Eurogamer's Top 50 Games of 2008: 20-11

By Eurogamer staff Published 29 December, 2008

More reasons to beat us up.

Welcome back! Here's what you missed:

20. Condemned 2: Bloodshot

SEGA / Monolith / PS3, Xbox 360

Kristan Reed: Were it not for a couple of dodgy levels, this would have been even higher on my list. Monolith really built on the promise of the original with what must go down as one of the ugliest, most harrowingly brutal action games ever made. Beating up deranged tramps with pipes has never been so much fun.

Dan Whitehead: I haven't played this, but I thought the first game was laughably stupid and squandered a potentially interesting forensic adventure on clumsy hobo-mashing amid Silent Hill's leftover texture maps. It seems the sequel simply ramps up all the stuff I thought was idiotic first time around, so I'm in no hurry to find out if it's truly one of the twenty best games of the year. Is it? Is it really?

John Walker: The first Condemned was so dull. Kristan and I will one day have to fight about this in a disused car-park, attacking each other with rusty pipes and road signs, until either one of us is dead or has killed enough innocent tramps to be satiated. So yeah, I didn't get around to this.

'Eurogamer's Top 50 Games of 2008: 20-11' Screenshot 1

Simon Parkin: Monolith stole the blueprint of hell and with it designed Condemned 2. A grotesque game both visually, thematically and ideologically, it trades the threat of violence and white fear that was so effective in the first game for its dumb and brutal reality, making what was terrifyingly implicit and making it plainly explicit. The linear path, forcing you to behave in monstrous ways without rhyme, reason or wit makes this the gaming equivalent of torture porn. Meritless.

Rich Leadbetter: Nobody's managed to match the brutality of melee combat quite as well as the creators of Condemned. This is a fine sequel, soiled somewhat by the utterly bizarro space aliens 'climax'.

19. Tomb Raider Underworld

Eidos / Crystal Dynamics / Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii

Kristan Reed: Aha! Another chance to throw Lara to her death. Excellent! This is miles better than Legend. By building on the more exploratory approach of Anniversary and giving the series the best game engine by a mile, Crystal Dynamics delivered what amounts to the first 'proper' new Tomb Raider since 1999's Last Revelation. Apart from that ridiculous swimming bit near the beginning, it's got everything you want in a Lara game - great controls, taxing puzzles and oodles of atmosphere. Inevitably the combat's still rubbish, but hey.

Johnny Minkley: What a dreadful way to open a game. The first hour or so before you get to the island and the first major temple is tedious, clumsy, embarrassing nonsense. The running and gunning on the boat - are you having a laugh, Crystal Dynamics? But after that, it hits its stride and I really enjoyed the vast, multi-faceted puzzles - an impressive evolution of the core TR experience and a fine balance between challenge and reward.

Ellie Gibson: In retrospect, I still think I gave this game the right score, but I should have been more vocal in my review about the good bits. As a long-term Tomb Raider fan, I suspect I tend to take the better aspects for granted these days. Underworld is a good game with some great high points, especially if you love Lara, and I'm sorry I didn't convey that better.

'Eurogamer's Top 50 Games of 2008: 20-11' Screenshot 2

Simon Parkin: Some critics have misconstrued Underworld's precision and polish for soullessness and yes, there are times when the design's meticulous order robs its world of credibility. But really this is a game of supreme competence, executed by a developer that understands its heroine and the laws of her universe in full. The game suffers in some ways by comparison to newcomer rival Drake's Fortune, both in terms of script writing and gunplay, but Lara's latest contains enough jewels of its own to be an expedition worth undertaking.

John Walker: The entire world has gone bats*** insane. Look at the reviews for this, and the reviews for the dreadful Prince of Persia, and then bang your head against a wall until you're dead. This is the best Tomb Raider has ever been, and I'm losing my mind over people's false memories of the original games, and the lack of recognition for the astonishing architecture and puzzle design here. It's epic. The story is complete toss, which is a colossal shame after Legend set things up so nicely. But this is a game about solving puzzles the size of hillsides while fluidly and beautifully leaping about. That POP could get higher review scores while being so loathsomely stupid as to be a series of tediously connected boss fights, and Tomb Raider could have the balls to include not one single boss encounter but instead replace them with elaborate and ingenious challenges and not get championed, makes me want to set fire to all of gaming.

Tom Bramwell: I have a soft spot for platform games that take you on an acrobatic cruise through gorgeous, untouched mysteries of the past, and then miraculously deposit you in just the right position to proceed once all the requisite buttons have been pushed and idols slid into their mossy holes. There's a lot of stupid rubbish in Underworld, but nobody outside Crystal Dynamics still manages the above - even the excellent Uncharted.

18. Boom Blox

EA / Wii

Oli Welsh: No game in 2008 caused me more physical pain than Boom Blox. My right arm basically locked up for a week. I will forgive it for being a superb puzzle-action game, totally intuitive, brilliant in single or multiplayer, and making better use of physics in gameplay than any "next-gen" release I can think of. I don't know how deep Steven Spielberg's involvement was, but even if it's purely by association he must be applauded for having a clearer understanding of the point of interactive entertainment than most game developers. Props to EA too, for not condescending to the Wii's hardware and audience the way every other third-party did - and, frankly, Nintendo itself at times.

Ellie Gibson: The most pleasantly surprising game of the year, for me, and one of the few Wii titles I would rather play than eat tumours.

Tom Bramwell: Since we let the Reader 50 go first this year, I'm tempted to moan about nobody voting for this, but I'd rather tell people to buy it. Apart from the ones I was paid to do, this is the only Wii game I've played for more than ten hours in the whole of 2008. It's probably dirt-cheap by now, too (yep: 15 quid or so). Go on, take a chance.

17. Mirror's Edge

EA / DICE / PS3, Xbox 360

Johnny Minkley: I lost patience with trial-and-error gaming many moons ago; but as smash-joypad-on-floor frustrating as Mirror's Edge can be, there's something uniquely thrilling and uplifting about a flawless run-through, which was enough to help me through the pain of repeated failure. I've seen better stories in Dear Deirdre's Photo Casebook, though.

Kieron Gillen: I'm going to be interested to read my peers' take on why this is lovable.

Kristan Reed: Certainly one of the bravest big-budget games to emerge this year, but the occasionally flawed execution left most of us punctuating our admiration with exasperation. Still, if games like this, Dead Space and Bad Company are what we can expect from the 'new' EA, the next few years should be interesting.

'Eurogamer's Top 50 Games of 2008: 20-11' Screenshot 3

Oli Welsh: There's plenty wrong with Mirror's Edge - or at least, plenty that's not to everyone's taste, this being as narrow-minded and nit-picky a platformer as, say, the original Prince of Persia. But for sheer visceral, tactile, immersive, Pavlovian pleasure - making actions feel good to perform, in other words, which is surely as important a part of videogames as any other - it was in a class of its own this year. The sound and visual effects are incredible. I could just kick doors open all day.

Christian Donlan: So many problems but so many reasons why they don't matter. Banging through those red fire doors is probably by itself one of the highlights of the year for me. (But it has been a slow year).

Keza MacDonald: This is a very personal favourite. It's at its best when you're simply free-running, in the zone, picking out routes across white city rooftops. Mirror's Edge captures the urgency and exhilaration of running away better than film or videogame I have ever seen before. I very much hope for a sequel that puts the idea in a better context.

John Walker: Still waiting for the PC version. Waiting waiting waiting. WAITING.

Rich Leadbetter: Conceptually and technologically brilliant - I love Mirror's Edge. It would be great to see Capcom adopt a similar approach for the inevitable Strider reboot.

Tom Bramwell: I only got round to playing this properly after I'd put in my games for this list, or it would be higher, because I would have voted for it. The story's cack, the pacing's all over the place and the indoors bits are often dreadful, but it's one of the only games this year that wrote us a new mechanical dialect and did a few interesting things with it. Sitting around trying to figure out new Time Trial routes has occupied a ridiculous amount of my Christmas holiday. Also: I didn't have a phobia of trains before, but I bloody do now. Thanks DICE.

16. Spore

EA / Maxis / PC

Dan Whitehead: One of the year's biggest disappointments for me. I played it through once, half-heartedly started a few more games before admitting to myself that the Creature Creator was the most fun part. The odds of it becoming The Next Sims seem incredibly slim.

Oli Welsh: Spore's strength and weakness are the same thing - all the stuff it left out, all the stuff you can't do. It's half as interesting as it might have been, but twice as easy to enjoy, and it will reach ten times as many people this way. Never underestimate Will Wright's common touch; Spore did more to popularise and encourage creativity in videogames than the game which did all the shouting about it, LittleBigPlanet. The game that came with it isn't a classic, but it is a perfect vehicle, and it will probably still be selling long after everything else on this chart has faded from memory.

'Eurogamer's Top 50 Games of 2008: 20-11' Screenshot 4

Jim Rossignol: Sorry, internet. I still love you, but you are so wrong about Spore. It was a beautiful thing. Okay, so it wasn't actually a great game, and the space endgame was nob, but as a lump of ideas and an example of what games might be, it's double exciting. In fact I think that, like The Sims, this game probably isn't actually for gamers at all - as was illustrated by my girlfriend's intense interest in manufacturing and evolving pink monsters. Wait - does that mean she's telling me something?

Kieron Gillen: An odd one. A confused and confusing design that I'm quietly amazed managed to come out of a major American developer. It's fundamentally a 4-8 hour process where you generate your creature followed by a 20-40 hour space-based wandering game of adventure, exploration and terraforming. Depending on your instincts and your nature, the time varies. Some just make ridiculous creatures. Some watch YouTube videos of a penis creature dancing. Some play the bally game. Some wonder what could have been. Some look in wonder and enjoy the thing that's rare enough to exist. It's quite the game. There's been a lot that's like parts of it, but there's never been anything quite like it as a whole.

John Walker: I liked the Creature Creator. I made a bonking couple.

Ellie Gibson: I just can't be bothered, sorry.

Alec Meer: It isn't exactly the same as the marketing said it would be therefore it is the worst game ever made. Anyone who dislikes Spore is entirely justified in doing so, much as I'd beg to differ. Anyone who hates it, however, is a bad-tempered meanie who fell lock, stock and smocking genome for the hype.

Tom Bramwell: Hindsight can be a painful thing when you write reviews on the internet, but reading back over my Spore review, I don't really disagree with myself. Approach it sceptically, expecting it to thrill and amaze you with its ingenious hooks, and you'll be disappointed, because you're the hook. If you invest yourself in each feature, the flaws rarely bother you. I started a game again the other day and found myself chased around the Creature phase and bludgeoned within half an hour. Spinning back to hurl some abuse, I discovered I'd been bumped off by my old sofa monsters, the Settee Alpha 5% Discount. I miss the week I spent reviewing Spore more than any other this year, for all the pain that followed. I'm sorry if you had a bad time with it by comparison.

15. Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Nintendo / Level-5 / DS

Keza MacDonald: This game made me feel so clever, feeding me easy puzzles for a while before hitting me with something absolutely fiendish and leaving me unable to sleep until I'd figured it out. And it was lovely to play a game with a notebook and pen sitting beside me. I'm also one of the people who found the story and art style endearing rather than contrived. Despite Layton's mildly troubling tendency to collect children.

Kieron Gillen: Another awesome title!

Tom Bramwell: You and your themes. Every year.

Simon Parkin: Professor Layton takes the Sunday newspaper supplement brainteaser and nestles it into a Ghiblian narrative, proving that mini-game compilations, when placed in the right metagame, can be more intriguing and compelling than the grandest long-form epic. The watercolour aesthetic and eastern European soundtrack take videogames into fresh, welcome territory. This is the kind of village encountered in dream, the two-dimensional layout of half-memory, filled with curious, often senseless inhabitants. Then the game ends with a climactic twist that impresses upon your mind more than any of the constituent puzzles that led to its revelation. Spellbinding.

John Walker: Okay, no matter what drivel gets voted higher than this, that enough people voted for Prof. Layton to get him to 15 makes me love my colleagues. What a completely charming and wholly entertaining thing it is. A collection of brainteasers, riddles and puzzles, held together by a bonkers story about murders and missing cats. It's still a bit weird that Layton felt the need to bring a young boy with him, without the game explaining how they were related, or indeed ever having a reason for the kid being in the game. But let's gloss over that. Oh, and here's how to spot a stupid, lazy review (or internet cartoon) of this game. They reviewer writes, "You know, it's a bit hard to take it seriously when everyone you meet just randomly makes you solve a puzzle before telling you anything!!! I mean, imagine if you asked someone for directions, and they replied by asking you to work out the number of cubes in a diagram!!!!!" That the game fully explains this with the ending is not the bigger deal, oddly enough. It's that the game constantly makes mocking references to this throughout! It's like people who say they hate Starship Troopers because it's so pro-war and fascist.

14. Rez HD

Q Entertainment / Xbox Live Arcade

Christian Donlan: If you can't afford your own brain haemorrhage, this is still probably the next best option.

'Eurogamer's Top 50 Games of 2008: 20-11' Screenshot 5

Rob Fahey: I'm not sure if it's the HD update, or simply the fact that I own a bigger telly and better speakers now, but Tetsuya Mizugichi's trippy mixture of Tron, Panzer Dragoon and trance really did seem even better the second time around. By far the game I'm most likely to fire up on Live Arcade when I've got ten minutes to kill.

Kristan Reed: Still one of my favourite games ever.

Dan Whitehead: One of the best arguments for downloadable gaming is that it means truly great classics can find a new audience through impulse purchases. Having games like Rez, N+ and Puzzle Fighter tucked away on my 360 hard drive gives me the warm fuzzies.

Kieron Gillen: You can take the writers out of Edge magazine, but you can't take Edge magazine out of the writers.

Simon Parkin: When I asked Kieron to offer some feedback on my review of the game, he took a long look, a deep breath and offered: "Yeah. The commission screwed you. It's Rez, for f***'s sake." Rez communicates so much of what makes videogames brilliant: the awesome spectacle, the otherworldly, esoteric visuals, the interactive soundtrack and the high-score chasing compulsion of repeat play. So to articulate what makes Rez a triumph is to try to encapsulate in words the very medium's potential. Perhaps I failed in that aim, but this game, on this system, at this point in time, articulates all that is wonderful about videogames better than almost any other.

13. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King

Blizzard / PC, Mac

Oli Welsh: So it's just an expansion pack. For those who don't play MMOs and don't grasp the orders of magnitude involved, let's be clear: Wrath of the Lich King has more stuff in it, made to a higher standard, than any other videogame release this year. It also improves on its source material more dramatically than any of the year's blockbuster sequels. From the compact boss-rush dungeons to the hilariously potent class design to the incredible world, soaked in spectacle and atmosphere and compelling quest arcs and storylines, Lich King surprised and delighted for months on end. Blizzard made the rest of the MMO industry (and much of the rest of the games industry) look stupid this year. A marvel.

'Eurogamer's Top 50 Games of 2008: 20-11' Screenshot 6

Kieron Gillen: World of Warcraft expansions make me a little sad. They come out, Alec raves about them and I know I'll never get to play them without putting the hundreds of hours to even qualify for the experience. There are many great games that I know I won't play. Wrath of the Lich King is, I suspect, one of the one's I literally can't.

Alec Meer: To bust through my overwhelming ennui for WOW, after years of playing and eventual disillusionment, really takes some doing. Lich King may have had to rip a worrying amount of the multi out of multiplayer to achieve its feats of world-building and inventiveness, but nonetheless it dragged me back and had me raving about this quest or that set-piece with an enthusiasm I'd honestly never believed I'd have for WOW again.

Rob Fahey: You can talk about the great dungeon design, the still-lovely visual style, the steady steps towards bosses that demand more skill than gear - or you could complain that it's all too easy and that Blizzard doesn't care for people who play 22 hours a day and urinate in bottles. For me, though, the crowning achievement of Lich King is that it's actually incredibly good fun as an RPG experience - with varied quests, lovely progression and a rich, textured world filled with stories you actually want to explore. Whatever else it may be, it's the pinnacle of Blizzard's already legendary world design and storytelling, which easily makes it one of the finest games of the year.

12. Rock Band 2

EA / MTV / Harmonix / Xbox 360

Rob Fahey: A great song-list and the absolutely wonderful ability to import your RB1 songs onto the hard drive make this into the best music game of the year, for me. We use GH World Tour instruments to play, but the GH disc itself hasn't been on my 360's tray since Rock Band 2 came out.

Kristan Reed: Allowing you to import the Rock Band 1 tracks was a genius move. Charging legitimate users for the privilege was greedy. Just follow Sony's lead with SingStar next time, lovers. The track listing felt a bit lacklustre next to World Tour, but still one of the most fun games you'll ever play if you're vaguely into rock music and don't mind making a tit out of yourself.

Keza MacDonald: I have loved rhythm-action videogames for most of my gaming life, and never dreamed that I would see the day that I'd have two full band-based rhythm-action packages to choose from, each with hundreds-strong song libraries and ludicrously well-thought-through peripherals. I'm so happy about it.

'Eurogamer's Top 50 Games of 2008: 20-11' Screenshot 7

Kieron Gillen: I spent the year playing the first Rock Band with my girlfriend and whichever miscreants ended up passing through my house. We are Captain F*** and the Love Con and we are incredibly awesome. When I wake up tomorrow morning, a copy of Rock Band 2 should be there. I hope it's awesome. I hear it is. It's the twelfth best game of the year and everything.

Simon Parkin: There is no game that I've played more this year, especially with friends, especially while having the best of times. Harmonix reveal their pedigree in an assured update to the best music game currently on the market. As a piece of software it's superior to the new Guitar Hero in almost every way, from the slick, clean interface to the boisterous drum samples themselves. The tour mode is something of a slog, and as a barrier to unlocking the game's full roster of songs it is perhaps too steep, but otherwise Rock Band 2 is the greatest co-op music game on the market and that you can import songs from previous games points toward a happy future for its followers.

Ellie Gibson: Waiting for that Scooch DLC pack.

Tom Bramwell: The Xbox 360 exclusivity, the pricing, the ridiculous contention that it doesn't compete with Guitar Hero: these things seem at odds with what this game is about. But of course I play it every weekend. Harmonix also deserves to be recognised for designing a sequel that overcomes almost every flaw in the original except for the instruments.

11. Burnout Paradise

EA / Criterion / PS3, Xbox 360

Kristan Reed: Hello Criterion. I love your game. All the modes are fun, the graphics are spectacular, and the post-release content has been excellent. I just wish (x1,000,000) I could restart my failed races without having to drive across the flaming map. Love, Kristan.

Jim Rossignol: This kept me entranced for hours. It was partly the sense of speed and freedom, but also the mesmerising certainty that you were going to crash horrendously at some point. It was almost a disappointment when you were good enough to stay on the road. Carving a random path through back streets and alleyways felt pretty masterful too. Great stuff.

'Eurogamer's Top 50 Games of 2008: 20-11' Screenshot 8

Kieron Gillen: As Far Cry 2 was to the FPS, Burnout Paradise is to the racing game. Brave, dramatic, exciting. And that they're basically giving away the entire game as the demo for the forthcoming PC release makes me love them all the more.

Ellie Gibson: I love Burnout and I thoroughly enjoyed this instalment. I maintain that the free-roaming map system is fundamentally infuriating, and there ought to be an option to skip straight to the start of races. But the smashing-cars-into-other-cars element is still just perfect.

Dan Whitehead: It took some getting used to, but Paradise quickly became my hands-down favourite racing game of the year. Incredible and innovative online play, a superb approach to DLC and gameplay that is just plain fun. There are few games where I'd bother to hunt down scattered items for an Achievement, but I'm pathetically proud of finally tracking down the last crash barrier, some six months after first starting the game.

Rich Leadbetter: A game that pushes boundaries in so many ways, Burnout Paradise is an excellent release. In terms of its technology, its online modes, its bonus downloadable content, there's little to match it this year in the racing genre. Can't wait to play it again on PC at 1080p60.

Tom Bramwell: As Oli pointed out the other day, it's not been a great year for racing games. But you won't find too many people arguing about this appearing all the way up here. If the new-look EA wants to curry more favour, it could do worse than to throw Criterion some of its other IP to work with. Road Rash, perhaps? Or, hell, the Strike games. Or in fact anything. But especially SSX. Also, judging by the tech in this, Criterion could get Crysis working on a GameCube. Stunning.

Tomorrow, the top ten.

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Comments (173) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Ryze #1 3 years ago

    Hey! Looks like I'm the first to post.

    /finishes reading...

    Hurrah for Rez!

    /continues reading...

    I do like the Burnout Paradise comments. At least I'm not alone in suffering its annoyances, although it is a fine achievement.
    Edited by 3 at 29/12/08 @ 17:44

  • ChrisTop #2 3 years ago

    I am awaiting the "better than MGS 4, then?" fans!

  • ExplodingClown #3 3 years ago

    Rez, yay!

    TR Underworld, hmmm. 'Twas good - even if Lara now swims like a panicking toddler - but I wish they'd get away from all this Erich Von Daniken bullshit and get back to the more Raiders of the Lost Ark mysticism-without-fucking-aliens. Just remake TR2!
    Edited by 1 at 29/12/08 @ 17:42

  • rhubarbandcustard #4 3 years ago

    As a point of principle I generally disagree with everything you guys write.

    But come on, that POS Tomb Raider at nineteen?

    Now your just goading me.

  • merkdot #5 3 years ago

    yes, clearly moving into the real quality now. Good stuff.

  • sanctusmortis #6 3 years ago

    L4D top 10 confirmed, as is Fallout 3.

  • ChadSexington #7 3 years ago

    Why is a game from 2001 at number 14 in the top games of 2008?

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #8 3 years ago

    Professor Cutscene at 15? Fuck me, you're making me start to feel sorry for Metal Gear Solid 4.

  • Agent_Llama #9 3 years ago

    Spore? SPORE?! /sniggers

    Does this mean No More Heroes has failed to make the cut? And anyone else fancy betting a fiver on Braid being the outsider for number 1?

  • gypsumfantastic #10 3 years ago

    Braid #3, World of Goo #1.

    #2 can be any old shit. Probably Fallout 3, I dunno.

    I have spoken.

  • Agent_Llama #11 3 years ago

    So top ten consists of... Braid, L4D, Fallout 3, Little Big Planet and [insert 6 more here]?

    Personally I'm hoping Hello Kitty: Big City Dream on the DS snatches a surprise victory. ;)
    Edited by 2 at 29/12/08 @ 17:55

  • onezeonx #12 3 years ago

    Tomb Raider in top 20?

    errrrm I DONT THINK SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! :p

  • Pinewood_Groves #13 3 years ago

    Hoorah for Rez! Still waiting for Ninja Gaiden 2.

    Interesting write-ups for Condemned 2. One likes it, everyone else hates it or didn't play it. Yet it's at number 20. Hmm.

  • Zomoniac #14 3 years ago

    Kristan Reed: Allowing you to import the Rock Band 1 tracks was a genius move. Charging legitimate users for the privilege was greedy. Just follow Sony's lead with SingStar next time, lovers.

    I think you'll find most people would prefer the option to pay £4 to import their songs into 2 and then sell the disc for £20, actually. And how would the tour work using all of the songs if you had to keep changing discs midway through sets? It works for Singstar because it doesn't have any proper progressive career mode. They knew that everyone would upgrade, import and flog their disc, and that disc-swapping would be a real PITA, so they've come up with a solution to make everyone except you happy and make a little bit of cash back on the second-hand sales. Everyone wins.

  • gypsumfantastic #15 3 years ago

    Also, Gears of War 2 will probably make some ill-conceived CliffyB-esque hoot at the top 10.

    Whilst Braid and World of Goo tut snottily from the veranda.

  • makeamazing #16 3 years ago

    Spore.. shouldnt be a top 20 game, such a major disappointment and many sites (including EG) got carried away with the hype. When you look at it as a whole its actually quite a poor game and was rated way to highly by many sites.

    Top 10 such include, FO3, GTA, LBP, GOW, Fable2, L4D.. so thats 6 of the 10 covered.

  • Cloudane #17 3 years ago

    Condemned 2 is about one-hundred-and-fifty billions times worse than the original.

    Yet it makes the Top 20?

    How quaint.

  • Burkey123 #18 3 years ago

    Professor Layton, what a game! Delighted to see it in the top 20.
    Littlebigplanet has to get no.1

  • coolbritannia #19 3 years ago

    Hmm, Fallout 3, Fable 2, Gears 2, Little Big Planet, Braid, Left 4 Dead all guaranteed top 10 places?

    I'd like to see Ninja Gaiden 2 and SSFIITHD in there, but I'm doubtful.

  • Discalceaterabbit #20 3 years ago

    Spore? My face saving sense is tingling.

  • Zomoniac #21 3 years ago

    So top ten consists of... Braid, L4D, Fallout 3, Little Big Planet and [insert 6 more here]?

    Gears 2, GTA4, Fable 2, FIFA 09, two obscure games nobody has heard of, or maybe VP2 if Tom gets his way. Soul Calibur IV's omission seems criminal to me. There are a few games that clearly won't get in that should have done. Buzz PS3, Tiger 09, Geometry Wars 2.

  • Chufty #22 3 years ago

    I think EG made this top 50 deliberately controversial to encourage hits.

  • gypsumfantastic #23 3 years ago

    "I think EG made this top 50 deliberately controversial to encourage tits."

    FIXED!

  • brockenheimer #24 3 years ago

    Dead Space maybe in the top ten too? It's very popular in the forum.

  • secombe #25 3 years ago

    Professor Layton: Highest ranked game that is almost impossible to get hold of, ever?!

  • TRUTH #26 3 years ago

    Bioshock, The Orange Box (aka Half Life 2), Fable 2, Gears Of War 2, GTA IV, Tomb Radier Underworld (Criticized just for the sake of it by many reviews)

  • thelatestmodel #27 3 years ago

    Spore? Not even top 50. /facepalm

    Rest of the list's OK though. I'd have placed Mirror's Edge in the top 5, but I'm just a bit of a fan.

  • JJKrista1 #28 3 years ago

    "I think EG made this top 50 deliberately controversial to encourage nits."

    It all makes perfect sense now.

    /Scratches scalp

  • el_pollo_diablo #29 3 years ago

    @Chufty:

    "I think EG made this top 50 deliberately controversial to encourage hits."

    But it's just their personal favourites innit? And given that that's the remit, they're allowed to put whatever they like wherever they like. Just because well received game X is at number 49 and universally slated game Y is at 12, that does not mean that they're duty bound to order their list like that.

    On another note, if BIONIC COMMANDO REARMED isn't number one then I'm going to be deeply upset.

    (edit: although it's got to be GTA4, shirley?)
    Edited by 1 at 29/12/08 @ 18:21

  • drunkymonkey #30 3 years ago

    Hey, nice addition to the list! I agree completely with the comments made about Tomb Raider. My biggest problem with the game is the ludicrous story - I wish it was less personal, and less fantastical. The environments themselves that you explore around are absolutely beautiful, massive, and a pleasure to advance through. And Lara herself has never looked, or moved, better. But yeah, I think TR could do without the gimmicks. The motorbike really isn't necessary, and isn't -fun-. It's just tacked on, and not particularly well.

    I haven't finished it yet, I'm currently on the Southern Mexico part, but my favourite level so far has definitely been the sublime Bhargati. Breathtaking.

    Also, nice comments also about Lich King! Personally, it's my game of the year!

  • xXn00bXx #31 3 years ago

    This list is getting even more ridiculous...

  • dom6918 #32 3 years ago

    FIFA 09 FTW!!! its amazing..cant stop playing it...will never finish it with its stupid amount of gameplay modes!!

  • dolphan #33 3 years ago

    World of Goo should win but will probably get beaten by Fallout 3. And Braid.

    The main Amazon listing for professor layton is, bizzarely, £59.99 with £5 postage. It's an external seller, but still, weird.

    Oh, and my guess at the top 10, not in this order - Goo, Braid, Fallout 3, GTA4, Gears 2, LBP, Dead Space, Fifa, L4D, Fable 2 (pretty close to my 10 it seems, though I haven't played LBP or Dead Space). Maybe Geometry Wars 2, Bionic Commando Rearmed, or something instead of Dead Space/Fifa.
    Edited by 1 at 29/12/08 @ 18:42

  • DDevil #34 3 years ago

    The new Tomb Raider is FANTASTIC. Got it for Christmas, and I'm loving it. The Mexican level reminded me so much of St. Francis' Folly.

  • Incarta #35 3 years ago

    So, confirmed for the Top 10?

    LBP, Fallout 3, GTAIV, L4D, Braid, GoW2, Fable 2, Dead Space and and....and... 2 more...

    Yes...

  • Incarta #36 3 years ago

    Oh! And Bioshock PS3... just need to predict 1 more...

  • DUFFKING #37 3 years ago

    TBH, I don't think NG2 deserves to be in the top 50 :D

  • grimmace #38 3 years ago

    football manager 09?

    'tis the best of the series to date

  • DFawkes #39 3 years ago

    If Burnout Paradise hadn't been on there somewhere I'd have been surprised, so nice to see it there.

  • easychord #40 3 years ago

    I get the impression with Spore that some people are still rating for what a smart and likeable fella' Will Wright is, as he obviously made it all by himself, and not the game.

    It's good to see Rez on the list.
    Edited by 2 at 29/12/08 @ 18:56

  • shamblemonkee #41 3 years ago

    Road Rash - make it happen!!!

  • grimmace #42 3 years ago

    Just looking through the list it's nice to see FarCry 2 feature after the unfair panning from some quarters, and the DS fire emblem too.

    I had hoped that midnight club would make it as it's the most fun racer I've played all year... I'd be suprised if it gets placed into the top 10 though...

  • secombe #43 3 years ago

    @ dolphan

    The main Amazon listing for professor layton is, bizzarely, £59.99 with £5 postage. It's an external seller, but still, weird.

    Same for Play.com as well, there has been virtually no stock for months (although some must have got through recently as it went from nowhere to 8 in the all format charts), I've never seen it in a shop.

  • secombe #44 3 years ago

    christ there's some crap in there

    Really?! I've not played any of them, but considering the reviews and reader comments, I can't see how any of those could remotely be classed as crap. Sure you might not like some of them, but that doesn't make them crap. They all have their merits, and clearly they've been enjoyed by many.

    This place drives me to tears sometimes.

  • TheBrow #45 3 years ago

    I like the fact that some of my faves haven't got a mention yet! It would be nice to receive verification that the games I like really are gooood!

  • MyWifeNowDave #46 3 years ago

    Hopefully Crysis Warhead makes it to the top 10, my favourite game this year

  • Scimarad #47 3 years ago

    I pretty much agree with the Spore comments - It may not have come out as good as it could but it probably deserves to be there for the stuff it did get right.

  • GitSomE_UK #48 3 years ago

    Fuck me, Tomb Raider ranking higher than WipeOut HD and MGS4. I like it but gameplay/technically it's pretty fucking dull compared to WOHD/MGS4/FC2 etc. etc.

    Professor Layton and the Curious Cock Knocker > Than all off the above.... Ha! I love EG! You wacky, crazy kids you

    /Tussles EG's hair

  • smelly #49 3 years ago

    LMFAO @ Boom Blox being higher than mgs4.. that'll get the retarded fangirls knickers in a twist!

  • smelly #50 3 years ago

    (dont agree with mirrors edge being so high up though.. i was highly anticipating that title - and imho it turned out to be arse)

  • GrandpaUlrira #51 3 years ago

    Boom Blox was this year's Boxing Day party hit. An under-appreciated gem.

  • spudsbuckley #52 3 years ago

    Not much wrong with this section except for Spore.

    It was utter shit. Tacking a few boring minigames together does not make for a good game.

    Once again, i'm saying Braid is going to be #1 because of the way EG has gone recently.

  • Gaol #53 3 years ago

    Surprised at all the Layton hate. That game was outstanding.

  • Machetazo #54 3 years ago

    On Burnout Paradise: "I just wish (x1,000,000) I could restart my failed races without having to drive across the flaming map. Love, Kristan."

    Anyone else aware that restarts are being added in February as part of the BP Party Pack? The number of times I've read this distraction that people want righted - when the feature was announced at least two months ago, now, lol!

    /Wonders where (not if!) Valkyria placed on this list

  • Omega[FR] #55 3 years ago

    My guess for top 10, in whatever order...

    Dead space, Braid, GoW2, Fable 2, Fallout 3, Geometry wars 2, LBP, GTA4, World of Goo, L4D

    FIFA 09 omitted because it's such a long running series (otherwise PES2009 would probably still be in top 50?)

    Surprised SF2HD Turbo Diesel Hybrid something or other isn't in the top 50 though

  • smelly #56 3 years ago

    @Omega[FR] : If L4D is anywhere in the list.. i'll start spouting my hate as much as a mgs fanboy.

    .. Although gta4 is BOUND to be in the top ten - even though it's shite.

  • Omega[FR] #57 3 years ago

    @smelly
    Pretty sure you can start now then as it's bound to be in the top 10!

  • Rash' #58 3 years ago

    It says more about the quality of design in Rez than the superfluous "next gen" upgrade that 6 years on it still can compete with today's gaming elite. Still have the Dreamcast original. :o)

  • barat #59 3 years ago

    My guess:

    1. Fallout 3
    2. GTA IV
    3. Braid
    4. World of Goo
    5. Gears of War 2
    6. Left 4 Dead
    7. Fable 2
    8. Geometry Wars 2
    9. LittleBigPlanet
    10. Dead Space

  • Widge #60 3 years ago

    Will Valkyria make it in? :o

  • Dan234 #61 3 years ago

    To save you clicking on the "How it's all worked out" link, EG have put the "infinite number of monkeys" saying into practice and this is the result.

  • Rash' #62 3 years ago

    Deserved no.1: LittleBigPlanet (oh the bias)

    Likely no.1: Fallout 3

    Shock no.1: Fable 2 (oh the bias)

    Most hated no.1: GTA4

    That is all.
    Edited by 1 at 29/12/08 @ 21:18

  • Widge #63 3 years ago

    Rez: "Not as good as Panzer Dragoon"

    Pretty much how I felt when I played it. I was dead chuffed to find a PS2 copy of this sitting in a bargain bin for a fiver a few years back. Bar the novelty of the interactive soundtrack, the only time the game got vaguely interesting was when you hit the final Adam Freeland level. People often like to lay into Ico (which is amazing) but if you want to hit a target for trading on reputation, this is the game.

  • Widge #64 3 years ago

    Oh, many of you have seen me rant away about Bethesda on here... but even I can't deny Fallout 3 is just wonderful.

  • Mattb90 #65 3 years ago

    Been trying to get hold of Professor Layton for a while, but seems to have disappeared everywhere, despite only being out last month. Anybody got any recommendations?

  • Rash' #66 3 years ago

    Mattb90, considering how well it was marketed, I doubt you'll have too much trouble getting hold of a copy. It's UPS for the mainstream is that it's a Studio Ghibli style narrative with puzzle gameplay to task the mind like Brain Training. It's a more commercially friendly game than say Bangai-O, which incidently is a far superior game according to EG...
    Edited by 1 at 29/12/08 @ 21:29

  • groovychainsaw #67 3 years ago

    Burnout paradise - good like the old burnouts, but more annoying wandering about, getting lost and crashing due to having to look at the map rather than just driving...... /sigh

  • Mattb90 #68 3 years ago

    @Rash': Indeed, I thought so too, but as far as I can see, it's not available anywhere online in the UK without paying some ridiculous price (e.g. £60 from one Amazon Marketplace seller). Should have bought it when it came out, instead of waiting until Christmas and finding out noone else could get it for me either. Mind you, a housemate who was in the US in the summer couldn't track it down either.

  • Rash' #69 3 years ago

    Mattb90:

    [link url=http://www.p lay.com/Games/DS/4-/6362848/-/Product.html?searchstring=Prof essor+Layton+&searchsource=0
    ]http://ww w.play.com/Games/DS/4-/6362848/...[/link]

    Happy Shopping.

    :o)

  • menage #70 3 years ago

    Condemned 2 was a bunch of crap, so is ME. The latter has some nice ideas, just not very well executed.

  • Mattb90 #71 3 years ago

    @Rash': £35.99 for a DS game from an unknown source (that's not actually Play.com I'd be buying from) was still considered a "ridiculous price" when I saw that previously. However, on further investigation it might be the best offer out there...

  • Rash' #72 3 years ago

    Mattb90, I just think if you really want it it's not too late. It took me two days to track down The World Ends With You and that was released much earlier in the year. I'm sure you can find it for a better price if you have a good look. My search took two minutes.

    Alternatively you could order it direct from a store. I don't think it's been discontinued.
    Edited by 2 at 29/12/08 @ 21:57

  • SexySquirrel #73 3 years ago

    Ahhh Rez ...

    It's like one of those paintings where we all look at it , secretly knowing its not all that but no one dare be the first one to speak up. Journo's proclaim it to be the best thing ever and if you 'don't get it' then you're just stupid and thick , when what it actually is , is Panzer Dragoon with slightly stranger graphics. Compare this with Geometry Wars 2 and I know which I'd take to a desert island.

  • Ryze #74 3 years ago

    ^ You could also tear Outrun 2(006) apart in that way if you wanted to, but it's all about the fun and the experience.

    Some games just aren't directly comparable.

  • spudsbuckley #75 3 years ago

    'Condemned 2 was a bunch of crap'

    It was hardly a bunch of crap. It certainly wasn't as good as the first one and it definitely doesn't deserve to be on this or any other end of year list thingy and it most certainly was not better than MGS4 (i'm not letting that go :p).

  • BillyWilson #76 3 years ago

    PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE -

    DO NOT PUT GEARS OF WAR 2 IN THE TOP 5!!!!!!

  • SexySquirrel #77 3 years ago

    ^ I'm not tearing it apart , just voicing my opinion, and this is from a Sega fan who bought a Saturn , Dreamcast and Rez ...

    Sorry for me it is a pretentious game with ideas it's gameplay never delivers , the actual game is not so far removed from Space Harrier !

    I can't wait for the new Outrun due to appear on XBLA , Rez .. love the art direction , the style and the music but as a game ...no thanks. I would love someone who truly does like the game to explain to me what I'm missing , what it is that I don't get ...


    How ... the .. hell ... is .. Spore in this list ? Oh yep and my nomination for most criminally underrated game of the year, Pure.
    Edited by 1 at 29/12/08 @ 22:14

  • Lawlost #78 3 years ago

    yeah Tomb Raider in the top 20 and deserves it, reviewers slagging it off just because the game has been around for so long. Hats off to Ellie for eating a little humble pie. Professor Layton, really expected this in the top 10. Burnout Paradise bang on with that.

  • Henrik_se #79 3 years ago

    I like the fact that some of my faves haven't got a mention yet! It would be nice to receive verification that the games I like really are gooood!

    I am also anxiously anticipating this, if my favorite games do not make the top 10, I shall be truly devastated, and I will let everyone on this forum know what utter cunts the EG staff are for not sharing my views!

  • Ryze #80 3 years ago

    ^ Yep - it is just like Space Harrier.

    It offers and delivers much more however.

    I know what you mean about the simplicity, but it's just one of those chillout / zoneout games for me, like Outrun 2, Burnout 3 and even SFII at times. I like to just chill and play it.

    I'm sure there are loads of other games that I play just to relax. It's way different to Geometry Wars, which is way better - in completely different ways. Mario Kart and Gran Turismo are both driving games.

  • Rash' #81 3 years ago

    SexySquirrel, I'm curious what is it about Rez that doesn't sit well with you? You say you like the visuals and sound, so then what in it's design isn't appealing? What is so pretentious?

    Personally, I could never break the game up to it's constitute parts. It is to me a game greater than the sum of those parts. Saying the game plays like SH is missing the point, which brings us back to you original annoyance with reviewers, that maybe you don't get it... or maybe don't want to, but please explain.
    Edited by 3 at 29/12/08 @ 22:19

  • SexySquirrel #82 3 years ago

    @ Rash

    It's not that I even dislike it , it's obviously better than average , just not one of the best games of the year to me anyway , the actual game ... I see no difference to Panzer Dragoon that I played on the Saturn ten years ago and you don't hear many people asking for a Panzer Dragoon sequel now do you ? I guess it's just one of those niche games , I'm just curious why some people feel so strongly about it ? What do you get out of it that I'm not getting ?

  • Rash' #83 3 years ago

    ^ I think the design is timeless. It's a music game in a shooter. It's a score attack game in a shooter. The graphics and sound are as good today as they were when the original was released. The level design is excellently considered. It is a game that rewards play making it a lasting game. It is one of the great games of the past decade in my view, but I confess that's partly because no one has tried to better it. But that's because of its other beauty, it goes against commercial trends and trys to create it's own, and arguably does. It's why I consider it one of gamings greatest artistic works. It's a product of creative desire rather than capitalist drive. If that's pretentious, then I'm glad we have such minds pushing creative boundaries.

    The game was clearly ahead of it's time when it was released on DC and PS2, and yet I was able to savour it's brilliance then so I have to wonder whether the game being on this list is a good thing or a bad thing. I still have the issue of Edge where Halo (deservedly) piped it to best game of the year.

    /rant over. Nostalgia sends him off for a session on said game.
    Edited by 7 at 29/12/08 @ 22:54

  • Ryze #84 3 years ago

    Braid is like a chillout / headfuck game.

    I reckon that this is more of a:

    'GAMES YOU MUST AT LEAST TRY, IF NOT FINISH'

    list.

    or a 'money well spent' list(, where they didn't have to pay - lucky bastards).

    /off to play SSFIITHDR

  • Ryze #85 3 years ago

    By the way, I'd like a new Panzer Dragoon.

    Or the old Panzers on XBLA.

  • HermitArcader #86 3 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • SexySquirrel #87 3 years ago

    @ Vertical Stand

    It wasn't meant as a put down but Space Harrier was released in 1985 ? Panzer Dragoon 1995/1996 ? The argument I'm making is , would anyone be interested in playing space invaders now with souped up graphics and sound ? Not many people would , things have moved on , Rez .. as pretty as it is and as good as the music is ... didn't move things on as a game for me.. style over substance.

  • Rash' #88 3 years ago

    SexySquirrel, I really wish you would explain these damning claims against Rez. We all know why it's brilliant, but as you are being so vocal against it I do think it would be good if you could explain why you think it's pretentious and style over substance. You say things have moved on, and yet I don't see any game that offers an experience quite like Rez.
    Edited by 2 at 29/12/08 @ 23:17

  • TheBrow #89 3 years ago

    "Will Valkyria make it in? :o "

    Jaypers but I hope it does. An unheralded classic like this deserves some heralding so that more people can realise what a classic it is. Seriously, a few accolades might just raise awareness of this gem of a game.

  • SexySquirrel #90 3 years ago

    I haven't explained so far as I feel it's obvious to anyone who has played it , hold down shoot button, target enemies , release shoot button , move on. Panzer Dragoon 1995 ! No doubting the beauty of the graphics or soundtrack, but I feel its pretentious as it trades on these without there being decent gameplay beneath all the glitz , its a triumph of style over substance , where something like Geometry Wars reuses old ideas but is better than any of the retro games it is influenced by.

  • dudefella #91 3 years ago

    Baffled that Condemned 2 is so high. IMO it was okay but the original was far better, and the endgame for 2 was utter shit. Again, I liked it, but I really don't understand how it got so high?

  • BOFH_UK #92 3 years ago

    "No doubting the beauty of the graphics or soundtrack, but I feel its pretentious as it trades on these without there being decent gameplay beneath all the glitz , its a triumph of style over substance"

    So still a triumph then? :D

    Thing is, if I hadn't played Rez I'd agree with you 100%. And yet... when I actually got round to trying it out in a darkened room with no-one else around, it pulled me into the game world like very few games have. The gameplay is fun, and what more can you ask really, but it's really more about the experience than racking up huge scores. It doesn't have the BEST GAMEPLAY EVER but what it DOES have fits the game and is enough to keep you interested.

  • qwerty123 #93 3 years ago

    ^REZ^
    The graphics are nice, in a futuristic 80's kind of way. Call me picky but I was a bit disappointed with the transition between layer levels, be nice if the graphics morphed properly on the fly, seemed a bit of a cop out the way it was done.
    I did enjoy the music but its hardly a music game, I mean the only interaction are some sound affects when enemies die, you hardly dictate the beat or tune.
    SexySquirrel has already made valid comments about the gameplay.

    I know some of the best games are based on simple ideas but REZ didn’t seem to leave much room for skill or improvement. Nice style though and a cool game to play & just been watching this video:
    [link url=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=A4EFNWe4mCc&feature=relat ed
    ]http://uk .youtube.com/watch?v=A4EFNWe4mC...[/link]
    Makes me want to play it again, and I probably will tomorrow but one go is all I ever need, doesn’t make me want to replay time and time again. Not bad 7/10 IMO

  • spudsbuckley #94 3 years ago

    I'm beginning to think that EG are throwing in games in odd positions (MGS4) or games that should even be there (Condemned 2) just to get page hits and ad impressions up.

    It worked with MGS4 but even people who liked Condemned 2 all pretty much agree it shouldn't be there at all, let alone at 20 0_o

  • SexySquirrel #95 3 years ago

    not sure what will be in the final ten , but it will be a split in terms of formats so they keep the readership happy , 2 or 3 for each format , with Gears 2 and LittleBigPlanet as shoe ins ...

  • Jonny5Alive7 #96 3 years ago

    Nobody has mentioned Call of Duty yet, I think thats a cert for the top ten. Won't be top 5 I wouldn't have thought though.

    So in Top 10 I think: GTAIV, LBP, GOW2, COD5, Fallout 3, Fable 2, Bioshock, Braid, Goo, Portal.

    Loving the list so far, regardless of whats where its a really interesting read. Fallout 3 number one I reckon.

  • smelly #97 3 years ago

    With mirrors edge on this list.. im wondering if the superior (imho) pop is in the top 10...

    EDIT: Bioshock wont be.. that was 2007 (i think?)
    Edited by 1 at 30/12/08 @ 00:16

  • dryden555 #98 3 years ago

    Burnout paradise was perhaps the biggest game disappointment this year for me. The ultra high speed races dont mesh well well with an open world where taking turns matters if you want to win the race. Sure you can practice and learn the roads, but guess what? You cannot restart races. You have to drive back to the starting point. Not fun. The flip side of all of that us that the game is too easy to a fault -- you'll get an A license rating in no time.

  • KingOfMyCastle #99 3 years ago

    I do hope Valkyria Chronicles is in the top 5 tomorrow. My best game of 2008. Possibly even No. 1? I've enjoyed it more than Fallout 3.

  • Rash' #100 3 years ago

    sexy, your grievance appears to be with a gameplay mechanic that is unchanged from a game you played a while ago. the problem is that what you describe as lack of development is in fact the fundamental mechanic of the the genre. the progress you crave stems from the innovative artistic direction, variety in level design, numerous rewards for repeated play, riveting set pieces and the sumptuous amalgamation of visual and aural design. I have to say you don't get it. Sorry, but it certainly appears that way. you will disagree no doubt but i've stopped caring. you'll just have figure it out for yourself or stop going on about, because it's become a futile exercise. critics and gamers rate the game. you can live with that, surely?
    Edited by 1 at 30/12/08 @ 01:24

  • drumbaby #101 3 years ago

    Blithering...

  • Mr_Brown #102 3 years ago

    I know this is the staffs opinions but it's hard for anyone to justify some those games being above games like Fallout 3, Far Cry 2 and MGSiv... I mean tomb raider underworld?? Really? I swear this list gets worse every year. It'll be LBP or rock band top, ether that or Solitaire on EG Pc because the most played game in their office. Really wouldn't surprise me at this point.

  • Katsumoto #103 3 years ago

    I know, it's hard to believe some people have different opinions from our own sometimes. I think this inherent truth is what is proven by these lists, and nothing else.

  • Kiigan #104 3 years ago

    Quite fun seeing how different the EG staffers' top 50 for 2008 is compared to the readers' top 50.

    I think the readers did a better job of it :)

  • etcoon #105 3 years ago

    DEVIL MAY CRY 4

  • AhrimaaN #106 3 years ago

    World of Goo, Fallout 3, Left 4 Dead, Braid, Little Big Planet, GH:WT, GTA IV, Fable 2, GoW 2, CoD WaW.

    In that order. You saw it first here!

  • etcoon #107 3 years ago

    CoD: WaW sucks balls.

  • etcoon #108 3 years ago

    I think:
    1. Braid
    2. Fallout 3
    3. GTA4
    4. Little Big Planet
    5. Fable 2
    6. Left 4 Dead
    7. World of Goo
    8. Bioshock PS3
    9. Gears 2
    10. ???

  • Sulphur #109 3 years ago

    I'm entirely disappointed with this comments thread. There need to be more polarising games per list. Fundamental oversight, EG. :-/

    Anyway, I'm sure World of Goo's going to be in the top 5 because of all the love it's gotten. I tried the demo, and to be honest, I didn't have quite the same reaction that you lot did towards it.

  • Beano #110 3 years ago

    TRU was good and I really enjoyed it.. but number 20 ?!?!?

    NFW!

  • FogHeart #111 3 years ago

    Top ten seems unlikely to include No More Heroes with all the other possibilities, but I'm putting it in as wishful thinking. (sighs). Well. here's my prediction:-

    1. Fallout 3
    2. Braid
    3. Left 4 Dead
    4. GTA IV
    5. Gears 2
    6. Fable 2
    7. COD 5
    8. Little Big Planet
    9. World of Goo
    10. No More Heroes

    ...and a final prediction that they wilfully piss us off by not including Dead Space. And I would treat such an attitude as if they were Jamie Oliver not understanding why sometimes - not all the time - a trip to the chippy is better than lunch at the Savoy.

  • Fab4 #112 3 years ago

    The fact that CoD:WaW is anywhere near the top 10 is a fucking disgrace...a disgrace I tells thee!

  • bad09 #113 3 years ago

    "Quite fun seeing how different the EG staffers' top 50 for 2008 is compared to the readers' top 50.

    I think the readers did a better job of it :) "

    Agreed readers 50 is a much better list so far IMO. Unless EG redeem themselves by putting Dead Space rightly at no.1 (I'm not gonna forget that glaring mistake EG readers. 10?? yeah right!)

    Anyway hurry up with your top 10 EG!

  • Beano #114 3 years ago

    "Rez was ok on the Dreamcast. Interesting at the time. Overated too."

    Agreed... Rez is/was pretty good but waaaay overrated. The HD update does not deserve 14th place.

  • jonsaan #115 3 years ago

    What I find fairly amazing is the number of comments where the reviews team say 'I've not played this but....'

    Odd. As a keen gamer I make it my business to play pretty much all of the major releases. Maybe a reviewer is too busy. But why make a comment on a game you've not played?

  • Dizzy #116 3 years ago

    It looks like the EG top 10 will be the same as mine ;-)

    It is pretty clear that most readers have a bad taste in gaming :) What a joke that top 50 was.
    Edited by 1 at 30/12/08 @ 09:50

  • Beano #117 3 years ago

    "7. COD 5"

    Wait ?

    COD:WAW is in the top 10 ???... LOL

  • bad09 #118 3 years ago

    What's with all the COD: WAW hate on EG? I got it a Christmas and it's quite good actually.

  • AllenSpawn #119 3 years ago

    I know I shouldn't care..... And I know I shouldn't bite.... But

    I loved condemned 2.... But top 20 ....no, just no. ( and no staff seemed to have played it!!!)
    I loved rez.... But it's years old, and has no excuse being on this years list. Are you telling me, EG ,that the overall Mechanics of game play, experiance and depth of rez, is better than NG2, which obviously isn't going to make your list!
    I loved mgs4... There are more ways to play thru this game, than you can think of. No two experiances are the same and this fluidity in combat, is what makes a great game( like ng2 and dead space..... But NOT rez). The fact that mgs was 30, had me checking for the calander, to see if it was april!
    Lost a lot of respect for eg reviewers......
    And if dead space doesn't make top 10, I won't ever read or trust one of their reviews again.

  • Beano #120 3 years ago

    "What's with all the COD: WAW hate on EG? I got it a Christmas and it's quite good actually. "

    Sure but "quite good" is not a top 10 title.

  • bad09 #121 3 years ago

    @ Beano

    It's a solid shooter with great MP, Treyarch are easily (almost) on par with MW (which was many peoples game of 2007) so why not?

    Besides, it is EG's top 50 not yours ;)

    I reckon I'd stick it in my top 10 having played it now, but then I'm a big COD fan anyway.

  • Beano #122 3 years ago

    "Besides, it is EG's top 50 not yours ;) "

    True... but why have a comment section if comments are not allowed? :)

  • etcoon #123 3 years ago

    Where is DMC4?
    It's pretty cool game.

  • bad09 #124 3 years ago

    @ Beano

    "True... but why have a comment section if comments are not allowed? :) "

    Judging by the 30-21 comments they're for playground rumbles - I'm truly shocked at those guys!

    Your right though, even though it is their list I still had to post my shame at EG for putting Singstar and Wiifit above the mighty MGS4 - and I'll post to agree with their Dead Space no1, isn't that RIGHT EG.... :)

  • easychord #125 3 years ago

    The cult of Rez is taking over. Unless you are vigilant, we will make it so that all games in the future will be just like Rez so start getting angry now little people.

  • Rash' #126 3 years ago

    i hate this argument that says "opinions are different, live with it". yes opinions are different, but if posters critical and articulate break down of that opinion significantly demonstrates a lack of appreciation for the whole work then you have question how well informed that opinion is. if it appears that it isn't well considered, then yes maybe it's fair to summarise "they don't get it" or more likely don't want to. either way that's not opinion, that's ignorance, intentional or otherwise. case in point: "I didn't like paradise because of lack of restarts". ok so where did the rest of the game go???

  • linksdad #127 3 years ago

    Professor Layton on ebay for a fiver plus another 6 quid postage from hong kong if you can wait the fortnight for delivery. If stock shortages prevail then you could even turn a profit once you have done.

  • awb83 #128 3 years ago

    I have to comment on Tomb Raider being placed above MGS4. I am a big fan of both games but there is no way on earth Tomb Raider should be above MGS4.

    MGS4 is better on every single possible level.

  • TheRook21 #129 3 years ago

    Can those complaining about Burnout Paradise not having a "Race Restart" feature grow some balls and just finish the race in first place... that way you dont have to drive back to the start... and if you cant remember a point A to point B route on a map you really should do something about your short term memory as it must be shit...

    That is all...

    TheRook21
    p.s. I love that MGS4 is round about 35 or something as MGS is a load of overrated toss! /gives finger to "Snake"

  • Beek4257 #130 3 years ago

    People are getting a little ahead of themselves by placing CoD in the EG top 10 and getting all worked up about it just in case, when the top 10 hasn't even been released yet!

    MY guess is, it won't be in and I'll be happy for it. If it is, then that's fine too; it's their top 50, not mine.
    Not that I'm not interested though; I'm always curious about other gamers opinions, especially EG's. My agree-disagree ratio is about 50/50 so that's makes for fun reading.

    Now: LBP or Fallout 3 for the top spot. Soon, very soon ...

  • roz123 #131 3 years ago

    I enjoyed Layton because it brought my memory back to the puzzle books i used to read as a child. Although i dont think its worthy of such a high place. The puzzles were in general pretty common and whilst the story certainly made the game more enjoyable i would have preferred it if it was more interactive then just searching for puzzles and coins.

  • FogHeart #132 3 years ago

    I wonder which of these will cause the biggest upset by missing out:-

    COD 5, No More Heroes (the only chance the Wii has!), Team Fortress 2, BioShock, FIFA 09, Crysis Warhead, Dead Space.

    I can forgive BioShock/TF2 for not being there purely as it's had its turn on other platforms. The rest can be forgiven for being outside top 10...but outside top 50??!!

    edit: I refuse to buy the new Rez until they update it properly by making a new wireless version of that vibrator featured in the original.

    No DS games....no PSP games. Hm.
    Edited by 2 at 30/12/08 @ 11:21

  • schnide #133 3 years ago

    @link'sdad

    If you're buying DS cartridges from eBay, be sure you aren't getting a pirate if it's from Hong Kong. Quite often they are, and are very similar to the official thing, but nevertheless they're counterfeit. You may have problems with savegames, and needless to say, you aren't supporting the developer to make more. You also won't be able to sell it on as legit if the buyer has any sense.

    Ultimately, you have to question how you're getting it for a fiver if the game's in such high demand and low supply.

  • kinky_mong #134 3 years ago

    Glad Rez HD made it so high. One of my favourite experiences of this year.

    Mirror's Edge however is terrible. Trial and error gameplay of the worst kind.

  • Mr_Brown #135 3 years ago

    Yes opinions are different, but has someone has mentioned EG's opinion seems to be completley different from it's readers and all of their peers (by a long way). Some of their choices are the equivelent to a respected football pundit stating Stoke will win the premier league because he likes red and White and come from Stoke. Fair enough if you personally like a game and by all means score it extra, but they have to take into account quality and when a game is clearly technically and critically better then it should be placed higher regardless of EG personal preference. The simple fact is that this list will come under scrutiny by others and regardless whether for some reason EG enjoyed barbie goes shopping more than any other game, putting it number one for personal reasons would damage the integrity of the site (just like some of the choices made here). That's my view anyway.

  • Rash' #136 3 years ago

    I'm still not sure whether Rez making this list is a good or a bad thing. it's a 6 year old game with suped up graphics and sound. As there appears to be no place in the list for No More Heroes or The World Ends With You, i'm beginning to think maybe it's a bad thing.

  • awb83 #137 3 years ago

    Mr_Brown - I fully agree with what you're saying, I really do but I genuinely think putting Tomb Raider ahead of MGS4 is shocking.

  • FaceOmeter #138 3 years ago

    omg this isn't identical to *my* top 50 list?!?!? what the FRAK eg?!?!

  • Jonny5Alive7 #139 3 years ago

    I reckon Bioshock will be in there, it was released on PS3 this year so it can be included. There was a 'new' Portal too, which could be up there.
    Edited by 2 at 30/12/08 @ 11:19

  • TheGoose126 #140 3 years ago

    GoW2 No.1, FIFA09 No.2, LBP No.3, LFD No.4, COD WAW No.5.

  • FogHeart #141 3 years ago

    If they're not featuring Portal, BioShock, TF2 etc because they're old games on new platforms, then the first person who says that should also exclude Rez HD loses on the internet.

  • Thunderbolt #142 3 years ago

    I'm enjoying Tomb Raider very much at the moment its just like the good old days - its fun. (Apart from teh dreadful swimmy bits at the start as mentioned by the EG staff). I think it deserves its place

    Burnout Paradise - dunno just didn't gel for me - it just wasnt Burnout - the lack of restarts and the dreadful map-map-reading-whilst-going-100mph werent for me. But many more people enjoyed it

    As for Rock Band - well its something the whole family enjoyed and for that it must be applauded. Still playing it today and its much more enjoyable than Guitar Hero IMO.

    Mirrors Edge - Played the demo and it was just too trial and error for me but nice visuals though. Its avialable for £15 on Play but even then I may rent it somewhere down the line

    So far I must say that the EG staff have been spot on with their list (Although I want Crisis Core in their as its one of my favourites dor the year along with Bioshock too.)

  • Rushy #143 3 years ago

    I loved the original Condemned despite its flaws, but Condemned 2 was very poor even though they improved upon the forensics sections. I have no idea how it arrived so high up in the top 50.

  • bad09 #144 3 years ago

    Condemned 2 was alright I suppose. For me though it just didn't gel like the first one did, I found the second quite a bore to play which was sad as I loved the original.

  • dllord #145 3 years ago

    Condemned 2 was pretty turd compared to the original, i traded it in about half way through because i just couldnt be arsed playing it.

    Dead Space won't make the top 10 because EG give it a 7 for some reason, and couldnt justify putting it higher than other games scoring a higher number. Did they play the same game as the rest of us?

    Dead space should have got a 9 at least!

  • BOFH_UK #146 3 years ago

    @Mr Brown: "but they have to take into account quality and when a game is clearly technically and critically better then it should be placed higher regardless of EG personal preference."

    No, sorry but you're flat out wrong here. If you want a list of games that are "clearly technically and critically better" then just look at the damn reviews that have happened this year and check the scores. That's where you get an impartial (as much as humanly possible anyway) view taking all that stuff into account. Basing a top x of the year on those criteria is what far too many sites do and is utterly worthless as we already know all that stuff and the top ten (or more) are seperated by such small degrees that it's more-or-less pointless. What EG are doing here are giving you the staff picks based on what they ENJOY playing. Remember that whole 'games are fun' factor? Example - last year I'd have placed Assasins Creed in my own personal top three. It was flawed as hell and if I was reviewing it I'd have given it maybe 7/10. But there was something that for me, personally, just made it fun and made me want to get to the end. Same thing with Crackdown actually.

    Basically, the list here is what a bunch of normal people enjoyed playing. They've given you their professional opinion throughout the year and this is their personal one. And I for one am very glad they do it that way as it makes what's normally an utterly pointless exercise a worthwhile read for reasons other than fanboy bragging rights which, let's face it, are all most such lists actually are.

  • VandelayIndustries #147 3 years ago

    Given the apparent randomness of this list I'm willing to bet PixelJunk Eden gets the top spot : )

  • Lawlost #148 3 years ago

    Not played Dead Space yet but very tempted to get it. I think EG may well have it in the top 10, but not the top 5. Even though the reviewer did not rate it that highly it looks like all the staff get a say and could well bring it in fairly high. If it makes their top 5 I think I will have to buy it.

  • suicida #149 3 years ago

    Just buy Dead Space anyway, it's great!

    And +1,000,000 to what BOFH_UK said.

  • Beano #150 3 years ago

    Agreed. Dead Space is great and one of the positive surprises in 2008 :)

  • Katsumoto #151 3 years ago

    "but they have to take into account quality and when a game is clearly technically and critically better then it should be placed higher regardless of EG personal preference" ARGH! ARGH! ARGH!

  • Farzlepot #152 3 years ago

    Mr_Brown
    30-Dec-08 11:02:32
    Yes opinions are different, but has someone has mentioned EG's opinion seems to be completley different from it's readers and all of their peers (by a long way). Some of their choices are the equivelent to a respected football pundit stating Stoke will win the premier league because he likes red and White and come from Stoke. Fair enough if you personally like a game and by all means score it extra, but they have to take into account quality and when a game is clearly technically and critically better then it should be placed higher regardless of EG personal preference. The simple fact is that this list will come under scrutiny by others and regardless whether for some reason EG enjoyed barbie goes shopping more than any other game, putting it number one for personal reasons would damage the integrity of the site (just like some of the choices made here). That's my view anyway.

    You're having some trouble grasping this whole concept aren't you?

    This list is entirely about what they 'personally like'. It is being compiled by gamers, not reviewers - they've switched off their professional mode and they are now spouting which games made them wet themselves with glee, not necessarily which games are the most technically accomplished. It's pretty much identical to the way the Readers' Top 50 list worked, only it's only including the votes of EG staff. Not only have they repeatedly said as much, in greater detail and eloquence than I ever could, but so has everybody else in the comments thread!

    To use your analogy, it's like a football commentator who's finished for the day, and now he's talking about football with his mates down at the pub. He can believe whichever team he wants is going to win, because his mates asked for his personal opinion.

    The integrity of the site is going to remain perfectly intact, not only because most people understand that different folks have different strokes, but also because they've explained exactly what this list is and how it works.

  • Trigga_Tybalt #153 3 years ago

    its a bit wrong to see a game that gets 7 say tomb raider significantly higher than a game that gets 8 (mgs4)

    eurogamer once again proves that review scores are meaningless. abolish them and then your writers would have to actually start taking notice about how critical a tone their reviews are written in. getting tired of reading your reviewers say they wish they wrote their reviews differently in these charts...

  • Apostle #154 3 years ago

    I'm not a massive MGS fan, nor a big defender of Playstation and/or Sony. But - I struggle to see how most of these games are better than MGS4. That's all.

    The list overall is pretty appalling. That's my opinion, which I am entitled too. Etc etc.

  • TheRook21 #155 3 years ago

    @ dunkel dog... press circle (I think) and it gives you an idea of where you need to go... now if you cant figure it out from there...

  • CunningLinguist #156 3 years ago

    LBP GOTY?

  • ChrisS #157 3 years ago

    Braid, Fallout 3 and World of Goo will be the top three. In which order, I do not know. LBP and GTA will likely make up the top five, then Left 4 Dead, FIFA, No More Heroes, TWEWY, Fable II, Sins of a Solar Empire, Dead Space and Guitar Hero World Tour will fight over the remainder, with three of those games undeservedly missing the cut completely. (Probably Dead Space, FIFA and TWEWY.)

  • Ryze #158 3 years ago

    Jesus there are some retards making comments about the order of the list.

    The order of the list depends on how many votes the games get, and in which positions in each voter's top 10.

    There are bound to be odd game positions. For example, MGS4 wouldn't be in my top 10, as I've not played it to be able to judge its quality. Therefore it'd have no vote, whereas SSFIITHDR would have a decent position, as would Braid & GTA IV, in my list.

    Popular & high quality games are going to be clustered up towards the top of the list, and many quirky or surprise gems are going to beat niche or 'cult' hits in a list put together by reviewers.

    MGS4 is a marmite game, so it will definitely suffer in this type of list. I don't expect to see SSFIITHDR up there, because many people have had enough of SFII and therefore don't think enough of it to place it in their top 10.

  • quantumsheep #159 3 years ago

    So many people just don't get it. These comment threads are like a car crash, seriously.

    I wish I could get the time wasted reading them back, but sometimes I just feel compelled to read just to see how low we've sunk :(

    Anyway, I certainly enjoyed the list - where's the top 10???

  • quantumsheep #160 3 years ago

    I've not played it (Dead Space) but everyone I know that's played it loves it to bits, so it's something on my 'games to play at SOME point' radar, certainly!

    I'd honestly be surprised if it's not in the top 10 somewhere!
    Edited by 1 at 30/12/08 @ 15:34

  • spudsbuckley #161 3 years ago

    People do realise that Dead Space only got a 7/10 on here, right?

    Edited by 1 at 30/12/08 @ 15:52

  • andywilkie35 #162 3 years ago

    I reckon Dead Space will make it into the top 10

    but speaking of this top 10, where is it?! I finish work for the day soon so need to read it to make it go faster!

  • MasterNameless #163 3 years ago

    "People do realise that Dead Space only got a 7/10 on here, right?"

    I think people also realise that the Dead Space review was the opinion of one person, not the entire EG staff. So it still has a very good chance of making it into the top ten.

    edit: Oh yeah, what not_luigi said :)
    Edited by 1 at 30/12/08 @ 16:30

  • BradMillette #164 3 years ago

    Right on about Condemned, Dan. Those games are poop.

  • Zomoniac #165 3 years ago

    If FIFA 09 doesn't feature I will burn EG Towers down myself.

  • StooMonster #166 3 years ago

    I've recently bought pretty much all the current triple-A games and Dead Space has been the most enjoyable (surprisingly). I know it's a load of old sci-fi clichés rolled into a package that is a simplistic too-n-fro puzzle solving affair, but with the lights low and the sound high (it's got fantastic audio and soundtrack) the game is plain old action-driven fun and has made me 'jump' more than once (even when it's obvious that it's coming).

    Astounding that it's from EA, I haven't bought one of their titles in years; especially on the PC.
    Edited by 1 at 30/12/08 @ 18:28

  • roz123 #167 3 years ago

    tbh i think it would be a bit of a shame if dead space was not in the top 50 but i dont think it deserves a position higher then 10. I came back to PC gaming this year and went on a manic buying game blitz and whilst i could see this is a really good game it really didn't hold my attention for 2 long when other games were itching to be played

  • killyourtv #168 3 years ago

    Valkyria Chronicles top 10?

  • Tetsuo_Shima #169 3 years ago

    Good job on giving Rez the credit it deserves, I'd rate it as my favourite game of the year without a doubt. In saying that, trying to sell Rez's merit to somebody who didn't enjoy the game is about as pointless a task as there ever was. Redstanza says

    "'Rez' and 'you dont get it' seem to have appeared in the same sentence just too many times over the years."

    and yet it's true that there are only two types of people in the world: Those who get Rez, and those who don't. I'd agree, it reeks of pretension when Rez fans stick their noses in the air and proclaim 'you just aren't getting the experience' but I'm afraid that is exactly what it comes down to. It's not a simple fact of being artistically open-minded or having the mentality to enjoy progressive trance music, either; many of my friends who love dance music hate Rez, and yet one of my colleagues in work who is diametrically opposed to all things electronica absolutely loves the game. Trying to figure out why some people enjoy it and others hate it is pointless, but I'd like to say that those of you who fall in to the latter category are seriously missing out.

  • captain-future #170 3 years ago

    Pardon my saying but I simply don't get the fuzz about Burnout Paradise... GRID was graphically better and Midnight Club L.A. is more stylish... and WTF do I have to drive around on the map to restart a race?

    I never liked Burnout because of the stupid crashes which I always found disturbing and breaking the game flow. I was excited to hear that Burnout Paradise wanted to do what Test Drive Unlimited did so brilliantly... offer a truly open city map experience... but I'm so bored by this game.

    I guess I have no taste, because all people score this game so high? I don't get it.

  • jmctavish #171 3 years ago

    Condemned 2 if fucking terrible. The first was good, short fun, but the sequal is piss-poor with it's stupid horror cliche shit. I'll never trust another review from Krudster if he considers Condemned 2 to be a top 20 game.

  • MMAN #172 3 years ago

    "Precision and polised" used to describe Underworld? The game is pretty much the antithesis of those words. Its place on the list is justified, but a couple of the comments for it borderline nonsensical. I also completely disagree with the first two writers about the start, as I easily found diving down and seeing the ruins looming below and the very atmospheric "underpus" area some of best moments in the game (the entry to the boat sucked, good thing it was about ten minutes long maximum).

    It's good to see Mirror's Edge getting a high place on the list, its replayability and execution of controls has made it my GOTY, but lists like this have to cover all players so I'm just glad it got as high a place as it has.
    Edited by 1 at 03/01/09 @ 04:19

  • busboy33 #173 3 years ago

    quick clarification for the staff:

    most people don't hate Starship Troopers because of the "rah rah kill 'em all" message. They hate it because it's such a bastardization of a truly brilliant novel that it inspires a desire to hit whomever was responsible. When you get back from the bathroom and find somebody jerked off and splooged all over your sleeping grandmother, there's a natural desire to kill the offending party. Being unable to determine who did it (or in the case of ST being unable to make it past security with a baseball bat) just forces you to concentrate all your hatred at the visible injury, obvious though it may be.

    I literally cried the day I walked past a theater and saw "Coming Soon!" posters for the movie -- didn't even realize it was being made until then. I was slightly concerned the poster had Rico wearing skateboard pads and a plastic helmet instead of his infantry Mobile Armor, but I was willing to give a bit of leeway . . . what's a little creative license to make it more palatable when they're bringing one of Heinlein's greatest works to the mass market? I mean really, there's only so much flexibility the social narrative will allow without making a complete mockery of of the entire work, and if they were going to do that they wouldn't have bothered licensing ST. It would be like making the Watchmen movie and casting Jack Black as the Comedian, and changing his costume to a clown suit. Really, even studio execs aren't that low. . .

    *resumes surveillance outside production studios offices, softly caressing V.M.S., his Louisville Slugger . . .*