Community Game of the Year 2009

Beyond the “official” game of the year that we determined on the podcast, Game Central’s community also gets a voice. Over the past weeks, Game Central’s readership and forum-goers submitted their nomination for the accolade of “game of the year.” So without further ado, this article as follows was written by the community about the most noteworthy games of the year.

Authentic weaponry? Enemy forces that can outsmart you? Palpable sense of your own mortality? ArmA II delivers the modern battlefield to your PC – minus the combat rations. I can give you lots of reasons why ArmA II gets my vote for PC Game of the Year, but I’ve got a mission waiting so I’ll keep it simple.

Unwavering Dedication to Detail: BI Studio set out to create a modern combat simulator and they really pulled out all the stops in pursuit of their goal. Everything vital to modern operations was researched and modeled. Weapons behave accurately and the tactics are real. You can almost taste the cordite as you dive into the dirt to avoid the bullets snapping overhead.

Unmatched Co-op and Multi-player Capabilities: Whether you are playing Force vs. AI or Force vs. Force, no other game offers the opportunity to work as a team better than ArmA II. The in-game VOIP and Tactical Menu enable players to easily execute complex maneuvers.

Mod-ability: Included in the game’s purchase price are the original developer tools. Amateur developers ensure that there is a constant supply of new content being produced that ranges from uniforms to complete force conversions.

So if you think you can handle it, I’ll see you on the battlefield.

–contributed by C. Fransky

Runner-Up: Batman: Arkham Asylum

Batman: Arkham Asylum is everything a good game should be. The controls are smooth and intuitive, the gameplay is intriguing and varied, and the graphics are gorgeously stylized. Yet above all, the game is pure, unadulterated fun. It is the most fun I’ve had in a third-person game since the original Max Payne, one of my personal all-time favorites. Arkham Asylum focuses on the strengths of the third-person genre: it takes the core mechanics of a third-person beat-’em-up, combines them with a handful of Splinter Cell-esque stealth and detective elements, and adds a dash of innovative gadgets to the mix. Pair them with the backing of over sixty years of Batman mythos, and you have yourself a recipe for a truly kickass title.

Of course, every game has its flaws. After completing the storyline and finding all the hidden Riddler items, there is nothing left to do in the game. The voice acting, while being reasonably above the industry standard, is still nothing to write home about. And combat degrades into simple button-mashing at any difficulty other than “Hard.” However, if you can look past these few (minor) pitfalls, you will find yourself with a truly fun and engrossing title that will give both the Batman veteran and average-Joe gamer hours of fun, satisfying, Joker-smashing entertainment.

–contributed by Tom “Frost” Conroy

Runner-Up: Braid

The idea of being able to reverse time in Braid isn’t just a gameplay trick but also informs the narrative. The game’s protagonist, Tim, is someone who has this overwhelming feeling of regret and wishes he could go back and do things differently. The idea of using the game as a place to explore a character’s regret, correct mistakes, and reminisce on where it all went wrong is something we rarely see in games.

I hesitate to call the game an emotional experience because I never actually got emotional over the game, but I thought it was an effective exploration of an emotion. This is something we don’t see happen much in games and, while I think it can be done with a little more skill and grace and a little less of an air of pretentiousness, Braid is a game that made me think about the potential. And there’s also some clever platforming puzzles in there somewhere. It may not be the of the highest quality but it’s the one that challenged me the most, both in terms of solving puzzles and rethinking what games could be.

–contributed by J. Ewing

Runner-Up: Dragon Age: Origins

I have not had this much fun in a Bioware game since NeverWinter Nights. I prefer the traditional RPG Fantasy of big giant swords and mages in skimpy outfits, and Dragon Age: Origins has brought me back into the Bioware bandwagon. I loved the interaction Bioware has placed into the game: your companions will talk to each other, comment about the environment around you, and, once you increase enough favor with them, some will even start questioning you. You feel like your character actually has a history in the game and the people around you will even comment on your “Origins” depending on how you frame it.

You could be the guy who’s glad to escape from home, the one who’s homesick, or even the one who hates being in the forced position of Grey Warden. The companions, like in other Bioware games, also have their own backstory that you can explore and help them solve. Some will only activate when you gain enough favor points with the characters, while others you get through talking with them; specific items given to the characters, meanwhile, open up cinematics and dialogue options for you to interact with the companions. My only wish for the game is that it would have more puzzles/riddles than fighting.

–contributed by Mike Quach

Other Nominations from the Community: Burnout Paradise; Empire: Total War; Judith; Left 4 Dead 2; Machinarium