Time reveals top 10 games of 2008

By Robert Purchese Published 9 December, 2008

GTA IV best, Braid second, LBP third.

Time Magazine has held Grand Theft Auto IV aloft as the best game of 2008.

"It's a grade-A shoot-'em-up that doubles as an interactive novel and triples as a sly critique of American consumer culture," said the influential publication.

Acclaimed Xbox Live Arcade platformer Braid was hailed as the second best game of the year, followed by Sony pin-up LittleBigPlanet.

Rock Band 2 filled fourth in a top 10 devoid of any Guitar Hero whatsoever.

Predictably, and justifiably, Gears of War 2 was there at five, trailed by two controversial inclusions: Dead Space and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Both received 7/10 here on Eurogamer, you may remember.

Flash game Hunted Forever, which we've never heard of, took eight, and Fieldrunners - apparently the best of the iPod and iPhone bunch - was at nine.

The last of the list was Spore, which we'd forgotten about actually. Sorry, Will.

What? No Metal Gear Solid? No Mario Kart? No Wii Fit? No Fable II? No Wrath of the Lich King? No Fallout 3? No Professor Layton? No so on and so forth?

There are plenty that missed the list, which is why we've opened a reader survey to find out what you think are the best games of 2008.

Head over to our big old survey to vote for your favourites; no vote, no voice, or something.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (65) Latest comment 3 years ago

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

  • DFawkes #1 3 years ago

    Awful list. Pity, Time is usually such a great gaming publication.

  • Golgo #2 3 years ago

    Well I've just frisbeed GTAIV on PC back to the shop, so fingers crossed for number 2 on the list getting to PC soon.

  • Santino #3 3 years ago

    i would give best game of 08 to Layton personally. GTA 4 was the worst of the 3d ones, Braid was ok but an instantly forgettable play once 'flavor of the month' that cost too many points.

  • Eraysor #4 3 years ago

    I still cannot fathom why everyone thinks Braid is amazing.

  • ccfb #5 3 years ago

    "two controversial inclusions: Dead Space and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Both received 7/10 here on Eurogamer, you may remember."

    Yeah, Time magazine. Next time hit the EG reviews database before you start throwing out these crazy-ass lists.

    Amateurs.

  • Dizzy #6 3 years ago

    >I still cannot fathom why everyone thinks Braid is amazing.

    No worries... you will find out why 2 weeks ago.

  • muscleblade #7 3 years ago

    "two controversial inclusions: Dead Space and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Both received 7/10 here on Eurogamer, you may remember."

    I loved both of them. More so than Fable 2 for example.

  • muscleblade #8 3 years ago

    If you didnt find Braid amazing i think you didnt "get it". It is amazing.

  • Masarin #9 3 years ago

    Spore was a chore.

  • Masarin #10 3 years ago


    >> I still cannot fathom why everyone thinks Braid is amazing.
    > No worries... you will find out why 2 weeks ago.

    Hahaha. Brilliant Dizzy. +1 for best meta-comment of the year. :-D
    Edited by 1 at 09/12/08 @ 15:26

  • menage #11 3 years ago

    Whahahaha TFU, LOLZ. Fallout 3 FTW! (did I get enough abbreviations in there to come of as a raving fanboy)

  • schnide #12 3 years ago

    Isn't Braid a fairly standard platformer with the clever addition of the time mechanism, but most importantly done beautifully?

    That's the impression I've got from the demo, and if MS Points didn't seem like such a marketing exercise to steal as much of my money as possible, I'd have the full thing.

  • LazyDan #13 3 years ago

    I've not had time to devote myself to Braid since it was released. Roll on friday & 3 weeks off work for Christmas holiday :D

    GTA4 is another game I haven't had time to devote myself to. Unfortunately, I have no plans to rectify that.

    For me this has been an amazing year for games. Brawl, Mario Kart, Professor Layton, Braid, Geometry Wars 2, Castle Crashers, Left4Dead, Rock Band 2/GH:WT (and go on then,) Wii Fit... Such a colourful bunch, and no matter who I've got round I've got something to play with them.

  • metalnut #14 3 years ago

    "Isn't Braid a fairly standard platformer with the clever addition of the time mechanism, but most importantly done beautifully?

    That's the impression I've got from the demo.."

    In the full game, each world has a slightly different twist on the time-manipulation. It's brilliantly inventive, and you've missed out if you haven't played the whole thing. It's still maybe slightly overpriced, compared to the also excellent GW2, but I don't regret buying it for a second.

  • udat #15 3 years ago

    Braid is the best game I played this year.

  • menage #16 3 years ago

    Braid is fantastic. best endrun in a game this year.

  • peterfll #17 3 years ago

    How dare they forget to including Cooking Mama 4 in their top ten!

    Pff!

  • kiroquai #18 3 years ago

    Dead Space was great. I'd take a 7/10 game that entertains me for 12 hours over a 10/10 game that cripples itself with a game-breaking bug 20-hours in anytime.

  • matrim83 #19 3 years ago

    List immediately fails for putting SW TFU in it.

  • kinky_mong #20 3 years ago

    Still not as terrible a list as the top ten of 2008 that was in the London Paper last Friday. Dead Space No.1?!

    To be honest though any list that doesn't have Left 4 Dead firmly at No. 1 can jog the fuck on.

  • The_Inquisitor #21 3 years ago

    Not a bad list by any means, it has variety and diversity at least. You could argue that it says more about what games the person who compiled the list enjoyed this year, but that's kind of the point, since it's a small section of the overall publication and probably only has on gamer on the payroll.

  • stepneg #22 3 years ago

    What a load of cack, no Left 4 Dead and Star Wars Unleashed, WTF????/?

  • Nithron #23 3 years ago

    Nah, not everyone thinks Braid is amazing, it just seems that way. I wasn't particularly enamored with it either - I get that it's trying to make you think in four dimensions(although as it's 2D... would that just make it 3 dimensions?), which is great, but I didn't find it that fun.

  • HolyJebus #24 3 years ago

    Good list imo. Nice wide range of games. Would prob have dropped Star Wars too though.

  • Graham_Bark #25 3 years ago

    The final level of Braid was simply incredibly fantastic and clever, one of the finest moments in gaming as far as I'm concerned. Its easily worthy of 2nd best game of the year, if not first.

    GTA IV on the other hand is over rated. Its not bad, its just nothing like the ridiculously high review scores suggested it would be. San Andreas was certainly better.

    Not played the others on the list, but I do now feel that Fable II is worthy of a place. When I started playing I felt quite underwhelmed by it, but as the game goes on it has gone from strength to strength and is now utterly superb. Like Mass Effect, its a game that inadvertently had me playing until 4am despite lectures the next morning.
    Edited by 1 at 09/12/08 @ 16:34

  • miiiguel #26 3 years ago

    GTA IV is a very, very good game, IMO. No doubt it suffered from over-exposure to media, and within the more "hardcore circles" it started to be trendy to bash it.
    It has a very good plot, quite deep and ilustrative of post-9/11 America, and it's fun to play too, quite balanced, and technically impresse, scope-wise. It's clever gaming.

    Well, I love it and I usually miss those trendy waves, though.
    Edited by 1 at 09/12/08 @ 16:44

  • captainrentboy #27 3 years ago

    No Wii 'My Pet Vet Dolphin Zoo Sports Practice 4'? Absolute bullshit.
    Edited by 1 at 09/12/08 @ 16:51

  • jonsaan #28 3 years ago

    interactive novel. Yeah right.

  • pha #29 3 years ago

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  • paulf #30 3 years ago

    I would also put gta4 at the top, it's a game that has stuck with me long after I finished playing it, not because it is fun to play (because it isn't) but because of the way its portrays Niko as an outsider who really has no interest in being a thug, but does it because it is the only thing he knows.

    His life of crime is cleverly counterbalanced with the banality of a 'normal life' that he seems to crave for, and somehow they have managed to place this character conflict at the centre of the gaming experience which makes it a tough game to play.

    That is the reason its not fun to play, it's not supposed to be - its supposed to be a cold and sombre reflection of the life of a professional killer and as such is genius.

    just to add that because it isn't 'fun' doesn't mean its not compelling. For a series the has been criticised for glorifying violence it takes a brave step and makes the violence anything but glamourous. It's not fun to kill people in real life, why does it have to be fun in video games?, why can't games invoke different emotions?
    Edited by 1 at 09/12/08 @ 17:51

  • kinky_mong #31 3 years ago

    That is the reason its not fun to play, it's not supposed to be

    Brilliant. Just brilliant.

  • miiiguel #32 3 years ago

    Well, I did have fun. I'm a nihilist though, so I kinda identified myself with Niko.

  • ronuds #33 3 years ago

    I think GTAIV is deserving of praise. It's probably one of the most realistic atmospheres I've ever experience in a game - not to mention the gameplay itself isn't too shabby.

  • stevetuck #34 3 years ago

    GTA Bore.. why did i spend £40 on this game :(

  • Inquisitor #35 3 years ago

    I hardly think Dead Space is a controversial inclusion. The only controversial thing about Dead Space was the Eurogamer score, criminally low...
    :p

  • bad09 #36 3 years ago

    GTA top of the pile - and rightly so.

    / pokes tongue out at the haters

    Dead Space isn't controversial EG, it's amazing and should be in there I really don't get your review of it TBH. I'm surprised SW:FU is in there though, it's pretty bad, from what I've played so far.

    Also, Rockband over the likes of MK Wii, MGS4, WIpEout HD, Siren, Fallout 3? REALLY?? I guess gamers are all wannabe rockstars these days :)

  • Tweakmonkey #37 3 years ago

    RB should be on the 2007 list instead.

  • Super_Zee #38 3 years ago

    Heh, awful list. Terrible.

  • spudsbuckley #39 3 years ago

    Saints Row 2 was better than GTA 4 for a start, MGS 4 should have been there, as well as GoW2, Left 4 Dead, Fable 2, WAR and WoTLK to name a few.

    This list is aimed and the trendy-Mypace-'The' band listening-too cool for the room-types who are a relatively new section of gaming.

    Most actual gamers would have a very different list.

    /is actual gamer-too uncool for the room-type

  • Barry619 #40 3 years ago

    Any Top 10 list that doesn't firmly state 1) Fallout 3 at the top doesn't deserve to be read any futher.

  • Vortex808 #41 3 years ago

    No Fallout3??? No Left4Dead? Those are glaring ommissions. When was this list compiled? Although Gears2 and LBP made it, so it can't have been that early.

  • David_Snakes #42 3 years ago

    That's an interesting viewpoint, paulf. Movies like The Godfather and Taxi Driver aren't necessarily "fun" to watch, why are they so highly acclaimed? Games can do more than entertain; a pity the masses of fucking morons can't see that.

  • GiarcYekrub #43 3 years ago

    I'd agree with GTA4 being top if it wasn't for the fooking annoying way multiplayer Races are selected... leaving it to the legions of 12 year old host who wants to play Stars In Your Eyes in supercars constantly is NOT a good idea let me wait for people who want to free race/cannon ball run/one of the other 28 races they don't pick to play

  • DjWhizzkidd #44 3 years ago

    Dead Space getting 7 out of 10 is a war crime in my books. Its worst than genocide. Especially considering Fable 2 got 10 out of 10. That's like saying Hitler is nice because he didn't kill as many as Stalin. Or was it the other way round? Oh I don't know. Stop asking me questions.

  • WillyWanka #45 3 years ago

    "Isn't Braid a fairly standard platformer with the clever addition of the time mechanism, but most importantly done beautifully? "

    Yes that's part of the appeal. But for me the greatest part of the game is it's story: the melancholy atmosphere went down well for me and after the amazing end I felt genuinely moved. This, coupled with the ingenious puzzling, make this my GOTY

    /edit: to reduce the pretentious fuckwittery as much as possible
    Edited by 1 at 09/12/08 @ 23:04

  • butler` #46 3 years ago

    Awful mainstream drivel.

    I'm surprised they even NOTICED Braid tbh...

  • dr_faulk #47 3 years ago

    GTAIV > Braid?

    Time = Fail

  • spookyzombie #48 3 years ago

    Was going to comment about EG's Dead Space line, but it seems many others have already done that.

  • Darren #49 3 years ago

    I didn't like Braid at alll... it certainly isn't in my top ten games of 2008 not would Star Wars: The Force Unleashed or Gears of War 2 for that matter. Mine would include GTA IV, Metal Gear Solid 4, MLB 08: The Show, Fallout 3, Banjo-Kazooie XBLA, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts and Midnight Club LA just off the top of my head.

  • jamespo #50 3 years ago

    Wii Fit in the top 10... I don't think so

  • realworld666 Verified Lead Programmer, Fuzzy-Frog Games #51 3 years ago

    Wheres Haze!?

  • Scimarad #52 3 years ago

    "..trailed by two controversial inclusions.."

    Hold on! Controversial because they didn't agree with you lot? Not that I'm saying they deserve to be there...

  • Darren #53 3 years ago

    @realworld666 - Where's Haze? In the most bitterly disappointing games of 2008 I'd hope!!! ;)

  • Maximilian #54 3 years ago

    The only thing contraversial here about Dead Space is EG's review. No way was that game a 7/10. That score completely misrepresents a brilliant game. More of an 9 in my view. I really loved it. Reminded me an awful lot of System Shock.

  • muscleblade #55 3 years ago

    The list was ok but they havent played L4D i presume. Braid should beat GTAIV too.
    1. L4D
    2. Braid
    3. Gears2
    4. LBP
    5. Dead Space
    6. GTAIV
    7. MGS4
    8. NG2
    9. SSF2THDR
    10.Fable 2

    I actually would have put SW:TFU on 11.

  • hammerV1 #56 3 years ago

    GTA best game of 2008! Have a laugh, Saints Row 2 was a better overall game then that monotinus garbage.

  • Widge #57 3 years ago

    Saints Row is a load of bum sneeze

  • muscleblade #58 3 years ago

    Darren wrote: I didn't like Braid at alll...

    Have you played the full game or just the demo? Have you actually solved a puzzle piece. If not your opinion isnt valuable imo.

    No offense but demos isnt always enough to form an opinion. In Braids case its definently not.

  • El-Dev #59 3 years ago

    GTA 4 at number 1, that's definately a pick based on hype and sales over substance.

    They should have just called it GTA HD as it was the same old missions with a face-lift and shit car control.

  • UncleLou #60 3 years ago

    Eh? Driving physics are approximately a gazillion times more fun than in the previous GTA games.

  • anomagnus #61 3 years ago

    well, finally LBP breaks a top ten list

    LBP and SPORE = the two most over rated, over hyped games of all time

  • BobsUncle #62 3 years ago

    That list reads like "Games we think might make us look cool and fasionable".

  • Collymilad #63 3 years ago

    "Predictably, and justifiably, Gears of War 2 was there at five, trailed by two controversial inclusions: Dead Space and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Both received 7/10 here on Eurogamer, you may remember."

    Hah, i love the way EG thinks that it's controversial because it disagreed with their review score.

    Force unleashed shouldn't be on there, but Dead Space should - if only for the fact every game could learn something about production value (and most importantly, keeping the player IN the game) from it. It also deserved a 9/10 a not the total MISS of a 7/10 it got on here.

    I agre with EG on most games, but every so often you guys go wildly off the mark either way (score a crap game really high or score a great game relatively low) in my opinion.

  • BonzoBanana #64 3 years ago

    I personally think the voting of top games would be better if people could only select one game and it would be the game they have most played in 2008. I think that would be more accurate because I think people's votes get less accurate as they go down a list. I always struggle a little bit to place games later in a list but usually know my favourite game straight off. I also think most played is better than favourite as most played is really about what game you really enjoyed. It does weight the result slightly in favour of longer lasting games, i.e. games with greater value but then I think those games are better and if a shorter game has excellent replay value then it will make the list anyway.

  • gunark #65 3 years ago

    " Wheres Haze!? "

    I read that as Where's Hazel? and was hoping for a gritty next-gen realisation of the 1970's Terry Venables Police drama with a fully 3D Nicolas Ball. I also await it.