Eurogamer's Top 50 Games of 2008: 10-1 Comments by Eurogamer staff

singstar has a far superior gameplay to cutscene ratio though, which instantly makes it a better game, so instead of crying here why don't you go buy some popcorn and sit down and watch some metal gear solid B-movie cheese for the rest of the evening? ;)

So Sharx - in order to justify themselves as journalists they have to... what? Lie about what their favourite games are in order to piss off the fewest people?

LBP deserves praise - but i disagree with EUROGAMER placing it 1st. I'de switch it with Fallout 3 - imo that's fair(er)!

You know whats a Joke is the comments from people complaining why a particular game did not make Eurogamer list. I mean how dumb can you be to not understand that everyone might not have PLAYED the game you enjoyed the most. Hell I loved Dead Space and Ninja Gaiden 2 but I do not base my enjoyment on if Eurogamer staffers have played or even liked the games I like. It really seems so dumb to continue to read the same stupid comments about what place a certain game received or why another certain game did not make the list as if you need Eurogamer staff to validate your decision on the games you like

Maybe some of you should look at the list as a indicator on what games Eurogamer staff play when they have the TIME. Look at games you probably might not have played and give them a rent or try. I know there are a lot of games in the 50 list that I did not play and I will probably give them the time of day when there are some slow months.

Nooooooooooooo! Fable 2 should have been No.1!


Well, I have LBP due to plop through my letterbox any day now (£18 new=sweet) so will try and love it more than the beta, which I hardly bothered with.

Not a bad list at all.

I personally would've placed Mirror's Edge higher, but then I honestly don't understand why everyone complains about that game, it seems bloody fantastic to me.

"With a quite spectacular game engine and meticulously crafted living, breathing game world satisfying the graphics whore in me"

I'm loving Fallout 3 but anyone who says the graphics are good needs a pair of specs. I think it looks like a PS2 game with the poor textures, it looks technically worse than Oblivion. Or maybe it's just the setting that highlights the poor textures? Oblivion's textures were covered with Speedtree, maybe that is the reason :). I was so disappointed when I walked into Megaton, Nevermind though, the gameplay more than makes up for it.

Having read through the list, the only thing that grates a bit is how EG chose only to let PC fanboys in on the action. How come no Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo fanboys were allowed to utter silly comments :? Seriously guys, there are other platforms, and leaving the keyboards and mice for a gamepad or wiimote every once in a while won't kill you.. Next year I vote for fanboy democracy or beating some more multiplatform sense into those PC-fanboys ;P

On LBP, count me as one of the people who just did not enjoy the game. All the cool user made levels just did not make me want to actually PLAY the levels because the controls are not fun for me. I tried to like LBP. Hell I bought the game the first day it came out but after Playing with my son for about 3 hours, I got bored of the developer levels so I started to download user made levels. There are a lot of clever looking levels but the controls for Sackboy doesn't change and thus my enjoyment of playing those levels putter out to the point that I haven't played the game in over a month.

I think the problem is the limited ability to do anything interesting with sackboy besides run and jump. The floaty and imprecise nature of the controls was also a turn off for me. There was a lot of frustrating moments doing some of the simplest movements that just did not grab me from the start.

I am hoping the Metal Gear DLC brings the fun to LBP for me at least I hope some inventive user will take the paint gun and do something really unique and fun.

mgs4 is just an example,since it is maybe most talked-about game this year.
you see(or not),i CAN accept that some people like it,some don't or didn't play it,
my point was that I think that metal gear solid is OBJECTIVELY more played,talked-about,more effort invested,recognised,game then SINGSTAR,PURE,wii fit etc..
if you think that journalism is expressing opinions by definition ,then all people here are journalists.
Am I right?

"How come no Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo fanboys were allowed to utter silly comments "

Because those fanboys get carte blanche in the comments' threads, so it's only fair the PC gamers get their own back once in a while. Also, it's fairly well documented that leaving kb/m for gamepads will kill you, don't be silly.

Seriously,a karaoke games and fitness game better then MGS4? Seriously???

Actually I would prefer to play Singstar rather than MGS.. you do know everyone has differing opinions on what makes a good or bad game? Also the amount of games released this year (and especially in the last few months) makes it very difficult for anyone to complete/play lots of games. Ive got games Ive purchased from over 12 months ago that I havent completed :(

"I think that metal gear solid is OBJECTIVELY more played,talked-about,more effort invested,recognised,game then SINGSTAR"

So because more people play it and it's more famous it should rate higher in the chart? That doesn't make sense. It's a list of the EG staff's favourite games of 08, what do sales figures etc. have to do with that?

"if you think that journalism is expressing opinions by definition"

No, it's expressing opinions fluently, ably and proficiently. What else can it be? Are you really saying there is some OBJECTIVE way of rating which games are better than others? You can objectively rate them by sales figures, production costs etc, how can you possibly say which game is "better" on a completely objective scale? You can't, and even if you could, that isn't what this list is about, it's a compilation of the staff's favourite games. Added together, as a whole, they preferred Singstar. It's not that much of an atrocity is it?

'Maybe some of you should look at the list as a indicator on what games Eurogamer staff play when they have the TIME'

Saints Row 2 made the list and more than half the EG staffers who commented on it hadn't actually played it. This list is pretty much a random pile of shite. I agree with a lot of what's on it but the positioning of some titles and omission of others that just simply should be there is idiotic.

An example of this is the inclusion of Condemned 2. I liked the game but even i'll admit it wasn't as good as the first and most people who were new to the series would consider it to be crap. If you look at the comments thread for the section of the list it was in you'll see that sentiment is shared by pretty much everyone who played it.

Now, look at the fact that Condemned 2 made it into the list and Dead Space didn't. Dead Space was a fantastic game. A classic. It's probably going to be the beginning of a successful series. Condemned 2 is probably going to be the end of that series because it just didn't deliver and yet it makes the EG top 50 and Dead Space doesn't.

Nonsense.

Mirrors Edge deserves to be higher. The game does so much more right than wrong. I feel people are to nitpicky about the less succesful bits.

Fantastic adrenaline rush, great styling (shit story)

GHWT > RB2??? Have you got some magic press-version of GH that isn't shit? Or is did it become Top 50 best-built peripherals for one place only?

No FIFA 09 or SC4 makes me cry. As does GTA not coming top, but that's a tad more forgivable.

Just tried World Of Goo for an hour on the strength of the opinions expressed, and I have to say it just feels like an internet flash game.
Gave it a good hour but it did nothing for me

I'm really just skipping through the comments section here, and ignoring every RETARD that complains about the order of the list.

RETARDS!

Congrats to LBP. Not a system seller for me though - but I haven't played it yet anyway.

Sony should sell some PS3s by making an Xbox 360 demo of LBP.

And WipEout HD.

Oh SHARXTREME.

so,you think putting for example mgs4 lower than singstar in top list for this year is somehow based in reality?

I'd rather Singstar were sealed in a nuclear bomb and fired into the sun. But that's because I'd have more fun inserting a stinging nettle up my bum than trying to sing out loud in public. I'm sure the game is splendid - my talented and knowledgeable colleagues rate it highly. I've not played MGS4, however. I'm also somewhat hard-pushed to figure out how one could really compare two such drastically different things to the point where it would matter which appeared higher than the other in a list comprised of some people's favourite games.

Or you want to say that 'eurogamers' views and reviews are NOT journalism,which was my point in the first place:)

Despite poor old Tom linking to his enormously clear explanation of how it's compiled in every post, it seems you've not read it. It's been made extra clear that this is the compilation of Eurogamer contributors' favourite games of the year.

(edited for reason)

My only real problem with this list, and it's a biggie, is putting Guitar hero world tour above rock band 2.

GHWT is complete garbage. It's in your face immature rawwwwwk grates from the moment you boot up and doesn't stop till it's powered down and returned to the box. As soon as I went back to Rock band 2 everything felt right again. Very wrong to misplace the two in that list

RETARDS!

denis09! EG is run by a cabal of evil pro-console madmen! It's only thanks to the *extraordinary* efforts of Kieron, Jim, Alec and especially me, that there's even a whiff of the poor old PC in the charts! They hate it!

(None of the above is true, by the way, but I do suspect that Goo would have placed a LOT higher had its Wii release happened earlier, and these controller-fisted whipper-snappers had experienced the joy.)

'Just tried World Of Goo for an hour on the strength of the opinions expressed, and I have to say it just feels like an internet flash game'

People love jazzed up Flash games. The majority of acclaimed PSN and XBLA games are basically just better looking versions of Flash games.

It annoys me greatly that people rave about those rather than stuff like Siren, Warhawk, Wipeout HD and the Wiiware games.

i'm sorry but on reflection how is this list a credible source of gaming journalism? i mean it's a bunch of guys and gal(s?) amalgamating their personal highlights of the year, who happen to work on a gaming site. what is informative about this self indulgent list? this list isn't "gaming highlights of the year", it's a "here's what we enjoyed, irrespective of our own critical analysis throughout the year". why the fuck should we care about that? the shit has most definitely hit the fan.

If it's not 3D and doesn't feature guns/magic - it's shit, to be fair.

@SHARXTREME
Please stop because you are making yourself look bad as you go on. Have you ever thought that YOUR opinion is not considered as THE opinion. What does Journalism has to do with what games people want or do play. Some people do not like MGS4, hell I know 10 people with PS3s that have not played the game and have no interest in playing it.

@spudsbuckley
Did you even READ how the list is composed. People have stated this a bunch of times but you continue to see comments that show that most either cannot read,did not read, cannot comprehend or just plain stupid. The list doesn't have to mirror your list. Hell it doesn't even have to have any of the games you like. It's simply a list of games that Eurogamer staffers enjoyed or had time to play. Even if half the people did not play Saints Row but the other half had the game at 9 or ten as their best game then do the math.

The question I have for you spudsbuckley is why you CARE. Why would it even anger you that some people liked games you did not. Is it a ego trip, since you need to state that what other people enjoy is crap while what you like is marvelous.

So if the list is crap to you then go make your own list, setup a blog and Cheer yourself as the king of all opinions and leave it at that.

"here's what we enjoyed, irrespective of our own critical analysis throughout the year"

WHAT? So you think these people genuinely approach a game like, for instance, Gears of War 2, and go "hmm, on balance this deserves 9/10 for x, y and z. Shame I hated it". No, they go "hmm, I really loved this game. I'll give it 9/10".

Critical analysis of a GAME boils down to deciding whether they enjoyed it or not. This is the same for all entertainment media. What can game journalists do except tell people whether they liked a game or not?!

Not a bad list really. Would like to have seen Motorstorm, FIFA and maybe Soul Calibur but the lack of Valkyria Chronicles is the only real disappointment really. Ah well, I can feel all the more smug and superior now for being one of the few to appreciate it.

/is all smug and superior now...

LBP wins purely by being the only vid game likely to get you laid. Women are madder for it than karaoke, shoes and bacardi breezers combined.

Brilliant. Well done Media Molecule, and after all the stuff ups, kudos to Sony for funding and promoting something that original.

It's okay everyone! I made an objective graph that should hopefully clear everything up:

http://pool.cream.org/pics/graph.jpg

Now we can all get along.

I thought world of goo started as an internet flash game?

nice one botherer!

Botherer, some of your posts get a bit condescending and dare I say *rude* for someone who professes to never saying anything bad about anyone

'The list doesn't have to mirror your list.'

I never said it did. I said for the most part the list was ok, it was just illogical in some key points which made it a bit pointless. It ignored obviously fantastic games from this year and included utterly bizzare choices.

Still though, that fits with EGs further decension into just being Edge.

We get it. You're too cool for the room and we're all really impressed by the indie dev interviews. Can you go back to be a good website again now please?

Start by reporting news the day it breaks, not 3-4 days after everyone else. That's worth more than a thousand interviews with Jeff Minter.

EarlBassett - I'm fairly certain I've never professed to not say anything bad about anyone.

You... you fart-head.

@botherer: Heh, I sorta like the rounding out of the list with these weird PC games I've never heard of and don't know the incantations and artifact requirements to play so good on you :P The PC has its strengths like any other platform, but fanboys will be fanboys, and I'd rather listen to tips about cool PC games from journalists that don't sound like they're already writing lowly comment-thread-trash in the proper article, hihi :)

Think I need to check out Braid and maybe Dead Space.
Braid I knew I had to see because everyone seems to be in agreement it is ace. But Deadspace seems to have quite a following round here...

oh,botherer:)
i never said that my favourite game is mgs4,but it is in my top 10 at least this year,since i have played it.
i just took mgs4 as a top example on that list.there are plenty more.
and i never would say that popular game MUST be good.
but if this site stands behind that kind of list-with that kind of comments to justify it,you wouldn't put:'we fled the country' above and under this list:)
journalism - seorious business:)

@ botherer

I've got you bang to rights!
Outside!

So what has this proved? We know more about games than Eurogamer.

Readers top 50 > EG's top 50

Well obv.

'So what has this proved? We know more about games than Eurogamer.'

I shows how out of touch EG has become. The readers, actual gamers, not people trying to be trendy and niche, made a much better list which contains a much better selection of games.

Good going everyone :D

I just want to say I hate people who say 'IMO' and even worse 'IMHO' of course it's your sodding opinion, what the hell else gets stated with such annoying bias and condensation.

I'm sure they were definitely trying to be trendy and niche, and definitely not sending Tom a list of their favourite games from 2008. That seems to be the best explanation for their list not mirroring the reader's one. I agree.

katsumoto, critical analysis isn't as simplistic as "did i enjoy the game". you misunderstand anyway. they've all presented personal lists, which isn't about detailed critical journalism. it's about "here's what i enjoyed playing during the past year". how the fuck is the journalism? it's "here is an average ratio of our fav games". what the fuck is that? who the fuck cares? i mean LBP gets no.1 and the staff proceed to slag off the game and in effect the system that put the game there in the first place, which just gives the impress that not even the staff care. It's like watching that episode of dallas where it all turns out to be a dream. It's like the team just stuck up the middle finger to us all. we spent the whole week waiting for that final list and the team turn round and say "it wouldn't be my no.1". WTF! it's amateur conduct, amateur system and ultimately has been a complete waste of time.

Found LBP hugely disappointing. And Rock Band is miles ahead of anything Neversoft could ever make. Otherwise agree with most of the list.

@ physicaly-insane
yea that shold be truth "readers top 50>eurogamers top 50"{or any other site)
what 'bothered:)' me to post my comments in the first place, is that it seems that 'eurogamers' list is so much different then everybody elses,and we're talking about big difference.

if it all comes down to 'it's an opinion',then all views,top lists and reviews on 'eurogamer' are worth nothing,
which is scary if you're reading preview or review about game they didn't play,
yet somehow they're stll gonna put it in top-list and have critical opinion, with a number attached ,about it.
That has nothing to do on credible internet site.

I am rather disappointed. WHY IS TIME TRIALS 2 not at number one brambers? Seriously, I lost three months of the year to that game. It has Xbox Live Arcade written all over it. And if it did, I'd say this:

"Let me just say something - put it out there... I want to be on you."

It's like the team just stuck up the middle finger to us all. we spent the whole week waiting for that final list and the team turn round and say "it wouldn't be my no.1".

Do you have that whole week stolen from your life? That will teach you spending whole weeks on such activities.

...Does anybody other than me in the entire world like Mirror's Edge's story? Anyone?