(bold) = position is higher than in 2008
(normal) = no change
(red) = position is lower than in 2008
Original Results from 2008:
2008’s GOTY Awards
And so Doctor Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap... will be the leap home.
Out of 216 games...
Game of the Year (1): Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Playstation 3)
2. (3)
Fallout 3 (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
3. (14)
Mirror's Edge (Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
4. (7)
Dead Space (Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
5. (16)
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (Playstation 2)
6. (6)
Grand Theft Auto IV (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
7. (11)
Valkyria Chronicles (Playstation 3)
8. (9)
Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
9. (4)
Left 4 Dead (PC, Xbox 360)
10. (2)
LittleBigPlanet (PlayStation 3)
RPG of the Year (1): Fallout 3 (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
2. (4) Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (PlayStation 2)
3. (3) Valkyria Chronicles (Playstation 3)
4. (5) The World Ends With You (Nintendo DS)
5. (7) Mother 3 (eng) (Game Boy Advance)
FPS of the Year: Left 4 Dead (PC, Xbox 360)
2. (5) Bioshock (Playstation 3)
3. (3) Far Cry 2 (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
4. (7) Battlefield: Bad Company
5. (4) Crysis Warhead (PC)
Racing Game of the Year: (1) Burnout Paradise (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
2. (2) Wipeout HD (Playstation 3)
3. (3) Mario Kart (Wii)
4. (4) Motorstorm: Pacific Rift (Playstation 3)
5. (6) Pure (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
Sports Game of the Year: (4) Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds (Playstation 3)
2. (1) NHL 09 (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
3. (2) FIFA 09 (Nintendo DS, PC, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Playstation Portable, Wii Xbox 360)
4. (8) Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 (Playstation Portable)
5. (5) MLB 08: The Show (Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Playstation Portable)
5. (9) Madden NFL 2009 (Nintendo DS, PC, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Playstation Portable, Wii Xbox 360)
Fighting Game of the Year: (1) Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
2. (4) Street Fighter IV (Arcade)
3. (3) Soul Calibur IV (Playstation 3, Xbox 60)
4. (2) Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
5. (7) BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Arcade)
Platforming Game of the Year: (3) Mirror's Edge (Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
2. (1) LittleBigPlanet (Playstation 3)
3. (2) Braid (Xbox 360)
4. (4) Bionic Commando: Rearmed (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
5. (5) PixelJunk Eden (Playstation 3)
Stealth Game of the Year: (1) Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Playstation 3)
Strategy Game of the Year: (1) PixelJunk Monsters (Playstation 3)
2. (4) Civilization Revolutions (Nintendo DS, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
3. (2) Sins of a Solar Empire (PC)
4. (3) Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (Nintendo DS)
5. (5) King's Bounty: The Legend (PC)
Action Game of the Year: (1) Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360)
2. (2) No More Heroes (Wii)
3. (4) Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (Nintendo DS)
4. (highlight]3) Mega Man 9 (Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Wii)
5. (5) Devil May Cry 4 (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
Adventure Game of the Year: (1) Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (Nintendo DS)
2. (4) Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations -Europe- (Nintendo DS)
2. (10 Penumbra: Black Plague (PC)
3. (6 Overclocked: A History of Violence (PC)
4. (2) Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure -Europe- (Wii)
5. (11) Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law (Playstation 2, Playstation Portable, Wii)
Action-Adventure Game of the Year: (2) Dead Space (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
2. (1) Grand Theft Auto IV (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
3. (4 Prince of Persia (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
4. (3) Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (Xbox 360)
5. (5) Saints Row 2 (Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
Music/Rhythm Game of the Year: (1) Rock Band 2 (Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Wii)
2. (3) Rez HD (Xbox 360)
3. (2) Audiosurf (PC)
4. (did not list) Patapon 2 (Playstation Portable)
5. (4) Patapon (Playstation Portable)
Puzzle/Parlor Game of the Year: (1) World of Goo (PC, Wii)
3. (3) Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 (Xbox 360)
2. (2) Professor Layton and the Curious Village (Nintendo DS)
4. (6) Space Invaders Extreme (Nintendo DS, Playstation Portable)
5. (4) Boom Blox (Wii)
Simulation Games of the Year: 7 Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 (Nintendo DS)
and
(2) Animal Crossing: City Folk (Wii) (tie)
3. (3) Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise (Xbox 360)
4. (6) Football Manager 2009 (PC)
5. (1) Spore (PC)
(normal) = no change
(red) = position is lower than in 2008
Original Results from 2008:
2008’s GOTY Awards
And so Doctor Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap... will be the leap home.
Out of 216 games...
Game of the Year (1): Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Playstation 3)

Lion Heart said:Still the best game this gen.
The_Darkest_Red said:It's insane, crazy, and completely nonsensical --- and that's just a few of the many reasons why I love it so much. MGS4 was an incredible follow-up to my personal favorite game of all time, and while it had its faults I will still always remember it as one of my favorite gaming experiences.
Shtof said:You can say what you want about the story elements, but you can't deny the incredibly fine-tuned gameplay and those impeccable controls that let you do all that crazy stuff other games won't let you. Most games today won't even let you crouch without a low wall.
2. (3)

FrontalMonk said:Everyone (including myself) was scared that Bethesda would ruin Fallout and make it "Oblivion with Guns". You know what? It kinda was. It was still pretty awesome. Living in the DC Metro area, and knowing BethSoft does too (heck, Rockville's like an hour's drive from me), I was hoping they would get it right. Let me tell you, the moment you emerged from one of the tunnels into a metro station was one of those moments in gaming where I just had to stop, look around and go "whoa...", because they nailed it. They really nailed it. Damnit, now I want to play FO3 again.
3. (14)

Haunted said:What a great game. A bold art style using stark, strong, primary neon colours in a realistic yet varied city environment. What Breakdown attempted the generation before, Mirror's Edge did, transmitting the weight, feeling and movements of a person (and not only a disembodied gun) to the player in first person, coupling it with parkour-inspired, flowing platforming gameplay that hasn't been replicated quite like that since then.
4. (7)

Orellio said:The third person shooter perfected. The highs aren't quite as high as Resident Evil 4 but it is much more consistently excellent, with better gameplay and setting. Also one of the more un-nerving games I've played. If you didn't like it so much, I'd bet it's because you played on normal. On normal it was a bog standard shooter with too much ammo. On hard it became something else entirely: Survival horror with limited ammo and credits to the point where you always had to decide between upgrading a weapon/your suit, or stocking up on ammo or health. Just a great, great game that would be in my top 5 of the gen.
5. (16)

Crewnh said:The best RPG I've ever played. Fantastic set of characters, an engrossing mystery story, a really slick anime aesthetic, an awesome catchy JPOP-y soundtrack and a battle system that is challenging but also a lot of fun. All of it meshes together perfectly to form the swan song for the PS2, and what a way to go
6. (6)

AleeN634 said:while not as funny as the PS2 series, GTA still stands out as the modern day open world game that no other (that I've played) has matched.
7. (11)

Dark Schala said:This game, from the Skies of Arcadia team, ended up revolutionizing the SRPG genre with its BLiTZ turn-based battle system, where the units can be controlled in an SRPG manner, but then the game zooms in on the individual units during the Action mode where the game becomes a real-time affair, while Target Mode allowed the player to execute attacks. Because of its system combining third-person attacks with a strategy interface, it’s very refreshing and stands out from the rest of the SRPGs out there. It’s also extremely beautiful, and the way everything flows in terms of art and music warms me up inside. This is probably one of the very few RPGs which handled a love story correctly, by the way.
8. (9)

SpacePirate Ridley said:Best museum of Nintendo gaming ever. Melee is posibly the better fighter, but all around Brawl is the better game.
9. (4)

sonicmj1 said:Valve really succeeded in making a replayable, constantly-exciting co-op experience. There's just enough randomness to provide tension every time you play. Some of that faded away once people realized how to exploit parts of the system, but those first nights with the game near launch were some of the best experiences I've ever had playing games.
10. (2)

daegan said:I never in a million years expected the challenge the story levels present towards the end. I've played a ton of wonderful levels (libidius!) that challenge what I thought could be done in a console game editor. When will someone make an accurate Aggro Crag?
RPG of the Year (1): Fallout 3 (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)

2. (4) Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (PlayStation 2)
3. (3) Valkyria Chronicles (Playstation 3)
4. (5) The World Ends With You (Nintendo DS)
5. (7) Mother 3 (eng) (Game Boy Advance)
FPS of the Year: Left 4 Dead (PC, Xbox 360)

2. (5) Bioshock (Playstation 3)
3. (3) Far Cry 2 (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
4. (7) Battlefield: Bad Company
5. (4) Crysis Warhead (PC)
Racing Game of the Year: (1) Burnout Paradise (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)

2. (2) Wipeout HD (Playstation 3)
3. (3) Mario Kart (Wii)
4. (4) Motorstorm: Pacific Rift (Playstation 3)
5. (6) Pure (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
Sports Game of the Year: (4) Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds (Playstation 3)

2. (1) NHL 09 (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
3. (2) FIFA 09 (Nintendo DS, PC, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Playstation Portable, Wii Xbox 360)
4. (8) Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 (Playstation Portable)
5. (5) MLB 08: The Show (Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Playstation Portable)
5. (9) Madden NFL 2009 (Nintendo DS, PC, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Playstation Portable, Wii Xbox 360)
Fighting Game of the Year: (1) Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)

2. (4) Street Fighter IV (Arcade)
3. (3) Soul Calibur IV (Playstation 3, Xbox 60)
4. (2) Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
5. (7) BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Arcade)
Platforming Game of the Year: (3) Mirror's Edge (Playstation 3, Xbox 360)

2. (1) LittleBigPlanet (Playstation 3)
3. (2) Braid (Xbox 360)
4. (4) Bionic Commando: Rearmed (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
5. (5) PixelJunk Eden (Playstation 3)
Stealth Game of the Year: (1) Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Playstation 3)

Strategy Game of the Year: (1) PixelJunk Monsters (Playstation 3)

2. (4) Civilization Revolutions (Nintendo DS, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
3. (2) Sins of a Solar Empire (PC)
4. (3) Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (Nintendo DS)
5. (5) King's Bounty: The Legend (PC)
Action Game of the Year: (1) Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360)

2. (2) No More Heroes (Wii)
3. (4) Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (Nintendo DS)
4. (highlight]3) Mega Man 9 (Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Wii)
5. (5) Devil May Cry 4 (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
Adventure Game of the Year: (1) Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (Nintendo DS)

2. (4) Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations -Europe- (Nintendo DS)
2. (10 Penumbra: Black Plague (PC)
3. (6 Overclocked: A History of Violence (PC)
4. (2) Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure -Europe- (Wii)
5. (11) Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law (Playstation 2, Playstation Portable, Wii)
Action-Adventure Game of the Year: (2) Dead Space (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)

2. (1) Grand Theft Auto IV (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
3. (4 Prince of Persia (PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
4. (3) Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (Xbox 360)
5. (5) Saints Row 2 (Playstation 3, Xbox 360)
Music/Rhythm Game of the Year: (1) Rock Band 2 (Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Wii)

2. (3) Rez HD (Xbox 360)
3. (2) Audiosurf (PC)
4. (did not list) Patapon 2 (Playstation Portable)
5. (4) Patapon (Playstation Portable)
Puzzle/Parlor Game of the Year: (1) World of Goo (PC, Wii)

3. (3) Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 (Xbox 360)
2. (2) Professor Layton and the Curious Village (Nintendo DS)
4. (6) Space Invaders Extreme (Nintendo DS, Playstation Portable)
5. (4) Boom Blox (Wii)
Simulation Games of the Year: 7 Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 (Nintendo DS)

and
(2) Animal Crossing: City Folk (Wii) (tie)

3. (3) Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise (Xbox 360)
4. (6) Football Manager 2009 (PC)
5. (1) Spore (PC)