So we’ve come to the end of our 2008 favorite games/random awards countdown. What? You missed it cause you were celebrating New Years? Well, I agree… the timing was a bit weird. So let’s take a look back at last week shall we and highlight our Top 5 Games of the year, as well as those “other” awards.

Games of the Year countdown

• Game of the Year: #5
• Game of the Year: #4
• Game of the Year: #3
• Game of the Year: #2
• Game of the Year: #1

Awards

• 2008 was the year of…
• Best Long Burn Title
• Biggest Disappointment
• You’re Not Playing This Game, But Trust Me, You Should Be
• Title Most Likely to Make You Throw Your Controller

So that’s it, and was a fine year it was. Far to many games to even play (I’m not only getting to games like Motorstorm Pacific Rift, Prince of Persia and Mirror’s Edge. 2009 looks to be a damn good year in it’s own right but let’s be honest, 2008 is gonna be hard to beat.

And don’t forget to go here and tell us was 2008 was to YOU in the world of video games. You’ll be entered in our contest to win some prizes!

Now that the holidays have finally come to a close, I felt it was time to share with you all the lump of coal that Santa left in my stocking. It was black, shaped like a PS3 controller, and dripping with orange juice. That’s right — my children conspired against me to “accidentally” give my DualShock 3 an orange juice facial.

Now you might be thinking to yourself, “but how can an 18 month old conspire to do anything?” The answer; she’s wily. As the 4 year old and I say at the kitchen table enjoying our lunch, the littler one decided to drag my DualShock 3 onto the kitchen floor and leave it beside her sisters chair. Not really thinking anything of it (kids do weird shit all the time, you get used to it), I continued about my lunch. Moments later the older child reached across the table for something, knocking her orange juice over in the process. Wanton destruction ensued.

The wife tried to use the old “put it in rice” method that had been peudo-successful with an iPod that had been destroyed months earlier, but no such luck. That thing was deader than a doornail.

The good news? The thought of bashing their heads with a VCS console never entered my mind. Not a year goes by where you don’t hear about some sociopath beating a kid to death because they were crying during a marathon Halo session or because they walked in front of the screen at a crucial moment. And while I’d like to think I’m not one of those people, you never really know until the situation presents itself. So the good news is I’m not a gaming-motivated child killer. The bad news? I’m down to one Sixaxis, no rumble. Ah-boo.

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 the final one and we simply had to finish this sentence and explain our choice. 2008 was the year of… (blank).

So here’s the contest…. what was 2008 to you in the world of games? Tell us how you’d finish the sentence and why and you’ll be entered in our drawing for some prizes. So far I have some Meatbun shirts, Tecmo Bowl for the DS, a Parappa the Rappa PSP case, A Zelda Wii shoulder bag and more. Costs nothing to enter, and I’ll pay shipping to get the goods out to you!

So what was 2008 to you????

…Downloading everything - nominated by Kevin
Probably not just in games but all across the media world digital download delivery services really started coming into their own this year as their general acceptance grew wider. We saw a huge string of phenomenal games grace XBLA and PSN this year as content for both Rock Band and Guitar Hero flew off the servers that now act as our digital shelves. Hell, even I was able to let go of my driving need to have a tangible object in my hands after I buy something and started to prefer Steam for my PC needs. It only makes sense to see this trend continue in the upcoming years.

…The Wii. Again. - nominated by Dan
It’s obvious now that the system is just not meant for me, and I’m totally cool with that. Nor does it need to be, the Wii could be confiscated as a money printing machine at this point. This is the 3rd holiday season for the system and you still can’t walk into a store and buy one (most of the time). Same goes for Wii Fit. They sold 2 million just this past November. It’s crazy, and shows no signs of slowing down. Most people can’t really even pick out more than a few titles worth buying, yet it’s nigh impossible to find one on shelves. Low cost means Nintendo is making money from the get-go, attach rate be damned. And a glorified scale got everyone (including my fiancee) excited. Blu-Ray? HDMI? a console apparently needs not these things…

…downloadable games so good I can hardly believe it – nominated by Ryan
And I never would have predicted that. XBLA is certainly the pioneer here, but it wasn’t until Sony’s PSN launched and started unveiling some very aggressive, freaky indy picks, that both of them got serious about experimental, low-budget games. PacMan CE is good, don’t get me wrong, but look at what we got this year: Braid, Rez HD, PixelJunk Eden, Wipeout HD, N+, Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty, Bionic Commando: Rearmed, Castle Crashers, Ikaruga and more. Unbelievable. So not only do we now get fantastic, smaller-scope games for excellent prices, but little indy devs have a direct line to console gamers and are no longer confined to the PC space only. I have seen the future, and it is downloaded.

…co-op gaming - nominated by Jim
Co-op has been something game designers have been trying to incorporate successfully since the 8-bit era, but in 2008 it really came into it’s own. Things kicked off with Army of Two’s partner-centric gameplay and and PixelJunk Monsters couple-friendly tower building, and just kept motoring on. Left 4 Dead, Gears of War 2 Horde mode, the list goes on and on. Single player gaming can go fuck up a tree, or so says 2008.

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 Goo (PC version) - nominated by Dan
If it seems like an oddball choice, then you’ve never had the pleasure of building enormous goo structures in 2D Boy’s ridiculously entertaining puzzle game. The game’s physics are the star here, and present a rule set that is wacky but totally reliable. A decent learning curve that doesn’t hold your hand to long has you placing and throwing all sorts of goo balls around in order to find your way to the finish line. I bought this game after losing one of the demo levels. Think about that. I failed and that intrigued me enough to plop down the $20 right there to buy it, even though I wasn’t even done the demo. Best money I spent on a game all year. 2DBoy should be proud of what they’ve made. (I can’t believe we never gave it a proper review, expect that to be rectified soon).

LittleBigPlanet – nominated by Ryan
I actually think that this game has arrived from the future, not having been developed so much as teleported from another dimension. LBP is just such a ridiculously ambitious undertaking, I can hardly believe that it didn’t slip into one of those multi-year delays. Let’s tally the reasons: best art direction of any game this year by far; an almost-offensively hip soundtrack; and an infinite supply of user-created and -ranked levels. Add in the recent Metal Gear-themed DLC with its attendent gameplay changes (paintball guns!) and you can see where they’re going with this thing. Despite a slow sales start I do think LittleBigPlanet will be with us for a long time.

Pinball Hall of Fame: Williams Collection - nominated by Jim
While it may not be for everyone, Pinball Hall of Fame: Williams Collection is the single best pinball simulation that’s ever been on the market. With dead-on physics, classic tables, and an ingenious control scheme that simulates real flippers, Williams Collection was the total package. FarSight Studios have proven themselves the masters of the simulated table. I only pray that we see another entry in the series, or at least see the UK-only Wii-release of the Gottlieb Collection come stateside. 10 tables just isn’t enough, even if Pinbot is in there dammit!

Burnout Paradise - nominated by Kevin
You might not know it now but years down the road we’ll probably be looking back at this game as a landmark title. Not only did Criterion take a beloved franchise, flip it on its head and make it work but they also showed unprecedented free content love to a console title that has never been seen before. Let’s not forget that this title came out in the beginning of the year and there’s still a ton of people playing it every night, and it doesn’t even have the words “Halo” or “Call Of Duty” in its title.

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 the title we expect to be entertaining us into 2009 the longest. Maybe it’s a game we haven’t gotten to yet, barely scratched the surface of, or even one that we know is going to take forever to get through.

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

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King - nominated by Kevin
2008 was the year that I realized I am not worthy of any game that Blizzard makes. They care more about the quality of their games than almost any other company out there. WoW is that company’s money printer, they could easily rest on their laurels and spit out “roster update” style patches and expansions but instead they constantly strive to balance and rework everything. Thanks to Wrath it’s a totally different game than what originally launched but it’s better in almost every possible way ensuring that I’ll still be playing this content next year when I’m making my 2009 lists.

Burnout Paradise / Warhawk (tie) – nominated by Ryan
I am completely torn on this one, between Burnout Paradise and Warhawk. Call it a tie. Both games managed to keep a huge online player base alive and kicking throughout a whole year, by heaping gobs of excellent DLC on us, and planning frequent online “events”. Either one is well worth your money and your time.

Fallout 3 - nominated by Dan
Oblivion with guns, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. I put over 100 hours into Oblivion and I see that number getting eclipsed by Fallout. Karma, picking which towns to destroy and choosing your own path means I’ll play through this game a few times as well. The Fallout humor and world is completely intact and feels totally real sometimes. I’ll be playing this game forever.

LittleBigPlanet - nominated by Jim
Not only did it provide one of the most charming experiences of the year, but the quality user-created content and frequent DLC have made LittleBigPlanet a title that I can’t walk away from for long. Hell — I haven’t even finished the levels that shipped on the disc yet — I’ve been too busy diving into the awesome user-created stuff! Wrap that together with my long and ongoing attempts to create a worthwhile level on my own and you’ve got a title I’ll be visiting at least weekly for the forseeable future.

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.

Left 4 Dead - nominated by Kevin
Pure fun in a box (or a Steam server depending on how you went with it). An infinitely-replayable, zombie-slaughtering and extremely satisfying experience that is what every previous zombie game always wanted to be (and should have been) but never knew it. There’s no need for a forced, lame ass story and all you need to know is that you need to make it from here to there without dying, just don’t forget to bring some friends along.

Burnout Paradise - nominated by Dan
Criterion teaches people how to do DLC right. Step 1: Release a near perfect racer. Step 2: Release game enhancing free DLC all year long to keep interest high. Step 3: Watch your game continue to sell and no one in their right minds trading in used copies. The game that’s almost as fun to crash in as it is to win. And next year sees even more additions to a game already bursting at the seams. This is the only game to ever make me consider buying the XBL camera, and I don’t even like wearing the headset. Take me down to Paradise City indeed.

Wipeout HD – nominated by Ryan
This is, as my friends know, a deeply nostalgic pick for me. Wipeout is my game, the one I always end up buying PlayStations for, and I couldn’t be happier with how WHD turned out. Cranking away at 1080p/60FPS, Wipeout finally looks the way it has always aspired to look. Online racing and worldwide leaderboards – previously unique to the PSP versions – give the game long legs. Even the tilt controls work well. I couldn’t be happier, even if it’s only me and a half dozen guys from the EU who still race in multiplayer. And it was $20.

World Of Goo - nominated by Jim
WiiWare has seen it’s share of ups and downs in the six months since its debut, but once a game with the level of polish and quality that World of Goo has surfaces, you can’t help but what wonder what other gems might show up. An independent puzzler with a fuckload of personality, World of Goo has you creating bridges and towers out of various types of goo balls in an effort to reach an exit pipe and save your goo ball pals. Using the wiimote as a pointer to grab and place your goo couldn’t be more intuitive.

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?