I always have to delay my game of the year consideration until I have had a chance to play the great crop of games that comes out right around Christmas time. This year I had the opportunity to vote in the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Interactive Achievement Awards.
The nominees for game of the year were:
- Fallout 3
- Grand Theft Auto IV
- Left4Dead
- LittleBigPlanet
- Metal Fear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
After playing each of the games I have to give my game of the year vote to Metal Gear Solid 4. Every one of the games on the list has pushed video gaming forward in its own way. I strongly considered Left4Dead because of the AI director innovation and how well put together the experience is. I also considered LittleBigPlanet for the astonishing move forward in user-created content. Ultimately though, I could not pick anything other than Metal Gear Solid 4.
My preferences tend toward whichever game is the most engrossing and immersive. MGS4 was the game that hit that target the hardest. The visuals were jaw-dropping throughout the game. No other game this year, or possibly ever, did such a great job of making you feel what the main character was feeling. I didn’t even care about the long cut-scenes until the very end. The cut scene during the credits is very long and slow and the player has had enough by that point.
I put 40 hours into Fallout 3 this year, but never found myself as engrossed as I did in MGS4. I never found myself up at 1-2am playing Fallout. MGS4 was the only game that kept me engrossed until the early morning hours this year. The most amazing part is that I have never really been a fan of the Metal Gear series. Outside of the original Metal Gear Solid, I never put a lot of time into any of the games. I never expected to like the game as much as I did.
If you have a PS3 you owe it to yourself to play Metal Gear Solid 4. It is the best game of 2008.
