GOTY 2008: Platformers

And the nominations for this year’s platformer of the year are…

Mirror’s Edge (Xbox 360, PS3)

With Mirror’s Edge developer DICE experimented with a genre the world had not seen before …first person platforming. Inspired by the French sport, Parkour, Mirror’s Edge transported players to a fictional city in the near future where they experienced the liberating act of running from rooftop to rooftop as Faith, a courier delivery girl of sorts. Using a very unique color palette the game actually denoted your path using a subtle red color that stood out amidst all the washed out whites and blues the entire city was bathed in. Sure the game had its shortcomings like painfully dumb A.I. and trial and error gameplay but it was still one of the most stylish and exhilarating games of 2008.

Prince of Persia (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

With the move to the next generation of consoles Ubisoft gave their beloved Prince of Persia franchise a makeover in the form of a new protagonist, a new love interest called Elika and a difficulty level that didn’t go down too well with die hard PoP fans. You see Elika was more than just your companion in the game; she was a gameplay mechanic that made sure you never died, no matter how sloppy you were. This removed a lot of the intensity associated with this series making it a cake walk for most players. If you looked past that, the game had so much going on for it like an awesome balance between action and platforming, a stylish combat system and a kickass art style that blew the competition out of the water.

Little Big Planet (PS3)

Little Big Planet was the year’s happiest game that platformed its way into our hearts with its adorable protagonists (sack people), copious amounts of content – both in-game and user generated - and oodles of charm. In LBP players spent a good amount of time navigating their sackboy/girl through a bunch of obstacles spread across diverse maps. The entire game could also be played in co-op and would in fact reward players for playing together by offering them certain items that could not be accessed alone. Once you got bored of the maps that were on the disc you could either create your own levels using all the material your picked up in your first playthrough or just hop on over to the PlayStation Network where a ton of user generated content lay waiting for you.

Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty (PS3)

The wrench swinging Lombax returned this year with Quest for Booty, offering perfectly proportionate servings of entertaining platforming and some really fun combat. This perfectly paced platformer managed to satisfy Ratchet and Clank fans with its extended selection of new gadgets, while wooing over more fans with its iconic brand of sarcastic humor and tight gameplay. Despite being an expansion pack of sorts Quest for Booty had the production values of a complete game, and believe it or not - it actually surpassed its predecessor in many areas.

And the winner is….

Little Big Planet

No matter how much I loved Prince of Persia there’s no denying the fact that the game didn’t offer any sort of replayabiltiy once you were done with the single player campaign. Little Big Planet literally started after you played through the campaign once. For starters you could play through the entire campaign all over again with up to four players in co-op. If you were the creative type you could create your own unique levels and share them with the world or download tons of awesome user made maps available on the PlayStation Network free of cost. For the sheer amount of content it brought to the table wrapped in oodles of charm and joy, Little Big Planet is our Platformer of the year.

PS: It’s also the perfect Christmas gift for the younger gamers in your family.