Koda's First Annual Game of the Year Awards

[Koda, Master Crunchyroller]

Ok, those of you that have known me for quite a while know that usually about now is when I make my end of the year awards for the best and worst in anime and manga that I've seen/read in that year. Well, since I didn't see or read that many anime and manga series from 2009, I dunno if I'll do my awards for those this year. If I do, they will most likely be delayed until sometime early 2010 as I get involved in a few more series. So instead, I'm doing something I wanted to do since the first year of my anime awards, and that is, making a thread awarding what I thought was the best and worst in video games. This is ALL my opinions, no voting or anything went into this. So, without further ado, let's get to the awards. I hope you guys actually read this, cause this will take an hour or so for me to compose. One rule, though, for each award, only one nominee per series, thus in something like the voice talent awards, only one voice per game/series per award.

Best Voice

With video games becoming more and more cinematic in style nowadays, an new found emphasis has been placed on the voice work behind the characters. So what games had the best examples of individual voice work on hand? Let's find out.

The nominees are:

- Nolan North as Nathan Drake(Uncharted 2: Among Thieves)
- Jack Black as Eddie Riggs(Brutal Legend)
- Mark Hamill as The Joker(Batman: Arkham Asylum)
- Hugh Dillon as Nick(Left 4 Dead 2)
- Nathan Fillion as Buck(Halo 3: ODST)

And the winner is...

Nolan North as Nathan Drake! This year's crop of voice acting did have quite a few duds this year, but so many voices were done so well that it was quite hard just to pick 5 of them, especially so with my self imposed one nominee per series. This was especially true for Arkham Asylum, Uncharted 2, and Left 4 Dead 2 as all 3 games had me flipping back and forth between characters until I stuck with the ones I felt had more memorable lines. As such, it had to be Nolan North's role as Nathan Drake this year that topped the rest. From his dialogue in the cutscenes to his one liners and on the fly quips at just about everything he encountered. Out of all the characters I nominated, Nathan Drake felt the most human of them thanks in part to his voice actor.

Best Voice Cast

More importantly than the individual voice actors is the game's overall cast. Many games can have one or two memorable voice actors, but the games that are remembered more for their ensemble casts is a rather short list, so who was the best?

The nominees are:

- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- Brutal Legend
- Halo 3: ODST
- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Assassin's Creed II

And the winner is...

Brutal Legend! Don't get me wrong, Uncharted 2 had better acting than 70% of Hollywood's films, Batman reunited nostalgic voice work, Assassin's Creed II brought you into Renaissance Italy, and ODST reunited most of the male cast from Firefly, but Brutal Legend's overall cast is something that can't be ignored. The voices involved is like a metal fan's wish list of who they want to meet, plus it had the vocal works of Tim f***ing Curry as the Big Bad, need I say more?

Best Original Score

Many people don't know this, but video games also get to use big budget orchestras and what not to form their soundtracks. This award may be titled original score, but this includes all forms of music in a game. So what game had the best original offerings?

The nominees are:

- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Muramasa: The Demon Blade
- Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
- BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger

And the winner is...

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger! Much like the voice acting, it was quite hard to narrow down the list of best scores and even harder to pick a winner, but BlazBlue's hard rock and operatic music is what set it above the rest. There is a reason why I bought the limited edition complete with the original soundtrack.

Best Licensed Soundtrack

Games with a licensed soundtrack means they took their music from another source, mostly from musical acts/groups. It would be easy to fill this award up with nothing but music games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, but for this category, I decided to limit the amount of music games to just 3. So, which game spent their money wisely?

The nominees are:

- The Beatles: Rock Band
- DJ Hero
- 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
- Brutal Legend
- Guitar Hero 5

And the winner is...

Brutal Legend! I love the Beatles, really I do, but I don't like all of their songs, DJ Hero had a new mix on popular songs, and 50 Cent had some of the better background music in the year, but Brutal Legend had through and through, my favorite licensed soundtrack all year long.

Best Graphics

Let's face it, we may say graphics don't matter, but we still want a game to at least look decent. This award, however, is totally for graphics whores, so this is for the games that pushed their system's limits.

The nominees are:

- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
- Left 4 Dead 2
- Batman: Arkham Asylum

And the winner is...

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves! Silent Hill pushed past what many thought the Wii could do, Batman showed us what the Unreal Engine could do, and Modern Warfare 2 brought some of the most realistic looking set pieces ever, but Uncharted 2, well it quite literally is only possible on the PS3, and the highest of high end PCs, but no game this year could even come close to touching Uncharted 2's attention to detail and design. Walking around in swishing snow up to you hips really swayed it for me.

Best Art Style

On the other end of the spectrum, there are games that really strive to prove that games can be art, plus these games tend to sacrifice graphical power to give incredible presentations.

The nominees are:

- Muramasa: The Demon Blade
- BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
- King of Fighters XII
- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- MadWorld

And the winner is...

Muramasa: The Demon Blade! BlazBlue and King of Fighters proved that 2d art styles can hang on the HD consoles, Batman showed a new look at old favorites, and MadWorld gave us a Sin Cty-inspired art style, but it was Muramasa's ancient Japanese painting styled graphics that truly stood out. It may very well have been the game's strongest points, and considering how good the gameplay is, that's saying something.

Best Single Player

With games nowadays almost always coming with some kind of multiplayer, it is getting harder to find games that are great to play by yourself. These are the games that remind me of the good old days.

The nominees are:

- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii
- Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Assassin's Creed II

And the winner is...

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves! New Super Mario took me back to my childhood, Silent Hill was the best horror single player experience I've faced since Silent Hill 2, Batman let me walk a mile in his shoes, and Assassin's Creed II was a thrilling political tale in olden days Italy, but Uncharted 2 made me feel like I was playing a movie.

Best Multiplayer

The other part of game equations now is the multiplayer, either on or offline. These nominees had me coming back to this mode multiple times.

The nominees are:

- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- Street Fighter IV

And the winner is...

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger! Simply put, BlazBlue had the best on and offline experience I've had with multiple people. Mario brought me and my sisters together for chaotic fun, and SF4, Uncharted 2, and Modern Warfare took care of the online fun, but BlazBlue was a complete package. The fact that it is the only game I've EVER played online that didn't have lag issues of any kind during the gameplay, doesn't hurt either.

Those were all the technical/miscellaneous/gameplay awards. Those awards looked at individual parts of the games. The rest of the awards for for the games themselves.

Most Disappointing Game

Sometimes, we, as gamers, just hype games up too much and they end up falling short. To be on this list of nominees does NOT mean the game sucks, it just means it didn't live up to what I hoped it would.

The nominees are:

- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- Resident Evil 5
- King of Fighters XII
- Scribblenauts
- Brutal Legend

And the loser is...

King of Fighters XII! The rest of the nominees either was lacking for some reason, be it MW2's rather....lack luster single player that was several hours shorter than the first one and went for nothing but shock and awe moments, Brutal Legend's bait and switch, being hyped as a hack 'n slash game and it turns out to be a hack 'n slash RTS game, Scribblenauts' terrible controls, or Resident Evil 5 just not being as good as RE4 and having not a single scary moment at all. King of Fighters XII, though, was a game plagued with glitches and bugs, and lacked several things, such as more than a couple of gameplay modes, and several of the series' more famous pairs of boobs, add in the fact that SNK sought fit to replace the expected boobs with a trap, and this has caused a huge mound of disappointment in this gamer. I expected a lot more.

Surprise Hit Game

On the other side of the coin, there are several games that either fly under the radar of gamers, or quite simply, no one had any faith in it being good. Well, these games certainly tickled me pink.

The nominees are:

- Demon's Souls
- 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
- Prototype
- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

And the winner is...

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand! Demon's Souls was a surprise, yes, but only because I never heard of it prior to release, had I known about it, it really wouldn't have been a surprise, Prototype took me back because I didn't believe the promises the developers said would come true, Batman was a breath of fresh air, but I knew that the Cape Crusader could pull out good games, and Silent Hill just took the series from its recent decline and brought it back to its peak. 50 Cent was the only game to follow a truly HORRENDOUS game. Is 50 Cent an original game? Hell no, but this was the only game I played this year that I had no hope for whatsoever.

Best Downloadable Game

With all 5 systems now having a way to download games, the downloadable games community is becoming a proving ground for new developers and riskier game ideas. So which half priced game, really earned the memory space this year?

The nominees are:

- Shadow Complex
- Trine
- Trials HD
- Fat Princess
- Flower

And the winner is...

Shadow Complex! Shadow Complex is a new take on the gameplay style of the 2D Metroid games, and it pays off. The other nominees each had a strong point, but I've honestly yet to stop playing Shadow Complex since I've got it. I can't say the same for the others. I gladly would've bought Shadow Complex for full price, but a tighter gaming budget forced me to grab it on sale.

Best First Person Shooter

With nearly every major release being played in first person, this genre is getting crowded, and fast, but which ones were the best?

The nominees are:

- Halo 3: ODST
- Left 4 Dead 2
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- Borderlands
- Killzone 2

And the winner is...

Killzone 2! Killzone 2 was too good to be true at E3 2005, and it sadly was, but finally, the game has come out, and it has more than lived up to that amazing trailer shown 4 years ago. Killzone 2 did everything that the first game did wrong, right, and thus made for the best first person experience of 2009.

Best Third Person Shooter

Ever since Gears of War proved to be such a huge hit, the TPS has been on the rise, eventually, it may even eclipse the FPS. These were the best of the best, this year.

The nominees are:

- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
- Ghostbusters
- Grand Theft Auto 4: Episodes From Liberty City
- Resident Evil 5

And the winner is...

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves! Uncharted 2 was almost put into the nominee list for Action/Adventure, but this game focuses more on the shooting than it does on the action/adventure stuff, making it one of the better TPS games of the year. GTA and Resident Evil 5 put up a strong enough fight, but the gameplay had a few problems here and there, while 50 Cent was rather unoriginal and Ghostbusters was meh overall, making this a rather easy choice.

Best Fighting Game

Fighting games saw a revival this year with some of the strongest entries to date, but which was the king of the rest?

The nominees are:

- BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
- King of Fighters XII
- Street Fighter IV
- Tekken 6
- Naruto: Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3

And the winner is...

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger! BlazBlue was a chaotic and fast pace, if not incredibly flashing, game this year that came out of left field. King of Fighters crashed and burned, Tekken was one of the weakest in the series, Street Fighter IV had a few gameplay issues and a really cheap boss that would get a thumbs up from SNK, and Naruto was too much of the same. BlazBlue took a risk, with such a small roster of unknown characters and released smack dab between the bigger fighting game releases of the year, but it paid off in the end by being the best fighting game experience I've had all year.

Best Role Playing Game

There is nothing like sitting down to grind away hours from your life by playing a role playing game. Which game made it worth wasting our life over?

The nominees are:

- Demon's Souls
- Dragon Age: Origins
- Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
- Borderlands
- Half-Minute Hero

And the winner is...

Demon's Souls! Sure this game may be hard...really...really hard, but it is one of the more satisfying RPG games I've ever played.

Best Racing Game

Racing games are becoming a dime a dozen now, but that doesn't mean there aren't good racing games.

The nominees are:

- Need For Speed: Shift
- MotorStorm: Arctic Edge
- Forza Motorsport 3
- Gran Turismo PSP
- Dirt 2

And the winner is...

Forza Motorsport 3! Forza 3 has it all, the tracks, the cars, and above all else, the customization. It has more than any other racing game this year could even hope to deliver.

Best Action/Adventure Game

This was one of the biggest years for Action/Adventure games, and also one of the hardest to pick a winner for.

The nominees are:

- Muramasa: The Demon Blade
- inFAMOUS
- Assassin's Creed II
- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

And the winner is...

Batman: Arkham Asylum! The first good Batman game in a long, long time was also the best Action/Adventure game this year. The gameplay, music, graphics, and voice work were all top notch and has led to multiple play throughs. I cannot wait for the next offering Rocksteady has planned for us.

Best Sports Games

The has got to be the best year for sports games that I can remember. Every series brought some of their best entries and even some new series popped up.

The nominees are:

- Madden NFL 10
- Wii Sports Resort
- FIFA 10
- UFC Undisputed 2009
- Fight Night Round 4

And the winner is...

UFC Undisputed 2009! While it was great to see incredible new entries in the Fight Night, FIFA, Madden, and Wii Sports series, it was even greater to see a new series pop up and do incredibly well. I love the fact just how they were able to get some of the finer touches of the sport, such as unpredictable knock outs, into the game.

Best Puzzle Game

Everyone loves a brain teaser, right? Right? These were the better brain teasers this year.

The nominees are:

- Professor Layton & The Diabolical Box
- Scribblenauts
- Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure

And the winner is...

Professor Layton & The Diabolical Box! Professor Layton is currently the king of puzzle games. As long as Level 5 can pop out great games in this series, I hope it never ends.

Best Strategy Game

Strategy games are a great way to test one's skills. While one of the PC's last strongholds on the gaming industry, console RTS games are becoming better. Which one made us manage our resources the best in 2009?

The nominees are:

- Halo Wars
- Brutal Legend
- Fat Princess
- Empire Total War

And the winner is...

Halo Wars! Halo Wars may be simplified, but it comes full circle to the original Halo, in that the first game was originally going to be a strategy game. The game simplified RTS mechanics and made a truly viable console RTS game. Hopefully many more great console RTS games will follow in the wake of this game.

Best Music Game

Music games have reached critical mass this year, and unsurprisingly, the music game genre was the loser this year in terms of revenue, with every single music game released this year selling well under their publishers' projected numbers. Still, some quality games came out this year.

The nominees are:

- Guitar Hero 5
- The Beatles: Rock Band
- DJ Hero
- Band Hero
- LEGO Rock Band

And the winner is...

DJ Hero! DJ Hero was truly the only original breath of fresh air in the music game department this year. Yes, The Beatles: Rock Back truly captured The Beatles, but overall, the gameplay was the same. Though that's not a bad thing, but with this genre being flooded with almost nothing but slight variations year after year now, DJ Hero was the only true stand out.

Best New Game

If there is one thing I love, it is seeing new franchises born. These were the best new franchises born this year, but which one was the best?

The nominees are:

- Demon's Souls
- BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
- UFC Undisputed 2009
- Prototype
- Borderlands

And the winner is...

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger! I LOVE the Guilty Gear series, so seeing the next series from Arc System Works start off so good is a good thing in my eyes. I expect nothing but good things from this series.

Best Handheld Game

The handheld systems had sort of a hit or miss year in 2009, but some great games still managed to get through.

The nominees are:

- Professor Layton & the Diabolical Box
- Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
- Resistance: Retribution
- Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
- Half-Minute Hero

And the winner is...

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars! I love the GTA series, I especially love burning time away on the old top down GTA games, so seeing the series return to that style, even briefly, was great.

Best Wii Game

The Wii had one of its strongest years by far, and despite some strong Nintendo titles, it had even stronger third party titles.

The nominees are:

- New Super Mario Bros. Wii
- MadWorld
- Punch-out!!
- Muramasa: The Demon Blade
- Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

And the winner is...

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories! Silent Hill was the strongest Wii title this year, imo, solely based on the game's storyline, and psyche evaluations that affected the game. It was a shame that it had to come out this late in the year, and as a result missed out on quite a few sources game of the year awards.

Best PC Game

The PC isn't dead yet, and these 5 games show why.

The nominees are:

- Dragon Age: Origins
- Borderlands
- Left 4 Dead 2
- Empire Total War
- Batman: Arkham Asylum

And the winner is...

Dragon Age: Origins! Dragon Age shows, if nothing else, that certain games are still better on the PC, with the PC version of Dragon Age trumping the console versions in every which way.

Best PlayStation 3 Game

The PlayStation 3 had by far the best year in its life cycle this year, and it showed, with great titles throughout the year.

The nominees are:

- Demon's Souls
- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- Killzone 2
- Assassin's Creed II
- Batman: Arkham Asylum

And the winner is...

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves! Uncharted 2 edged past some of the best offerings to hit the system so far by BEING the best offering to hit the system so far.

Best Xbox 360 Game

The Xbox 360 didn't have as good of a year as it usually has, but that doesn't mean there weren't quality games.

The nominees are:

- Halo 3: ODST
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- Assassin's Creed II
- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Left 4 Dead 2

And the winner is...

Batman: Arkham Asylum! Quite ironic that I picked a game on the system with the biggest focus on online that doesn't even have online outside of online leaderboards for the challenge rooms. But it is true, Batman is the best 360 game I've played this year, and would've been the best PS3 game, too, if Uncharted 2 didn't come out.

GAME OF THE YEAR

This is it, the crown jewel of the year. The game that was the king of games this year. No other game could top this game, but first, the nominees. Since just picking 5 games would be too hard for me, and would definitely leave a lot of deserving games out in the cold, I've decided that the nominees are the winners of the different genre awards(including downloadable game and surprising game) as well as the system awards.

The nominees are:

- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- Dragon Age: Origins
- Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
- Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
- BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
- DJ Hero
- Halo Wars
- Professor Layton & The Diabolical Box
- UFC Undisputed 2009
- Forza Motorsport 3
- Demon's Souls
- Killzone 2
- Shadow Complex
- 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand

And the winner is...

UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES!!! Was there any doubt that I would pick this as my game of the year? I song the praises and glowing hyperbole of the game since the release day, nay, since I played the multilayer demo/beta prior to release day. Batman was the game that came closest to beating Uncharted 2, but at the end of the day, Uncharted 2's online helped tip the game over Batman.

Oh, and guys better have liked that. My "one hour" estimate from the beginning? Yeah, that was typed almost FOUR hours ago.

[AFN: Judge Shred]

Best PC Game

The PC isn't dead yet, and these 5 games show why.

The nominees are:

- Dragon Age: Origins
- Borderlands
- Left 4 Dead 2
- Empire Total War
- Batman: Arkham Asylum

And the winner is...

Dragon Age: Origins! Dragon Age shows, if nothing else, that certain games are still better on the PC, with the PC version of Dragon Age trumping the console versions in every which way.

My hardcore PC buddies have said they'd prefer Dragon Age on consoles because it is one case where the controls are way better

[Koda, Master Crunchyroller]

Dec 28, 2009 5:19:49 GMT -5 AFN: Judge Shred said:

Best PC Game

The PC isn't dead yet, and these 5 games show why.

The nominees are:

- Dragon Age: Origins
- Borderlands
- Left 4 Dead 2
- Empire Total War
- Batman: Arkham Asylum

And the winner is...

Dragon Age: Origins! Dragon Age shows, if nothing else, that certain games are still better on the PC, with the PC version of Dragon Age trumping the console versions in every which way.

My hardcore PC buddies have said they'd prefer Dragon Age on consoles because it is one case where the controls are way better

Really? I prefer it on PC cause the stop & start gameplay, though REALLY brief in the stop & start department, makes more sense with a mouse.

[AFN: Judge Shred]

Dec 28, 2009 5:26:20 GMT -5 Koda, Master Crunchyroller said:

Dec 28, 2009 5:19:49 GMT -5 AFN: Judge Shred said:

My hardcore PC buddies have said they'd prefer Dragon Age on consoles because it is one case where the controls are way better

Really? I prefer it on PC cause the stop & start gameplay, though REALLY brief in the stop & start department, makes more sense with a mouse.

I was really shocked. But one guy especially said he had bought it for PC, played it a bit, then played the PS3 version at a friends, and he liked it more, enough to buy the PS3 version. Which shocked me, as he is PC uber nerd.

[B.B.M]

I know these are your opinions, but I'm going to respond with a Agree/disagree thing, Ok.

Best Voice
Nolan North as Nathan Drake

I prefered Mark Hamill's Performance as the Joker. Nathan Drake is too generic for my tastes.

Best Voice Cast
Brutal Legend!

Yes, Brutal Legend has alot of the biggest rockstars doing voices. When compared to other Voice Casts of the year, it rakes the floor with them.

Best Original Score
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger!

Once you've heard a Guilty Gear soundtrack, you've heared them all, not saying it's a bad thing, since Guilty Gear music is well produced, but it does all sound the same after a while. To me, MadWorld had the best soundtrack this year, Because it was different, from these soundtrack, that have been heard before.

Best Licensed Soundtrack
Brutal Legend!

Counting Music games like DJ Hero or Beatles: Rock Band is abit silly, since their main priority is Music. Brutal Legend is Music Inspired, and is a great choice.

Best Graphics
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves!

If I was going to show someone what the HD consoles can produce, I would show off Uncharted 2. More HD games should try to replicate it, instead of Gears Of War 2, with it's Grungy settings. Sure Uncharted 2 has Grungy terrians, but it also had alot more.

Best Art Style
Muramasa: The Demon Blade!

The one thing the Wii can excel at, is 2D games, Sure the HD consoles can do this as well, but it takes longer to do. Muramasa continues it's reign of Great-looking 2D games, with this, and the underated Odin Sphere for the PS2.

Best Single Player
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves!

Both NSMBWii and Uncharted 2 has great Single Player, so it would be a hard choice. NSMBWii still shows how Side-Scrolling can still hold their own, and Uncharted 2 shows how 3D platforming is advancing.

Best Multiplayer
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger!

I strongly disagree with this. BlazBlue can't compete with half the multiplayer games released this year, Online and Offline.

Most Disappointing Game
King of Fighters XII!

Compared to other fighters released this year, it really couldn't hold it's own. It felt they spent more time with the sprites than the gameplay. When Something like BlazBlue can have a small less characters, but make up for it with great Gameplay, KOFXII didn't do this sadly.

Surprise Hit Game
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand!

The only reason this game sold was because it had 50 Cent in it, if it contained any other character, it would have flopped. But do to the game having 50 Cent's mug on the front, it will attract fans of his Music to the game. The gameplay wasn't all that great, and the Story...Oh god, it felt like Written fellatio for 50 Cent

Best Downloadable Game
Shadow Complex!

Sure Shadow Complex was good, but there was better DLGames released this year. Two which were, LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias and Tales of Monkey Island.

Best First Person Shooter
Killzone 2!

FPS games hurt my head on how they're all the same, and quite easy compared to old FPS games. Apart from that, I think LFD2 was good, and since it's done by Valve, keeps the old FPS roots.

Best Third Person Shooter
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves!

As I said with the Graphic, Uncharted 2 does what other games like this does, but better, and that games like this, should follow Uncharted 2's style, instead of Gears Of War's Grungy world.

Best Fighting Game
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger!

I know my Fighting games, and BlazBlue is basically Guilty Gear with a new skin, which isn't a bad thing, since Sammy has a "If not broke, don't fix" fighting engine.

But this year, it had to be Fight Night Round 4. The one thing I look for in fighting games, is Technical Gameplay. This is what the Virtua Fighter and Bushido Blade games offered, and that was FNR4 also offered.

Best Role Playing Game
Demon's Souls!

I'm not a fan of the RPG genre, so i'll stay away from this

Best Racing Game
Forza Motorsport 3!

What I like from my Racing Games, is Arcade style, but since no-one offers that anymore, Forza 3 was the closest I got.

Best Action/Adventure Game
Batman: Arkham Asylum!

Batman: AA used alot of things that made the Action/Adventure genre great, plus more.

Best Sports Games
UFC Undisputed 2009!

As i've mentioned back in the Fighting game part, I prefer Fight Night Round 4. Also I thought Wii Sports Resort was great, the WMplus was used pretty well, and the events were fun, especially the Canoeing.

Best Puzzle Game
Professor Layton & The Diabolical Box!

Alongside Fighting games, I know my puzzle game, and their job is to make you focus, and feel rewarding. Professor Layton does this perfectly. One series I would recommend is the Art Style series on the DSIware and Wiiware services.

Best Strategy Game
Halo Wars!

One game that annoys me, for getting ignored, is Little Kings Story. People Ignore it due to it looking like a kiddie game, but when you take away it's cover, there is a full-merged gameplay behind it.

Best Music Game
DJ Hero!

DJ Hero re-opened the door of the Beatmania games, and reintroduced it to western gamers. I also consider DJ Hero is be better than RockBand and Guitar Hero. Another game which is great, is Rhythm Paradise

Best New Game
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger!

Most of the game I've collected this year have been sequels, or non-announced Sequels, so I can't comment on this

Best Handheld Game
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars!

I disagree with this, and stick with Professor Layton.

Best Wii Game
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories!

SH:SM hasn't been released here in Europe yet, so it's going be around the MadWorld/Punchout/NSMBWii area for us

Best PC Game
Dragon Age: Origins!

PC isn't dead, if you don't mention games that appear on console, and better. Games like Plants vs. Zombies, and Tales Of Monkey Island which are better on PC, and excel on the platform. And with Steam becoming VERY popular, PC gaming isn't going anywhere yet.

Best PlayStation 3 Game
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves!

That was quite obvious

Best Xbox 360 Game
Batman: Arkham Asylum!

Even though the PS3 version offers more? Sadly the 360 hasn't been excelling on games this year. I think this should have gone to Forza 3.

GAME OF THE YEAR
UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES!!!

Showing what the PS3, and HD gaming can do as a whole...I can't of any other game. Uncharted 2 showed what HD gaming can do, if they attempt to go their own way.


.....So, how's that for a response.

[AriadosMan]

Hey Koda, could you do an award for handheld-specific games? I know there's alot of DS/PSP users out there.
Other than that, excellent choices.

[Koda, Master Crunchyroller]

Dec 28, 2009 15:30:44 GMT -5 B.B.M said:

I know these are your opinions, but I'm going to respond with a Agree/disagree thing, Ok.

Best Voice
Nolan North as Nathan Drake

I prefered Mark Hamill's Performance as the Joker. Nathan Drake is too generic for my tastes.


Yes, Brutal Legend has alot of the biggest rockstars doing voices. When compared to other Voice Casts of the year, it rakes the floor with them.


Once you've heard a Guilty Gear soundtrack, you've heared them all, not saying it's a bad thing, since Guilty Gear music is well produced, but it does all sound the same after a while. To me, MadWorld had the best soundtrack this year, Because it was different, from these soundtrack, that have been heard before.



Counting Music games like DJ Hero or Beatles: Rock Band is abit silly, since their main priority is Music. Brutal Legend is Music Inspired, and is a great choice.


If I was going to show someone what the HD consoles can produce, I would show off Uncharted 2. More HD games should try to replicate it, instead of Gears Of War 2, with it's Grungy settings. Sure Uncharted 2 has Grungy terrians, but it also had alot more.


The one thing the Wii can excel at, is 2D games, Sure the HD consoles can do this as well, but it takes longer to do. Muramasa continues it's reign of Great-looking 2D games, with this, and the underated Odin Sphere for the PS2.


Both NSMBWii and Uncharted 2 has great Single Player, so it would be a hard choice. NSMBWii still shows how Side-Scrolling can still hold their own, and Uncharted 2 shows how 3D platforming is advancing.


I strongly disagree with this. BlazBlue can't compete with half the multiplayer games released this year, Online and Offline.


Compared to other fighters released this year, it really couldn't hold it's own. It felt they spent more time with the sprites than the gameplay. When Something like BlazBlue can have a small less characters, but make up for it with great Gameplay, KOFXII didn't do this sadly.


The only reason this game sold was because it had 50 Cent in it, if it contained any other character, it would have flopped. But do to the game having 50 Cent's mug on the front, it will attract fans of his Music to the game. The gameplay wasn't all that great, and the Story...Oh god, it felt like Written fellatio for 50 Cent


Sure Shadow Complex was good, but there was better DLGames released this year. Two which were, LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias and Tales of Monkey Island.


FPS games hurt my head on how they're all the same, and quite easy compared to old FPS games. Apart from that, I think LFD2 was good, and since it's done by Valve, keeps the old FPS roots.


As I said with the Graphic, Uncharted 2 does what other games like this does, but better, and that games like this, should follow Uncharted 2's style, instead of Gears Of War's Grungy world.


I know my Fighting games, and BlazBlue is basically Guilty Gear with a new skin, which isn't a bad thing, since Sammy has a "If not broke, don't fix" fighting engine.

But this year, it had to be Fight Night Round 4. The one thing I look for in fighting games, is Technical Gameplay. This is what the Virtua Fighter and Bushido Blade games offered, and that was FNR4 also offered.


I'm not a fan of the RPG genre, so i'll stay away from this


What I like from my Racing Games, is Arcade style, but since no-one offers that anymore, Forza 3 was the closest I got.


Batman: AA used alot of things that made the Action/Adventure genre great, plus more.


As i've mentioned back in the Fighting game part, I prefer Fight Night Round 4. Also I thought Wii Sports Resort was great, the WMplus was used pretty well, and the events were fun, especially the Canoeing.


Alongside Fighting games, I know my puzzle game, and their job is to make you focus, and feel rewarding. Professor Layton does this perfectly. One series I would recommend is the Art Style series on the DSIware and Wiiware services.


One game that annoys me, for getting ignored, is Little Kings Story. People Ignore it due to it looking like a kiddie game, but when you take away it's cover, there is a full-merged gameplay behind it.


DJ Hero re-opened the door of the Beatmania games, and reintroduced it to western gamers. I also consider DJ Hero is be better than RockBand and Guitar Hero. Another game which is great, is Rhythm Paradise


Most of the game I've collected this year have been sequels, or non-announced Sequels, so I can't comment on this


I disagree with this, and stick with Professor Layton.


SH:SM hasn't been released here in Europe yet, so it's going be around the MadWorld/Punchout/NSMBWii area for us


PC isn't dead, if you don't mention games that appear on console, and better. Games like Plants vs. Zombies, and Tales Of Monkey Island which are better on PC, and excel on the platform. And with Steam becoming VERY popular, PC gaming isn't going anywhere yet.


That was quite obvious


Even though the PS3 version offers more? Sadly the 360 hasn't been excelling on games this year. I think this should have gone to Forza 3.

GAME OF THE YEAR
UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES!!!

Showing what the PS3, and HD gaming can do as a whole...I can't of any other game. Uncharted 2 showed what HD gaming can do, if they attempt to go their own way.


.....So, how's that for a response.

That's actually a well done response, more civilized than what one would expect from the internet as a whole, really.

[Koda, Master Crunchyroller]

Dec 28, 2009 15:38:52 GMT -5 AriadosMan said:

Hey Koda, could you do an award for handheld-specific games? I know there's alot of DS/PSP users out there.
Other than that, excellent choices.

I could do that, when I get some more free time.

There certainly was enough handheld games to just fit the list I already made. I mean, I left a LOT of games out in the cold.

[AriadosMan]

Dec 28, 2009 16:35:48 GMT -5 Koda, Master Crunchyroller said:

Dec 28, 2009 15:38:52 GMT -5 AriadosMan said:

Hey Koda, could you do an award for handheld-specific games? I know there's alot of DS/PSP users out there.
Other than that, excellent choices.

I could do that, when I get some more free time.

There certainly was enough handheld games to just fit the list I already made. I mean, I left a LOT of games out in the cold.

Yeah, handhelds had a surprising amount of releases even in the recession. I guess next year would be a good time to try a "best Flash game" or "best freeware game" category as well.

[AFN: Judge Shred]

Quote:
Surprise Hit Game
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand!

The only reason this game sold was because it had 50 Cent in it, if it contained any other character, it would have flopped. But do to the game having 50 Cent's mug on the front, it will attract fans of his Music to the game. The gameplay wasn't all that great, and the Story...Oh god, it felt like Written fellatio for 50 Cent

A bunch of reviewers have said it is a great guilty pleasure game, and head and shoulders above the previous game. Saying it was the game they go back to when they want a laugh and to jack around.

Quote:
Best Racing Game
Forza Motorsport 3!

What I like from my Racing Games, is Arcade style, but since no-one offers that anymore, Forza 3 was the closest I got.

Well, when Burnout Paradise comes about, no one else bothered to compete for a bit. But Split/Second is coming and looks pretty awesome.

[Allie Kitsune]

I have to disagree with the "KoF XII replaced the boobs with a trap!" sentiment.

SNKP has never has any of the other characters act like Ash is a girl, and Ash has been around since KoF 2003, a game that Mai WAS in. She was taken out in KoF XI (arcade version, then sorta-added back in the home version).

If anything, Mai was replaced by _RAIDEN_, a big beefy Vader tribute, and even that's stretching it.

[Jiren]

I thought Uncharted was NO WAY near as good as Arkham Asylum in everything.

[Cyno]

Arkham Asylum was my definite GOTY. I loved playing it.

And I agree with you on KOF12. What a disappointing piece of crap that game turned out to be. And I didn't really care about Mai not being in either.

[Deleted]

My only real comment as there are few categories where I have sat and played them all is this:

Tony Hawk; Ride doesn't take the disappointment award...how?

[Koda, Master Crunchyroller]

Dec 29, 2009 2:26:44 GMT -5 @geneyussrevolution said:

My only real comment as there are few categories where I have sat and played them all is this:

Tony Hawk; Ride doesn't take the disappointment award...how?

I had to have had hope for the game/had some kind of hype for the game for me to be disappointed by it. I lost hope for the Tony Hawk series after Project 8, so I had no hope for RIDE. How could I be disappointed by a game that I had no hope in to begin with? If anything, RIDE surpassed my expectations. I just thought it would suck. I never expected arguably one of the worst games EVER made. ;D

[Rorschach]

Man...great list there. Only thing that disappointed me was the lack of InFAMOUS in the Best Single Player category. It should have been included, without a doubt. No other game that I played this year really came near that level of great storytelling and compelling gameplay, not to mention the awesome free roam and power options. It also did a heck of a lot with the "choosing good or evil" dynamic.

[Ass Dan]

I disagree with several of your choices, but my willfullness to make an argument counteracting four hours worth of work had made me to decide not to make an issue of it.

[Koda, Master Crunchyroller]

Dec 29, 2009 3:04:39 GMT -5 Ass Dan said:

I disagree with several of your choices, but my willfullness to make an argument counteracting four hours worth of work had made me to decide not to make an issue of it.

Oh, no, go for it man. Look at B.B.M.'s response. I can take disagreement, in fact, I encourage it.

[Cyno]

I'd disagree with a lot of your choices by default, because I haven't played Uncharted 2 (yet). Curse my lack of PS3 and lack of money to get one.

Re: Tony Hawk: RIDE. I thought that game looked awful from the moment it was revealed. I actually got to play the Wii version (though I'm sure it doesn't make much difference) over the weekend and wow. Worst game I've played all year. Even worse than KOF12.

[Sharpy Snow]

Can't really comment on the Uncharted wins as I haven't played it (From what I have played though, Batman is GotY and I am certainly glad you didn't give it to the "same old" that is CoD)

I have to respectivly disagree on GTA for the Handheld one though. Both Spirit Tracks and Layton were better in my personal opinion, though the GTA games haven't always been my cup of tea anyway and I've only played a short burst of it (I do prefer it to GTA4 by far though)

Silent Hill isn't even out over here yet, so I can't really disagree as such, but out of the three games on that list I have played, I would have to go with Punch Out.


I am disapointed however that Left 4 Dead 2 wasn't in the multiplayer game list )=