2009 was as good a year for gaming as it wasn't for music. I feel sorry for the poor games that got released early in the year, or even midway, as all fond memories of them were buried in the deluge of excellent titles that came in the fourth quarter. I'm still making my way through Assassin's Creed 2, which is fantastic, and Uncharted sits on my shelf, ready to be played next and as an appetizer for Uncharted 2, which got great praise all around. And there's also Batman: Arkham Asylum, which is supposed to be excellent, and probably some others I've missed on the year as well. Allow me to list some of my favorites from aught-nine.

Demon's Souls - This is the Game of the Year '09, far and away, and also the game of the console generation thus far. I would not be at all surprised if it forever remains so. Theoretically a better game could come out, and theoretically one of '09's other stellar games - like Uncharted 2 - could eventually top it as my favorite game of the year. It won't happen, though. Demon's Souls is amazing, addictive, atmospheric, innovative, beautiful, fun, difficult, and about as close to perfect as a video game gets. It has a bold and unique vision, and it pursues it uncompromisingly to the point that it will turn off lots of people. This game is not for everyone. But for those people that enjoy it, nothing released this year compares.

Resident Evil 5 - Poor Resident Evil 5 is the cute and well behaved toddler that is totally ignored by the family once the triplets are born. Had RE5 been released in November, alongside Uncharted 2 and Assassin's Creed 2 and Dragon Age and Demon's Souls, it would be right there alongside them in the Game of the Year discussions. As it is, most people barely remember it, and those that do - including me - say, "wait, wasn't that an '08 release? Didn't it win Game of the Year then, or something?" It's an incremental improvement over what Resident Evil 4 establishes, but it takes that formula to absolute perfection in a way that rivals Demon's Souls. To date, it is the only game for which I have a platinum trophy, which means that I have played the game way too fucking much, to the extent that I beat it probably in excess of half a dozen times in total. Right behind Demon's Souls on my list.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade - Muramasa is by no means one of the best games of the year - in fact, it's a decidedly backwards step in most regards from Odin Sphere, its predecessor, which would probably just barely make this list had it been released this year. It is, however, the most beautiful game I've ever played, no shit. It is like an incredible watercolor painting come to life, and it's worth $50 just to see that. Really.

Street Fighter 4 - Street Fighter 4 is also not exactly one of the best games of the year. It is, and it isn't. It's a pretty boring single player game, really, and as a fighter, it's innovative and original only in increments. There are some nice additions to the Street Fighter formula - ultras, focus attacks - and the art is pretty freaking nice, even if it's no Muramasa. But SF4 is on this list because it's the best living room multiplayer game of the year. It's a great replacement for the by-this-point-tired Super Smash Bros Brawl, which you can't play anymore anyway because your last remaining Gamecube controllers are broken in small ways, and you're not playing that shit with a Wiimote. Online multiplayer is fun, too, but the the real appeal is sitting on your couch with some friends and cheering as a fight comes down to the last round and the last slivers of health.

Persona 4 - Persona 4, also, is not quite one of the best games of oh-nine. Technically, it was a 2008 release, but it came out on December 9th of '08, which, combined with its length (probably seventy hours plus for most people) means that no one really got to beat it before the end of '08. It's a niche title, for certain, but if you're in the mood for a unique and original dungeon-crawling Japanese RPG that takes place in the modern era, Persona 4 is pretty fantastic.

Assassin's Creed 2 - This is listed last here and gets only a tentative nod from me because I'm still not even halfway through the game. It is incredibly fun, though, and fulfills the visions that we all had in our head when we saw the trailers for the original. It's also rather addictive, though that statement is strangely at odds (though still accurate) with this one: it's lots of fun for an hour at a time, but it's not the kind of game I'd spend four hours straight playing. Still, if you just need something to pick up and have some fun with for a half hour after work, AC2 is a great choice.