Game: NBA LIVE 09
Innovation: Player DNA
Hands up who didn't like FIFA's Adidas Live Season? The benefits of hiding behind a screen means we don't have to count those of you with your arms raised, but we will say this: are you mad? You're playing a football simulation but you're not keen on it being too up-to-date? Crazy! It's revolutionary! It's the future! It's not as good as NBA Live 09's player DNA.
Goading you with such information would normally be considered a hostile challenge, but by eliminating the unnecessary steps between putting in a good performance and then seeing how you shape up against your competitors, Bizarre managed to strip away all extraneous menus and deliver a core idea without distractions.
Game: Tomb Raider: Underworld
Innovation: Grime
We realise Tomb Raider: Underworld isn't out yet, but when you do get to play it, we're sure you'll love the new dirty Lara. After battling tigers, swimming through an underground cave system, climbing ancient walls and splashing through mud. Of course it's going to show.
We've lost count of the number of racers where the cars become caked with mud as they hurtle round a country road, and we're well aware that Nathan Drake's soggy shirt after a quick swim made his traipse through the jungle more believable, but Lara's dirty legs manage to, for the first time ever, make us realise how much we've put our character through over the course of a level.
There's no Edward Carnby-style pre-rendered cuts which open and close according to how much damage you've sustained, just layers of dirt which slowly build up on Lara's skin as she continues to roll around in the undergrowth. Utterly pointless, but infinitely absorbing.
Nov 07, 2008
It's good for more than just swinging
From gameplay mechanics to design flaws - these are the most heinous offenders of gaming
