Eurogamer's Top 50 Games of 2008: 30-21 Comments by Eurogamer staff

(I'll hold myself back from saying that it is poncey to write the title in the native language when it is known worldwide by its translated title).

Eh? How's that holding yourself back?

EG's explanation of how the list was constructed doesn't justify it's criminal offering. Mercs is judged to be higher the Smash bros... I (like the reviewers themselves, no doubt) call that bullshit. Fix the system.

It is funny seeing people get upset because their precious favourite games are in the wrong place on an arbitrary list.

Just because something places higher or lower than something else on this list, doesnt mean its better or worse. Do you really think the worth of something as subjective as a game can be quantified so precisely that its exact position on a list of the years top 50 can be determined?


get over it, its just a bit of fun and its not your list any way, its Eurogamers list, so they cant exactly be wrong about their own favourites can they?

I think as a nice little round up of some the years best titles its an excellent read. Its got me interested in a couple of games I had not even heard of before now.

.....Having said that, Eurogamer including WiiFit on their list of top 50 2008 games is a bit like Roger Ebert having Jade Goody's aerobics DVD on his list of top 50 DVD releases.

It really is as crap as something like you would see on a late night 'mis'infomercial.

To be honest I was only briefly reading through the comments and happened to read his the most. I guess out of context he seems a tit. Perhaps if I was bothered enough to read the the rest I'd think otherwise.

As its you, Smelly, saying his not, then I'll take your word for it. You can be funny at times.

However! The talk of being a games reviewer for x amount of years and giving it the big man is retarded / gay / being a tit whatever. Like that matters for sht.

If I were to give my name and what projects I've worked on in the games industry does that then mean every mofker should bow down..?

Anyway, who cares. Next 10 games gogogo!

Simon Parkin: Nobody's interested in the middle ground when it comes to polarising videogames. When it comes to MGS4 this is a shame because there is just as much of merit in this experience as there is to spoil it. In his fine, thoughtful review for Eurogamer, Oli nailed this tension with skill and eloquence. That so many readers were unable to parse his thoughts, to appreciate the nuance and contradictions in the experience suggests that Kojima's series primarily appeals to immature gamers.

If mature gamers are those to whom obligatory autoerotic (especially in initial, overgrown parts) reviews by some reviewer used to appeal, then I'm not a mature gamer.

The last (only) MGS game i ever played was on the original playstation.

Even then i was amazed/stunned by the production values.. but felt the actual game was abut as enthrawling as playing pacman.

Dont have a ps3.. dont want one.. am happy with my 360 (until it breaks down again) and wii (unless they spend a year not releasing anything on it) - so i doubt i'll ever play it!

"My point was that the MSG4 commentary by Parkin was unprofessional in that he insulted his own consumer. "

But gamers are retarded idiots.. you only have to read a games forum to know that!

(or look at the endless carbon copy fps dross they keep buying)

However! The talk of being a games reviewer for x amount of years and giving it the big man is retarded / gay / being a tit whatever. Like that matters for sht.

It does if the context is (a) being asked how old I am, and (b) debating how "review based magazines" do things. I think in that instance it's legitimate to point out that perhaps you have rather more experience of knowing what goes on at "review based magazines" than the person attacking you. You, on the other hand, are flinging insulting names around while admitting you haven't actually read the comments properly. Who's really the tit there?

So, it's perfectly okay for "us" to insult people (and EG staff, on a regular basis) in the forums and comments sections, hidding behind anonymity, but when one professional writer has the guts to do it (on a very special occasion), some people act like he raped their mums? How audacious, to put it mildly.

I, on the other hand, applaud Mr. Parkin for being so "reactionary" to that monumental MGS4 review comments thread full of IMMATURE GAMERS complaining over a score of a game they haven't even played yet at the time.

I, on the other hand, applaud Mr. Parkin for being so "reactionary" to that monumental MGS4 review comments thread full of IMMATURE GAMERS complaining over a score of a game they haven't even played yet at the time.

Does being first to moan about the score of the game they haven't played yet at the time makes them those to whom the whole series appeals primarily?

Does being first to moan about the score of the game they haven't played yet at the time makes them those to whom the whole series appeals primarily?

No, I presume that was an intentional hyperbole (based on limited sample of vocal MGS fans) but I'm mature enough not to feel insulted by it. ;) (I haven't played MGS4 yet but judging by my love for the 3rd part, I will/would probably love it too)

lol @ this thread. Rev, you've called Eurogamers scoring integrity into question in the past have you not? Why not let remo have his say like you wanted to have yours? http://worldofstuart.excellentcontent.co...

remo: While defending your right to complain, I disagree with your argument. Metal Gear IS an 8/10 game, Eurogamer just had the balls to say it. +1 to them I say.

And I'm a Halo 3 fanboy, but had no problem with them putting it at 7 (I think) last year. The argument for all 6 games ahead of it was compelling. Except for Zelda. OoT FTW.

Metal Gear Solid 4 below FarCry2 :D

This website is a joke now. Quick, do another pointless face-off article or interview some indie dev that no-one gives two fucks about! Or report some news 3 or 4 days later than any other site!

Well, I live in a country of violent football fans, where you can easily get the impression that being football fan is more about insulting and hurting people than enjoying football itself. Thus I could make an exaggeration saying that football appeals primarily to immature dickheads and so do Pro Evolution Soccer, being adressed primarily to football fans. God only knows how truthful it would be. Nevertheless, making such statements is neither polite nor mature. Writting overintellectualized review, knowing that it will annoy many readers is one kind of provocation. Tenuously insinuating, just to "watch the monkey get hurt" is much meaner provocation.

I love the games industry's level of maturity, on both sides of the fence. Wonderfully mature.

Meanwhile, if a critic doesn't upset a portion of their readership at least once in their career, then frankly they're not doing their job properly. Some people evidently read opinions and reviews in the vain and somewhat unrealistic expectation that the critics views lines up with their own (hence making them "good"). Personally I read a swathe of opinion before making up my mind and find the negative ones as interesting, oft entertaining and informative as those that praise something.

I also love that those getting passionately defensive about such a non-issue are probably the same people who'll leap on a religious person the moment they put a foot wrong with equally as much fervour.

Strange point, I know, but it shows how serious some people can be at such a non-slight.

Would Ball in a Cup make it in here too, since it's technically a 'game'>

It'd get a three page review, a dev interview and a face off between the big three cup-in-ball manufactuerers.

All on the back of a confusing 6/10 score in a review written by Kieron that claims it redefines the artform that is gaming.

"This website is a joke now. Quick, do another pointless face-off article or interview some indie dev that no-one gives two fucks about! "

I think it is best that emo whiners like you f*ck off to GS or IGN and leave EG to us "indie" lovers.

What I don't get is WHY review scores mean so much to people. I loved Steel Batallion on the xbox, it gets an 11/10 from me. All other reviews that did not score 11/10 be damned. However, I did not feel the need to launch an assaults on the internets, i was too busy enjoying the game....

Rev, you've called Eurogamers scoring integrity into question in the past have you not? Why not let remo have his say like you wanted to have yours?

How am I stopping him from doing that? I'm just pointing out his hypocrisy, tendency to flatly contradict himself every other post, and the fact that he in fact has no idea how reviews in magazines are conducted.

OMIGODCENSORSH...

o wait...

What I don't get is WHY review scores mean so much to people. I loved Steel Batallion on the xbox, it gets an 11/10 from me. All other reviews that did not score 11/10 be damned. However, I did not feel the need to launch an assaults on the internets, i was too busy enjoying the game....

Because insecure people need confirmation from others that the choices they make are the correct ones. I spend a lot of time on this site, and enjoy that time greatly, yet if I stopped enjoying it I would leave for pastures new. But some people just like to have something to bitch and moan about.

Anybody who has become even the slightest bit irate about this list in any way needs to get a grip. And MGS fanboys, if it makes you feel any better go and write your own list, putting your very favourite game of the year at the top. Or how about I do it for you?:

1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
2. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
3. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
4. Jumper

I've never played it but I've taken a hit for you, do you feel better now?

Personally I don't like MGS much. It's a marmite thing. but then, so is Fallout 3. If anything, even more so.

MGS is for MGS fans, and MGS fans only.

If you are not 'into it' then it's the most boring game, with the absolute worst control scheme, the most tiresome cutscenes and it's all topped off with that awful smug, self-satified attitude.

It is not a fun game to play in any way, it's just a method of delivering fan service to Kojima. That was once the 'cool' thing to do, but MGS fans must be a bit out of touch. Games are about gameplay now, not personality worship.

That's why it's at 30 and not in the top 5. It's a game for fans only, and MGS fans are in a minority.

Exactly the same could be said of Fallout3.

Possibly the most un fun game I have ever played. More like a chore than a game.

not really, unless you extend it to every game ever. You could say the same about Smash Bros or Peggle.

MGS4 was the culmination of a canon, and spends as much time telling that story as it does offering actual gameplay. FO3 was at least mostly gameplay.

The fact EG said before-hand that their Top50 system basiclly sucks, doesn't mean we shouldn't point it out when it gets more and more absurd.

Never played a Fallout before, and I picked up and played the third instalment with great joy. I got to grips with the overall story and the setting pretty quickly, so I knew what was going on around me and whenever an element with some backstory was introduced, it was explained adequately enough for me to understand it.

Never played an MGS before. Could I just pick up and play the fourth and understand what was going on? Or is it more like Lost or Battlestar Galactica in that folks who haven't played the first few won't have a clue what's going on? From what I've heard, I suspect it's the latter. Which is by no means a bad thing, but it does somewhat limit its audience more than Fallout 3 does. It's not really a valid comparison.

Insstalling Redlynx trials right now:)

Yes you could Farzelpot. You can skip the stupid cut scenes anyway.

Given that the cutscenes are apparently quite sizeable, if I skipped them wouldn't that damage my understanding of the story even more?

"MGS is for MGS fans, and MGS fans only."

Which is true on many levels, its the grand hurrah for the fans, which is probably why so many loved it and want to stand up for it. The fact that its in the top 30 shows its a good game but in many peoples minds its a #1, but find me anyone who will universally agree with the order of the list eh?

By this, I'm reckoning that Valkyria is going to chart higher, which it should. I love my MGS but VC has been my 2nd favourite game this year behind Fallout 3.

It is not a fun game to play in any way, it's just a method of delivering fan service to Kojima. That was once the 'cool' thing to do, but MGS fans must be a bit out of touch. Games are about gameplay now, not personality worship.

I couldn't care less about this list and I didn't even bother to read the review of MGS4 when it came along, as I'll play the game anyway, sooner or later. What I don't understand is why someone sometimes tries to persuade me that I don't actually enjoy playing MGS. I really do, especially boss fights. Heck, for me Halo is a far cry from being fun, but I can believe that somebody somewhere enjoys playing it. You can call it a "willing suspension of disbelief", but for me its at least thinkable.

"Given that the cutscenes are apparently quite sizeable, if I skipped them wouldn't that damage my understanding of the story even more? "

Although I was extremely impressed by MGS4 as an actual game, I've come to the conclusion that the story (in all the MGS games) really is an incoherent load of old crap. It's got characters, relationships and scenes I like in it but as a whole it really is total nonsense.

If you really want to follow the story you can always read the database thing. Easier still, Gametrailers did some great retrospectives on the Metal Gear series.

Simon Parkin said:

"That so many readers were unable to parse his thoughts, to appreciate the nuance and contradictions in the experience suggests that Kojima's series primarily appeals to immature gamers."

Oh please. You seem like a nice chap Simon, so I'll just gently suggest you read your comment again give yourself the time to "appreciate the nuance" of just how obnoxious it sounds.

Certainly, if you could somehow magically assess the audience for a game based on its Eurogamer reader comments, you'd have to conclude that every game reviewed here is primarily geared towards the educationally subnormal.

In summary, EG are rarely unprofessional. Rev Stu almost always is.

Does that sound like intelligence from the pen of a geniune journalist? No it doesn't does it

Nice typing. Now answer my question - do you admire the enthusiasm and honesty of Mr Walker's 10/10 reviews of Japanese puzzle games, or do you think they don't deserve such scores and he's only doing it to join the journalistic elite? Because you've said both things, but only one of them can be true.

Certainly, if you could somehow magically assess the audience for a game based on its Eurogamer reader comments, you'd have to conclude that every game reviewed here is primarily geared towards the educationally subnormal.

This.

@vorlon-man

All I'm saying is it's a game for a small fan base, so the indignant crowd should not be surprised that it ranks at 30 rather than 5+. I don't begrudge anyone enjoying the game.


"Besides, nobody is going to take any comment about a high profile PS3 exclusive by you seriously, farticus, are they. "

'High profile' and 'PS3 exclusive' dont really belong in the same sentence. Try 'damp squib' on for size. I think you'll find it's much closer to the measurements you are after.

Heh. EG, you bastards, you knew what this article would do. I'm all for Kieron re-reviewing MGS4, because it'd engender an even more hilarious comments thread than his Bioshock defense. Do it, EG, you know you have to.

And for the record? I liked Bioshock and MGS4. But I like hilarious internet argumentation even better!

I wonder if the sort of people who are like "zomg game X was at 29 and not 48 where it obviously should have been" are actually really normal people in real life? You meet them down the pub and have a good time, chat about all sorts and laugh merrily. Then they go home, turn on the PC, and transform.. into something monstrous?

I disagree with the very low placement for MGS4 but after all, it is Eurogamer's Top 50 Games of 2008, not ours.

@ Remo: I don't think there's ever been a correlation between ones intelligence and age and ones tendency to use insults. They are not mutually exclusive. For the record I think you are quite welcome to disagree with the one contributor who called MGS4 fans immature for thinking the game appealing. By all means do. But him saying that isn't unproffessional at all, it's his opinion and an entirely acceptable piece of criticism of the game, though you may believe him wrong. Bottomline, he is quite entititled to share it.

Furthermore I can confirm that I have enjoyed Pic Pic as much as I've enjoyed Left 4 Dead or indeed any game this year, and therefore I'm pleased to see it make the list somewhere.

Now please stop throwing stuid accusations around, or alternatively take your obstinate idiocy and fuck off to some other corner of the internet you pathetic twerp.

you all have to do a lot better to reach 2000 posts this time around. come on now, team!

I was disturbed by thhe unprofessionalism of insulting a large part of your user base in a very childish attack.

If that kind of mild offhand comment is enough to "disturb" you, I'm guessing you spend a lot of your life in floods of tears at the unrelenting harshness of the world. It must be tough for a sensitive soul like yourself to make it through a world not entirely composed of cotton wool :(

Oh you guys...

Its a marmite game that some people love and some people hate (says me, needlessly elaborating on the (very) nature of marmite). As such it polled in the middle of EG's Top 50. Not entiirely surprising really.

Personally I loved it too, but at times it DROVE ME SPARE! But on balance I loved the game and, although I couldn't understand much of what was going on in the cutscenes, and they WERE too long, I could appreciate the style of them.

You're proably right Vorlon-man, its just that MGS seems more marmite-y than most.

Tetris should win. It's so close to perfect it should win every year! Game Boy version, of course. Not 2008, but it'd get less stick.