As the year ends, I feel like I pointing out some of the most innovative games to be released this year. They have all been pretty high profile throughout the year.  Alright now I guess it’s time to show everyone the games.

Braid (Xbox 360, PC 1stQ ’09)

This game is probably the most innovative game in this century so far. It takes the idea of controlling time and runs with it in all directions, to solve puzzles and complete levels, turning this platform game into one of the best games of the year.  If you haven’t played it pick it up on Xbox Live Arcade now or if you don’t have a 360 you can wait for the PC version to come in the 1st quarter of 2009.

Audiosurf (PC-only)

This is probably my favorite time waster of 2008 and the foreseeable future. The game takes your non-DRM audio tracks into race tracks, based on various elements of the audio file, and crosses it with a puzzle game. You end up having something that resembles what you would get if you crossed Guitar Hero and F-Zero. Since it is using your audio to create the game you can keep adding more and more levels as you add more and more audio to your hard drive. Pick it up from Steam for $9.99 right now.

Mirrors Edge (Xbox 360 ,PS3, PC 1stQ’09)

This isn’t a truly large innovation but this game has laid a whole new path for future games that harness first-person perspectives. It was seemingly so real that it had people vomiting from the virtual induction of themselves into the game by seeing the arms, torso, and legs of Faith. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more games that use this induction to make their games more realistic.

Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360, PC)

This game is just another FPS until you get into it and have hundreds of enemies rush you out of nowhere. The AI Director has it’s issues but it provides this game with some suppensful moments that make every play-through completely different. It analyzes whether your doing well or barely hanging on and adapts how many and when it’s going to flood you with enemies.

Those where the most innovative games that I have seen and played in 2008, all are recommended purchases. I’ve also already spotted one that is going to be an innovative game when it comes out in 2009 or 2010. The game is called LOVE and is a MMO that is procedural rendered and completely editable by the players.

If you think I missed a game let me know and I’ll look into it or tell you why it didn’t get on the list.