Wow! 2008 is already more than half over, and I still haven’t even put a dent into my “to do” list. Oh well, there’s always 2009. It took me by surprise when I was asked what the best games so far this year were because I’m still waiting for some of my favs to release. In the mean time, yes, I’ve been playing games, but so far, 2008 isn’t matching up to the year we had in 2007.

That’s not to say there haven’t been good games or that there haven’t been games that I loved on release day, but the measure of a great game is one that’s still in the disk drive months (or in the case of the Civilization series, years) after release day. Notable titles have crossed my path these last seven months. Kingdom under Fire: Circle of Doom, Assassin’s Creed, Seven Kingdoms: Conquest, Lost Odyssey and Stronghold Crusader Extreme stuck in my head, but are they still being played? Not really. Lost Odyssey had a captivating storyline, but once it was done, it was done and shelved next to Oblivion and the early Kingdom under Fire titles.

The only game that still gets taken out of its box is Kingdom under Fire: Circle of Doom, and not by me. Its longevity is due to the fact that it has long term appeal to teens that enjoy getting together with a group online and tackling the same foes repeatedly on the extreme setting. They produce weapons for one another, work their way around the patches that were added to limit their abilities and have formed quite the little cult following. Do I think they’ll still be playing it this time next year? No, but for now, it appears to be the best 2008 has to offer.