Game of The Year 2009: The Winner

After much thought and analysis I have finally come to a conclusion as to what is my overall game of the year for 2009 and without further ... well further bullshit opening crap here is my decision for Game of the Year 2009 ...Few games come close to achieving what Uncharted 2 has. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is on a different level than other games in terms of pure characterization and narrative. Playing off tried and tested mechanics of other games Uncharted 2 is far from original, but what it does manage to do is craft a polished cinematic experiance that leaves you fully immersed in this fictional world. It learns from other games rather than copy them, it took the best aspects from the likes of Gears of War and Tomb Raider and throws away the junk. Rather than make the mistake that many other games do Uncharted 2 does not strive for realism, it strives to be believable. Given the world and circumstances the character is in the events of the game all make sense a key aspect that many gamers miss the mark on. Believability starts at the core, and at the core of Uncharted 2 is a cast full of star performances. Nolan North, a seasoned voice talent, gives a performance that in my opinion is some of his best work so much in fact that I walk into other games thinking of Nolan North as Nathan Drake. Emily Ross, the voice actor behind Elena Fisher, creates one of the most well developed and respectable female characters in video-game history, smart and strong she almost steals the show from main star Nathan Drake, and finally Claudia Black plays the role of the double crossing heroine, Chloe; she manages to play the role of a sexually aware character who is neither objectified nor manipulated and is witty, smart and strong willed. Behind any good actor is a great writer and although much of the script is done in the moment it's really a credit to the writers and designers who set up this world, characters and the situations they are thrown into.

Pacing is something that evolved during 2009. The first example was Batman: Arkham Asylum which threw a variety of situations at you that kept things from getting boring or repetitive and the way the unlocks work you were consistently striving forward and moving through the game. While Batman was a great example of Game pacing through game-play Uncharted 2 managed to pull me through on Narrative. The story moved so seamlessly from scene to scene that I didnt want to put the controller down I moved through the story in two sittings and if it hadn't been for real life getting in the way I would've beat it in one marathon sitting. Uncharted managed to possess my mind when my controller was in my hands and when it wasn't. Sitting in class all I could think of was what was around the next corner, what Naughty Dog was going to throw at me next. And everytime I turned that corner I was astonished with how they not only met my expectations but exceeded them.

There was never a point when I went 'oh ya this is a video-game' and if a game can do that than I am truly immersed. One of my faults with Assassins Creed 2 was this very thing. Assassins Creed 2 created a beautiful world, it was alive and believable BUT the controls consistently took me out of the experience. It would be an epic chase along the Florence roof tops when suddenly my finger would slip off the three buttons I was holding and I would go crashing 5 stories off a building to my death while attempting a jump i had completed thousands of times before. There were plenty of moments where Uncharted 2 could have fallen to the same problems but it always thought of you screwing up and put a situation there to compensate for it, the truck chase for example could have been a mad button mashing mess but with plenty of room for error and plentiful visual aids the scene was both seamless and intense rather than frustrating and disappointing like so much of Assassins Creed 2.

Uncharted 2 has a little bit of everything there is action, comedy and an overarching romance. It refuses to take itself too seriously but still manages to tell a meaning full story that is not cheesy or awkward it takes a step forward in the medium raising the bar for games to come.

Winner 2009: Uncharted 2 (A stunning game that evolves cut-scene based storytelling)
Runner Up: Assassin's Creed 2 (A fluid open world game that gets you asking questions)