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Beforehand, I'd like to say that there are two games I consider candidates which I haven't gotten the chance to play yet. These two games are Assassin's Creed II and The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. Also, I'd like to give a nod to a few games I thought were great this year, but not quite Top 5 material - Here's to Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars and Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. Now, for my personal Top 5.
5. Punch-Out!!
Great revival of a great franchise. Next-Level Games really outdid themselves, and Nintendo sure did the right move by letting them try their hand at this game. Great both for fans of the old games and to bring in new fans. Little Mac rises once again!
4. Batman: Arkham Asylum
If you've played this game, you know how great it is. Especially if you're a fan of Batman. Or comics in general. Because this proves that licensed games do not have to suck. They can be brilliant, because Arkham Asylum is. It does everything it sets out to do pretty much perfectly and is a gamechanger in the sense that people will now expect more from licensed games. Will upcoming games deliver? Most likely not, but we can always hope that a few developers took notes from Rocksteady Studios.
3. Wii Sports Resort
There's an expression I'm sure all of you know called "jack of all trades". Personally, I think Wii Sports Resort is a jack of a few trades, and master of the rest. It shows off Wii Motion+ perfectly with all of the different games available. Minigame collection? If this is what a minigame collection is, then please, give me some more minigame collections. It appeals to so many different people because even if you don't like all sports in the game, almost everyone can find one or a few that they love. I know I did. Definitely the best thing to come from the Wii series so far, and I hope we can see more of Wuhu Island in the future.
2. Street Fighter IV
I love fighting games, I really do. Despite that, I never really cared much about Street Fighter. It was never really a fighting game series that caught my eye all that much. Until Street Fighter IV came along. I decided to get it because, well, I love fighting games, and it looked cool. What I found was great (atleast when playing with friends, Seth was just annoying and worthless). They even managed to nail the 360 controls, which generally aren't that good for 3D fighting-games. I don't know how other people feel, but I think this works perfectly with the 360 control stick instead of a D-Pad. Can't wait for Super Street Fighter IV, though, to be honest, I would've been perfectly happy even without it. But hey, you can never have enough of the good stuff.
1. New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Two words - Replay value. This is a game that will be staying in my Wii for a very, very long time, partly because many of the levels can just be replayed over, and over again. Partly because I'd like to gather all of the star coins and clear the game 100%, and partly, as well as most notably, because multiplayer turns it into a completely different game. The new suits are great, the new levels are great, and Nintendo show off that they still have what it takes to create a fantastic 2D Mario. Maybe they'll continue to do so, or maybe they'll let 15 more years pass before we see a home console 2D Mario. Personally, I don't think it really matters. I'm sure this game will keep me entertained for 15 more years anyway.
So what do you guys think? What are your Top 5 games of 2009? Or noteworthy games in general. What games from 2009 do you think deserve praise and love the most?
