Moody Gamer

As a gamer I had a great time playing video games this year. Maybe its not the best gaming year but it  certainly was impressive. During this year we saw the return of  fighting games with Street Fighter IV, Sony Playstaion 3 awaking from its long sleep, Financial crisis casting its shadows on a number of game development studios like Pandemic and GRIN. We also witnessed the appearance of a new contender in the gaming war, the iPhone. But most importantly, lots of great video games titles were released this year on all the platforms. To sum everything up, Here is a list of the best games of 2009:

Demon’s Soul (PS3)

From Software brings an action RPG game unlike any other you have played before. Demon’s Soul is the game that will make you weep with it’s unforgiving difficulty. If you can overcome that then you are about to face a game with deep tactical combat and customization along with the amazing level designs. The game also offers some excellent and unique online features.

Street Fighter IV (PC-Xbox360-PS3)

Capcom was able to return to the roots of the series with the release of Street Fighter IV. The game offers deep gameplay and competitive online multiplayer. Whether you are a fighting game expert, a newbie, or even if you aren’t into fighting games, Street Fighter IV is worth checking out.

inFamous (PS3)

One of the best new IPs in 2009, inFamous gives  you the freedom of movement and awesome electrical powers that make you feel like a true super-hero. The combat is fast and fun. I also liked the karma system and the upgrades they were both outstanding. The fate of the city is in your hands as you can either be a real hero and save it or just be evil and destroy everything that comes in your way.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)

Playing The first Super Mario Bros. in co-op was every gamers dream. Nintendo finally made that happen with New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Nintendo reminds everyone in this game that they are the masters of 2D platforming. The game offers magnificent platforming and brilliant level design. The multiplayer is fun and hilarious. the game is also very challenging unlike the previous DS version. But most importantly, the game has a nostalgic feel to it that is just amazing and will make you shed a tear easily.

Forza Motorsport 3 (XBox360)

Its a beautiful racing game with an entertaining Career Mode and an excellent online multiplayer, not to mention the selection of hundreds of cars and the varied tracks. The game also balances between simulation and arcade style to make the game playable by anyone. All of this make Forza Motorsport 3 the racing game of this generation, for now at least.

Batman: Arkham Asylum (PC-Xbox360-PS3)

This is how a Batman game should be. Batman: Arkham Asylum gives you Fun stealth gameplay with a strong story that is loyal to the comics and over the top voice acting. Its simply the best comic book game ever made.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (Nintendo DS)

Be prepared to have a hilarious time with the third and best installment in the series. Its a fun Mario RPG game with varied gameplay and hilarious dialogues .. inside Bowser.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PC-Xbox360-PS3)

It is the newest phenomenon in the gaming industry. Modern Warfare 2 gives the best online multiplayer experience out there. The game also offers a short yet great single player campaign and a well made co-op mode.

Assassin’s Creed II (PC-Xbox360-PS3)

Nothing beats jumping over the artistic buildings of 15th century Italy. Unlike its predecessor, Assassin’s Creed II is an incredibly polished game with improved gameplay mechanics and a decent story. Ubisoft learned from their mistakes in the first try and gave us a masterpiece. Oh and who is a better side-kick than Leonardo Da Vinci himself.

Dragon Age: Origins (PC-Xbox360-PS3)

With its incredible story and character development, Bioware has made another great western RPG title. Dragon Age: Origins is easily the best RPG of the year

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (Nintendo DS)

The sequel to Phantom hourglass proves to be an even better game than its predecessor. Join link in an adventure through brilliantly-designed dungeons, new items, innovative boss fights. The game will also take you through challenging puzzles and you will solve them with the help of princess Zelda.

Killzone 2 (PS3)

It’s the game that took everyone by surprise when it came out. Nobody thought Guerrilla would be able to match their game with the famous E3 trailer back in 2006. Killzone 2 is a great FPS shooter game that offers an action-packed campaign mode combined with stunning visuals and sound effects. It also has a remarkable online multiplayer that will keep you hooked.

Halo 3: ODST (Xbox360)

Halo is back but this time its more like an expansion than a sequel. Halo3 : ODST offers a great and unique campaign mode even though its a bit short. It also introduces a splendid new Firefight mood. This game is a must for all Halo fans.

Uncharted 2 (PS3)

Most critics and gamers agree that Uncharted 2 is the game of the year. Naughty Dog were able to turn their weak points in the previous Uncharted into powerful ones. This is a blockbuster game and an adventure you will never forget. Uncharted 2 offers brilliant combat system, remarkable voice acting, great story, incredible script, stunning graphics and smashing online multiplayer. All of this makes a thrill-ride that you will be remembering for the rest of your life.

Borderlands (PC-Xbox360-PS3)

One of the hit titles of 2009, Borderlands is a game that came out strong & unexpectedly. The FPS/RPG game offers a crazy amount of customized guns and an interesting art style. It can be crazy fun when other players join the party co-op style. And it can become a bit boring and lonely when played by a single player.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Nintendo DS – PSP)

The handheld version of the GTA franchise is certainly up to its name. The incredible work that has been put in the game, like the great story and the varied missions along with all the new features, make this a must experience for all handheld gamers.

Left 4 Dead 2 (PC-Xbox360)

Fans went mad when Valve first announced the sequel to Left 4 Dead in such a short period instead of releasing it as downloadable content. But Left 4 Dead 2 proved them wrong and turned out to be a true sequel with its  marvelous campaigns and the new modes as well as the improved gameplay. Left 4 Dead 2 is the best co-op multiplayer experience since the first installment.

I guess that sums it up. It was truly a wonderful year. I know there are other awesome titles that I didnt include  but this is the cream of the crop.  2010 is coming up and its look like its going to be an even better year for gamers than this one.  Our poor pockets are gonna get a hard beating as well !

Well, for a while there wasn’t. Been so busy with lots of stuff; study, work, family, leave, WoW!… and other stuff that pop up when you least expect them.
Well, lets kick off with some news related to WoW. Patch 3.0.8 has kicked in with lots of bugs and issues. An emergency maintenance has been made and hope to sort things out.

As for other games, well, I still have to finish Dead Space which is until now the scariest game I ever played. I suggest you try it out too. It is available on PC, Xbox360 and PS3. Hanging on the shelve are Fall Out 3, Prince of Persia (4!), Far Cry 2 and GTA4. I still need to go out and grab Red Alert 3 (An expansion has been announced already!). They are all not only great games, but very very good ones that will get you hooked. Though with so many great games coming out very soon, you can’t imagine but ask yourself how will you find the time to play them all.

Oh and regarding the cable cut, it seems it has been restored to about 80% of its previous performance. Expect full recovery with time. Some of you won’t notice it and will start saying that it has fully recovered, which it didn’t.

Last but not least, I picked up some nice post and articles for your enjoyment:

• PC 2009 Preview: What can we expect in 2009. Weird that there is no mention of Duke Nukem Forever!
• 4870 X2 Price Cut: Yay! Though I am still skeptical about to GPUs running on one board in some sort of SLi/Xfire mode.
• Street Fighter 4 Hands On: The fighting game that the world is waiting for.
• Weak Economy = Cheap Games? Read on and see if it is possible.

Well folks, I am on leave and thought to put something for you to read on until it is over. Will try to update more frequently whenever I can.

Since I am a big fan of Street Fighter series, I keep tracking what’s happening after the last SF, which was Street Fighter 3 Third Strike. Capcom have recently (Ok a few months ago, I was busy to write about it) announced Street Fighter 4, which is already released on arcade as of writing this article and is scheduled to be released on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

They are planning to ditch all SF3 new characters and go back to the roots of SF2. So almost all SF2 characters have made it back such as Rye, Ken, Chun-Li, E.Honda, Guile, M.Bison, Sagat, Vega, Zangief, Dhalsim, Blanka, Balrog and Akuma. in addition to new ones: Abel, C.Viper, Rufus, El Fuerte and Seth (Boss). The list is already nicely long yet rumors say that more characters will be added to the ones already available on the arcade version.

Capcom are going back to 3D with this version while maintaining the traditional 2D fighting system. As long as this isn’t another Street Fighter EX, then I won’t be worried. Though from watching some videos, it seems the art is unique and has it’s own style and the animation is fluid and at the same time fast to cope with the furious fighting.

The game is said to play more like SF2 than SF3 and parrys have already been thrown out (was introduced in SF3). After reading a few articles, it seems the move to 3D did not affect the old and yet satisfying 2D fighting system gameplay which is always a good thing. You still got your Super combos in addition to Ultra combos which, as it’s name suggests, is a more powerful version of the super combo.

In terms of Story, the game’s timeline is after the Alpha (Zero in Japan) series and before SF2. As much as I wanted something totally new, Capcom made a wise decision of where to start the story for this version of SF. Lets see how it turns out. Do note that the home versions will have cinematic cutscenes (anime) to show more of the story which is a great move and something totally new in a SF game.

The nice thing is that you can also play online with this version of SF which will make it’s lasting appeal pretty long (I hope we in Oman don’t have problems with latency by then, hopeful but doubtful).

For more in-depth details of the game, checkout www.streetfighter.com (There are some awesome must-see fight scenes using a mix of the game engine and stylish art animation). I also stumbled upon www.streetfighter.org which also has a little bit if nice information.