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Although I don’t get to play all the games I want to play, especially those fantastic RPGs I have no time for, I did get to play some great ones. In no particular order:

Resident Evil 4 - I think the first game I was able to play and complete for the year. I bought it for the Gamecube and didn’t know what to expect. I liked the old Resident Evil games at the time, but I got bored of the style and gameplay that I didn’t really play them anymore. I didn’t finish RE3 or Code Veronica, didn’t really want to. Apparently the developers knew we were bored and reinvented the game. It was a total overhaul, making it more action oriented. It gave you full control of where to aim your gun. Ammo and space management became less a problem and positioning and reflexes became more important. They added many Shenmue-esque reaction action sequences. It was an overall more enjoyable experience, but was less scary than you would expect from a RE game. This one is available on PS2 as well, which adds extra weapons and bonus play modes.

God of War - I love this game so much. The graphics were nothing I’ve seen coming from a PS2, the music rivaled that of Hollywood films, the story was very well done, the voice acting was great, and it had lots of violence. On top of all that, the game had the perfect balance of fun and challenge. It’s no wonder they want to turn this into a movie, but I don’t see how they can make it as good as the game was.

Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy - The main reason I liked this game was the story. It was the main point of the game. It was like “choose your own adventure” where you choose the dialogue and who you control and what you do. Although many bad choices will lead you to a game over screen, you can start again and choose another one that will advance the story. It’s very reminiscant of old adventure games like Monkey Island and Full Throttle, but with a more serious tone involving murder. Action sequences are done with simple “Simon” copy cat button sequences. Though it’s not very engaging, the visuals are amazing. At many times it’s like a Hollywood movie. I played it on PC, but I believe it’s on Xbox and PS2 as well.

Shadow of the Collosus - A truly magical experience. Created by the guys behind ICO, they have a real knack for setting up the atmosphere of the game. ICO didn’t have any real fancy graphics, but the mood and atmosphere it sets make you really feel small in a large place and very alone. Collosus takes this further by making the world huge, and your enemies huger. The world is so huge that they had to give you a horse to travel the long distances. The game is basically nothing but boss battles with long travels in between. But the boss battles are huge. They are really massive and take some time to climb. On some, it may take you a while to figure out how to climb them. That’s the puzzle aspect of this game, while they aren’t that difficult, it may take some time depending on how intuitive you are at figuring it out. I really felt like the hero and on this grand adventure.

F.E.A.R. - The best FPS game of the year. Not only are the graphics a benchmark for today’s technology (it’s amazing, but limited to urban type settings), it has an amazing story, and the best A.I. I have seen. Most of the game is indoors in office buildings, warehouses, etc. And most of the time it is dark. But not as dark as Doom 3 where you can’t really see your environment. The graphic quality is nice, but what really sets it apart is the way debris flies all over the place during a gun fight. Your bullets hitting the walls will not just leave bullet holes, but dust from the walls will come out and with enough of it can cloud your view. Papers on desks will fly through the air. Shooting lamps and light fixtures will move them around and also affect the lighting and shadows of everything around. The artificial intelligence of your enemies is amazing. They patrol and when they spot you they will communicate with each other and set up an attack. They will even see your flashlight in the distance even around corners. It’s brilliant how they will have a couple supress fire on you and another couple will go around and flank you. You don’t even see online players this smart. They will take cover or make cover for themselves by tossing down filing cabinets or shelves. It’s quite a thing to experience. On top of all that you get a scary ghost story to keep you on your toes and engaged, with some of the trippiest paranormal events being tossed at you. An example would be a moment you jump into some water, at that very second the screen flashes and you’re standing in a pool of blood, things happen to scare you and flash you back to where you were. Then you get all edgy and have to deal with firefights, it’s truly an adrenaline rush.

Call of Duty 2 - I really had no desire to play this until I saw it on my friend’s Xbox 360. I got it for PC and played it and finished it in a few days. Graphics are good, sound is top notch, the atmosphere really pulls you in and makes you feel like you’re there. It’s a little easy on the normal setting, but fun to play through. A lot of good assorted experiences, and great visual moments. I love WWII films and games and this one is probably the best game I’ve played of that genre.

Guitar Hero - This one is probably my favorite game of all. I’ve always been a fan of music/rhythm games, but I usually get bored with them after awhile. This one has kept my interest for awhile now and feels like something I will pull out every now and then. I bought the guitar controller and it’s very well constructed although a bit small. The game has great music licenses with groups like Pantera, Helmet, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Cream, Megadeth, Jimi Hendrix, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, Franz Ferdinand, Audioslave, Sum41, and more. The gameplay is typical, but it’s designed well. It always feels like you’re playing a real guitar. Another reason I keep going back, it’s very challenging. It took lots of practice for me to complete Expert mode, and many of them I can’t get the highest score ratings. Cant wait for a sequel.