GUEST Best of 2009
Jim’s Top 9 Games

As a freelance writer with a love of video games, I found it hard to decide where my “best of the year” list should make its home in 2009. Then I stole Shaun’s laptop. A few auto-saved passwords later and the rest, as they say, is history. Without further ado, please enjoy my very own Top 9 of 09!

New Play Control! Pikmin

When the Wii was first unveiled as a motion control game station at E3 in 2005, a lot of journalists had a lot of questions. I only had one – when do I get to play Pikmin on it? As a faithful Pikmin addict since the series debut back in 2001, the marriage of plant people and motion controls seemed like a dream come true to me. While New Play Control! Pikmin may not be Pikmin 3, it really didn’t need to be. Adding motion controls to a port of the original made the eight-year-old game feel new again, and reminded me why I loved Pikmin so much in the first place.

Time Gentlemen, Please!

If you’re a fan of LucasArts adventure games, British humour, and general inappropriateness (and I’d like to think that if you’re reading this you’d be happy to check “yes” on all three) then the Ben & Dan series of adventure games are the best thing you’re not already playing. The sequel to last year’s Ben There, Dan That (available totally free here), Time Gentlemen, Please! is the best thing to happen to time travel since Bill & Ted lost Napoleon at a water park. If I haven’t convinced you yet, it should only take three words: robot Nazi dinosaurs.

Bejeweled Blitz

I’m better than you at Bejeweled. Unless you’re my wife… Or our roommate…. Or anyone I used to work with. Dammit! So it turns out I stink at Bejeweled. I wouldn’t have known if it wasn’t for Bejeweled Blitz, the first successful Facebook game to appeal to those not interested in farming, fishing, pets, or poker. Putting Bejeweled on a one-minute timer was a stroke of genius since it keeps me coming back to out-do my previous score. Keeping my friends in the loop meant I had to keep trying to beat their scores too. And making the iPhone version sync up with the Facebook version? Made of win, PopCap. Made of win.

Canabalt

Run… Just… Just run. Created as part of the Experimental Gameplay Project, this one button wonder that creator Adam Saltsman refers to as “a daring escape platformer” became the most addictive quick-gaming experience of the year for me. We’re talking Whitney Houston 2006 addiction here. Dom DeLuise and donuts. It was bad, people – and that was just when it was a flash game. Now that it’s available for the iPhone? My family misses me, but they’ll learn to understand. If you haven’t had a chance to try it you owe it to yourself to see how outstandingly addictive a flash game can really be. It’s just one hit, I swear.

inFAMOUS

I know I’m in the minority here, but I’ve become tremendously bored of sandbox games and third-person adventures over the past few years. With a few notable exceptions (*cough* Wind Waker *cough*) nearly everything since Grand Theft Auto III has felt like a copycat or a disappointment. It seemed like there was no innovation to be had in the world of balls-out third-person action. And then there was inFAMOUS. I can’t really pinpoint how they did it, but the team at SuckerPunch managed to completely restore my faith in big budget gaming. Everything from the parkour-style exploration to the combat to the superhero vibe was nailed perfectly. As far as mainstream gaming goes, this was easily the most refreshing experience I had all year. Lightning powers rock.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

The original Uncharted was the first game that broke the barrier between Hollywood quality writing and acting and video game quality writing and acting – but the second game still managed to blow it out of the water. I’m the first person to argue that we need to stop comparing video games to movies as an art form, but if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, I’m forced to call it an outstandingly brilliant duck. From the first snowy minute to the last moment of… well, I won’t ruin it for you, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was filled to the brim with non-stop action, great dialogue, and tremendous gameplay. Oh – and did we mention there’s some fairly competent multiplayer in there, too? This was more than a playable summer blockbuster (albeit a little late for summer) – it was better than any summer blockbuster in theatres this year. Who would have thought that my favourite action movie of 2009 wasn’t a movie at all?

Battlefield 1943

I’m not a first-person shooter guy. I’m not a Battlefield guy. Hell – I’m not even a big fan of World War II games. But every now and then there’s a perfectly balanced multiplayer FPS game that sinks its claws into me and keeps calling me back again and again. In 2006 it was Team Fortress 2. In 2009, well… Let’s just say I’ve had so much fun battling my way up Mount Suribachi that people now call me Iwo Jim. (Disclaimer: Nobody calls me that.)

Flower

Despite it being about little more than blowing petals in the wind, nobody disliked Flower. Controlled entirely through SIXAXIS tilt controls, Flower was so good that even my friends who curse motion-based gaming were singing its praises. There’s definitely some challenge in there, but at the end of the day Flower was more of an atmospheric experience than a game about objectives and difficulties. Zen gaming is a term that doesn’t get to stretch its legs often enough, but Flower was 2009’s perfect zen game. Sit back, relax, and be the wind, people. Just be the wind.

Shadow Complex

I love a good comeback story – especially when you never see it coming. With the exception of a few indie titles and old school revivals, 2D gaming has long been considered a dead art on home consoles. Shadow Complex shook things up and reminded people that not only could 2D be done well, but that it could offer as deep and engaging an experience as its modern 3D counterparts. Metroidvania-style gameplay, fantastic level design, and a slightly ridiculous yet entertaining story came together to make Shadow Complex one of best surprises of 2009. Also: Nolan North.

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