Game of the Year 2009 (won't come as a shock...)

Game of the Year: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Playstation 3)

Runner-up: Batman: Arkham Asylum (Xbox 360 / Playstation 3)

The competition for 2009’s game of the year is admittedly not much of one. There were some great titles this year (don’t get me wrong), but only one that supersedes the very idea of what the gaming industry is capable of. I don’t know that we completely understand the implications that Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 2: Among Thieves will have for gaming just yet; surely as a work of art it's subtlety advances the medium in areas of storytelling and technology. For the moment, it is a zeitgeist piece of entertainment, perfecting the elements that we already know make a video game work. In many cases, this is as important an accomplishment as innovation. While a debate rages about the primacy of gameplay over story in video games, Uncharted 2 gives each category its due and then some.

Uncharted 2 is a first-rate production; not just a great video game. The greatest entertainments are those we return to because of their potential for exploration. Uncharted 2 approaches this lofty echelon in its environments, characters, story, and, yes, its pixel count that has not been matched on any system since the release of Metroid Prime. You’ll want to play again and again.

What I admire most about Uncharted 2 is not only how it was able to best its predecessor in every way but also that it unabashedly advocates a theory about what video games should be. The idea here is that video games can approach the sort of depth, and thus replay value, because the game engulfs the player in a narrative which cannot be altered on the player’s whim. This means is that the player does not have the freedom to roam and break the narrative flow, a mechanism which modern games like World of Warcraft and Mass Effect so often flaunt. This finite focus allowed Naughty Dog to perfect nearly every element of the journey. You want to immerse yourself in the world provided, not branch out and find new ones. Placing restrictions like this is important to flesh out the potential of an idea instead of throwing notions into the wind and hoping one of them sticks.

Although it's linear structure lends itself to detailed graphics and a great story, the only place where Uncharted 2 is not linear is where it counts; in its level design. You can and will scale the environments from just about every angle. I have always preferred this mostly linear model of video game because I value the quality of ideas over the quantity of them.

Uncharted 2 put me in Nathan Drake’s world and left me there to make my way out. The best games make it so that you never want to leave. With Uncharted 2, the PS3 has undoubtedly found its killer app and a game that will take some serious time to overshadow.

A quick word about the GOTY runner-up:

Batman: Arkham Asylum redefines what comic book video games can be with an original premise, creative license of established characters, gorgeous visuals, and a control scheme that is both accessible and realistic. After the release of “The Dark Knight” in 2008 and Arkham Asylum this year, it is safe to say Batman is enjoying a renaissance like no other fictional character. There is already a trailer for a sequel to this game due out next year, and if it is able to improve on Arkham Asylum the way Uncharted 2 improved on its predecessor, perhaps Batman will not be playing second fiddle in 2010.

-DC