An Insomniac Holiday: Let the Games Begin!

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Happy holidays! This is Bryan Intihar from Insomniac Games and I hope some of you are celebrating the last few days of 2008 just like me: catching up on some necessary game-playing. Even though I try to check out as many games as possible throughout the year, I always find myself with quite a large stack left to play (some refer to it as their personal “pile of shame”). So aside from buying a new computer, heading to Disneyland, and seeing some friends, I’ll be spending the majority of the holiday break comfortably seated on my couch with a PS3 controller in hand. It sounds like a lot of Insomniacs will be doing the same, as well.

Now if you’re still in the need for some gaming recommendations, here’s my personal “Must Play” list of 2008:

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots — I known around these parts as one of the biggest MGS fans, and you’ll quickly know why once you play Kojima Productions’ latest stealth-action game. From the revamped controls to the epic boss fights to the unbelievable visuals, MGS4 is truly one of the PS3’s crown jewels.

Dead SpaceEA’s survival-horror entry is hands-down my surprise title of the year. While dismembering grotesque creatures with ultimate precision will please gamers with an itchy trigger finger, Dead Space features more than enough freaky moments for those who enjoy a good scare.

LittleBigPlanet — The word “groundbreaking” always comes to mind when I think of Media Molecule’s do-it-yourself platformer. It’s also as cute as it is creative, and it seems like every week I watch a new clip of some fantastic user-made level. I can’t wait to see what the highly imaginative LBP community dreams up over the coming months. Oh, and don’t forget to download this li’l guy from the PlayStation Store:

Prince of Persia — I’m a total sucker for a cool art style, and the Prince’s latest adventure delivers that and then some. The development team took some design risks with the combat system and “no death” mechanic, but I believe both worked out extremely well.

NHL 09 — It’s an absolute requirement for any true sporto to lace up the skates and check out this virtual frozen pond. Thanks to NHL 09’s killer online leagues and innovative “Be a Pro” mode, EA’s hockey franchise earns my vote for the best sports title for a second straight year.

Before you return to your regularly scheduled programming (playing games), on behalf of all Insomniacs I’d like to thank you for your support in 2008. This year proved to be one of the busiest and most successful years in the studio’s history with the launch of both Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty and Resistance 2. Seriously, your comments and feedback went a long way in making our games even better. And I can’t wait to share with you what’s in store for 2009! Until then, I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

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73 Comments

  • nice list :), i agree with all it lol

    and I can’t wait for whatever you guys have in store for 2009 *thinking about next Ratchet & Clank…*

    Happy New Year Brian :)

  • Valkyria Chronicles should be on that list aswell.

    It’s a shame its not selling that good.

  • Bryan, R2 still has a lot of things that need fixing! And what about new community features… oh the promises….

    Anyway, happy new year and such.

  • Thanks Brian,

    I’m loving R2, really enjoyed Quest for Booty and can’t wait to see what you all cook up for next year.

  • MGS4 & LBP are great games (I wouldn’t know about the other games)! R&C: Q4B was fun too, but way too short (I guess that’s the point, though). I beat it in about 2 days! I definitely didn’t feel satisfied with the ending: you find out who was in charge of the Zoni (a returning villain that I won’t spoil for those who haven’t played the game), yet you don’t even get to Clank! It was nice to see characters from the past game here. For $15, it’s definitely the best action game on the Playstation Store, if not one of the best games!

    Fall 2009 is going to be a long wait for the next R&C game!

  • I hope its a new IP. Don’t run everything dry like the rest of the world please…

  • why can we post on the capcom one anymore

  • Happy Holidays Bryan, Loved ya in EGM.

  • Happy New Years. I also have to say, I didn’t like the first Resistance AT ALL. But after seeing how much more improved Resistance 2 was, I bought it and now I’m addicted. It’s an awesome game, I’ve yet to get bored of it :D

  • Dead Space… oh my. what a great game that was. i can’t see why a lot of people didn’t like it or buy it. it’s got a really nice backstory that’s more coherent than most games in the genre and i loved the way they made sure everything made sense, right down to making all the weapons seem like they would have a purpose as far as fixing the ship is concerned.

    i don’t blame you for leaving out fallout 3 though. level 20 cap? no ps3 dlc? game-stopping bugs that have yet to be fixed? even though they added trophies, it will be in my disc wallet until they patch it. =\

  • Why not just phone the blog in the rest of the week like your doing now!

  • When are we gonna hear about the next Ratchet game?! Ahhhhh I can’t wait anymore! Quest for booty was such a tease!

  • I guess I am the only one very dissapointed by R2’s short comings. I wont get into details cause I don’t want to make this a completely negative post.

    Happy Holidays, next time try not to go “all epic” and lose sight of what made the previous game great.

  • I’m a MGS fanboy and I’d give LBP my #1. Yes its that great.

  • Great picks, Bryan — I’m so glad to see NHL 09 on there. It’s my personal game of the year; in fact, I think it may just be the best sports game of all time.

  • Happy New Year, Brian!!
    From a long time Anomaly fan. :D

    My pile of shame is large as well, but you are right about NHL09, it’s awesome.
    But I’m hyped to see what MLB09:The Show is going to play like next year. I can’t wait.

  • It would be great if Spyro 2 Riptos rage and spyro 3 was put in the ps1 classics. I think the Spyro series was a great insomniac creation along with Ratchet and Clank. I would want the 1st Spyro but its already in the store and I bought. So it would be great to see Spyro 2 and 3 get put into the store.

  • Brian!!!!!

    I hope you read these comments… I don’t know if you have noticed, but like #49 stated, R2 definitely needs a major patch.

    1. If I create a clan, I will not appear in the clan roster OR as the leader of the clan… There’s just a blank space beside the “leader” position under the announcement section.

    2. Already having created the clan, if I attempt to do ANY sort of clan management (Viewing clan members profiles by going to Community > Clan > Roster, or by pulling up the Allies menu and pressing R2 to access my clan, the entire PS3 freezes, and I am forced to reset the PS3 by manually pressing either of the on/off switches on the PS3.

    These problems are really unbearable, and I know I’m not the only one. Please fix these ASAP.
    …btw the option to choose either vertical OR horizontal split-screen would be a nice addition lol… it’s easier to play side by side for some people.

  • Dead Space is so much fun to watch. It reminds me of Resident Evil, monsters are coming from everywhere and everyone’s freaking out and screaming. Those space monsters are truly disgusting, and I love the cool outfit that Isaac wears. There’s a great animated movie that gives you a back story about the marker and the religion that’s creating all the freaky monsters. Good stuff.

  • haha come on you should have picked Resistance 2 you guys KNOW your game is great , …..right? lol

  • Please, PLEASE, fix the Splitscreen issues.

    I just spent 17 hours straight playing R2 in coop mode with a friend as player 2.

    Now all my progress is gone. It’s ridiculous.
    Is it too hard to ask player 2 for his/her PSN credentials and use his proper account?

    And while you are at it: I can see no intrinsic reason why playing the single player mode cooperatively should not work. You are running around half the time with some AI soldiers anyways…

    Thanks for making R2 even better!

  • Thanks for a great year by Insomniac! Hope to see a lot more from you on the ps3!

  • Nice list=)
    And hey Insomniac, plz make offline multiplayer for 4 people!=)
    like deathmach or somthing!

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