411 Games Top 5 12.31.09: Week 44 - Best Games of 2009

Posted by Todd Vote on 12.31.2009

From UFC Undisputed 2009 and Batman Arkham Asylum to Assassin’s Creed II and even Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, the 411 Games Staff ranks their favorite games of 2009! Check out the full article to see which games made the list and why!

Welcome to the Best Games of 2009 Edition of the Top 5. But before we get rolling on that, let's take a look at our Christmas feedback. I got to say, with the exception of a couple assholes, last weeks feedback is by far my favorite since I started doing this column. Lot's of great memories, and I thank you all for sharing yours with us. Let's take a look at some of them, shall we?


Comment Time with Toddo!

Penguin Land is my mom's favorite game, and I wish it would get the Virtual Console treatment soon
Posted By: Guest#7080 (Guest) on December 24, 2009 at 03:50 AM

I hope this all works out well for you and your mom.

All the writers sound like spoiled kids. Wonder what mommy and daddy will get you all this year. If you were real nice this year Santa will get you something special too. But if he forgets your house, something tells me mommy and daddy will get it for you.
Posted By: Evil Elf (Guest) on December 24, 2009 at 12:08 PM

Some of the comment posters sound like pricks.
Posted By: Guest#9934 (Guest) on December 24, 2009 at 05:26 PM

Don't be jealous just because some peoples' parents loved them, one day someone will love you too. Maybe. Don't hold your breath though.
Posted By: Deathpool (Guest) on December 26, 2009 at 07:20 PM

I just love it when a comment is such a blatant attempt at trolling that even our kick ass readers take the idiot to school. Thanks guys. Don't worry Evil Elf, maybe Santa will get you something next year.

My favorite was when we got our SNES. My dad, being the Christmas prankster he is, gave us our games first and while we lamented that we only had a NES he pulls out the SNES from behind his chair with a snarky flourish.

In retrospect, I don't know why I was fooled. My dad knew gaming pretty well at the time and wouldn't have made that sort of mistake.
Posted By: chris (Guest) on December 27, 2009 at 06:37 AM

In retrospect, I'd have to say it's the excitement of the moment that caused my momentary lapse on my Genesis gift. I was so excited that I got MK, that the lack of a Genesis to play it on just caused me to play right into my parents hands. Perhaps the same is true for your story.

Now for something random

My favorite holiday gift was watching the next door kids beat the living hell out of each other,
Posted By: Dustydust (Guest) on December 27, 2009 at 10:54 PM

My favorite present had to be the time I got an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time.
FUCK TECHNOLOGY
Posted By: Ralphie Parker (Guest) on December 27, 2009 at 06:23 PM

Ralphie Parker!!! FTW!

LISTS!!

5. Fallout 3. This was only last year, but there has been no game that had sucked me in so much as Fallout 3 in past few years of gaming, I played it for many hours that week of Christmas and clocked in over 125 hours at this point.

4. buying a Wii for my 7 yr old goddaughter. Also last year, this was the biggest purchase I had given anyone, and the time I spent with her playing Wii sports and Wii play, while I may not like them on my own, was great fun with her and parents.

3. giving an Xbox 360 to my cousins. Couple of years ago, my cousins were moaning to their parents to buy them a next-gen console, I provided the service, and owning their confidant asses on Halo 3 in the months after then was great fun.

2. Nintendo 64. I was very late to the party with this, as I got it around 2002/3ish as my parents are not very rich and I was working, but when I got this wonderful system, I brought many games that were then very cheap as people had moved on to other consoles, so I spent a fraction of what my friends did on all the classic games for N64.

1. Mega drive. My first proper system when I was very young, and the countless memories of playing are just too much and many to recall here. It was simply my best gaming gift moment.

Happy holidays to 411, fellow readers and looking forward to next year!
Posted By: Matt (Guest) on December 27, 2009 at 08:03 AM

nice stuff here's mine

5) My dad won the Pepsi PS2 give away. He gave me the winning label. That made my life...especially when my brother paid extra for his launch day PS2 and it broke right after I got mine. IRONY.

4)FFVII. I got that for my 11th birthday. Got to disc 4 but disc 4 went missing. My god father got me it again for Christmas. (my b-day is in November)

3) I bought myself an N64 with my birthday money one year...I forget when...I think it was 98. And WCW Revenge...so whenever that game came out. Spent my entire life playing that game.

2)My uncle gave me money for my birthday one year and I bought Pokemon Blue. I remember staring at both boxes for about 20 minutes before I would choose. I also remember playing the game on my couch waiting till I had to go to basketball practice...then I looked up and it was 12am...WHOOPS.

1)PSX. My PSOne will forever live in infamy. It was the first and only system my parents bought for me. I got Soviet Strike and NHL Face-off 97. Man I remember playing an entire season in a day with 5 minute periods.
Posted By: Steve (Guest) on December 27, 2009 at 07:07 AM


I only had 3 memorable game-getting experiences with Christmas... 4 if you count using Xmas money to help finance my Gamecube. So I guess in order, they'd be:

Getting the Super Nintendo. I think I was the first kid in my group of friends to have one.

Getting my original Gameboy. My first video game system I could call my own. Sure, I could play the 2600 or the Nintendo, but those were both my brother's. Now, I had my own system.

But the best memory is when I got my Sega Genesis, because my folks got my brother a Sega Gamegear that year, too. The thing is, the whole season, our parents had been telling both of us that money was too tight to get a video game system, and that they could only get the other son one. So we got up Xmas morning, and surprise, I had my Genesis and my bro had his Gamegear... except he thought that my parents had gotten both for me. We still have a good chuckle over that every year.
Posted By: G-Walla (Guest) on December 26, 2009 at 02:14 PM
My memory sucks, but here we go anyways....

5. Game Boy Advance - A that point, I was used to getting new consoles a year after they debuted, so I was surprised to get this with Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo Revival and Mario Kart Super Circuit in it's debut year.

4. Pinball Hall of Fame: The Gottleib Collection for the Wii - This happened this year and I'm more shocked that someone (my Mom) actually was able to find it because there was only 1 store that carries them before January (Best Buy) and that particular store normally doesn't carry games like that (she had to get a worker to plunge through the bottom of a bargain bin to get it, which the fact that it was in a bargain bin in the first place pisses me off!) It was a bit overshadowed, but the shock value puts it here.

3. Game Boy - I was REALLY
Posted By: Chris Scott (Guest) on December 26, 2009 at 09:38 AM

Apparently Chris's memory sucks enough that he didn't even finish his list... No wait.. here it is:

ok.......that was weird.......so I'll continue from where I mysteriously submitted earlier......

3. Mario Paint - people can say what they want about it, but I LOVED this game! The big thing I remember it for though is how long I waited for Dad to "test the thing out" and Mom yelling at him to "give the kids a turn". That was back when he would actually give games a try.

2. NES - This I remember quite fondly because it was already set up and ready to go before we even started opening up anything else. It was my uncle's old NES and came with Super Mario/Duck Hunt, Karnov, and Zelda. My parents learned a valuable lesson that day; save the games for last or else I won't pay attention to anything else for the rest of the day.

1. Super Nintendo - The set up was accidental, but perfect. Earlier, Mom set me down and told me that I just got the NES and because of that, I should be happy with that and not expect an SNES (she couldn't afford it). As Christmas morning came, I ended up getting it anyway (with Super Mario World, or course)! Mom still hasn't forgave Dad over that one as it firmly cemented my unrealistic expectations for Christmas for the rest of my childhood........until I didn't get the Virtual Boy (thank god!).
Posted By: Chris Scott (Guest) on December 26, 2009 at 09:50 AM

5. Super Nintendo. I was so happy I almost cried

4. Anything to do with Mortal Kombat - Me and my dad played the shit outta these games

3. Nintendo - Where it all began

2. Nintendo 64 - same story as the one ill tell next. Everyone had one except me

1. Sega Genesis - Probably the best Xmas ever. Just about every person I knew had a Sega except me. I would always love going over to friends houses to play it and was always sad that I didn't have one myself. I was a kid then so money was no option.

Kinda sad though that I haven't gotten a gaming console for a gift in 10 years. Last one I got was the Sega Dreamcast.
Posted By: natedoggcata (Guest) on December 25, 2009 at 04:08 PM

I loved this article. To contribute...

5. Sega Genesis

4. Original NES - Gaming was such a novelty then, and my dad and I played for hours.

3. Gamecube- The Cube brought me back into gaming in early college and is still my favorite system of its generation.

2. Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter 2, and the 6 button fight pad for the Genesis- This made for oh so many happy days.

1. N64- Senior year in HS. I spent days playing Ocarina and WCW/NWO Revenge

Ah, the happy memories...I hope to add to the list this year with New Super Mario Bros. and DJ hero!
Posted By: Guest#9235 (Guest) on December 24, 2009 at 02:04 AM

5. Sega Genesis - I had way too many memories with this thing, my first game being Sonic 2 (was the pack in game), and I had way too much fun with it, playing Sonic 2 all day/night with my brother back in 1993.

4. Sega Saturn - Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Cop, and Daytona USA all in 1 day. This was my first console I owned regarding the 32/64 Bit Generation.

3. Christmas 2003 in general - For Gamecube, We got Viewtiful Joe, and Mario Kart Double Dash. For Playstation 2, we got Jak 2. For Game Boy Advance, we got Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and Fire Emblem, while my brother got a Game Boy Advance SP Blue (Already had the Red one from my Birthday that year). Playing those games all day was phenomenal, and I wasn't disappointed with any of them (except maybe Double Dash, but that wasn't until later).

2. While the Wii wasn't a Christmas Gift, it was here around that time. I did get a bunch of Wii points to get the 5 Virtual Console games released at the time:

NES: Super Mario Bros.
SNES: Super Castlevania IV and Street Fighter II
Genesis: ToeJam & Earl
TG-16: R-Type

That's $37 worth of VC Games that time (since R-Type was worth 800 due to it originally being 2 Hu Cards, but it costs 600 in Japan separately). It was really fun, but nothing compared to...

1. Nintendo DS with Mario Kart DS, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Sonic Rush, Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble, and Advance Wars: Dual Strike - BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!!! We also got Sonic Gems Collection that time as well, and boy, with all of that, we had a blast.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you!
Posted By: PJ (Guest) on December 24, 2009 at 01:34 PM

Great lists everyone. Again I thank you all for sharing your memories with me, I enjoyed reading them all. I hope you all have added a few gaming gift memories after this holiday season. I know I did, and let me just say that Turtle Beach owns your face! Now, lets get to this weeks subject, shall we?


This column is approved by Christina Hendricks


It had to happen. With this being the final column of 2009 for the game zone, we had to cover our favorite games. These aren't necessarily the best of the year, but they are the games that caught our eyes and kept us playing throughout 2009. Some of these lists will include all consoles; some will only include one. Hell some lists may even include the hand held machines. Make no mistake about it, we are not trying to round up the absolute best of 2009. That job belongs to Sean Garmer, and he is taking care of it as you read this. What you will find here are the games that made us appreciate all the hard work put into the industry over the past 12 months.

It's been a rough year, with studios closing left and right, restructuring that brings certain teams together with other teams. 2009 has brought plenty of changes and plenty of great games. This is just our little way of saying thank you to the developers who put in all the hard work to give us something entertaining to enjoy. So here are our Top 5 favorites, or time consumers of 2009.

First up is Drew Robbins. As I said last week, Drew has become one of the Top 5's regular contributors, so get used to having him around these parts. Take it away, Drew.

Drew RobbinsHONORABLE MENTIONS

Street Fighter IV - For the past several years me and fighting games haven't gotten along particularly well, but leave it to Street Fighter to patch up that relationship. I spent about a month battling it out online, which for me is a lot of time to put into one fighter.

UFC Undisputed 2009 - It's one thing for Madden to come out and for me to enjoy it. I'm a big football fan, of course I'll enjoy Madden. But I hate UFC, so you would figure that I'd probably hate any game produced from the sport. Not true, however, because I did so love UFC Undisputed. Some of the fighting mechanics were a little broken, but the online play had me hooked for a good portion of the summer months.

MLB 09 The Show - Clearly I like sports games a little too much. MLB 09 The Show didn't make big changes to the formula that made the series work so well, but what it did do was add an incredible amount of polish to the presentation, making it the most convincing looking sports game of all. Well, until NCAA Basketball 10 stole it's thunder. But it had a good, short reign on top!



5. Assassin's Creed II - Unlike most complainers that the internet is so famous for, I liked the first Assassin's Creed. It was a little repetitive, yes, but it was also a little awesome. Even on my way to the billionth pick-pocketing mission, I took joy in running across the rooftops. Assassin's Creed II takes what I loved and made everything else around it much more tolerable. The story of Ezio is far more compelling than Altair's tale, and now the story is advanced with more varied missions.

4. The Beatles Rock Band - I love the Beatles, I love Rock Band. So when you combine the two, instant success! There isn't much more to it then that...I just really freaking loved this game.

3. Madden NFL 10 - Madden was a better game this year than it has been since the good old days when the Rams didn't suck, and the Chargers were in their proper place at the bottom of the standings. Pro-Tak, alongside a new animation system, did its best to make the game the most realistic sports game out there. A shame it had to come out in the same year as MLB. This game also came at an important time, because it's the only place I've seen the Rams win this year, against a team that isn't the Detroit Lions.

2. New Super Mario Bros. Wii - For a system that usually encourages family togetherness, it strikes me as more than a little strange to see a game like this that encourages the utmost dickery. I've been working through the game with my brother, and I must say that it's shocking how far we've made it with the amount of energy we've spent in tormenting the other. At many points, Derek has thrown me down a pit, avoided rescuing me from my safety bubble, and taken far too many Propeller suits from me. The game is tremendous in it's own right, though, even on a single-player run the game can be pretty enjoyable. Unless you hate fun, in which case this game is not for you.

1. Uncharted 2 Among Thieves (PS3) - The question is, could it really have been anything else? Uncharted's bandwagon has been gaining steam over the past year, when several PS3 owners realized the existence of the first one and how great it was, a fact which I had known well before them. It was expected that the sequel would surpass the original after early trailers, but I'm not sure anyone was prepared for how much it trumped its predecessor. There are at least 10 moments in the game which are spent in disbelief that a game like this can even exist in 2009. It makes you wonder, how can Naughty Dog finish this game in two years, when Blizzard can't finish a prettied up Starcraft in less than four?

Up next is our second of three new regular contributors, Lee Price. In addition to popping up here in the Top 5 each week you can also check out his other column the always fun Retronomicon.

Lee PriceHONORABLE MENTIONS

Resident Evil 5 - Played as a co-op game this is close to Resi 4. Unfortunately as a single player game, Sheva is annoying and useless.

5.MadWorld - This has become my go to game of the year for stress relief. I adore this game, though I must admit not quite as much as I thought I would. That being said though, I still like the gameshow setting and the many varied ways to kill your enemies. Its like an ultra-violent tribute to the old scrolling beat-em-ups of yore and that's always a good thing with me.

4.Batman: Arkham Asylum - Shockingly I have only recently gotten my hands on this gem of a game and I am loving it. The strategic element to the game really helps pull it above and beyond my previous favorite comic book game, Spiderman 2. Graphically the whole thing is beautiful too, I just hope that a possible sequel doesn't ruin it.



3.Street Fighter IV - The shock of this game's announcement was nothing compared to the shock of how good it was, and still is. This game is still as heavily played now as it was on release at the start of the year, and with good reason. The graphics are gorgeous and the game is very well balanced, though not perfectly so. The real shock is that CAPCOM managed to produce a game that rivals their best efforts, while bringing the series right up to date in the process.

2.Modern Warfare 2 - It should pop up on everybody's lists, and rightfully so. While perhaps reaching a bit too far when trying to scale the heights of the original MW in terms of narrative and shock value, Modern Warfare 2 makes up for a few mis-steps in the narrative to deliver and adrenaline fueled thrill ride of a game. It helps that it has top notch multiplayer too.

1.Uncharted 2 - Having only recently gotten my PS3, I have yet to dedicate the full time I'd like into this. What I have played is amazing though and the narrative is almost on the same level as Bioshock, though not quite there. Its a fun game too and is one of the few honest to god must have exclusives on any console right now.

Our final weekly contributor Adam Larck is back with us again. Let's check in and see what sucked up all his time over the past 12 months.

Adam LarckHONORABLE MENTIONS

Assassin's Creed 2 - This sequel got some of the repetitiveness out that the first game had and is a lot more fun to play because of it.

Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time - I've been having a blast playing this one. Whether it's flying to different planets or controlling time with Clank it's been enjoyable.

Street Fighter IV - One of the best fighters in a while, I had a lot of fun taking friends on in the game. However, the balance of some characters, Seth mainly, needs to be worked on before SSF IV comes out.

Dragon Age: Origins - I finally beat this game after putting about 45 hours in, and I'm already looking forward to starting another new character. One of the best action RPGs this year.

5. New Super Mario Bros. Wii - Following the success of the NSMB on DS, the Wii version adds on to the classic formula. New power-ups, interesting levels and worlds and the inclusion of the old Koopa Kids made this game fun to play. However, the inclusion of the co-op play really added a lot of fun for my friends and myself to sit down and try to beat levels, or throw each other into a Goomba from time to time.

4. Batman: Arkham Asylum - I had never held out much hope for Batman games based on past experiences. However, Arkham Asylum finally proved that a great game could be made using the Dark Knight. A fluid combat system, plenty of riddles to solve and familiar enemies in the game made it great to play. Plus, the game already has a sequel coming next year to continue the action.



3.Borderlands - A surprise choice for my third spot, but I've had too much fun with this game not to include it here. Nearly infinite guns to get make finding them a new experience each time to see what they do. The multiplayer made this game fun to go through multiple times to finally hit a level 50 to see the game's best weapons. Plus, DLC keeps coming out to give me more reasons to come back to it.

2.Uncharted 2 - While I haven't had a lot of hands on time with the game, I see what the appeal is on it. The single player has been a blast to play, and adds a lot of fun from the original game. Even the co-op and multiplayer modes have been a fun change from time to time. I expect to put a lot more time in with this game in the near future.

1.Modern Warfare 2 - While the single player was fun for me, the multiplayer is where this game shines for me. While there may be quite a bit of shenanigans online with people trying to find various exploits, I've still spent days playing this with friends. Even the inclusion of the Spec-Ops mode is great for two players to try and take on various challenges the game throws at you.

Next up is Mark Salmela. Mark's most recent work around the site include a few reviews and taking over Fact or Fiction while our fearless editor was away tying the knot. Oh, and he brought the big lug with him too.

Your local B3yond the Report team: Mark Salmela and Shaq

*Mark Salmela in black, Shaq in blue:

HONORABLE MENTIONS

PixelJunk Shooter - Look who's back, back again… Yeah it was really hard to get here. I mean your schedule is really busy sitting on the bench. I had to pull some serious strings to get you here.

Demon's Souls - Fuck you fatass. *Insert ironic picture here.* Remind me, which one of us is making 15 million a year? Enjoy that shit while it lasts, you stopped being relevant 4 years ago.

New Super Mario Bros Wii - Relevant? I just had my own fucking reality show. There's a god damn parade every time I play Kobe. Once again it's just reliving the magic of years past. That's it, I've had it. I'm out. Fuck you, fuck your list, and fuck this column. Yeah you go back to the bench. You lasted longer here than you do on the court.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories - Ok now that old dead weight is gone I can explain my nominations. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is a great game. It's a damn shame that Shattered Memories was basically sent out to die by Konami. I didn't see one commercial for the game. Hell I barely heard anyone talk about it period. But Shattered Memories is a re-imagining of the first Silent Hill, and it improves upon the original in every way. If it wasn't for the waggle and motion controls I'd probably have put this as my number 5 game.

5.) Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time - Potentially the last game in the Ratchet and Clank series, a Crack in Time is quite possible the best game in the franchise. Besides the ship combat in outer space the game is near perfect. The platforming, the shooting, the rail grinding, everything is perfect. The story is great, the graphics are amazing, the sound is damn good, and there is a ton of shit to collect adding to the replay value. I can understand why some people don't like Ratchet and Clank, but if you've never played one, you're missing out.

4.) Modern Warfare 2 - It's the sequel to Call of Duty 4. It's bigger, badder, and more badass. Something Gears 2 was not. Suck it Epic. No but seriously it's Modern Warfare 2. You don't need an explanation from me.

3.) Batman: Arkham Asylum - A licensed game that doesn't suck. I wasn't sure it was possible in 2009. While I was unimpressed with the boss battles virtually everything else in the game is near perfect. Here's hoping that the sequel adds some better boss battles, because I really loved the combat in Arkham Asylum.



2.) Infamous - As someone who never really played much of Sly Cooper, Infamous completely won me over. There were a couple of slow moments but for the most part Infamous was firing on all cylinders. The platforming was great, the city was awesome, and the lightning powers were cool as shit. I am only so-so on the normal enemies roaming the streets, so here's hoping the inevitable sequel fixes that.

1.) Uncharted 2 - Easily my game of the year. I played every big game released in 2009 with the exception of Dragon Age Origins and the new Zelda, and nothing came close in my opinion to the awesomeness that was Uncharted 2. With the exception of the museum heist in the beginning I can't think of any way Uncharted 2 could have been better. It fired on all cylinders, and it nailed on every cylinder. Uncharted 2 is the first game to my knowledge where I have had to stop playing and just look around at how amazing the game is. The graphics were that awesome and the gameplay was even better. Oh, and that's how you make an ending.

Now for something completely different. I think we finally have our very first contributor from the wrestling zone. We've had Harris but that dude gets around more than Paris Hilton at a Night club convention. What we have here is a bonafide wrestling zone writer, and we are pleased to have his participation. You know him from the Raw Retrospective, Trace Aber.

Trace AberHONORABLE MENTIONS

(in no particular order)
WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2010 - Easily the best game in the series to date, but no amount of customization in the world can save the game from it's biggest flaw - the AI is either ridiculously easy or it reverses every move you do.

Call of Duty: World at War - It's only an honorable mention since it came out in 2008, but I still love popping this one in for some zombie killing.

Shadow Complex - Arguably the best overall arcade game released, this game had a great story and was plenty of fun - it's just a shame it was over so quickly.

Crystal Defenders - I'll admit this is on the list mostly because this is the game that introduced me to the tower defense genre. Still, for TD or Final Fantasy fans, this is a great game that, while easy to beat, is quite challenging when you try to defend every crystal.

NHL 3-on-3 Hockey - This game is absolutely awesome with three other friends. So many nights were spent with this game.

Borderlands - I would rank this higher but I simply haven't played enough to justify a higher rating.

Dragon Age: Origins - I picked this game up a couple of weeks ago and have mostly spent time exploring the origin stories. I haven't even got into the main storyline yet have hours already logged into this game.

5.Left 4 Dead 2 - Last year Left 4 Dead was one of my favorite games and the sequel, despite all the controversy, was well deserved. New zombies, weapons and settings really makes the game stand apart from the original, and to me the levels seem much, much longer as well. It may not be as hooking as the original, but this is still a really fun game to play online because you never know what's going to happen.

4.Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - I know some people may be shocked that I ranked this so low, but this game did not hold my attention like I thought it would. In fact, after a couple of weeks I set it down and haven't picked it up since. The multiplayer is great fun but it's nothing new, so I grew tired quickly. This is the only Call of Duty game I've played where I got more time out of the offline modes than the online modes. Spec Ops, while short, was a great series of missions and hope to see more released.



3.Trials HD - This is a game I still play pretty regularly and with the recent DLC added I don't see my interest dropping anytime soon. When I first played the game I thought it was going to be disappointing at best but once you get into the higher difficulties the game really shines with some of the most frustratingly-awesome puzzles known to man. Throw in a full level editor and shared levels and you have a winner.

2.UFC Undisputed 2009 - This game helped me get into UFC and eventually MMA. It was a lot easier remembering who was who when I could actually play them. But, even then, the amount of hours I have logged into this game may very well be embarrassing. While I never got into the online fighting, I love challenging my friends to some epic battles and I for one can't wait to play next year's version.

1.Uncharted 2 - When I first reserved this game, I knew nothing about it. In fact, the only reason I reserved it was because I had some leftover credit from games I traded in. But the moment I played the opening sequence of the game (mind you, I remained largely uninformed about the game until I actually picked it up), I knew this was something special. Each chapter in the game somehow is more exciting than the last and this has to easily be the most complete game I have ever had the joy of playing. I love this game so much I have four separate game files that I've been playing with four separate friends and I still never get tired of it. And that's not even talking about the multiplayer aspect.

That brings us to Armando Rodriguez, who of course writes the Ultra Combo News Report each week, chiming in to bring us his favorites of 2009.

Armando RodriguezHONORABLE MENTIONS

Street Fighter IV: The fighting game of the year, SFIV took the best elements of Street Fighter II and gave them a huge facelift. The online play was my favorite: it made you feel like you where in the arcades looking for competition.

Fallout 3: GOTY Edition: Technically Fallout 3 belongs to last year's crop of games, but the GOTY edition came out this year, so I say it counts! Having all the extra content on one disc was great and this is probably the only RPG that has taken me more than 120 hours to finish. Even with the freezes and bugs, I believe this is one of the greatest games ever made. The story is fantastic and the multiple ways in which you could play added replay value.

5.Need For Speed Shift - I know a lot of great racing titles came out this year, but Shift was my favorite. By ditching the arcade gameplay for a more Forza-esque racing model EA gave NFS the kick in the pants it needed to conquer the market. I expect bigger and better things from the Shift franchise.

4.InFamous - The concept of an open-world superhero (or villain) game is cool and Cole is one of gaming's best new characters. The story had a bunch of surprising twists and turns and the gameplay, especially the powers, where fantastic. I hope that the sequel fixes the issue of repetitive side missions.

3.Assassin's Creed II - I am amazed at how much better the sequel is. Gone are the repetitive side missions and somewhat boring investigations. The story is easier to follow in a Dan Brown-like way. The gameplay has been refined with the ability to purchase weapons and armor, rebuild an entire city, earn (or steal) money and interesting side missions, like assassinations. I mean, you are a f'n assassin, you should kill more often. I was really thrilled that you can now accept assassination contracts from other people as a side mission. Ezio Auditore is more interesting than Alltair (and that's saying something) with his part ninja, part gangster, part Casanova approach. I imagine that's how James Bond would have been if he had lived in the 1400's and had been an assassin.



2.Batman: Arkham Asylum - Yes, the game sometimes turned into Ventman. But there is no doubt that this is the best superhero game ever. The combat system is amazing, part beat-em-up, part rhythm game. You know how much I bitch about the lack of good beat-em-ups in modern consoles; well.... can someone please turn the Batman: AA engine into a beat-em-up game? The combat is just too good! But the best part is that Batman feels like Batman. You get to explore the detective side of the character and use a collection of gadgets and weapons in a Metal Gear-esque collection of "Predator" sequences. The story was great and the Joker is still my favorite villain of 2009.

1.Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - This is the game of the year. The multiplayer component they added is as good as Modern Warfare's, just from a third-person view. Place that mode on top of a fantastic, non-stop action single-player mode and you have one heck of a game. Uncharted 2's single player feels like a movie, hell, it is better than a lot of so-called action movies. The characters are entertaining, the plot is really interesting and the action never stops. Uncharted 2 proves that even a linear story can be entertaining if done right.

Todd Vote
I should preface here that my Top 5 are in no particular order. They are simply the games that ate up the most time for me this year.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - It's not every day we get a decent game based on a movie. The games are usually rushed to a finished product to meet the timing of the movie's release. If you haven't played Wolverine yet, give it a try. It is easily better than the movie, with all the blood and guts you should expect from a guy with adamantium claws.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - I know it came out in 2007, but World at War didn't hold my attention, and we needed something to play. This game filled the void while we waited for MW2. It didn't release in 2009, hence only an honorable mention.

Resident Evil 5- Have you tried to find all the treasures and emblems?

5.Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 - Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 easily sucked up a month of playing time for me and my friends. The game offered up an infinite amount of heroes to do your bidding, and the fusion powers are awesome.



4.Left For Dead 2 - This game is the biggest surprise of the year for me. I wasn't one of the boycotters, but I was leery of how good the game can be after just one year to work on the sequel. I wasn't expecting much more than more places to kill zombies. In a way that is what we got, but Valve didn't stop there. We got new infected zombies, special "common" infected, 5 new campaigns, several new multi-player modes, and a whole host of new weapons and toys to do your zombie dispatching.

3.Batman: Arkham Asylum - Wow. What else can be said about this game but wow? Batman: AA turned the comic book tie-in games on their ear, and becoming the new benchmark for the genre. Drop Batman in a closed in, yet seemingly open world with his rogue gallery of villains, and you have a starting point for something beautiful. Just think, if future comic book games are half as fun as this one, we are in for some great games in the coming years.

2.UFC Undisputed 2009 - Put aside all the mixed feelings that people have about this game now, UFC '09 was a definite step in the right direction. Was it perfect? No, but it was one hell of a first attempt. I am not as excited as Trace to play 2010, because I fear the game may quickly fall into SvR territory where the new features are minimal, and we are simply treated to a glorified roster update annually. But for the first attempt from THQ, they really knocked this one out of the park.

1.Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Easily my most anticipated game of the year, and I wasn't disappointed with it when I finally snatched my copy from the midnight release. Granted, I may be in the minority feeling that the game is not as great as CoD4, but it is definitely the game that ate up the most of my gaming time this year.


Bonus Video:
Drake's Game of the Year Song



There you have it. As usual, I look forward to seeing just what games ate up your 2009 so leave those in the comments section. We will be back next week to take a look at some of our most anticipated games/accessories/whatever for 2010.

If you are celebrating the New Year this evening, be sure to drink responsibly, and always be safe. Me? I'm considering getting friendly with a bottle of whiskey. Happy New Year everybody, we'll see you back here in seven.