Best of the Rest: Randy's Picks of 2009

by Randy Nelson on Jan 2nd 2010 5:30PM

Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes
If I had my way ... well, a lot of things would be different. When it came to video games, I'd make sure that everyone -- whether they own a Nintendo DS or not -- had a chance to play Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes. Now, I know, Might and Magic? Isn't that some long-dead RPG franchise that's probably best left in the ground? Well, yes -- but Clash of Heroes is about as far from any of the other games in the series as you can get. At its core, it's a puzzle game -- a combat puzzle game -- developed by Capybara, the same team behind PSN's wonderful Critter Crunch. Take that game's core mechanic, add a load of clever new ones and build a story-driven experience around it and you have one of the finest (not to mention most addicting) DS games ever.

Need for Speed: Shift and DiRT 2
I know, I know -- everyone says Forza 3 is the best racing game of the year (or maybe ever), but I'll take these two games any day of the week over it. Sure, it may not let you customize your cars to the nth degree, but for my money, Need For Speed: Shift offers the most intense, realistic auto racing experience yet on a console. (And if you're not playing it from the in-car view, you're really missing out.) When I'm up for something a little more thrilling, I pop in DiRT 2 -- which just makes other off-road racers (save for last year's great Pure) look seriously deficient in almost every respect. It's amazing to look at, and equally enjoyable to play.

Street Fighter IV
I honestly doubted we'd see the day that Street Fighter IV actually existed. I've been a diehard fan of the series since cutting my fighting game teeth on Street Fighter II, so the combination of not only getting a new game in the series for HD console, but one that finally got the classic feel of the series right with 3D trappings, was frankly a little surreal. Now we have Super Street Fighter IV to look forward to -- the only thing I don't miss about the franchise are the countless variations of each release. I say after Super, surprise me again with Street Fighter V.

Canabalt
I tap the screen and the little guy running along the rooftops jumps -- often to his death. But I cant stop tapping. I tap to restart, tap to avoid obstacles, tap to ... fall to my death again. Canabalt is simple -- how far can you run before dying? -- but whether it's on my phone (which I'm surprised doesn't have a hole in its screen from my constant tapping) or on the web, I'm simply addicted.

It looks a lot better than this, I promise!

Excitebike: World Rally
I'm pretty much convinced that the first real sequel to the classic NES dirt bike racer (sorry, Excitebike 64, but you don't count in my book) has received close to zero love, which is a real shame. Maybe it looks a little too retro-y in screens or video, or simply boring, but I can honestly say that it's one of the most fun games I've played all year. The controls are brilliant (so much better than the origina!l) and it'll have you trying over and over and over again to beat your fastest lap -- y'know, kind of like a classic game, which this certainly is.

God of War Collection
Yes, I know that technically neither of the games that comprise God of War Collection were released in 2009, but there's something to be said about playing them again in HD (only complaint: why did many of the cinematics not get up-rezzed?). Even the original GOW truly stands the test of time -- although it's a shame that Chains of Olympus, one of my Best of the Rest picks from last year, didn't make its way onto the disc.

They Let Me Down:

Wii: New Super Mario Bros. Wii annnnnnnnd ... ? (Sorry, New Play Control! titles don't count)
Fat Princess: Was not fun.
Bionic Commando: Just never really reeled me in.

Game I Liked (But Not Loved) and People Think I Hate for Some Reason:

Reader Comments (67)

I need to pick up Street Fighter IV. I'm still on SSFIITurbo for SNES.

*not Turbo-whoops.

I think I never got the chance to play Super Street Fighter II Turbo-whoops. Title sounds promising though.

Yeah, it kinda slipped under the radar. Great game for the Turbo GrafX, though. ;)

Pretty much any game for the turbografx is good.

I need to add one to my collection. It's on my acquisitions list for this year, along with a Master System, a Jaguar, Turbo Express, and Lynx.

Shanghai, Joust, and Checkered Flag were the best games on a handheld gaming system.

Lynx was awesome.

"Wii: New Super Mario Bros. Wii annnnnnnnd ... ? (Sorry, New Play Control! titles don't count)"

Zing.

It also couldn't be more true! Slapping a half hearted platformer with broken local co-op / no online multiplayer, no map editor, no character customization / mii support or even additional characters for replay has to be considered a letdown unless you are more interested in nostalgia than a solid game. If thats the case you'll be happy with whatever you get that has Mario in the game. If the game were released on the Wii Ware service and was budget priced I wouldn't be hating but for a full priced game it's really one of my biggest disappointments of the year.

Even if you forget all the things it didn't have and just look at the gameplay its still a failure. The game is damn near impossible to play with more than one person because of the lag / pause in action when someone dies. It's local multiplayer is as bad as Brawls online multiplayer. This either wasn't designed to be a multiplayer game (2 toads?) from the start or its one of the most poorly crafted multiplayer experiences ever. I'm guessing that they just sort of tacked on the multiplayer aspects of the game towards the end of development and didn't intend for it to play as shitty as it does.

That wasn't a knock against NSMBWii. He was saying it was the only good Wii title released this year. NSMBWii is an amazing game, and the co-op is some of the best I've played on any console. It's as fun as Halo, Gears, and Left 4 Dead co-op wise.

The co-op is completely broken in that game! How can you say it's fun to have the screen stutter and pause when someone dies? It KILLS the flow of the game. But, I see what he was saying now ... NSMBW is FAR from an amazing game.

Basically, the Wii isn't powerful enough?

Heck, I dismissed the devs saying the current gen consoles weren't powerful enough for co-op, until I saw some of the pretty big issues in games that did have it, both graphically and overall. We need more power!

Tmac posted links before from Miyamoto that said something to that effect. But, then Shiggy kind of back peddled and later said they just didn't want to make an online game but that Brawl proves the infrastructure is there. LOL.

I still stand by what I say. The game is broken and lacks content we've come to except in modern games. Just because its a retro re-imagining doesn't mean it has to have the same feature set as a 20 year old game.

Yeah, Nintendo really shot themselves in the foot by keeping the hardware that weak. Sure, they sold a bunch of consoles, but it's hurt their third-party support and the Wii looks terrible compared to the 360 and PS3, both of which have power yet to be tapped.

Actually, Miyamoto recently retracted that power statement, or rather tempered it.

Though they would have had to completely rework the game to get it online, and lag would have been much more detrimental to the experience than other online platformers, like, say, LBP

That game is a testament to how gameplay design trumps all these fancy modern features at the end of the day anyway. No reason we can't have both, but if we want a game to go all one way, it should go that way.

Though i wish they had included online leaderboards, and/or an ability to create and share your own super skills videos. That would have been sweet.

The local co-op is not broken, playing with 4 is supposed to be chaotic. With just 2 it's great and I think you can only get some of the starcoins by helping each other.

All those LBP-esque things you mention like a map editor are all well and fine, but ultimately not the defining factor of a great game. Also, what is wrong with nostalgia? Mario games have a great history, being reminded of it is cool. Saying that no one would care if this game hadn't Mario on the cover is stupid, he is a legitimate character, just like Sackboy is for LBP.

The game is just fine, a lot of levels, plenty of challenge if you get the starcoins and also plenty of variety. Too bad you didn't like it.

The Wii let you down? Come on, Madworld, Wii Sports Resort, Silent Hill, Dead Space, A Boy and His Blob. Those are all some of the year's best.

I think he wanted more support from Nintendo itself.

None of those games are killer apps. Those are all average / decent / mid level titles. Those aren't even in the discussion for the years best. Maybe you enjoyed them the most but these guys play games and write about them for a living so they can compare stuff from all the consoles in a different way. It's pretty hard to say that the Wii had some of the best games this year when its own highest rated title was a repackaging of old games (metroid trilogy) ... wasn't a good year for Wii.

So? By that same reach, I could say there's few killer apps on the 360. Doesn't change the fact that there's plenty of "average" games on the system that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Honestly, why should you care what some site even considered would be "Game of the Year"? I personally loved the hell out of Henry Hatsworth, and yet, I don't see a single site awarding that their GotY award (although Destructoid almost nominated it)...

"Madworld, Wii Sports Resort, Silent Hill, Dead Space, A Boy and His Blob"

You know your lineup's in trouble when you have to put Wii Sports Resort in there, seriously that "game" is beyond awful. The rest of those don't exactly light the world on fire either. You got a mediocre action game, a remake of a ps1 game, a rail shooter, and a 2D platformer that should have launched at budget price (like $20 at most)

Next year doesn't look any better either. I saw the neogaf thread earlier today and the only Wii game coming next year that I had any interest in at all was Galaxy 2.

No Metroid love, Tmac? Or are you a purist and only prefer the 2D titles? (understandable)

No I actually have never liked Metroid, even in the SNES days but I didn't count the trilogy cause technically they're all old games. I do have it though and I played a little bit of Prime 1 but I'm very bored so far. It's just hard to go from an action packed FPS like MW2 to a boring, lonely corridor shooter. That being said I only have an hour at most into it so far.

I play games across every platform too. I've hit just about all of the triple-A titles across the 360, PS3, Wii, and DS, and I'll still say all the titles I listed for the Wii are excellent. Also, every one of those games have been in game of the year listing for the Wii across many dfferent websites including this one.

Wii Sports Resort is awful? How about you play the game and enjoy it like everyone else instead of hating(presumably because it's "cool" to bash casual games no matter how good they really are).

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is a brand new game, not a remake. It's more of a reimagining of the original. If you play through the whole game as i have, you will see it's very different in good ways. MadWorld was a great action game. A Boy and His Blob came out at a cheaper price-$40, and it's definitely worth it. Dead Space: Extraction is amazingly well done and one of the most fun games I've played. I personally like it more than the original on the 360. But of course, write it off because it's a rail-shooter. I guess HotD: Overkill and Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles are terrible too. I also forgot Muramas, which is an absolutely beautiful action game that's getting ignored by the core crowd along with everything else.

I did play wii sports resort, actually traded it in today for the gamestop $20 off anything sale and it's terrible. How anyone can play that for longer than 10 minutes without getting bored is beyond me, there's no substance and very little game there.

Dead Space I am writing off because it's a rail shooter, because rail shooters suck. They're relics of the 90s when arcades were still strong, and it's another genre that has very little substance. Pointing and shooting gets old after 30 minutes.

Every one of those games were on Wii goty lists because literally nothing else came out this year for Wii, that's the original complaint of several people here and even Randy.

NSMBWii was never planned to be a major change to the format of 2d Mario. Enjoy it for what it is - a 2d Mario with great graphics, detailed backgrounds, more power ups, more dynamic levels (floating coins - this messed with me for a level or 2 at the start - I kid not) and a wide variety of baddies.

That screenshot for SF4 is so outdated it's not even funny...

I didn't like NSMBWii. It's just the same thing as all the other Marios. And I mean, if a game was really that great, I don't mind the same thing a second time. Fuck if I absolutely loved it, I'll take it a third time. But this, not so much. I don't see why people are all crazy about it.

Couldn't agree more. However, the reason people are so crazy about it is because it's a Mario game. It's all based on nostalgia and nothing new, innovative or good the game itself accomplished.

I don't know what game you guys think you were playing, but NSMBWii was a blast. How you can laud Killzone and then disparage NSMBWii as unoriginal is some of the most perplexing shit I've ever heard in my life. Seriously, Johnny 5, you should have somebody take a look at whatever part of your microchip computes logic 'cause it's fucking broken.

Well, you could counterpoint that the Killzone franchise isn't twenty plus years old...

You guys bashing NSMB for being too much of the same, I hate to inform you but Uncharted 2 is exactly the same game as 1. All they did was tighten everything up from the first game.

the legend of zelda franchise is just as old, but with every major release (not including anything like link's crossbow training) the feature set is expanded, the gameplay is retooled and updated, and it's fresh and often groundbeaking. just because a franchise is old doesn't mean that its games have to be aged.

While that's largely true, Tmac, Uncharted isn't even three years old. Mario's been doing the same thing since 85. And NSMB is a lot of nostalgia (only played the DS version). Hell, some of the levels were ripped straight out of SMB3/SMW.

That's even worse then Bradwart. Playing a game I just played 2 years ago, versus a game I haven't played in 18 years.

You really expect me to believe you haven't played a Mario game since SMB on the NES?

Not like NSMB and SMB, no. Even if you want to go to the DS game, that's still what...14-15 years later?

Bradwart,
There hasn't been a 2D side-scrolling Mario platformer on a home console since Yoshi's Island in 1995. Fortunately or unfortunately, the 2D Mario formula has been perfected. All they can give us are new levels and I'm glad that they did. NSMBWii is a game that I plan on replaying, and that's not something I do very often.

You COULD counter that Killzone isn't a 20+ year old franchise, but I wouldn't. Because I would point out that it's already mind-numbingly generic after ONLY two iterations. What's next, Killzone 3: Modern Call of Halo?

It's not about nostalgia, it's proof that those old Mario games are revered for more than nostalgia, that we used to play games to play them, and not to "experience" them, and that their gameplay stands on equal footing with modern giants

OK, I think I've been through everyones "Best of the Rest" lists. only JC bothers to even mention Demon's Souls? Am I missing something? Has Joystiq been a light-weight, casual gamer's fufu-blog this whole time and I never noticed? Demon's Souls is easily one of the most innovative, challenging and down right rewarding games EVER let alone this console generation or 2009. Hell it even trumps most action games in terms of combat animation and gameplay. And did I see "Wet" on one of the lists? I give Joystiq a C+ for 2009 :D

I don't know, I tried it and just wasn't that impressed. Sure, it's a good concept, but not exactly GotY material.

I agree that it deserves mention and probably should have been in the top 10 list along with Killzone 2. Why Splosion Man & Little Kings Story made the list instead of higher quality stuff is beyond me. I'd of put Demons Souls on there instead of InFamous as well and that was a damn fun game.

I've been meaning to try Demon's Souls because of all the people saying how good it is, but really, all I ever hear people say about it is the challenge. Is there anything in it that is actually good aside from difficulty?

I must disagree Bradwart, and so do several other (so far) reputable gaming sites. IGN: PS3 rpg of 2009 (I know, IGN is hit-or-miss but it still beat out Dragon Age!)
GameSpot: GOTY - a site I respect due to their always-critical reviews

I totally realize Demon's Souls isn't for everyone, but it's a hard core gamer's game and it just gets better the more you play (NG+), which can't be said for many titles.

If you just dabbled with Demon's Souls, I understand being put off by it (it does kick the players ass from minute one after all!). Given a chance however, it's an amazing experience that will be poked and prodded by rival developers for years to come.

what the fuck? you're grading them on their personal opinions? This isn't the fucking popularity contest VGA awards, this are the games joystiq's editors enjoyed the most this year, it's not the god damn academy awards where each game is meticulously compared to some list of things that makes games good. So what if you saw Wet on another (only one) best of the rest list? That's their opinion, geez

@ Quattro -

If you like action games, RPG's and highly innovative online gaming (totally optional btw), this one isn't to be missed. My GOTY, and that's saying a lot considering all great titles in '09 (i.e. UC2, Dragon Age, KZ2 AC2 etc etc).

Oh Wayne, sorry I ruffled you into immediate profanity. It was a JOKE, hence the smiley face?

Oh, dear, you irritated The Goddamn Batman...

I played it for roughly an hour, and just kinda got bored. It's not that it wasn't challenging, just that it wasn't exactly compelling.

"Why Splosion Man & Little Kings Story made the list instead of higher quality stuff is beyond me"

Like I said before Johnny, it's good you're not trying to hide your fanboyism anymore. Those just happen to be a 360 and Wii exclusive. I'll agree that splosion man shouldn't have been there only because I don't believe downloadable games should go ahead of full scale disc games, but LKS is a great game and much more enjoyable than Demon's Souls (and not much easier either)

Like I mentioned before in another topic, Demon's Souls hit the risk/reward sweet spot like none other.

It's equal parts King's Field, ICO and SotC with a very unique online mechanic. I can see why some may be bored with it or frustrated by it, but I'm very glad I stuck with it as it was easily the most different and rewarding gaming experience I've had all year. I'm a little disheartened that no one at Joystiq shared a similar opinion on it. Good to know there are more readers on this site that share it tho. :D

| 1 | 2 | Most Recent | Next 50 Comments

Sorry, you must be logged in to leave a comment.

Breaking News

HAWX 2 spreads its wings September 7

The most popular posts
in the last 7 days

Microsoft defends Kinect pricing 140 comments
Fable 3 gameplay footage from Comic-Con is very, very upsetting 121 comments
Review: StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty 118 comments
Street Fighter X Tekken (and vice versa) revealed at Comic-Con 105 comments
PS3 Netflix adds search option 99 comments

Best of the Rest: Randy's Picks of 2009

Reader Comments (67)

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 5:32PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 5:48PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 6:27PM MystileArmor said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 6:29PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 7:01PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 7:02PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 8:02PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 5:42PM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 5:45PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 5:50PM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 5:53PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 6:03PM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 6:06PM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 6:07PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 10:23PM Mr Khan said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 11:50PM Finito said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 5:42PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 5:43PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 5:48PM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 6:14PM MowDownJoe said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 6:59PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 7:05PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 7:23PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 7:44PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 7:51PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 5:44PM mrmobius said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 5:48PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 5:51PM Bedlight said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 5:54PM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 6:47PM Dr Perry Ulysses Cox said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 6:51PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 7:01PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 7:03PM Puertoricarious said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 7:04PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 7:10PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 7:11PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 7:14PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 8:34PM Dr Perry Ulysses Cox said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 10:30PM Mr Khan said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 6:01PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 6:04PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 6:08PM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 6:13PM Railgun said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 6:20PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 6:21PM TheDarkWayne said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 6:25PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 6:28PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 6:31PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 7:04PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 2nd 2010 8:23PM (Unverified) said

Info

Description

MSRP

Release Date

Genre

Developer

Publisher

Rating

Breaking News

HAWX 2 spreads its wings September 7

Featured Stories

Source: Best Buy offering $300 FF13, Splinter Cell Conviction Xbox bundles next week

Joystiq Podcast 147 - Halo: The Creek edition

Mario musical Super Claudio Bros. jumps on DC

The most popular postsin the last 7 days

Engadget

WoW

Massively

Big Download

Autoblog

Urlesque

Games.com Blog

UGO.com

The most popular posts
in the last 7 days