All this week, Gamervision’s writers will be listing their five favorite games of 2008. These aren’t necessarily the best games of the year, they’re the ones that made the biggest impression on us, kept us coming back the longest, and most affected the way we think of, see and play games. These are the titles that will influence what we play and how we view the gaming landscape over the coming year and beyond.

Make sure to check us out next week when we announce our “Best Ever of 2008 Awards,” where we name our picks for the best in every genre in gaming, along with a few superlatives for other achievements in gaming. It all leads up to our presentation of our “Game of the Year” on January 2, so keep checking back with us for our assessment of the best of the year in gaming.

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This year was one of the best that the gaming industry has seen. Graphics have been drastically improved, the kinks of the hardware have been mostly worked out, and cooperative play and multiplayer have become necessary for most every game, extending replay value incredibly. On other fronts, downloadable games have shortened the quality gap between digital and retail releases, with Braid growing to be one of the most popular games of the year for many people, and Castle Crashers being fantastic, despite flawed and marred with issues. Open world environments are becoming increasingly popular, and developers are finding imaginative ways to work different genres into the formula, with games like Fallout, Far Cry 2, and Burnout: Paradise changing the way open-world games work. However, limited to five “favorite” games of the year, I need to put aside my journalistic viewpoints in terms of quality, and what follows are the games I consider my favorite of the year, even if they aren’t the absolute best.

Grand Theft Auto IV

I’m not sure why a game with a metacritic average of 98% has suddenly, for no real reason, become something people have decided to hate. Across message boards and website’s comment sections, people are remembering a game that “sucked” and was “overrated” when just a few months ago, not an ill word was spoken about it. The multiplayer far exceeded expectations, opening the entire world to numerous hijinks, and the story and scale of the game is as good now as it was when it launched, regardless of any negative bandwagons people decide to start jumping on.

Battlefield: Bad Company

I expected Battlefield: Bad Company to have an enthralling single-player portion, and I was happy to find it did. The story was silly, but fun, and the gameplay seemed like a natural extension of the PC’s gameplay. What shocked me about it, however, and made it one of my favorite games of the year, was how polished and well made the multiplayer was as well. I was more addicted to it than I have been nearly to any other game’s multiplayer, and that is coming from someone who ends up spending more time online than just about anyone. The game was just plain fun to play, and had some of the most rewarding gameplay this side of Call of Duty 4. It had some issues with voice chat and wasn’t really the most feature-complete game of the year, but in terms of straight-up fun value, few games can take it down.

Pure

Disney Studios developing one of the best racing games of the year? Really? I’m not upset, but…really? The game plays like SSX Tricky, except instead of sliding down slopes, your racer is going off jumps at blinding speed on ATVs, flipping, spinning, and pulling off some of the most amazing stunts in the genre. Graphically it might be the best looking racer out there, and has great single-player and multiplayer. The vehicles are highly customizable, and while the crashes pale in comparison to Burnout Paradise, the runner up for this spot, the speed of the game more than makes up for it.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Professor Layton and the Curious Village might be one of the best handheld games I’ve ever played. It doesn’t really have any replayability, which hurt its numerical score, but it might be the most accessible, yet incredibly deep, games on the Nintendo DS. Layton is incredibly charming, and my largest regret of 2008 is not dressing as him for Halloween, and trying to live by his chivalrous, gentlemanly ways on a daily basis. The cut scenes were marvelous, and if the other two (TWO) sequels don’t make their way to American shores soon I’m going to buy My Japanese Coach and learn solely to play the sequels.

Metal Gear Solid 4

I hated, and still hate, Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. I’ve tried to play them all, and none of them kept my interest for more than an hour. Literally nothing about them was enthralling to me, and I went into Metal Gear Solid 4 hoping to fall in love, but not really expecting to. I was completely proven wrong, and the changes to the gameplay were enough to propel it to not only my favorite games of the year, but one of my favorite games of all time. The ending cinematic (post-credit ending) may have completely and utterly ruined the chance of ending the series with dignity, but the good outweighed the bad, and I can now have discussions with Metal Gear Solid fans without spitting in their eyes.

The Gamervision writing staff's top favorite games will continue tomorrow with Veggie_Jackson's picks, so make sure to stop back in between unwrapping presents and guzzling eggnog!

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