As such, when game reviewers name their favorite games of 2008, they will make good cases — probably for the epics, “Grand Theft Auto IV,” “LittleBigPlanet,” “Rock Band 2” and “Fallout 3.”

But everything is personal. So here are my Top 10 games of 2008, based on: how much they made my heart race and how many hours I played them.

•“God of War: Chains of Olympus” by Sony for PSP. This is the best PSP game yet created. You play once more as Kratos, the killing muscle of mythical gods. Its cinematic sweep is breathtaking; screenshots could hang in galleries; the orchestral score hums. It’s a flawless masterpiece.

•“Frontlines: Fuel of War” by THQ for Xbox 360. Offline, “Fuel” is a short, war-for-oil, shooting adventure. Online, this was the best shooter of 2008, featuring some of the most fun battlefields, rocket launchers, tanks and helicopters you’ll ever see.

•“Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots” by Konami for PS3. Legendary co-writer-director Hideo Kojima directed this very long work of art in an action-adventure (spanning the globe with guns).

•“Patapon” by Sony for PSP. You make stick-figure warriors march and toss spears by touching PSP buttons as if they are drum pads. It is unforgettable, clever and endearing.

•“Call of Duty: World at War” by Activision for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, DS. Offline, it’s more World War II battlefields, trenches and killing. You can also unlock a bonus “Nazi Zombie” mini-game (hilarious).

•“Mirror’s Edge” by E.A. for Xbox 360 and PS3. You play as a “runner” in an anti-utopian futuristic city (drawn with primary colors in street art style), jumping from roof to roof in human ways, and “wall-climbing” Jackie Chan-style. It ends too soon, though.

•“Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution” by 2K Games for Xbox 360, PS3 and DS. You play this engrossing “Risk”-style strategy role-player by leading your nation to empirical victory, starting from the Stone Age and ending with the Space Age.

•“The Club” by Sega for PS3 and Xbox 360. This was a stellar online shooter, though after just 10 months on the market, I find only a handful of gamers still shooting each other online via PS3.

•“MotorStorm: Pacific Rift” by Sony for PS3. Drive motorcycles, trucks and four-wheelers across incredibly vast and gorgeously illustrated open spaces in the great outdoors, offline and online.

•“WALL-E” by THQ for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, PSP and DS. This movie-based game is a solid journey where you portray Earth’s last garbage-cleaning robot who goes to space in search of love and companionship. Other games were better in traditional ways. But the profound heart of “WALL-E” almost made me cry every half-hour. That is the first time a game has ever made me emotional.

The top 10 video games of 2008 – Kansas City Star

Metal Gear Solid Touch is scheduled for release in Spring 2009, reports Kotaku. The game is a completely original adventure set in the latter-day world of Metal Gear Solid 4 (read: Snake is a geriatric), and consists of 8 stages.

What would a Metal Gear Solid game be without unlockable content? Earning bonus points through gameplay will allow players to download special Metal Gear-themed iPhone wallpapers.

No price has been established for the title, though we expect to hear more details from Konami soon.

Wii Release Dates

DS Release Dates

Could this be the thing we’ve been talking about since last year, even back when no one would believe us? You know, the thing that Konami said might happen, but then apparently didn’t say might happen? The thing that Microsoft has recently been talking about being able to run on its platform and hoping to see soon?

Or could it be the Xbox Live Arcade port of Metal Gear Solid that’s apparently been spotted in the past?

Or, is this something else entirely, and it’s just pure coincidence that green happens to be the primary color used by one of the major platform holders?

Either way, Hideo Kojima obviously knows how this would be construed…so either it’s the first official acknowledgment of a Metal Gear Solid game coming to the Xbox 360 or a classic Kojima.

IGN discovered the report, produced by Japanese investment research firm Morningstar, in the wake of the Tokyo Game Show. According to the report, a representative for Konami commented that the company was "actively looking into a release for the Xbox 360." A machine translation of the report hints that Konami may be gauging "sales of [the] Xbox 360" to make the ultimate decision.

Most will remember the game’s creator Hideo Kojima adamantly defending the PS3 exclusivity. He, on countless occasions, claimed that only the PS3 was capable of handling Metal Gear Solid 4. Of course, the series has been subject to ports following the initial release on a Sony platform before, so it’s not entirely out of the question to expect a 360 port in the future. At this stage, though, nothing official has been confirmed.

MGS4 on Xbox 360 rumors reignited by Japanese report

The software, called AdSense for Games, is in beta testing and allows video, image or text advertisements to placed at the start, end or change of level in an online game.

The advertisers are charged on a cost-per-impression or cost-per-click basis with revenue being split between Google and game developers or publishers, it said in a statement.

Google is working with game makers including Konami Corp and Demand Media, run by former MySpace Chairman Richard Rosenblatt, as well as advertisers like Sprint Nextel Corp and Sony Corp’s Sony Pictures.

Data by comScore indicates that over a quarter of Internet users, or about 200 million people, play games online with their ranks growing by 17 percent annually.

Google extends AdSense to online games (Reuters) by Reuters: Yahoo! Tech

In Time Hollow, players take on the role of Ethan Kairos, who is on a quest to unravel the mystery surrounding the sudden disappearance of his family. As players begin their journey, they come across a Hollow Pen, an extraordinary object that has the amazing ability to open portals to the past. Using the stylus pen and touch screen for the DS, players utilize the Hollow Pen to explore the past and present simultaneously in order to help Ethan find his parents.

Time Hollow reveals a deep storyline featuring key scenes created by AIC, the famous anime studio with the producer and director of Blood+ and Gundam SEED, respectively. The sprawling mystery also features a variety of interesting characters that come to life via the words of Junko Kawano, scriptwriter for Suikoden IV.

Time Hollow is rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB and retails for $29.99. For more information, please visit: www.konami.com.

GameSpy: Konami Ships Time Hollow for the Nintendo DS to Retail Stores Nationwide