Review of 2009 - Part 1

So it's come to that time of year where we look back at the past years highlights with fond feeling.. So to start off here's my top five games of 2009. In reverse order:

5. House of the Dead: Overkill - Wii

I played through the whole campaign again the last two nights just to make sure it was as much fun as I remembered. It's still a great mix of grindhouse style presentation, funny cutscenes, huge amounts of swearing and razorsharp gameplay. The campaign is good. With it's infinite amount of continues and the pressure of keeping the mutants at bay with your pistol whilst trying to remember where the gold skulls and power ups are. It's the Directors Cut though that I keep coming back to. Earning money to power up the weapons and then trying to get the multiplyer going by chaining kills together in an old fashioned highscore quest is twitch gaming at it's best. Highly recommended.

4. Forza 3 - 360

Quite simply a stunning achievement. It's not just the amazing depth on offer it's the ease with which it's presented that makes this such a leap ahead of the last game. Yes there's more tracks, more cars, the handling has been improved and it's prettier but you'd take that as read anyway. What makes it better is how Turn 10 cater for every skill level. Of course there's all the driver aids and racing lines and the rewind function that we take for granted now. But the game will auto tune cars for you, Suggest races that suit you're garage so you're never stuck as to what to do. Of course the online racing is great but now every Live memember has a store front where you can download their tuning set ups, graphics and even whole car designs. It's stunning on every level.

3. GTA: Chinatown Wars - DS

Probably the best GTA game since III on the PS2. Takes great advantage of the DS to make a living city that doesn't bring the harware to it's knees whilst at the same time adding great stylus based mini games, An interesting plot, A drug dealing side game that can take huge chunks of gaming time as you try to nail good deals and some wonderful set pieces. Chuck in better combat than IV and nifty driving and you've got the best new game on DS this year.

2. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - PS3

Certainly the prettiest game released this year. It's a rollercoaster of excitement and adventure all the way through. Like a rollercoaster it's very linear but rollercoasters don't get much more exciting than this.

1. Batman: Arkham Asylum

Quite simply you are Batman. Gaming experiences don't get much better than that. So much thought and care has gone into every aspect of The Asylum, Batmans powers and the source material it's quite simply mind blowing. I played through from beginning to end twice back to back. Every power up feels authentic. The combat system makes you feel like a superhero. The graphics are almost as striking as Uncharted 2 in their own way and it's got more atmosphere. There's moments of 'punch the air' excitement of course but everything is rock solid. Zipping about on grapple hooks never gets old. The combat is always exciting. It never forgets that Batman is brains as well as brawn and the cast of bad guys certainly pleased this fan. Game of the Year without a shadow of a doubt.