Circa 2009Throughout the 2000s, the gaming industry saw tremendous growth and innovation. With the continuing rise of online games, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 reaching broader audiences, and Valve`s dominating online marketplace Steam expanding PC gaming even further, 2009 served as a solid capper for a decade that saw great change. However, what made 2009 an especially interesting year was the amount of games that made some bold changes to established genres.For this special feature, GameSpot is taking a look back at the standout games of 2009. Whether it was the PlayStation 3 hitting a stellar stride with exclusives such as Uncharted 2 and Killzone 2, From Software`s Demon`s Souls offering an uncompromisingly tough approach to online action-RPG gameplay, or Batman: Arkham Asylum aggressively bucking the stigma of bad superhero games--the year that was 2009 had a variety of titles that made it an especially exciting time.In order of their respective western release dates, here are our picks for the games that made 2009 a very special year for gaming. If you want to see our previous roundups focusing on other fantastic years in gaming, be sure to check out our features below.Remembering 1998Remembering 1999Remembering 2007Remembering 2008 Skate 2 | January 21There are a handful of demos that I had a hard time deleting off the already pitifully-sized Xbox 360 20GB hard drive. Blitz: The League, Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, Dead or Alive 4, Stranglehold, Ninety Nine Nights, Lost Planet, or Just Cause 2 were demos that I could pick up, goof around in for a half hour and put back down without a steep time investment. However, one demo stood above them all.Skate was a game that not only was easy to pick up and play, but if you were willing to invest the time, it proved to have one of the most satisfying skill ceilings in all of gaming to break through. I must`ve spent over 100 hours replaying the Skate demo over the years, trying out new lines, experimen ...
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