The Other Ones

While the last quarter of 2009, for me, was dominated by Uncharted 1 and 2 (finally getting the PS3) there was the rest of the year filled with great games.

The good ones:

Next up, or should I say right behind Uncharted is Modern Warfare 2. This game broke up my playtime between Uncharted 1 and 2. Yes, everything points back to those games. I'm looking at this strictly from a time played standpoint. Like Call of Duty 4, I played the heck out of this game. The single player experience was just as good as the first one and the online side of it chewed up many an evening. It's unfortunate that I'm looking at this from a time played standpoint, but I feel like if I'm spending time with it then I must think it is good, right? I'm questioning myself on that one now for some reason.

Another good one for me this year was Beatles Rock Band. It took all the great gameplay experience from Rock Band and put a very well done coat of Beatles goodness on it. What does that mean? I don't know. My experiences with the Beatles take me back to some of my fondest memories spinning the White Album on my parents record player. It's interesting to me that I found myself able to sing and play drums to songs I haven't heard in probably 15 years. Anyway, Rock Band 2 itself is still in rotation at my place due to some great download choices. The games are great, and when the mood catches you right you'll find yourself three hours in sweating out Spaceman on hard at 12am. Always a good sign for a game.

Forza 3. This game gets how a racing game (or any game for that matter) should function. The controller melts away in your hands the longer you play and you start feeling like you really have control of the car you are driving. You know it's strengths and it's weaknesses. Hearing the engine rev up on a late 80s early 90s Trans Am or Camaro hooks me every time. I've got an 88 Camaro. The Turn 10 team did their homework right down to the thing bottoming out on the slightest bump. Very well done.

The one that should be next up behind Uncharted:

Braid. It felt like a game my college self would have made if I could've. If anyone hasn't played it they should. Most gaming experiences feel similar but Braid will take your mind to a different, more creative place. I felt the same way about Monkey Island from Xbox Live. Another great one to check out.

The other ones:

Madden 10. The yearly money maker for EA was better then it probably ever has been. This game puts me (sadly) at three Madden games on the current generation. No mas. Good. But not this year.

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising. What happened guys? I waited with such anticipation for this game and what I got was a sort of, well, I don't know. They took my most treasured experience from the previous game, mission editor, out. I know the PC version has this, but I'm not upgrading to get it. The original Xbox had that feature, why not this one? Was it sacrificed for multiplayer? the better graphical look? I don't get it. Anyway, I played the game enough and thought it was okay. I can see where the effort was and parts of it are wonderful, but it had very little in the way of creating any kind of special, memorable experience.

A good one that got away:

Red Faction: Guerrilla. I got it and started it up. Had lots of interesting and fun things going on but it got shelved. I'm hoping to get back to it.

That it really. I was hoping to be able to post a giant failure of a game that would be funny to make fun of, but I really don't have one. We'll chalk that up to a sunny attitude during a dark and snowy Ohio night.