Xbox Gaming in South Africa

The staff here at XG reflect back on a great year in gaming for the Xbox 360, narrowing down our choices for 2008's Game of the Year:

Merkaba

2008 has been a bumper year for gamers with EA bringing out brand new IPs in Mirror's Edge and Dead Space, Rockstar releasing a a new GTA game, Lionhead giving us the chance to live in Fable 2's Albion, Ubisoft got us to explore Africa from a different perspective with Far Cry 2 as well as Persia in a brand new take on the Prince of Persia franchise with the latest addition to the series and Bethesda resurrecting the Fallout franchise with Fallout 3. Then there was a slew of great Xbox Live Arcade games that we were treated to with the Summer of Arcade with Braid, Geometry Wars and Castle Crashers all providing us with hours of entertainment.

A game of the year award of course means I have to somehow narrow my choice down to one single game from amongst a large number of great games and upon looking at it I managed to narrow it down to Prince of Persia. What is it that makes this game so special? It managed to take a series gamers had come to love and put a brand new spin on it. Gamers might complain that its too easy but that would be overlooking the point of the game. Prince of Persia takes you on a journey of discovery as the Prince. You discover both the land he finds himself saving as well as his own personal motivations. All of this is done with very minimal use of cutscenes and dialogue. Ubisoft have to be congratulated on taking a risk here and trusting that gamers will enjoy the game for what it is meant to be, an experience rather than a challenge to frustrate you. A honourable mention must be given to Braid for also breaking the mould of what we expect to find in games and presenting us with main character Tim's journey of acceptance and loss. All this presented with some truly mind bending puzzles that are both simple and complex at the same time. Let's hope 2009 can come close to repeating the bounty of great games we got in 2008.

Sev3R 7

The Xbox 360 got a flood of good games in 2008. It is hard to pick just one for Game of the Year. It should be that game that kept you busy for hours on end. The game you couldn’t wait to play when you got back from work or school. And that game, for me, is Grand Theft Auto IV. I have been a huge fan of the GTA games since they went 3D with GTA III. However, just about every time a GTA game came out it had below average visuals, poor audio quality/support, frustrating combat controls and no real multiplayer to speak of. But GTA games have always had excellent gameplay, music, character development and story. It didn’t need to have flashy graphics or multiplayer to impress or sell. I expected the same formula with GTA IV. But GTA IV was far beyond that.

GTA IV is one of the best looking games to date and the new combat system plays incredibly well. Not only that, but the game features many multiplayer modes that are epically good fun. The amount of content and attention to detail in this game is amazing. Rockstar went with a more realistic approach this time round and I know some gamers were disappointed with that. I think it was a smart move though. No other game has such a believable city full of virtual people. I will be playing this game again and again for years to come, just like the previous GTA games. And with downloadable content on its way, not only is GTA IV my Game of the Year for 2008, it is probably my favorite title for the Xbox 360.

Some other games kept me awake during 2008: Fable II, Prince of Persia, Dead Space, Left 4 Dead and Gears of War 2.

Denouncer

It has been a great year for gamers, with a multitude of grade-A titles coming out. Many of the big names only graced our stores in the last 3 months, and having to narrow it down to only a single selection has been difficult, but after careful consideration, my final choice for Game of the Year 2008 would have to be Fable 2.

Fable 2 not only came through as a sequel, but I felt it set new standards in the Action RPG genre. The experience is unlike any other, unique and fulfilling, with hours upon hours of gameplay available to you. Fable 2 hit all the right marks for me, and that is why it's my Game of the Year for 2008.

Conclusion

With no single game being chosen by the staff here at XG, it shows that 2008 was filled with creativity and quality. Every genre had something special, making 2008 one of the best years for gaming on the Xbox platform. It's now up to developers to raise the bar and exceed our expectations in 2009.