As a fitting way to end the year (and kick start Transmissions from the Void) I am going to list my top 5 games so far of 2009. This has been by no means an easy task but as I'm sure you'll agree the one's I have picked deserve a place on the list.
5# Forza Motorsport 3
It's not that often that a game comes along that raises the bar for its genre. A lot of critics argue that the Xbox 360 reached its full potential in terms of visuals a long time ago. Forza 3 has single-handedly proven that the Xbox 360 has so much more graphical potential to give than ever imagined. Quite simply, Forza 3 is incredible to look at.
The game itself is a powerhouse of content with over 400 cars (modelled with 10x more polygons than Forza 2) and 100 plus courses, it is enough to satisfy even the most dedicated petrol-heads. All cars are fully customisable from upgrading the brake pads on a Ferrari 458 Italia to painting the bonnet of an Audi R8.
Forza 3 (like the Gran Turismo series) defines itself as a racing simulator. That said perhaps Forza 3's best new addition is its fully customisable difficulty. Tied into its RPG-like XP system, players can tweak every feature from driver AI, auto breaking and traction control, allowing them to increase XP earned per race by adjusting difficulty modifiers. This in turn also allows novices to create a more comfortable experience through assists such as driving lines and easier opponents. As players level-up new cars are unlocked and access to new racetracks is granted.
Along with the single player experience Forza 3 also allows for racing both split screen and over Xbox Live. In addition a built in store allows individuals to sell cars, decals and set-ups via virtual auctions using in-game credits.
This feature not only allows people to show off their own creations (see image) but also provides newcomers a chance to acquire vehicles they wouldn't otherwise have access to.
Forza 3 is easily the definitive driving game of 2009 and has set the standard for future racers. It provides an unparalleled depth and equally rewards gamers of any skill who are willing to give Forza 3 the time it deserves.
Shadow Complex is an Xbox Live Arcade title written by author Peter David (Star Trek) and published by Epic Games (Gears of War). The game is clearly inspired by side-scrolling adventure games such as Super Metroid and Castlevania.
The plot involves the main character stumbling upon a secret organisation hell-bent on creating a modern day civil war. Things spiral out-of-control when his girlfriend is kidnapped by the shady organisation under the suspicion of being a government spy.
Players find themselves navigating a single map where each 'section' is indicated by a square on a grid. A variety of puzzles provide a diverse range of challenges and completionists will find themselves backtracking to reach previously inaccessible areas to collect hidden items.
It is an understatement to say that Epic Games have clearly invested a lot of talent in making Shadow Complex. The game provides frequent jaw-dropping battles and environments that are so rich in detail it becomes easy to get engrossed for hours at a time exploring every corner of its massive world.
The game has further blurred the line between full retail titles and arcade games. Its depth, stunning visuals and addictive game play not only makes it one of the best arcade games of 2009, but one of the best games of 2009.
3# Halo ODST
Originally developed as an expansion pack to Halo 3, Halo ODST quickly grew into a full retail title offering players the opportunity to take a break from playing as Master Chief. You take control of various ODST's (Orbital Drop Shock Troopers) who have crashed landed in the city New Mombasa right after the events experienced in Halo 2.
The game is much more moodier than its predecessors, and primarily focuses on stealth over strength. In addition some subtle tweaks to the game (including the need to collect health packs and the inability to jump as high as the chief) serve to remind players that you are no longer a super soldier.
Perhaps the most impressive feature of ODST is its use of veteran TV actors for the voice talent. It's no surprise that Bungie are fans of the series Firefly, employing Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin and Alan Tudyk, along with Battlestar Cylon Tricia Helfer. In addition Marty O'Donnell, as always, does an outstanding job composing the game's music.
Unlike the more linear structure to the previous Halo games, ODST revolves around a central hub city where you as "the rookie" search for clues to the whereabouts of your lost squadron. Once you find a clue (e.g. a detonated remote charge) the game flashbacks to the event and you take control of that ODST offering a more traditional Halo level structure.
Despite the excellent (although perhaps a little short) single player experience, Halo ODST also offers players a 'Gears of War' style horde mode called Firefight in which up to 4 players attempt to survive waves of enemy troops. In addition, provided on a separate disc is the whole Halo 3 multiplayer experience including every single map released over Xbox Live plus 3 exclusive maps. As if that was not enough, the game also offers access to the Halo Reach beta due to go live 2010.
Halo ODST provides a reliable Halo experience with the same quality and fun-factor of any other games in the series. Whereas this could have been enough, Bungie have truly outdone themselves by offering such a complete package that includes more value per disc than any other game. Bring on Halo Reach!
2# Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Now the dust has settled on the tour de force that is Modern Warfare 2 it is unbelievable how much impact this game has had not only on the gaming industry but the entertainment industry as a whole. Its first day sales was the biggest entertainment launch of all time in terms of pure revenue, beating all other games, movies or music records held. What Modern Warfare 2 proved was that the games industry cannot be ignored and is bigger than ever before.
Infinity Ward knew the formula set out in Modern Warfare 1 was a tried-and-tested one that already had set the standard for first person shooters in this console generation. Modern Warfare 2 is not that different to look at to its predecessor. It has the same addictive multiplayer experience and Hollywood-esque single player campaign. Everything however is bigger, much bigger!
The campaign brings the fight to the American front this time, with modern day Russia launching a pre-emptive strike on the country. You find yourself fighting in both the suburbs of towns and in the shadow of various key landmarks (including the White House). These scenes present an eerie look at an untouchable nation crippled by war and provides an incredible interpretation of World War 3. As with all other Call of Duty titles the campaign is split between different military points of views. Although the American campaign is clearly the grandest, it is the British Task Force that is by far the coolest. The less trigger-happy approach and character based story-telling does a much better job than its American equivalent at engrossing gamers in the deep (and often complicated) plot.
The music in Modern Warfare is amongst the best in any game thanks to the efforts of composer Hans Zimmer. In addition the weapon sounds and explosives are phenomenal creating a wonderful and immersive atmosphere.
Once you have finished the single player campaign you find yourself rewarded with a rich and deep multiplayer experience. Like Modern Warfare 1, players earn XP for completing challenges, winning games and killing other players. This in turn increases the player's rank and unlocks equipment, weapons and perks that can be used to customise your soldier. This addictive need to strive for higher rankings ensures that players will be returning to matchmaking for a long time.
Finally it is worth noting the new game mode, called Spec Ops. This involves players tackling challenges either by themselves or via co-op. These challenges vary from piloting the infamous AC 130 to racing snow mobiles across frozen landscapes. These addictive and diverse set-pieces provide a vast expansion on the main game's content and possibly hint towards the type of download content to come.
To say Modern Warfare 2 lived-up to the hype is an understatement. The sheer variety of game play options mixed with the usual Call of Duty accessibility ensures this game's place within the top 5 games of the year.
1# Fallout 3: GOTY Edition
Although technically released in 2008 I believe the Game of the Year Edition differentiates itself enough not only to be considered separate to the original title, but also my favourite game of 2009!
The game is huge, possibly the largest game on this console generation, and will have players investing serious amounts of time in its world.
The game is set in the future, a bleak interpretation of a post-apocalyptic America devastated by nuclear war and mixes both first-person and RPG game play. You begin the game in one of several vaults that hold generations of families who managed to survive the initial attack. After a short while you emerge from your home and begin the search for your missing father, navigating stunning vistas from the dry and often barren "capital wasteland" to Washington DC and its surrounding landmarks.
Although set in the future, Fallout 3 is clearly inspired by the art period prevalent in the 50's, and provides a nod to the Cold War era with China being the superpower who launched the nuclear attack. Fallout 3 mixes this retro 50's style with some very advanced weaponry. Players get the chance to utilise a variety of weapons including laser and plasma riffles, gauss riffles and even the "Fat Man" - a small nuclear warhead launcher taking its name from the real-life bomb dropped on Nagasaki.
Despite Fallout 3's first-person perspective it is very different to other traditional shooters such as Halo and Call of Duty. Primarily an RPG, players are required to earn XP which can then be invested in various skills and traits. These range from bartering skills to increasing explosive damage and offer a highly customisable experience. Unique to Fallout 3 is V.A.T.S. (Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System), whereby players can pause the real-time battle and target specific body-parts of enemies. These parts, depending on the enemy, have a 'likelihood of missing' percentage which improves as players level-up throughout their game.
What separates the GOTY edition from the original fallout 3 is its inclusion of 5 separate expansion packs. These add a variety of new experiences and even offer the chance to play beyond the ending present in the original game, and have an increased level cap from 20 to 30. Completing the main stories alone, ignoring the huge number of side-quests, is likely to take 30+ hours.
Bethesda have created a true masterpiece with Fallout 3, creating a wonderful yet often twisted take on a post-apocalyptic America. The game play is addictive and varied, and the plot truly original. For gamers looking for a rich and fulfilling experience Fallout 3 is second-to-none, and I can not recommend it enough.
5) Infamous - In the very comic book-esque story (its Suckerpunch's 'X-Men' to Naughty Dogs 'Indy') you play as Cole who at the beginning of the game is asked by an anonymous person to deliver a package to the historical district of Empire City. However unbeknown to Cole this package contains the Ray Sphere, which upon opening destroys 6 city blocks. Cole manages to survive the blast and on waking discovers he has super powers. It soon becomes apparent that 
Cole was set up and your quest is to discover who was truly behind the devastating attack. Depending on whether you use your powers for good or evil pushes the story down varying avenues. Being bad results in unlocking 'Bad Karma' powers and general public hatred whereas if you decide to be a goody two shoes a clutch of 'good karma' powers become available and after a while the denizens of Empire City start mobbing you in the streets and acting as if Michael Jackson has just graced their neighbourhood. Some of the powers are great too, ranging from 'Force' Style Lightning to the ability to use your powers to float or form electric grenades. The first thing I noticed were the very slick controls. They reminded me a bit of Dead Space in the fact that the controls are brilliantly thought out and you can switch between various powers or scale buildings with ease and you are never taken out
of the action by having to negotiate reams of convoluted menus. The gameplay has a very cool free running feel, which combines elements of Uncharted with Assassins Creed. The ease at which one can clamber over anything gives it a real sense of freedom and FUN! While this may seem like a odd entry over the likes of Batman etc, I couldn't put this game down, and there was something about it that was incredibly addictive (not dissimilar to Borderlands!). In addition to this the game has some pretty graphics and a solid sound track. Suckerpunch has truly followed in the footsteps on Insomniac and Naughty Dog and released another great, original, next gen, first party Triple A title (It was voted the Best New IP of 2009 by IGN). I am assuming there will be a sequel and I look forward to taking control of Cole again in the not so distant future.
4) Borderlands - Lets start with the story.....it is wafeeeeeerr thin! Some Grunts (and Gruntettes) arrive on a planet (Pandora) to find the mythical 'Vault'. A place believed to contain untold treasures...blah, blah, blah who cares. Borderlands is primarily a FPS with a hefty dose of RPG. Imagine Far Cry 2 mixed with Fallout 3 whereby everything you shoot spews forth masses of experience points (XP) which are used to level up your skills and weaponry. As mentioned 
previously even though the story is a bit thin (and the ending is quite poor) you learn to overlook it as the gameplay is so much fun. The combination of continually looting to find a better gun and leveling up to acquire new skills quickly becomes addictive. However the first thing that strikes you when you start playing is the look. It is very stylized and and has a lush comic book feel. However this wasn't always the case and the original graphics were very different (more of a standard, photorealistic look - you can Google it and there are plenty of screenshots). However many believe that following Fallout 3's release Gearbox wanted to distance themselves from that particular future RPG classic, as to be honest they are both very similar in many areas. With the game having enough variety and 4 characters to choose from (all with different skills and abilities) one can easily complete multiple playthroughs (essential if you want to grab all of those shiny trophies!). These combined with 2 DLC packs (with more in the pipeline) means I'll be playing this for a long time to come, at least until the inevitable sequel is released (Borderworlds?). I've bought the 1st DLC "The Zombie Island of Dr Ned" and it is cool it puts a nice twist on the existing game with a island of walking dead! While there is no traditional MP (i.e. standalone online element), and at 
first there seems like there isn't any at all, it is in fact cleverly integrated into the main campaign. Embedded into the World Map are a series of Arenas you can walk into (at any point in the course of the story) and all of a sudden a traditional 'death match' begins, a la CoD, Far Cry,Resistance etc. While Gearbox have not tried to compete with Infinity Ward/Treyarch in the MP steaks they do realise that it is a neceassry part of the modern day game and have decided to implement it in a new and novel way (good on ya Gearbox!)...it has the intensity of MP without taking you out of the very special and original gaming world that they have created. Oh well I'm off for another go with my Triple Barrel Acid shotgun to blast some Zombies in my on going quest to reach Level 50..see you guys online!
3) Killzone 2 - This FPS beast has been on many peoples radar since the E3 teaser trailer of 2005. Since then it has gone through a truly monstrous gestation period in which it saw Sony give Guerrilla blank cheque and unlimited time to save Sony's blushes! (The infamous Original trailer was pedalled as being in game footage when in fact it was rendered...naughty, naughty!). The story follows the assault of Helgan (Home of the Helghast) by the ISA (Interplanetary 
Strategic Alliance). The ISA's plan is to capture the Helgan leader which would hopefully bring about an end to the two races destructive intergalactic war. The first thing that strikes you when you start playing is the graphics...they are mind blowing, from the textures and physics to the cut scenes and backdrops it is special. Its obvious that Guerilla have spent their gaming 'pocket money' well and drained every bit of graphical power out of the PS3. There were some complaints when it was released regarding the controls and that they were 'sluggish'. The forums exploded with angry posts from 'CoD' die-hards asking why the controls weren't exactly the same as the Activision FPS monster (Uh perhaps because its a different game!?!?). Guerrilla responded saying that they were the way they were because they wanted a distinctive feel to the controls and that they were weighted and different dependant on the weapon you had equipped. After much thought Guerrilla 'stuck to their guns' an
d the controls remained the same. Personally I liked the feel of the controls and it also meant you didn't get instantly blasted away by someone spinning on five pence in multiplayer! At the end of the day if you want a game that feels and plays like CoD play CoD! Luckily the visual tour-de-force was also backed up by some truly heart pounding set pieces which really did give you the feeling of being thrust into the midst of the intergalactic dust-up. The addition of a competent cover system and some great weapons means it can easily hold its own against the other FPS big-hitters like CoD and Halo. The only let down was the ending (like Borderlands) which was a bit of an anticlimax. Furthermore it has a coda which feels like it was tacked on at the 11th hour to set up the inevitable Killzone 3. However that said it doesn't leave too much of a sour taste in your mouth.The multiplayer is fun too. It takes the basic XP level up/perk system of numerous other games and adds its own spin. From the constantly evolving death matches (one minute its 'free-for-all' next 
its the wonderfully intense 'Assassination') to the grubby war torn looking maps it really can hold its own. Unlike most of its major rivals the emphasis is truly on team work. If you don't work together then you ain't gonna win...simple. For a start you can only play 'team based' game types and there is a great Clan framework/community whereby you can even challenge other clans and wager XP. The only complaint is the lack of co-op, offline or on. Its a squad based game and therefore perfect for co-op. I personally love playing co-op games locally and this would have been the icing on the cake. Oh well there is always Killzone 3....
2) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - You may not have heard about this one as it did slip under the radar :o), who am I trying to kid this is the gaming behemoth to beat all gaming behemoths! People knew this was going to be the biggest game of the year but did they really think it was going to gross $315 millions in one day? Insane! The main campaign is short (only six hours) but is so intense that if it was any longer it may have been a bit too much to 
handle - short but perfectly formed (a la Reign in Blood by Slayer). Like the first Modern Warfare the characters are great. However saying that I never really found myself caring for the Marines and the Whitehouse chapter (underwhelming - only down side to the main campaign) did not feel as epic as it should (it could and should have been on a par with the Reichstag level in CoD 5 which I found about as intense a gaming experience I've ever had). However this is not the same for the members of Task Force 141 whom I did find myself caring for and when (spoiler) two of the main characters are brutally executed towards the end of the game it was quite shocking. The graphics and use of sound is spectacular. If you blast this bad boy through a 5.1 set up you do feel like you are in the middle of the action. While at heart it is very similar to the MW1 everything is that much bigger and better. The gameplay is more varied and the locations more diverse. For example in one level you are scaling an icy rock face using ice picks and crampons in Kazakhstan and t
he next you have infiltrated a terrorist group and are partaking in a brutal massacre in a Russian airport. (The controversial 'No Russian' level). The game contains many 'Woah!' moments, from running across the roof tops of a Favela to jump into a moving helicopter to controlling predators missile via a laptop whilst storming a sub marine base, the game is truly bursting at seems with Hollywood grade set pieces. However great the campaign is due to its short running time this game could have been a bit of a con. Thankfully the legendary social-life destroying multiplayer returns and its better than ever with more perks, options and guns than ever before!!!! This is by far and away the king of all multiplayers. I could write pages on this but I feel I wouldn't do it justice, therefore you're just gonna have to buy it and play it for yourself. Trust me you won't be disappointed....This single handily has proved that games are are bigger and badder than ever and are no longer just the obsession of spotty teenage kids.
1) Uncharted 2 - And now to the big one, its worth noting that this is the Only major game to have the 'cojones' to be released within (if you exclude Assassins Creed 2) a month either side of CoD! Its abundantly clear
from the off that Naugthy Dog has spent the last two years hidden away in a top secret bunker attempting to understand and harness the PS3's power. The teams dedication to truly get to grips with Sony's 7th Gen machine has definitely paid off as this game looks and plays beautifully. Plus unlike many other AAA title in recent memory it came in on time with little or no controversy. Like the first game the story is brilliant and the dialogue is snappy and genuinely funny. In this new adventure, set 2 years after the events of the first game, the dashing and suave Nathan Drake (Indiana Jones for the Twilight generation) is sent/recruited to find the legendary treasure of Marco Polo's lost fleet, last seen in the 13th Century. During his new adventure Drake is reunited with his friendly side-kick Sully and former 'flame' Elena. We are also introduced to another of Drakes lovers, Ch
loe (voiced by one Claudia Black), who like Drake is forever searching for 'fortune and glory'. I don't want to spoil the story for you but like the first game the story is excellent and the initial 'macguffin' (aka Marco Polo's lost fleet) is not the be all and end all when it comes to the driving force behind this epic tale. The game, with its surprisngly excellent multiplayer, truly is a complete package.(Can Naughty Dog do any wrong?). The game has a incredible polish...everything oozes quality and has obviously been produced with a genuine love for the characters and story. From the very beginning the game grips you from the opening level which sees you scrabbling up the side of a train carriage that is percariously hanging over the edge of a cliff (all while you're bleeding out an trying to remain conscious), through levels
which find you battling helicopter gun ships while running across the roof of a speeding train to the final battle which sees you in the stunning looking long lost city of... well I won't spoil it for you. It is epic and exciting and I felt genuinely gutted when the credits rolled as I wanted it to never end. Awesome, Brilliant and truly Cinematic, the Raiders of the Lost Arc of this generation of Video Games. Naughty Dog have confirmed that this is not the last we've seen of Drake. In my eyes Uncharted 3 just can't come soon enough!
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