I heard about the idea of keeping track of every game you play over the course of a year on a recent 4Guys1up, but Stephen Totilo’s recent post on Kotaku really solidified that I needed to try it. If not to get a gauge of how many games I played this year, then also to get a better idea of the quality of games that I had played in 2009.

You might notice that this list is full of a lot of bad titles. Too many in fact. Part of this can be chalked up to me taking liberal use of the GameStop check-out policy.

A large part of  how I managed to play this many games was by using a finely woven tapestry of game pre-orders, trades and in-depth planning in advance so that I would be able to play as many games as possible over the course of a year. 

I should also note that I started the year as a freelance video game reviewer for my local paper, but was let go thanks to the awesome economy a few months into the year. This job was really just to fund my gaming habit, and all the money made (about half the cost of a game) went into paying off games for later in the year. This worked out well when I started my own website with some friends and had a ton of games reserved to review, but the site died after half a year. Live and learn!

2010 looks to be a great year for games… but I am going to have to scale back my game purchases greatly because I am not working at the moment and am back in school in a Masters program to be a Middle School teacher. A large part of this scale back will be made up for thanks to a full year’s membership to Gamefly that I received for Christmas. So, while I might not get to play every game I want to, I will have a chance to play a good bit of them… if my son’s sleep schedule does not completely wreck my ability to stay up late. I guess I won’t find that out till he is born, in March.

But, back to 2009 for now. While I did get to play a ton of games, despite my best intentions I was not able to write about (or finish) all of them. I decided to make this list to make up for all the ones I missed writing on, and provide links for the ones I did write about.

Take a deep breath- this post is a doozy!

Games I Played That Released In 2009

Rise of the Argonauts

LOTR: Conquest

F.E.A.R. 2- This rickety title had tons of potential, but just could not bring it all together into a complete package. From a number of bugs, to one of the worst endings for a game in a long time- for every step forward made in the sequel there was an equal step backward.

Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad- What can I say? It looked like Devil May Cry with hot chicks... and in a way it was. If Devil May Cry was given horrible graphics, story, environment and control then it would probably end up looking like an exact replica of Onechanbara.

Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection- This collection was highly worth the money, especially when you compare the low price of this disk versus buying the games individually on Xbox Live or PSN. Many of these titles are a bit long in the tooth, but they are still worth $40 when bundled together. Why would you not buy this game?

Deadly Creatures- This game never got finished because I suffer from a horrible case of forgetting that my Wii even exists. This is a shame, because this game played like a cool take on God of War, with even more platforming elements thrown in. Add in pretty great visuals for a Wii game, and you get a title any Wii owner probably didn't play, but should have.

GTA IV: Lost and Damned- I was really excited for the GTA IV DLC, but this expansion didn't enthrall me nearly as much as I had imagined it would before I played it. I did finish it eventually, but only to get ready for The Ballad of Gay Tony. The story was great, but the game play was a bit repetitive and I was hoping for at least something to be added to the real estate of Liberty City.

Noby Noby Boy- I thought I liked quirky games, but this title was just... stupid. There was very little worth while in this game, beyond looking interesting. I wish I had that hour-and-a-half back.

Star Ocean: The Last Hope- I really liked the combat system, but the characters were simply too grating and I gave up on it after about ten hours.

Killzone 2- I really like the graphics but the story was barely there, the controls were sluggish, and the characters made me wish that I could defect to the Helgan's. I tried to beat this game three separate times, but never had the staying power to see the game all the way through. The online was good though (better than MW 2 in my book), which would have been enough except I do not play online a ton. Bottom line- this game was way over hyped and not nearly as good as the reviews would leave you to believe.

Sonic and the Black Knight- I checked this game out for a weekend, and actually liked it. The sword fighting did not feel very Sonic, but the levels I played were much better than the ones from Secret Rings. Obviously it did not impress the that much though, because I never checked it back out to finish it.

New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis- My wife and I played this for a few nights and had a pretty good time, but as you get better you start to realize that you don't have nearly the control over the ball that you want. We gave up on it after about two weeks.

MadWorld- Yet another game that suffered from me being over the Wii to a degree. The art direction was cool, but the combat was more than a bit repetitive. This would have been a great addition if it was downloadable, but I think asking $50 was too much.

Little King's Story- I actually loved this game until it got harder and the piss-poor control became too much of an issue to deal with.

Resident Evil 5- I wanted to love this game, but Shiva is dumb as a brick if you are not playing online co-op, and I gave up on it when I was about 75% done. I won a copy of it from Bitmob (thanks guys!) but have yet to dive back in yet.

Wii Sports Resort- Over-hyped in every way! I was excited for this title, but the new additions did little for me and Motion Plus did not really impress me at all. I wish I had this $50 back.

GTA: Chinatown Wars- An interesting idea that never really grabbed me. I never really figured out how the 'drug war' was supposed to work for some reason.

Hasbro Family Game Night- I was a bit stupid and bought this game piece-by-piece on Xbox Live. The idea of having Battleship, Sorry and Scrabble on my 360 sounded like a great one, but I had quit playing them about a week after buying them.

Broken Sword- One of the real gems I discovered this year, this point-and-click port of an old PC title is one of my favorites of the year. From a great story and art direction, to interesting puzzles- this is my handheld GOTY.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time- I played both the DS and Wii versions of this game. Why? Good question. This was an OK Diablo clone that I never would have bought it I knew Torchlight would release later in 2009.

Stormrise

The Godfather 2

Excitebots

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Klonoa

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel- Yet another Diablo clone that I probably could have taken a pass on. This game was a semi-interesting take on the formula that felt too open-ended and unbalanced. The camera also gave me a headache every time I tried to play the game. The isometric view was weirdly askew, and the closer view was even worse.

Punch-Out!!

Infamous

Bionic Commando

Boom Blox: Bash Party- Turns out that I didn't need this sequel even though I loved the first game. There were good improvements here, but I should have waited to get this on the cheap. The first game is still nearly just as good as this beefier version.

Terminator Salvation

Damnation

Red Faction: Guerilla- I loved the first eight hours of this open-world title, but the boring environments drove me away once I got the picture that there was going to be no significant art changes... other than the path of destruction I left behind. This was a good title, but not a great one.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10

Prototype

Ghostbusters: The Videogame

Fallout 3 DLC- I guess 80 hours of Fallout 3 was enough, because I stupidly found out that I was over the game after buying all of these episodes in one buying frenzy... Guess I will count that as investing in the next Fallout or Elder Scrolls!

The Conduit

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Tales of Monkey Island

Fight Night Round 4- Meh! The game looked great, but I was 100% bored after my 20th match.

The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition- Why I never played this game back in the day alludes me, but I was happy to play this version. The 'hint' button should be standard on every point-and-click game and the only reason I have yet to beat this game is because I played too many friggin' games this year!

Watchmen: The End is Nigh - The Complete Experience

Wolfenstein- Fun, but a total throw-back, this FPS felt like it could have been released in 2002.

Metroid Prime Trilogy- Another victim of my forgetfulness that I even own a Wii. I don't feel bad about investing in Retro, but I think Nintendo might have about enough in their coffers. The fact that the first title has really downgraded effects really bugged me.

Batman: Arkham Asylum- This was my GOTY. I have no idea why I didn't review it.

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey- A fun flying game that needed to have something tying everything together. If you love flying games and did not buy this title, you should go do so right now!

Muramasa- I wanted to love this title, and I did when it came to the art style. Too bad the levels are strung together in a bizarre way and that no one told them to rip off the Metroid style of level design and way of handing out upgrades. Having all the moves from the get-go was overwhelming and made you feel like you had seen everything after just an hour or two.

The Beatles: Rock Band- This title should have had more songs, but was still really fun to play. I refuse to buy DLC for it though, and am almost 100% over music games as a genre.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2- I returned this game after about 4 hours of play. It felt rushed and was boring.

Need for Speed: Shift- I was surprised to find that I liked a sim-style taken on NFS, and this game has awesome graphics. The physics model needs a good bit of work before a sequel some out, though.

Halo 3: ODST- I actually loved this title. Firefight was a great addition and the single player was cool, even without Master Chief. Still, some parts of the levels felt unpopulated and dry, and this game should have never cost $60. Microsoft really got greedy with this one, but the team who built it deserves major kudos and should not be blamed for the pricing.

Demon’s Souls- I love this game... I also suck at this game. I would have reviewed it, but the chances of me beating it are slim-to-none. This was my runner-up for GOTY.

Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising

Saw- This game was fun for an hour. After that initial hour, the returns diminished at a staggering pace. The story was interesting, but not fleshed out enough and you do the same thing over, and over.

Brutal Legend- I returned this game. I bought it expecting a God of War clone, and got a weak and hard-to-control RTS. This game was my let-down of the year.

Uncharted 2- The hype for this game had my excitement at 11 before I played it, but the reality was simply just as good as the first game. This title was ruined by the press, who seemed to dedicate themselves to showing all the cool bits of this title before gamers even got a chance to play it.

Borderlands- The only reason I did not beat this title is because I started a new character about half-way through. I loved the art style and FPS-take-on-Diablo game play, but you sure do see the game enemies over and over again.

Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time

Torchlight- I love this title, but only just bought it on sale on Steam at the end of the year. This game is Diablo!

GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony- While LaD did not capture my imagination as much, despite me being hyped to play it, I came into BoGT a bit apprehensive, and found that it had me falling in love with Liberty City all over again. This episode went BIG, but could have had a better ending.

Dragon Age: Origins- This beefy game should look better than it does, but offers up more bang for your buck than most games can dream about. There are some major pacing issues and I wish one play through was shorter, but it is hard to complain too much about these issues. This game ranks right under Demon's Souls.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2- I thought the single player was only OK, and the online is simply too hectic for my tastes. I will never buy another COD game after playing this one, but will be more than happy to rent them and not blow $60 for a six hour story mode. This was not a bad game, but I thought it was just as over-hyped as Uncharted 2.

Phantasy Star 0- Finally Sega quit trying to re-invent the Phantasy Star formula, and just made a good game in the same vein as Phantasy Star Online. My only gripe is that they have yet to put a PO title this streamlined on a home console.

Assassin’s Creed 2

God of War Collection- This came out when too much other stuff was releasing. I have only gotten about 2 hours into the first game. The upgrade is nice, but the cut-scenes not being upgraded as well really ruined the illusion.

Left 4 Dead 2- It is like Left 4 Dead with melee weapons. No, really. This game should have had more levels, but the new enemies and weapons were a great additions. I would wait till it gets cheaper.

A Boy and His Blob- This under-the-radar gem is a great remake of an older title, that probably could have been more successful as DLC. Any fan of platformers or puzzle games should at least try it.

Tekken 6- Kind of like Tekken 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6... remove which ever one was 'Tag Force' and upgrade the visuals. Voila. I only paid $20 for this game. Thanks Amazon!

The Saboteur- About as middling a GTA clone that has ever been produced. This game is unoffensive, but also totally unremarkable.

New Super Mario Brothers Wii- This game was a blast to play with my wife... at least for a few hours. After that the game got too hard for her, and frustrating for me since it was clearly not designed for two people to play. This was a great idea that I hope Nintendo will flesh out more in the future.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers- I actually love this take on the Crystal Chronicles line. I can see why hardcore FF fans aren't falling for it, but I applaud Square trying to make a Wii-specific title, rather than just mimicking the same-old game play for the umpteenth time. The camera is an issue in bigger battles, but I really liked the variety, story and art direction.