BD Games Awards 2009

[Haly]

So another year's almost over and there's been a hell of a lot of games out this year. As we did last year I thought I'd see what everyone's favourites of the year are

So *drumroll*:
what is your favourite game that has come out this year?
Your favourite single player gaming experience.
Favourite multiplayer gaming experience.
Your biggest letdown of the year, be it a game, hardware or some innovation that disappointed you.
Your surprise of the year, again be it game or hardware.
The game or future innovation you're looking forward to in 2010.
For the 360ers amongst us: your Arcade game of the year, and for the PS3ers your PSN game of the year.
Finally as we've come to the end of a decade, if you fancy it, what's your favourite game of the decade!
And anything else you fancy bunging in

For those who want to cut and paste:

Your game of the year:
Single player gaming experience of the year:
Multiplayer gaming experience of the year:
Biggest Letdown of the year:
Surprise of the year:
Game or gaming innovation you're most excited about for 2010:

Xbox Live Arcade game of the year:
PSN game of the year:

Favourite game of the decade:



Write as much or as little as you want but a bit of reasoning as to your answers always makes these things more interesting

Oh and have a laugh at last year's thread located here:
http://www.boat-drinks.co.uk/showthread.php?t=10073

[Rich_L]

Hmm good questions! My games will probably be a bit out of date as I didn't really do any gaming for about 18 months until around July this year.

Your game of the year: Rock Band, I love it
Single player gaming experience of the year: Diablo 2 which I played LOADS on my netbook.
Multiplayer gaming experience of the year: Rock Band
Biggest Letdown of the year: GTA4, probably. Although it's growing on me more now and I'm enjoying it now, but it was a real slow-starter and didn't captivate me.
Surprise of the year: That netbooks meant a whole new lease of life for the 3+yr old brilliant games.

Game or gaming innovation you're most excited about for 2010: Is Project Natal out then? Probably that I guess.

Xbox Live Arcade game of the year: Castle Crashers
PSN game of the year: N/A

Favourite game of the decade: Maaaaaan! That's a toughie!!

There have been so many epic games over the last decade, Baldurs Gate 2 sneaks in there, just . Deus Ex as well was just amazing (and runs on a netbook, lol). Then Halo which finally nailed an FPS on a console (for me). GTA: VC is epic. Gears of War was pretty awesome. Diablo 2, again has to be there as it occupied many many many hours. I really enjoyed Dawn of War too as it really captured the GW feel (about time) and had good campaigns. Speaking of which, Warcraft 3 of course, another great game from Blizzard. Argh

But I think for the sheer amount of hours, and the fact I pretty much did every side-quest available, BG2, especially with the expansion, I don't think has been beaten. An absolute labour of love but what a game

*edit*

Forgot Half-Life 2 - awesome game!

[Haly]

Your game of the year: Uncharted 2
Single player gaming experience of the year: Uncharted 2
Multiplayer gaming experience of the year: Resident Evil 5
Biggest Letdown of the year: Bubble Bobble Neo
Surprise of the year: Borderlands, Cate West: The Vanishing Files
Game or gaming innovation you're most excited about for 2010: Final Fantasy XIII

Xbox Live Arcade game of the year: Madballs in Babo Invasion
PSN game of the year: Shatter

Favourite game of the decade: Deus Ex

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Uncharted 2 is an absolute no brainer for me for GOTY and Single Player GOTY. Fantastic game. It's not perfect, mostly due to the gunplay but then neither was Batman: Arkham Asylum or Dragon Age: Origins which were nearly my GOTYs. But I adore the storyline, it hooked me in perfectly and the game was very well balanced I found. The sort of game that makes me really pleased to own a PS3!

I haven't played many multiplayer games this year for various reasons, but Resident Evil 5 stood out for me. In co-op mode it is such a good game, and much more enjoyable than single player RE5. Had a fantastic time working my way through it with Nokkonwud earlier this year.

I've fortunately not been let down a lot this year by a game, except maybe Killzone 2 but not played the SP enough for it to win. Probably because often my expectations have been quite low so instead I've been surprised by them! However I bought Bubble Bobble Neo the day it came out (a mistake as I could have got it for free about 2 days later, d'oh!) as I had so much fun playing it on the Commodore 64, then a retro PS1 disc and a PS2 version too. The XBLA version is really poor compared to these conversions, thanks to dodgy jumping and the fact it's too easy as you don't seem to be able to lose in classic mode :/
It's not down to nostalgia as I still quite often play the PS2 conversion and enjoy it, so I'll be sticking to that now. Still, a waste of 800 points

Surprise of the year, I've cheated and voted two games Borderlands snuck up on me as I'd read nothing about it previously and I assumed it was just an online shooter. It's a very simple concept and somewhat generic but it's just so much fun that it doesn't matter! One I'll definitely be returning to regularly for the next few months which is something I can't say for a lot of major titles.
The other surprise was Cate West: The Vanishing Files which admittedly I can't see many people on here being interested in. It's a hidden objects game for the Wii but it's really rather good fun. Again, a simple concept that does nothing to innovate but it's a game I find quite relaxing to go back to once in a while.

I can't wait for Final Fantasy XIII so that's an obvious answer from me! I am greatly looking forward to Bioshock 2 and Heavy Rain, but it's always going to be Final Fantasy for me Just hope it doesn't disappoint like FF12 did.

Madballs in Babo Invasion is a great little frantic shooter that reminds me of the likes of Smash TV. It's also terrific fun in multiplayer. Oh and it's on Steam too so well worth a look!

Shatter is currently the only original PSN title I've paid for and I was worried I'd regret it, but as a fan of shmups and Arkanoid, this was perfect. Fantastic soundtrack too.

In the past year I've really appreciated having all systems available to me. Started the year pretty much just a 360 gamer, but now playing a much wider variety of games and really enjoying the options available to me Renewed my love of gaming to an extent.

Oh and game of the decade had to be Deus Ex, such a fantastic game And it did so much for future games too. Baldurs Gate 2 was such a close call though.

[Aboobie]

what is your favourite game that has come out this year?
A tough one as I have 3 that definately stand out but if I had to call it: Dragon Age: Origins. The runners up are Assassins Creed 2 and Resident Evil 5.

Your favourite single player gaming experience.
Dragon Age: Origins

Favourite multiplayer gaming experience.
Modern Warfare 2 Spec Ops

Your biggest letdown of the year, be it a game, hardware or some innovation that disappointed you.
Scriblenaughts The concept and first few worlds are sublime but the finickity controls ruin the whole experience and after a week it's gathering dust.

Your surprise of the year, again be it game or hardware.
Resident Evil 5. I had no interest in this up until it's release and hated the demo. For some reason I gave in when I saw it cheap in Tesco and ended up being blown away. It's also still probably one of the best looking games on any system.

The game or future innovation you're looking forward to in 2010.
Natal. As a family guy who's found a lot of fun in You're in the Movies and Lips this year I genuinely can't wait.

For the 360ers amongst us: your Arcade game of the year, and for the PS3ers your PSN game of the year.
Magic The Gathering closely followed by Secret of Monkey Island: SE.

Favourite game of the decade!
I'll come back to you!

[Streeteh]

Your game of the year: Uncharted 2
Single player gaming experience of the year: Uncharted 2
Multiplayer gaming experience of the year: Street Fighter 4
Biggest Letdown of the year: When the SF4 championship patch broke the online on the PS3
Surprise of the year: Batman: Arkham Asylum
Game or gaming innovation you're most excited about for 2010: Heavy Rain

Xbox Live Arcade game of the year: Shadow Complex
PSN game of the year: Savage Moon

Favourite game of the decade: Final Fantasy X

I would have put Final Fantasy XIII for my most anticipated game, but i'm dubious of whether it'll be released in 2010

[Briggykins]

Awesome, nice to see a thread like this. In three months I'll have been here long enough to see all of BD's annual traditions
Naturally this list will be a little PC-centric, and I must confess to not having played much new stuff having had a sudden penchant for old games like Settlers 2, Psychonauts, and BF2. Nonetheless:

Your game of the year: Modern Warfare 2. It may be a little short, but, like Half-Life 2, it played like I imagined computer games would play when I was a kid. It looks awesome, it's exciting, has a decent(ish) plot and is very satisfying. Loved it.

Single player gaming experience of the year: Modern Warfare 2 Again.

Multiplayer gaming experience of the year: Haven't really played anything...

Biggest Letdown of the year: Uncharted 2. Not so much any flaw in the game, I just couldn't get used to the controls and the gameplay. And I didn't think the graphics were that good.

Surprise of the year: Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party 2 . Bear with me a moment. The wife decided when we were in town that she wanted this game, much to my chagrin. She bought it while I hid from the shop assistants disproving eyes, then we got it home. And it's actually quite fun. It has a workout mode, which is handy, and the dancing does occasionally give you a sense of achievem...oh, okay. I officially renounce my gaming credentials.

Game or gaming innovation you're most excited about for 2010: Has to be Bad Company 2. BF2 has, imo, been the multiplayer game par excellence, a standard-bearer for over four years now unmatched by anything else. Hopefully BC2 will be the first game that's worthy of replacing it. From the videos it looks awesome and Dice's commitment to a quality product (even on little old PC) should ensure it's amazing. ID's Rage should be pretty special too, but there's no definite word on whether that'll be out next year or not.

Favourite game of the decade: After discovering with some shock that the best game ever, the original Team Fortress for Quake, is 13 years old and therefore ineligible, I had to rethink this one. It's not easy - Half-Life 2 is of course superb, there's BF2, COD:MW, and a slew of other great games. But my favourite game of the decade probably has to be a game that was released to little fanfare in 2004. Since then it's had a couple of sort-of-sequels which were eventually combined into one package in 2006. It's the game I've spent more time with than any other simply because it fits in anywhere - a five minute blast or a few hours gaming in the afternoon. It never gets old and it's infinitely replayable. It's not minesweeper.
It's Trackmania United Forever and, if you haven't played it, you've missed out on one of the best arcade driving games around. It's been honed to perfection, plays on virtually any modern computer, has an incredibly dedicated community, is easy to pick up and yet very difficult to master. And I know that come the end of 2010, and 2011, and as long as there are people to compete against, I'll still be playing it.
Well that went on a bit longer than I intended. Sorry

[Creature]

Your game of the year: Rock Band 2
Single player gaming experience of the year: Rock Band 2
Multiplayer gaming experience of the year: Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Spec Ops
Biggest Letdown of the year: Prince of Persia or WET
Surprise of the year: Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Spec Ops
Game or gaming innovation you're most excited about for 2010: The Rock Band Network

Xbox Live Arcade game of the year: Trials HD
PSN game of the year: N/A

Favourite game of the decade: Halo

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Your game of the year: Rock Band 2
Single player gaming experience of the year: Rock Band 2

I don't know how I could have chosen anything else. Rock Band 1 was fantastic, but this just surpases it in everyway. With now over 1,000 songs available on the franchise, and more being released every week, this game just keeps getting more and more epic. Honestly, I don't think they need to make a Rock Band 3.

Multiplayer gaming experience of the year: Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Spec Ops

I'll start off by saying that through not being a multiplayer person, this choice was very limited between this and Rock Band 2, and saying RB2 would be the easy way out.

I've played FPS games online before, but it's always been in a competitive environment, and never like this. It's so much more fun than playing through campaigns, as they're normally pretty simple, where as this provides you with multiple variations of tactics for over 20 different scenarios, and when playing online, it's much more fun than I could have imagined.

Biggest Letdown of the year: Prince of Persia or WET

I'll start with PoP. A few people had said to me how much of a good game it was and that it was close to the first one. I loved the first, I hated this. I never really got into it, and it always seemed to be a drag to play. I know a few of you enjoyed it, and I may get lambasted for this, but it just seemed...crap =/

As for WET, i'd been hyped for this game ever since it was announced. It looked great, both gameplay and graphics wise. However, when I got hold of it, much like PoP, it seemed like a drag. Not as much as PoP as I managed to finish it, but I got rid as soon as I was done as I couldn't bare to play it anymore.

Surprise of the year: Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Spec Ops

As said with above, i'm not a big multiplayer person, so when me and Abooie started this, I thought it would just be straight forward and dull (nothing agaisnt Abooie, more so the game). However, the first mission was so much fun, that we kept going for an hour on various different missions. The standout is Breach-And-Clear, where I spent the final minute of the level near death crawling to the end, Abooie already down the hole. The agonising wait of being unsure if i'd make it while the enemies were standing around not shooting was tortuous. Making it with 3 seconds left was a great feeling, which could have only been done online.

Game or gaming innovation you're most excited about for 2010: The Rock Band Network

Shock! Not NATAL? Alan Wake? The numerous other big releases next year? No, purely because this is one of the greatest inovations that can be made to a game, user created content the gives people a profit. The Rock Band Network will allow artists, regardless of size, to get their music into Rock Band, via the many companies providing the service, or by doing it themselves. Obviously i'm a bit biased as my brothers band is going to be a part of it, but there's thousands of RB players with bands, who are unknown to the masses, and can now finally get their music into the mainstream world.

Xbox Live Arcade game of the year: Trials HD

Frustrating, Agitating, Stressful. How do those three words make a good game? Relief. When you complete a level that's been causing you so much trouble, the weight off your mind is great, and this game provides it almost constantly, meaning that for the 95% of the time you're annoyed at not being able to pass, the 5% of relief far far outweighs it.

Favourite game of the decade: Halo

I know a lot of people will disagree with me on this, but there is nothing I have played in the last 10 years that has bettered the impact this made on me. For a few months my dad had been wanting a DVD player for his flat, but also something that me and my brother could play on whilst we were there. A PS2 was the obvious choice, and we wanted him to get one, but having decided we had one at home and didn't need another, he went for the Xbox. I was pretty annoyed as at the time, Playstation were my company of choice, and I really didn't like Microsoft. When we went to get it, I was still persuading my dad to get the PS2, but he wouldn't. We got the Xbox, and as such, it came with Halo. When we got home, we set it up just to see what it was like, and that's where everything changed. Within 10 minutes of starting Halo, I had a couple of mates over and we were taking turn to beat the crap out of eachother in campaign, and at that point, only one game had ever provided me with more fun, Goldeneye. Saying that Halo was almost on par to Goldeneye is the biggest compliment I can give, as Goldeneye still to this day remains my favourite ever game. Sure the Halo graphics are no longer brilliant, and the series has rocketed past that original masterpiece with many many more features, but if you go for a game of the decade, sequals will rarely win, as they all had to start somewhere.

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Longest post i've ever done =/

Honourable mentions go to: Sacred 2: Fallen Anglel, Halo: ODST, Forza 3 and CoD: MW2 SP

[Davey_Pitch]

Chris, Rock Band 2 came out in 2008, it doesn't count

Your game of the year: Fifa 10. This is the first year I was hugely looking forward to a Fifa game and it hasn't let me down. Quite easily the best football game I've ever played and will easily keep me entertained until Fifa 11 is released next October.

Single player gaming experience of the year: Dead Space. Quite possibly the best survival horror game I've ever played, incredible atmosphere, graphically gorgeous, and was able to keep me on the edge of my seat. Utterly brilliant.

Multiplayer gaming experience of the year: Modern Warfare 2. I'll never proclaim to be the biggest fan of online gaming, but MW2 has kept me hooked, just as CoD4 did, and I can see myself still playing (and still sucking) this time next year.

Biggest Letdown of the year: I honestly can't think of anything I was looking forward to that failed to deliver what I was expecting. May update this if something comes to mind.

Surprise of the year: Dead Space. I didn't really follow it and thought that as a new IP from EA it wouldn't be anywhere close to Resident Evil 4. I was shocked to find not only was it much better than I thought, but at least on a par with Resi 4. That's some praise considering how highly I rate Resi 4.

Game or gaming innovation you're most excited about for 2010: I'm torn between Mass Effect 2 and Dead Rising 2. Both are games I'm totally looking forward to above all else (though Heavy Rain comes in very close), they should be completely fantastic.

Xbox Live Arcade game of the year:Trials HD. Haven't bought many Arcade games this year but this was easily the best of them.
PSN game of the year: Haven't bought anything yet.

Favourite game of the decade: I'm going to be naughty here and pick two games, purely as I cannot choose between them. The first one, quite obviously I think, is Ninja Gaiden. I've never played a more perfect action game in my life, everything about it is set just right. The difficulty, the levels, the enemies, the bosses, the weapons, everything is pitched just right to offer a wonderful gameplay experience if you can stick it out long enough to get good at it.

The other game, also perhaps obviously, is Fallout 3. I can't remember any game where I've sunk so much time and enjoyed every second of it, and even after two complete playthroughs I still want to go back and do it all a third time. The moment I first left the Vault, where the world was bright and then slowly starts to come into focus, revealing the huge scope of the Wasteland, will stay with me forever.

Honourable mentions in this category must go to Deus Ex and Mafia, comfortably my two favourite PC games of all time. Even now, 9 and 7 years respectively after they were released, I could happily spend an entire weekend playing through them both again.

[Creature]

It does count, as last years awards were done only a few days after RB2 came out :P My timeline is going from last years awards, hense why PoP is there as well.

[Rich_L]

Hey to be fair, I've got Diablo 2 as my best single player game this year!