Why? Don’t ask that. Ask, why not? Who loves sub-20 fps framerates anyway? While consoles may have some good exclusives, ultimately some people care more about games running at a good visual fidelity and having solid performance.

This year has been good for PC gaming. We saw a lot of MMOs, and quality ones at that, like Planetside 2 and Guild Wars 2. These MMOs provided hours and hours of excellent gameplay and were easily comparable to big budget AAA games.

Let’s talk a bit about the PC exclusives that were released earlier this year–Diablo 3 and Torchlight 2–both these games are quite similar in their approach and design, one has a higher production value while the other provides a lot more content and is less ambitious when you think about the overall budget. They are priced appropriately too, however, Diablo 3 underwent a lot of criticsm from everyone due to its always-online nature even to play the single-player portion.

It was a good game but certainly not comparable to its illustrious predecessors which are still being played today, well, at least Diablo 2. If you want to know more about the problems that plagued Diablo 2’s launch you can read our editorial here, which was quite vitriolic in nature and written by yours truly.

While most third-party games are available on the PC, some of them like Dragon’s Dogma do not make it, and there was a rumor recently that the PC version was on the cards but was proved wrong. However, we have plenty of games like Resident Evil 6 and Borderlands 2 which made a mark on the platform offering great graphics, while the former bombed, the latter made it as one of the most critically and commercially successful games of all time.

There were also indie games that made their mark this year, and we personally loved like Of Orcs and Men, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, Sine Mora, Awesomenauts and much more. There were also games like Dark Souls which finally made to the platform after a long time, and it’s something people were also clamouring for. The port was poor but the PC wizards did their magic on it and made it one of the best ever, with high resolution, framerates and much more.

There were also games like Sleeping Dogs which received a high resolution texture pack on PC and also games like Assassin’s Creed 3 which really shined on the platform. We loved both the games and scored them really highly. Overall it was the year of MMOs and unique games on Steam that not only dazzled gamers but also made them excited as to what’s to come next year on the platform.

In 2013, there will be a lot of games like Crysis 3 and Bioshock Infinite, which will no doubt look and run the best on PC, and we will also have games that will be exclusive to the platform, which not only includes new MMOs but the ones from Kickstarter as well.

There’s a lot to look forward to on the PC next year, but one thing is for certain, when the next generation consoles do get announced including their specs showcased, the PC will be ready for them with its GTX 680 and quad core CPUs, to handle whatever third-party games the developers have to throw at it. Maybe, the consoles could blow it away, which would make next generation a highly competitive one.

Overall Performance: B+

However, when the system came out in February there was a lot of hype considering it’s a Sony product and it’s also something that looks absolutely stunning with the 5 inch OLED screen making games look much better than they are.

However, only a few games really took advantage of the hardware and some of them looked great simply due to the art design. We reviewed the system extensively during launch covering the hardware to games and also plenty of editorials and stuff.

The hardware itself was quite amazing as reviewed by yours truly. I gave the hardware an 8.5/10 and mentioned that it had a lot of potential.

“The PlayStation Vita is an amazing hardware. You will actually be surprised when you hold the thing, and get immersed in that beautiful OLED screen. The Vita is a must own system, if you like portable console experiences on the go with great network features.”

So let’s talk about the games, shall we, the weak point in the system’s arsenal. There is a growing concern that third-parties are going to ditch the system due to its low sales and that’s a perfectly acceptable concern because it’s even selling poorly in the Japanese market.

Two of the notable games we’ve had for the system in 2012 were Gravity Daze and Persona 4 Golden which is sort of an enhanced version of an old game with jazzed up visuals and extra content. Gravity Daze was an awesome game and we praised it a lot in our review.

“Gravity Rush is a killer app for the Vita; one that not only oozes a lot of charm and creativity, but also provides some much-needed diversion for people who own the system,” I wrote. It does seem like it has been a long time since I have written that considering I hardly pick up the system anymore.

Here are the great Vita games we’ve reviewed on GamingBolt so far. Uncharted: Golden Abyss was a solid title from Sony Bend but what was Naughty Dog doing instead of supporting the system? Bend did a great job but the game was inconsistent as a whole with some input lag in the analogue sticks.

Here are the other launch titles for the system so far, and most of them were pretty average games. The sad part was that good games like Assassin’s Creed: Liberation didn’t get much exposure due to the low sales and a great third party effort like that should have been rewarded by people. Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified turned out to be a pretty bad game when you look at the reviews but we didn’t review it.

There were other games like Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, Everybody’s Golf, ModNation Racers: Road Trip, Little Deviants, WipEout 2048, and while the last game was great, the launch line-up was pretty poor overall when it comes to quality.

So what else? We also had Unit 13 which was a great game but a bit generic too considering its Zipper we are talking about here. It was fun to play but could have been much better considering the foundation was solid.

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection was something that was a really quality title for the system, with tons of replaybility and value for money. Metal Gear Solid 3 looks as awesome as ever and runs quite great too.

There are a lot of itsy bitsy titles, including a massive one in Persona 4 Golden but we didn’t get a chance to review that yet. Overall it was a forgettable year for the Vita owner but hopefully we can see great games released in 2013.

Soul Sacrifice from Keiji Inafune looks pretty great and considering the recent Monster Hunter delay in Japan, we can’t quite understand whether Capcom is giving this game a chance to perform well commercially or not.

It is really vital for Sony to turn the ship around considering plenty of developers are shunning the Vita and it is also vital for them to drop the price of the system and bring it down to mass market price point because people have shown that they simply don’t care about dedicated hardware consoles any more and to tempt then a price drop is a must.

It worked for the 3DS and it could work for the Vita before, people forget about the whole handheld, oh and games are required too.

Overall Performance: C-

The third parties have delivered as usual and the quality of all their ports have been fantastic, too, except Black Ops 2 maybe… but that’s not the point here; it looks like Sony has been trying out a different strategy this year by appealing to the casual market instead of the core that they usually do.

Did it work out for them? Not really. The sales of Playstation All-Stars and Wonderbook in the Europe have been abysmal, and as you can see by clicking on the links, our reviews have been middling at best, although, we found some potential in Wonderbook. The entire year was a pretty drab affair for the PS3, with first-party games like Starhawk and Twisted Metal underperforming sales-wise.

Starhawk is far from the amazing game that was Warhawk. Twisted Metal, I believe, was released too late in the system’s lifecycle where car combat games have become something of an extinct species like Dodo. We had one from India too called Smash n Survive.

Mass Effect 3’s appearance on the PS3 earlier this year was something refreshing considering how big of a franchise it is. The biggest gem for the system in the entire year was no doubt Journey, a game that has won numerous GOTYs worldwide and is also one of the best games on the PS3.

The third parties have chugged along releasing underrated games like Asura’s Wrath, Syndicate and Dragon’s Dogma. The latter, while ran great on the PS3, did not reach its potential due to horrible design decisions and is something that I personally loved very much due to how absorbing and fun it was to actually kill enemies. Asura’s Wrath was one giant cutscene while Syndicate provided a lot of fun but fell short.

PSN provided some great games like the Unfinished Swan and Journey, but Xbox Live trumped it in this department with the release of Fez and other exclusives. However, the presence of the stellar PSN + balanced it out in style with a lot of free games and great discounts.

Early in the year we had some decent games like Final Fantasy XIII-2, which didn’t really set the year on fire because it was a safe sequel. Our review described it as: “Final Fantasy XIII-2 comes with its fair share of problems, but it is an excellent game that represents a tentative step into modernity for its genre.”

There were a bunch of games released in May including Max Payne 3 and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, which we thought would do really well. They were good games especially Max Payne 3 but the latter disappointed in a lot of areas.

One of the bright spots of the year was undoubtedly Telltale’s Walking Dead. We scored all the five episodes really highly and also produced an editorial that proved to be really successful. It’s one of the best series to have been released on the PS3 with fantastic writing and characterization and is something that really deserves your money.

This year also brought a lot of new IPs like Sleeping Dogs, Dishonored, and XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and as you can see by clicking on the links they are all pretty spectacular games scoring highly and each of them providing a really unique experience to gamers.

Dishonored, especially was something really well made, except the ending. We wrote about it extensively in our PC review, which described it as “Dishonored is a plot-driven game offering you a lot of freedom to do things in a way you want. Not only does it look stunning but plays well, too. People sometimes say “Beauty with no brains” to describe a shallow thing. That wouldn’t apply to this game, though. It has both.”

Assassin’s Creed 3 turned out to be great along with Borderlands, FIFA 13, Darksiders 2, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 followed in November which was a poor port on the PS3 like its predecessor Black Ops, and it seems like Treyarch prioritizes the Xbox 360 a lot more than the PS3 for some reason. There were duds like  Resident Evil 6, Medal of Honor: Warfighter and 007 Legends as well.

While the PS3 missed some great first part games like the Xbox 360, Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale proved to be horrible in both scope and execution and was a weak effort by first timers Superbot.

There were also games like Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Hitman: Absolution, the latter which I enjoyed a lot but it proved to be a flawed game based on our review. The game that took us by surprise was Far Cry 3, which we wouldn’t have suspected because of how poorly Far Cry 2 turned out to be. The game was a winner in all departments except the story maybe, and received a perfect score on our site. We don’t really throw that around a lot, mind you.

This year was a bit weak for the PS3 when it comes to first party support, but next year seems really promising because of two spectacular games like The Last of Us and Beyond: Two Souls from Naughty Dog and Quantic Dream respectively. There are also a lot of third party games like GTA 5 and others which will make a good year no doubt.

Sony may reveal the PS4 next year, but a Naughty Dog game for the PS3 will keep the interest high as we look forward to its successor to bring the goods.

Overall Performance: B-

And it did- it did have a pretty good year, receiving some really, really good titles, with devs also announcing other huge games for the system to be released in the near future.

But what exactly were the highlights of the year for the 3DS? Let’s take a look.

One of the most anticipated games for the system, and maybe ever in Nintendo’s history as a company, started off the 3DS’ strong year in March. Kid Icarus: Uprising had been a long time coming, and by the end, none of us really expected it to be even remotely good. But when it did come out, it blew us all away with its addictive, exciting gameplay and witty, intelligent writing. It became one of the only three games to receive a 10/10 from us this year, and our reviewer even called it the greatest handheld ever, which it arguably is.

Another game that everyone had been really looking forward to for a long time that came a few weeks before Kid Icarus did was Resident Evil: Revelations, an excellent survival horror game that got unjustly swept under the run due to the hype that its console brethren were generating. It’s pretty odd, because Revelations was a hundred times better and scarier than Operation Raccoon City and Resident Evil 6 were put together.

“Sorry to keep you waiting!” It’s quite alright, Pit. 

Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance also impressed early on with its impressive visuals and an excellent and varied combat system. It wasn’t Kingdom Hearts 3, but it was a damn good addition to the franchise nonetheless.

Metal Gear Solid 3D and Tales of the Abyss were two more games that everyone had been looking forward to for some time, and when they came, they did not disappoint. Though both weren’t really new games, rather remakes/re-releases of old classics, we all had an immense amount of fun with them.

There were other notable releases for the system throughout the year than kept the library going- Rayman Origins, Heroes of Ruin, Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy, Rhythm Thief. And then there were eShop titles such as Mutant Mudds, Crush 3D, Crashmo and others.

Then came the big titles- first, there was New Super Mario Bros. 2. It was a 2D side-scrolling Mario platformer with an excellent premise, and it couldn’t really go wrong. And it did not. While certainly not as good as the DS or Wii NSMB games, it was still a blast to play through, and the perfect Mario dosage for the 3DS. For the time being.

It’s-a me- Mario with a golden brick for his head!

Then there was Pokemon Black/White 2. Sure, it’s actually a DS game, but the system didn’t get enough games to do an entire separate article for it. Black/White 2, while really good games, failed to offer the change up to the formula that we all wanted, and also failed to live up to the excellent titles that were Black and White. We all want a real, 3D Pokemon game, and Black and White 2 just served the purpose of a stopgap.

Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward turned out to be a surprisingly good game. None of us was really expecting this game to serve any kind of impact, but it turned out to be one of the better games to have been released on any system in recent memory and one of the best RPGs to have been released in 2012.

There were a few other notable releases too- Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Scribblenauts Unlimited.

Heading into 2013, we’ve got even more stuff to be excited about. Nintendo’s announced games such as Fire Emblem: Awakening, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow- Mirror of Fate heading our way right at the beginning of the year.

Other heavyweights such as Animal Crossing: New Leaf, LEGO City Undercover, Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse and Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon have been confirmed too, and it’s only safe to assume that we’ll also be getting another annual Professor Layton installment.

Not the best game in the series, but still pretty darn good.

Nintendo has also confirmed that Pokemon Myster Dungeon: Gates to Infinity will also be releasing in the US next year in March after its 3DS exclusive release in Japan this year. And there’s also been talks of an entirely new Zelda game- that Nintendo has confirmed to be in development- also releasing this year. Or possibly a Majora’s Mask remake, which has been going around the rumour mill for months now. Or maybe both. Hopefully!

All in all, it looks like the 3DS has a bright future, and that it’s getting only stronger and stronger with each new year. 2011 served to be the building year for the 3DS, and we got treated to plenty of great titles this year. And now it looks like this trend will continue for next year too. Let’s see if Nintendo performs as strongly in the handheld market as it always has.

Overall Performance: A-

And then, of course, there’s the third party games. Try telling anyone who had an Xbox 360 this year that they didn’t have a very good year in videogames, and they’d probably be laughing in your face.

But just what were the highlights for Xbox 360 owners this year? Let’s break it down. Just to be clear, this isn’t chronological.

Right at the beginning of the year, the Xbox 360 got pretty big titles- Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Soul Calibur V (you can read our reviews through the hyperlinks). Although great games in their own rights, none of them really kicked off the game the way it should have been, and the two titles turned out to be so disappointing that most of us forgot they’d even been released this year.

No matter what the haters say, Mass Effect 3 was a truly unforgettable experience. 

More unremarkable games kept coming our way in Asura’s Wrath, Syndicate and a few others, but it wasn’t really until March that the year, and the Xbox 360 with it, got its first truly remarkable title.

I am, of course, talking about Mass Effect 3. The ending debacle and controversy aside, there’s no denying that Mass Effect 3 was a truly wonderful experience that kept sending memorable and thrilling moments our way, punctuating the incessant action with poignant personal moments perfectly. Our reviewer (yours truly) called it “a perfect conclusion to the perfect trilogy.”

And then we hit the drought, with even titles that seemed like sure shot successes failing to hit the mark, including the likes of Silent Hill: Downpour  (not so bad, though) and Ninja Gaiden 3.

However, things started looking brighter when Xbox Live Arcade came to the rescue, as always. Fez, Trials Evolution and Mark of the Ninja are not only some of the best downloadable titles for the Xbox 360 this year, they’re some of the best games this year, period.

You know a game is awesome when it impressed you as much as it did when it was released a year back.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings- Enhanced Edition, while a port of the excellent PC title from last year, turned out to be a great addition to the X360’s library. In our overly-excited review, we gave the game a solid, completely deserved 9.5/10 and called it “undoubtedly the best RPG to ever have appeared on a console.” In retrospect that may seem like hyperbole, but if we ever got down to talking about it, there’d be plenty of arguments to be made in The Witcher 2’s favour.

Other highly anticipated titles such as Max Payne 3 and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, came and went, impressing a few but making no real mark. The real surprise hit of the year, though, came in the form of a little downloadable title known as The Walking Dead. We didn’t review the entire game as a whole, but we did write a pretty extensive editorial about it, and the reviews are linked in it, so you should give it a read.

No one really expected this game to be any good, much less live up to the high standards of the comic book or even the television show, for that matter, which, to be honest, wasn’t exactly at its best at that time. But the game just surprised people at every turn, telling a story like none other. We, along with countless other people, have gone as far as claiming that it “perfects the art of telling stories in video games a hundred times over and sets an example for games in the future to look up to.”

The years always end with some great games, and this year was no different. We were treated to games such as Halo 4, Assassin’s Creed 3 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. On the flipside, though, we had to suffer the atrocities that were the likes of Resident Evil 6, Medal of Honor: Warfighter and 007 Legends.

Do you know the definition of insa- YES, I’M NOT STUPID, JEEZ.

But let’s look at the bright side instead- Borderlands 2. Dishonored. FIFA 13. Darksiders 2. XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Need for Speed: Most Wanted. Fable: The Journey. Sleeping Dogs. Hitman: Absolution. Forza Horizon. Dragon’s Dogma. And so many others. Seriously, who the hell has been saying this hasn’t been a good year for gaming?

And the real bright spot, one of the best games to have hit the Xbox 360 in a long time- Far Cry 3. This became the second Xbox 360 title to receive a perfect score from us, and our reviewer was so impressed with it, he said it was “the best game of the year, if not the generation.”

And now we’re moving into 2013, and things, as always, look decent when it comes to the exclusive lineup. With games like Gears of War: Judgement and- logically speaking- a new Forza title coming out next year (yes, there will be a next year after all), things look okay for those who want exclusives on their 360s. It’s not like the PS3, which is getting a shitton of exclusives, but it’s still worth taking note of.

But when it comes to multiplatform titles, things look as good as ever, with DmC, Dead Space 3, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Metro: Metro Last Light, Tomb Raider, BioShock: Infinite and many others coming our way in just the first three months of the year themselves.

Hopefully, we’ll have a pretty good 2013 with the Xbox 360.

The generation is coming to and end, and despite being a year of transition, 2012 has manged to impress us time and again. The Xbox 360 has had a good year, and here’s hoping it will have a better one in 2013. With the Xbox 720 possibly coming out by December next year (yes, it’s not announced yet, but come on, we all know it’s coming), Microsoft will start shifting focus and start looking to the future. But still, considering how much resources they have invested in the 360, we can safely assume that we’re going to have a good 12 months ahead of us.

Overall Performance: B+

Q1 2009

Halo Wars was one of the highlights of 2009.

The Xbox 360 had a great season last year in 2008. Heavy hitters like Gears of War 2 and Fable 2 sold like hot cakes making the Xbox the most wanted console in Fall 2008. January just like any other year was very slow for the video games industry. There were two notable releases for the 360 in Skate and Conquest, which were both multiplatform games. However, Skate 2 was a bit of a disappointment since the predecessor was such a good game. January ended with the release of Fallout 3: Operation Anchorage which was a unique experience for Fallout 3 fans. It had its problems, but it’s a fun 3-4 hours of action that anyone with the game should experience.

February saw the release of the sequel to one of the best survival horror games ever;  FEAR 2 was a little less scary than its predecessor but it was a solid shooter overall. The month was very good for Microsoft since it had two major games in Street Fighter IV and the exclusive DLC for Grand Theft Auto 4: The Lost and the Damned. L&D offered a superior multiplayer to the vanilla game. Various GTA IV modes are included in addition to plenty of new modes like lone wolf biker, chopper v chopper, witness protection etc. All these new multiplayer modes and slight gameplay tweaks made L&D an amazing new experience. February ended with reasonable games like Star Ocean: The Last Hope and 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand.

March was the month the majority of the 360 owners were waiting for. No prizes for guessing; Halo Wars. Halo Wars was the premier console RTS and the one that other developers will use as a blueprint for many years to come. Ubisoft’s new multiplatform game for jet fanatics HAWX came out and did fairly well along with the epilogue DLC for the critically acclaimed Prince of Persia. Capcom’s next game, Resident Evil 5 also saw the light in March and did fantastically well on the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, and even though the series was big diversion from the previous games it did very well nonetheless.

Q2 2009

Sorry! By ripping Ryu Hayabusa, you are not going to win any hearts!

Q2 began with another exclusive: Ninja Blade. It tried to better to what Ninja Gaiden achieved but in the end it was nothing but a cheap rip off. Ninja Blade was a decent attempt at stealing Ninja Gaiden’s thunder, but fell short on everything it tried to do. Next up was The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena which was a good attempt but fell short compared to the original. April also saw the release of the stealth action game Velvet Assassin, which was not without issues. The stealth mechanics had been executed very well but it was often nullified by some really awkward and frustrating combat sequences. However, it was the best exclusive that the system had in April. May was the time for Mutants. May 1^st 2009 saw the release of Origins: Wolverine, the next installment in the X-men franchise. The game was very well developed and had a good plot (better than the movie) and had some of the craziest action sequences seen in an X-men game. Then it was time for yet another Fallout 3 DLC ; Broken Steel, which gave a good bang for your buck and was a must buy for any Fallout 3 owner. May also saw the release of several multiplatform games like UFC 2009, Bionic Commando and Sacred: Fallen Angel.

June started with a bang with the release of Volition’s Red Faction: Guerilla which featured a load of destructible objects in the game. Hell yeah! The game is easily one of the best examples of mayhem and utter destruction in 2009. Next up was Prototype which was one of the highlights of June. Unfortunately, we then had one of the worst as well; Virtua Tennis. Next up was the highly anticipated Ghostbusters: The Video Game which made you feel like you were a Ghostbuster in real life. The month ended with great games like Fight Night Round 4, Call of Juarez and the next game in the Transformers franchise: Revenge of the Fallen.

Q3 2009

Halo to the rescue...again?

July 8^th saw the release of one of the bigger and better downloadable games: Battlefield 1943. It’s difficult not to recommend Battlefield 1943 to anyone. Whether you are a shooter fan or not there is tons of fun to be had, and at 1200 Microsoft points or $14.99 on the PSN the price is right. One of the better deals that was released in July was the combined package of BioShock and Oblivion. I am not sure how many of you actually missed this one, but it was a pretty good deal considering you can get two of the best games this generation in one bundle. The end of July saw the release of Gears of War 2: All Fronts Collection which included several maps and the deleted chapter in the sequel ‘Road to Ruin’. One of the most under rated fighting games Marvel versus Capcom 2 also came out during this period. August saw the release of GI JOE which got panned by the critics. Madden NFL 10 came out and was the best Madden experience to date with more realistic gameplay than ever. Another good deal was the release of Trials HD on XBLA.  For 1200 Microsoft points, TRIALS HD isn’t a bad buy, 800 would feel a bit better though. I’d suggest trying out the demo before going in full throttle to decide for yourself. If that was not enough, Shadow Complex came out and proved itself to be a decent downloadable game. This wasn’t the ’side-scroll’ game you’ve seen in the past; this was revolutionary with a new and improved style.

At the end of August we had the release of Batman Arkham Asylum. It was hands down the best Batman game ever, and probably the best superhero game too! It’s one of the greatest stealth- action games we have played on the 360 yet. Do yourself a favour and pick it up if you haven’t already. September saw the release of two exclusive games for the 360. Gears of War 2 game of the year edition and Section 8. Section 8 was a pretty good take on dynamic mission structure and combat.  September also saw a plethora of multiplatform games such as Dirt 2, The Beatles, Mini Ninjas, NHL 2010, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Shift and much more. Phew! September was damn hot. And we are not even done yet. Halo 3: ODST came out and did pretty well in sales and was generally applauded by many critics included us. Folks…let me say it again- it’s not an expansion pack. I would say the Firefight mode is alone worth 60 bucks.

Q4 2009

Welcome to the party folks.

October started off with a couple of neat basketball games from EA and 2k. Operation Flashpoint kick started the battle for the shooter genre. If you’re into a military based FPS’s that are more about tactical gameplay, this isn’t the worst game you’ll ever play. It may not be the greatest, but I enjoyed it and had a hard time putting it down. Next up was Brutal Legend. Brutal Legend came with a lot of promise. While it excelled at atmosphere it didn’t excel at anything else, making it a good game, but nothing memorable. One of the Wild Cards of 2009 was also released in October: Borderlands. In my opinion, it’s a better game than Fallout 3 just for the fact that it has so many cool weapons and the variety of enemies it presents to the player is incredible. October ended with another great FIFA game and WWE: Smack Down versus Raw: 2010.

October 27^th saw the release of Forza 3. Forza Motorsport 3 offered a mind blowing package overall which sure raises the bar high for racing genre. Simulation fan or not, this game is a must for each and every racer. Another exclusive DLC for the Xbox 360 was The Ballad of Gay Tony, which is well worth your 1600 Microsoft Points ($19.99). Those tired of the L&D or the original GTA IV story will find a thrilling new experience but those looking for tons of new content will feel disappointed, although far from ripped off. October finally rounded off with releases of Tekken 6 and DJ Hero. November saw some huge releases on the Xbox 360. Games like Dragon Age Origins, Assassin’s Creed 2, Left 4 Dead 2 and the biggest release of all time: Modern Warfare 2. All these games did very well on the Xbox 360. The only thing missing in November was a major 360 exclusive. December also saw the release of the usual multiplatform games like Avatar, The Saboteur and MX vs. ATV Reflex.

Judging by the number of games that I have mentioned throughout this article, the 360 had a ton of them until November where it failed to provide a major exclusive. Overall I believe the 360 had a good year in 2009 and it was not bad as many outlets make it out to be. However, I will agree it was no way as close to what they had in 2008, but 2009 was not something that Microsoft should forget about. They had a lot of positives this year and next year they have some major releases like Alan Wake, Splinter Cell, Halo Reach and much more.

For more:

PlayStation 3: Year in review

PC: Year in review

Q1 2009- A Period of Strategy

Dawn of War II got the year off to a good start.

To start off 2009, we had some kick-ass releases. In a remarkable coincidence, almost all of the notable releases were strategy games. When Dawn of War II came out it knocked us flat with its fantastic visuals and RPG-esque tactical gameplay.  Following this was Tom Clancy’s Endwar. With some interesting voice control options and a cool continuous multiplayer scheme it sounded like an interesting premise. Unfortunately, it failed to live up to its promises. Another much-hyped release was that of Empire Total War. Highly anticipated, it had high expectations. And while the game succeeded in creating a game that was yet even larger and better looking than ever before, it was riddled with bugs. To this date it still crashes, and the AI is still incapable of making naval invasions. Nevertheless it was a mixed bag to say the least.

To continue the trend of strategy games in Q1, we had the release of Men of War in late March. This game combined the small scale squad tactics of Company of Heroes and the innovative Direct Control as seen in the 2004 classic, Soldiers: Heroes of World War II. Also worthy of mention is Cryostasis, an indie horror game that had many people on the edge of their seats. Selling at a knock down price, it was a bargain worth snatching up.

Q2 2009- A period of Stalin and Martians…Oh dear

Socializing with my pixelated friends.

A little way into the year, things cooled down a little. We had some big names like The Sims make a reappearance after a lengthy hiatus. The Sims 3 managed to generate a fair amount of interest too, selling almost 1.5 million copies in its first week. And who can mention Q2 of 2009 without Stalin vs Martians! In the words of Gamespot’s Kevin VanOrd, “Do not play, look at, or even think about this mangled wreck of a strategy game.” Quite right he was too. Stalin vs Martians was a dire game in just about every area. It had horrible sound, horrible graphics, terrible controls and more bugs than a British hospital.

To help pad out this fairly desolate part of the year, Velvet Assassin was released in May. It was a unique stealth action game set in World War Two and it provided great sound with some great graphics. Unfortunately though- it just wasn’t that much fun due to unsatisfying gunplay and poor AI. However, for the more die-hard shooter fans out there, the biggest release of the quarter was ARMA II. This was not just a standard bubblegum shooter though- for many missions you were simply dropped somewhere in the 225km² map, given some rough directions, and off you went. Little guidance, lots of frustration and a punishing difficulty. Doesn’t sound like much fun does it? In fact what kept people coming back for more was the huge map editor, and the tons upon tons of equipment and vehicles at your disposal. Don’t fancy a long run? Take a chopper.

Q3 2009- Turning old ideas into new ones

Nothing like a little ‘umph’ to start off Q3. Now, being that these are the summer months and game developers have a tendency to hibernate until winter, we didn’t see too much action. However, Street Fighter 4 with its fantastic online play and quirky retro visuals helped many a gamer through weeks of boredom. As did Batman: Arkham Asylum, which took the gaming media by storm. This was not simply a feeble movie-game seen so many times before; it was a visceral, exciting and adult adventure through the depths of DC’s underworld. To put it plainly- the best superhero game ever made.

However, if this didn’t take your fancy then in September we saw the highly anticipated yet slightly disappointing Resident Evil 5. Sporting a strong emphasis on 2-player co-op and taking place in bright African sunshine, Capcom’s latest was more of a gory third person shooter than the shit-in-your-pants survival horror game it once was. Nevertheless, it provided some entertainment, and it wasn’t a horribly botched port like RE4. It was also around September that anticipation of the now-infamous Modern Warfare 2 began to grow. Receiving pages upon pages of optimistic media coverage, it looked like a winner for sure…

Q4 2009- Dizzying highs and crushing lows

Hooray for BioWare!

The last few months have probably been the most eventful. Partly, this is because developers try and get their big budget releases out before Holiday to maximize profits, but this year there were several noteworthy events. First off we have Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising. Now, even with hindsight, I know that there were a LOT of PC gamers out there who were wary of this game before it’s release. While the original had been good, ARMA II had been released only months before, and it had set the bar high. Also, it was not totally unfair to suggest that because OF:DR was being released on consoles as well as PC, that it would be either a simple port, or just not have the epic scope of a game like ARMA II, purpose built for the PC. Upon release, it seemed like this was correct. The game didn’t have the realism or scope of ARMA, but it still had the bugs to match- most people found little reason to buy it. Following this we had Fallout 3: GOTY edition. Nothing new here, just a compilation of all the DLC’s and the full game in one package. It would have been nice if they had solved the crashing issues with it, though. To top off October, we had Boderlands. And do you want to know why this game is great? Loot. Lots of loot. Now I don’t know about you, but I just love the feeling you get when you find a monstrous cache of weapons in Fallout. Now imagine doing that every 10 minutes, and you get the basic idea of Borderlands. Seriously though, the gunplay and role playing elements all came together nicely in this superior game.

Now as we venture into November, things begin to heat up. Dragon Age Origins. Nuff’ said, right? This game was simply incredible; bringing together a mix of old style D&D action and beautiful modern day graphics, we had a game that felt both refreshingly new and comfortingly familiar at the same time.

Then, sometime around the end of October, the bombshell that MW2 would not have mod support or dedicated servers was dropped with an almighty shockwave. Forums were flash mobbed with angry PC gamers, and there was a huge outcry. However, Infinity Ward were not backing down (at that point in time) and refused to comment. Most of you will already know the story, so I will not elaborate further (if for whatever reason you don’t, check the links at the bottom for more info). So the MW2 release date came and went with the astonishing sales figures that everyone expected to accompany it. At this point, PC gamers were feeling very sorry for themselves- but just then, along came Left 4 Dead 2. Made by our loyal and friendly developer Valve, we expected class and polish, and we got every ounce of it.

To top it all off, and to bring us back to today, we had another decent release recently; namely DiRt 2. Good game if you have a steering wheel, but my opinion remains that driving games just don’t work so well on PC.

And the rest, as they say, is history…

2010

And now we look towards 2010. 2009 was a good year, but it certainly had it’s ups and downs. But next year…PC gamers are in for a treat. Let me list some of the games we might be seeing in the next 12 months;

• Starcraft 2
• Command and Conquer 4
• Napoleon Total War
• Guild Wars 2
• Diablo 3
• Star Wars: The Old Republic
• Red Orchestra 2
• Stalker: Call or Pripyat
• Silent Hunter V
• Supreme Commander 2
• Brink
• MechWarrior
• Mafia II
• Deux Ex 3
• Mass Effect 2
• Splinter Cell
• Max Payne 3
• Bioshock 2
• Assassin’s Creed II
• Battlefield 1943
• Final Fantasy XIV Online
• Medal of Honor
• Batman Arkham Asylum 2
• R.U.S.E
• Just Cause 2
• Dead Rising 2

These are just some of the games you could be playing this time next year. Boy, I’m going to be strapped for cash next Holiday…

For further info on the Modern Warfare 2 scandal:

Connection and ping issues

A little satire

IWNet hacked!

Issues with the game

Modern Warfare 2 Review

The PlayStation 3 has been the subject of much criticism since the day of it’s release. Detractors have stated that PlayStation 3 was broken, late and launched with a pathetic line up of games. Three years have passed since that bashing and thrashing and now here we are, waving off 2009. A year where Sony has totally dominated every major gaming console in terms of quality and perfection, the PlayStation 3 has offered gamers a AAA experience throughout the year. So what did Sony do right? Let us do a recap starting from the first month of this glorious year of gaming.

Q1 2009

Killzone 2 was the start of it all

Let’s start with January. As usual there were less games released in the first month of the year. Most of the games released were multiplatform games. Some of them were Skate and Afro Samurai. But the real big deal came in February when most of the good ones came up. First up was Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box which was again, a multiplatform game. Quite simply, Burnout Paradise was a game that you had to own no matter what kind of a gamer you are. This was followed by FEAR 2, the sequel to the 2005 super hit FEAR. If that was all that the PlayStation 3 had to offer, then it would have been a shaky year for Sony. However, two of the major PS3 and PSN exclusives were still to be released. Flower was released and the game was heralded by many as the best PSN game to date. Next up was Killzone 2, one of the games that had a huge hype since we first put our foot in the door of this generation of gaming. The game was sensational in it’s gameplay and is easily one of the best shooters of 2009. March was a bit slow again for Sony, but they knew what they were doing this time around. Out comes MLB: The Show on March 3, 2009. The game not only bettered its predecessor by sizeable margin but is also one of the finest baseball games to date. Another AAA game in the bag, Sony was getting into the groove.

Q2 2009

InFamous was electrifying... literally.

April started with The Chronicles of Dark Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, which was of course a multiplatform game. The game had some strong game play and an interesting plot line, and was an easy pick for the fans of the series. April was a pretty slow month for almost every console out there. But in May we had some major games. The much anticipated next generation X-men was released and it was actually a very good game; playing as Wolverine was a lot of fun. Then a series of multiplatform games like Sacred Fallen Angel, UFC: Undisputed 2009 and Bionic Commando were released which did pretty well on the PlayStation 3. But after a few months of silence, Sony finally broked it with the release of Infamous. Infamous was easily one of the best super hero games that I have played for a while- at least until Batman came around and changed it. But to be honest Infamous is a game which has a class of its own. May ended with a series of flop multiplatform games like Damnation and Fuel. In June Infamous’s competitor came out: Prototype. And it nearly came close to knock Infamous out. But due to some inconsistencies it wasn’t able to do so. Ghostbusters was one of the game that Sony had a slight advantage at least in European countries, since it was a timed PS3 exclusive for Sony in that region. So it was another good game in the bag where Sony was able to capitalize. Just like May the month ended with multiplatform games like Transformers and Fight Night Round 4.

Q3 2009

The turning point in the consoles war

Now we come to the third segment of the year. July 1st marked the release of one the major multiplatform games of 2009- Street Fighter IV. The game is a pinnacle on how fighting games should be made and it also got a superb nine out of ten from us. August saw the release the of EA’s premium game: Madden NFL 2010 and we were happy to report back than it was one of the best football games ever made. At the end of August, one of the major surprises came out: Batman. The game was a phenomenal achievement given that all the previous Batman games were mega flops and also for the fact it got nominated for the Game of the Year award by many outlets including us. For music fans the month ended with a very good game in Guitar Hero 5. Code masters tried and test formula worked with Dirt 2 and it sold in millions. September was the time where things were heating up with solid releases like Mini Ninjas, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, WET, NHL 2010 and Shift. Around this time Sony announced the PlayStation3 slim and this was the moment in this generation where for the first time the critics agreed that Sony won’t look back after this. And man, were they right. The coming last months of the year was a phenomenal test of strength for the PS3.

Q4 2009

The last nail in the coffin

October saw the release of Demon’s Soul, arguably the best role playing game of 2009 besides Dragon Age origins. Codemasters came up with their second notable game of the year: Operation Flashpoint. But Sony’s major trump card was still remaining to be revealed. October 13th…It was finally unveiled. Nathan Drake’s next big adventure was not only a huge achievement technical wise but also set a benchmark which might be difficult for games to reach, at least in this generation. If that was not enough, Insomniac came up with Ratchet and Clank for another wild ride with video games most favorite couple. The game did very well and it was a fitting end to the Tools of Destruction storyline. Tekken 6 and Fifa 2010 rounded up October which was easily one of the best months for video games in the year. November saw the release of major multiplatform games like Dragon Age origins, Assassin’s Creed II and Modern Warfare 2. They were all a AAA experience…Man I must say November was super hot! If you thought that was the end, Sony delivered again. Well we are up to the last month now; December. This month saw the release of The Saboteur and the only notable game which is still to be released includes Guitar Hero Van Halen.

Conclusion

Well that was quick. We just completed a year in a few minutes! I hope I have covered every aspect as to why Sony was dominant in 2009 with the PS3. I must say, they had a great combination of exclusives at the right intervals and a continuous stream of great multiplatform games. I have also mentioned some of the crazy and cool firmware updates that Sony released throughout in 2009 in the honorable mentions below since I believe a gaming console is only as good as its library of games. Sony was right about their ten year old marketing plan. Recent games like Uncharted 2: Among Thieves tells us a lot about how games will be viewed and played in years to come. With a very strong line up expected in 2010 as well, it’s safe to assume that Sony are back in the reckoning. 2009 is the year that was dominated by Sony…by some margin.

Honorable Mentions

• Get real-time news and information in an amazing interactive 3-D globe environment on the Live  Channel.
• Watch the protein-folding simulation in real time on the  Folding@home channel. The goal of the project is to understand protein folding and misfolding, and how these are related to diseases and many  forms of cancer.
• Play your favorite CDs and rip them to the PlayStation®3 system’s HDD.
• Choose from a huge list of full-length movies from top studios including 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate Entertainment, MGM  Studios, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros. Entertainment and The  Walt Disney Studios and many more from the top production houses.