Chris Buffa / GameDaily
Biggest Surprise: iPhone games
Biggest Disappointment: Sonic Unleashed
2008 Game I'll Play in 2009: NBA Live 09
2008 in a Sentence: Lots of shooters, adventure games and the occasional round of Scene it? Box Office Smash.
Stephen Totilo / MTV Multiplayer
Biggest Surprise: Third parties finally make lots of good games for a Nintendo system (the DS!)
Biggest Disappointment: The energy and sophistication of GTA IV's Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Manhattan sections is undermined by a flat final third of the game set in New Jersey (Alderney).
2008 Game I'll Play in 2009: Fable II. I want to go back to the world again and again now that the game's storyline ending radically changed who my character is.
2008 in a Sentence: In terms of game quality from January to December, this was the most the most well-balanced year gamers have ever experienced.
Dan Ackerman / CNET.com
Biggest Surprise: How much I'm attached to my damn NXE avatar.
Biggest Disappointment: Fallout 3's ending. Seriously? That's it?
2008 Game I'll Play in 2009: Left 4 Dead (as long as people on my friends list are playing it, too).
2008 in a Sentence: Was the preponderance of co-op modes in games perhaps a pre-indicator of the post-partisan consensus-building of the Obama era?
Leigh Alexander / Gamasutra
Biggest Surprise: Metal Gear Solid 4's ending: who knew people who were supposed to be dead could take so long to die (and that I'd cry anyway?)
Biggest Disappointment: Rampant, unrepentant piracy seems to be on the rise.
2008 Game I'll Play in 2009: PixelJunk Eden. Can't relax without it these days.
2008 in a Sentence: We need broader audience attitudes and a more appropriate critical vocabulary to really appreciate this era of growth.
Brad Shoemaker / Giant Bomb
Biggest Surprise: That Dead Space and Banjo: N&B were my favorite games.
Biggest Disappointment: That I won't manage to finish GTA IV before 2009.
2008 Game I'll Play in 2009: Geometry Wars 2 -- purely skill-driven, endlessly entertaining.
2008 in a Sentence: No one game stood out because so many were truly great.
John Davison / What They Play
Biggest Surprise: A toss up between Club Penguin Elite Penguin Force or Aurora Feint
Biggest Disappointment: DS and iPhone versions of Spore.
2008 Game I'll Play in 2009: Fable 2. I just haven't had the time to get to it yet. Plus I'll be playing Burnout Paradise forever.
2008 in a Sentence: The first year that there really has been something genuinely good for absolutely anyone and everyone.
Ross Miller / Joystiq
Biggest Surprise: Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Biggest Disappointment: Spore's Tribal, Civilization and Space phases.
2008 Game I'll Play in 2009: Left4Dead4Ever
2008 in a Sentence: Just like 2007, September through November bankrupt me.
Reader Comments (15)
well polished turd is actually very shiny but i see what u mean
There were tons and tons of Wii games out this year, but 90 percent of them were shovelware -- and game reviewers ignore that crap on EVERY system. The sad truth is that the developers don't think the "casual gamer" is smart enough to know the difference between quality software and a polished turd. So while the Wii may be the best-selling console by a mile, the number of strong titles available for it is embarrasingly low. That's not the media's fault.
Biggest Surprise: "Left4Dead." When you break it down, there's really nothing special about this game, and yet I can't for the life of me put it down. The whole is profoundly greater than the sum of its parts. Valve wins. Biggest Disappointment: "The Force Unleashed." With the amount of hype surrounding this title and its array of groundbreaking technologies, "TFU" needed to be great. Instead, it was merely very good. Bummer. 2008 Game I'll Play in 2009: "World of Goo"! Coming on the heels of other indies like "Everyday Shooter," "Echochrome" and "Braid," this one is convincing me more and more that there's hope for the future of gaming. 2008 in a Sentence: Hey, ummm, wasn't this supposed to be the year of the PlayStation 3?
@laurent1066 it SO totally is rock science. But you're right, a ginormous population of gamers are on the Nintendo Wii -- if there were better Wii games out, though, I'm sure you'd see more of them on our lists!
The numbers back me up. Game Journos? (Whatever you people are called) may not be playing with the Wii but someone is. You can point to attach rates, or whatever you want. The fact is, the Wii has that Apple cool factor and it's going to have to be contended with. If I were a developer? I would sure as hell not make a game for the PS3 or Xbox! I'd make it for the Wii there are just that many MORE people to buy games. It's not rock science
Did Laurent just call me a chicken head AFTER recommending Wii Fit? Something's wrong with this picture. Either that or he's hitting the liquor early. :D
@laurent Chill, man, chill. The enthusiast press is the enthusiast press. Yahoo! Games (of all people to call out) did a fantastic job of covering the Wii this year. But you have a valid point - just look at the YTD sales figures: http://www.vgchartz.com/ayearly.php (i'd prefer NPD numbers, but hey, not free.)
Ok. I'll admit it. I got fired up and did some name calling. You get my point.
I'm throwing all your clowns under the bus. It does not seem to me you are the right people to panel. You're all insiders and have no understanding of what is going on in reality. Ever third post is "Where is the Wii" "I never use the Wii" etc. You nerds still don't get it? IT ISN'T FOR YOU! Not one of you mentioned Wii Fit? REALLY? That just shows you have no understanding of what is going on in real homes. Most people don't get every game, most people have ONE console, not all three. If you are a kid at school, what are you going to beg your mom to buy? PS3? Oh so you can play alone right? Xbox 360? Well maybe if you are in the Chess club. No you are going to get a Wii so you CAN FIT IN! The Wii is a status item. Get with it Chicken Heads Your time is past game journo nerd-hoard. Start covering populist stuff or you'll be out of work like a Yahoo/MTV/ATT employee!
i got gta iv on christmas and im already half way through it