Preemptive 2008 Game of the Year

Winner: Spore
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Spore is the culmination of Will Wright’s years of simulation experience - it is finally a Sim Everything, which was actually one of Wright’s original titles for the game. If Wright’s previous successes (you know, like SimCity, SimEarth, SimLife, and The Sims) are any indication, Spore will be one of the most engrossing, rewarding, and addictive games of ’08.

Based on what we’ve seen of the game thus far, and Wright’s reputation as a genre-definer, we’re officially preemptively calling Spore the best game of 2008 right now with the option to change our minds at any time in the future.

Runner up: Grand Theft Auto IV
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Rockstar may not have impressed us at absolutely every turn (Manhunt 2), but it nonetheless has a reputation for creating amazing games, largely thanks to the GTA series. The controversial developer can’t afford to screw up this game, so we’re fairly sure it will be as awesome as a thousand tap-dancing elephants.

Our only concern with GTA IV is that it will be too much like its predecessors, and while we loved San Andreas, we don’t want to play it again.

2^nd Runner up: Super Smash Bros. Brawl
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Super Smash Bros. Brawl is going to be the ultimate party game - even more fun and addictive than its predecessor. At least, that’s what we assume. It could be a complete failure. So could any of these. That’s sort of the problem with writing award features in advance.

Now, forget you ever read this article, and go for a romp in 2008’s glorious fields of triple-A games. In a year we’ll craft a giant awards feature based on actual knowledge and not assumptions and, let’s face it, complete guesses.

Jan 18, 2008