2009 Game(s) of the Year

2009 was better than 2008 from start to finish (except for the Wii), and if so many games weren't delayed until early 2010, it might have been one of the best years to date. I've extended my list to 15 games, because their were half again as many deserving games as last year.

15. Dragon Age: Origins-a great start for a new franchise.

14. Left 4 Dead 2-greatly improved from the original.

13. Resident Evil 5- I wish it was still scary, but it added campaign co-op

12. Street Fighter 4-EXACTLY what all of us SF2 fans wanted

11. Halo 3: ODST-best Halo campaign yet with Firefight and all Halo 3 multiplayer maps.

10. Shadow Complex-Super Metroid for the 21st Century, the best digital game I've played yet.

9. InFamous-best control yet for an open world game with platforming elements. I want the sequel yesterday.

8. Batman: Arkham Asylum-just what a Batman game should be, and greatly raised the bar for all comic-based games

7. Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time-best game I've played in the series. Non-stop fun from start to finish

6. Assassin's Creed 2-Improved on the original in nearly every way.

5. Borderlands-the pacing was probably a bit slow and the ending sucked, but this started the shooter/looter genre

4. Killzone 2-Fantastically intense campaign (wish it had co-op!) and great multiplayer. Controls are heavy, but they fit the game well

3. Brutal Legend-Tim Schafer+Heavy Metal+Action Adventure/RTS=Awesome

2. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves-Almost unfair that it shared the year with MW2. Possibly the best cinematic-based action/adventure yet and very good multiplayer.

1. Modern Warfare 2-Head and shoulders above anything else. Truly did the almost impossible: it made COD4 obsolete.

Notes: 2009 also saw my favorite DLC so far (Big Surf Island for Burnout Paradise). Also, Flower was outstanding, but is more of an interactive experience than an actual game.