The official mandate has come down from the top—that it is December, and we all write about games, so we all have to pick some arbitrary number of them that we enjoyed above all others this year. I am taking on this task in the way of our forefathers, using their traditional number (10) and order (from great to most greatest). Games were chosen for this list using a highly scientific list of criteria, including but not limited to dopamine levels, blood alcohol content, tarot, and how badly I wanted a button making machine upon completion. This is my game of the year.
1. The World Ends With You
This one surprised me too, but the more I thought about it, the more I couldn’t justify not putting this vast, strange, innovative and compelling portable game at the top of my list. There’s a lot to think about here, so let’s dive right in.
The World Ends With You is, at its heart, about cacophony. It’s about the cacophony of urban living—too many people, too many sounds, too many thoughts and banal life stories. It’s about the cacophony of capitalism—too many constantly swirling brands and fads, too many “friendships” borne purely of what you buy and what you own. It’s a game about surviving the barrage, about blocking out the white noise to find your own value in the meaninglessness.
The story follows the meaning. It’s about a teenager who endures the constant assault on his senses by keeping it all out, and the strange, surreal events of a fatal game that forces him to confront and engage in life. But most interesting is that the mechanics of the game also follow along, and yet are somehow workable. 
There’re a seemingly endless number of pins to collect, and each one performs differently in battle, and its abilities change again in the (admittedly kind of lame) minigame tin pin slammer. It’s not always clear what every pin does, sometimes even after they are tried. And even the individual pins aren’t static, evolving upon frequent use into strange new forms.
The battle system is actually two battle systems at once, with the pin-based system on the bottom and a variety of other systems on top. Success at the highest level demands success on both screens, which can sometimes feel like you need two brains and four eyeballs. There’s a myriad of ways to engage the enemy—in groups or alone, at any difficulty level you want, wearing specific brands. It’s a cacophony of design, and as a result players quickly educate themselves to cull whatever they deem meaningless and find the most effective means of survival. And once again, we’re back to enduring the barrage. The Worlds Ends With You is completely focused in how it presents and expects you to deal with chaos.
And it works, perhaps because this is how people actually live—it’s completely organic and satisfying, rarely overwhelming unless the player pushes to discover more. It’s no coincidence that the game takes place in the real life Tokyo district of Shibuya. The World Ends With You is saying something about the urban lifestyle.
If I were a teenager when this came out, this would unquestionably be my favorite game ever. Nowadays I have to look past rather than revel in its emo, thanatophilic story to get to the heart and beauty of the game; and yet even that feels in line with what how this game wants me to experience it. And experience it I did, several times in quick succession. It’s the DS’s most ambitious, best game, a classic of this age in gaming, and my choice for the number one title of the year.
Related Articles:
Joe's Top 10 Games of 2008 - Special Jury Prizes, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
10 Games Nadia Played Instead of Working: The World Ends With You, Super Smash Bros Brawl
Bob's Top 10 of 2008 in No Particular Order: Audiosurf, Braid, Grand Theft Auto IV
Derrick's Top 13 Games of 2008 - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
What Amber Didn't Play in 2008
Time Magazine's Top 10 Games of 2008
