Following the example set by various other users, I decided i would do my own game of the year blog. This year has easily been the best year of gaming that i have ever experienced, beating out 2008 (which i actually found to be very average), and the legendary 1997. I am going to post 3 category's, Best games, Worst games, and i will also list the games i just missed but would still like to play. I wont be awarding any single game of the year, because i hate trying to choose stuff like that, all you need to know is, I either liked these games a lot, didn't like them all that much, or didn't play them

Best Games

- Metal Gear Solid 4 - I have been a HUGE metal gear fan since the first metal gear solid game on the ps1 back in 97, ever since the end of each game has left you desperate for answers, and gasping for a sequel. MGS4 was tasked with tying up the many loose ends, and doing so in a way that satisfies the huge fan-base the series has gained over the years. MGS4 accomplished its mission, it also vastly improved the game-play, revolutionised story telling, and is for me, the perfect sequel, and the perfect finally.

- Burnout Paradise - The first burnout game i have ever enjoyed, ironically became one of my all time favorite games. The terms free-roam or sandbox can be applied to all aspects of the game, from the single player mission structure, to the online multiplayer, you are truly free to play as you wish. Its also worth mentioning the support this game has received from criterion in the form of DLC. The game is still receiving large updates, with much more on the way. I also got this game for my 21st birthday , as if it isn't memorable enough.

- Gears of War 2 - Highly anticipated sequel to gears of war did not disappoint. Throughout the development process, Dude Huge was very vocal about how the game was "Bigger, Better and more Badass". While the frequency that quote was delivered became a little unbearable, it is easily the best way to describe the improvements made to the game. The single player co-op is one of the best co-op experiences available, the horde mode is probably THE best co-op experience available.

- Grand Theft Auto 4 - Much like burnout, i hadn't really enjoyed the previous installments in the series. To me, GTA always represented big sandbox games with large open worlds, and i have played each installment simply to look in awe at what is achievable by modern developers. I had never really enjoyed the story mode, for various reasons, I also didn't like the way each game just added more and more "stuff" you could do. GTA4 takes the usual approach but instead of the usual "add more stuff" philosophy, they refine the game-play and integrate a story in a way that leaves you with a truly unique experience. Needless to say, i am quite excited for the upcoming expansion.

HONORABLE MENTION

-Bionic Commando: Rearmed

-Braid

-Fallout 3

Worst Games

- Spider-Man: Web of Shadows - This game is seriously broken. So so so repetitive, it just seems like they had a solid concept, and a few good ideas, but in the end decided to pad them out by repeating the same missions over and over. If your a fan of spiderman, i recommend ultimate spiderman (ps2, ngc, xbox)

- Dark Sector - Again....this game is broken. All i am going to say is just stay away

- Far Cry 2 - I know, i know. There are probably worse games out there, but you will see there are a lot of games i didn't get round to. There isn't anything in particular i want to call out in this game, i think this is defiantly an issue of preference. I just found the game to be very boring.

Missed Games

I decided it would be easier to just show you my lovefilm list. Here it is :

Mirror's Edge
Prince of Persia
Fable 2
Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe
Tomb Raider: Underworld
Valkyria Chronicles
Alone in the Dark: Inferno
Bioshock
Call of Duty: World at War
Little Big Planet
Resistance 2

So yea, i still have a lot of catching up to do, but still, what a great year .

Q1 next year should be a pretty good time, thanks to capcom. Bionic Commando, Street Fighter 4 and Resident Evil 5. Id love to hear what you all think about this year, and i hope you all have a great Christmas

-Dash out

I was lucky enough to be on the receiving end of one of the 5800 beta keys available from eurogamer. I never realised just how much I would love this game, but it is seriously an amazing game. You can literally do ANYTHING you can think up in a 2D space.

Here are a few screenshots from my first level. Basically I made big house way up at the very top of the map.

All these pics can be clicked for a larger size.

This is a car I made for me and cheeg to drive to the lift way down at the other side of the level

Here is the lift we use to get to the "House"

This our butler lol. He doesn't really do all that much. He just kinda follows us about in the lobby outside the lift.

This is Cheegs room

and this is my room

Its only been a day and I'm still learning. Earlier in the day I made a catapult but I didn't manage to get any pics of it.

Its really a great game. I keep thinking up all these ideas for things to make and just lose hours trying to implement them. The multiplayer is so much fun as well. The house in the pictures was made by me, Cheeg and my flatmate Pab in 3 player. Its really so so so much fun, but the best is yet to come. Once the online content sharing opens up the game will only get better from there.

Ill leave you with this picture i took of my sacboy in one of the early costumes.

This years E3 was by far the most underwhelming show i have seen during my years following the industry. The big three didn't really seem to do anything in there press events to excite the people back home. We cant be at the show, and we don't get to play the games so for the average Joe public the off the wall left field announcements are usually the highlight of the show for us. FF13 coming to the xbox 360 doesn't qualify as exciting to anyone with a ps3, that's not a fanboy statement, its just i have a ps3, before this announcement i was in a positions to get FF13, and after the announcement I'm in the same place. I'm obviously very excited about animal crossing but the rest of Nintendo's stats based snore fest diluted alot of the pleasure i got from that announcement. MAG sounds cool, but as it stands its nothing more than a concept.

Gamespots live show was really the highlight of E3 for me. They had stage demos of all the games i really cared about. Here is a brief summery of my thoughts on each big game

-Xbox 360

• Gears of War 2 - I am seriously seriously stoked for gears 2. It looks like a serious improvement on the first game, and since the first game is my favorite game on the 360, i don't think i will be disappointed here
• Fable 2 - I never actually played much of fable 1 so this wasn't a title that interested me a whole lot, but after seeing the way they have implemented co-op they have certainly caught my attention.
• XBLA - The future is bright. Geo wars 2 and portal still alive will definitely be getting bought.
• Fall Update - If its not broke, don't fix it. I'm yet to be convinced.

-PS3

• InFamous - This is my game of show. I am a fool for anything super hero related, and crackdown was one of my favorite games last year, and based on the live demo they did on gamespot infamous is a massive improvement on that solid formula
• Little Big Planet - Continues to impress
• Resistance 2 - I was sold at 8 player co-op. I don't think this game will really do many new things with gameplay, but the boundary's of scale will be pushed in every field
• Killzone 2 - I'm kind of indifferent about this game. I appreciate it looks pretty, but I'm going to need to see a bit more before i add it to my purchase list.
• Home - Has just taken too long now. I find that if a game takes too long between announcement and release it can completely kill hype. This is a prime case of that.

- Wii

• Animal Crossing - I cant wait.
• Wii Sports resort - I was actually quite a big fan of wii sports, so i will probably pick this game up.
• Wii music - With all the current music games on the market nintendo thought it was a good idea to release this? The plot has been lost.

- Multi-Platform

• The Force Unleased - This looks like a real return to form for lucasarts. I'm a huge fan of JKA and star wars in general, so i hope to enjoy this game. Shame there is no multiplayer in the 360 and ps3 versions, it might have bumped this game down to a rent for me.
• Mirrors Edge - There's something about this game that just doesn't sit right with me. Looks kinda cool i guess.
• Far Cry 2 - Visually stunning. I was stunned when watching the live demo when i realised it was being played on a 360. I thought maybe a ps3, but the 360, wow. Impressive
• Fallout 3 - Looked like a very interesting game, but i think i really need to play the older games to get excited about it
• Resident Evil 5 - RE4 was one of my favorite games of all time. RE5 looks like a more action packed version of 4, but now with co-op. It should be an amazing game.
• Left 4 Dead - I will play most games if they have co-op in. I will also play most games developed by valve. So i will prolly play left 4 dead

So yea, Looks like its going to be an expensive year.

Last week i was lucky enough to win the Citizen Game podcast swag competition. It won me the Blizzard invitational exclusive wow pet, mini tyrael . If you listen to this weeks podcast you can hear my entry lol. Go Legomans!

You can click the images for a bigger version. I won some other stuff as well but I'm still waiting for it to arrive. Ill update this blog with some pics when it shows up.

and Finally, The Giant bomb beta started up this morning. If anyone wants to add me as a friend my user name RatherDashing. I don't plan on leaving gamespot for giant bomb or anything that drastic. In-fact if i cant find a nice quite and calm community on giant bomb my stay on the site might be drastically short.

Wow that was long. Thanks to anyone who read it all

-Dash out