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There's something truly beautiful and amazing about the artistic style in Prince of Persia. The game makes incredible use of colour and texture to craft a living, breathing, mystical and immersive world.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
I've loved every Metal Gear Solid arriving on the Playstation series and Metal Gear Solid 4 takes things to new levels in the best action game of the year. There really is no game that can compare.
It's rare these days that a shooting game makes you think about what you're doing. Where most FPS games let you shoot waves of "baddies", Bioshock makes you question the motivation behind everything you do.
Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty
Insomniac rule the platform gaming world on Playstation 3 at the moment, following up Tools of Destruction with the short, but incredibly good, Quest for Booty, not to be missed.
Japanese RPGs have been making less of a splash so far on PS3 than they did on PS2, but games like Valkyria Chronicles are beginning to turn that around, in this case with excellent strategic play.
One of the fastest racers ever returns in shiny HD, with a cracking soundtrack, great ship handling, fantastic tracks and even online racing support. Wipeout HD is a clear winner for racing game of the year.
Perhaps it's cheating that Valkyria Chronicles counts in both Strategy and RPG categories, but this tremendous game is certainly deserving of both awards, despite fierce competition from Civilization Revolution.
Somehow outdoing the awesome score of Metal Gear Solid (a series which has always been accompanied by brilliant music), Prince of Persia arrives with the best original score in a game this year.
Runners up
If you want to see sound put to good use, look no further than Dead Space. Absolutely dripping with atmosphere, accentuated by phenomenal use of sound, ranging from ambient effect to shiver-inducing screams.
Metal Gear Solid IV: Guns of the Patriots
Easily the best-looking game on any console for the entirity of 2008, Metal Gear Solid 4 pushes the boundaries of technical achievement and crafts an incredible environment with unrivalled character models.
The online mode in Resistance 2 is the one thing that saves the game from being almost entirely pants. Thankfully, online co-op and competitive modes are some of the best available on Playstation 3.
Although the story itself isn't immensely complicated, the plot is so carefully told, with fantastic support from Rapture itself, ranging from audio recordings through to writing on walls. Everything in Bioshock tells a story.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
David Hayter returns to portray Snake, and with an excellent supporting cast, the voicework in Metal Gear Solid 4 is second to none. There's literally no voice like Snake's.
With easy to understand controls and a simple premise, getting stuck in with LittleBigPlanet is easy, and terrific fun with friends. Four pals on a sofa make LittleBigPlanet the game of choice.
An easy choice, since Wipeout is a contender for Game of the Year, this PSN title takes racing to a new level, with shiny HD graphics and perfect handling. This challenging title is my pick from the PSN.
With games like Metal Gear Solid 4 to compete with, it's a remarkable achievement for Valkyria Chronicles, providing an extremely welcome surprise at the end of 2008 to become MeteorStorm's game of the year.
The FPS behemoth returns for a third installment, accompanied by multiplayer mayhem.
Head to the jungle to meet the disturbed inhabitants of a tropical island.
Combining the best elements of shooters, adventures and Bioshock-style powers: Dishonored.
Strategic shooting with a serious edge of difficulty with the return of X-COM.
Co-op amusement in Disney's adventure starring a couple of adventurous mice.
MeteorStorm Random Quote Picker
Game:
Shepard
So... how are you getting drunk, anyway?
Tali'Zorah
Verrry carefully. Turian brandy, tripled filtered, and introduced into the suit through an emerrrgency induction port.
Shepard
That's a straw, Tali.
Tali'Zorah
Emerrrgency. Induction. Port.
