Welcome all to the long-awaited, highly anticipated Cary’s Best Video Games of 2008 Awards Show! I’m your host, Cary, of course, and we’re going to look at games I played and reviewed in 2008 that I enjoyed the most. So without further ado, let’s begin!

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. And maybe a bit unfair. Just a warning.

MOST DISAPPOINTING GAME

Mr. Driller Online (Xbox 360)
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. Not even when they put it on the Namco Museum Virtual Arcade. 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.

Runners 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.

Braid (Xbox 360)
It’s a nifty 2-D platform puzzler with pretty creative noggin-stumping time-based puzzles. But I really don’t think it was worth 1500 Microsoft points.

WEIRDEST GAME

Wii Music (Wii)
It’s a music game, but not really a game at all. There are no goals and objectives, and you can’t lose, even if you play badly. But I think Wii Music served a different purpose. Rather than being about rote memorization about exact rhythms, Wii Music focuses on the fun of performing music in a band. As the in-game conductor/host says, there’s no right or wrong way to play music. And he’s right! It’s almost educational, too, teaching basic rhythm, tone, and other musical concepts. Because it’s such a different kind of music game, Wii Music gets the award for weirdest game. Shame it didn’t do so well, I thought it was pretty neat. I’d also give it the best All Ages game, if I had such a category.

Runners Up:

Personal Trainer: Cooking (DS)
Another non-game, this one’s really an interactive DS cookbook. I got mine on a Black Friday sale for only five bucks! That’s cheaper than a regular cookbook! There are a few hundred recipes to try, and lists of materials and ingredients for each one. When you’re ready to cook, a virtual chef will read off the steps for you, and you can speak to have him repeat or go onto the next step. One of the recipes I want to try is Welsh Rarebit. It’s a fancy name for a grilled cheese sandwich, but as a fan of early 1900’s comic strip artist Winsor McKay (Little Nemo), I want to try the food that was in the title of another of his strips: Dreams of a Rarebit Fiend. I’m surprised Nintendo brought this game to the US (it was Cooking Navi in Japan). That’s why it’s so weird.

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.

Ninjatown (DS)
It’s a real time strategy “tower defense” game, but what’s weird about it is that it’s so adorably cute. You control an army of cute little ninjas and defend their ninja star cookies from cute little demons. It’s a good game for younger players, too.

Animal Crossing: City Folk (Wii)
Since I can’t classify this game anywhere else, I put it in the weird game category. I can’t give it any awards because it’s a little too much like the other games. But I’m still playing it, so it’s still pretty good.

BEST POINT AND CLICK ADVENTURE

It warms my heart that I can even HAVE a point and click adventure category this year. And better yet, there are THREE games in this category. But the best one is:

Sam & Max: Season One (Wii)
I know this game’s been on the PC for more than a year now, but it’s new on the Wii, and new for me since that’s where I played it! Sam & Max is an underground comic book filled with irreverent humor that was also a Saturday morning cartoon and older PC point and click adventure back in the day. Sam is a suit-wearing detective dog and Max is his hyperkinetic rabbit thing. Together they are the Freelance Police and take on the strangest cases ever. The new point and click adventure is in small ‘episodes’ that take about 3 hours to beat each, and they all combine together for one big story. The Wii version has all the episodes from the PC. The Sam & Max game is great because it’s just SO funny! The humor really makes the game. You just have to play it!

Runners Up:

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (DS)
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!

Strong Bad’s Cool Game For Attractive People (Wii and PC)
It’s very similar to the Sam & Max game (because it was made by the same people, TellTale Games). It came in episodes and had great humor. Even though it was based on the Homestar Runner Web cartoon, you didn’t have to be a fan of it to have fun with the game. Reviewers said that it would go over people’s heads if they didn’t know about the Web carton. Well I don’t watch Homestar Runner and I got the game’s humor just fine! I played the first episode but didn’t buy any of the others because those Wii Points do add up! And then there’s the storage space problem. I hope that someday, TellTale will put all the Strong Bad episodes on a Wii disc like what they did with Sam & Max.

If I had to give an honorary award for coolest up and coming video game company, I would give it to TellTale games for bringing back cool point and click adventure games in the recent years. I can’t wait until their next project: Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures!

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.

Mario Super Sluggers (Wii)
It’s nearly the same as the GameCube Mario baseball game, but pitching and batting with the remote is pretty fun. Plus it’s made by Namco, who has had lots of baseball experience with their Family Stadium series (the first one was brought to the US NES as RBI Baseball).

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. 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.

Runner Up:

Bokura no TV Games Kentei (DS)
It’s a bunch of mini-games based on Famicom versions of Namco arcade classics. It’s pretty fun, but the language barrier is a little harder since you have to figure out what to do.

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. Sorry folks, no Mega Man 9 here. I liked the IDEA of a new 8-bit Mega Man, but the level design was horrible.

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.

Galaga Legions (Xbox 360)
Made by the same folks who did Pac-Man: Championship Edition, Legions doesn’t play EXACTLY like Galaga but it is a pretty fun and creative (yet hard) shooter.

Namco Museum: Virtual Arcade (Xbox 360)
It’s cool to have so many Namco classics on one disc, but they didn’t utilize the capabilities of the 360 very much with this game. Only get it if you don’t have Namco’s Live titles already.

BEST 3-D ADVENTURE

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (Xbox 360)
It’s not the 3-D platformer I was hoping for. More like Banjo Racing, really. BUT, building your own vehicles to solve the puzzles, problems, and missions was VERY creative and almost educational. Rare CAN make a good game when they want to!

Runners Up:
LEGO Indiana Jones (Xbox 360)
The LEGO games are good, simple, fun. But wonky controls and camera angles, plus buggy and clunky gameplay have always been a hindrance.

LEGO Batman (Xbox 360)
It’s a bit better than LEGO Indy, mostly because the game is longer since you can play as the Batman villains. But like other LEGO games, there are lots of bugs and other problems.

Okami (Wii)
I debated whether or not to put it up here at all. One on hand, it’s a WAY better game than the LEGO titles. 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.

BEST 2-D ADVENTURE

Wario Land: Shake It (Wii)
You know, there really wasn’t a whole lot of good 2-D games this past year, unfortunately. Wario’s newest game wasn’t as good or creative as some of his past titles on the portable systems, but it was still a fun 2-D romp with FANTASTIC hand-drawn animation. And Capt. Syrup was back in it, so that was cool.

Runners Up:

Castle Crashers (Xbox 360)
This was a fantastic multiplayer 2-D beat ‘em up in the style of classics like TMNT. I can’t recommend it much, though, because it was so buggy. Did they ever make a patch for it?

Kirby Super Star Ultra (DS)
This probably would’ve won the best 2-D adventure award had it not been just a remake of an older game. But Kirby Super Star is one of the finest Kirby games out there, and I highly recommend it. Kirby is way cooler than Mario!

BEST RPG

Tales of Vesperia (Xbox 360)
It’s pretty much just like the other Tales games, but the multiplayer battles are still as fun as always. It had some pretty good anime cartoon graphics, too. I only wish I had enough time to beat the darn thing. RPGs nowadays are just way too long and drawn out.

Runners Up:

Chrono Trigger (DS)
Like Kirby Super Star Ultra, Chrono Trigger would’ve won the Best RPG award if it hadn’t been a port of an older game. When I showed this DS version to my little brothers during Christmas, they said, “I know what I’m spending my GameStop gift card you gave me on!”

Final Fantasy 4 (DS)
Like Chrono Trigger, FF4 is one of my favorite RPGs. This 3-D remake is pretty spiffy, but I don’t like how hard and unbalanced they ‘redid’ the bosses. I liked the GBA FF4 port better.

Rune Factory 2 (DS)
This one was a surprise. I didn’t expect to like this one so much. Normally I don’t like Harvest Moon games, but put in dungeons and action packed battles and I’ll enjoy it, I guess.

I wish I had more time to play RPGs. There were many more that came out in 2008 that I wanted to try, but didn’t. Tales of Symphonia 2, Dragon Quest 4, yes, even Sonic Chronicles. But you can’t play ‘em all, I guess!

BEST FIGHTING GAME

Soul Calibur 4 (360 and PS3)
Normally I hate fighting games. I’m lucky if I can get Ryu to poop out a fireball. But I’ve always liked the Soul Calibur games because I can just mash buttons and do cool moves. But it still has deep gameplay if you’re a pro. Soul Calibur 4 has some of the best graphics I’ve ever seen, a really fun and easy character creation mode, and online play isn’t too shabby either (aside from a little lag from time to time). Sure the Star Wars characters made no sense, but who cares? It’s fun. My favorite characters are Nightmare and Cassandra.

There’s actually another fighting game that I really liked in 2008, but it got an even bigger award so I left it out of this category.

And now, it’s time for Cary’s Favorite Game of 2008:

(Taiko drum roll, please…)

BEST GAME OF THE YEAR

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.

More than any other game this year, I’ve found that my friends and family come back to playing Brawl after all this time. And I’ve read lots of great stories about kids and parents playing this game together. So that’s why I’m giving it the best award for 2008. Not a very original or unique choice, but oh well. I just really like the game (Melee was my second favorite GameCube game, right after Animal Crossing).

And that’s all I’ve got. In the comments section, I’d love to read your remarks on three things:

1. What were YOUR favorite games in 2008?
2. What do you think of my choices? Spot on or am I off my rocker?
3. This is just a fun ‘use your imagination’ game. What if I really had my own games award show on TV? What do you think it would be like? What guest stars do you think I should have? Let me know, it’s fun! –Cary

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