Kai Temple's 2008ness.

2008 hasn't been great for gaming really. A few long-awaited games turned up and turned out to be not all that, Microsoft went utterly cunterly with their pricing and GTA4 (just GTA4).

But here's my provisional award-me-do things.


Full Game of the Year:

Fifa '09. Well, probably Euro 2008 as that was the one with all the good ideas. I've been harping on for years about footie games needing some innovation and EA really provided it this year. An amazing move-set, the Be A Pro mode and all those goal-celebrations made for quite a novel take on the usual footie nonsense.

Bubbling under: Bully, Burnout Paradise


XBLA Game of the Year:

Geometry Wars 2. Oh God... it's so good. I hated GW1. The shitty music and repetitive gameplay did nothing for me but GW2's range of excellent modes are much more suited to quick sessions. Great visuals, addictive as crack-flavoured Angel Delight. The perfect XBLA game.

Bubbling under: Braid, Omega Five


Multiplayer Game of the Year:

Rainbow Six Vegas 2. The original Vegas was great online but this one refined everything to perfection. The EXP system was vastly improved, the maps and modes were excellent and the achievements encouraged some variation in weapon useage. Also, bizarrely, you don't seem to get many cunts playing the game (as they tend to stick to Halo3, GTA and CoD4). Great!

Bubbling under: Burnout Paradise, Mercenaries 2


Surprise Hit of the Year:

Bully. Rockstar may have fucked up on GTA4 (sorry but it was a dull, overblown borefest) but Bully is one of the best sandbox games I've played. The humour was excellent, evoking memories of Skool Daze on the speccy, there was tonnes to do in the game and the music was the best I've heard in a game in years. A much tighter game than GTA4 and a much better one too.

Bubbling under: Alone In The Dark, Gripshift


Lemon of the Year:

Shaun White Snowboarding. A piece of shit snowboarding game endorsed by a cunt. Horrible controls ruin the game but four dull mountains, a rubbish event structure and some stupid writing make this a total lemon. Jumper and

Bubbling under: Jumper, Golden Axe: Beast Rider


Disappointment of the Year:

Mercenaries 2. Not a bad game but glitched, unfinished and uninspired. Half the game Mercs 1 was and only really redeemed by the fun co-op mode.

Bubbling under: Far Cry 2, Civilisation Revolution


Best Graphics of the Year:

Dead Space. It may get a bit repetitive but the game looks excellent with a big, chunky main character, lots of gory decapitations, some impressive looking tech and a few nice setpieces.

Bubbling under: Geometry Wars 2, Far Cry 2