I did a top ten films one, so it would only be right to do one for games as well. There were so many great games, and it's very hard to choose, but the main highlights of the year for me are (again in alphabetical order.
Animal Crossing (DS)
Very addictive game an excellently suited for the DS. The touch screen makes it easy to control and select items, as that's what you'll be doing for most of the game as you try and amass a fortune and build your house. The inclusion of online play makes it much easier to communicate and trade with fellow Crossers compared to the Gamecube version.
Canis Canem Edit (PS2)
Rockstar show us how to play nice and stick up for the geeks in this kid-style GTA. With NO blood, NO sex, NO drugs, NO knives and NO guns. So next time, the press should actually play the game before slagging it off. It's actually quite a sophisticated game, and if you break the rules, you get punished, much like real school - so maybe kids playing this game will learn something decent.
Guitar Hero (PS2)
I'm not really a rock person, but found this game highly enjoyable, and it has to be the most innovative game of the year for me (bar the Wii games). Although Guitar Hero 2 was also released this year, in my opinion, the former had the better songs. It's a great pick-up and play title, although you'll need to put it down after each song to rest your arms!
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)
This has got to be the best launch title ever. The game itself is huge, and I'm talking huge. Ive played it for just under ten hours and have barely scratched the surface of it. And the Wii's controllers make it a perfect combination. From the fishing, to the sword-fighting, it all goes hand in hand. Its a beautifully crafted game, with great visuals and sounds as you would expect from a Zelda title.
Lego Star Wars 2 (360)
I'm not a huge fan of the Star Wars franchise, but having played the first Lego Star Wars game, enjoyed it a great deal, and the same goes for this one. With it's cutesy graphics and simple gameplay mechanism, it's great fun to play - especially in co-op mode.
Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
Amazing artistic style, and graphics. Possibly one of the best PS2 games ever made. The game itself has a simple premise - kill each colossus by finding its weak spot, but every time you're met with a new colossus, each one as big as the last, you can't help but feel a sense of overshadowment, as the sense of scale and size of the enemy is absolutely bewildering each time.
Tony Hawk's Project 8 (360)
Back to basics in this years outing of the Hawk's franchise, and it's certainly done it a load of good. No more silly and pointless side missions, BMXing, or driving cars - just pure skating at its best.
Viva Pinata (360)
You'd expect a developer like Nintendo to release a game about gardening, but here you have Rare, releasing their best game in years. If you play it for a bit, you'll instantly get hooked, seriously. You'll want to build more gardens, in different styles, just to attract a variation of Pinatas. And when you get deep into the game, you'll want to check out online encyclopedias to find out the ways to attract different species and cross-breeding and the like. Splendid game.
We Love Katamari (Ps2)
If you tell someone what this game is about, you'll get a guaranteed laugh, and for those that haven't played it, you'll probably laugh as well. The game sees you (a small alien) rolling around a ball and collecting items - the more items you collect, the bigger your ball gets, in turn allowing you to collect bigger items. I can't believe that nobody thought of such a game earlier! The actual story behind We Love Katamari is pretty far fetched, but enjoy it for what it is and you'll love Katamari as well.
Wii Sports (Wii)
The simplest game you'll ever play. That's what makes this game so amazing. Even if you've never played games, all you need to do is pick up the Wiimote, and you'll get the hang of it in less than a minute. And it comes bundled with 5 games, all of which are multiplayer, so you can whip out your Wiimotes every time someones around and have a boxing duel or tennis tournament. And best of all, it comes bundled free with the machine! Nice one Nintendo!
Jump...
Collapse...
From the company that brought you a game that helped you train your brain, another training game is being released in Japan, this time to train your face, and is suitably titled Face Training.
