It's been one year since I've purchased my Playstation 3! I'm very satisfied with it, and I'm happy I bought it when I did. Looking both back and forward, I've made a little list about its features.

What I'm Grateful For

#1. Trophies

I'm extremely pleased that Sony added trophies last summer, and that now PS3 gamers can also experience the joy of unlocking achievements. They're simple and not new, but they add a lot to the games I play. (Right now I'm a Level 4 at about 50%.)

#2. Metal Gear Solid 4

I love MGS4. I'm grateful that it finally came out and that I had the pleasure of completing Snake's final mission. Metal Gear Online is great too, and I've had a lot of fun with it.

#3. Beta Access

In 2008 I had the privilege of playing the Beta versions of SOCOM Confrontation and Resistance 2. I paid nothing, and got a lot of mileage out of both. And they weren't even out yet!

#4. Playstation Network

What's not to love about PSN? Themes, wallpapers, demos, videos, game add-ons... Even free games, like Kung-Fu Ragdolls, complete with Trophies! Sure beats "Friend Codes".

#5. Blu Ray

It's not that I watch Blu Ray movies often, but just having the option included is a great bonus. Movies like the Dark Knight are simply spectacular on Blu Ray.

What I Want:

#1. More PS1 games.

Syphon Filter is nice, I guess, but where is Resident Evil? Where are the other PS1 games?? This is definitely a missed opportunity for North America, there need to be more Playstation games on the Network!

#2. PS2 Downloadable games

It seems Call of Duty is coming to PS3 and 360, but I mean full catalogs of PS2 games available for download, with trophies. Just imagine being able to buy GTA or MGS again, and have all of that replay value.

#3. 40 GB Backwards Compatibility

I just wanna play my PS2 games on my PS3! There has to be a way! If PS1, why not PS2?

#4. Ability to send voice messages

The in-game keyboard is okay, and a real keyboard works too, but this would be the easiest and most carefree. Heck, it was in Halo 2 for the first Xbox, wasn't it?

#5. John Malkovich

I really wish he would voice a game character. I really do.

I've been playing Resident Evil 5 the last few days, and the main word that comes to mind is sadly, disappointment. Despite playing the demo and knowing full well how much would be recycled, I'm still quite shocked at how much of a letdown the game is. Of course, it's still fun and with a friend the frustration melts away a little, but it's still not nearly enough. This game took four years to make. That is a presidential term. There is no excuse, no reason in the world for RE5 to be how it is.

The true problem isn't the lack of innovation or even the obnoxiously recycled animations, it's the lack of balance. Why is everything so uneven? Part of what made RE4 one of the best games ever made was how incredibly good the balance was: the normal enemies versus the bosses, attacking versus defending, and going rogue versus escorting Ashley. RE5 has little to no balance. Did anyone else notice how early you even meet your first Plaga, and how many bullets it takes to kill it? That sums it up right there.

There were a lot of great games this year, enough to rival 2007's. I had quite a few favorites that I enjoyed, and in the summer of all times, just like it should be.

Here are my top choices. Forgive me if I fail to mention a few, because I simply don't have the hardware for a few.

5. Resistance 2

The fact that I played two levels of the beta over and over is a testament to the incredible fun factor and staying power of Imsomniac's new game. The single player is epic and has superb battles, the co-op has a very nice design and adds RPG-like teamwork to shooters, and the multiplayer offers huge scope with lots of variety. It's a great game.

4. Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution

A wonderful reimagining of the famous franchise, CivRev is one of the first great strategy games for consoles. It has all of the addictive fun that's been on the PC versions, only slightly simplified to make it possible to play with your standard controller. A very underrated game that deserved more attention.

3. Little Big Planet

I haven't gotten a chance to play this one, but just by seeing the levels that people made for the web, I could tell this game was great. All of the customization options mean you get lots of diverse levels and enough motivation to play for a long, long time. Sackboy's cute, too.

2. Battlefield: Bad Company

Another underrated game from the summer, Bad Company does a lot of things and does them all right. Guns, vehicles, graphics, they're all aced. The single-player gives you lots of space and options for choosing how to complete your goal, and even manages at being one of the few "action comedies" in video games, with great dark humor. The multiplayer challenges you with lots of big maps, free downloads, and a plethora of challenges to try out.

There's great balance, the graphics are incredibly realistic, and the story is funny. There are a lot of good things in Bad Company.

1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

This is an outspoken and obvious choice that took little consideration. I've been waiting for this game for years, eating up little bits of rumors, watching trailers over and over, and debating over what the plot would reveal. I waited year by year until I finally woke up and it was June 12th, 2008.

There is no other game which I would pay an extra $25 for to get the special edition, but I did it for MGS4. Not only that, but I was elated that I did. There's no other game that offered this kind of story, with intelligent and relevant thoughts and messages, or this kind of gameplay, with astounding boss battles and a host of customizable guns. The music and audio are a model to follow for the rest in the industry, with such amazing voice talent and breathtaking vistas that you wonder how this was even accomplished in three and a half years.

Even if Guns of the Patriots doesn't balance all of its assets perfectly, there's no other game that comes close to matching it for game of the year. It's an amazing game, and an amazing part of digital media in general. So much is pulled off so well I can't consider anything else. I'm proud to say Hideo Kojima lived up to his own record.