In addition to revealing the anticipated sequel’s name and release window, the September issue of Game Informer features two different stylized covers featuring Batman: Arkham City. Seeing as how Catwoman appears on both, it is probably safe to assume that the character will have an important role in the game. Two-Face also appears on a poster in the background of one of the covers. Rocksteady Studios did a great job with the original game, and the announced release window implies that they are taking enough time to put the same amount of polish and detail into the sequel.

Before getting to the list proper, I’d like to mention a few caveats, a disclaimer if you will. I think it is only fair that I only include games that I have actually played on this list. Expectations rarely measure up to actuality, for good or bad. So while I am sure games such as Halo 3: ODST, Borderlands, Left 4 Dead 2, The Beatles Rock Band, Infamous, Resident Evil 5, and Street Fighter 4 are all most excellent, none of them will be appearing on my list. Additionally, if a game didn’t come out this year, it won’t appear on the list even though this is the year in which I first played them. Otherwise you’d be seeing appearances by games such as Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, LittleBigPlanet, Dead Space, Civilization Revolution, and Battlefield: Bad Company.

You would think these things could go without saying, and you’re probably right. However, you wouldn’t want to deprive me of the fun of writing a disclaimer, would you? I didn’t think so. So without further ado, I bring you my picks for Game of the Year 2009.

Best Playstation 3 Game of 2009
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Uncharted 2 was the only new release that I played on the PS3 this year (due to buying the system so late in the year), so it kind of won by default. Regardless, I feel pretty good about this choice as Uncharted 2 is an amazing example of an adventure game at its cinematic best. The best thing about Uncharted 2 is the interplay between the extremely well-written characters. Incidental banter goes on even while you are playing, not just in the cutscenes, fleshing out character personalities and quirks in the process.

If you could choose only one game to show off what the PS3 can do, Uncharted 2 is definitely the game you want to pop in. The game is absolutely gorgeous, almost to the point of distraction. Getting killed during a firefight because you were admiring a beautiful waterfall or strange sculpture in the background is a problem every game wishes it could have. In a world full of “great looking” titles that think muddy browns are the ultimate in artistic expression, Uncharted 2 dares to use a vibrant palette of colors heavy in reds and greens.

The greatest looking digital scenery in the world doesn’t mean that much if it doesn’t feel alive. Uncharted 2 excels in this area thanks to the amazing quality of the animation. Character movements are smooth and realistic, vehicles bounce around on bumpy roads the way you expect them to, and guns look impressive and dangerous when you fire them. The sheer amount of quality animation in Uncharted 2 is breathtaking. There is definitely a good reason behind those commercials Sony put out where some guy’s girlfriend thinks this game is a movie. Uncharted 2 is almost as fun to watch as it is to play.

Best Nintendo Wii Game of 2009
Unplayed

Unlike the PS3, the only 2009 Wii game I played this year was a big disappointment. It was so disappointingly average that it kind of soured me on Wii games for the rest of the year, causing an apathy that led to skipping games such as WiiSports Resort, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10, Dead Space Extraction, and even New Super Mario Bros Wii. Despite all the evidence pointing towards those games being good at the very least, I just couldn’t bring myself to play any of them. For that reason, this category remains empty thanks to The Conduit.

Best Nintendo DS Game of 2009
Unplayed

Some of my apathy towards the Wii bled over to the DS this year. The first half of the year didn’t really have anything that grabbed my attention. However, E3 2009 caused Scribblenauts to leap onto my radar, and I was really excited to get my hands on the game. Unfortunately, Scribblenauts ended up being a great concept hampered by poor execution, especially in the controls department. It is fun for a while as a novelty but gets extremely frustrating very quickly. As a big Zelda fan, I am really looking forward to playing The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, but it hasn’t quite been released yet, so the DS category remains blank as well.

Best PC Game of 2009
Plants vs Zombies

Some people would probably place a different game into this category, but we’ll get back to that in a second. First we’ll get to my pick for the best PC game of the year, Plants vs Zombies. PopCap has figured out some sort of magic formula for creating addictive casual games. For example, Peggle can be a huge time waster, and Bejewled has been cloned about a billion times by now. Plants vs Zombies is a charming little tower defense game in which you have to defend your yard from a zombie onslaught with a variety of cartoony plants. There are several different modes in addition to the regular tower defense mode and plenty of things to unlock, keeping you playing “just one more round” until well after the sun goes down…and comes back up. On the surface, Plants vs Zombies may not seem like it belongs in a list with a bunch of “hardcore” games, but it is just as much fun and far more addictive than many of its bigger cousins.

Best XBox 360 Game of 2009
Batman: Arkham Asylum & Dragon Age: Origins

The Xbox 360 took a much bigger overall share of my play time this year. The number of good games I played on the system made narrowing things down to one game rather difficult. Should I choose the game that surprised me the most? Should I choose the game I spent the most time with? What to do?

In the end, I cheated and picked two: Batman: Arkham Asylum and Dragon Age: Origins. While Assassin’s Creed II improves over the original in just about every way and Modern Warfare 2 is an excellent escalation of Infinity Ward’s first foray into modern day gun fights, I decided to give the edge to original titles. Red Faction Guerrilla almost made the cut as it easily dominated my playing time this summer. However, I settled on Batman: Arkham Asylum and Dragon Age: Origins for the same reason. Both games do an excellent job of creating an engrossing world and completely sucking you into it through story, characters, and gameplay.

Arkham Asylum is easily the best Batman game ever made, but you know it is special because it would be a really good game even if it didn’t star the Dark Knight. Rocksteady Studios made great use of the license in a way that turns a really good game into a great one. Sure, it’s a lot of fun to beat up henchmen no matter who you are, but doing it as the ruthlessly efficient Batman is even better. Arkham Asylum feels like a real place you are inhabiting and exploring rather than a set of video game levels. Also, enough can’t be said about including elements of Batman the Animated Series in this game. Arkham Asylum sometimes feels like a slightly darker version of that show, due in no small part to the writing of Paul Dini and the voices of Mark Hamill (The Joker), Kevin Conroy (Batman), and Arleen Sorkin (Harley Quinn).

While Arkham Asylum brings the world of Batman to life, Dragon Age: Origins brings a completely original fantasy setting to life with incredible detail, inhabiting the RPG with interesting characters and difficult choices. Some people would list this in the PC category, and I am sure that it plays very well with a mouse and keyboard. Personally, I have spent well over 70 hours playing the game on the 360 so far, loving every single moment along the way. While Dragon Age isn’t the biggest visual powerhouse, it is still very impressive from an artistic design standpoint if not polygon count. Each place you discover feels like it has a history to it, and every area feels distinct due in large part to the different designs found in the architecture, objects, and creatures that you find.

The biggest strengths of the game, however, lie in the amount of flexibility in how you play your character and the impact of your choices on the world you are playing in. There are six completely unique origin stories to play through that influence and flavor the game differently as you play through it. The thing that impresses me the most about Dragon Age is that it manages to make the game equally fun to play, no matter what type of character you are playing as. Playing as a Warrior is just as much fun as playing as a Rogue or a Mage, even though each play style is quite different. Each character type has a lot of room for customization such as what types of magic you decide to use or if your warrior uses large two-handed weapons, a sword and shield combo, or dual weapons.

Excellent voice acting and a wealth of text-based “codex” entries about all the people and places you visit are just more evidence that Bioware certainly hasn’t lost their magic touch when it comes to creating fascinating RPG worlds to explore.

—

Overall Game of 2009
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

So of all the games released this year, which one stands out? Which one has that little something extra that takes it over the top? (As if you couldn’t guess by those pretty pictures on the left.) While all of the games I’ve mentioned are excellent, Uncharted 2 gets the edge for its sharply written character dialogue and eye-popping graphics. Naughty Dog has raised the bar for what we can expect from video game characters. I hope the studio can eclipse themselves again in Nathan Drake’s inevitable next adventure. Uncharted 3 can’t get here soon enough!

Gone are the down on the streets chasing the bad guys as in Batman Begins and Rise of Sin Tzu. Gone are the frustrating controls of Dark Tomorrow. Instead Rocksteady has created a stealthy action game out of Arkham Asylum.

The story is simple: Batman is escorting The Joker into Arkham for what seems to be the last time. As they descend into the gloomy atmosphere, there is an explosion. The Joker breaks free and begins to release all of Batman’s previously captured foes. With no exit and countless enemies against him, Batman must enter the belly of Arkham to capture once and for all those who would destroy him.

The following is the gameplay footage of Arkham that shows off the new Splinter Cell-like gameplay.

The game is slated for release in June.

Source: Gamespot.com

Discussed This Week:

• Missing the Last couple weeks
• Kentucky Weather
• Upcoming Video Podcast
• Final Fantasy XIII
• Batman: Arkham Asylum
• Disney ditches Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Fox picks it back up
• Lost Returns

Box Office Report:

Geek Jerk Reaction:

This Week:

New In Town
Taken
The  Uninvited

Next Week:

Coraline
She’s Just Not that Into You
The Pink Panther 2
Push

——————————————-

Sites Mentioned This Week:

TheDiceTower
TheDiceTower on YouTube
BoardGameGeek

Question for Next Week: Do you play Board Games? If so, which games? If not, why not?

Send Your Answers to: answers@geekshow.us

Final Fantasy XIII The latest entry in this long-running RPG series is coming to the PS3 and XBox 360. Set in a futuristic city, the game will feature turn-based battles and stunning visuals. Unfortunately Final Fantasy XIII won’t be released in the U.S. until sometime in 2010, so you’ve still got a long time to wait.

Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena Riddick returns in this remake/continuation of Escape From Butcher Bay on the original XBox. Dark Athena will feature improved graphics and AI, an expanded single-player campaign, and brand new multiplayer modes. The game is expected to release this April.

Street Fighter IV The latest entry in this popular series of fighting games comes to consoles in mid-February. Returning fighters include Ken, Ryu, Chun-Li, Guile, and M. Bison, among others.

House of the Dead: Overkill This rail-shooter adopts a tongue-in-cheek grindhouse presentation style. You’ll be able to use your Wii remote to kill hordes of zombies on February 10th.

Batman: Arkham Asylum An upcoming game for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC based on DC Comics’ Batman. It is being developed by Rocksteady Studios and will be published by Eidos Interactive in conjunction with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Comics. It is based on the long-running comic book mythos, as opposed to most other Batman games which are adaptations of the character in other media besides the source material. Features Mark Hamill as The Joker, and Kevin Conroy as Batman.

Included in the Fallout 3 content, is the following:

• Operation: Anchorage. Enter a military simulation and fight in one of the greatest battles of the Fallout universe – the liberation of Anchorage, Alaska from its Chinese Communist invaders. An action-packed battle scheduled for release in January.
  
• The Pitt. Journey to the industrial raider town called The Pitt, located in the remains of Pittsburgh. Choose your side. Scheduled for release in February.
  
• Broken Steel. Join the ranks of the Brotherhood of Steel and rid the Capital Wasteland of the Enclave remnants once and for all. Continues the adventure past the main quest. Scheduled for release in March.

Also, new content was announced for Fable II as well. Obviously, being an Xbox 360 exclusive game, this will also be limited to the Xbox 360. There will be two DLC packs released in mid-december. One of them will be free, but beyond news that you will need to download the DLC in order to continue playing co-op with someone that has the paid DLC, not much else was announced. The other DLC will run 800 microsoft points ($10 USD), is titled “Knothole Island” and will include to following content:

• Embark on 3 unique quests set in 3 unique dungeons.
  
• Unravel the mystical secrets of the resurrection shrine.
  
• Try on a whole new range of outfits and look like an armoured knight, an assassin, a barbarian or a leather-clad biker, among many others.
  
• Brandish 6 new weapons.
  
• Dozens of unique potions that will drastically alter your appearance.
  
• Customise your weapons the way you want with the new augment tool and a whole new array of augments.
  
• +50 additional leaderboards.

Is the content worth the additional cost? Will it add a significant chunk of time to the already arguably long experiences? Will gamers shy away from DLC announced a mere month after the game is released? There are still many questions left unanswered. Hopefully in time, they will find promising answers. But in the meantime, I’ll use this space for an excuse to post the nice looking but slightly unfulfilling new trailer for Batman: Arkham Asylum: