What They Play’s Games of ’08
What were the best games of 2008? Well, I got the chance to contribute to the What They Play roundup because I’m a columnist. My picks? OVERALL: Left 4 Dead FAMILY: Boom Blox. But what did the other experts over there pick? Lots of stuff. Here’s the article starting with founder John Davison and then moving on to me! Click it. Come back. Or, click inside and see all the picks and talk about ’em. I know I will!
GamerDad: We all remember that I picked Boom Blox for my Family Game and I picked the team-play terrorfest, Left for Dead.I know, I know, it’s an M-rated zombie game filled with mayhem, monsters, blood, bad language and it’s also an unrelenting game featuring wall-to-wall shooting, bleeding, and killing. Not great for the kids, right? Well, yeah, right – exactly! But it could be. What most critics seem to miss about Left 4 Dead is that if you look beyond the blood, guts, gore, bullets and claws you’ll find the finest example of co-operative gaming this side of Rock Band 2.
Family Game of the Year
Boom Blox
Not because it’s the best game of the year, it’s not – but Boom Blox is the game that has gotten the most play in the shortest amount of time at the Gamerdad household. Every guest plays. Every guest loves it. Every guest has a good chance of winning. And it’s playable by folks from almost every age range.
January 4th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
I will get Boom Blox when it goes down in price. –Cary
January 5th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
I’d vote for GTA 4 as ADULT GAME
&
MarioKart for the family.
January 5th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
I’d go Call of Duty WoW for adults and the only kids game I like is stupidly rated T. Smash Bros BOYeeeeeeeeeeeee
I think Xbox rocked, but Wii i9mpreessed my freiends more. They like sports/.
January 5th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
My adult fave is: Wii Fit. Lost 10 pounds!
My Family Fave is: Mario Kart or Guitar Hero World Tour
January 5th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
My 2 cents……
For the PC:
I wasn’t thrilled with Call of Duty: World at War, it is just CoD4 with a different skin. Fallout 3 as really really good, but could have been better. I really enjoyed it, but was left a little wanting at the end. We will see how it is when I go back and play it again as a “bad” player. Sacred 2 is something I am currently playing and I have to admit, it is a ton of fun. Fast easy Diablo 2-style gameplay, some good writing, snarky comments the characters make, and it is just a lot of fun.
For the Wii, Wii Fit is an excellent title, I just need to find more time to play it. And Lego Indiana Jones is fun (for the DS too). I’m gonna have to pick up Mario Cart and Boom Blox to play with Dylan.
January 6th, 2009 at 4:13 am
I agree, Rich – but personally I had low expectations for CoD:WaW, so even being a decent shooter far exceeded them.
January 6th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
My kids are noodling with Leapster2= thanks GD and I
m thinking about getting a Didj for Mary. She’s 8. Can I just say that I love whattheyplay and I’m glad GamerDad hoooked up with them.
Actually… he should run the whole thing. He knows games, he knows kids, he knows moms…. what was WTP thinking when they hired anyone BUT him? Or for all I know he turned it down. Whatever, I think GD is the best spokesman.
January 6th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
My picks? Glad you asked!
I’m 14 and my Adult pick is GTA4 brotha.
My family pick, we don’t have a Wii, is LittleBigPlanet
January 6th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
I’d [ick Fallout 3 and … Mario Kart. As my pickjs. Wish my picks were featured at famous websites!
January 6th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Uh, I meant I am 24 above. I have two kids. So 14 was a mistype.
January 6th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Good thing you clarified … but sadly 14 seemed reasonable.
January 6th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
reasonable for what? I love this site.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:56 am
It was a joke based on his ‘GTA4 brotha’ comment … he’s been around for a while and hope he took it is the correct spirit. 🙂
As for teens, there are several that hang out here and at the discussion forums, and I think that is a great thing!
January 8th, 2009 at 3:16 am
Family friendly: LittleBigPlanet
Overall: LittleBigPlanet
I love LBP. I haven’t had so much fun with a game for a long time. The level creator and constant updates also means that the game lasts a long time.
And the “HOLY F***ING S**T I JUST SHOT A GUY’S HEAD OFF!!!!!” award goes to:
Fallout 3!
Shooting people’s heads off has never been so entertaining!
Maybe Umm179 could join me now to talk about something completely irrelevant!
I’ve got croup and flu at the same time! It isn’t very nice. At least I can stay at home and decapitate people with bullets while I’m coughing all the time.