As the first half of the year wraps up, Travis
(Baltimore Video Game Lifestyle Examiner) and myself decided to sift
through the 2009 video game releases so far and pick out which games
are worthy enough to receive the oh-so-coveted 2009 Game of the Year
(so far) award, which is pictured to the right. 

Travis has covered the console portion of the award, and now I'll be bringing you the handheld portion.

So, starting with the far superior of the two gaming handhelds, here we go!

2009 Game of the Year (so far) - Nintendo DS

The Nintendo DS had a handful of great releases so far this year including Knights in the Nightmare, Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure, The Legendary Starfy, and Rhythm Heaven. 
All are great games and could easily take the title, but one game
stands above the rest, and even scores unbelievably high on Metacritic.com - Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars.

I
was just as surprised as anyone else when I heard the announcement of a
GTA game coming to the kid-friendly Nintendo DS, but I was just as
surprised with the number of great reviews the game received.   I'm not
a GTA gamer, nor have I played Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars,
but after reading how spectacular of a game it is I'll probably be
picking it up very soon. It doesn't sound like much was left out, and a
lot of the core addictive gameplay, mechanics, and humor were all left
intact.  The graphics look amazing on the Nintendo Handheld, and I'm
shocked at the things Rockstar was able to get the Nintendo DS to do. 
GTA isn't meant for the younger crowd, so It's nice that Rockstar
didn't turn down the adult/mature theme GTA gamers were accustomed to.

I really wanted to choose a game likeHenry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure or a great RPG from Atlus such as Knights in the Nightmare or Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor.  But in the end Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
deserves every bit of the 2009 DS Game of the Year (so far) award, and
will probably be my first entry into the GTA world.  I'm looking
forward to it!  

2009 Game of the Year (so far) - Sony PSP

I
have only been a PSP gamer for about two months and I've definitely
enjoyed my gaming time with the PSP so far.  One of the first games
that I picked up for the handheld happen to be one of the best PSP
releases so far this year - Patapon 2.  Although it's a great
game and I'm loving every minute of it, there is one 2009 PSP release
that I kept hearing about even before I picked up the handheld - Monster Hunter Freedom Unite.

Before owning a PSP, I had no idea what the deal was with Monster Hunter. 
There is no story, you just go kill monsters and upgrade your
equipment.  That's it.  But after reading dozens of reviews, and
putting in a handful of hours into the game, I can see why Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
was highly anticipated and talked about.  The game is huge, over 500
hours worth of gameplay and unbelievable amount of weapon/equipment
customization.  The gameplay requires a good amount of strategy and
prepration, and if you have friends that play it makes this game so
much better.   The learning curve is a bit steep, and if you can make
it through the few hours worth of tutorials you'll be rewarded with
long and enjoyable RPG experience. 

Trust me when I say that I never thought that I'd jump on the Monster Hunter bandwagon, but here I am playing Monster Hunter Freedom Unite and enjoying it.  On top of that, I'm also giving it the 2009 PSP Game of the Year (so far) award. 

So
now it's your turn!  Chime in and let us know which DS and PSP game you
give the 2009 Game of the Year (so far) award to!  Don't forget to
check out which 2009 video game releases Travis picked for the top spot!.

Check out the rest of my Nintendo DS and Sony PSP articles:

http://www.examiner.com/Baltimore-Games_and_Hobbies.html