Circuit Jerk

We’ve gotten the rejects out of the way this year, now let’s see the games that clawed their way to the top. Here are games 10 and 9.

10. Killzone 2- Killzone 2′s hype train seemed to derail long before it actually released. Many had these great memories of a solid PS2 shooter, but the genre as a whole, especially on consoles surpassed Killzone by leaps and bounds.

“Killzone 2′s most immediate virtues, even after the dust has settled, are chiefly visual. It’s a re-purposing of WWII era sepia tones as sickly yellow atmospheric decay, and you can nearly feel it build up on your skin as you play. But it’s just an entry point to the larger nightmare. It’s a tiring experience, one that wears your hands down, one that offers little in the way of incentive or encouragement. In both campaign and multiplayer it asserts continually and convincingly that you would be not very good at war at all. As you continue down this list, take note of the simple pleasures and the easy charms of shooter routinely lauded as superior to this masterpiece. What they have in fun, they lack in soul. They are afraid to take as seriously the reality of wielding a weapon in a genocidal nightmare as Killzone 2.”  -Neil

Negative: Part of my issue with Killzone 2 was coming into the Playstation 3 game too late. I had to play catch up on games like Uncharted, Little Big Planet, and Metal Gear Solid. Even this year, just think of the dozens of good shooters (that’s not even counting the great shooters) that came out in 2009 to compete with Killzone 2. That and the low Playstation sales at release probably killed this game before it had a chance. -Dan

9. Batman: Arkham Asylum- The Venn Diagram that encompassed both gamer and comic nerd overlapped for a brief period this summer when we recieved the gift that was Batman: Arkham Asylum. With the onslaught of horrible comic games in the past few years, did Arkham gain bonus points only in comparison with the Xmen 3 or Ironman games?

“Finally a video game based off of a comic that looks good and plays just as well. Excellent battle system and a great balance of sneaking around, puzzle solving, and combat. Graphics are great and voice acting is some of the best I’ve heard in a game, can’t wait for the sequel!!!” -Nathan

Negative: “Sometimes i just want to tell everyone to grow the fuck up. All this superhero horseshit drives me crazy. And yet, if this game was just James Boomerang, I probably would have been more likely to cut it some slack. That instinct would be incorrect. This is a boring game. What little is has to offer is so compartmentalized and regimented that it numbs any effect of legitimate problem solving. It’s kid shit, and we should feel embarrassed for having played it at all much less ranking it among the most vital experiences of the year. Shame on you, and grow the fuck up.” -Neil