TA Top Five: Games of 2009 By Joshua Rust, 18 Nov 2013 FollowtopicsCommunity NewsArticleJoshua Rust We continue our journey through the life-cycle of the Xbox 360. The 2005/2006 launch titles were great for their time, but the Xbox 360 really started to gain momentum in 2007. Then we moved on to 2008 where the games just keep getting bigger and bigger. Will this trend continue?Let's find out as we take a look at 2009, where some heavy hitting new IPs and a couple of established titles take the spotlight.Dishonorable MentionHannah Montana: The Movie Achievements - n-Space - AprilCommunity Rating - 2.0 | Metacritic Score - 25While 2007's Dishonorable Mention can be issued a pass if you're a fan of the cartoon series (we all really know why you played it, though), this year's Dishonorable Mention has no excuse. This could definitely be a winner for the "Most Embarrassing Game On My Gamercard Award" if we had one. There's no amount of crying on a wrecking ball that can save this game from this year's Dishonorable Mention. Honorable MentionsLeft 4 Dead 2 Achievements - Valve - NovemberCommunity Rating - 4.2 | Metacritic Score - 89Building off the success of its predecessor, Left 4 Dead Achievements, this sequel added the much desired melee weapons, bringing on a whole new meaning of zombie-slaying fun! Valve also added a couple of new multiplayer modes which pushed gamers to cooperate on a whole new level if they wanted to survive the zombie apocalypse. Street Fighter IV Achievements- Capcom Entertainment Inc. - FebruaryCommunity Rating - 3.7 | Metacritic Score - 93Capcom's Street Fighter series has been around for a long, long time and they are always seeking a way to improve their fighting games. With Street Fighter IV, they went back to the saying, "What's old is new again." While new innovations made their way into this iteration, a lot of fans were pleased to see the six-button control scheme make a comeback. It also introduced the Focus Attack, or Saving Attack, which allowed players to limit damage and launch a counterattack which changed many outcomes during battle. Forza Motorsport 3 Achievements - Turn 10 - OctoberCommunity Rating - 4.2 | Metacritic Score - 92Turn 10's Forza series is one of the few top tier racing franchises on the Xbox 360. Building on the success of Forza 2, this sequel offered up improved visuals, fast racing, and hundreds of cars. It also introduced the in-car camera view, much to the delight of hardcore racers. Forza Motorsports 3 is arguably one of the best racing games from 2009.Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) Achievements - Infinity Ward - NovemberCommunity Rating - 4.2 | Metacritic Score - 94With any year that has a Call Of Duty game (which is just about all of them), you can pretty much expect to see them in some kind of Top 5/Top 10 list. Is it because of the name? Yes and no. With the title of Call Of Duty there are certain expectations to be met, not just for a critic's sake, for the faithful following of gamers. Modern Warfare 2 sets the bar once again, for multiplayer shooting games. The campaign may be short and sweet, but it's definitely the multiplayer that keeps these games so popular.The Fine FiveTrials HD Achievements - RedLynx - AugustCommunity Rating - 4.2 | Metacritic Score - 86Trials HD, a game that is fun to play yet difficult to master. This physics-based motorcycle riding game put players to the test across many levels in attempts to complete the level as fast as possible while trying to make few mistakes. Though the learning curve for this game may be a little steep, this is definitely one of the most prized arcade games to come out of 2009. Assassin's Creed II Achievements - Ubisoft Montreal - NovemberCommunity Rating - 4.5 | Metacritic Score - 90Leaving the Altair's adventures from the first Assassin's Creed, the sequel puts you in the Renaissance period controlling Ezio Auditore da Firenze. While the first game set out with large ambitions, they didn't really come to fruition until this game. One noticeable improvement was the combat; it still was button mashing, but required a bit more finesse than the previous game. Mission variety, non-linear gameplay, and an in-game economy system made Assassin's Creed II into the game that was promised to begin with. It received numerous awards across the gaming sites and is a definite mainstay for the generation.Dragon Age: Origins Achievements - BioWare - NovemberCommunity Rating - 4.2 | Metacritic Score - 86BioWare has all but mastered the RPG genre and Dragon Age: Origins is no exception. The "spiritual successor" to the Baldur's Gate franchise (PC), this is the game that CRPG fans had been waiting for. Boasting a storyline that would carry on throughout multiple games, engaging characters that you don't just play with... you make memories with... reflecting BioWare's strength with creating memorable characters. Dragon Age: Origins still remains has one of the best RPG games on the Xbox 360.Batman: Arkham Asylum Achievements - Rocksteady Studio LTD - AugustCommunity Rating - 4.6 | Metacritic Score - 92The Dark Knight, how long has he waited for a game to truly represent his character? Rocksteady finally hit the nail on the head, and hit it a thousand times over. A dark, gritty, more mature Batman game that doesn't leave you wanting... except for a sequel. Batman: Arkham Asylum has one of the best combat mechanics you'll ever see a video game. Pair that with the amazing storytelling of Paul Dini, a long time veteran writer of the Batman comics, and you have nothing but awesomeness. When people ask about the best Batman game ever, this is the game many will point to.Borderlands Achievements - Gearbox Software - OctoberCommunity Rating - 4.4 | Metacritic Score - 84Borderlands came out of nowhere and dropped a bombshell on the industry by offering up a four-player, loot-filled, guns blazing good time. While the artistic design may have discouraged some gamers from playing at first, when they got their hands on it, they soon found out that there was more to this game than meets the eye. An engaging storyline filled with tons of humor, intriguing characters, and all the skag piles you could ever want to dig through. While some of the DLC was a bit lacking (Hello, "Mad Moxxi's Underdome"), this is still one of the best games to come out in 2009.The TA Team will be bringing you The TA Top Five for each year of the 360 era until we hit this year. Did we miss a game you loved? If so, be sure to let us know in the comments!Community NewsXbox 360 Written by Joshua RustHello everyone! I joined the Newshound group of TrueAchievements back in June 2013. Gaming has always been a passion of mine, up until recently I was a huge score-whore but have recently slacked off a bit. Not to brag or anything, but I do hold the top position in TA Score among the Newshounds (much to Michelle's displeasure...lol). I'm always up for boosting some of the older multiplayer games, so if you need help I'll try to find time in my schedule to help out! I'm also a huge Marvel Comics fan and Moon Knight is my favorite character, period. Excelsior!