2009 In Review Part 1 feature

As always trying to keep up with the production line of releases has meant an expensive year for all of us. Certain releases will have as always fallen between the cracks only to reappear in 2010 as bargain purchases or hidden gems, perhaps such as Wheelman? To those games we look forward to discovering your wares over the next twelve months. Of the releases that we have experienced the general consensus is that 2009 was a solid enough year without being a particularly memorable vintage.In January we were just shaking off the New Year blues and catching up on late 2008 releases such as Tom Clancys Endwar and Spider-man Web of Shadows. Things really started going with the arrival of Street Fighter IV in February. Thankfully it arrived on both major formats and with some nice extra limited content for those who love the series. Receiving a deserved 9/10 score, Adam remarked that Youll have to ask us again in December, we might still be playing it. Were sure he still is pushing the Hori stick to its limits of endurance even now.February also played host to another Metal Slug release, after all what value would a year actually have if it didnt feature some classic hardcore SNK game play? Metal Slug 7 marks arguably the limits of our patience, as its about time this series shows some evolution. Fingers crossed that if it does reappear in 2010 its more of the same, again. House of Dead also was resurrected in the form of Overkill for the Nintendo Wii, a bizarre match given its family friendly demographic. We certainly enjoyed the intense action and certificate 18 experience that left us wanting more. And how can we forget Tornado for the Nintendo DS? An interesting idea on paper that failed to materialise into a coherent game; one that we wont forget in a long time.One of our more controversial reviews hit the shelves around this time as Guerrilla finally unleashed Killzone 2, or in our opinion kicked it out the back door. Funny how with the arrival of Halo 3: ODST and Modern Warfare 2 no one really seems to be talking about this hugely hyped Sony exclusive that turned out to be a bitter experience. Truth be told we stopped way before then, as this was disappointing and proof that fancy visuals and lavish videos do not make a game. Still, its good to know the PS3 fan boys are out there defending their few precious exclusives. Gamestyle has several PlayStation 3 owners within our ranks and our devotion to a format wont result in elevated scores or blinkered opinions. When a game isnt up to the mark, then its scored as such. Time proves us right again and again and so it was with Killzone 2.March will go down in memory as a real disappointment thanks to the arrival of Resident Evil 5. Here was a game that Capcom surely couldnt flush down the toilet after the success of the previous incarnation that revitalised a flagging series, forging it into a formidable beast. Alarm bells should have been ringing when Resident Evil overlord Shinji Mikami handed over the reigns to Jun Takeuchi and it proved true when the final product proved to contain the mother of all nightmare co-op experiences but at least it looked good.Looking back today, Sega seemed intent on turning the Nintendo Wii into a home for the most extreme experiences. MadWorld a visually arresting title from PlatinumGames soon joined the horror of Overkill. Style over substance was our conclusion although we did appreciate the novel trip whilst it lasted. As we edged ever closer to the summer months it marked the arrival of those conveniently licensed titles for the pending Hollywood blockbusters. Sadly 2009 wasnt a vintage year for such releases with Terminator Salvation coming in for a verbal onslaught from Garry, who suggested that there just isnt enough game here to justify paying full price. Theres probably not enough game here to justify it at half price. Ouch! You can appreciate the consistency from everyone involved as the film turned out to be just as disappointing. Restoring some confidence was X-Men Origins Wolverine: Uncaged Edition that turned out to be far better than the terrible Wolverine movie. Raven Software pulled a cool trick by learning from God of War and delivering an action romp that may have scored even higher if it wasnt for those annoying bugs.The halfway point of 2009 witnessed the return of an old friend in Red Faction: Guerrilla. Several years had passed since the last instalment in the series and the fight for Mars and freedom was still raging. This time around Volition Inc took inspiration from GTA and the sandbox genre by giving us a huge, sprawling tale of resistance (or terrorism depending on your point of view) set against an epic alien backdrop. Gamestyles annoying minion impressions also returned with the release of Overlord 2 from Codemasters. Those irritating little scamps had seen fit to give us another adventure where being bad became so much fun, regardless of such pitfalls as morality. A solid enough title it just needed a little more work to become an essential purchase.Clearly the first six months of 2009 were a real roller coaster ride of quality with the emphasis on what could have been. Luckily enough the second half would turn out to be a much better six months for us all.