My Favorite Things of 2008, Part Two

Video Games

I thought it might be hard to choose a favorite video game.  With big titles like Fable 2 and GTA IV dominating sales on the Xbox 360, indie games like Braid and World of Goo receiving very well deserved accolades (also Aquaria, a 2007 title, which finally made it to Mac) along with a multitude of interesting Flash and iPhone games which kept me entertained, I wasn’t sure that I could fairly single out one game.

Best Video Game of 2008:  Fallout 3

But you see, I’ve developed a problem.  That problem is Fallout 3, my favorite video game of 2008.  It wasn’t even on my radar.  I knew it was coming out, but I was much more excited for two other games being released at the same time, Fable 2 and Far Cry 2.  Far Cry 2 is an engaging open world game, but a little too expansive and a little too much a shooter.  Fable 2 (PETA’s Game of the Year, hee hee) came very close to being my favorite game, but between being denied my Hobbe Qee toy, the bugs and the DLC delay, for as good as it was (and I loved the canine companion) it did not deliver the overall addicting gameplay that I was surprised to find in Fallout 3 — especially after hitting the 60 hour mark playing Fallout 3 and feeling that I had hardly got started. Seriously, I had to take a break.  It’s that intense.

Best Music for a Video Game:  Braid

Another just miss for Fable 2 (gimme my Hobbe Qee, dammit). But in complete honesty, I hunted down all the Music from Braid (its all freely available indie music) as soon as I started playing the game and listened to it non-stop for about a week.  Good stuff. Fallout 3’s collection of 1940’s pop music is fantastic and (although, again a 2007 release) I want to give a nod to Aquaria’s fantastic soundtrack and musical gameplay.  I also have to include GTA IV’s wonderful collection which plays over the car radios in the game.

and finally…

Best Battery Drainer:  Aurora Feint

Although the scrolling chat bar at the bottom of the screen is annoying, it doesn’t take away from the incredibly addicting match-3 puzzle play.  One of the earliest games in the iPhone App Store, this game got it right from the start.  Artwork, gameplay, music and ambience — all perfect.  Between this and other favorites, TanZen (one of my top five favorite apps), Deep Green chess and Fieldrunners, my iPod Touch became an unexpected portable game console.