Can you believe it’s the middle of July and the year’s half over already? The last half of the year is usually when all the big name games come out, and a good majority of those were announced and shown off at this past week’s E3 trade show. So a lot of the games in the first part of the year tend to be forgotten. So in honor of those games released in the first part of the year, I present my “Best Video Games of the Year SO FAR” Awards!

Now, keep in mind that these are MY picks. My opinions only. No other outside polls or anything. So since my tastes in games are a little under the radar sometimes, this list may be a bit weird for some of you. Just a warning. Well, with that out of the way, here are my picks for the year SO FAR.

MOST DISAPPOINTING GAME

Mr. Driller Online (Xbox Live)
Well we’ll start things off with the most disappointing thing I played all year. Mr. Driller Online (or lack thereof). When Namco Bandai first announced they were making a Mr. Driller Online game for Xbox Live, I was all excited. I could play a new Mr. Driller game on my Xbox 360 and play online with friends! Oh yeah.

What we got was a barely passable single player experience, and a buggy online mode that didn’t work. You could never find people to play online with, and if you did, the lag time was so bad it made the game unplayable. Namco later said they were working on a patch to fix it, but I have yet to see it. If they never fix the problem, then Mr. Driller Online deserves all the bad press it got. Why not just release Mr. Driller Drill Land?

BEST PUZZLE GAME

Cross Words DS (DS)
I’m not sure if it’s Cross Words DS or Cross WorDS, but it’s the one from Nintendo. And I actually don’t own this game either. I first downloaded a demo of it on my DS via the Nintendo Channel on the Wii. Then I showed the demo to my mom, who has a DS of her own (she loves the Bejeweled clone Zoo Keeper). Well, she was still playing that demo version an hour and a half later. So I knew what to get her for Mother’s Day! She STILL plays it regularly, and is only about a third of the way done with all the puzzles. And it was only 20 bucks! It may have no frills or recognizable newspaper names, but it does pack in a lot of fun in a small package. When I see my mom having so much fun with Cross Words DS, I know it deserves this award.

Runner Up:

Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS)
Prof. Layton had a lot of good things going for it. Fun European styled cartoon characters, an interesting mystery plot, and neat touch screen based puzzlers. But there were two things that kept it from winning the Best Puzzle Game award. One, there were too many math problems. And I hate math! And two, a lot of times it felt like you could’ve saved money and bought a puzzle book instead. But it’s still a good game if you like to use your head a lot.

WEIRDEST GAME

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (DS)
My criteria for weirdest game is a little…well, weird. Not only does the game have to be weird, it also has to be fun. And the most fun weird game SO FAR is Apollo Justice. Even though there have been three Ace Attorney games already, I still find a game about being a lawyer to be weird! And the newest game was really fun, with great characters and plot. The Ace Attorney games are some of the best on the DS, so if you haven’t tried ‘em yet, do so! I can’t wait for the not yet announced Miles Edgeworth game!

Runners Up:

Patapon (PSP)
Well it’s a music rhythm game where you lead cute little eyeball guys into battle and give commands with different drums. It didn’t win the award because I got a little tired of it after a while, and making new troops was a little cumbersome. But it’s certainly a weird and creative game. And anyone who plays it will have “Pata-Pata-Pata-Pon” ingrained in their brain!

Furu Furu Park (Wii)
It’s a bunch of Wii remote controlled mini-games (like the Wii needs more of those). But many of those mini-games were based on old Taito classics so it at least had that Taito arcade charm. But it still felt like shovelware in the end. But at least it was only 20 bucks.

BEST SPORTS GAME

We Ski (Wii)
This game came out at the same time as Wii Fit, riding on its coattails with balance board functionality. But We Ski controls so well you don’t even NEED the balance board! It’s just as fun with the remote and nunchuck. It’s one of the only third party Wii games that gets the motion controls right. Namco also made it feel like you were actually at a ski resort, and they also got the feel and theme of the Wii’s idea of family friendly games everyone can play. Plus, even though We Ski isn’t a very deep game, it’s fun just to mess around. It’s the best Wii sports games since, well, Wii Sports. And you can get Taiko, Mr. Driller, and Klonoa skis. How cool is that?

Runners Up:

Sega Superstars Tennis (Xbox 360)
It’s a simple, arcade version of Virtua Tennis with Sega characters in it. Not much to it, but I still had fun with it and enjoyed playing online with some friends a few times. It had some neat old Sega characters and courts like Alex Kidd and the dwarf from Golden Axe. And Ulala. Any game with Ulala in it can’t be ALL bad, right?

Super Dodgeball Brawlers (DS)
Before Wii Sports, Super Dodge Ball on the NES and GBA was my favorite sports game. The DS version is fun, but there’s not really much to it. Having items to throw was a nice new touch. But I think I prefer the GBA version just a tiny bit better. Definitely one to get once the price goes down. You know what sports DS game I’d like to play? The upcoming New Track & Field from Konami. It even has classic playable characters from games like Frogger, Silent Hill, Rumble Roses, and Sparkster!

BEST RACING GAME

Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
Mario Kart Wii wins by default, really. It’s the only new racing game I played this year so far. Even though the computer AI with the blue shells is totally unbalanced, the tracks are fun to race on and the online modes are at least a LITTLE better than in Smash Bros. Brawl. The new motorcycles were a nice change and Toad is still the best. It’s not saying much, but I did like Mario Kart Wii more than Double Dash (my least favorite Mario Kart game).

BEST IMPORT GAME

Meccha! Taiko no Tatsujin DS: 7tsu no Shima no Daibouken (DS)
Those who know me know I love the Taiko Drum Master games. The Japan only DS sequel does a good job recreating the feel of the full game, considering. But best of all, the language barrier is not very steep at all. I could navigate menus, play songs, and even beat Story Mode without knowing a lick of Japanese. I just imported Bokura no TV Games Kentei for the DS recently. Haven’t got a chance to play it yet, but it’s a Wario Ware style collection of Namco games. Hope it’s import friendly, too! Glad I didn’t import Game Center CX. It’s coming to the US as Retro Game Challenge.

BEST ARCADE GAME COMPILATION/UPDATE

Arkanoid DS (DS)
Given the choice, most people would probably pick Space Invaders Extreme over Arkanoid DS. But I dunno, I think I liked Arkanoid better. It felt more accessible (and easier) to me. And I loved all the Taito references. Heck, I liked it so much that I didn’t mind that the US version didn’t work with my import paddle controller. And the music was awesome. So much so that I imported the soundtrack (it was cheap). Plus Arkanoid kind of has a sentimental value to me, as my dad and I used to play it in the arcade and on the NES together. But Arkanoid DS has some stiff competition if it wants to win best of the year award. Because later this year we get all sorts of good stuff, like Galaga Legions, Mega Man 9, etc.

Runners Up:

Space Invaders Extreme (DS & PSP)
Even though I liked Arkanoid DS a tiny bit better, there’s still a lot to like about Space Invaders Extreme. They basically took the “Pac-Man: Championship Edition” approach. Same basic gameplay, pumpin’ techno soundtrack, and lots of new invaders. It’s very fun and worth picking up at only 20 bucks. And while you’re at it, consider Arkanoid DS, as it’s only 20 bucks as well.

SNK Arcade Classics vol. 1 (PS2 & PSP)
It’s a nice collection of Neo Geo games that I could never afford to own as a kid. And it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than getting them on the virtual console. Some of my favorites on here include Sengoku, Shock Troopers, and Top Hunter.

New Zealand Story Revolution (DS)
This is how to update a classic arcade game. Keep the same basic idea of the game, right down to the level design of the original, and just add some more forgiving control options and gameplay ideas. And it’s cheap, too.

BEST 3-D ADVENTURE

LEGO Indiana Jones (Xbox 360)
Now, keep in mind that LEGO Indiana Jones in no way deserves this award. It’s a fun game, but like LEGO Star Wars, it’s also buggy and clumsy. But it’s really the only 3-D adventure game I played this year so far. So it wins by default. But by the end of the year, I bet it gets trounced by Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.

Runners Up:

Okami (Wii)
I debated whether or not to put it up here at all. One on hand, it’s a WAY better game than LEGO Indiana Jones. And it was my Game of the Year on the PS2 back in 2005. But that’s just it. It’s not really a new game. And I haven’t felt compelled to buy it on the Wii yet, even though I loved the PS2 version so much. But I’ve kind of gotten over the gimmickiness of the Wii, and I don’t think that motion control would change the way you play it THAT much. Especially since regular controls worked just fine for me. But if you haven’t tried Okami yet, you REALLY need to consider doing so.

You know what? I haven’t really played a noteworthy 2-D adventure this year so far at all. But by the end of the year, there’s going to be a couple I can’t wait to play. One is Wario Land: Shake It. I like the Wario Land games better than most Mario games, really.

BEST FIGHTING GAME

Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
I stink at fighting games, but at least I can do somewhat well with this one. But it’s going to have some stiff competition once Soul Calibur 4 gets released in a week or so! I’m not really going to talk much about Brawl in this category because…

(Taiko drum roll, please…)

BEST GAME OF THE YEAR SO FAR

Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
It may not be that much improved from Melee, and the online modes really sucked, but I had more fun and played this game far longer than any other game on this list. Of course I loved it as a Nintendo fan, and enjoyed all the classic references. And unlocking all the goodies was neat, too. And you know, it had Kirby in it.

And that’s really all I have to say about that. What were YOUR favorite games of this year SO FAR?

Cary’s Quick E3 Wrap Up
I’ll conclude first with a quick round up of my E3 impressions. Sony didn’t have anything of interest to me. But I’m definitely looking forward to Loco Roco 2 on the PSP (and perhaps Patapon 2 as well). Nintendo’s presentation was also disappointing, but there were three things that caught my eye. Everyone said it was dumb, but I want to give Wii Music a try anyway because I like music and bands and stuff. And if Wii Sports Resort is as good as Wii Sports was, that’ll be fun, too. And finally, ANIMAL FREAKING CROSSING: CITY FOLK!!! I love Animal Crossing.

Microsoft had the most interesting things to me, like Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, and Viva Piñata 2. And their Xbox Live games such as Galaga Legions, Mega Man 9, Portal: Still Alive, and the original Banjo-Kazooie. But you know what? Even though this year’s E3 felt disappointing, there’s still TONS of new games coming out that I’m looking forward to, many of which I didn’t even mention here. And that’s all I care about, really. What was your favorite E3 news & games?

Oh yeah, one last thing. I’m going to PAX this year. Later! –Cary

Tags: Misc