I've been busy for the last couple of days writing our top 50 games of the decade feature that will run on the site from 27th-31st December. Now, I've read a few of these lists in various music magazines recently and it's amazing how few albums feature from the final year of the decade (NME's featured just the one album from 2009). That's not the case with games though - there have been many classics released this year that I reckon we'll still be talking about in years to come.
Anyway, enough wittering and down to the nitty gritty - here are my top five games of 2009.
5. Pokémon Platinum I had one gaming New Year's Resolution for 2009 and it was to give Pokémon a go. I tried playing Ruby/Sapphire on Game Boy Advance years ago but couldn't get into it. Maybe I didn't give it the time it deserved. So in May I decided to clear the decks and play Pokémon solidly. I soon realised what I had been missing as I got stuck into some strategic battles in this wonderful role playing game. I enjoyed it so much that a few months later I could be spotted at the Pokémon Village fete in Nottingham downloading my Regigigas!
4. Wii Sports Resort My brother finally bought a Wii this year and this was the game that persuaded him to part with his cash. He knew his family would love it but he was also aware, like me, that when they had all gone to bed, he'd be staying up for hours playing table tennis! What I love about it is that everyone seems to have they're favourites. Personally I enjoy the real sports - so table tennis, basketball, tennis, golf and archery. It's just so addictive.
3. Professor Layton And Pandora's Box Once again the puzzles were good but as I've said many times before, the reason I loved Curious Village so much was because of the storyline. I can't say I would have been so enthralled by 120-odd puzzles on a cartridge if there was no reason to complete them other than to feel a bit brainier. I still probably hold Curious Village in higher esteem than Pandora's Box because it was the first one and so I knew what to expect with the sequel but when you compare the two games, there is very little between the two. This has another cracking story and the puzzles are brilliant.
2. New Super Mario Bros. Wii I absolutely loved New Super Mario Bros. Some complained that it was too short and you could just blast through it, but if you took your time with it and made sure you collected all those gold coins it was truly wonderful. Of course collecting all the coins was my number one goal with New Super Mario Bros. Wii and not only did I find it more challenging but its even more enjoyable too. It's just so much fun and seeing the Nintendo fans playing and loving it for the first time at the final of Britain's Best Nintendo Gamer was one of my highlights of 2009.
1. Legend Of Zelda: Spirit Tracks Phantom Hourglass is up there with Trauma Center and Layton as my favourite game on DS. I didn't get as annoyed as Fred with the repeating Temple Of The Ocean King so for me, this wasn't about fixing the wrongs of Phantom Hourglass. It was just another classic Zelda adventure to add to the canon. Aside from Zelda 2, there hasn't been a game starring Link that hasn't been anything less than excellent so it's no surprise to see this at the top of people's lists, including mine! Having picked it up this week, I'm currently loving it more than any other game of 2009!
