This top ten list is even less relevant than the last one. Just like before, it's not about games released this year, but about the games I played this year. Also, this top ten list is actually a top five list. Again, no intentional order; I list them as they come to mind.
1. Red Dead Redemption
Beautiful.
2. God of War III
It's still hilarious to me that I love this game as much as I do. When I first played God of War in 2005, I despised it for several silly reasons, most of which no longer hold sway. Now, five years later, I'm singing a completely different tune. Artistic, experimental, epic, and emotional are not words I ever imagined myself attributing to a God of War game, but here I am.
3. Grand Theft Auto IV
Really, same deal as God of War. I operated under the same gross misconception everybody else does about this series. It's not just about gunning down pedestrians or stealing cars. This game is a biting satire of our current cultural state, an unflinching examination of what it means to be an American, and a personal tale of one man's struggle to maintain some kind of morality in what seems to be a city without morals. Beyond that, the mere fact that the game works at all is impressive, and the fact that it works damn near perfectly is a wonder.
4. Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
I put a few dozen hours into these two games, and it feels like I've spent an equivalent amount of time talking about them. Yes, there are flaws; all games have them. However, short of Pope Alexander VI crawling out of my TV and trashing my room, nothing can ruin the joy these games bring me. I get to climb all over cities I will never get to visit and meet people who have been dead for half a millennium. The combat is visceral, and the story, although it reeks of Dan Brown, has me by the nose. Brotherhood took the series where I hoped it would go, and that's to the present, with a fully playable Desmond Miles climbing over modern-day shit. Not to mention the multiplayer, which is fun as all hell.
5. Suikoden V
What a way to end a marvelous series of JRPGs. This isn't the best game in the series, but even the worst Suikoden game is better than most other games of its kind. Just as mature and sophisticated as its predecessors, Suikoden V has all of what we've come to expect from Suikoden, sporting the best duel battle system in the series and a sorrowful plot filled with betrayal, attempted genocides, and the politics of war. Even if you're a Suiko-virgin, V will appeal to anyone who agrees that the PS1 generation was the heyday of the JRPG. This game is what JRPGs on the PS2 should have been, with its fully traversable overhead world map.
Honorable mentions because I'm a wishy-washy bastard:
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker - This game probably shouldn't have happened, but, since it did, I will admit it's a lot of fun to play and the Cold War history-based story is quite strong. It has more content than any MGS to date.
Heavy Rain - A plot that would be mediocre in any other medium and a sore thumb of a weak ending do only a little damage to what this interactive drama achieves: the most authentic role-playing experience I have ever had with a video game.
InFAMOUS - Mix Assassin's Creed, Sly Cooper, and Marvel Comics, gradually stir in moral choices, and zap with electricity. Let stand. Serve. An impressive game from the standpoint that it may actually be two games, depending on how you choose to play it: as a hero or as a villain. Nice twist ending.
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