As 2008 came to a close, I appeared as a guest on the Avault Podcast, and found myself posed with a difficult question to answer. “What was your favorite game of the year?” I say difficult, because I didn’t have a favorite. I quickly thought of which game had spent the most time in my 360’s DVD drive and blurted out Supreme Commander. Were there other games that were better? Sure, but my criteria for rating a game are a little different than most. For me, a game has to have staying power, and a Game of the Year must be one that lingers not only in the memory, but also on my playlist. Sadly, 2008 didn’t have such a champion for me, and 2009 looked like it might end the same…until very recently.

As the last few hours of 2009 wind down, I find myself reflecting on it as a year of some excellent gaming opportunities. As the year began, we were still engrossed in the universe of Fallout 3, and we spent the first few months working through the remaining DLC expansions. Some were good (Broken Steel), and others just awful (Mothership Zeta), but in the end they were just DLC, and so cannot be counted. I think, perhaps, that I might need to change that definition for next year; 2010 might very well find some DLC on my list if my current hunch is correct.

So moving onward from Fallout 3, lots of games were released in the first three quarters of 2009. There were some great sellers (Madden NFL 10), some interesting but not-so-great sellers (Godfather II), and some that were just major disappointments (Wet), but overall, nothing stellar. Nothing that would stand out and make you go, wow!

Then a series of games rolled out just in time for Christmas that had us scrambling to acquire them: Borderlands, Brutal Legend, Dragon Age: Origins, Left 4 Dead 2 and Assassin’s Creed II. I’m not a shooter kind of girl, but Borderlands I found fun, intriguing and perhaps deserving of its role-playing shooter distinction. There wasn’t much in the way of story attached, but the background was sufficient to hold my interest, the guns and the ability to finally use one with some distinction was enjoyable, and the heart-pounding action of The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned was more of a rush than I had experienced until that time. Indeed, as the last few weeks of 2009 neared, it seemed that I actually found a game worthy of the title Game of the Year.

Then came Christmas morning. Santa Claus had gifted me the familiar package that could only be a movie or a game, and as it had been on my list, I knew that it could only be one of two things: Dragon Age: Origins or Brutal Legend. Wish granted, and Dragon Age it was. My adventure had begun. I’ve already spoken at length about the game in my review, so I won’t repeat myself here, but I will say that it breathes. The story, characters and dialogue assume a life of their own and transport you away to another world where magic is real and dragons still exist. If true adventure is what you seek, then I invite you to join the Grey Wardens in their battle to beat back the Darkspawn. You just might make a few friends along the way and create some tales for the Bards to sing for generations to come. I’m a hard one to please, but depth of story and potential for longevity make Dragon Age: Origins my Game of the Year for 2009.