2008 Game of the Year, Day 1: The Year In...
Whether you're looking for the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat, Crispy Gamer has you covered.
12/20/2008 9:04 PM | 3 Comments | Page 1 of 9
Scott Jones
Status: Coffee makes me feel 4-percent sexier.
Read Day 2 and Day 3 of our Game of the Year coverage.
What's your pick for Game of the Year? Sound off in our Groups.
Contributors: William Abner, Mark Asher, Tom Chick, Russ Fischer, Harold Goldberg, Troy S. Goodfellow, Gus Mastrapa, Evan Narcisse, Steve Steinberg
It was the best of games, it was the worst of games. It was the year of shovelware, it was the year of awesomeware. It was the year that Nintendo told their incredibly loyal fanbase to "Sit on it, Potsy"; it was the year that Microsoft, and the Xbox 360, finally defeated the almighty Red Ring of Death.
This year was supposed to be the big, confetti-in-the-air coming-out party for the PlayStation 3, wasn't it? The year that it finally shook its albatross status and finally showed us what Blu-ray can really do? Instead, the PS3 ends the year with many of its most compelling games being downloadables (
WipEout HD,
PixelJunk Eden, etc.), and a big "KICK ME" sign pinned to its back.
It was, all told, a most curious year in gaming. Even the year's best games -- and CG will reveal its finalists for Game of the Year in Day Three of our coverage, so stay tuned -- polarized critics and consumers alike. Some loved and some loathed
LittleBigPlanet. Some loved, some loathed
Fallout 3. Some loved, some loathed
Gears of War 2. Some loved, some loathed
Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Maybe it's a testament to the wider variety of games that crossed our desks this year. It did seem like the FedEx deluge arrived on an almost daily basis this year, making the task of separating the cream from the crap -- and trust us, there was plenty of crap -- more daunting than ever for critics and consumers.
Or maybe it's a testament to the overall higher quality of games this year. All told, it was a very good year to be a gamer, as more individual interests -- whether you're a casual gamer or GO HARD OR GO HOME NOOB!!!!! is your Xbox Live motto -- were catered to than ever before.
Over the course of the next three days, the Game Trust will take a look back at the highs and lows (and the very lows) of 2008. Today, we'll get started with our The Year In... coverage, with members of the Game Trust sounding off on all the genres, trends and hardware of 2008.
Day Two will be a jaundiced look back at the past 12 months, as we hand out awards like the Why Don't You Two Just Kiss Already Award. (Hint: It involves two men and lots of, um, emergence holes.) And finally -- put your hands together now, people -- on Day Three, we'll hand out our official Game of the Year Award, not only telling you who won, but why they deserve to win.
Crispy's comprehensive Game of the Year coverage begins in three, two, one...
The Year in Consoles
The Year in PC
The Year in Handhelds
The Year in First-Person Action
The Year in Third-Person Action
The Year in Role-Playing
The Year in Strategy
The Year in Wargames
The Year in MMOs
The Year in Indies and Downloads
The Year in Sports
The Year in Fitness
