Time Magazine names top ten games of 2009

  						  This is a game that sends a message: Video games have something intelligent to say about contemporary military conflicts. [I]In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2[/I], you hop around the globe, chasing the front lines of globalized, asymmetrical combat, where not everybody wears uniforms, war isn't always declared, and the battlefield isn't clearly marked — battles rage through suburbs, airports and people's living rooms. There's tons of raw, riveting military action in [I]Modern Warfare 2[/I], but it's very much about how the game has changed: limiting civilian casualties and figuring out whom to fight and why are just as important as staying alive. 

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http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1945379_1944169,00.html#ixzz0Z8nq7VTr

I know the magazine’s a joke–or at least should be, given the behavior of Time editors–but I would still expect better than this idiocy.
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Well, the copy may be bad, but the actual list is fairly reasonable – decent mix of AAA hits and unusual attention-getters (Scribblenauts).

Everything that was heavily promoted in the last 3 months of the selling year (Sep-Nov) with Scribblenauts and GeoDefense to meet the platform quotas.

DJ Hero as #3? Really?

I laughed when i saw HGB as #4, but then with the rest of the list, including the token Modern warfare 2 as #1, it isn’t surprising.

This is a game that sends a message: Video games have something intelligent to say about contemporary military conflicts.
I’m kind of surprised to see that in Time Magazine.

No Beatles Rock Band, Dragon Age, Left4Dead2 or Sims 3?

Even if Im willing to take a pass on the niche games I love (Plants vs Zombies and Brutal Legend), even if Im willing to forgive a “best of 2009” list that comes out before 2009 is over, I can’t understand a list that doesn’t have any of the above games on it.

But they do get bonus points for putting Batman: Arkham Asylum on. At least they got that one right.

Yeah, that quote was really odd. You can say lots of things about MW2, but I’m simply not seeing anything remotely resembling intelligent statements in there.

Anything with Grossman’s name on it is gonna be a joke. As soon as I read that quote, I knew exactly who wrote it.

It’s a dark, slow, jazzy, hard-boiled take on the Halo world — think Master Chief as Philip Marlowe.

Really? Now, I haven’t played anything Halo since the first game, but I wouldn’t have expected that from ODST. Is this indeed the case?

No, it is not. And that’s from someone who liked ODST a lot.

I remember when Times’ best of issue was just the best movies, CDs, books, and TV shows. I’m looking at the “full list” now. This shit is embarrassing.

The music kind of fits that description, but the gameplay and story really do not.

It’s a pretty wonky list in many places, I think, and Scribblenauts’ inclusion in particular is highly questionable given how awful the controls are. High concept, yes. Fun to play…sometimes, not all the time.

DJ Hero being on the list at all is nuts. Being at #3 feels like trolling.

The music, sure. It is very different in pacing and setting from other Halo titles, and it does have a “mystery” solving component roughly as sophisticated as Arkham Asylum (mystery, that is, not riddle). It’s not in any way conceivable anything but a great tactical shooter, though, and I think to qualify as a noir title of any kind it would have to go beyond that.

Great to see AC2 there. A bit low, though, in my opinion. Sad to see my three runners-up for personal GotY – RF:G, Beatles: RB, and Brutal Legend – all missing. Getting Batman: AA and Borderlands for Christmas and am looking forward to them.

I haven’t played DJ Hero or Let’s Kill Some Folks and Experience Some Poor Man’s Michael Bay Film, but the former’s inclusion on this list seems a hell lot more valid than the latter. Or maybe you don’t understand the appeal of DJ Hero, like I don’t understand the appeal of Let’s Kill Some Folks and Experience Some Poor Man’s Michael Bay Film.

I guess “trolling” means “people who dare to have opinions different than MattKeil.”

Care to elaborate on this?

This is a game that sends a message: Video games have something intelligent to say about contemporary military conflicts.

Amazing how the first sentence completely invalidates the entire article.

Hellooooo Mr. Obvious. :p

Actually I quite like DJ Hero, but something as repetitive and musically niche isn’t even in the running for best music game of the year, as far as I’m concerned. I’d be more understanding of their choice of it if it didn’t continually remix the same songs over and over and if it wasn’t so damned expensive.

In a year with The Beatles: Rock Band, Rock Band Unplugged, Guitar Hero 5, and even Guitar Hero: Metallica, DJ Hero is more a promising dry run for DJ Hero 2, which I expect will be a much better game with more variety and hopefully a lower price point.

As for your hyperbole regarding Modern Warfare 2, I hope it makes you feel totally edgy and cool.

I guess “trolling” means “people who dare to have opinions different than MattKeil.”

Not much of a guess, considering you didn’t even manage to suss out my opinion of DJ Hero.

Then again, I guess I should defer to the standing expert on trolling.

Originally Posted by Jeff Green
Anything with Grossman’s name on it is gonna be a joke. As soon as I read that quote, I knew exactly who wrote it.

Grossman has been writing technology related articles on Times for years now. Usually they are nothing but glamorized BestBuy brochures.