Hello and welcome to the first Ramblings of a Game Collector for 2009, and it's been fun so far. I mean, it really has not taken off yet (There's no view counter, just comments. I would check, but I REALLY cannot be bothered), but I'm sure that soon this will gain momentum and will hopefully gain interest. It's all a matter of getting of being more involved.

Well, this week I am focusing on the Best of 2008 as voted by Gamespot users. I'm going to go through the main awards, such as Game of the Year, so yes, I will be talking a fair bit about Metal Gear Solid 4. We will also be talking about some of the winning games such as GTA IV (It's still great, no matter how much you want to hate it), No More Heroes (Review coming soon!) and... Actually, it's difficult. All the games won for a reason, so it's going to be hard to fit what games I will be choosing. Ah well, I have a whole week to worry about that.

Now, Metal Gear Solid 4. What a game, am I right? Whether you look at it from a technological point, or just for its sheer fun-factor, MGS4 ticks every box for Game of the Year. Looking back at how this game came into creation, it's hard to ignore the three predecessors which built a steady launch pad for one of the greatest games ever made. It's no wonder Rock Revolution sucked; which game do you think Konami was putting more effort into?

But if there is one thing which I had to complain about... I would not be able to. Had you going there for a little bit, right? While the game may not be completely faultless, no one would be able to pick them. And multiplayer just stacks more replayability into the game. It's really like Halo 3, except no one can complain about it.

Bottom line, it deserves Game of the Year, and if you disagree, then you obviously need to find a new past time. If it's a simple case of 'Never got it' syndrome (It's in speech brackets because it is a fairly unknown disease) try it. It is well worth a purchase, but it is a must-try for a rental if you do not have it.

Moving on now, another big hitter for Best of 2008 was, what else but Grand Theft Auto IV. However, people have been losing interest in it later during 2008 for reasons unknown to me. Maybe it was the multiplayer, which was great and fun to play, but never really took off. Maybe it was because no one liked the protagonist Niko Bellic, who just wanted a normal American lifestyle after all of the troubles he has back in his homeland.

But let's put the series in perspective: Grand Theft Auto was pretty much the first game that actually set a stage for the crime genre, which opened the door to other fantastic crime titles such as Driver (In its earlier days, at least) and Saints Row (Not realistic, but still entertaining). It became the benchmark for what games should be like, in terms of interaction with the world, graphics, gameplay, realism and, of course, story.

It really is a series that should join other fantastic series such as Final Fantasy, Half Life, and yes, Metal Gear Solid. If Grand Theft Auto was not on the list for GTA IV, then it would surely be on there simply because of the history of Grand Theft Auto.

Well, I might just cut this edition of Ramblings Of A Game Collector short because this blog does have to go up soon, and I am very busy at the moment, usually, you know... Playing video games.

Anyway, one game I was not expecting to make it into the nominations for Game of the Year was No More Heroes. That's not to say I'm sad to see it there; I'm actually very pleased to know it actually is that good of a game to be considered Game of the Year. I do own it for my Wii and usually is the first thing I play when I grab a Wii Remote.

Part of the reason I was not expecting it to be a nominee was because it really isn't a game for everyone. It sounds insane, but this game, even with all of the humour and the way it does not take itself seriously, but there will always be a group of people that do not really appreciate No More Heroes for what it is. Obviously then either everyone disagrees with me or a group like that exists in Gamespot, but are so small no one really is paying attention to them or they did not vote. Or Travis Touchdown paid them each a visit and just took off their heads with red streamers coming from where their head once was.

Soon I will be writing a review for this game even though it has been around for a while, but this game is an absolute gem, and really, it's like MGS on the Playstation; if you don't have it, you are clearly insane or you have a different taste in games.

Well I believe that will do it for this week's edition of Ramblings Of A Game Collector. Thanks for reading, and a friendly reminder that if you have an opinion, just drop it into the comments box. Because if someone is getting really irritated with the way I type my blog, you just have to say... Then just pray to god that I agree with you.

Ethan

Wildboy124