Good ol’ 2008 has come and gone. Without futher ado, here are the top 10 games I have played for the year 2008.

*note – they are not in any particular order.

1. Metal Gear Solid 4 (PlayStation 3)

A worthy ending to the Snake saga, Metal Gear Solid 4 is without doubt the best game in its series. Fantastic graphics, solid gameplay coupled with a great storyline is the reason why this gem is a must have for any PlayStation 3 owners. We definitely will not see the last of Metal Gear but for Snake, this will probably be his final mission.

2. Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360)

Gears of War 2 takes another notch up from its predecessor, making it the best Gears game to date. I mean, you get the chance to kill and ride a Brumak on the same game. It’s like having your cake and eat it too!

3. God of War: Chains of Olympus (PlayStation Portable)

Transition from big to small usually ends up with a shortfall but for Chains of Olympus, there wasn’t any. The smaller sibling handled the game without a hitch, packing the same action like its older brother. Just one problem, the game ends before you know it.

4. Wipeout HD (PlayStation 3)

Having played through the first few grids, I conclude Wipeout HD is not a game for those who are new to the series. Start off with Wipeout Pulse (PlayStation Portable) then hop onto HD. And do prepare yourself for a steep learning curve. To me? This is the best Wipeout experience, next to WipeoutXL.

5. The World Ends With You (Nintendo DS)

A game with a plot so twisted it makes your pretzel snack look straight. I like how the game lets you customize with different pins and clothing to get different effects, although sadly changing the clothes does not affect your character’s appearance.

6. Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo DS)

The term “less is more” stands true for Phantom Hourglass. It reduces the amount of [boring] sailing (unlike Wind Waker) and pumps up the action. Stylus control never felt better too.

7. Devil May Cry 4 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

Big bosses, swordplay, gunshots and really hot babes. Nuff said =D~ Did I mention hot babes?

8. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation Portable)

This is probably the only game in the world where you will know how it ends even before you play it. Well assuming you know the original storyline. This game packs with great graphics and a battle system that is ‘different’. Not having able to cast your own limit breaks and summons can be a real drag but when you do hit one, the feeling of “Bwahaha die b*tch!” never gets old.

9. Red Alert 3 (PC, Xbox 360)

Continuing the ‘legacy’ of FMV cutscenes, the 3rd installment of the series has lived up to its name. One thing I like about Red Alert 3 is that it plays great even on low end PC (like mine). No doubt RTS games are best played on the PC but having tried out the Xbox 360 version, it’s not as bad as I thought. Partially because back then I manage to complete the entire GDI campaign on the PlayStation. Not really a memorable experience.

10. Apollo Justice – Ace Attorney (Nintendo DS)

Sorry couldn’t find any wide images

Not quite the same as compared to Phoenix Wright but this greenhorn still packs quite a punch in the court. I still wish they included 5 cases as 4 seems pretty short.

There you have it. My top 10 games for 2008.

Looking forward to another great year in gaming for 2009!

Honorable Mentions : Tales of Symphonia II, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, Star Ocean First Departure, Soul Calibur IV, Left 4 Dead, Battlefield Bad Company.

The scare factor of Fatal Frame games are subjective. Some say it’s so scary you will crap in your pants, while others say King Koppa’s face looks worse. Okay that doesn’t make sense but you get the idea. To me, it brings up the meaning of Horror up one notch in my book.

I have to admit I freaked out quite a number of times when playing through this game. It gave me such a fright that I didn’t dare to drive out during late nights (Usually I stay out until 12 or 1am before heading back home) and sometimes I need to leave the lights on to sleep. Being the fact that I’m quite superstitious about ghosts makes it worse. My mind will go imagine figures appearing in mirrors or under my bed and such. There was once I dreamed that a ghost appeared on my back mirror when I was driving … *shivers*

“Umm … Welcome to Himura Mansion! I am Boogie the Butler”One of the few things I liked about Fatal Frame is the gameplay mechanism. It was the first time a camera was ever used as a main weapon in a game. To make things even sweeter, that mechanism was carried out perfectly, with added tweaks and functionality for the later games. There is nothing more satisfying than hitting a ghost with 3 hit combo or combining blasts between combo and “Crush” special attacks. I was kinda disappointed that the 180 degree spin was removed from the 2nd and 3rd game. It kinda makes ghost “scanning” a lot easier when fighting against bosses.

The other factor which make Fatal Frame a great game is the atmosphere. The old Japanese settings along with ruined surroundings really capture the eeriness of a horror game; Dark rooms, hanging ropes and dolls, wooden houses, graveyards etc. It gives the player a feeling that something is lurking around the corner. Sometimes things happen when you least expect it, like a doll just suddenly move as you pass by it. It may not seem dramatic but a sudden cut-in through your concentration can give you a shock.

“I want that hamburger!!! Giv me~!!!!”The Ghost presentation is definitely the best part in Fatal Frame. The combination of the way spirits appear, attack along with their creepy voices will definitely give you goosebumps. Couple it with heartbeat sounds and tremendous vibration (on the dual shock controller) adds up even more tension and suspense.

One of the most memorable moments was in Fatal Frame 2. Me (controller), Neko and another friend (spectators) were just starting around the early parts of the game. We found a film so we head on to one of the houses to view it. Seeing that the camera angle wasn’t good, I went into 1st person mode so we can see the picture clearer. Half way through the film, it suddenly cut off and one stupid ‘Broken Neck’ ghost appear all of a sudden … RIGHT in front of us. Ever since that incident I never dared to watch any of the films I picked up throughout the game. Can say I have gotten a phobia over that.

Fatal Frame series is one of the best horror games you can find on the Playstation 2. In my opinion it’s better than Silent Hill or Resident Evil, but you can’t really compare them as they go around differently. Regardless, Fatal Frame is definitely one of my favourite games of all times.

Picture Source : Gamespot
Back in the days when Dreamcast (a console from Sega) is still up and running in the market, a lot of good games were ported to it. One of them is Crazy Taxi. This game is really insane and it’s really good as a stress reliever. My favourite is still Crazy Taxi and Crazy Taxi 2. This game was ported to many consoles including the PC. However, the feeling just doesn’t seem the same.

For those who are not familiar with the game, Crazy Taxi is about game where you play as a cab/taxi driver. You drive around Big Apple picking up customers who are waving at you by the road side. Each customer will have a certain color ring. Red means the distance is close, yellow means moderate and green means the destination is far. The moment you pick up a customer, a timer starts. The amount of time given is depending on the distance. The best part of this game? You have no restriction on how you drive. Your main objective is to get your customer to their destination as fast as you can.

When I first played Crazy Taxi, I was instantly hooked onto it. I played it almost everyday and every chance I get, even up to the extend that I need to be dragged away from the TV to eat my lunch or dinner. The amount of speed and destruction you can do is just mind blowing. In terms of destruction, you definitely can’t compare it to today’s game. Back then, ramming any car you see, it’s just pure fun!

Crazy Taxi 2 is the sequel to Crazy Taxi. They added more mechanisms such as a jump function which really helps to jump over obstacles. Overall it still plays the same like the original Crazy Taxi, insane speed (for a taxi) and pure fun. Oh yes, another new feature is that you can now take up to maximum of 4 customers (as opposed to 1 for the orignal) . However you can’t randomly pick any 4. It’s only available to customers who has the blue ring.

Other than the usual taxi driving, mini games are included as well. In here you have to finish certain objectives in order to pass it. Upon completion you will unlock some extra stuff such as new “car”.

As mentioned above, Crazy Taxi was ported to Gamecube, PS2 and PC. I’m not really sure how the other console versions hold out but the PC version is definitely a very bad port. Lag was the main problem as opposed to the DC version which was running at smooth framerates with minimal hiccups. As most game reviewers mentioned, you definitely need to play this game on the DC to experience its full glory.

To sweeten up things, Crazy Taxi Fare Wars is coming to the PSP. Base on what I read, it’s sort of a combination of both Crazy Taxi and Crazy Taxi 2 under one package. It also includes co-op and multiplayer mode. Hope the sense of speed isn’t decreased for this version. Running it at 30 fps per second is gonna be bad.

So are you ready to make some ccccrrrraaaaaazzy money?

Let me see, I think I completed this game more than 20 times? Or perhaps it was more than that I don’t know but all I know is that, I seriously love this game. The gameplay, the actions, the music, the stages, they were fantastic for it’s time.

I almost didn’t had the chance to play this game back in 1993. My uncle bought the game cartridge but it couldn’t run due to different regions. The 16 bit my uncle owned was a Japanese set while the game was meant for a US set. Luckily after a few days, he bought a converter which enabled us to change regions by adjusting some switches. That’s when the fun begins.

A Brief Introduction
This game plays similarly to Contra, a side scrolling shooter. You go through stage by stage killing enemies and bosses as well as picking up power-ups to further increase your firepower. One good thing about this game is that, it’s not as punishing as contra where one hit kills. Here you will have HP (health points) which will deplete according the type of damage you get. You character can also perform various attacks such as jump kick, slides and throw

Gunstar Heroes uses a different system where you can choose different combination of power-ups base on your preferences and the character you choose. Altogether there are two characters and four types of power-ups :- Force, Lighting, Fire and Chaser. The two characters are called Red and Blue, or more specifically, Free-Shot and Fixed-Shot. The two have their own distinct differences where you can run and shoot as Free-Shot while as Fixed-Shot, you are able to aim at 8 directions while standing still. I myself personally prefer to use Free-Shot as most of the time I’m playing solo. Using Fixed-Shot would be too tedious. As for the power-ups, you can combine 2 different types to create a more powerful weapon. I leave it up to Wiki to explain them further.

The Reason Why I Like This Game
What makes Gunstar Heroes a huge phenomenon back in the 16 bit days was the gameplay. The moment you step into the game, infinite number of foes will come rushing to you like mad cows. You can say it was pretty amazing for the 16 bit to be able to handle that amount of madness with very minimal hiccups. Believe me, its pretty hard to survive without someone using free-shot with the homing laser (Laser + Chaser power-up) especially on higher difficulty levels. I tried using Fixed-Shot but it always ended up with drastic results when playing solo. Best and easiest combination would be Laser Chaser with Double Chaser.

The music and boss fights is another thing which makes the game very memorable. I don’t know how to describe it but it just gives you that sense of tension when you are going through the stages. Like in stage 5, the music literally gives you the feeling of “I want to destroy you all!” which also fits in the story after an incident happened. As for the boss fights, most of them are pretty simple once you catch their weakness but they can still post a threat on Hard Mode. My favourite boss is Seven Force, where you literally fight through seven different types of form in one sitting. It was truly a test of endurance back then.

This is no doubt one of the best games you can play on the Sega 16 Bit. To make things even sweeter, I heard that the game is out for purchase on Wii’s Virtual Console. So Wii gamers, do give this a game a try if you haven’t play it before. You wouldn’t regret it.

Slamming, slashing, bashing and throwing Foot soldiers out of the screen? That is the classic feeling when I played Turtles in Time back during the SNES era. This is definitely one of the best ‘Beat Em Up’ games, surpassing its previous predecessors and DEFINITELY surpassing any TMNT games that came out after that. With the current advanced technology, I was thinking the newer versions would easily outdo Turtles In Time. Guess I was wrong.

I had my first experience when my cousin brought me to the arcades back in 1992. There were many games present but Turtles In Time caught my eye. Mainly because I was already a fan of TMNT thanks to the showing of the animated series (1987). The arcade version featured a 4 person co-op play brings out the thrill of having all four turtles whacking on the screen at once. Sadly, life was short and it was game over before I know it.

Not long after that, Turtles in Time was ported over to the Super Nintendo. A Genesis version was later released but under a different name called Hyperstone Heist. That version was similar yet different in some ways compared to Turtles in Time.

When the SNES version came out, I had mix feeling of both happiness and sadness. Happy because I can play Turtles in Time as many times as I want, sad because the four player co-op didn’t make it. It would definitely be a blast having 3 friends over to play together. Sad, you just can’t have them all.

The other thing which attracts me other than the turtles itself, is the gameplay. You literally just mash the default punch button to do combo attacks and with a little trick, you can slam enemies back and forth or throw them out of the screen. The second skill is crucial because you will need that fight Shredder at mid point of the game. I find that most players have difficulty executing the throw technique. Most of the time they ended up with the ‘back & forth’ slam.

The music featured in this game is definitely the best and the most memorable among the other TMNT games. From the moment you jump into ‘Big Apple, 3am’ to ‘Technodrome: The Final Shellshock’, you will find that the music for each stage is fantastic and it fits in very well. I myself personally like the ‘A.D. 2100: Starbase: Where No Turtle Has Gone Before’ music. It’s basically a hyper-remix of the original TMNT theme song.

Boss fights are nice but not all are memorable. Most of them have a certain pattern which you can easily identify and take advantage of. Fighting Shredder on both encounters would require a faster reaction time, especially Super Shredder on Hard mode. He has a skill which totally kills off a life bar out of your turtles.

I really had lots of fun playing this game with my uncle, cousin, friends and also by myself. It is just sad that after more than a decade, a true successor never came. Perhaps Konami should consider porting this version over to the NDS and let the current generation gamers experience the true glory of TMNT. That would be “shellshocking”. – DynaStorm