So, here we are - its December of 2008, and its time for a yearly ritual in video games - your very own top 10 list. I say ritual because its almost customary practice for every magazine, newspaper and blog to churn out a end-of-year awards piece, or a top 10 list, and the practice is increasingly becoming tough because as video games expand, both in numbers and in diversity, the top 10 list is becoming less of a ’these are the 10 games you should buy’ sort-of conusmer guide to a list that really, kind of, exemplifies the kind of gamer you are and the games that attract you.
Of course, this is a good thing, since the nearly identical, universal opinion of a few years back is being replaced by a gaggle of diverse, different opinions, and games journalism is the better for it.
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So, anyways. Top 10 games of 2008 - these will ofcourse cover all genres and platforms, but will restrict itself to games released in India - so sorry Fallout 3, and Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band 2 - which, havent so far seen indian release. There will be, I admit a slight tilt towards PC games - since it does have the largest sort-of install base here in India, but most titles, as of Dcemeber, are multiplatform (excepting a few notable ones, of course), so thats not going to be a glaring bias of any sort.
But, like I said, top 10 lists are, today, purely subjective opinions informed maybe partially by notions of objectivity - so feel free to disagree or agree, and you can always get back to us at playcast@livemint.com
So, at No. 10 - we have a little, free text game called Violet playable at ifcomp.org - i covered this in a previous episode of the Playcast, its a 500 kb text-based game about being stuck in your office on your birthday. Its a bittersweet, beautifully written interactive fiction story, and an example of how to get videogame romance just right.
At No. 9, we have No More Heroes, an action title for the Wii. The Wii has had a pretty challengin year in 2008, with big name titles sort of drying up, and the platform itself being taken over by mediocre mini-game collections and cheap movie tie-ins. Even though its incredibly popular, the lack of titles being released for it means it might gathers dust on the shelves while the other consoles see a healthy release schedule.
Thats not to say, of course, that all is not well in Wii-land - we saw WiiFit, the release of the Wii-Ware channel which has seen some great games, and our no. 9 game for the year - which is No More Heroes. No More Heroes is proof, I think, that the Wii can be a platform for this kind of quirky, off-beat stuff. You play as Travis Touchdown, who stumbles upon a ’beam katana’, which is basically a glorified lightsaber, in an online auction. It had great motion controls, a cool combat system, and some very very nice music.
Okay, we’re going to go a little bit faster now.