The Best Of Big Download: December 21-27

Christmas week was slow in the news department, but busy in the original features section at Big Download. Let's peruse what we've been up to in the past seven days:
Original features

2009 In Review: We give our picks for the best PC games of 2009 in our annual Big Download Awards. We also pick our 10 favorite PC game demos of 2009 and point out some PC games and related products that turned into vaporware this year. And finally, we give our picks for the best indie games and which indie games would be great holiday gifts.
The Top 10 Most Disappointing Games of the Decade (2000-2009): As a follow up to last week's feature of the best PC games of the decade, we give our picks for those PC itles that didn't live up to their hype.
2010 PC Game Preview: We begin our look at the next 12 months in gaming with part one and part two of what action and first-person shooter games are expected in 2010.
Team Fortress 2 Soldier-Demoman Achievement Guides: Want to learn more about the two newly updated Team Fortress 2 classes? Then check out part one, part two, part three, part four and part five of our guide review and part one, part two, part three, part four and part five of our Demoman guide.
Gratuitous Space Battles Review: We give our final verdict for the recent space strategy games by Positech.
Kung Foo! Interview: We chat with comic book author Devin Grayson on her work adapting the upcoming satirical MMO game.
Mac Monday: Our regular Mac games column returns with looks at two games: Osmos and Guns of Icarus.
All You Need To Know: Our 411 column returns with a info dump on Star Trek Online.
Freeware Friday: Our weekly look at free PC games checks out the title Varia.

Downloads

Divinity 2 demo: Check out this sample of the upcoming fantasy RPG from Larian Studios
ArmA 2 1.05 patch: Download this update to Bohemia Interactive's shooter which adds new missions to the game.
Star Trek Online Leonard Nimoy interview: Check out Spock himself voicing the role for the upcoming MMO game.
Mass Effect 2 Infiltrator trailer: Check out the Infiltrator class from BioWare's upcoming RPG.
Aliens vs. Predator trailer: It's new footage from the upcoming Rebellion FPS, can you dig it?

News

Reader Comments (23)

Yeah, I'm a bit concerned. Alpha Protocol and Singularity completely dropped off the map. We need at least a little hype! Bioshock 2 is in a similar media blackout, it seems.

http://www.1up.com/do/minisite?cId=3177265

It was nice to see Deus Ex: Invisible War on the list of biggest disappointments. I had forgotten how much that sucked.

Yeah, I'm wondering how Daikatana didn't make that list...

It's fine to say Deus Ex: Invisible War was a disappointing PC game (and further, a disappointing sequel to Deus Ex), but it was still a great game. I feel like a tool for having to throw the "u word" in the mix, but gaming media has put out enough undue hate to make Invisible War one of the most underrated games ever.

I'm sure part of my bad experience with it was that I had to play the xbox version (my pc wasn't up to snuff). But even if the frame rate was better and the edges smoother, Invisible War just didn't offer up the same greatness of the original. It took a lot of steps backward (story, gameplay and ambiance) and thus disappointed.

Maybe it wasn't terrible, but it did suck when matched against expectation.

Special Troopers coming your way on Joystiq :D

That was a pretty good list of the biggest disappointments. I'd like to add a few personal disappointments:

1) Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
2) Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
3) Devil May Cry 4
4) Kingdom Hearts 2

Me too.

Fable II
Halo 2's ending...
MW2
Final Fantasy X-2
Gran Turismo 4
Perfect Dark Zero
Silpheed: The Lost Planet.

And, because I should, Daikatana.

Oh, hell, I forgot about FF X-2. Yeah, that certainly goes on there.

I recently replayed Halo 2, and I totally forgot how shitty the ending really was.

Oh, hell, how could I forget Gears 2?

Two have stood out for me the last couple of years. Resident Evil 5 was a huge let down but nothing compared to Far Cry 2. I loved the original but for me the second was awful. I must hate games set in Africa.

How in sweet jesus was GT4 a dissapointment? Every game in the GT series is excellent (Prologue's and Concepts excluded)

FFX-2 was second to only FFVII among the FF games in the last decade in actual combat system. Maybe you didn't like the storyline portion of the game but the real meat of FF is fighting monsters and setting up characters and FFX-2 got that right.

Halo 2 and Halo 3.

Wtf, Mirror's Edge a disappointment?

It wasn't perfect, but I really enjoyed my time with it.

I was glad to see Mirror's Edge in that list. I think it is an absolute joke how Joystiq put that game in their top ten of 2008. I can understand how people think GTA4 is overhyped but it is still an incredible game. To leave that out and put Mirror's Edge in was flat out pretentious. For shame...

Actually I really liked Mirror's Edge. I can see why it wouldn't appeal to everyone, but personally I give the developers credit for practically inventing a new gaming genre (or at least focusing an entire game around the whole parkour style of play) .

It was not without it's faults, but for a new IP trying something really new I thought it did a pretty damn good job.

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The Best Of Big Download: December 21-27

Reader Comments (23)

Posted: Dec 27th 2009 10:49PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Dec 28th 2009 2:06AM Special Agent Steve said

Posted: Dec 27th 2009 11:50PM (Unverified) said

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Posted: Dec 28th 2009 7:25AM Granger said

Posted: Dec 28th 2009 7:37AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Dec 28th 2009 10:40AM combolicious said

Posted: Dec 28th 2009 12:06AM Funkmaster General said

Posted: Dec 28th 2009 12:20AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Dec 28th 2009 12:31AM Funkmaster General said

Posted: Dec 28th 2009 1:11AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Dec 28th 2009 6:46AM LuTon James said

Posted: Dec 28th 2009 7:55AM I AM IRONHIDE said

Posted: Dec 28th 2009 9:39AM electrobrains said

Posted: Dec 28th 2009 12:46PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Dec 28th 2009 5:44AM Unvrfd said

Posted: Dec 28th 2009 7:40AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Dec 28th 2009 5:58AM LuTon James said

Posted: Dec 28th 2009 7:12AM sonicspike41 said

Posted: Dec 28th 2009 7:01AM (Unverified) said

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