Of the hundreds of games that came out in 2008 -- and of the dozens of truly great games we played at Game Day HQ -- each was flawed.
Though some were lacking more than others (yes, we're talking to you, Star Wars: Clone Wars -- Lightsaber Duels), for every engrossing hour spent gaming there was always that errant control option or poorly rendered cut-screen that created the blemish on perfection.
So what then makes the ultimate game, one so shining that even the most curmudgeonly critic would find no flaw?
Assuming the role of Dr. Frankenstein, we've assembled a list of the most important, defining qualities of the games we liked best over the last 12 months. And if those qualities were combined into one title, that game would be as close to perfect as possible. The recipe for our flawless game includes:
* The portability of God of War: Chains of Olympus: The flaws of the superb God of War franchise (i.e., lack of camera control) were negated when it was translated to the PlayStation Portable system in this game.
* The control setup of Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Super Sluggers: Keeping its "everyone can play" theme, Nintendo gave us the option of multiple ways to control its games, from "super-simple" beginner to "well-versed" advanced.
* The chess-like qualities of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2: As in the classic board game, you had to think two moves ahead before commanding your squad of commandos.
* The puzzles of Professor Layton and the Curious Village: A bunch of mind-benders had to be completed to uncover clues in this involving mystery.
* The simplicity of Boom Blox: Knocking down blocks with a ball has never been so much fun as in this game, a must-have for any Wii owner.
* The stunning cut-screens of Devil May Cry 4: Action director John Woo would be proud of how smoothly the story is told.
* The fun of Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures and Lego Batman: The Videogame: The wit, charm and adorableness of Lego Star Wars continued with two new franchises.
* The white-knuckle racing excitement of GRID and Burnout Paradise: With the realistically rendered cars and metal-twisting crashes, auto games didn't get any better than these two.
* The re-playability of Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution: In this instant classic -- sort of like the board game Risk brought to a gaming console -- each new game offered a new set of challenges from opposing world leaders bent on ruling a continent.
