61 Frames Per Second

Derrick's Top 13 Games of 2008 - Part 1

Posted by Derrick Sanskrit

Yes, it's that most wonderful time of the year, when we make our lists and check them twice. As Bob and Cole have already pointed out, annual Top 10 game lists are popping up all over the place. I started organizing my own list over a month ago and had a very hard time leaving a few games out (come on, it was a pretty damn good year for games), and since thirteen has been my lucky number since the third grade I am now proud to present my own personal Top 13 Games of 2008, brought to you in three managable installments. Hopefully there'll be a little something for everyone. Let's get this party started:

13 - rRootage (iPhone/iPod Touch, ported from PC):
You know what I always loved about the classic top-down shooters? Those huge, insane, too-many-flying-objects-on-screen-at-once boss fights. Wouldn't it be great if someone made a game that was just that? Oh, and if it were portable - fit right in my pocket. And it would be so sweet if I could play it with just one or two fingers and listen to whatever music I wanted to while I played. Yeah, that sure would be a dream. Oh wait... somebody made that game? And it's free? Woah...

12 - No More Heroes (Wii):
There's little I can say about No More Heroes that hasn't already been exuberantly exclaimed by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw. Goichi Suda is a game auteur, the Quentin Tarantino to Shigeru Miyamoto's Stephen Spielberg, and No More Heroes is his Woo Ping techno-punk black comedy Grand Theft Auto satire. Possibly most impressively, it was an M-rated Wii game that stood gloriously by itself as being unique, completely worthwhile, and in no way a weak sequel or spin-off of an otherwise beloved franchise (see Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, Manhunt 2 and Mortal Kombat: Armageddon).

11 - Ace Attorney Apollo Justice (DS):
The first "true" DS Ace Attorney game (the Phoenix Wright trilogy were all GBA ports, minus the fifth case in the first game, tech demo for what would become Apollo Justice) did just about everything right: delightfully quirky characters, greatly improved graphics and sound, engaging new forensic investigation tools and a solidly engaging storyline. The only real problems were that the story ultimately paled in comparison to the edge-of-your-seat emotional thrill ride of predecessor Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations and that the game still feels far too short. Sure, you get your money's worth and a decidedly more compelling "game" than its predecessors thanks to more interactive elements, but even a game twice as long wouldn't satisfy my craving for Ace Attorney action. TAKE THAT!

10 - WiiFit (Wii):
The quintessential non-game of 2008, WiiFit had high expectations all around and shattered every single one of them. Bringing WiiFit home opened my living room to sights I'd never seen before, an exercise program that people legitimately wanted to play. Even when I wasn't playing, I was thinking about how my daily actions would be reflected on my next body test, striving for a high score in the form of a low BMI. I'm noticeably leaner and healthier than I was eight months ago and I had a lot of fun doing it, even feeling competitive at times. In my mind, that makes WiiFit a game, and a damn good one too.

Part 2
Part 3

Related Articles:
Bob's Top 10 of 2008 in No Particular Order
Time Magazine's Top 10 Games of 2008
Action Button's Top 25 Games Ever

+ DIGG

+ DEL.ICIO.US

+ REDDIT

Posted Dec 09 2008, 01:00 PM

Filed under: nintendo ds, derrick sanskrit, no more heroes, wii, top ten, wii fit, ace attorney, iphone, goichi suda, top ten of 2008, 2008, rRootage

Comments

Roto13 said:

No More Heroes has its flaws, but it's definitely in my list of my favourite games this year, too. I was so happy when NMH 2 was announced. I really didn't have a lot of hope that would ever happen.

Apollo Justice is great, too. I just wish they would hurry up and announced Apollo Justice 2.

December 9, 2008 4:51 PM

Demaar said:

I'm keen on seeing how Perfect Prosecutor goes before I hope for an Apollo sequel. It could very well best Ace Attorney in every way, in which case I'd be hoping for a sequel to be announced for it first...

December 15, 2008 3:50 AM

about the blogger

John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Nerve, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines. Based in Toronto, Nadia prizes the certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.

Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.

Joe Keiser has a programming degree from Johns Hopkins University, a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, and a fake toy guitar built in the hollowed-out shell of a real guitar. He writes about games and technology for a variety of outlets. One day he will stop doing this. The day after that, police will find his body under a collapsed pile of (formerly neatly alphabetized) collector's edition tchotchkes.

Cole Stryker is an American freelance writer living in York, England, where he resides with his archeologist wife. He writes for a travel company by day and argues about pop culture on the internet by night. Find him writing regularly here and here.

Peter Smith is like the lead character of Irwin Shaw's The 80-Yard Run, except less athletic. He considers himself very lucky to have this job. But it's a little premature to take "jack-off of all trades" off his resume. Besides writing, travelling, and painting houses, Pete plays guitar in a rock trio called The Aye-Ayes. He calls them a 'power pop' band, but they generally sound more like Motorhead on a drinking binge.