J. Matthew Zoss]

1. Red Faction: Guerilla
2. Resident Evil 5
3. Infamous
4. Space Invaders Extreme (360)
5. (I'm assuming it will be after I actually play it, anyway) Fight Night Round 4

[Dave Long]

Stuff missing from your list...

UniWar (GOTY)
Street Fighter IV
BlazBlue (maybe... too early)
Bit.Trip Beat
Raiden Fighters Aces
LIT
Mighty Flip Champs
Blood Bowl

Probably a few other things that really deserve consideration.

What's interesting to me about 2009 so far, is a lot of the best games aren't being sold in stores. UniWar (iPhone), Bit.Trip Beat, LIT (both WiiWare) and Mighty Flip Champs (DSiWare) are all available online only on their respective machines.

That's going to make many end of year lists end up with only the stuff that's available in stores bubbling up to the top even if it's not as good as these other titles. That sucks.

[Tim James]

Well shit, I just looked through my backlog (http://www.backloggery.com/history.php?user=tooler) and realized I haven't finished a single 2009 retail PC release. I'm only a third of the way through Men of War, which is nice but not earth shattering. I have picked up a few games through bargains (Elven Legacy, Zeno Clash, etc.) but I ought to keep my current backlog a bit more open so I can absorb new games without putting them down a few spots in my list. Hmm.

For freeware releases, I enjoyed:

1. SpiritsRL - 2009 7DRL entry that tickles me so much because it's built like an SRPG.
2. MindWall - Ludum Dare 14 entry (winner?), stylish and brief puzzle game.

[Cubit]

1. Red Faction: Gorilla
2. Cryostasis
3. Mirror's Edge (PC)
4. Plants vs. Zombies
5. ?

[jeffd]

LK I've got a jonesing to do another F3 playthrough - can you give me more info on what mods you're using? It sounds awesome...

[Equis]

1. Plants vs Zombies.
2. Red Faction: Guerilla
3. Street Fighter IV

And that's it. I've played many more games this year, including infamous, prototype, resident evil 5, demigod, and dawn of War II and found almost all of them underwhelming.

Next up on the list is Anno 1404, and possibly Demon's Soul.

[Lizard_King]

LK I've got a jonesing to do another F3 playthrough - can you give me more info on what mods you're using? It sounds awesome...
Sure (http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk/showpost.php?p=1800842&postcount=1470). And that's not even tapping the really radical changes to the game available, like the ones that let you command the Enclave or play it as if it were a free form Stalker type game (the fallout nexus (http://www.fallout3nexus.com/) is a black hole of time. My main goal was to make actually going through all of the official DLC through Point Lookout (but ideally skipping Anchorage which I only needed to do once, thanks, but I still wanted the stuff from it because the stealth armor is hilarious) as painless and bullshit free while enhancing the difficulty of things I like, such as fast paced, high damage combat that forces me to capitalize on the pc's high res and aim accuracy. Also, I got a lot of ideas from that mod thread (http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk/showthread.php?t=49053&highlight=fallout+mod) I link in that post, so you might want to look at that as well.

The only conflicts I've had have been when I took a mod that offers you scalability of implementation and just turned everything on, which is not how they work (EG, you only choose one out of the choices in a category).

[thinkingork]

First six months of 2009 has mostly been disappointing titles, one after another. Especially Demigod and Empire: Total Wars.

There are a few pleasant surprises, such as Wolverine, The Sims 3 and DoW2(MP only). However, they are not good enough to be qualified as GOTY material.

If I really have to choose I would nominate this JRPG on DS called Suikoden: Tierkreis, which you own a castle and recruit characters to join you. Very addicting.

[BobJustBob]

If you can't find ten games you like from the first half of this year, you probably hate games. Great year so far.

If I made a list it would probably include...

Flower
Noby Noby Boy
Wheelman
Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2
Pixeljunk Eden Encore
Excitebots
Prototype
Infamous
Red Faction Guerrilla
Dawn of Discovery

And if I have to retroactively bump something when Sims 3 finally gets released on Steam, I'd probably go with... damn, it's too tough to choose. Eleven best games of the first half of 2009, coming soon!

[Omniscia]

I'm still catching on on the best of 2008, and my general game intake in 2009 (let alone my 2009 game intake) has been severely limited as it is.

So, at this point, the list looks like this:

1: Plants vs. Zombies
2: House of the Dead: Overkill
3: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

So, Tom's right, I couldn't get to five. Though not for the reasons he implied.

[Robert Sharp]

What's wrong with Empire? Did it not turn out well? I played the demo, and it seemed OK.

thinkingork, how is that Suikoden different from the others? That sounds like every Suikoden game, so I'm wondering if the mechanics are different in some way. I've been thinking of picking it up, or at least renting.

I like BjB's list, even though I've only played one game on it (inFamous, which I really liked). His list is sort of my current most wanted games list.

[Tim James]

If you can't find ten games you like from the first half of this year, you probably hate games.Or, based off that list, don't own any modern consoles!

[Moore]

Or, based off that list, don't own any modern consoles!

Same thing.

[sam and the firefly]

I see, uh, 8 PS3 games on that list.

[Angrycoder]

Or, based off that list, don't own any modern consoles!

You are an idiot. There is one PC game on there and one Wii game.

[Staff Sergeant]

I think you may have misread Tim's post.

[Angrycoder]

I think you may have misread Tim's post.

Indeed, it would seem that I am the idiot.

[Tim James]

Well I just took that in stride so you probably could have gotten away with it. :)

[Xemu]

Amazing half-year. Looking forward to seeing what the 2nd half brings (HOI3!). My top 5:

1. Red Faction: Guerilla
2. Sims 3
3. Plants vs Zombies
4. Infamous
5. Resident Evil 5

Top 4 was easy-peasy. Lots of things vying for my 5th slot though... Dawn of Discovery, Overlord II, Duels of the Planeswalkers, Banjo Tooie XBLA, Super Robot Taisen OG Endless Frontier... and I haven't even opened my import copy of Demon's Souls yet!

[copet]

I think Empire Total War is the only game I have bought in 2009. I was out of the country Q4 of 2008, so I have been playing those games. Since I was very disappointed in Empire, I guess my list of the best released games of 2009 is non-existent :P

I will say that I am currently playing L4D, CoD: World at War MP, and NeoTokyo for HL2. Also, I replayed Streets of Rage II on Sega with my brother.

So, best game of 2009: Streets of Rage II!