2008 is over, and has been now for almost three days. Is it sad? Nah, sure the economy hit the dump and many developers went belly up but that does not mean that there were not some great moments in gaming over the year. Sadly, there were also bound to be some disappointments as well. Being now 2009, it seems like the perfect opportunity to reflect on the previous year as it pertains to games. Let's all do that, shall we? I'll start.




The Good
My Wii Library: Sure lots of people like to knock on the Wii as the perpetual source of shovelware (see Target: Terror), but that doesn't mean that there haven't been quite a few diamonds in the rough. I mean, look at No More Heroes. That game is absolutely pure awesome, and it's an exclusive. I mean I liked it so much that it had an unsolicited ad on the site. That's a quality game right there if you ask me. But it's more than No More Heroes. Okami was awesome, even if it was a port. De Blob was probably the biggest breath of fresh air that I've played in a long time, and then there some gems in WiiWare, namely World of Goo. I mean, damn, that game is fun, certainly not my game of the year (No offense to you IGN but DeBlob was better, but still a treat). Surely, for all the flak the Wii gets it does in fact have some gems, and I enjoyed them. Here's to you diamonds in the crap.

Buying a PS3: Sure, it's expensive as hell, but I enjoy having it. I have GTA IV, Eternal Sonata, Guitar Hero, Motorstorm: Pacific Rift (for free), and LittleBigPlanet; and so far I love the games I have. Sure, GTA is just a nicer version of III, but I still love it and there is the gem that is LittleBigPlanet. LittleBigPlanet is interesting. At it's core it is just a good platformer, but then they take it to a whole new level through community interaction. There are so many community levels that it at times seems like a totally different game. It's really damn cool, if you ask me. And then there is Guitar Hero: World Tour. Sure, it's a Rock Band knockoff and my guitar tilt sensor is broken, but it's fun to play drums and the likes. While I imagine my electric bills will be a tad higher now that I have the PS3 and subsequently rehooked up my audio receiver I'll survive, even with my four day furlough.

The Bad
Playstation Home: It was supposed to be AWESOME! Instead it seems to a place where you wait a long time to bowl and if you're a girl you get surrounded by guys who won't let you escape while they dance around you. Here's to you, PlayStation Home, you're the nongame I thought would be interesting but in your current manifestation is terrible!

Spore: Spore was supposed to be the game to end all games, Will Wright's biggest achievement. Instead, to me it seems like five mini games strewn together in a game that makes you wishing for more. Sure, you can design stuff til your heart's content, but if you want a game, there's just not much there, and that makes me a sad panda.

The Ugly
DRM and Spore: Let's not kid ourselves here, SecuROM is an evil, evil thing that deserves to be sent to the lowest circles of hell. Unfortunately, EA deems SecuROM a necessary evil and has included it on several of its games, including Spore. Well, its inclusion into Spore was ugly, very ugly. See, in its original form you could only install it on three PCs and you could not deauth installations, so if you like to reformat you were pretty screwed. This copy protection caused the Amazon rating to tank, and it was precious. EA has completely some improvements to the DRM in Spore, but to a certain extent it's still atrocious. Here's to your future EA!

Goodbye, Studio X: God, the economy in the second half of 2008 has been brutal. If you are looking for a job, or if you have a government job (like me) this economy probably has you a little bit jittery. Sadly, the recession did not bode well for quite a few developers. Factor 5 was known for Rogue Squadron and most recently the poorly received game Lair. Unfortunately, economy hasn't been to kind to Factor 5's employees, as the company was forced to close. It's sad really, but they aren't the only ones to close. Free Radical? Essentially closed. Midway? Bankrupt. It's sad times we live in, and when you look beyond the realm of games the times we live in are truly scary. It's an ugly, ugly time for game developers, and I hope the future is brighter for them.


So, 2008. How was it for you? What's your, good, bad, and ugly? I imagine your thoughts and my thoughts are different, and as such I want to know, I really truly want to know, what they exactly are. Share them with us in the comments.

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