PixlBit

What it is: Stuff I played close to the year of release or at least during console generation 7, listed in order of Metacritic ranking for 2008. 

#7 - Gears of War 2 (X360) - Maybe played not that close to release, but played thoroughly by MK and I after playing Gears 3 in 2011. So probably played early 2012 right at the end of the console generation.

#12 - God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP) - God of War on the PSP? I still had a PSP at the time and, I believe, rented it first. It plays amazingly well on that handheld. I'm happy to own it within the GoW Saga collection for PS3 now. 

#18 - Fable II (X360) - MK and I played a lot of this, but it wasn't until much later that I thoroughly went for every achievement and got all but that viral related one you can't get anymore. I think I underappriciated this game at first. 

 #33 - Valkyria Chronicles (PS3) - Visuals are really the first thing I am attracted to in games and this grabbed me right away in playing the demo on PS3 that year. I don't know if I got it day-one, but it was soon after and have enjoyed it ever since. I was litterally contemplating a cut scene in the game the other day when one of the main characters is busy drawing fish in his notebook before the war breaks out in his village and you start the gameplay proper. I love that idea of drawing from nature. It's something I'd like to take up. 

 #34 - Patapon (PSP) - Another game with a unique art style I was drawn to immediately. It's a rhythm game on a 2D plane and also a RTS. Weird, but really fun. I don't have my PSP anymore, or this physical game I had (had all three of them physical), but I have the remastered version of 1 and 2 on PSN now, thankfully. I hope they remaster the third game soon. 

 #36 - Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (DS) - I got this pretty soon after release, being a fan of the series, but for some reason barely played it until right now, where I am 5 or 6 missions deep finally. 

 #41 - Pure (X360) - I played a demo of this on a whim and really liked the controls. Black Rock Studios did it, maker of ATV Offroad Fury and MotoGP games. I may have to try their other properties now. I'm not a huge fan of pulling off tricks though. I just wanta race. But I've always had this game around to run a few races and make insane jumps on an ATV. 

 #46 - Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS) - Gamefly renting was a thing for me at the time, and I tried this series with one of the games, probably not this one, but I was an instant fan and got them all pretty quickly. I still have them and are a highlight of my DS collection. 

 #49 - Final Fantasy IV (DS) - Weirdly, I've always been an on and off again Final Fantasy player. How I ended up getting this I don't remember, but I played a good chunk of it and really enjoyed it. I have to revisit it and try and beat it, and will do soon. I think it's next up after Days of Ruin right now. 

 #54 - Call of Duty: World at War (X360) - MK and I always played the WWII CoD games, and this was the last one until 2017's CoD: WWII. We really haven't played historically based shooters since World at War now I think of it. 

 #55 - Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution (X360) - What I always enjoy most about RTS games is when they are simplified for consoles like this one. MK and I have always played this off and on over the years. MK is playing it now some 18 years later in a very obsessive way that kind of surprises me. I'm hoping to pick up a physical copy again for 360. 

 #63 - PixelJunk Monsters (PSN) - This year, 2008, I was frequently switching to PS3 a lot. This tower defense game by Q-Games was a favorite of mine at the time. I'll be replaying it soon when I get into the PS3 again.  

 #83 - Castle Crashers (XBLA) - By Behemoth and a favorite downloadable of mine on Xbox at the time. For some weird reason, I don't have it anymore and can't get it on 360. Only the remaster is available for later systems. Disappointing. I love beat 'em up games though, always have. 

 #85 - Art Style: ORBIENT (WiiWare) - So I had a Wii too in 2008 but only bought a few WiiWare games. I wish I had followed it more closely though, 'cause I missed some good ones no longer available. This was a space physics game where you're a sun trying to build yourself larger by running into other space objects. It's really cool and I'll revisit it soon since I stil have it on a memory stick on my current Wii. 

 #86 - Etrian Odyssey II (DS) - I'm trying to remember just which game I started in this series, but I was super excited to find a Wizardry-like game in 2008 complete with a map making mechanic on the bottom screen of the DS. I'm thankful I still have the first three games for DS still. They are pricey nowadays, although, you can play the first three remastered on Switch. 

#112 - Duke Nukem 3D (XBLA) - It was fun to see what was ported to dowloadable services at the time. The whole concept was still relatively new. Classic shooters like this one was a fun thing to revisit from the 90s. 

 #140 - Age of Empires: Mythologies (DS) - Another game I got hooked through a Gamefly rental. Like Civ Rev, this was a streamlined version of a massive PC RTS for console/handheld gaming. I really enjoyed this and Age of Kings on DS, doing a lot of history reading in between battles. 

#150 - A Kingdom for Keflings (XBLA) - Lots of good downloadable games in 2008 for all the systems. MK and I played the heck ouf of this Ninjabee god-game/city builder. We played its sequel, and I played the Asian themed version on PSN, Akimi Village. 

 #157 - Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (X360) - After discovering Lego games with Lego Star Wars The Complete Saga in 2007, I was going to play any and all Lego games going forward. These are just fun collectathons, puzzle solving, and action games set in your favorite IPs. What's not to like? 

 #167 - Peggle Nights (XBLA) - Kind of additional content for last year's Peggle. I noticed it's accessed through the original Peggle game on my system. It's apparently also contained within Peggle Dual Shot on DS I just got. I probably spent as much time with digital games as physical this year. 

 #169 - Lego Batman: The Video Game (X360) - Now it's possible I didn't play this until about 2011 when I was doing an achievment hunt, but I was certainly aware of it in 2008 and wanted to play it. Maybe I did play it early though. I'll have to check my save files. 

#170 - Ratchet & Clank Future: A Quest for Booty (PS3) - A downloadable R&C game after Tools of Destruction. I think I have a physical copy of it now though. Always have to get the R&C games. I still want a PS5 just for the R&C game there. 

And time has run out. Certainly more there is, but have to run. May the Pixl be with you.