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GAF Games o' the Year Voting Thread 2008

ctalamode

Neo Member
1. The World Ends with You
2. Mother 3
3. World of Goo
4. Apollo Justice
5. Professor Layton
6. Rondo of Swords
7. Toki Tori (wiiware)
8. Audiosurf

Looking back, I guess I mostly played last year's games...
 

Ponn

Banned
Space Cadet said:
Doesn't say you can't have them in the OP; if it is a problem let me know and I will change the list.

I don't know, I think it would be okay and should count, I just didn't see it even mentioned in the op and would be good to know.
 
1. far cry 2
2. fallout 3
3. saints row 2
4. tales of vesperia
5. persona 4
6. valkyria chronicles
7. kings bounty
8. sacred 2
9. disgaea 3
10. rock band 2

edited
 

Jive Turkey

Unconfirmed Member
Threads like these remind me how few new games I played this year...

1-Fallout 3
2-Super Smash Bros. Brawl
3-Dead Space
4-Castle Crashers
5-Professor Layton and the Curious Village
6-Burnout Paradise
7-Mario Kart Wii
8-GTA IV
9-Braid
10-Final Fanyasy IV

EDIT: Oh crap! Layton came out this year?
 

The Crimson Kid

what are you waiting for
1. Burnout Paradise
2. Braid
3. Metal Gear Solid 4
4. Fable II
5. Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts
6. Resistance 2
7. WipeOut HD
8. Dead Space
9. The Witcher: Enhanced Edition
10. The World Ends With You
 

Ponn

Banned
Drinky Crow said:
1. far cry 2
2. fallout 3
3. saints row 2
4. tales of vesperia
5. persona 4
6. valkyria chronicles
7. wow: wrath of the lich king
8. sacred 2
9. disgaea 3
10. rock band 2

I for sure thought you would have carnival games in your list.
 

Fireblend

Banned
Jive Turkey said:
8-Final Fanyasy IV (that came out in 08 right?)
For Europe, yes. Came out on Dec. 20 2007 for America.
Edit: Oh wait, no, that's japan's release date. America was July 2008, so yeah. Damn now I have to go back and fix my list.

Edit - But then it begs the question...

Where's the love for Final Fantasy IV?!
 

Jetku

Member
1. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
2. The World Ends With You
3. Ninjatown
4. Chrono Trigger DS
5. Final Fantasy IV
 

Spire

Subconscious Brolonging
1. Left 4 Dead
2. Dead Space
3. Burnout Paradise
4. Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria
5. Sins of a Solar Empire
6. Chrono Trigger DS
7. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
8. Civilization IV: Colonization
9. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2
10. Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures

Age of Conan gets a mention for one single feature, which was it's broken FFA PVP system. It was broken in my classes favor and the few weeks I spent ganking people was some of the most fun I've had all year. Too bad the rest of the game was total ass.
 

Jive Turkey

Unconfirmed Member
Fireblend said:
For Europe, yes. Came out on Dec. 20 2007 for America.
Edit: Oh wait, no, that's japan's release date. America was July 2008, so yeah. Damn now I have to go back and fix my list.
Sweet! Thanks!
 

Archie

Second-rate Anihawk
Drinky Crow said:
1. far cry 2
2. fallout 3
3. saints row 2
4. tales of vesperia
5. persona 4
6. valkyria chronicles
7. wow: wrath of the lich king
8. sacred 2
9. disgaea 3
10. rock band 2
where is king's bounty? :(:(
 

Volcynika

Member
1. Persona 4
2. Left 4 Dead
3. Valkyria Chronicles
4. No More Heroes
5. The World Ends With You
6. The Witcher: Enhanced Edition
7. Super Smash Bros Brawl
8. Burnout Paradise
9. Mario Kart Wii
10. Devil May Cry 4
 
Archie said:
where is king's bounty? :(:(

i suck. i totally forgot. i edited out the wow expansion because it has all the rewards it needs in the form of FAT CASH DOLLAZ, and replaced it with kings bounty. i fail at lists!
 
1. Persona 4
2. Apollo Justice
3. No More Heroes
4. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
5. Mega Man 9
6. Super Smash Brothers Brawl
7. Etrian Odyssey II

There are still a lot of 08 games I haven't played. >_>
 

Vargas

Member
1. Rock Band 2
2. LittleBigPlanet
3. Burnout Paradise
4. Saints Row 2
5. Metal Gear Solid 4
6. Chrono Trigger
7. Kirby Super Star Ultra
8. Dragon Quest 4
9. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
10. MLB 08 The Show
 

Beezy

Member
1. Mirror's Edge
2. Tales of Vesperia
3. Ninja Gaiden 2
4. Lost Odyssey
5. SSB: Brawl
6. Burnout Paradise
7. Gears of War 2
8. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
9. Dead Space
10. Devil May Cry 4
 

RichardAM

Kwanzaagator
1/ Metal Gear Solid 4
2/ Burnout Paradise
3/ Geometry Wars 2
4/ Fallout 3
5/ Left 4 Dead
6/ N+
7/ Little Big Planet
8/ Fable 2
 

Phntmbanana

Neo Member
1. Metal Gear Solid 4
2. Fallout 3
3. Grand Theft Auto IV
4. Little Big Planet
5. Pixeljunk Eden
6. Resistance 2
7. Burnout Paradise
 
1. Metal Gear Solid 4
2. The Witcher: Enhanced Edition
3. Chrono Trigger DS
4. Final Fantasy IV DS
5. Mario Kart Wii
6. Left 4 Dead
7. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
8. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
9. Soul Calibur IV
10. Prince of Persia
 

Farnack

Banned
1) World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
2) Metal Gear Solid 4
3) Valkyria Chronicles
4) LittleBigPlanet
5) Persona 4
6) Motorstorm 2
7) Disgaea 3
8) Yakuza 2
9) Resistance 2
10) Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
 
Minimum of 3 is good, but it's still hard to choose between the three. If I gave it more thought the positions would probably be switched.

1. Fallout 3
2. MGS4
3. LittleBigPlanet
 

Llyranor

Member
Short version:
1) Gears of War 2
2) Left 4 Dead
3) Tales of Vesperia
4) Ninja Gaiden 2
5) Ikaruga
6) Castle Crashers
7) World Ends With You
8) Valkyria Chronicles
9) Apollo Justice
10) Mirror's Edge

Long version:

I suppose this is a tentative list since I haven't finished some of these games. I'm not sure I've thought the order well enough, either, but I suppose that'll suffice. I don't think the games at the bottom at the list deserve to be at the bottom, but I also have a hard time bumping other games down the list. Tough choices this year. I've had to exclude some pretty good games as well.

1) Gears of War 2 - Fantastic co-op play. Gears1 was previously my favorite 360 game, but this completely overshadows it. Horde is my favorite mode by a long shot. 5 players against increasingly difficulty waves of enemies. Coordinating flanking maneuvers or ammo runs, setting up defensive perimeters with shields and grenades, being completely overwhelmed from every position, pulling off desperate retreats, and just having so much freaking fun. Gears2 would still be my GOTY if all it had was Horde mode. I was mildly disappointed in the campaign (too easy at the difficulties available out of the box), and PvP was completely irrelevant for me.

2) Left 4 Dead - This is really the year of co-op gaming. Awesome teamplay. Covering each other's backs, sharing health items around, crouching maneuvers, and just shooting zombies in the face. Great fun. The 4 campaigns were very well done (tried Versus a little bit, didn't do much for me). I had trouble deciding between this and Gears2, but the latter gets the edge, barely.

3) Tales of Vesperia - Fun JRPG battle system with local co-op. Playing this co-op with my brother and sister has been very rewarding. I'm even enjoying the story and party interaction so far. The skits - cliched as they are, but maybe that's the point - have been pretty entertaining; I like party banter. A good challenge too on hard difficulty (had to tone it down to normal for a few bosses - it's not necessarily balanced very well). Music is a tad disappointing, though.

4) Ninja Gaiden 2 - Fantastic combat system. Very hectic, very visceral, and very challenging. Some people would argue that NG1 is a better game, but I find NG2 to have more satisfying and refined combat, and to have fixed a lot of the frustrating design elements from the first game (archery being more accessibly, platforming and water levels being made a lot more minimal this time around). The combat is just so fun. It's like ballet with limbs flying around.

5) Ikaruga - Yes, the XBLA has an HD visual upgrade. More importantly, however, is the crucial addition of online co-op. Awesome shmup that I will never finish with finite continues (never played the arcade/dreamcast/gamecube versions). I absolutely love the reverse polarity system; in terms of pure game design, it's really at the top of the heap. This is my desert island game.

6) Castle Crashers - A 4p co-op beat-em-up is easily a formula for awesome fun, and Castle Crashers delivers. A good fun entertaining experience, if the game actually works. I've had the chance to play through the whole game co-op with 3 other players, so it rates pretty highly for me. It's really too bad for those who weren't able to experience this gem. It'll probably get robbed because of that. Really unfortunate the technical aspects ruin the actual game.

7) World Ends With You - One of the best JRPGs in the last few years. If there are any problems with the JRPG genre as a whole, this game doesn't have it (Nomura aside :0). Excellent pacing (no random encounters, you basically choose when you want to fight except for story battles), excellent balance (change the difficulty level or you character level at any time, getting different rewards based on your settings) - both of which are completely player-directed. Unique compelling gameplay that makes excellent use of the touchscreen, while the topscreen (completely optional, mind you) also acts as a good balancing act for the player to try to divert his/her attention between both screens at once. Can get pretty hectic. Gameplay never felt boring. If there was one JRPG I'd want other games to learn game design from, this is it.

8) Valkyria Chronicles - A unique SRPG with somewhat of a JRPG presentation (though without the pacing problems that JRPGs often have). Very compelling gameplay, with each scenario providing quite different situations from one another. I think my enjoyment of the game will be even greater as I tackle the harder skirmishes, or as I strive to gain higher rankings (and thus would have to be more efficient with how I use my turns). Admittedly, I'm only about halfway through the game. It's my SRPG of the year, in any case.

9) Apollo Justice - I love the Ace Attorney series, and this fits right in with the others. Some people say that this one isn't as good, or that they miss the old cast. I find it just as good so far. The writing has been quite excellent as well, with many genuinely funny moments. I only finished 2 out of 4 cases, so maybe my final impressions will differ!

10) Mirror's Edge - Innovative gameplay at its best; I already feel bad for putting it at the 10th spot, but that has to do with me not playing enough of the game to raise it above the others so far. I mean, the main story mode is a good introduction to the game mechanics, but time trials and speed runs is really where they get fleshed out, and you really get into the real meat of the game. Striving to shave off a few seconds here and there, or finding shortcuts that can save you a full 10 seconds sometimes, or figuring out a combination of acrobatics you hadn't thought possible at first, fighting to beat other players' times, or your own, or even just vying for getting that 3 stars (which is pretty hard to begin with); all so very awesome. I just haven't played enough time trials so far (3-starred one so far, still trying to 3-star a second!). This game will last me a very long time.

Honorable mentions in no order:
- Lock's Quest - One of the best DS games this year. Action game meets Tower Defense in a very fun game experience. Decent challenge, too. Completely overlooked by GAF, which is a big shame. More players need to try this one out.

- Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - I love the DS Metroidvanias, and this one oozes of quality. Boss battles (the highlight of the series for me) were really fun as well, and the challenge was really good. This is a known quality for me, but there were just too many good games this year.

- Disgaea 3 - My first Disgaea. I'm only going through the story mode, avoiding all grinding and pumping up the enemy difficulty any time I can. Nice challenge so far, and I'm loving the core gameplay. The various gameplay mechanics are really good, and really help to refine the gameplay. Combined attacks, combos, towers and throwing, geocubes; it's all good fun. I find the actual level design to be a little bit lacking, though. I mean, there's good variety to them, but most missions do consist mostly of going to the enemies and beating the crap out of them before they do the same to you.

- Geometry Wars 2 - A vast improvement over the first game. 6 gameplay modes that are a complete joy to play. The 4p local co-op is also a blast, and things get crazy in a very short period of time. The achievements (for once) are also really fun to obtain. This would have probably made the top-10 list if it had online co-op.

- LittleBigPlanet - I'm doing this game a huge disservice simply by not having playing it enough. I've just played a few levels in the story mode, and all I've done in the toolset has been in the beta (just messing around, really). The main problem, I guess, is that my main co-op buddy doesn't have a PS3 yet. Game is incredibly fun when it actualy gets played, though. I've been playing a little local co-op so far, but priority has been given to Vesperia for that.

- Metal Slug 3 - XBLA version is suboptimal, as many will say. However, it does have one crucial element: online co-op, and this is the only version to allow that in any sort of legit fashion. The lag prevents trying to 1cc the game, but the actual quality of the game itself remains, and it's extremely fun and replayable.

- Aces of the Galaxy - Great little on-rails shooter with 2p co-op. After Castle Crashers, 2nd best new original XBLA title. Completely overlooked on GAF as well. A shame.

- Final Fantasy IV - A classic for which the DS version really does justice. From a presentation or gameplay perspective, this is really topnotch stuff. Loved it.
 

jett

D-Member
1. Metal Gear Solid 4
2. Yakuza 2
3. Wipeout HD
4. Bionic Commando Rearmed
5. Burnout Paradise
6. Devil May cry 4
7. Mega Man 9







...guess I haven't played many 2008 games.

edit: totally forgot about Yakuza 2
 

Big-E

Member
1) MGS4
2) Valkyria Chronicles
3) Dead Space
4) Tales of Vesperia
5) Wipeout HD
6) Fallout 3
7) Gears of War 2
8) MLB 08 the Show
9) PixelJunk Monsters
10) Civilization Revolution
 
1) Metal Gear Solid 4
2) Little Big Planet
3) Wipeout HD
4) Grand Theft Auto 4
5) Fallout 3
6) The Last Remnant
7) Motion X Poker
8) Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core
9) Pixeljunk Eden
10) MLB 08: The Show
 

Gilgamesh

Member
1. No More Heroes
2. World Ends With You
3. Bionic Commando Rearmed
4. Rez HD
5. Dead Space
6. Gears of War 2
7. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
8. Final Fantasy IV
9. Megaman 9
10. Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core
 

eXistor

Member
1: Fallout 3
2: Fable II
3: The Witcher: Enhanced Edition
4: Persona 4
5: Mega Man 9
6: Dragon Quest IV
7: No More Heroes
8: Braid
9: Boom Blox
10: S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky

Some that nearly made the list:

FFIV DS, Professor Layton, Soul Bubbles, The World Ends With You.
I have LBP and Chrono Trigger DS but haven't played them yet (I have played CT obviously, but not the DS version, so it seems right not to count it).
 

KR3W

Banned
1. Persona 4
2. Metal Gear Solid 4
3. Motorstorm 2
4. Apollo Justice Ace Attorney
5. Dragon Quest 4
6. Wipeout HD
7. Dragon Quest 4
8. LittleBigPlanet
 

Kade

Member
1. No More Heroes
2. Fallout 3
3. Left 4 Dead
4. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
5. Mario Kart Wii
6. Fable 2
7. Mega Man 9

Honourable Mention: Super Smash Bros. Brawl
 

traveler

Not Wario
1. Braid
2. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
3. Fallout 3
4. Little Big Planet
5. Metal Gear Solid 4
6. Mega Man 9
7. Crysis: Warhead
8. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
9. Left 4 Dead
10. Grand Theft Auto 4

Honorable Mentions: Geometry Wars 2, Burnout Paradise, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2

Games I Should Really Have Played Before Making This List: Gears of War 2, Mirror's Edge, Sins of a Solar Empire, Red Alert 3, Fable 2. Mother 3
 

Yaweee

Member
Did I even play ten new games this year? Smash, P3FES, EO2, FFTA2, Eternal Poison, Persona 4, Fallout 3, Left 4 Dead, Wrath, Mega Man 9, My Life as a King, Tetris Party... and I haven't even played half of them enough to comfortably put anywhere on a list. I'm also kind of torn on P4. I'm leaning to say it's better than FES, but I'm not positive.

Well, here goes.

1) Left 4 Dead
2) Persona 4
3) Persona 3 FES
4) FFCC: My Life as a King
5) Mega Man 9
6) Etrian Odyssey 2
7) Tetris Party

2008 was the year of the PS2 backlog.
 

Eric Hall

Member
1) Left 4 Dead
2) Rock Band 2
3) Prince of Persia
4) Dead Space
5) Gears of War 2
6) Fallout 3
7) Mirror's Edge
8) Geometry Wars 2
9) The World Ends With You
10) Megaman 9
 
1. Little Big Planet
2. Metal Gear Solid 4
3. Dead Space
4. Fallout 3
5. Resistance 2
6. BioShock
7. GTA IV
8. Call of Duty World at War (MP is fantastic)
9. MLB 08 The Show
10. SOCOM Confrontation


I guess that the Killzone 2 MP beta doesn't count. If it did, it would be number one.
 

ZROCOOL

aka II VerTigo II
1-Left 4 Dead
2-Metal Gear Soild 4
3-Gears of War 2
4-Dead Space
5-Fallout3
6-RockBand 2
7-Braid
8-Prince of Persia
9-Street Fighter 2: HD Remix
10-Mega Man 9
 

Hatchman

Member
1. Left 4 Dead
2. Grid
3. Little Big Planet
4. Gears of War 2
5. Braid
6. The Club
7. Mirrors Edge
8. Burnout Paradise
9. Fable 2
10. Viking: Battle of Asgard
 

zoku88

Member
1. Dragon Quest IV
2. Persona 4
3. Left4Dead (PC)
4. Sins of a Solar Empire
5. Valkyria Chronicles
6. Yakuza 2
7. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
8. Pixeljunk: Eden
9. Lumines Supernova (I haven't even played, but I love Lumines anyway so I know I'll love this one)

10. Persona 3: FES
 
1. Left 4 Dead
2. Mother 3
3. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
4. Crysis Warhead
5. No More Heroes
6. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
7. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
8. Mega Man 9
 

Dante

Member
#01: Little Big Planet
#02: Metal Gear Solid 4
#03: Motorstorm 2 Pacific Rift
#04: Dead Space
#05: Resistance 2
#06: Wipeout HD
#07: Fallout 3
#08: Valkyria Chronicles
#09: God Of War Chains Of Olympus
#10: Pixel Junk Monsters Encore
 
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