It's that time of the year again - for top 10 lists (or in this case, top 11)! With the holidays now here and most of this year's titles released, it seems like as good a time as any to complain about those that didn't live up to my personal expectations. There were a lot fun games this year, but there were also quite a few that rubbed me the wrong way. Whether they were overhyped or bug-ridden failures, this is the list of games that disappointed me most in 2008.

Please note that the following consists of my opinion and my opinion alone.

11. Grand Theft Auto IV
Yeah, I said it. There is no question that GTA IV is a great game - it's just one that I seemingly don't care for. Perhaps it's my feigning interest in the series since Vice City, or maybe more because of the aggravating chase missions with cars that handle a little too realistically, silly dating mini-games, or the lack of a proper military presence in Liberty City. To this day I haven't been able to finish the single player game, though admittedly, multiplayer has its moments. It would be nice if Rockstar could take a few more risks next time around, and try to entice those of us who have become jaded of the now standardized GTA formula.

10. Guitar Hero: World Tour
Let's be honest, it's hard to get excited about the franchise known as Guitar Hero. Once a pioneer of the fake instrument genre, the series has devolved into what amounts to overpriced cash-ins and strange DS ports. I suppose that World Tour hoped to rectify this with its own set of fake band equipment, but the result isn't anything we haven't seen before. A flimsy drum set that'll break after limited use; check. A song list that was ripped straight from Rock Band and its vast amount of DLC; sure. Graphics that haven't seen a significant improvement since the original Guitar Hero; you bet. While the drum set offers cymbals in an attempt to fool us into thinking we're getting something new and unique for our $190, the reality is we're not. This has all been done before, and better, by a title that you may have heard of: it's called Rock Band 2.

9. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
I imagine one's enjoyment of this game is directly proportional to the degree in which he or she cares about the DC Universe. As someone who has never heard of 70% of the DC roster in this title, it makes the experience feel a bit stripped down to appease the masses. Sure, the fighting mechanic is sound and the MK roster is as strong as ever, but where is my beloved blood and gore? It's actually quite amazing how the toned-down violence affects the feel of the fighting, and makes the once sadistic MK characters feel a bit... tame. Combine that with terribly lame fatalities, stiff animations, and significant balance issues and you have one of the most disappointing entries in the series thus far. Do you remember that cool Joker fatality they showed off at one of the recent press events? Yeah, they neutered that too.

8. Call of Duty: World at War
World War II - if by some chance you're not sick of it by now, you're either a historian or not a video game player. This period in history has been adapted to more first-person shooters than mankind should have permitted. Every developer who chooses to release a game in this horribly stagnant and overdone era should be subject to some sort of "dumb decision" monetary penalty. It's gotten to that level of ridiculousness. So it's quite the mystery as to why Activision chose to release the next entry in the series again in the "kill me now, I loathe this" time period. What's more, they virtually cloned Call of Duty 4 (a great departure for the series), added a bunch of decent, albeit unoriginal features, set it in the generation of hell, and called a day. Because of its CoD4 roots, World at War isn't a bad game, it's just one that lacks any originality or distinction. One can only hope that this will be the last shooter to take place during the war that seemingly won't ever go the hell away.

7. Mega Man 9
I don't dislike Mega Man 9 as much as I hate the reminder that I could never go back to the way video games were a decade or two ago. This title is so astoundingly hard that I became convinced that my memory was playing tricks on me, as I never recalled the series being so difficult. During my youth, I vividly remember playing through Mega Man's 2 and 3 with minimal challenge, so it left me a bit perplexed as to why this latest entry in the series continually sent me into a profanity-laden rage. That was until I decided to take a trip down memory lane and go through those games again. It was soon after that I realized that Mega Man 9 isn't so much a departure from the series as it is a downright reminder of how unfair things used to be. I guess at my younger age I was more adept at dealing with crappy level design and memory-based gameplay, but I'm older now, and because games have become much easier, I seemingly could never walk the old school road again. So thanks Mega Man 9, for reiterating that no matter how much I may want to, I lack the patience, the stamina, and the skill required to ever play a game like this again without destroying my controller.

6. The non-existent Wii holiday release
Oh, Wii - how I wish you were still relevant to my video game hobby. You probably don't realize this, but every once in awhile, I'll hit your power button just to see whether or not you still boot up. I do this because I'm curious to see if I'll have any sort of response other than indifference if you somehow ceased to function. I mean, don't get me wrong, Mario Galaxy was an awesome game and all, but what happened since then? You're a $250 beacon of disappointment, my friend. This year you offer me Animal Crossing DS, I mean, City Folk, a yoga mat, and an eardrum-piercing noise maker. What happened to you, man? I know you're on good terms with the children, the elderly, parents, and the mainstream media, but what about me - am I no longer worth relevant gaming entertainment anymore? It's clear that your creator is laughing all the way to the bank, but can you throw me a bone too? Please? I promise I'll give you more attention.

5. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
As much as I wanted to, I never really had high hopes for this game. From the moment I heard that three of the most popular video game technologies (Havok, DMM and Euphoria) were being used in one title, I knew that the developers had a tough road ahead of them. As expected, the final product reflects this. While they implemented these features better than I anticipated, it's still done in such a shallow and buggy way that I can't help but wonder if The Force Unleashed could have been better if they just focused on the gameplay itself. Because, on top of these technical blemishes, there's some clunky and simplistic combat, minimal but frustrating platforming, and certain "epic" sequences that range from mediocre to downright terrible. What's more, there are also numerous camera issues, inaccurate on-screen prompts (see the Star Destroyer sequence), frame rate chugging, invisible walls, and zero replayability. There is a certain glee to be had in chucking around Wookies with the force as Darth Vader, but it's obfuscated by so many problems that the end result is nothing more than pure aggravation. When my negative impression of the unfinished game is trumped by an even more negative impression of the finished product, it becomes clear that something went terribly wrong during development.

4. Fable II
I recall trying to get into the original Fable fairly late in its lifetime, but was too put off by the simplistic combat and RPG elements. It was as if the game couldn't decide what it wanted to be - an action romp or an RPG. Both components were so lacking in depth that it simply couldn't hold my interest long enough for me to find out whether things got any better. So, with the release of Fable II, I once again hoped that I'd be able to get into this seemingly revered series. Unfortunately, things didn't quite work out that way. After an hour or two of play, I realized that this was pretty much the first game with a few trivial elements added to it. The dog is a neat little addition, as is the graphical overhaul, but I felt a strong sense of déjà-vu in almost every other aspect of the game. Then there's the exceeding annoying inventory system, tons of glitches (including one that doesn't allow you to finish the game), a sloppily constructed co-op addition with piss-poor camera control, and my personal favorite: repetitive and shallow emote-based NPC interaction. I think it's safe to say that after this sequel, I'll have an extremely hard time getting into another game with the official Molyneux stamp of approval on it.

3. Too Human
There are few titles that spend a decade in development. As one such example, Too Human had a lot of hype surrounding it, largely due to Silicon Knights' founder, Denis Dyack. Suffice it to say; when he wasn't going on forum rampages against overly indulgent adolescents, he made several promises for Too Human that didn't quite pan out. His use of atrocious PR has actually been synonymous with the game's development. Much in the same way that his tirades contain tidbits of good concepts, the core gameplay in Too Human fairs similarly. There are some worthwhile ideas in the game, and the combination of sci-fi and Norse mythology are an interesting pairing. However, the weak story, less-than-stellar dual stick combat, loot drops that become obsolete after ten minutes, aggravating 25-second death animations, and a clunky inventory system were just some of the issues that prevented this title from being overshadowed by Dyack's ego. Here's to hoping that the Silicon Knights' board votes unanimously to gag Denis until Too Human 2 is released. At this point, nothing but good can come from that.

2. Haze
GoldenEye 64. The very mention of this game exudes a sort of nerd-like nostalgia for anyone who has ever owned a Nintendo 64. It was arguably the best console shooter of its time, and is still revered today, despite being totally obsolete. Free Radical, the developer behind the PS3-exclusive Haze, was actually formed by some of the original staff at Rare who worked on the esteemed first-person shooter. With this kind of background and a track record of making excellent games (the TimeSplitters series), it's surprising to see them release a title as bad as Haze truly is. What's stranger is that it's also the very antithesis of what made their previous games so much fun. It's stripped down in almost every way that matters, whereas TimeSplitters had more modes, weapons, and variety than most its competition. When you compound that with an absolutely atrocious AI, irritating voice acting and narrative, outdated presentational values, and limited multiplayer options, it's easily one of the worst games of the year. Haze is unquestionably below Free Radical's established pedigree, and it's a title that I imagine both the developer and consumers would like to pretend never existed. Unfortunately, with the recent demise of the company, it seems that they will never get a chance to set things right.

1. Castle Crashers
When I reviewed Castle Crashers, I gave it a mostly positive recommendation, despite its nonfunctional online component and severe data loss bugs. I did this because the game was genuinely great when played locally, even with just one player. It was easily the most fun I've had with a Live Arcade title, and that was only amplified when it came to cooperative play. But to this day, I have yet to experience a 4-player game on Xbox Live. The reason for that is because Castle Crashers still retains the same technical problems that have plagued it since its release in late August. For reasons even more baffling, the developer's official blog is quite vague when it comes to the reasons for this, stating issues with Microsoft's certification process. I can understand if maybe a few weeks go by and things still aren't resolved, but come on, it's about four months later now. I like The Behemoth as much as the next guy, but having any title (downloadable or otherwise) be this broken for this long of a time is unacceptable. Whatever the real story behind the delay is, one thing is for absolute certain: Castle Crashers is the only excellent game this year that I completely regret purchasing.

Editor's note: Shortly after this article was written, Castle Crashers received an update on Xbox Live. The patch appears to have resolved most of the data loss and online issues. However, it did not restore saved information previously lost. Due to this and the fact that it took so long to resolve these problems, Castle Crashers remains as my number one letdown of 2008.