A lot of things happened in the year 2009. I was able to travel to a place I always wanted to go: Japan. I started going back to school, which I guess is always a good thing. I also experienced many new, interesting and different games. Some of them were good, some of them bad, and some of them…great. Every person who plays video games remembers games they played in the past and how much they influenced their lives in some way. The best example I remember is from when I was a kid. A trivia question came up reading something like “What is the name of armor worn in medieval times that protected the hands?”. Because I played many fantasy games at a young age I knew the answer in a second: Gauntlets. Silly.

Coming back to what I think would be my game of the year, I have narrowed it down to three games. All three proudly deserve the title, and any person can argue which one would get the nod. I chose a game that really stuck out for me and gave me the most entertainment in a long time. And the winner for my game of the year is…

Borderlands

This game has a lot of things I can say about it. The gameplay is a mixture of great games that came before it. Everything, from the boss battles to the waves of enemies, is always fun with a few buddies. It’s a game that you think about when you’re not playing it, especially at work. It has a great class system that fits. The game gives you satisfaction even if you play for 15 minutes or five hours. It’s an RPG and a shooter wrapped into one. It has a sense of humor that fits right in with the action. The only knock on the game is the DLC doesn’t come out fast enough for me! Borderlands is a game that other development companies are going try to imitate for a long time.

Runner up: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

At least one person you know is addicted to one of the games in this series. It’s just a powerhouse. Single-player MW2 is fantastic just on its own, and when you add its great multiplayer, this game is hard to overlook. I’ve had a blast playing with friends as we try to win the various MP modes. But I didn’t pick this as my game of the year because multiplayer matchmaking needs some work. If you add Halo-style matchmaking, this would be pure gaming magic. And a final note…yes, I did kill innocent people in the airport level.

Second runner up: Dragon Age: Origins

I still remember playing role-playing games on Super Nintendo and thinking they can never get better. This game just makes me wish I could go into a time machine and visit myself playing Final Fantasy II and say, “Just you wait; the games are crazy in the future.” The amount of customization in Dragon Age is amazing. The fantastic story, with choices that affect the progression, is incredible. I regret not buying it on the PC, because the Xbox 360 controls are a little complex.