The State of Play: 2009

Here we are again, the start of another year and another decade, and so it’s time to look back at the year that’s passed. As with 2008 I’ve decided to do a proper look back at my gaming for the past twelve months: so all the games of 2009 whether they were started, finished or just dabbled with for five minutes over the course of the year.

Here’s a run down of those titles (organised by platform) where I got to with each of them and a little comment on the game/my progress with it.

Xbox 360

Assassin’s Creed II
Status:
Completed (100%)
Comments:
I was a fan of the first Assassin’s Creed and the sequel doesn’t disappoint. They’ve taken the mechanics and gameplay from the first game and wrapped it in a much more structured story that leads you from mission to mission, with more variety in them. There’s plenty to do on the side too and it’s pretty much all an absolute blast.

Batman: Arkham Asylum
Status:
Completed (Normal, 100% Completion)
Comments:
What a fantastic game; check out my mini-review. I’d like to, at some point, try a run through on hard.

Brutal Legend
Status:
Completed (Brutal, 100% Completion)
Comments:
The gameplay is perhaps a little tough to pin down, but this is a thoroughly enjoyable game with some excellent writing (though what did you expect really).

Burnout Paradise
Status:
Completed (Everything on Big Surf Island)
Completed (All 500 Freeburn Challenges)
Comments:
This game is still a truckload of fun. I returned to it for DLC and ended up staying for the pursuit of the Diamond P12, which involved completing all 500 Freeburn challenges. Cue getting together with some randoms online and some bloody fun times.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Status:
Completed (100%)
Comments:
Finally got around to fully replaying the story mode and collecting all the hidden intel. Still a fantastic game.

Dark Sector
Status:
Completed (Normal)
Comments:
Not a great game, but not a terrible rip-off of better games and the glaive weapon is a lot of fun to mess around with. Given I paid £5 for it, I got my money’s worth.

DiRT 2
Status:
Completed (All events)
Comments:
Check out my mini-review for the game.

DJ Hero
Status:
Started (Medium)
Comments:
This was one my Christmas presents so have only dabbled with it briefly. Been playing a few tracks on medium and able to mostly score 5-stars on the tracks. Good fun, though could get quite tough on the harder settings.

Fable II: Pub Games
Status:
Completed (All achievements)
Comments:
Decided to get all 200 achievement points for this one so sat playing it for a little bit.

Forza Motorsport 2
Status:
Reached driver level 50
Comments:
I’d put this in for a few races online with mates ages ago and had this one annoying 5-point achievement sat there. In a bit of down time between other games decided to fire this one up and see how much I could complete. Playing this not too long before Forza 3 just went to demonstrate how much they improved with the sequel, but still, not a bad game at all. Managed to complete a good chunk of the races.

Forza Motorsport 3
Status:
Completed (all 7 seasons, reached driver level 50)
Comments:
Great game and a fantastic racer. Turn 10 have set the standard that Gran Turismo 5 has to live up, not just in terms of the wealth of cars, tuning and customisation, but also in tracks, modes and AI.

Gears of War 2
Status:
Multiplayer only
Comments:
A little bit of multiplayer action and a return to more Horde mode shenanigans, though only messed with a little.

GRID
Status:
Multiplayer only
Comments:
Helping someone with some online racing stuff, so only played for about half an hour. Still a fab game though.

Halo 3
Status:
Multiplayer only
Comments:
I’m still not a massive fan of the Halo 3 multiplayer and that way it plays, but had to give those new Mythic maps a try.

Halo 3: ODST
Status:
Completed (Normal, Legendary Co-op)
Firefight (At least 200k scored on every map)
Comments:
It may not be the longest Halo campaign, but that doesn’t stop it being ace. Plus Firefight more is awesome (here’s hoping that expand on it with Reach). Check out my mini-review for the game.

Halo Wars
Status:
Completed (Normal, Normal Co-op, 100% Completion)
Comments:
A solid attempt at a console-based RTS and a rather faithful replication of the Halo world from a top-down perspective. Good fun.

Left 4 Dead
Status:
Completed (All campaigns, 2/4 on Expert)
Comments:
Picked this up early in the year and immediately regretted not getting it sooner. Fantastic co-op game and zombie shooting action. Read my review here.

Left 4 Dead 2
Status:
Completed (All campaigns)
Comments:
Even better than the original. The campaigns are excellent, the new special infected mix things up nicely, and all the online stuff works like a charm. More people should be playing this.

Lego Batman
Status:
Completed (100% Completion)
Comments:
I had started this last year but a bit too close to Lego Indiana Jones and so returned to it this year. The Lego games remain a good bit of fun and the Batman one is well done, though I’m not sure if I’ll be picking up any future titles as they are losing their charm a little.

Lego Rock Band
Status:
Completed (100% Completion – all gigs)
Comments:
It’s Rock Band with Lego characters. There’s something quite charming about seeing Lego people rock out on screen, and the rock challenges they added were pretty good fun. Some slight irritations in the gameplay stepping back from the excellent improvements made in The Beatles: Rock Band, but for a cheap addition to the series I’m not going to complain.

Mass Effect
Status:
Completed (1x Normal, 1x Hardcore)
Comments:
I finally got around to this game and I now see why people love the game as it’s ace. Sure the side missions are identikit type constructions and some of those lifts are painfully slow, but the world is a really interesting one and I rather liked the gunplay. Bring on the sequel.

Modern Warfare 2
Status:
Completed (1x Veteran, 1x Regular, 100% Completion)
Comments:
Read my review for my thoughts on the game.

Need for Speed: Shift
Status:
Completed (100% Completion)
Comments:
A rough diamond with some really fun ideas. Check out my mini-review for the game.

Prince of Persia
Status:
Completed (100% Completion)
Comments:
A solid game, though a little too on rails perhaps, and with a huge WTF ending. Read my review here.

Quantum of Solace
Status:
Completed (1x 007, 1x Normal, 100% Completion)
Comments:
Check out my mini-review for the game.

Resident Evil 5
Status:
Completed (All difficulties, 100% Completion)
Comments:
Perhaps not the best game in the Resident Evil series, but for the various knocks this game gets I had a shit-ton of fun with it. I can’t even remember how many times I completed the main campaign, but it was probably around the 10 mark, which is not bad going.

Rock Band / Rock Band 2
Status:
Multiplayer only
Comments:
One of those games you can dig out for messing around with mates, and with the ever growing DLC library there’s still plenty of new stuff to play.

Saints Row 2
Status:
Completed (Co-op)
Completed (Ultor Exposed DLC)
Comments:
Revisited this one to go through and play the Ultor Exposed DLC and ended up finishing up all the missions on co-op. Still rough around the edges, but still a lot of fun.

Scene It? Box Office Smash
Status:
Multiplayer only
Comments:
Still an awesome movie quiz game, and on initial evidence may be a stronger title still than the sequel.

Scene It? Bright Lights! Big Screen!
Status:
Started
Comments:
The move to being multiplaform has had an odd effect on Scene It? as a lot of the great additions and options added to Box Office Smash have been removed. As a cheap release I’m not going to complain, but it’s a little baffling.

Sega Rally
Status:
Completed
Comments:
Decided to go back to this one and try and finish up the last championship and remembered why I abandoned this before, because the AI is super fucking cheap. Still got there without too much hassle.

Street Fighter IV
Status:
Completed (All characters, various difficulties)
Comments:
Read my review of the game.

The Beatles: Rock Band
Status:
Completed (Story mode and all Challenges)
Comments:
Check out my mini-review for the game.

Tomb Raider Underworld
Status:
Completed (Hardest)
Comments:
Check out my mini-review for the game.

XBLA

1 vs 100
Status:
Online only
Comments:
Not sure if this counts as an XBLA title, but here’s where I’m sticking it. This has actually proven to be a rather fun quiz game, though the live show version can be a right pain and I still don’t understand what made up criteria they really use to pick the 1 and the Mob. As it’s free to Gold subscribers though I won’t knock it. Would be nice if they got a host for the UK edition though, rather than just having a avatar host sitting there silently moving its mouth.

Battlefield 1943
Status:
Online only
Comments:
Some of the initial issues with getting a connection annoyed the crap out of me, but beyond those problems this is a solid game that delivers that Battlefield experience. I’m somewhat tempted to fire this up again and give it a go.

Call of Duty Classic
Status:
Completed (Regular)
Comments:
This came with my copy of Modern Warfare 2 and whilst you can certainly see the strength in the set pieces that has made the Call of Duty franchise this game hasn’t aged all that amazingly. Not bad by any means though.

Marble Blast Ultra
Status:
Completed (All levels)
Comments:
Decided to see about finishing the last 18 levels, as I’d abandoned the single player stuff at some point, and dabbled in a little online multiplayer too. Still a rather fun game this.

OutRun Online Arcade
Status:
Completed (100% Completion)
Comments:
So much fun; check out my mini-review for the game.

Peggle
Status:
Completed
Comments:
Check out my mini-review for the game.

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
Status:
Multiplayer only
Comments:
In the lead up to Street Fighter IV arriving this got a few plays here and there. Still a fantastic addition to the XBLA and one I should perhaps revisit at some point.

Trials HD
Status:
Completed (Easy, Medium, Hard)
Comments:
This is an addictive little bugger. For the most part it maintains a careful balance between frustration and “just one more go” gameplay, though the hardest levels perhaps try the patience a little too much.

PS3

FIFA ‘09
Status:
Completed (Be A Pro mode)
Comments:
I gave up on the FIFA series quite some time ago and became much more a Pro Evo man, but FIFA ‘09 really impressed me and the Be A Pro mode is an excellent addition. Not quite good enough that I’ll grab ‘10, but maybe ‘11.

inFamous
Status:
Completed
Comments:
Check out my mini-review for the game.

Killzone 2
Status:
Completed
Comments:
Check out my mini-review for the game.

Mirror’s Edge
Status:
Completed
Comments:
Finished this up at the beginning of the year. Sadly there was still more combat in the final few missions, but still ace when it all clicked together. Read my full review here.

Resistance: Fall of Man
Status:
Completed
Comments:
A decent shooter some neat weapons, though nothing overly amazing. For a cheap pick up it was a solid bit of fun though.

Resistance 2
Status:
Completed
Comments:
This improved on the first game visually and with some nice tweaks and additions to the weapons, though it abandoned some of the charm of the first game’s setting with the shift to the States. Still decent fun though.

Street Fighter IV
Status:
Completed (A few characters)
Comments:
Yes I grabbed this on both platforms so I could play against mates on both. The 360 edition definitely got the most play though.

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
Status:
Completed (Hard, All treasures)
Comments:
Decided to play through this one again on Hard and it’s still a fantastic game.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Status:
Completed (Hard)
Comments:
Wow. Hands down the best single-player experience of the year. Would like to go through on Crushing at some point and try to pick up the rest of the treasures that I missed out on.

PSN

WipEout HD / WipEout HD: Fury
Status:
Completed (All gold)
Comments:
Fury is technically an expansion, but it basically doubles the size of the game. It’s a fantastic addition with some ace new game modes and well worth anyone’s money.

DS

Advance Wars: Dual Strike
Status:
Started (21 missions in)
Comments:
I tried to keep working my way through this but I’ve gotten to a point where the missions are frustrating and have cheap-feeling set ups rather than being fun. I might try and return to it, but I might just write the game off as one I’ll never finish at this point.

Picross DS
Status:
Completed
Comments:
One of those games that is easy to mess around with for 5 minutes or get stuck into for an hour or so. Finally got around to finishing off the puzzles earlier in the year.

Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box
Status:
Completed (All puzzles)
Comments:
As a sequel to my favourite game of 2008 I guess I had pretty high expectations for Pandora’s Box and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s not as good as the first game, but then it doesn’t have the surprise charm going for it, and naturally there’s variants on some of the puzzles that appeared in the first game. Still, an excellent game well worth playing and I remain excited for the other sequels.

Rhythm Tengoku Gold
Status:
Completed
Comments:
A quirky little rhythm game that I’m really glad I grabbed in Japanese rather than getting the English version as some of the songs just don’t work as well in English. Some mad little scenarios, but a lot of fun.

The World Ends With You
Status:
Completed
Comments:
Just about snuck finishing this one into 2009, and man I now feel slightly bad for not getting to this sooner. A really excellent game with a fun little story and an ace combat mechanic. If you own a DS, even vaguely like RPGs (though it’s by no means a traditional RPG at all) and haven’t played this then go grab yourself a copy.

PSP

Patapon
Status:
Started (Mission 28 or so)
Comments:
I played this a little right at the start of the year and then abandoned it again. Not sure why as it’s an ace game. Should really get back to it at some point.

iPhone

Blocked
Status:
Completed
Comments:
Read my review of the game here.

Canabalt
Status:
Highscore game
Comments:
iPhone version of the Flash game that I picked up as I felt these guys deserved my money for the Flash version alone, and now I have this excellent little game on my iPhone too.

Drop7
Status:
Highscore game
Comments:
Another game I’d played the Flash version of and decided to pick up, great little title.

Flight Control
Status:
Highscore game
Comments:
This is a fantastically devilish little game where you draw paths for planes to land with the screen becoming increasingly more packed as you frantically draw and re-draw lines to avoid collisions. A simple concept delivered in a lot of style and just a crap load of fun, and all for 59p.

Orbital
Status:
Highscore game
Comments:
I didn’t pick this up too long ago but it is already challenging Flight Control for being my favourite iPhone game. Another simple concept incredibly well delivered, and the recent addition of the Supernova mode is amazing. Great game, and again, all for 59p.

Scene It? Movies
Status:
Highscore game
Comments:
It’s Scene It? on my iPhone, complete with movie clips, the various sketch and pixelated things too. Another bargain at 59p.

Textropolis
Status:
Completed (At least 5 stars on all cities)
Comments:
Find the words hidden within 30 city name. Another simple game you can spend 5 or 50 minutes with.

—————

And there it is, during the twelve months of 2009 I managed to play (at least to some extend) some 60-odd games, which is not bad going.

Last year felt very much like the year of the home consoles, the 360 and PS3, and I guess that trend has very much continued with my handhelds getting less and less of a look in. I do plan to correct that as I’ve been continuing to pick up games for both my DS and PSP without playing hardly any of them (or in the PSP’s case, any of them at all).

And for another year running I still found no reason to purchase a Wii. The price has started to drop recently so if there’s a few more games that make me consider it 2010 might be the year I pick one up, though if rumours of some kind of Wii HD persist I might be inclined to hold off until such a device arrives.

Anyways, guess I best get cracking on games to add to my 2010 list…