The Blogtastic Blogfest That Is Getmeoutofthis.net!

Hello. Let me tell you about the top 10 video games of the year. Well, half of them. Because there are three days left of the year and I guess I can break them up if I want to, and thus I am. So 10-6 Today, 5-1 Tomorrow, and then Honorable Mentions/Glaring Omissions on New Years Eve. Sound good? Hope so, because that’s what I’m doing. Let’s get to it.

10. Tiny Tower
In retrospect, in a lot of ways, it’s kind of embarrassing to have Tiny Tower on here. Also, a lot of people wouldn’t call it a game. But let’s just say it’s the game-like experience I played the most this year, by far. I certainly didn’t keep up with anything else for months and months. It is just a really well crafted version of… whatever you want to call the genre of games like that. If you got addicted to it, I wouldn’t blame you, and I just can’t imagine it not being on this list, given all the time I wasted with it. So here it is.

9. Shadows of the Damned
As I think we’ll find as I climb up this list, I am a sucker for good characters. Johnson and Garcia Fucking Hotspur are two of the best characters of this year. They’re constantly entertaining and ridiculous in completely believable ways. By far the best parts of this game are when the two characters are reading Children’s Storybooks from Hell to one another. The plot, the world, everything is, well, a Suda 51 game, so it’s a bit crazy, to be sure. However, unlike most Suda games, the gameplay is actually decent. It won’t change the world, but it is enjoyable, and that helps you be able to keep playing to get to more awesome character moments.

8. Bastion
Remember what I just said about two seconds ago about good characters? Rucks, the Stranger and Narrator of this game, is a fantastic character. Him talking to you, and all the fantastic music and everything in this game, just make it an outright joy to play, and a game you don’t want to end. Add to that incredibly smart in-game systems to tailor difficulty to exactly what you want and the fact that the fast-paced combat is just AWESOME, even for someone who normally hates doing things like blocking and dodging, and you have one of the best games of the year.

7. Dead Space 2
When Dead Space 2 first came out, I made the decision I was going to try to catch up with this series. The demo for the first game didn’t grab me, but I figured I had a Gamefly subscription, and I should try it. When I did, the first game immediately clicked with me, and I was starving, hungry for this one. What I got when I played it was a game that basically did everything way, way better than the first game, letting me slaughter and murder with fun weapons all over much cooler environments. I suppose there was a stronger story in this one too, but I really don’t think this is a game you play for the story. The action speaks loud enough alone. This is the best 3rd Person Shooter to come out this year. Take that, Gears 3.

6. L.A. Noire
I am so glad I listened to people when they told me that, no, this wasn’t another Rockstar blah GTA clone, but instead an Adventure game, with ridiculous production values. I took a chance on it, and what do you know? It was an Adventure game, with ridiculous production values! Features like making your partner drive you everywhere to skip the tedious moving around town was just genius, and while the Truth, Doubt, Lie system has a lot of flaws that people have pointed out to me, I enjoyed working my way through the cases and interrogating suspects. Most of the characters were fairly entertaining as well, although sometimes leaning a bit hard on stereotypes, and were entertaining to listen to. If you like Adventure games, noire, or just watching a good story play out, L.A. Noire is a game you should play.

I’ll be back tomorrow with more listing, because everyone loves lists! I have it on good authority.