Video games have always offered much thrill and excitement to their followers, lovers, and enthusiasts alike. Each year sees the release of new and more sophisticated games.
In 2008, a number of sequels were released, and new franchises astonished the gaming world. This year, online cooperative play was a huge theme, and there were plenty of first-person shooters to play, as usual.
We didn’t have an easy time narrowing down this year’s offerings to just a few. Here are our top 9 2008 video games, in no particular order.
1. Grand Theft Auto IV
The Grand Theft Auto series has become a video game phenomenon and a cultural one.
With GTA IV, Rockstar Games showed that not only can GTA be fun to play, but it can tell a captivating story in the process. Grand Theft Auto IV is a Rockstar North and Rockstar Games action-adventure game released in 2008 as one of the 2008 video games.
It is the sixth main installment in the Grand Theft Auto series, and the eleventh overall, following 2004’s Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
The single-player plot is set in the fictional Liberty City, modeled on New York City. It follows Eastern European war veteran Niko Bellic as he tries to flee his past while being pursued by high-profile criminals.
Players can freely traverse Liberty City, which comprises three main islands, and the neighboring state of Alderney, which is modeled on New Jersey, thanks to the open-world concept.
2. Gears of War 2
More weaponry, new opponents, and loads of gore are featured in this sequel to the 2006 blockbuster shooter.
Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad are sent underground to eliminate an alien race from inside this time, as part of the war to rid Earth of an extraterrestrial race.
Gears of War 2 is not only an intense roller coaster of nonstop action, but it is also arguably the best-looking game available and also makes this a great 2008 video game.
Cliff Bleszinski is the primary designer for the second entry of the Gears of War series. The COG continues its war against the Locust, seeking to suffocate all of Sera’s cities in Gears of War 2.
Seargent Marcus Fenix leads the Delta Squad, and they go into the deepest part of the planet to stop the locust territory from being assaulted by the Locusts.
3. Mario Kart Wii
Mario Kart Wii is undoubtedly the best 2008 video game by Nintendo Wii and the game of the year. Classic Mario Kart features were blended with a modern update, resulting in outstanding graphics, engaging gameplay, and online multiplayer for the first time on a console.
Players can choose a Mario franchise driver and themed vehicles in Mario Kart Wii, which keeps the genre’s characteristic item-based weapons.
As in other racing games, the overall goal is to place first among competitors by utilizing such things and taking the quickest routes to secure the lead.
In Mario Kart Wii, several new significant components are introduced, including an increase in the number of racers to 12 from 8 in earlier entries in the series and the introduction of a new type of vehicle to the franchise: bikes.
4. LittleBigPlanet
Tarsier Studios and Double Eleven collaborated on LittleBigPlanet PS Vita, listed as 2008 video games, published in September 2012 for the PlayStation Vita.
LittleBigPlanet takes a fresh approach to platform gaming by allowing players to build and share levels via the PlayStation Network.
LittleBigPlanet won the hearts of gamers of all ages thanks to its stunning visuals and endearing “Sackboy” characters. Six games are included in the series, available on five different platforms.
The series began with the PlayStation 3 game LittleBigPlanet, followed in 2009 by a PlayStation Portable version of the same name, developed by Studio Liverpool before being turned over to SCE Cambridge Studio.
LittleBigPlanet 2, the successor to the PlayStation 3 version, was published in January 2011 alongside Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves, a minor spin-off game.
5. Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Professor Layton and the Curious Village is a terrific Nintendo D.S. puzzle adventure video game for all ages, with hours of fascinating puzzles to solve while narrating the story of a murder in a peculiar fiction town.
This D.S. title is one of the best of the year, thanks to the inventive use of the touch screen and a tonne of repeat potential.
Level-5 created the game, released in Japan by Level-5 and globally by Nintendo. In Japan, it was launched in 2007 but listed as 2008 video games, followed by a worldwide release.
Curious Village is the first game in the Professor Layton series, with Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box following closely behind.
6. God of War: Chains of Olympus
Chains of Olympus, arguably the most astounding technical achievement on the PSP, managed to cram a big action game into a portable experience.
Thanks to excellent graphics and level design, this is the finest PSP 2008 video game. It is loosely based on Greek mythology and is set in ancient Greece, with the major theme of retribution.
The player controls Kratos, a Spartan warrior who serves the Olympian gods. The goddess Athena directs Kratos to seek out the Sun god Helios, as the Dream God Morpheus has put many gods to sleep due to Helios’ absence.
Morpheus and Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, plan to demolish the Pillar of the World, and therefore Olympus, using the Sun’s strength and the Titan Atlas’ help.
7. Dead Space
Dead Space is easily the most horrifying amongst the 2008 video games, putting you on a spacecraft inhabited by a wicked extraterrestrial species.
It’s up to you to discover what happened to the hundreds of crew members while also attempting to stay alive. You won’t want to play this game with the lights turned out.
From a third-person perspective, the player controls engineer Isaac Clarke as he navigates the starship, fights Necromorphs, and contends with escalating madness on a mining spaceship invaded by monsters known as Necromorphs.
Through a chapter-based storyline, the player explores several regions on the station, solving environmental puzzles while searching for ammo and equipment to survive. As a weapon, Isaac uses engineering equipment.
Dead Space was first proposed in early 2006, and it met Electronic Arts’ aim of developing new intellectual assets. The game’s prototype took 18 months to design on the original Xbox platform.
8. Resistance 2
Resistance 2 is a big improvement over the original in terms of visuals and performance—everything a great sequel should be, making it a part of our list of 2008 video games.
Resistance 2 follows Nathan Hale as he travels to the United States to fight the Chimera, who launched a full-scale assault on the east and west coasts.
In this game, Hale is a member of “The Sentinels,” an elite force of troops who, like him, are afflicted with the Chimeran virus and must keep it under control by applying inhibitors regularly.
Resistance 2 received mostly excellent reviews, including acclaim for the game’s aesthetics, multiplayer options, and single-player campaign’s scope.
However, several critics panned the story and certain sections of the campaign, while critics and fans were divided over the game’s overall alterations from its predecessors.
9. Fallout 3
The game is set in a post-apocalyptic, open-world area known as the Capital Wasteland, which includes the ruins of Washington, D.C., and most of the countryside to the north and west of it.
It takes place in Fallout’s usual setting of a world that deviated into an alternate timeline thanks to atomic age technology, eventually leading to its destruction by a nuclear apocalypse in the year 2077 (referred to as the Great War), caused by a major international conflict between the U.S. and China over natural resources and the last remaining supplies of untapped uranium and crude oil.
Players play a resident of Vault 101, one of several underground shelters built during the Great War to protect about 1,000 humanity from nuclear fallout.
They are compelled to journey out into the Capital Wasteland in search of their father after he mysteriously vanishes from the Vault.
Conclusion
Surely, video games released in 2008 are fully action-packed and offer constant excitement and fun while engaging with them. Therefore, whichever is chosen by an individual and the platform it is played on, sure, is a fun-filled moment.
The games mentioned in this article – Grand Theft Auto IV, Gears of War 2, Mario Kart, LittleBigPlanet, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, God of War: Chains of Olympus, Dead Space, Resistance 2, and Fallout 3 are not exhaustive list; but they provide you with an insight into what unfolded in the video game world in 2008.
So treat yourself to a world of endless, digital fun with video games of your choosing.
