The 2009 Games of the Year Aggregator

Written by John Scalzo  on January 04, 2010

Special: We calculate the definitive games of the year for 2009

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5. Dragon Age: Origins
The highest ranked RPG and the highest ranked game designed primarily for the PC, Dragon Age: Origins has been in development at BioWare for a long time and, if the game's awards are any indication, it will will have many sequels ahead of it in the future:

Associated Press: Games of the Year (#3)

Crispy Gamer: Games of the Year (#7)

Eurogamer: Games of 2009 (Selection)

GameSpot: Best PC Game (Winner)

GameSpot: Best PS3 Game (Nominee)

GameSpot: Game of the Year (Nominee)

GameSpy: Multiplatform Game of the Year (Nominee)

Gaming Target: Favorite Games of 2009 (Selection)

IGN: PC Game of the Year (Winner)

Joystiq: Top 10 of 2009 (#4)

MetaCritic: Best PC Games (#3)

Spike TV Video Game Awards: Best PC Game (Winner)

VGChartz: PC Game of the Year (Runner-Up)

Yahoo! Games: Best Overall Video Game (Nominee)

6. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
2009's most lauded handheld game was also one of the most lauded Grand Theft Auto games of all time. After making the move to 3D and creating games with ever expanding worlds, the most memorable GTA actually went back to the series' overhead roots:

Associated Press: Games of the Year (#10)

Eurogamer: Games of 2009 (Selection)

GameSpot: Best DS Game (Winner)

GameSpot: Best PSP Game (Winner)

GameSpot: Game of the Year (Nominee)

Gaming Target: The Best of the Best (Selection)

IGN: DS Game of the Year (Winner)

MetaCritic: Best DS Games (#1)

MetaCritic: Best PSP Games (#1)

Spike TV Video Game Awards: Best Handheld Game (Winner)

VGChartz: DS Game of the Year (Runner-Up)

Wired GameLife: 10 Best Videogames of 2009 (#8)

Wired GameLife: Top 5 Portable Games (#2)



7. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Ah, the might Modern Warfare 2. Smasher of sales records and holder of more hype this side of the next entry in the Halo series. But it was also a pretty good game and while it didn't sweep the year end awards like many had thought it would, it can still be considered one of Infinity Ward's finest hours:

Destructoid: Game of the Year (Runner-Up)

Eurogamer: Games of 2009 (Selection)

GameSpot: Best Xbox 360 Game (Nominee)

GameSpy: Multiplatform Game of the Year (Winner)

GameSpy: Overall Game of the Year (Winner)

Gaming Target: The Best of the Best (Selection)

IGN: PS3 Game of the Year (Nominee)

IGN: Xbox 360 Game of the Year (Nominee)

Joystiq: Top 10 of 2009 (#6)

MetaCritic: Best Xbox 360 Games (#1)

MetaCritic: Best PS3 Games (#2)

Spike TV Video Game Awards: Game of the Year (Nominee)

Time Magazine: Top 10 Video Games (#1)

VGChartz: Xbox 360 Game of the Year (Runner-Up)

Yahoo! Games: Best Overall Video Game (Nominee)

8. Left 4 Dead 2
Valve's zombie shootin' sequel may have been the subject of boycotts and protests after it was announced, but few can deny that it has set a new standard for co-op shooters and is the rightful recipient of a boatload of year end awards and nominations:

Crispy Gamer: Games of the Year (#2)

Destructoid: Game of the Year (Nominee)

GameSpot: Best PC Game (Nominee)

GameSpot: Best Xbox 360 Game (Nominee)

Gaming Target: The Best of the Best (Selection)

IGN: PC Game of the Year (Nominee)

MetaCritic: Best PC Games (#4)

Spike TV Video Game Awards: Best PC Game (Nominee)

Spike TV Video Game Awards: Best Xbox 360 Game (Winner)

Spike TV Video Game Awards: Game of the Year (Nominee)

VGChartz: Overall Game of the Year (Runner-Up)

VGChartz: PC Game of the Year (Winner)

VGChartz: Xbox 360 Game of the Year (Winner)

Wired GameLife: 10 Best Videogames of 2009 (#1)

Wired GameLife: Top 5 Multi-Platform Games (#1)

9. Shadow Complex
Shadow Complex proved two things in 2009. One is that the 2D "Metroidvania" style of play is alive and well. And two is that downloadable games can be something special if they're given the care that Chair Entertainment gave it. What's interesting is to consider just how high it may have placed if more people gave downloadable games the same interest they gave disc-based games. And after Shadow Complex, that may happen in 2010:

Associated Press: Games of the Year (Honorable Mention)

Destructoid: Game of the Year (Runner-Up)

GameSpy: Downloadable Game of the Year (Winner)

IGN: Best Xbox Live Arcade Game (Winner)

Joystiq: Top 10 of 2009 (#7)

Spike TV Video Game Awards: Best Downloadable Game (Winner)

VGChartz: Best Original Downloadable Game (Winner)

VGChartz: Xbox Live Arcade Game of the Year (Winner)

Wired GameLife: Top 5 Xbox 360 Games (#4)

10. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
The rest of the DS' lineup was given short shrift after Chinatown Wars, but Link's latest adventure managed to claim the final spot in the aggregated top ten by winning all of the portable awards that the GTA game did not:

Eurogamer: Games of 2009 (Selection)

GameSpy: DS Game of the Year (Winner)

IGN: DS Game of the Year (Nominee)

MetaCritic: Best DS Games (#3)

VGChartz: DS Game of the Year (Winner)

Wired GameLife: Top 5 Portable Games (#3)

In addition to the top ten, three games just missed the cut for the top ten: The Beatles: Rock Band, Borderlands and Demon's Souls.

Over the next two pages, you'll find a list of games that also received awards or nominations from the Games of the Year Aggregator panel. And the final page will contain links to other Game of the Year awards, to see which games the rest of the gaming community thought should be recognized as the best games of the year.