The Hidden Blade Assassin's Creed in Depth

Uncharted 2 didn't do much for me. The controls still bug me (I disliked them in the first game) and the plot just didn't feel right to me. I didn't play very far, but I don't see what all the hype is about. I didn't like the first one much either.

Batman: Arkham Asylum was an amazing game in general, but it did suffer in a couple of areas. For an open-world style game, it was surprisingly linear. This really hurt its replayability. Especially the bosses - there was really only one way to defeat each one, meaning you find the pattern and repeat it. There was no variance at all. It can't touch Assassin's Creed in that department. As amazing as BAA was, it's replayability score is very low in my book, which really degrades the overall product.

I was also fairly impressed with Street Fighter IV this year, though I wouldn't nominate it for GOTY. The mechanics were pretty decent but the control options were awful (PS3 and 360 controllers suck for it and arcade sticks were in extremely short supply). And the online was utterly awful.

As much as I loved inFamous, it's controls could have been a little tighter and it should have been a little longer. The city (ie: the game world) was actually very small compared to games like GTAIV. They also really blundered the way they handled the good versus evil bit. However, it's bright spots far outshone it's blemishes and I was seriously impressed. However, I still find Assassin's Creed II to be a better game overall. It just had more to offer.

AC2 was definitely not without faults. In fact, as my huge laundry list of complaints can attest to, the game has more flaws than most games I've played. The flip side is that it also has more great parts than most games I've played, and they definitely outweigh the bad parts.

Overall, I would have to say that the best game released this year was AC2. But I can't mention it without mentioning inFamous, because it was the most surprisingly good game of the year. I was expecting a lot from AC2, but wasn't expecting much from inFamous. I'm very glad that it surprised me like it did.

Gamesradar already voted and here's how it panned out:

1. Batman: Arkham Asylum
2. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
3. Assassins Creed II
4. Left 4 Dead 2
5. Modern Warfare 2
Honorable Mention--Battlefield: 1943

Personally, I'm okay with this, because I really didn't want a PS3 exclusive to win because we'd never hear the end of it from the PS3 fanboys.

That being said, Arkham Asylum is my definate pick. It's the first superhero game I've played since the first Spiderman (the movie) game on the PS2 that didn't tank. And it wasn't just good, it was spectacular. It's kind of funny that in the year of the sequel, the new game on the block wins the award.

Assassins Creed II won the award for "best facelift," and Modern Warfare 2 won the award for the most "Oh Sh*t! Moments." I was generally fine with all the awards except for one.

Afro Samurai didn't win the award for "Best Soundtrack of the Year." They went with some no-name game instead. Now granted Afro Samurai isn't really that popular, but if you've even had a taste of the music in the game, you'll see why I talk about it so much.

Anyway I'm getting off track. Basically I agree with the rankings and believe Batman: Arkham Asylum is the proper winner.

IGN named Assassin's Creed II Xbox 360 Game of the Year. On PlayStation 3 their pick was Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

Gamespot.com declared Afro Samurai the winner of the best original soundtrack. And you're right, I own Afro Samurai, and maybe the game experience wasn't as good as I expected, but I really enjoyed slashing ninjas with such a awesome music.

Dead Space has also taken a prominent role in the gaming community. Frankly I played it and did not finish it. I don't understand the hype, and now DS2 is coming out and it's hitting the front page of gaming mags. Did I miss something spectacular about this game? Should I give it another shot? As for the rest of the games on the top list FLAE posted, I've played none cept AC2 but they are on my queue list to rent as they become available.

Oh I played Fallout 3 too (or tried to) and it was so OBVIOUSLY Bethesda..Oblivion creamed all over this game, I swear. I played Oblivion on the PC, got bored to death with it by level 10. Once I smelled it on Fallout 3, I packed it up and sent it back. Sorry Asaic..just not my thing.

I'm with you on this one. Dead Space was all hype. The gameplay wasn't very fun or intuitive, it was way too easy (even on Hard), it was not at all scary, and the cinematics felt like they were lacking...I dunno, depth? Realism? It just wasn't interesting.

Why are you apologizing to me? I'm not a huge Fallout 3 fan either.

Haha, cuz you recommended it to me as something I might like is all.

Haha Lilk I'm the one that told you to try out Fallout 3

@James: Okay good because I was seriously about to flip a sh*t if no one gave Afro Samurai SOTY.