Metacritic’s top 10 games of 2008
Friday, December 26th, 2008 at 1:42am by Blake
According to the collective group of video game critics, these are the best games of 2008:
- Grand Theft Auto IV (98 — 360, 98 — PS3)
- LittleBigPlanet (95 — PS3)
- Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (94 — PS3)
- BioShock (94 — PS3) and Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (94 — PS2)
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl (93 — Wii) and Gears of War 2 (93 — 360)
- Chrono Trigger (93 — DS) and Braid (93 — 360)
- World of Goo (94 — Wii, 91 — PC / AVERAGE: 92.5)
- Fallout 3 (93 — 360, 92 — PS3, 92 — PC / AVERAGE: 92) and Galactic Civilizations II: Twilight of the Armor (92 — PC)
- Rock Band 2 (92 — 360, 91 — PS3 / AVERAGE: 91.5)
- God of War: Chains of Olympus (91 — PSP) and World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (91 — PC)
My thoughts: GTA IV is good (but I couldn’t play it past 20 hours for becoming monotonous), LPB is cute but boring, MGS4 is archaic, Bioshock is a good time, Brawl is fun but overrated (I’d rather play Mario Kart), Gears of War 2′s story makes me blush with embarrasment, I didn’t play Chrono Trigger, Braid is fun but overrated, World of Goo is tops (!), I didn’t play Fallout 3 but Jack gushes over it, Rock Band 2 is “fully awesome” (can you name the movie?), Chains of Olympus isn’t near as good as God of War 2, and I don’t play WoW. You?
December 26th, 2008 at 3:43 am
MGS4=archaic??? fail.
December 26th, 2008 at 7:52 am
I do agree with you Jake, the top 5 should be called “Overrated top 5 of 2008″… I don’t see PES 08 for the Wii the best football game around by far, in 2005, Pro Evolution Soccer 5 for the PS2 got 92%, this game is way better than PES 2005, so it should have been rated at least 95%, but I’m talking logic here, not the same thing as whiny pseudo-journalists fanboys opinions…
December 26th, 2008 at 8:36 am
I will never /ever/ understand the ridiculous ratings of GTA4… yes it’s a decent game, the animation and some scenarios really impressed me, BUT after a few hours the bland/stupid AI and repetitive missions really wear thin and you start to notice gameplay/engine flaws everywhere. Even while it’s still fun, it’s not even close to deserving the top spot on any GOTY list.
December 26th, 2008 at 9:20 am
True Reynard… Wii Music is way deeper than GTA4, but I guess teenagers feel emasculated when playing anything else than “Generic Bloody Violent Game 7″, being seen playing Wii Music kills all your “coolness”, one must be gay or worse European to play intelligent creative games, I forgot Miyamoto must be some kind of idiot…
(going back playing World of Goo…)
December 26th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Here we go….anyone who likes GTA4 over such a masterpiece as Wii Music must be some blood crazy ,slave to the hype teenager. No, it couldn’t possibly that *GASP* you actually think GTA4 is a better gaming experience than Wii Music and *GASP* actually enjoy it more.
I swear some of you anti-GTA IV people are becoming as cliched and predictable as people who love it too much.
December 26th, 2008 at 10:21 am
i really like GTA4. i got sucked back into it recently and it’s really relaxing; watching the narrative unfold with its humor and twists and the level of interaction captures me a lot more than any story miyamoto has put out in 10 years.
the list is ok, but my preferences are focussed in different directions. i generally prefer games with online play or story driven play, so i’d prob give my list as:
- W@W or Gears2
- Fallout 3
- GTA4
and then stick in Left 4 Dead somewhere.
December 26th, 2008 at 10:45 am
LPB is cute but boring, MGS4 is archaic, Bioshock is a good time, Brawl is fun but overrated (I’d rather play Mario Kart)
You just like pissing people off, don’t you?
December 26th, 2008 at 11:19 am
I agree Blake.
This could have an alternate title too:
“Video Game Journalists Continue to Showcase Irrelevancy in Wake of Expanding Gaming Industry Audience”
Now, this isn’t me saying these games listed above are bad, not at all (Blake’s not lying about me and Fallout 3). It’s just that gaming writers today seem perfectly content reviewing the same types of games and giving them the same predictable kinds of scores. There’s literally zero effort to take new types of games seriously right now in the gaming press, most likely due to a combination of pride and the type of person who’s writing reviews today.
Also, even with Fallout 3, I got bored after about the 20-25 hour mark, and I’m “stuck” at level 15 due to the fact that I grew tired of fighting the same Super Mutants and Raiders over and over again in the brown and green world of the apocalyptic near-future. Even the amazing “story” reviewers bust a nut over wasn’t enough to keep me on board.
It doesn’t really matter anymore, though. As I said above, the word “irrelevant” is going to become more and more a part of the discussion. Why? Mario Kart Wii is a good example, as is any other evergreen title for any system. These games review poorly or above average, and yet the word of mouth campaign created by satisfied customers means they sell for months on end.
Current game: The empty calorie fest, but enjoyable, Wario Land: Shake It!
December 26th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
life must be boring for a guy who dosn’t like any game
December 26th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Jack- what games aren’t being taken seriously? nontraditional games? like braid and portal and world of goo? or are you just complaining that the critics don’t share your precise taste?
games being ‘evergreen’ doesn’t mean they’re the best games out there. i’ve seen The Rock many more times than The Godfather, but I don’t consider it a better movie. Is Rocky Horror Picture Show a 4 star movie because it’s ‘evergreen’? Nope.
this feels like you’re just trying to create excuses for weaker scores for wii games by attacking the reviewers and implying strange motives to their reviews. whereas I think it’s reasonable to say that mkartwii was dumbed down for the masses.
December 26th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
My precise taste? As in the Left 4 Dead marathons I’ve been playing in the past few weeks, and the 20 hours of Fallout 3 I enjoyed before that? Which I noted in my comment and which were conveniently ignored in yours. But no surprise there.
Or maybe you were referring to the Wario or the de Blob games I got for Xmas? Or the Brain Age I play on the road? Or maybe it’s Dead Space you were meant, which I also enjoy (hell, I even downloaded the demo). Please, show me where in my “precise taste” there’s this magic Achilles Heel that reveals or proves I have a secret vendetta against anything.
Just a hunch, but before you take the easy route and try to dismiss my relatively observant and historically supported comment with some lowest common denominator labeling, get to know a guy first.
And don’t presume to know mine or anybody else’s “taste” just because attacking it makes sense in the echo chamber of the fleeting hardcore era. It’s a bigger world now, which was my point.
December 26th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
no really though- which games aren’t being taken seriously?
December 26th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
GTAIV is GTAIII but longer.
MGS4 is not a game.
LBP is a good idea but you cant post licensed content which is fail.
Brawl was everything it should have been. Never got boring. Still play it.
Chrono Trigger earns the ZERO EFFORT AWARD
Gears 2 wasn’t good but i didnt like gears 1 either.
December 26th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Oh and Bioshock was just a shitty version of System Shock 2.
December 26th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
[...] I added it the Deron’s Top Ten Foods List at my mom’s kitchen. If only they made ice Metacritic’s top 10 games of 2008 – infendo.com 12/26/2008 According to the collective group of video game critics, these are the [...]
December 26th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
I have always, always considered GTA the worst series ever.
BioShock, on the other hand, absolutely blew me away. It belongs in the upper-echilon of gaming, one of the industry’s best recent achievements.
In general, though, I’d say the list is pretty accurate. But I still think World of Goo is criminally overrated. Terrific game, yes, but still a $10 downloadable puzzle. Just not the type of game I’d place in such high regard, that’s all, for a multitude of reasons.
December 26th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Oops. Replace “echilon” with “echelon,” thanks.
December 26th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Never have I been so bored with these cream of the crop selections. Way too much hype this gen. Waaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyy too much.
gojiguy I’m right with you on that man… the music along crushes it… Hey but most people here wouldn’t know about that.
It’s no wonder you guys playing the HD console are so bitter. There are enough good games from the past to keep you going for a while if you are actually good at playing console games. Yet they are not HD too bad for you guys huh? Worst year in gaming? It’s like the saturn years all over again… Last time that happen some one died the next gen after that.
I hope more studios have a factor 5 and midway poster on their wall with a sharpy declaring we won’t be like these guys even if EA is paying to pub our game.
Hey but 09 is going to be a golden year watch! Direct x 11 is sweet…
December 26th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
“I didn’t play Chrono Trigger”
What????? That effectively nullifies all of your other opinions from being valid. Rectify that situation immediately!!! It’s only one of the best RPG’s ever made… (:
December 27th, 2008 at 12:16 am
Wow, Blake, complain much?
I don’t agree with the list, but let’s not be bashing everything endlessly.
December 27th, 2008 at 12:21 am
GTA are overrated by a generation that consumes trash food, trash music, and trash Hollywood flicks..
Brawl was and is a great game (despite useless online)..
World Of Goo deserves to be there because the artistic effort by 2 GUYS (are you listening big ass corp EA?)
But i am with Jack, too many lazy journalist that want to make “hardcore” audience feel better about themselves and their pity and dark lives..
Who really want to go back when games were only a niche market?
BTW, what is all this crap about Wii Music.. i love the game, i have fun with it..
im not an artis or a musician, but i really enjoy making arrangements..
Here two Wii Music videos that i made :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ9K3mpj6mw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pex0NFn5qI0&
December 27th, 2008 at 1:40 am
While I agree that GTA4 is very overrated as you say Blake, I can’t help but to defend LittleBigPlanet and MGS4. LBP may not be fun to some people (which is understandable), I found it to be a charming and entertaining experience. The level creations keep longevity to the game as new levels will pop up day after day. As for Metal Gear Solid 4, sure there were long ass cutscenes, but it furthured the “epicness” of the game. Plus, it combined two of the greatest forms of entertainment in one disk: cinematics and gameplay. Sorry for sounding like a sony fanboy, I try not to be biased.
December 27th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
XJGunz MGS4′s cut scenes where a waste most of the time. It was like watching B roll that should have been cut. It’s was an ok game and did have it’s high points.
Too much of gaming is about watching rather than interacting… Most of the games on the HD system have players doing combos just by pressing buttons or pressing the same button over and over…
Most FPS and Shooter just rely on online play period. Gamers these days are settling and the media is like a group of cheerleaders cheer for a team that is losing badly but in style. We have the HD gen which is currently the Generation of the NEO-GEO-3DO-like consoles. Yet the neo-geo had more games I wanted to play.
Too many times this year we have been talking about what is wrong while gamers, game media, and devs, with their publishers ignored it all. They all rail against the Wii, yet the Wii isn’t the reason revenue fell. Quality of games in HD did not justify the price. Studios closed because of it.
The funny thing is Gaming is recession proof. You just have to make real console games and not PC games. I mean it’s like all of the hardcore companies forgot what we like? Weird but it’s true…. Well we just need more games like
monster hunter3, G,
Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom
Madworld
Conduit
SIN and Punishment2
No more heros2
Dragon quest NEXT
I mean seriously the line up is looking really strong right now. There is a lot of good gaming time on that list. This is stuff I will keep playing even if I beat them. That’s not even including what is coming on the VC. I’m sure I forgot some.
I mean yes lots of stuff is coming out but as a hardcore gamer you should be use to lots of trash because that’s what is on the leading console and the ones that get the most hype which are the HD consoles. Seriously the biggest news this gen is the fact that lots of HD developers are in the dumps. The fanboys in them did not even want to give nintendo a try and now it is too late. They though the Hardcore would love them similar to AXEL and other rockstars. I’ve never seen video games resemble the music industry so closely than right now. It’s all hype and no real game play for the most part. It’s funny but the HD gamers feel more like an expanded audience to me. Hardcore gamers love gaming… the cane beating grandmother where the ones talking about how a game was bad for gamers. Now they are playing them… the last group to get is the retarded frat types and the guys calling them selves console gamers but really are PC players.
December 27th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
hey- can anyone go ahead and name a nontraditional (or evergreen) game that was not taken seriously?
all I’ve heard is Mario Kart wii, in an assertion without support that also does not address the legitimate complaints of too much luck and dumbed down controls (esp. re. power slides). also, it got an 82 on metacritic. 82 is not a game taken seriously? really??
we have a list here with 2 nontraditional game listed; and this isn’t evidence that they’re taken seriously?
i’ve also heard that the HD gamers are bitter after a sucky year. this surprised me. Can’t say I know any bitter ‘HD gamers’ and personally thought it was a great year just about every console.
if you don’t care for these games, great. but the argument that the press isn’t taking nontraditional games seriously is seriously lacking support so far.
December 28th, 2008 at 2:18 am
“LBP is cute but boring”??? Whenever I play that game on my friend’s PS3, I can’t help but smile when I play it. Well, I haven’t played it solo yet, so maybe that’s why. Like some other website said, it’s the best Nintendo game not made by Nintendo.
December 28th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
I just know, trolling will drive Infendo’s popularity THROUGH THE ROOF.
December 29th, 2008 at 11:00 am
I have mixed feelings about this list… while half the titles really deserve the high praise and score, some are just “stick to the formula” titles that get a high score for dishing out what is expected.
The most amazing thing is the titles that didn’t make the list because they got inexplicably lower ratings. My personal “best of the year”, Mirror’s Edge, got a measly overall score of 79! I think reviewers just “don’t get it” when it comes to games that break the mold.
But anyway, if what you are looking for is new kinds of gameplay, you have to look into the 70 – 89 scores, and for games that got scores all across the board, from almost 100′s to mediocre 50′s. Those are the games that surprised the critics the most.
December 29th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
I’m just jaded grumpy having seen more games than any human should be exposed to over the last two years.
February 18th, 2009 at 11:44 pm
[...] the rest of this great post here Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and [...]