Top 10 XBox 360 Games of 2009 | Top XBox 360 Games By phact0rri  [10 more lists]

Obviously, any "best of 2009" list has to have at laest one mention of CoD:Modern Warfare 2, the entertainment king of the year, obliterating records in its wake. However, Modern Warfare 2 was more than just a media blitzkrieg, it also turned out to be a kick ass game with, as usual, a ridiculously fun single player campaign, addictive multiplayer, and a very “if it ain't broke don’t fix it” control set up. Mixed with a sick sound track and kick ass graphics, hail to the king baby.

The Plot:

For that one guy who has been living Great apes for the last five years, COD:MW2 is an First-Person-Shooter created by Infinity Ward. It is set five years after the last game, where a new terrorist group called Trask has appeared. Like in the other games of the CoD series, you are armed to play as a few different members of Task Force 141, a multi-national anti-terrorist group, however the game centers around Sgt Gary “Roach” Sanderson, and his team. The core of the story takes off five years after the first Modern Warfare, with the Ultranationalists seizing control of Russia, and declaring Zakhaev a national hero. Meanwhile, one of Zakhaev’s Lieutenants begins terrorizing Europe. The first mission of the game shoves the player into the shoes of Private Allen, working undercover for the terrorist organization. They go to Zakhaev National airport in Russia where they kill a host of unarmed civilians, only to end the mission by exposing Allen as an American and killing him—effectively blaming America for the attacks on Russia. So begins the slippery slopes of Task Force 141 as they try to prove Allen’s innocence as an agent, and prove that the massacre was the fault of the terrorist group.

About the Game:

The storyline obviously is well written with a lot of twists and turns. However the real hero in the game is the IW4.0 engine used to power the game. The update to IW used in previous CoD games, has went a few steps above what it was in CoD4. Expanding the environments to encompass larger worlds, more advanced AI systems, enhance models, and more scaled lighting and shadow transformation.

All in all, this highly rated, and highly purchased game really turned out to the be the king of xbox360 games this year, and deserved all the coverage and hype it received.

Now for the INTERESTING choices...

Capcom’s newest installment in the legacy franchise Street Fighter arrived on shelves this year with lots of fanfare as well as lots of claims to its worth. Taking years of development, it's hard not to see why. With just the right mix of new and what made the games kick ass back the 90’s. Obviously the graphics are impressive, but the controls feel so familiar even when it's been a while since you’ve played a Street Fighter game. Combined with familiar faces (yay Cami!...although we don't know her for her face), and 2d feel Street Fighter returned in a way I was not expecting.

About the Game:

Back in the 90’s Street Fighter II won our hearts with its addictive play, anime looking sprite work, and colorful characters. And Street fighter IV is, in every way, that same thing taken to Next Generation levels. The six button control scheme returns with a few additional systems, most notably the Focus Attack System which allows a weakened character to absorb an attack brought upon him/her by his/her competitor and then sends that same damage back into the opponent as a way to save the match.

Street Fighter is back. HADUUUUKEN!

A Batman stealth game seems like a no-brainer, but at the same time, comic book video games have a horrible track record. So how did this game turn out so amazingly? Edios, along with Batman The Animated Series (the cartoon from the 90's) writer Paul Dini came together to deliver one of the best, if not THE best superhero game since Batman for the NES.

The Plot:

The Story is relatively easy to understand. Joker attacks the mayor’s office and Batman transports him to Arkham. Upon entering, Harley Quinn compromises the security allowing Joker to escape and take over the facility. The situation locks Batman in Arkham and lets loose a good bit of Batman’s rogue gallery.

About the Game:

Through the game’s impressive visuals, the player controls the Caped Crusader allowing him to the jump, glide, attack, and have use of a wide range of batman’s signature weapons including gas bombs and bat-a-rangs.

The game is simple in theory, it’s a stealth game with batman in the starring role. But what it does it does well, adding in the immersible graphics and jaw dropping cut screens and amazing looking depictions of the rogue gallery. It has all the ingredients for one of the best games of the year, and the best Stealth based action game I’ve played in a good many years.

Bonus: Batman is voiced by Kevin Conroy (the voice of Batman in the 90's Animated Series)

The follow up to Assassin’s Creed had a tough act to follow. The Sandbox style “GTA with Horses” gameplay gave players little to complain about. But developer Ubisoft Montreal stepped up the game varying the missions so it's not so repetitive They created Da Vinci-style tools and gadgets, the ability to swim in water, control carriages, and an "eagle sight" - the ability to see people and landmarks- in third person.

The Plot:

The game takes place immediately after the end of the first game. Desmond Miles who in the first game was trying to find his ancestor Altair has been abandoned by the company, who created the Animus, which was a machine that could decode memories in DNA. Finding out the company was using him to find The Pieces of Eden. Escaping their custody, he teams up with a researcher and two other assassins, to find the missing pieces and begin training to be an assassin. Thus begins his story tracing the member of his Italian ancestor, Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Ezio’s story involves him finding out his family has been the victim of a large political plot leading to the death of his two brothers and his father. His father’s final wish has Ezio finding a chest containing Assassin’s gear. Ezio then trains with his uncle Mario in the art of combat, which starts his quest, to find his family’s betrayer. Along his quest he meets people to help him on his way including Leonardo Di Vinci.

About the Game:

The game’s visuals have been reworked, and there’s been a lot of attention to detail in recreating 15th century Italy. The models look amazing and the graphics look like one long interactive 3D cut scene. The sound is simply amazing. The Score was composed by Jesper Kyd, featuring a full orchestra and a 13-voice chorus recorded at capitol records. The controls are largely the same and there is no need to for improvement, and instead they focused on giving Ezio more places to hide and adding features to assist in stealth and staying out of sight. Also there is connectivity between Assassins creed II and the Assassin’s creed I direct sequel Bloodlines on the PSP.

On the coat tails of the amazing FIFA Soccer 09, this year's version takes the amazing physics, the massive amount of content, stellar sound, and ground breaking visuals and just focuses on staying the course on probably the best football game we’ve seen in a good many years. That's right. I called it "football".

About the Game:

The gameplay works like the other games with the player controlling the ball handler on offense, and selecting a player to control on defense. The ball handling has been expanded making it feel close to the real thing, and giving a great sensitivity to the process. There is a lot of extra mileage for the game. You can upload a picture and graph your face on a player and by using him or her you can enhance your character's abilities. The Management feature was the most improved element of the game with trades, and character enhancements creating interactive leagues that tend to be wholly addictive. Also the online component and online co-op makes all the work pay off and takes the fun to whole other level.