It seems that while I've been home in Glasgow enjoying a much-earned break, the rest of the ONM team has been blogging its favourite games of 2009. So, as I try to recover from the needlessly large Christmas dinner laid out by Mother Scullion yesterday, here are the games I played most over the last year.
5. Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 When we got preview code in for this game we spent so long playing it and Tweeting about it that Konami noticed and asked us if we wanted to make our own league. We did, and by sheer coincidence (and skill, of course) yours truly was the winner with a Juventus team with skills that would keep the textile industry thriving for a decade, such was the amount of silk on offer. While the high-def versions of PES were the big sellers this year, I preferred the Wii version (with a Classic Controller, of course) because it felt more like the good old days of the PS2 Pro Evo.
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4. Punch-Out!! As an old-school Nintendo gamer, I was worried when Nintendo announced a remake of Punch-Out!! because I had the feeling they'd try to mess around with the (admittedly basic) gameplay and bring it more into the 21st century. Thankfully they did the complete opposite and brought us a game that looked incredible but had gameplay mechanics that were as old-school as they come. And the return of that pink jumpsuit was the icing on the retro-crafted cake.
3. Pokémon Platinum Yes, I know it shouldn't really count because it's technically an updated version of a game that didn't come out in 2009, but that doesn't mean I didn't get obsessed all over again when I was given Platinum to review earlier this year. There's something about Pokémon that makes it so compelling, even though "catching 'em all" gets less straightforward with each generation of the series. This is the ultimate Pokémon game... until HeartGold and SoulSilver next year, of course.
2. DJ Hero Bit of a surprise entry, this one. I was expecting to enjoy DJ Hero but I wasn't expecting it to be that good. As it was I spent three days solid ploughing through all 94 fantastic mixes, to the point that I was scratching records in my sleep. I still play it regularly and even downloaded the DLC, which I don't often do because I'm usually against the idea of paying extra for something you've already paid a lot of money for. It didn't sell too well which is a shame, but on the bright side that means you should be able to pick it up cheap somewhere during the Christmas sales (shopto.net is selling the £180 Renegade Edition for £79,84), so I strongly recommend you snap it up if you have any interest in music.
1. New Super Mario Bros Wii I know, I know, predictable stuff. The thing is though, it's just that good. I'm the biggest Mario fan ever and I would have been absolutely gutted if NSMBWii didn't meet up to the high standards already set by the other side-scrolling Mario games. I was terrified that the four-player gameplay (which, being honest, I'm not really bothered about) would ruin the single-player experience but I'm so glad it didn't and as a result thoroughly enjoyed this game from start to finish. As I was the first person in the world to play through and review the game, I was stuck in a dilemma because I adored the game and wanted to tell the world about it but wasn't allowed to spoil anything, especially the big surprise at the end. Now it's out and most of you will have it, I'm sure most of you will agree it's truly superb.
There we go, that's my top five of 2009. I'm sure some of you will disagree with my selections, especially the absence of a green-hatted lad (I've been busy playing other games so I'm only just about to settle down with Spirit Tracks over the Chrimbo period), so let me know what you think!
Hope you all had a great Christmas and I hope 2010's good to you.
