The year 2009 was another year of catching up for me. About halfway through, my Xbox 360 decided to croak again, just when I was making a respectable dent in my collection. With Microsoft opting not to foot the repair bill, I pawned the ‘Box and bought my own Playstation 3. Suffice to say, I had a lot of Playstation games to get acquainted with.

Sure, I had been able to sneak in a few PS3 experiences here and there while visiting family, playing through Heavenly Sword, Resistance and a couple of others over the past year. But much of my time with the PS3 until that point was spent indulging in MLB 08: The Show. The game was too addictive to give up. I didn’t even care that I hadn’t touched Uncharted or any of the Ratchet & Clanks, games I knew I’d love.

So here I am, six months after my PS3 purchase, and not much has changed. When I’m not reviewing something, I cling to MLB 08. Even as sequels for those franchises I previously mentioned continue to pour in. Killzone 2? Haven’t touched. Resistance 2? Nope. Uncharted 2? Nada. The entire Ratchet & Clank Future trilogy? Get real.

I know, I know. I’m missing out greatly. Don’t think I don’t realize this. So, to remedy this situation, I recently set up a simple rule. Sure, enjoy a game of MLB here and there, but always make sure I’m playing something new. And it’s worked so far. MLB will satiate my fix for baseball, and a new game will quench my thirst for something fresh. First up was Modern Warfare 2, which I blew through. Now I have Ghostbusters. After that I’ll head to the store and see what PS3 games from the past two years I can nab on the cheap. Maybe by 2011 I will have completed all of the 2009 game-of-the-year contenders.

So the long and short of this spiel is that, hey, I can’t choose Uncharted 2, Killzone 2, Left 4 Dead 2 or inFamous like everyone else. Thus, you might get something a little different from me. Of everything I have completed from the calendar year 2009, here are my top contenders:

Modern Warfare 2 An obvious pick, as it will probably win many awards from many reputable critics. And for good reason; the game was a joygasm. It was every bit as epic as its predecessor, and by the end of it I was literally pumped up. I wanted more.

LittleBigPlanet: GOTY Edition LBP was just an absolutely amazing experience. The GOTY package was the first time I had controlled a sackboy, and while I was skeptical of all the praise the game had been given, it lived up to the critical acclaim. It was the most refreshing experience of the year for me.

Shatter One of the few PSN games I had the opportunity to enjoy in 2009, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t still listen to the soundtrack from time to time. This game managed to take an ancient formula and make it seem trendy and new again. It’s also one of the few games to fully utilize its own gimmick, as it’s completely mandatory for you to learn to suck and blow, otherwise you’re sure to lose all your balls.

In the end, I decided on Shatter. You might be shouting now, saying I should give my award to LBP: GOTY Edition because I gave it a perfect score in my review, or to Modern Warfare 2 because it’s, well, Modern Warfare 2. You have a solid point. I only gave Shatter a four-star review earlier this year. But I look back, and I’m extremely fond of Shatter. It wasn’t a perfect game, not to the degree of LBP or Modern Warfare 2, but it was still pretty fantastic. I liken Shatter to that person you’ve dated, who might not be the hottest person in the world, but you’d still go back to them no matter what, just because what you had was marvelous.