Here’s some thoughts on the games I’ve played in 2009 in executive-bullet-point style. Lists are in no particular order.

There’s some big games missing from this list. As you probably know my birthday is 12/24 and I have a reasonable amount of disposable income. So it’s around this time of year when all the holiday game releases come out that I’m banned from the store or else I ruin gift giving opportunities.

The Great - Highly recommended

  • Warhammer 40k, Dawn of War II – Impressive twist on RTS conventions.
  • Plants vs. Zombies – Tower defense with Popcap style. Fun casual game.
  • Section 8 – Great take on class based multiplayer FPS. The next Tribes.
  • Red Faction: Guerilla – One of my two most favorite games this year. Everything should blow up this good. Takes the crown of open world destruction from Mercenaries.
  • Brutal Legend – Other favorite game. Don’t let Jack Black, Metal, or the RTS scare you. Great story, great gameplay. Try something different instead of Call of Duty 6 or Madden 10.
  • Forza Motorsport 3 – If you’re a car nut, get this game. If you like Top Gear, get this game. If not, then get this game anyway and you will be.
  • Sword of the Stars: Argos Naval Yard – My friends made the perfect send off for 3 years of expanding and tweaking a great game.

The Good - Not bad, worth your time

  • Left for Dead 2 – New maps, new weapons, new special infected. $50 for something that could have been dribbled out through DLC.
  • Shadow Complex – Metroidvania in 2009. If you like that kind of thing.
  • Splosion Man – Silly puzzle platformer. Chuck Jones kinda style.
  • The Beatles: Rock Band – Beautiful tribute to an amazing band. Refines the Rock Band experience even further.
  • Torchlight – Methadone for WoW addicts, something to tide you over until Diablo III.

The Meh - Dissapointing, some redeeming qualities

  • Puzzle Quest: Galatrix – None of the charm of the previous Puzzle Quest.
  • Arma 2 – Massively ambitious, too bad it’s broken in many ways.
  • Hearts of Iron III – See Arma 2.
  • Empire: Total War – Big leap forward for the Total War series. Too bad the AI doesn’t know what to do with water among other problems.