The Girl Gamer's Top Ten Games of 2009

10. Resident Evil 5

I couldn’t start my list without included one of my favourite franchises, Resident Evil. Resident Evil 5 brought back favourites like Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine and Albert Wesker as well as introducing a few new characters and enemies. Resident Evil started our video game love affair with zombies and it will always be as addictive as the T-Virus is infectious. I plan to check out The Darkside Chronicles on the Nintendo Wii very soon.

9. Ghostbusters: the Video Game

This has been a good year for fan boys in the video game industry and Ghostbusters was just one game to proof that fact. Picking up where the 2nd movie left off, the excellent story line will bring you back into the world of the Ghostbusters as if you never left, and the excellent voice-over work of the original movie cast and funny humour of Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis doesn’t the nostalgia factor either.

8. Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

Who knew all my knowledge of logic puzzles would finally pay off in video games? Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, the sequel to the highly cool Professor Layton and the Curious Village, will have you using brain cells you didn’t know you had in order to solve all its many logic puzzles and dark mysteries. Only Nintendo could make learning this fun and addicting. Kudos to the Professor and his assistant on another excellent game and hopefully we’ll see another one of your sequels come to our shores next year.

7. Ratchet and Clank Future: Crack in Time

This was truly a year of new game experiences for me and one of those experiences was my first real Ratchet and Clank game. So many franchises don’t survive to see their next generation of consoles or if they do, they live on a series of failed titles like Sonic the Hedgehog, but Ratchet and Clank is now on their 3rd generation console and they are still rocking the platforming genre. You’ll love this dynamic duo and their crazy arsenal of weapons and gadgets. Bonus points for the awesome weapons commercials shown in the game.

6. New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Like a blast from the past, the New Super Mario Bros. Wii is like playing Super Mario Bros. 3 all over again with a shiny new coat of paint. With a new power-up suits and multiplayer modes, it’s time venture forth into the Mushroom Kingdom with the brothers and save the Princess again. Hopefully she’s not in another castle this time.

5. Halo 3: ODST – Xbox 360

I have to give high props to the first Halo FPS that managed to grab my attention. Halo 3: ODST’s film noir style story line and all-star voice cast made this a fabulous game to kill a Sunday afternoon with. Sure, the campaign mode might be short but you’ll have Firefight mode afterwards to fill the void as well as the second disc full of Halo 3 multiplayer maps if you don’t already own them all. I plan to go back and finish the fight this winter with the first 3 Halo games now that this game has shown me what I’ve been missing.

4. Borderlands – Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC

Imagine Fallout 3 – take out all the extreme walking times between missions, add a 4 player co-op mode and injected some wicked humour and you have Borderlands. This futuristic Mad Max like role-playing game will have you and your friends addicted to its vast landscapes, cool weapons and freaky looking enemies. Fallout 3’s vault will be a thing of the past and Pandora’s legendary vault will be all you can think about all.

3. Batman: Arkham Asylum – Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC

Batman: Arkham Asylum couldn’t have been a more perfect Batman video game and it was hard not to put this game higher on the list after all the crappy games we Batman fans have suffered through over the years, but honestly I can’t let my fan girl love of the Dark Knight affect my decisions. While Batman: Arkham Asylum did sport one of the best storyline lines, amazing game play and one of the best voice-over casts possible, the short ending, crappy Riddler reward and a few other issues kept this game at the number 3 spot.

2. Assassin’s Creed 2 – Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC

From the breath-taking digital recreation of Renaissance Italy to Ezio’s amazing killer moves, Assassin’s Creed will have you loving every minute of this sequel to the Assassin’s Creed franchise. You will be drawn into the story line here and once that’s complete, the side quests and item collection will keep the major perfectionists out there busy. This was an amazing follow-up to Assassin’s Creed which only improved upon the franchise and I can’t wait to check out the first DLC in February.

1. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - Playstation 3

If you need a reason to purchase a Playstation 3, this Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is it. Heart stopping action, eye popping graphics and interactive game play unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The developers at Naughty Dog have set the bar high for what games should be – interactive Hollywood blockbusters. While this was an amazing year for games, Uncharted 2 is still the clear winner in my mind as the game’s amazing musical score still tugs at my heart strings and the graphics still blow my mind every time I see them. When my brother-in-law bought his Playstation 3 on Boxing Day this year, this was the first game suggestion that popped out of my mouth as would it be to anyone buying the console.

Honourable Mentions: Loco Roco 2, Patapon 2, Little King’s Story and Boom Blox Bash Party.

Best Downloadable Games of the Year

1. Tales of Monkey Island: All Episodes – PC Game, Wiiware
2. Plants vs. Zombies – PC Game
3. Axel & Pixel – Xbox 360
4. Machinarium – PC Game
5. Shadow Complex – Xbox 360

Honourable Mention: Farmville

The Girl Gamer's Top Ten Videogames of 2008

1. Fable 2 - Xbox 360

In the land of Albion, everything you choose affects yourself and the world around you, so remember that because the next time you burp in a stranger’s face it might just lead to you developing some glowing, green eyes and a set of horns. Fable 2 tops my list of the best videogames of the year because it had just enough of everything I wanted in a videogame to keep me coming back day after day. From smart-mouthed gargoyles to beautiful environments, the land of Albion provided players with the freedom to do whatever they please and the best place to do it in. How many games will let you massacre an entire town, kill bandits, have 3 spouses and cross-dress if you want to? This is gaming freedom at its best.

2. LittleBigPlanet - Playstation 3

Another game which proves that gamers love the chance to show off their creativity was LittleBigPlanet which had gamers all over the world adopting their very own Sackboy or girl to the start of the journey through a world fuelled by dreams. With the choice of playing the pre-created levels or creating your own, LittleBigPlanet was full of hours of game play and some sweet Sackboy fun.

3. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - Playstation 3

As next chapter in the Kojima masterpiece, Metal Gear Solid 4 was probably the first game to show how videogames and movies are merging into a single medium. With hours and hours of beautiful cinematic cut scenes and a complex storyline to draw you in, you never minded how much time was spent watching the game as opposed to playing it because you felt like you were helping progress an interactive movie rather than a videogame.

4. Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Precipice of Darkness Episode 1&2 - Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network

After spending years poking fun at the gaming industry, creators of the hilarious web comic, Penny Arcade created their own videogame which took all that was moral and sane, and threw it out the window. The final product was a comical role-playing/adventure game which was rolling on the floor, laugh out loud funny. I personally can’t wait to download Episode 3.

5. Boom Blox - Nintendo Wii

When Steven Spielberg and videogames came together, we got the unique and innovative Nintendo Wii title, Boom Blox which had players of all ages addicted to toppling its block formations. Its various game play and easy to pick up controls made this the perfect family game but its complex puzzles kept even the smartest players busy. This year had so many bad third party Nintendo Wii titles that games this good need to be recognized, lest they fall by the wayside and get buried in the bargain bin.

6. Grand Theft Auto IV - Xbox 360, Playstation 3

Rockstar has always managed to raise the bar with each GTA game they release but this time they blew away all previous games in the series as well as any copycat title with GTA IV. From the living city to the meaningful characters, this game gave new life to the GTA series and provide that the guys at Rockstar still knew how to make a sell out videogame. Hopefully new “The Lost & Damned” downloadable content available in February will be just as good as the main storyline for this game.

7. God of War: Chains of Olympus - Playstation Portable

If all PSP games were this good, the Nintendo DS wouldn’t have a leg to stand on but unfortunately God of War: Chains of Olympus is very alone as the handheld masterpiece that it is. It was just as good as playing GoW2 on the PS2, but just on a smaller screen and that’s hard to say that about any PSP game, even the PS2 ports. If you own a PSP and you don’t own this game, then you need to drop everything and buy it now because this is the system seller.

8. Spore - PC

Though it may have not been the game that we were all promised, Spore was still a highly addictive and creative game from the mind of gaming genius, Will Wright. The freedom to control everything from your creature’s looks to its movement gave players a vast artistic outlet and the massive amount of user content on the internet from this game proves it. This was several games in one and possible one of the best deals in gaming this year for your money.

9. Professor Layton and the Curious Village - Nintendo DS

This Nintendo DS had players following the whimsical Professor Layton into a village of puzzles and tons of head-scratching fun. The Professor made logic puzzles cool and top hats even cooler. The cute animation cut scenes made the game fun to watch as much as it was to play and I know happily that I’m not the only gamer looking forward to the sequel’s release in North America, so expect more logic puzzle fun with the Professor to head our side of the planet soon.

10. Patapon - Playstation Portable

With its cast of one-eyed warriors and soundtrack of toe-tapping tunes, you can’t deny this Patapon was definitely drumming to its own beat which made it stand out amongst a sea of PSP titles. This unique and innovative music game managed to ensnare tons of PSP players with its siren song and happily, the sequel for this charming game has been recently announced so soon there will be more attacking to the beat.