Best of the Rest: Justin's Picks of 2009

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Best of the Rest: Justin's Picks of 2009

Posted Jan 3rd 2010 11:30AM by Justin McElroy

Time Gentlemen, Please

This was hands-down the funniest game released in 2009, and 2009 was a year in which we got a new Tim Schafer game and the return of the Monkey Island series, so that's saying something. If you missed out, please go buy it, it's cheap as can be and a true delight.

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
You know what? F**k you and your condescending smirk, BOTS was my jam. I played through it more times than any other game this year and it was absolutely riddled with points. Get a friend (who must play as DJ Whoo Kid) to team up with and go have the time of your life.

The Beatles: Rock Band/Drop 7
I lost a bet with my wife when I wagered that the Reader's Digest we ordered from that door-to-door teenager would never actually arrive. As a result, I've had to give her one of my Best of the Rest choices, which she has chosen to split between The Beatles: Rock Band and Drop 7. They're pretty much all she played this year, so I guess it makes sense.

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
One of my big regrets of 2009 is that I wasn't personally able to generate more hype for this Call of Juarez follow-up, a cool, clever FPS that had more maturity than most video games ever approach. It's a surprisingly grown-up narrative that really resonated with me. Track it down in 2010, if you haven't already.

Godfather II
I know! I'm as surprised as you are. But I found this combination of action, RTS and tactics utterly charming. I saw this get slagged by a few critics, but I think it was the license that triggered a negative critical reaction as much as anything. It's an absolutely worthwhile experience if you haven't had it already.

Wet/House of the Dead: Overkill
I'm running out of space, so I'm going to combine these funky, flawed Grindhouse-inspired gems. They may not be perfect, but if you can play these delightful games and not have a blast (especially if you play Overkill with a partner) then you are that rare scientific anomaly that can live without a heart.

Disappointments:

Bionic Commando: Man, I love swinging. I also love dreadlocks. But Bionic Commando did literally nothing for me, and I so expected it to blow me away.
Brütal Legend: Sorry, I don't mean to pile on, but this one stung. The creativity and spirit of invention of Psychonauts traded in for a mostly unenjoyable central mechanic? No, thank you.
Killzone 2: It was pretty decent, but after all the hype and hopes pinned to this FPS, it's hard not to walk away from it feeling like it was a let down.
Scribblenauts: "But Justin! You can tie a triceratops to a rocket and shoot it into a birthday cake that Dracula is holding on a firetruck!" Yeah, you know what? Go die in a fire.
The Joystiq staff: For serious, guys? Nobody else voted for 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand? Like, did you even play it?

Bonus:

QWOP - You're welcome.

Tags: 50-cent-blood-on-the-sand, best-of-the-rest-2009, bionic-commando, brutal-legend, call-of-juarez-bound-in-blood, drop-7, house-of-the-dead-overkill, killzone-2, Microsoft, qwop, rock-band, scribblenauts, the-beatles-rock-band, time-gentlemen-please, wet, Xbox-360

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Reader Comments (134)

"For serious, guys? Nobody else voted for 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand?"

For serious... Ugh, Wet's promotional ineptitude will be one of my disappointments of 2009.

You guys remember all the spam they caused on here?

I TOTALLY forgot that Godfather II existed.

I saw it for $10 on Black Friday. I looked at it, and laughed my way past it for Dead Space (a far better purchase for 10).

You shut your mouth, Godfather 2 is a much better game.

This must be the worst list.

"BOTS was my jam."

it's funny- Joystiq put together a very strong and diverse list that i agree with (i would switch some places around, but whatever) for their overall top ten- but as individuals: (with the exception of Andrew) they all have TERRIBLE taste in games. fascinating- only their collective hive-mind is capable of defining what makes a game good :)

hahahaha absolutely agree with laser beams! I was amazed at how BAD all these individual lists were, with the exception of Andrew's. Of course, some guys got right one or two games, but as a list they all failed (except Andrew, as noted above).

I agree, but I also would have liked to have seen some Demon's Souls love come from any one of them (for more recognition of course). Only JC listed it as both an honorable mention and disappointment which can be kinda confusing to the reader. Like you didn't like it but thought it was worth mentioning, you recognize it's fantastic but just not for you? Be more decisive and stick to your guns! Either like it or hate it!

you guys are such assholes. You can't fucking fail an opinion piece! It isn't even a full on review! It's just which games they enjoyed more! You guys are such pricks

I'm with dark wayne here, you people are morons to not understand these are the games THEY enjoyed for the year of 2009. I had a good time looking at the list of different games the writers for this website enjoyed, it reminded me of some games I haven't played and still want to play.

I wonder if the IQ bell curve is different on the internet? It seems like there are a lot more retarded people online than on the streets.

it's because anonymity makes the bell curve wither away to nothing.

but yes, all of you saying "this is the worst list" are idiots. you've all had since elementary school to get over the idea that people enjoy different things than you do, but yet, here you are, chastising people for the things that they find fun and entertaining. not everyone plays video games just for the 3 most popular triple AAA titles of the year. if you want a group of reviewers who sticks to that, the message boards of gamespot and game informer would be oh so happy to accept your snobbery.

"Your opinion sucks because it isn't my opinion, too."

Also, I find it funny that both Laser Beams and Vincent think they're all bad except Andrew's.... and Mr. Yoon only listed PlayStation games on his list (and is, last I checked, the main writer for JoystiqPS).

Funny, indeed.

So wait, the comments that say this list suck are blue, but the comments that say those comments suck are blue...internet, make up your mind.

agreed with Dark Wayne. People seriously need to learn what an opinion is.

You guys don't seem to get that this isn't his best games of the year, these are his games of the year that didn't make the real top ten. Reading comprehension ftw.

If you've never liked a shitty game in your entire life, you're probably a shitty gamer.

Of course it is Justins opinion. And my opinion is that his list is the worst, because I did not enjoy any of those games. But the ones I did enjoy, are Bionic Commando and Killzone 2 (havent tried Beatles tho). And why the hell is Scribblenauts on his Worst-list? I thought that game was supposed to be awesome. (Never played that game either).

Oh, Call of Juarez was alright tho.

Hordes of Killzone fanboys ranting about your choice will arrive soon.

In the mean time, lets talk about how utterly shocking it is that a 50 Cent games everyone laughed at before release could in fact be rather good and become quite a favourite amongst the gamers :D

it was guilty pleasure.

Yeah it was a pretty enjoyable co op game. I mean, we skipped all of the cutscenes, which is usually a huge no-no with me but....it's a 50 cent game, who cares about the story? It was just dumb fun.

Very true, hopefully they don't think to make a few novels based on the game in stores afterwards like Halo did. I can only imagine the kind of people buying it. :/

Wow, Killzone showed up on just about everyone's disappointment list. We have our Most Disappointing Game of 2009, folks!

Justin, let your wife know that she made the two best picks on this list.

too late! http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Sand-Benny-Hinn/dp/1599797704/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s;=books&qid;=1262539890&sr;=8-2

Speak for yourself Demoman. It was primarily a disappointment to those who were expecting a revolutionary shooter like what Halo did in 2001. If you went into it with an open mind, most came out satisfied.

But saying it's better than MW2 doesn't really work. They're different styles of games. One has class-based multiplayer, one doesn't. One is a realistic shooter, one is an arcade shooter.

Reply fail, sorry.

Bradwart, I think the thing was that while it was a good game, it didnt define itself well enough, the small things that would have gone ignored if it was a superb and innovative title only showed themselves more. Its biggest asset was its graphics, something that can easily be surpassed or copied with the right skill and tech, Uncharted 2 did it. Storylines on the other hand can't really be copied, once something has been done once, its originality no longer has the same effect on other games / movies. Likable characters can be done, but not in the same ways, and unique ideas can be copied as well, but the one to create these ideas in the first place will always be remembered for it.

I suppose MW is in that boat, while all the surrounding action defines it, there is nothing there that Killzone 3 can't use and surpass if Guerilla really wanted to. So in fact, they are quite similar, they both involve war with beings that look like ourselves, both have similar kind of action, both COULD have similar kinds of storylines and thus could both be put into the same bracket. MW isnt really a stealth shooter, and neither is Killzone. The only difference is one is sci fi, the other isn't, they're both fictional and both avoid using lasers.

Yeah, that lightning gun in Killzone 2 is super realistic...

once again, KZ2 is in the dissapointment spot.

i mean cmon!!! i'm sure it didn't receive bigger hype then MW2!

.................Check please...................

Yeah it did, specially if you count that it was hyped that much starting allllll the way back in 2005. 4 long years of that kind of hype will lead most people to disappointment if it's NOT the game of the forever.

I guess you weren't on the internet when the CG trailer (at the time it was said to be gamplay) was revealed and all the Sony fanboys said it was going to be the best game ever created. It was also hyped as the Halo killer. When you see Sony fanboys getting upset over reviewers giving the game a 9/10, and 5/5s, then you know that they have a mental deficiency. Comparing it to MW2 is going to do no good since that is the superior game in every way. This is pretty much proven that more people on PSN are playing MW2 rather than Killzone 2. Killzone 2 is a perfect example of stupid Sony fanboys, who can't enjoy multiplatform games, because they are so obsessed with their exclusives.

MW2 was also considerable better than it...

i was 9 back then...so no, i wasn't on the interwebs.

@ Demoman
"stupid Sony fanboys, who can't enjoy multiplatform games"
And this is how you set the example? By bashing one of the major players OF multiplayform games. Get over yourself.
Killzone 2 wasn't meant to be the Halo killer- and it's not needed. But it did make a franchise out of the series and that's something you can't deny. It got great reviews, and it's a great game. The only people who overhyped it are the ones who got into idiotic conversations claiming IT WILL BE TEH HALO KILLER! But no it's not. And I don't care.

I thought we were all done calling each other fanboys... are you guys still this fucking stupid?

naw levi, only demonan is callin everyone a sony fanboy (even though, i'm probably the only one here :P)

Hey another argument about killzone 2. It seems that's all I've read in the comments since new years. Q

It performed far better than the original, which is the metric of how a sequel should be judged, though i'll agree that the promotional atmosphere surrounding KZ2 was a "game of the forever" type of hype.

You know, I really liked Killzone 2 (the multiplayer at least), and I can still agree that it didn't do anything to really deserve being put on a best of 2009 list, FPS to me are a dime a dozen. And disappointment is really subjective, so I can see why people in the business of receiving piping hot hype fresh out of the oven would be disappointed, but as someone who doesn't generally get excited for FPS I'd say KZ2 was competent and worth your time, maybe not all your time, but for me I can genuinely say I've had more fun with KZ2 than MW2.

Then again, I'm a man who thinks Counter-Strike and Day of Defeat:Source are still the best multiplayer FPS gaming has to offer.

i liked it. not enough for it to make my GOTY list, but it was pretty good. the multiplayer was especially cool. the game has been knocked for not being innovative enough, which i think is kinda stupid. it introduced brilliant first person cover mechanics and its the first game to get sixaxis right, IMO. but again, only good enough to get a mention, not an actual spot.

IMO of course.

There is really no use arguing the merits of KZ2 on joystiq. It's clear that all but one of the editors were "disappointed."

If that game can be called disappointing, well lets say I hope to be very disappointed this upcoming year.

i think it was the part that it took them so damn long to make the game and they hyped it the entire time. the entire time. the entire time. nothing can live up to that.

Opinion or not, this list is beyond terrible, to a point that the disappointment section has -10 credibility.

Who cares what Joystiq think about KZ2? Metacritic says hi to them. Leave them to enjoy odst and blood in the sand. Kind of makes sence why the KZ2 online community is pretty amazing, seperates the men from the boys.

Rule #2 of Joystiq: Never use Metacritic or VG Chartz as a source.

It's ok though, it's a rookie mistake. We've all done it before.

What would you consider a source that takes a broad spectrum of reviews then cockroach? For future reference. .

Rule #3 of Joystiq.

Form your own opinions. They had thiers, and they are entitled to express it.

He didn't say it was terrible - he just said it was a let down. You've got to admit the story and dialogue weren't exactly AAA stuff.

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Best of the Rest: Justin's Picks of 2009

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