No one was really surprised when Modern Warfare 2 shattered records. Not to mention that Madden will always sell consoles. Even throwing “Mario” on a game title is a license to print money. When in comes to video games, there are certain franchises that that can be banked on with some degree of certainty. However, the sleeper hits are what really makes the game industry special. Enjoying a game that you never expected, can be one of the greatest experiences in gaming. 2009 saw many such hits that will change the industry for years to come. Here is my list for the top 5 surprise games of 09:
5) Left 4 Dead 2
Not every studio can put together a serious game of the year contender in the span of less than a year. This time last year we were talking about the original Left 4 Dead has a possible game of the year. While the promised flood of DLC never really arrived, gamers were treated to a full fledged sequel. L4D2 added more weapons, more special zombies and some in depth campaigns, to create a spectacular multiplayer experience. Killing zombies with your friends has never been so fun!
4) inFamous
In an attempt to avoid the heavily advertised Prototype, Sony decided to push up the release date for its PS3 exclusive inFamous. While Prototype sold better initially and appeared on more platforms, inFamous received critical acclaim and is generally considered a far better game. A must buy for PS3 owners, talk of a sequel and even a movie are a testament to the success of this unique super hero game.
3) Batman: Arkham Asylum
Speaking of super hero games, when was the last time a licensed super hero game really knocked your socks off? While costumed heroes have been widely successful on the big screen, their video game counterparts have been a bit lacking. Arkham Asylum changed all of that when it released this summer. Bringing back many of the voice actors from Batman: The Animated Series, including Mark Hamill’s diabolical Joker, Arkham Asylum simply felt like it belonged in the Batman Universe. The balanced mixture of stealth and fighting mechanics used in the expertly created Arkham locale, combined to make one of the best games of 2009 for gamers and comic book fans alike.
2) Demon’s Souls
Atlus is used to publishing niche games. It wasn’t really a surprise that there wasn’t a flood of Demon’s Souls games hitting store shelves when it was released this past October. What was surprising was just how great the game turned out to be. The Deluxe edition quickly sold out and regular copies were hard to find until the second batch hit store shelves. While infamous for its difficulty, the unique online interactions between players and its refusal to heed the status quo garnered much critical acclaim, including some prestigious Game of the Year awards.
1) Borderlands
On the eve of its release, Michael Pachter claimed that Borderlands was being sent out to die. If this is death, then I finally understand those pale kids that hangout next to Hot Topic. Over 2 million copies of Borderlands have been sold and already two DLC packs have been released. Its cell shaded graphics and 87 bazillion guns have turned out to be a winning formula for Gearbox and Take-Two, who claims that Borderlands will be a flag ship franchise for the company.


