Gears of War 2 is out (95% avg score)

[DrSpike]

Nooooo, it's down to 94.

[Zero]

nvm

[FrostyBoy]

You always take me seriously Spike?

[DarkCloud]

From the first cited review : "In a year full of incredible games"

What great games were released this year? Bioshock, Halo 3, Half-Life 2(Portal), Assassin's Creed, etc. were all released last year.

This year has seen... super smash brothers and the newest mario kart. Fun games, but hardly direct competition. I'm fairly certain that this year has been lacklustre compared to 2007.

[Asher]

Originally posted by DarkCloud
From the first cited review : "In a year full of incredible games"

What great games were released this year? Bioshock, Halo 3, Half-Life 2(Portal), Assassin's Creed, etc. were all released last year.

This year has seen... super smash brothers and the newest mario kart. Fun games, but hardly direct competition. I'm fairly certain that this year has been lacklustre compared to 2007.

GTA4
Fable 2
Smash Brothers (blech)
Mario Kart (blech)
Fallout 3
Gears of War 2
Far Cry 2
Rock Band 2
Little Big Planet

That's just so far, but if you look at MetaCritic/GameRankings you'll see a lot of these at the top of the "Best Games of All Time" list...

[DarkCloud]

GTA4 (oh, didn't realize this was 2008.)
Fable 2 (??? This was a good game?)
Mario Galaxy (I played this, junk. How could it be rated highly?)
Mario Kart (I like the Kart series, but this wasn't as good as the previous versions)
Fallout 3 (Ah, good point)
Far Cry 2 (...Not sure if this is a good game or not)
Rock Band 2 (Ah yes, good.)
Little Big Planet (Heard good things)

Basically this year of "great games" includes 6 from that list... hardly a lot for a whole year of gaming.

Thanks for the list though!

[Asher]

It's one of the best years in gaming yet, so I don't know why you're down on it.

And yes, Fable 2 was a very good game...

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=263778

[DrSpike]

It has been a good year - though not quite as good as last year with Halo 3, CoD4, Rock Band, Bioshock, Mario Galaxy, Mass Effect, Forza 2, Crysis & Orange Box.

There's quite a lot of strength in depth this year though - the sports titles have all been praised this year, and there are a fair few very good but not great games like Far Cry 2 and Dead Space etc.

[DarkCloud]

Well, I don't know anything about Fable 2 beyond the link you just gave me. I hadn't heard anything about the game, so assumed it must have been a disappointment.

I played Fable 1 and it was okay, but hardly a blockbuster. #2 seems promising. I will have to look more into it.

I'll stand by my statement though that 2008's releases don't quite approach 2007's in quality or block-busterishness.

[Asher]

Well, I don't know anything about Fable 2 beyond the link you just gave me. I hadn't heard anything about the game, so assumed it must have been a disappointment.

How could you have not heard about the game?

I played Fable 1 and it was okay, but hardly a blockbuster.

Blockbuster refers to sales, and Fable 1 was absolutely a blockbuster...

I'll stand by my statement though that 2008's releases don't quite approach 2007's in quality or block-busterishness.

That's fine but it's not your original statement.

[flash9286]

Originally posted by DrSpike
It has been a good year - though not quite as good as last year with Halo 3, CoD4, Rock Band, Bioshock, Mario Galaxy, Mass Effect, Forza 2, Crysis & Orange Box.

There's quite a lot of strength in depth this year though - the sports titles have all been praised this year, and there are a fair few very good but not great games like Far Cry 2 and Dead Space etc.

Yep, we have had tons of good but not great games this year, like Ninja Gaiden 2 and Saints Row 2.

[DarkCloud]

Originally posted by Asher

Well, I don't know anything about Fable 2 beyond the link you just gave me. I hadn't heard anything about the game, so assumed it must have been a disappointment.

How could you have not heard about the game?

Regrettably, I moved last year and no one I know in real life here in my new locale plays any video-games. They are all too busy with their jobs or getting drunk on the weekends. In fact, I have often heard my "compatriots" saying insulting words and incessantly making nasty jokes about people who play video-games.

I played Fable 1 and it was okay, but hardly a blockbuster.

Blockbuster refers to sales, and Fable 1 was absolutely a blockbuster...[/quote]
Ok. I didn't think Fable 1 really advanced the genre that much. thank you for correcting me about its sales, I thought it sold well, but not at a blockbuster rate.

I'll stand by my statement though that 2008's releases don't quite approach 2007's in quality or block-busterishness.

That's fine but it's not your original statement. [/QUOTE]
??
My original statement was:

"This year has seen... super smash brothers and the newest mario kart. Fun games, but hardly direct competition. I'm fairly certain that this year has been lacklustre compared to 2007. "

[Asher]

That doesn't make it lacklustre. It's incredible.

[FrostyBoy]

Right, this year has been a good year for games. If Duke Nukem had been released this year, it would have made this year a very good one since a long long time.

It shows that the industry is maturing. I kind of expect 2009 to be somewhat dead and 2010 to be as explosive as this year.

[Asher]

Ars Technica has a lengthy review: http://arstechnica.com/reviews/games...r-2-review.ars