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DS Game of the Year
Professor Layton and the Curious Village
D Level 5| P Nintendo
PALGN Review 9.0
Runner up: The World Ends With You
Apart from the Northern Hemisphere release of the Nintendo DSi, it has been a very quiet year for the Nintendo DS. Well, quiet for Nintendo, at least. However, this has given the third parties a chance to show what they’ve got. While not strictly third party nor a 2008 release (2007 in Japan), the release of Professor Layton and the Curious Village was a healthy dose of nostalgia mixed with ingenious puzzles and colourful characters.
Professor Layton and his young assistant Luke are invited to St. Mystere by Lady Dahlia, widow of the late Baron Reinhold, to solve the mystery of the Golden Apple. The Baron stated in his last will and testament that whosoever should solve the mystery would inherit everything he possessed. Reviving the classical point-and-click genre that once populated PCs and adding over 120 touch screen puzzles, Professor Layton and the Curious Village was one of the more memorable experiences of 2008 for many reasons.
PSP Game of the Year
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
D Square-Enix| P Square-Enix
PALGN Review 8.5
Runner up: God of War: Chains of Olympus
It was a strange year for the PSP. Most of the best games for the system came out in the first half of 2008, rather than during the latter year silly season. As a result, it almost seemed that there weren’t too many games to pick from. Still, pick we did and again, nostalgia won out. Following on, or more accurately leading into the famed PlayStation title, Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII gives some background to one of the most revered stories in gaming.
Introducing some new characters to mix in with the old ones, the gameplay moves away from the turn-based to action-based, but just like all Final Fantasy games it keeps you occupied for a long time. Most importantly, the game captures the emotion and story that is often associated with the perennial series, as well as the high standards that we have come to expect as the norm.
Xbox 360 Game of the Year
Gears of War 2
D Epic Games | P Microsoft
PALGN Review 8.5
Runner up: Fable 2
Few developers are adept at following up a stellar original with a good sequel, let alone a better one. Epic are one such developer that is able to put their money where their mouth is, and deliver a sequel to their 2006 hit, Gears of War that is even better than the original. That is, even if we’re still left waiting for a few answers.
Gears of War 2 adds more colour and smarter squad mates to the stop-and-pop action of the original. This time though, it’s even bigger, faster and more explosive. Heck, they even found a way to make it look better. While there are few little things that would have made it truly special, it has left us quite excited for the inevitable sequel.
Wii Game of the Year
Boom Blox
D EA LA | P Electronic Arts
PALGN Review 8.5
Runner up: de Blob
There used to be a time where the Nintendo system awards were dominated by Nintendo published games. In a major coup, the PALGN staff have gone past the Nintendo sequels such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart Wii and have looked (possibly) to the future. As such, games like Zak and Wiki, the Australian-developed de Blob and No More Heroes figured highly, but in the end, it was the surprisingly enjoyable Boom Blox that took the cake for 2009.
Not bad for a mix between Jenga and explosions, although it seems that having Steven Speilberg for consult has definitely helped. Even with less processing power than other modern consoles, the Wii was the home in 2008 for one of the most enjoyable physics-based puzzle games. Utilising the motion-based features of the Wiimote further enhanced the emphasis of skill, reflex and dexterity. That, and blowing up stuff is a heck of a lot of fun.
PlayStation 3 Game of the Year
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
D Kojima Productions| P Konami
PALGN Review 9.5
Runner up: Little Big Planet
Very rarely does a game fulfil most of the promises that are set out during the development cycle. It’s even rarer for a game to fulfil all the promises made during the cycle, let alone the life of the franchise. But that’s just what Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots managed to do and then some.
It may be hard to believe, but the game fulfils its primary purpose by completely tying up the extremely stretched story and even wrapping it up with a nice bow on top. That, and it had the most accessible gameplay of all Metal Gear Solid games, along with the most variety that the series has ever seen.
Multiplatform Game of the Year
Fallout 3
D Bethesda Softworks| P ZeniMax Media
PALGN Review 9.0
Runner up: Left 4 Dead
Following the fall of Interplay, the future of the Fallout franchise was uncertain for a while. But after being acquired by Bethesda Softworks, creators of the Elder Scrolls franchise, it looks as though it will be here to stay for a while. While Fallout 3 is a rather large departure from the decade-old original titles, the attention to the nostalgia factor has once again paid off.
While the comparisons with Oblivion were inevitable, Fallout 3 stands on its own and makes exploring a post-apocalyptic in search of your rogue father one of the most enjoyable gaming experiences of recent times. While we were just glad for the game to have made it to Australia following the drug censorship fiasco, we’re even happier with how the final game has turned out.
PC Game of the Year
Spore
D Maxis| P Electronic Arts
PALGN Review 9.0
Runner up: Sins of the Solar Empire
It seems that Will Wright can do no wrong. The Sims was a runaway success, and The Sims 2 was even bigger, so who knows how big The Sims 3 will be. But before that, Wright took the gaming world and tipped it on its side once again with the genre transcending simulator Spore. And again, it could be enjoyed by the casual and the hardcore alike.
Spore allowed players to first take control of the primordial soup and see what kind of immaculate being (or monstrosity) crawled out. Following this, you took control of the creature's evolution, from its first village, to towns, then cities, then conquering the world and finally… the universe. Literally.
Downloadable Game of the Year
Braid
D Number Non Inc.| P Number Non Inc.
PALGN Review 9.0
Runner up: Wipeout HD
Games that you can buy over some sort of download service, be it the Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, Wii Shop or Steam, have become incredibly popular over the last 12 months. So much so that this category was one of the most hotly contested this year. While a lot of games that probably deserved the attention haven’t quite got over the line, the future of these games is bright.
The shining star for independent developers this was the perplexing Braid. Even though we can’t all be perceptive and ‘get it’, there is no denying the creativity required to think up the mind-boggling puzzles that were seen in the game. Not to mention, it showed that a game can look good without millions of polygons and head-line voice actors.
Best Visuals
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
D Kojima Productions| P Konami
PALGN Review 9.5
Runners up: Prince of Persia, Gears of War 2
You don't often see a game look as good as the early screenshots and videos seem to suggest. Well, in another rarity, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots not only looked as good as the hype may have implied, it actually looked much, much better. No other game released this year managed to put together theis level of attention to detail along with artistic direction and technical prowess. Not to mention, not much has come close since the game's release either.
Best Audio
Grand Theft Auto IV
D Rockstar North| P Rockstar
PALGN Review 9.5
Runner up: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
One area that is never likely to disappoint when it comes to a Grand Theft Auto game is the audio department. And almost like clockwork, Grand Theft Auto IV delivered a memorable audio experience with great voicing, meaty sound effects and the famed licensed and original tracks that could be found on the radio within the game world. While some may have described GTA IV as a game that you could have lived rather than played, it’s certainly one that you could have just listened to.
Overall Game of the Year
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
D Kojima Productions| P Konami
PALGN Review 9.5
Runner up: Left 4 Dead
Very rarely does a game fulfil all the promises that are made during the development process. Very rarely does a series get wrapped up with every single possible question answered. Very rarely is the core gameplay of a series made accessible to newcomers while retaining what veterans liked about it. Very rarely (particularly these days) does a game get released with virtually no technical flaws and yet still provides a complete package. Very rarely does a game look and sound better than just about anything that has ever been released, and continues to do so six months after release. And very rarely (only once a year in fact), is a game judged to be the best game we played in a year.
Well done Snake, one final award has come your way.
Most Anticipated for 2009
Heavy Rain
D Quantic Dream| P SCEE
Runners up: Brutal Legend, Uncharted 2
2009 is looking like a year for the unique and the original. Publishers seem to have realised that sequels need some love and care, so we might not see as many next year. As such, a lot of original IPs and lesser known titles were thrown around the table when we were wondering just what we wanted from 2009. It turned out that PALGN staff are suckers for an intriguing story, as Heavy Rain won this battle over Jack Black and Nathan Drake.
The developer's last game, Fahrenheit, started off really well when it came out in 2005, but fell away as it went from intriguing to just plain sci-fi weird. Aside from what looks like a fresh perspective on quick time events and a compelling story, we’re hoping that this love story/thriller doesn’t go down the same path. At the moment though, it’s on the top of out list of games we want to play in 2009.
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