So each of us has chosen our top 5 games of the year, but we decided to choose some other awards as well. Today is our biggest disappointment. A title or moment we were looking forward to that let us down and find it hard to defend at the end of the day. We’ve all been there.

Feel free to agree/disagree/wish death upon our choices in the comments.

Spore - nominated by Kevin
Few games in the history of the industry have ever had as much hype as Will Wright’s Spore. Some might say that it’s impossible for the game to ever have had a chance to live up to it and most of them would be right. I don’t know how it started out in the initial design process but what we ended up with is a sum that is made up of five stripped-down games that have little to no appeal. I tried to stick with it until the “Space” stage but I thought the boredom might have killed me.

The Ending of Metal Gear Solid 4 - nominated by Dan
I’m going to try and be as spoiler free as possible here, but my biggest disappointment of ‘08 was the ending to MGS4. There was the typical Kojima over the top build up and awesome final act that led to an ending that leaves the feeling I’d imagine eating a ton of dog shit would leave. Imagine this, you save all your money all year to buy this awesome industrial firework. You launch it, and it sails into the sky… your anticipation growing. At the apex of it’s arc as it’s about to burst into millions of colors and sounds, the fuse goes out and it sails back to Earth. Except the fall before it hits the ground takes about 90 minutes. You know in your heart as you watch hoping for it to ignite that it’s not going to, but you watch it the whole time anyway… just in case. Thud. This game was so awesome otherwise, leading right up the final cinematic.

Alien Crush Returns - nominated by Jim
The original Alien Crush is one of the titles that I hold solely responsible for my love of simulated pinball. That’s why it broke my heart when Alien Crush Returns turned out to be a piss-poor reimagining of the original. The ball physics were off, the tables were generic — everything was sub-par when compared to the original title. Considering Alien Crush is nearly 20 years old, that’s really saying something.

Too Human – nominated by Ryan
I thought Dyack might actually pull it off. He didn’t. Choppy cut scenes, uneven difficulty, and that angel of death that kills half a minute of your time every time you die made Too Human one of the biggest let downs of the year, hands down. Who ever though a sci-fi epic about a Norse god with a glowing face could suck so hard?

So each of us has chosen our top 5 games of the year, and we’ll be posting one each day all week… leading up to our favorite games of the year on Friday. It was incredibly hard picking only 5 games to recognize, as this year we had some truly fantastic titles. Suffice to say there’s a ton of games we loved this year that didn’t make it into our Top 5. So it goes.

Feel free to agree/disagree/wish death upon our choices in the comments.

Buzz: Quiz TV - nominated by Jim
I’m going to let you all in on a little secret: I go completely fucking retarded for trivia. I absorb useless information like a sponge. I can’t tell you why the sky is blue or how an engine works, but I can name all eleven Fletch books (and the four Flynn spinoffs) and wax poetic about the Eric Stoltz version of Back to the Future. I absorb useless shit like a Bounty. That’s why I jumped at the opportunity to show off my useless knowledge when Buzz for the PS3 came out. Not only does it offer thousands of questions and a mountain of smugness that puts my own to shame, but the regular DLC quiz packs and ability to make my own quizzes (and take the quizzes of others) makes the stash of questions limitless. As a party game, an online game, or just a quiet round on my own, Buzz: Quiz TV gave me the trivia game I’ve always wanted.

God of War: Chains of Olympus - nominated by Kevin
How is it that a developer can take the grandness and excellent gameplay of the God of War series and shrink it down to work on the PSP after so many developers have failed trying to do the same thing with other hallowed franchises? I don’t know but Ready At Dawn did it…and made the best game in the series yet. Chains Of Olympus was an all-killer, no-filler six hour affair for Sony’s portable that never once compromised anything, including the control scheme. Tighter and more intuitive than either of its older brother PS2 offerings helped make it the PSP’s best game.

Left 4 Dead - nominated by Dan
When you have friends around, you’re not likely going to find a more fun co-op experience. The super zombies ensure a different play through each time, and the AI Director while not perfect gives you a good wall to constantly push against. Proves that even the best laid plans go out the window when the smallest thing goes wrong, and everything goes to hell. The fact that friendly fire can’t be disabled lends greatly to the chaotic nature of the game, since shooting people in the back really isn’t going to help you if they die. Besides, shooting zombies in the head just NEVER GETS OLD.

Portal – nominated by Ryan
It’s Portal. Do I really need to say anything that hasn’t already been said better, by so many others? At any rate I wouldn’t dream of spoiling a single detail if you (somehow) haven’t tried this game yet.

So each of us has chosen our top 5 games of the year, but we decided to choose some other awards as well. Today is our vote for the game you’ve most likely looked past on your way to the next big release. But these smaller and off-kilter titles offer some of the best experiences of the year.

Feel free to agree/disagree/wish death upon our choices in the comments.

A Kingdom for Keflings - nominated by Jim
Zen gaming rocks. Mellow, simple, non-threatening gameplay is essential for that lazy Sunday afternoon, and games that fit the criteria are few and far between. That’s why Kingfom for Keflings is such a solid sleeper hit. Combining some basic RTS gathering elements and some SimCity-for-Dummies style gameplay, Keflings is the perfect game to kick back on the couch with to keep the adrenaline at a minimum.

Trials 2 - nominated by Kevin
I just about said everything I wanted to say about the game in my review but it seems like I didn’t make a strong enough argument for playing the game. Hopefully those of you who came to your senses and listened to me when I told you the game was awesome purchased it and found out for yourself. If you didn’t….well, what are you waiting for? The most fun you’ll have tearing your hair out in frustration awaits!

The Last Guy – nominated by Dan
I’ve tried to get people to play this game and for the most part I still feel like people just aren’t hearing me. Maybe people are put off by the satellite imagery thing, or the truly weird presentation. But the game plays like the classic snake games and at later levels require some inventive risk/reward situations that make you want to play the levels numerous times to try and save more people. If you have a PS3 you ought to at least try the demo.

Valkyria Chronicles. - nominated by Ryan
A beautiful, evocative sRPG that feels like a playable Miyazaki film.

It’s selling like shit, and this is your fault.

Go buy it, you bastards.

So each of us has chosen our top 5 games of the year, and we’ll be posting one each day all week… leading up to our favorite games of the year on Friday. It was incredibly hard picking only 5 games to recognize, as this year we had some truly fantastic titles. Suffice to say there’s a ton of games we loved this year that didn’t make it into our Top 5. So it goes.

Feel free to agree/disagree/wish death upon our choices in the comments.

Metal Gear Solid 4 – nominated by Ryan
As always, Kojima went for a stratospheric level of storytelling and detail, and mostly got what he wanted. MGS4 is a stupefyingly constructed, baffling, mesmerizing, confusing ball of comicbook heroism and political commentary. Somehow the story really does manage to pick up the few hundred stray threads of the Metal Gear universe and tie them up into a semblance of finality. Stunning presentation and some honestly heart-pounding moments near the end made this one of my favourite experiences.

Fieldrunners - nominated by Jim
There were a lot of top notch tower defense games out there this year, most of which have a place in my heart (and all of which were begging for a place on this list). But if I have to pick only one (and I’ve forced myself to do just that) it’s going to have to be FieldRunners. Sure it may not have the variety of towers or the huge selection of maps that other games have, but that’s honestly what’s so appealing about it. There’s a certain elegance in it’s simplicity. A great art style, simple touch screen mechanics, and two distinctly different maps that offer completely fresh experiences keep me coming back for more on a daily basis. It’s easily the best game on the iPhone so far.

N+ - nominated by Kevin
The year’s most challenging trial and error game was refreshingly simple in its appearance (evoking memories of a Commodore 64 era long since gone) and mechanics but exhaustingly deep in map design and skill implementation. It’s a great game to pick up and spend fifteen minutes or three hours playing though I wouldn’t suggest the latter, you may go mad.

Braid - nominated by Dan
I know, it was pretentious as hell… and some of us just didn’t get it. But for those of us that did were given a deep puzzle game disguised as a platformer. A different time-control mechanic for each level ensured that you never fell into a “been there, done that” feeling and the narrative, while self indulgent, left me truly satisfied. The game gives you a true feeling of accomplishment when beating each puzzle and never seemed unfair in it’s difficulty.

So each of us has chosen our top 5 games of the year, but we’re also chosen a few other awards to give out as well. Today’s is our most frustration inducing game, the one most likely to make us throw our controller across the room and into something breakable. Doesn’t necessarily mean we didn’t like the game, but at times felt like the game just hated us.

Feel free to agree/disagree/wish death upon our choices in the comments.

Home on PS3 - nominated by Dan
What a mind-fuckingly dumb idea. Take Second Life and remove the only interesting part (the user created content) and replace it with sponsors and microtransactions for furniture and clothes for your avatar. I suppose I could walk over to the virtual theater to watch the Twilight trailer, but wouldn’t I rather just download it somewhere? Having to wait for an arcade game to be unoccupied in order to play it was the final straw, and I quickly logged out before winging my controller in abject shock.

Braid – nominated by Ryan
And I am one of those who totally respect what that game is trying to do. But I also recall blacking out in a Tourette-esque haze of frustration at several of the puzzles, sometimes after finding out what the solution was. Braid wants to mock you. It’s a good game, and I do recommend it, but it’s fucking mean. (Special mention: PixelJunk Monsters, pre-difficulty patch.)

PixelJunk Monsters - nominated by Jim
As a girlfriend game PixelJunk Monsters couldn’t be more fun. Two people working together to annihilate hordes of adorable mosntrosities? Hottest date night EVER. But going it solo… you’d better have a Metal Slug level of patience. 14 tries, wave 18, death. You’ll find yourself wanting to put your foot through the nearest household pet long before you want to undertake attempt 15.

Grand Theft Auto 4 - nominated by Kevin
This is the last time I shit on GTA IV, I promise. I just can’t let it go without getting in one final dig for the year. I think if I actually had thrown my controller through a window it would have been more fun than trying to control a car in this game. I don’t care that it’s “more realistic” or whatever, the fact of the matter is it controls like shit, the cars feel heavy and it’s a burden in a game already chock full of burdens. Sure, driving in previous GTA’s wasn’t perfect but at least it was fun and effective.

What about you? What title frustrated you the most this year?

So each of us has chosen our top 5 games of the year, and we’ll be posting one each day all week… leading up to our favorite games of the year on Friday. It was incredibly hard picking only 5 games to recognize, as this year we had some truly fantastic titles. Suffice to say there’s a ton of games we loved this year that didn’t make it into our Top 5. So it goes.

Feel free to agree/disagree/wish death upon our choices in the comments.

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King - nominated by Dan
I know, I know… but can 11 million people really be wrong? A game that I love for the social aspects as much as the gameplay, I can thank this game for giving me more than a few real-life friends as well as hours of enjoyment inside the world. The new content brought some much needed variety to quests and dungeons and adds so much new stuff that this easily gives the most bang for the buck of any game on the list. There’s some truly epic shit going on in Northrend.

Fallout 3 – nominated by Ryan
I wasn’t a player of the original PC series, but I am big fan of Oblivion, and this is like Super Oblivion. The setting, guns, and general vibe of the Fallout universe lends itself to Bethesda’s spwarling RPG engine even more than their own homegrown medieval fantasy stuff. Takes forever to complete, and gives you a shockingly eerie Omega Man feeling. It’s the best western RPG of this year.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - nominated by Jim
While there were a dozen or so triple A titles that beat it out it in terms of gameplay and replayability, the inner Star Wars geek in me couldn’t have been happier to play The Force Unleashed. Tossing storm troopers into the belly of a sarlaac never gets old, and the story forms an integral part of the expanded Star Wars universe. I won’t spoil it for you, but there’s some jaw-dropping shit in there that still has me talking about it four months later. My only complaint is that there wasn’t more of it. Here’s to hoping we see another Star Wars game from the same team at LucasArts.

Fable 2 - nominated by Kevin
Peter Molyneux finally delivers on a good number of his promises and creates a sequel that betters its predecessor in every way. While the story left something to be desired the feeling that I was soloing a really good MMO overwhelmed me. There was so much to do in this game that you couldn’t possibly get to it on one playthrough.

Oh shit yea, just what I need… more of a reason to do some shopping on the Steam store. Everything, wait.. I mean EVERYTHING is on sale somewhere between 10%-75% off. Bioshock? 5 bucks. There’s all kinds of great deals to be had from now until January 2nd.

Get buying kiddies.