For obvious reasons we decided to include the top picks from each of the staff members of EDG. To close out the article we pulled out our pencil, papers, erasers and calculators, performed some difficult mathematical equations and came up with a definitive top 10 gaming list for 2008. Keep in mind this is our list, and here at EDG what we say goes (jk), but hey if you don’t agree we created a nice little forum for all of you wonderful readers – so go create your own top 10 list.

So, without further ado here is the EveryDay Gamers 1st annual Top 10 Game’s of the Year – first up the individual lists.

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David Lange

1. Fallout 3 (Xbox 360, PS3)

2. Grand Theft Auto 4 (Xbox 360, PS3)

3. Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3)

4. LittleBigPlanet (PS3)

5. Gear of War 2 (Xbox 360)

6. Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360)

7. Resistance 2 (PS3)

8. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)

9. Valkyria Chronicles (PS3)

10. Fable II (Xbox 360)

Eric Bouchard

1. Fable II (Xbox 360)

2. Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3)

3. Fallout 3 (Xbox 360, PS3)

4. Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360)

5. Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360)

6. Chrono Trigger (DS)

7. Rock Band 2 (Xbox 360, Wii, PS3)

8. LittleBigPlanet (PS3)

9. The World Ends With You (DS)

10. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)

Patrick Adams

1. Fallout 3 (Xbox 360, PS3)

2. Pixel Junk Monsters (PSN)

3. Grand Theft Auto 4 (Xbox 360, PS3)

4. Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360)

5. Braid (Xbox 360 Arcade)

6. Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3)

7. Fable II (Xbox 360)

8. LittleBigPlanet (PS3)

9. Castle Crashers (Xbox 360 Arcade)

10. Far Cry 2 (Xbox 360, PS3)

Tom Pine

1. Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3)

2. Fallout 3 (Xbox 360, PS3)

3. Grand Theft Auto 4 (Xbox 360, PS3)

4. Burnout Paradise (Xbox 360, PS3)

5. Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360)

6. LittleBigPlanet (PS3)

7. Fable II (Xbox 360)

8. Geometry Wars 2 (Xbox 360 Arcade)

9. Final Fantasy: Crisis Core (PSP)

10. The World Ends With You (DS)

Now for the moment you waited all year for, well not literally. EveryDay Gamer’s Top Ten Games of 2008.

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10. Burnout Paradise

Criterion threw a monkey wrench into the Burnout series by sending this outing into open world waters. What gamers were left with was the same great car smash ‘em up that they were used to without the restrictive in-between race menus. Unfortunately the early year release had many in the gaming industry forgetting about this game in their year end wrap ups. Beautiful environments, amazing online and spectacularly tight game play mechanics all combined to create the best racing game in ’08.

9. Pixel Junk Monsters

What Pixel Junk did with the introduction of Monsters was bring the tower defense genre to masses. More than just a simple tower defense game, Monsters was an incredibly addictive gem of a strategy game. Simple yet fitting graphics laid the ground work for what would become a defining title for Sony’s Playstation Network. PJM represents everything that is right in the world of downloadable games.

8. Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Aside from incredible sales Nintendo didn’t have much to write home about last year. Brawl continued the success of the Super Smash series and added online play to boot. What makes this stand atop of the fighter genre is the amount of fan service that Nintendo puts into the series. Ever wonder who would win in a fight between Mario and Link? Brawl takes characters from several of your favorite classic Nintendo games and allows you to duke it out in the ring.

7. LittleBigPlanet

LBP quickly became a synonymous with the name Playstation 3. Platformer, racer, puzzle game, game creater – LittleBigPlanet is all of that and more. The most intriguing aspect of LBP is the fact that this game is nearly whatever you want it to be. A fully functional platformer coupled with an in-depth tool set, the limitations of this game are endless. This could be the game that helps save Sony’s sinking ship.

6. Gears of War 2

More Gears isn’t always a bad thing – case in point Gears 2. The game delivers on all the promises of Clifford B and in the end what you have is more of the same. But like I mentioned that’s not a bad thing – in fact this game takes all that made it’s predecessor one of the best games of it’s year and perfects them. It may not have changed much, but when you’re dealing with one of the best shooters of all time is there really any need for change?

5. Grand Theft Auto IV

Easily the most anticipated game coming into 2008, GTA 4 didn’t disappoint. GTA 4 reinvented the city made famous in the series third title, and created a living, breathing world that would give it’s real life counterpart a run for it’s money. On top of this, the game took little innovations, such as the cell phone mechanism, and helped introduce truly revolutionary ideas. GTA 4 gets as close to perfection in the open world genre as gamers may ever experience.

4. Fable II

Peter Molyneux was finally able to deliver on one of his many gaming promises and created an incredible action RPG with Fable II. The world of Fable is as alive as any game world I experienced this past year, and possibly ever. The true genius of this game lies in the decisions that you can make – want to get a job? Go for it. Want to get married, have kids, be a jerk, be a hero? Fable 2 allows you to do what you want, and then reap the rewards or feel the negative effects.

3. Metal Gear Solid 4

Metal Gear helped define the stealth genre, so MGS4 is the best stealth game of 08? Not exactly – MGS4 pulls back the reigns on the stealth aspects of the game and allows gamers more freedom. You can approach this game in many different ways, and each one has it’s own rewards. Metal Gear Solid 4 is easily the best looking game to date, not just this year, not just on this console. Add incredible story telling and wonderful control mechanics and you have a recipe for one of the best games of the year.

2. Left 4 Dead

If ever there was a reason for online play Left 4 Dead is it. The perfect game to play with friends down the street or perfect strangers across the world. Valve has taken the premise of many great horror films and placed it in the video game realm. The small segments and quick pace are perfect for jump-in, jump-out gameplay. Even if you are without friends the A.I. is top notch – to the point where you may not miss the idiots that you would normally play with online.

And EDG’s number one game of 2008…

1. Fallout 3

Many questioned Bethesda’s resurrection of the beloved Fallout series, but those who embraced the final product were rewarded with the cream of the gaming crop. Part Shooter part role playing game – Fallout combined genres in a way that creates an accessible title no matter what your taste in gaming may be. The game lacks nothing in the substance department, with enough missions and side quests for gamers to sink hundreds of hours into. If you missed playing Fallout in 2008 then do not allow yourself to do so any longer.

GoW2 takes everything the first game did right and takes it to the next level, and multiplayer is no different. Doubling the number of multiplayer modes the original shipped with, adding party play, increasing the amount of players per game amongst other gameplay and aesthetic additions are pretty much sprinkling heroin on the already addictive formula of the first GoW.

The new multiplayer modes are Submission, Guardian, Wingman and Horde:

Submission is a twisted version of capture the flag in which you have to shoot down a civilian, who is by the way armed with a shotgun, and then carry him to a designated area, while your teammates try to protect you from the ever respawning onslaught of enemy forces trying to stop you.

Guardian is a regular warzone match with one difference: as long as the leader is alive the other player will keep respawning, but the leader’s death does not end the match either.

Wingman places you and a friend in a battle against up to four other teams of two in a no holds barred battle. Your friend will control a twin of your character, so shoot whoever doesn’t look like you. And then there’s…

Horde is the most unique of all the multiplayer modes, and in my opinion the best. A team of up to 5 players faces off against wave after wave of increasingly numerous, and resilient enemies. Players will have to work together to survive even at the lowest levels of this mode, and towards the end it gets so frantic that it reminds me of a zombie movie, where one person tries to board up the entrances while the others shoot the oncoming onslaught of enemies.

Party mode is for friends who want to stick together for more than one match without having to restart the game to change modes; and even making it possible to play with friends on ranked matches (which are now known as “public matches”), which I pretty much avoided in the first game because it was a pain finding a good group to play with.

Achievements are, unlike they were in the first game, unlocked throughout all modes, multiplayer or campaign, making it actually fun to get them. Most of the achievements in the original games were setup to only unlock on ranked matches, which were so frustrating to start, or play for any length of time that only the most diehard players (or those achievement boosting) unlocked them, which is kind of sad in such a great game. In this game achievements not only unlock while you’re playing with friends, but there is also a counter telling you how close you are to a certain achievement, which will keep your interest in the game going a bit longer, pushing you to get those 3 more shield melee attacks, or to win just one more chainsaw battle.

The campaign mode will only take you a couple of hours to complete, so multiplayer is what will keep this game in your 360′s disc drive. It’s just nice to know that multiplayer only improves on the good points of the old game, ensuring you will have fun with this one for many months to come.

So as you can probably imagine, Gears of War 2 had some awfully large shoes to fill. Fair or not, it was going to be compared in my mind to the game that made me decide which of the next gen consoles I was going to buy.

Fortunately, Gears 2 does just that, and so much more.

Story: It takes no time for Gears 2 to separate itself from it predecessor’s rather lackluster story. The opening cinematic, voiced by the mysterious Queen of the Locust whose voice was the last you heard in Gears, leads straight into a discussion among Marcus, Dom and Anya about the rather unusual attacks by the Locust as of late. This discussion  helps you understand that the infamous twosome of Delta squad aren’t just mindless warriors; they are soldiers who understand the weight of what lies ahead. This really becomes evident as the story of Dom’s wife Maria unfolds throughout the game, giving you not only insight into his character, but also a chance to see Marcus as not just a disgruntled war veteran, but a true friend who actually cares about his squad mates.

Marcus and Dom aren’t the only characters who get a more humanized treatment in this game. Anya becomes more than just a voice on the other end of a comlink, actually finding herself in some rather difficult situations throughout the game and showing real concern for Delta squad. Then there’s Tai, a tough as nails character with a rather unusual disposition whom I couldn’t help but like instantly. Baird is still whiny, but he does get the job done when you need him, and Cole, well, he’s just Cole. Even Carmine, your fresh out of boot camp rookie, reveals more about himself and is much more useful than his brother from the first game (did anyone else catch the inside joke….he’s a sniper!).

Now don’t get me wrong, the story is not going to win any awards, nor does it compare to games like Mass Effect or Bioshock in it’s depth, but it’s nice to see that Gears 2 is not a great game were the story is an afterthought. There are even a couple of points in the game that will sting you emotionally, and no, I’m not talking about the inevitable death of Carmine (come on, that shouldn’t even be a spoiler).

One other decision made by Epic in terms of story was nothing short of brilliant. Remember the COG tags from Gears? Well, the idea of collecting items is back in Gears 2, but this time what you are collecting helps fill in the gaps in the story, whether you are finding journal entries from other COG soldiers or newspaper headlines recounting the events in the Gears universe. In other words, finding the items not only gives you achievements, it helps you gain more insight into the world around you.

One word of advice: do not skip the end credits.

Gameplay: As I’m sure is true with many of you, the gamplay of the original Gears of War really set the game apart for me from the rather crowded market of sci-fi shooters. The idea of transitioning from cover to cover, active reload, and a refined over the shoulder camera that allowed you to move seamlessly between firing from the hip and down the sights worked better than ever expected. The only real complaints were that it was rather easy to end up moving to cover you never intended to get behind or finding it hard to remove yourself from cover.

Gears 2 has managed to take what was great about the original game and refine it just enough to make the gameplay even more enjoyable. Transitioning from cover to cover is much more intuitive; I never really found myself looking to the images that showed me where I was going to move, I just did it. You can separate yourself from cover much more easily now, which means that in those times when you do manage to get behind the wrong wall or shield, you can move away much more readily. You now also have options on how you choose to shoot from cover. Instead of being forced to shoot over it, you can lean to the side and shoot from there. You can also just barely peak over cover, which will keep you more protected but will make it harder for you to target enemies.

Weapons have also been tweaked in Gears 2. The Lancer is still the mainstay, but you may find yourself switching up your other weapons much more often depending on what situation you are in. For me, the Scorcher became my weapon of choice when dealing with wretches, whereas the shotgun was my favorite when dealing with them in the previous game (the chainsaw on the Lancer works great as well). The Mulcher, a portable turret for lack of a better explanation, became my favorite way to take on Reevers and other large enemies, while the Mortar was perfect for taking out hordes of Locust from a distance. Every weapon has its place in Gears 2; you even have to think about what pistol you are carrying, because that is all you can use if you are using a Boomshield or taking a downed Locust hostage to shield your advance.

In a game like Gears 2, it is really easy to find yourself doing the same thing over and over again, though at heart you are, the pacing and diversity of the game makes it feel different. One minute, you are dealing with a handful of rather tough enemies; the next, you are facing wave after wave of locusts and looking frantically for more ammo. Or you may be trying to deliver a bomb to blow open a locked door, using only one hand and a pistol to fend of wretches. Or you are shooting everything you have at an advancing Brumak. Even the driving sequences, so often an afterthought in games like this, are much more polished in this game, especially the final “vehicle” you get to drive. And if you think the Brumak is the biggest thing you have to deal with in this game, think again. It’s not even a close second.

Criticisms: Gears 2 does have it’s faults. In one of the early driving sequences, you are having to take out “mortar” fire from Seeders that threatens to tear apart the rig you are riding. Problem is, the mortars can be hard to hit, and since it only takes a few hits to take you out (try 2 on insane mode), you might find yourself repeating the scene over and over. The Locust can now revive downed comrades as well, which, while it adds a new gameplay element, can frustrate the heck out of you as you find yourself killing the same grub several times. There are other times where you need to hear what your teammates are telling you to know how to deal with a certain enemy, but the ambient noise of the level around you makes it very difficult to hear that crucial piece of info.

Then there’s the final boss. Remember how hard the battle against Raam was in Gears? Well, no such luck this time. The only thing that offsets that is how much fun the part leading up to it is.

Conclusion: Gears of War 2 delivers on the promise of it’s designer Cliff Bleszinski. It is bigger. It is better. It is even that word I do not intend to use in thus review. Yes, it has some minor problems, but they do not take away from what is truly a magnificent game. This one is well worth the money.

And that’s just the campaign. Multiplayer is another matter entirely.

“Epic Makes a Good Move But Comes Up Short” – Additional Comments by Jody Driggers

After much waiting we finally get to play Epic’s Gears of War 2.  Before the release I was reading a lot of different news on this game and one thing that caught my eye is the fact that it was going to have a language filter included in the game.  Being kind of new to games I’m not sure if this is the first game to offer this or not but I was excited about the option.  I love the new games coming out but the language in games like this is a little unsettling.  First of all I have to wait for my kids to be asleep or not around for me to play.  Also if given the option I personally would like not to hear all of the foul language.  Don’t get me wrong the language wouldn’t stop me from playing it but given the choice I could do without it.  With that said I went to the midnight launch, got home put the game in and while waiting on my buddy (who I was going to play co-op with) I decided to put the language filter on.  After playing awhile I got to a part and I started to hear words I thought the filter should have filtered out.  So I went to the options and made sure I had the option for language filter on and I did.  A while later I started to notice that some words were bleeped out and some were not.  The funny thing was that the same words would be beeped out once and let go the next time.

After doing some reading it appears that Epic filtered out the “strong language”.  From what I heard it was filtered so that if it was a movie it would be rated PG-13.  I was very disappointed.  I give props to Epic for doing something but why not take it all the way.  I mean if someone takes the time to turn the filter on in the first place then they probably want all the bad language filtered out.  I wish they would have at least put some sort of slider in that you could pick some bad language or all bad language filtered out.  My biggest problem with this is that kids will now get this game because their parents will think that they can just turn on the filter and stop the bad language.  I know it has an M rating but how many kids do you play with online?  I know I have many kids under 17 that I play with on Live and many of them have Gears of War 2.  Once again I don’t want to seem like I’m slamming Epic because they did make an effort to put this option in the game I just wish they would have taken it all the way.