2009 is coming to a close, along with the decade for that matter but who really cares about that? don’t give me this ‘game of the decade’ bs.

I thought I’d take the time to recap how I went in this crazy end of season rush that is the video-games business, did I keep up with my expectations of acquisitions? were the games I listed as good as I had hoped? I’ll take a small piece of your time (and mine!) to recount.

I didn’t end up posting my ‘most excited for the holidays’ list, because well it was lost in the transition to Venting-Gamer frankly. So for those passively interested enough a quick run down below…

(for the sake of this article the ‘holiday period’ is considered September through December)

Sept.
The Beatles Rock Band, Halo 3 ODST, Order of War.
Oct.
Brutal Legend, Uncharted 2, Tropico 3, Borderlands, Forza Motorsport 3.
Nov.
Dragon Age Origins, Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2.

OK, so maybe I was getting a bit ahead of myself thinking I could purchase 11 games in 3 months, hell that would have really upset the balance sheet if I went on with that plan. So below is a little more realistic of an outcome, here’s what I ended the year with.

The Beatles Rock Band (PS3)
Yeah, I can regurgitate all the praise it received upon release from the body critic, it is all those things, beautiful, reverant etc etc. The problem is I quickly burnt out on it. No surprise really, when I’m use to my Rock Band 2 collection of some 400 songs, taking me back down to 45 is a kick in the groin. Not that I really knew too many songs, I had hoped to spark an affinity for their music by doing so, didn’t happen.

Halo 3 ODST (X360…duh)
But to be honest, 3 months after release. At the time of writing I had only purchased the game a few days ago. Gave ‘Firefight’ a few rounds with family during my short-lived summer vacation, yeah it’s great but lacks a certain energy I feed off other online multiplayer shooters. No comments to provide on the campaign of course, I will need to get around to completing that at some point in the near future.

Forza Motorsport 3 (X360…duh)
The game I purchased ahead of many that will no doubt win game of the year awards from various ‘reputable’ outlets (read below for more details). This is my ultimate ‘chillax’ game, I play with some pretty casual settings when I want my gaming to be just that. Usually I’m listening to music or podcasts while doing so. Something about hitting those apex lines (yes brake assisted) is therapudic to my gaming needs. Overall the layout is fantastic, simplified, streamlined, all those funky adjectives. It’s really just a boys car collecting fantasy come to virtual life. And for that it was worth it, having piled some 30 hours into it, getting to driver level 40.

Modern Warfare 2 (X360)
Ahh, here’s the real culprit to why my pile of shame (below) looks so bad. I am loving Modern Warfare 2 online. Just as Forza 3 had me forsake all else in October, Modern Warfare 2 hooked me in for all of November. The campaign, despite it’s Michael Bay worthy plotline, was amazing AND far more energetic, exciting & endearing than Modern Warfare 1! But really, my love of this game rests mostly in it’s online offerings. The mechanics of progression & quick churn matches is so addictive as to be seriously investigated for its legality. 50 hours I have devoted to this game thus far, and I am by no means close to maxing out that progression. 

Pile of Shame – What I haven’t touched in the last few months despite purchasing.
Tropico 3 (PC), Borderlands (PC), Left 4 Dead 2 (PC), Dragon Age Origins (PC), Order of War (PC)… theres a theme here hmm.
Fortunate enough to have Tropico 3 gifted through steam, Borderlands 4 pack was a deal too good to pass up, as were Dragon Age & Order of War during Steam’s Black Friday Weekend sale. Purely no intention to play them any time soon, just offers too good to pass up.

Missed Out
On the list – As illuded to above, 2 games in serious contention for game of the year accolades I never got around to picking up. Brutal Legend & Uncharted 2, both victims of my engagement with other titles. While I did purchase other’s in this timeframe, there were additional factors (read above) to compel my dollars away from these 2.

Of course some big games weren’t even on my list, for lack of care. Again, some of these will no doubt be up for game of the year consideration. Assassin’s Creed 2, Demon Souls, R&C Crack in Time & DJ Hero.

Having now completely recounted the last 3-4 months, I’m actually struck by the revelation that I did in fact just about hit all the goals I set myself coming into this crazy period. 9 games total is a crazy number to have collected in such a short time. I guess my disbelief stems from the fact that I only really played 4 of them, with a number of great PC games kept on the back-burner.

So how’d you go in the season of madness? Feel free to leave a comment.