Wow. It's been over a month since my last writing. I have still tried to pop on occasionally and read (most) everyone else's blogs during that time and still commenting on a few. I'm alive, but lets just say I'm glad that 2009 is done.

With the end of the year comes the inevitable slurry of lists of best game and I figure I might as well add to the pile. Instead of just making a list of my favorite games ('09 was a good gaming year overall, 2010 should be more impressive) of the year, I'll restrict it slightly. We are very much living in a digital age, and digital distribution is now more common. Almost every game can be obtained digitally, but there are a few where that is your only option. A lot of these are gems that should not be overlooked. I now proudly present my top 10 list of download only games for 2009.

10 - Osmos (PC - Aug 18 )
Every screenshot you see for this game does not really tell you how neat it truly is. At its core the game requires you to absorb other spheres smaller than you to grow in size to become the biggest. The way you move is by expelling mass in the opposite direction you want to travel and it is done quite nicely thanks to a compact physics engine. The downside about shooting bits of yourself to move is that you get smaller. So what you may have been big enough before moving to absorb one sphere might now be just big enough to absorb you. You need to think ahead, pick your targets and, in some cases, your orbital path.

9 - Battlefield 1943 (XBL - July 8, PSN - July 9)
The Battlefield series has had a multiple great showings on the PC and the occasional good game (BF:BC most notably) for consoles. A console only Battlefield game might seem like madness and may be better done by other retail games, but the fact that it is the best console only arcade sized multiplayer first person shooter to come out in 2009, and that's saying a lot. While only providing a few maps, they are undoubtedly the pick of the litter from BF1942. There needs to be more maps available and the airplanes handle worse than the tanks, but its still a blast to play.

8. 'Splosion Man (XBL - July 22)
It's a game about a naked psychopath who can make himself explode running around an underground base. It's an action platformer where you need to blow yourself, other objects and people up to solve puzzles and progress. The game is very much about timing and getting your "booms" right. It's carefree humor is also quite dark at times making you almost feel bad for the mayhem you are causing. With fifty single player and fifty multi-player levels there is a lot of "bang" for your buck. Ok that was a bad pun.

7. Plants vs. Zombies (PC, MAC, iPhone - May 5)
I know, it's a PopCap tower defense game. Nothing can be so derivative and "white bread". In part it's true. Trying to keep with the Popcap mentality, ease of play and addictive clicking are both part of the equation. What sets it apart from other tower defense games is sty1e. It's cartoony, cutesy art plays well with the subject matter and with different plants during both day and night mixes things up well. You know what you are getting into: addictive, simple gameplay. With Zombies.

6. Eufloria (PC - Oct 20)
Very few games have made me want to play it from the first screenshot. It is a strategy game at its core, with the simple goal of capturing every "asteroid" in the scenario. The stats of your seedlings are solely based off of the attributes from the asteroid it is grown on, with speed, strength and energy as the only attributes. It is not an overly difficult game, as superior numbers tend to always win, but its almost water color visuals make up for its lack in depth. Gameplay is smooth but I still can't get over its visual cues. My favorite game to just look at.

5. Flower (PSN - Feb 12)
Arguably not much more than a tech demo, showing how nice things can look on the PS3, but I'm a sucker for pretty pictures. With the vague narrative following "the dreams of a flower", you control petals on the wind. Again, gameplay is nothing to write home about, simply you fly around and gather more petals as you work your way towards the goal. The game is neither fast paced or difficult. It's just wants you to sit back, relax, and enjoy.

4. Shadow Complex (XBL - Aug 19)

Probably one of the best side scrolling games since SOTN, this 2.5D platformer makes you fight your way through a sprawling underground complex run by high-tech terrorist. With an interesting leveling system and a large number of hidden areas in a huge map, there is a lot of playtime that can be put into the game. A somewhat weak story is more than made up by its numerous intense firefights and almost hectic battles. Only some slightly annoying aiming issues mar an otherwise excellent game.

3. Bit.Trip Beat/Core/Void (Wii – Mar 16/July 6/Nov 23)

"Commander Video" the rainbow powered (not actually rainbow powered) hero of the Bit.Trip games takes you through an interesting series of rhythm based games. Each one is slightly different with Beat being similar to Pong, Core has an almost Galaga feel and Void is like Pac-Man without the maze and with an eating disorder. All three feature annoyingly catchy chip-tune soundtrack that if it was around in the 80's would have outsold "Pac-Man Fever".

2. Trials HD (XBL – Aug 12)

Another 2.5D platformer, you take your dirt bike across levels of jumps, ramps platforms and exploding things. There are 35 levels as well as 5 tournaments and a about a dozen specialized tracks you can run. Add in a level creation tool with the ability to share your creations with friends, leaderboards and the ability to compare your performance to your friends and you can get a lot of life out of the game. The downside is some of its maddeningly difficult levels but some might see it as a challenge.

1. Torchlight (PC – Oct 26)

A dungeon crawler RPG, this one follows the same feel, and some cases sound effects, as Diablo. Granted some of the development team worked on Diablo, so some similarities is understandable. With three c1asses to chose from (lets just call them, warrior, rogue and sorcerer) the game feels very reminiscent of its predecessor. You also get a pet (cat or dog) to carry extra loot, aid you in combat and for making quick runs to a merchant to unload all the junk you don't need. It is probably the best dungeon crawler since Diablo 2 and will tide you over nicely till Diablo 3 It was just recently (jan 5th, so I still count it as a DL only for '09) released retail for those who didn't want to download it. Over the holidays it was on sale on Steam for $5 and at that price, it's my game of the year.

*Edit* All of these games have demos available for them if you are curious to try them. Except Flower, I think.