Best games
Best games of 2008
The 95 best games released in 2008, ranked from 26,354 critic and player ratings.
The best game of 2008 is LittleBigPlanet, with a critic score of 96/100 — updated September 2026.
How this ranking is built
- Games are ranked on the aggregated critic score out of 100 imported from IGDB and Metacritic, never on Tier's own grades.
- A game only enters the ranking with at least 80 external ratings, so a single enthusiastic review never outranks a proven classic.
- Community grades from F to S are shown next to every game, and only stated as a fact above 5 Tier ratings.
- Release window covered: 2008.
- 50 games are listed on this page, carrying 26,354 ratings between them.
- Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 28 September 2026.
Top 50
01
LittleBigPlanet
Welcome to LittleBigPlanet – a world of infinite possibilities, where imagination becomes reality and the powers of creation are firmly in your hands. If you can think of it, you can create it if you can create it, you can share it if you can share it, you can play it – and watch our colorful LittleBigPlanet grow and diversify! It’s a new kind of game that unleashes the creativity in everyone. Design your own character and play over 50 awesome developer levels packed with dangers to navigate, races to win and puzzles to solve. As you play you will learn the skills to build a world of your own by earning creative tools and collecting hundreds of items. Use these items and tools to shape amazing levels of your own, featuring puzzles, challenges, and enemies of your own design. When you are ready, go online to access the LBP community and Share your creations for everyone to play. LittleBigPlanet is a world with no limits – a world that’s yours to shape, build and explore.
96
/100
02
The Orange Box
94
/100
03
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final canonical Metal Gear game to feature Solid Snake as the main character. The gameplay of the previous games have been kept along with some new features, such as the ability to roll on your back and also to hide in bins scattered around the environment. Most of the story and the relationship between the characters are explained through cut-scenes with a considerable length, so knowledge of the prior games is recommended to fully understand the story. The game also features a complex multiplayer mode entitled Metal Gear Online with some original missions based on the stealth aspects of the single-player games.
94
/100
LittleBigPlanet
Welcome to LittleBigPlanet – a world of infinite possibilities, where imagination becomes reality and the powers of creation are firmly in your hands. If you can think of it, you can create it if you can create it, you can share it if you can share it, you can play it – and watch our colorful LittleBigPlanet grow and diversify! It’s a new kind of game that unleashes the creativity in everyone. Design your own character and play over 50 awesome developer levels packed with dangers to navigate, races to win and puzzles to solve. As you play you will learn the skills to build a world of your own by earning creative tools and collecting hundreds of items. Use these items and tools to shape amazing levels of your own, featuring puzzles, challenges, and enemies of your own design. When you are ready, go online to access the LBP community and Share your creations for everyone to play. LittleBigPlanet is a world with no limits – a world that’s yours to shape, build and explore.
96
/100
02
The Orange Box
94
/100
03
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is the final canonical Metal Gear game to feature Solid Snake as the main character. The gameplay of the previous games have been kept along with some new features, such as the ability to roll on your back and also to hide in bins scattered around the environment. Most of the story and the relationship between the characters are explained through cut-scenes with a considerable length, so knowledge of the prior games is recommended to fully understand the story. The game also features a complex multiplayer mode entitled Metal Gear Online with some original missions based on the stealth aspects of the single-player games.
94
/100
04
Burnout Paradise
Evolve or die. For Paradise, we knew we had to change everything. Burnout was a killer arcade driving game, but for a new generation of hardware and connected player Burnout had to become something more ambitious. Closed tracks made way for an expansive, open city, and we seamlessly synced your friends into the action and let you loose on a heap of cool challenges that unsurprisingly rewarded you for driving like a lunatic. Hey, it’s us after all.
93
/100
05
Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2 is the sequel to the 2007 musical simulation game Rock Band and offers similar gameplay. Directly competing with Guitar Hero: World Tour, the game allows different people to play together as in a band, with the same peripherals as the first game: lead guitar, bass guitar, microphone and a drum set. The new drum and guitar controllers for this version, bundled or sold separately, have been revised and older controllers are also supported. The guitar controller, modelled after the Fender Stratocaster, has five additional fret buttons near the neck, for fast fingertapping sessions. There is also an effect switch to toggle between five different effects. Players use the instruments to match notes on the screen, divided in different portions for different instruments, along with the lyrics for the singer who need to match the pitch.
93
/100
06
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
As with previous Professor Layton games, Unwound Future is an adventure game where the player solves puzzles offered by local citizens to progress the story forward, through dialogue and around 32 minutes of full motion video. The player moves about the game through still images of locations. The player can use the DS touchscreen to tap on non-player characters to start a dialog or to obtain a puzzle, and also can search anywhere on the background for hint coins, with some areas needing to be tapped several times to reveal a secret hint coin or puzzle. Puzzles are brainteasers of many varieties, including visual, math, and logic. There is no time limit to solve puzzles, and the player can get up to 3 hints at a cost of one hint coin each; a new feature in Unwound Future is a "super hint", costing 2 coins, that can only be bought after the other 3 hints have been revealed, but that nearly reveals the puzzle's solution. If the player is correct in solving the puzzle, they gain a number of "Picarats", a form of currency within the game. Guessing the incorrect answer will reduce the number of picarats the player can get on subsequent attempts. Players can visit certain areas in order to play undiscovered or unsolved puzzles that are left behind as the story progresses.
93
/100
07
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series and the follow-up to Super Smash Bros. Melee. This edition introduces super attacks referred to as final smashes, as well as a brand-new adventure mode in The Subspace Emissary which is a side-scrolling adventure in the style of a platformer. It retains all basic mechanics of the Super Smash Bros. series, such as a damage meter, stocks, and Smash-style attacks.
91
/100
08
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
91
/100
09
God of War: Chains of Olympus
Kratos makes his inaugural appearance on a portable gaming platform in the third instalment of the God of War series. Chains of Olympus serves as a prequel, unfolding its narrative a decade before the events in the original God of War. While retaining the familiar gameplay dynamics of its predecessors, subtle modifications enhance the overall experience. Kratos embarks on a journey through various levels, engaging in relentless combat against foes and formidable bosses, deciphering puzzles based on manipulating boxes, and participating in quick-time events. Throughout his odyssey, he amasses red orbs to fortify his weapons and abilities, secures Gorgon eyeballs to augment his health, and acquires Phoenix feathers to amplify his magical prowess. The game's controls underwent refinement to harmonize with the reduced button configuration of the PSP. Dodging, for instance, now necessitates the utilization of both shoulder buttons and the analogue stick. The iconic Blades of Chaos, synonymous with the God of War series, make a return, accompanied by an array of new weapons and magical spells such as the Sun Shield, Efreet spell, and Light of Dawn. The narrative unfolds as the Gods dispatch Kratos to the city of Attica, charging him with the defence against an encroaching Persian army. However, as Morpheus unleashes chaos, Kratos finds himself compelled to harness his formidable powers to once again rescue the world from impending doom.
91
/100
10
Gears of War 2
In Gears of War 2, The COG continues its fight against the Locust horde, who are attempting to sink all of the cities on the planet Sera by using a big riftworm to eat the ground beneath them. Sergeant Marcus Fenix leads Delta Squad into the depths of the planet to try to stop the worm from eating but instead they discover the true intent of the Locust actions.
90
/100
11
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
90
/100
12
Portal: Still Alive
90
/100
13
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009
90
/100
14
C
Fallout 3
89
/100
15
Left 4 Dead
89
/100
16
Fable II
89
/100
17
S
Grand Theft Auto IV
88
/100
18
King's Bounty: The Legend
87
/100
19
GRID (2008)
87
/100
20
Resistance 2
87
/100
21
FINAL FANTASY IV: THE AFTER YEARS
87
/100
22
A
World of Goo
87
/100
23
Braid
87
/100
24
B
Dead Space (2008)
86
/100
25
The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director's Cut
86
/100
26
Bionic Commando: Rearmed
86
/100
27
The Witcher: Enhanced Edition
86
/100
28
Far Cry 2
85
/100
29
AudioSurf
85
/100
30
Valkyria Chronicles
85
/100
31
Soul Calibur IV
85
/100
32
Prince of Persia
84
/100
33
Crysis Warhead
84
/100
34
Battlefield: Bad Company
84
/100
35
WipEout HD
84
/100
36
S
Call of Duty: World at War
83
/100
37
Pure
83
/100
38
Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization
83
/100
39
FIFA 09
83
/100
40
Guitar Hero World Tour
82
/100
41
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky
82
/100
42
Spore
82
/100
43
Midnight Club: Los Angeles
82
/100
44
MotorStorm: Pacific Rift
82
/100
45
Devil May Cry 4
81
/100
46
Saints Row 2
81
/100
47
Mirror's Edge
81
/100
48
Defense Grid: The Awakening
81
/100
49
Condemned 2: Bloodshot
81
/100
50
LEGO Batman
80
/100
Burnout Paradise
Evolve or die. For Paradise, we knew we had to change everything. Burnout was a killer arcade driving game, but for a new generation of hardware and connected player Burnout had to become something more ambitious. Closed tracks made way for an expansive, open city, and we seamlessly synced your friends into the action and let you loose on a heap of cool challenges that unsurprisingly rewarded you for driving like a lunatic. Hey, it’s us after all.
93
/100
05
Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2 is the sequel to the 2007 musical simulation game Rock Band and offers similar gameplay. Directly competing with Guitar Hero: World Tour, the game allows different people to play together as in a band, with the same peripherals as the first game: lead guitar, bass guitar, microphone and a drum set. The new drum and guitar controllers for this version, bundled or sold separately, have been revised and older controllers are also supported. The guitar controller, modelled after the Fender Stratocaster, has five additional fret buttons near the neck, for fast fingertapping sessions. There is also an effect switch to toggle between five different effects. Players use the instruments to match notes on the screen, divided in different portions for different instruments, along with the lyrics for the singer who need to match the pitch.
93
/100
06
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
As with previous Professor Layton games, Unwound Future is an adventure game where the player solves puzzles offered by local citizens to progress the story forward, through dialogue and around 32 minutes of full motion video. The player moves about the game through still images of locations. The player can use the DS touchscreen to tap on non-player characters to start a dialog or to obtain a puzzle, and also can search anywhere on the background for hint coins, with some areas needing to be tapped several times to reveal a secret hint coin or puzzle. Puzzles are brainteasers of many varieties, including visual, math, and logic. There is no time limit to solve puzzles, and the player can get up to 3 hints at a cost of one hint coin each; a new feature in Unwound Future is a "super hint", costing 2 coins, that can only be bought after the other 3 hints have been revealed, but that nearly reveals the puzzle's solution. If the player is correct in solving the puzzle, they gain a number of "Picarats", a form of currency within the game. Guessing the incorrect answer will reduce the number of picarats the player can get on subsequent attempts. Players can visit certain areas in order to play undiscovered or unsolved puzzles that are left behind as the story progresses.
93
/100
07
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series and the follow-up to Super Smash Bros. Melee. This edition introduces super attacks referred to as final smashes, as well as a brand-new adventure mode in The Subspace Emissary which is a side-scrolling adventure in the style of a platformer. It retains all basic mechanics of the Super Smash Bros. series, such as a damage meter, stocks, and Smash-style attacks.
91
/100
08
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
91
/100
09
God of War: Chains of Olympus
Kratos makes his inaugural appearance on a portable gaming platform in the third instalment of the God of War series. Chains of Olympus serves as a prequel, unfolding its narrative a decade before the events in the original God of War. While retaining the familiar gameplay dynamics of its predecessors, subtle modifications enhance the overall experience. Kratos embarks on a journey through various levels, engaging in relentless combat against foes and formidable bosses, deciphering puzzles based on manipulating boxes, and participating in quick-time events. Throughout his odyssey, he amasses red orbs to fortify his weapons and abilities, secures Gorgon eyeballs to augment his health, and acquires Phoenix feathers to amplify his magical prowess. The game's controls underwent refinement to harmonize with the reduced button configuration of the PSP. Dodging, for instance, now necessitates the utilization of both shoulder buttons and the analogue stick. The iconic Blades of Chaos, synonymous with the God of War series, make a return, accompanied by an array of new weapons and magical spells such as the Sun Shield, Efreet spell, and Light of Dawn. The narrative unfolds as the Gods dispatch Kratos to the city of Attica, charging him with the defence against an encroaching Persian army. However, as Morpheus unleashes chaos, Kratos finds himself compelled to harness his formidable powers to once again rescue the world from impending doom.
91
/100
10
Gears of War 2
In Gears of War 2, The COG continues its fight against the Locust horde, who are attempting to sink all of the cities on the planet Sera by using a big riftworm to eat the ground beneath them. Sergeant Marcus Fenix leads Delta Squad into the depths of the planet to try to stop the worm from eating but instead they discover the true intent of the Locust actions.
90
/100
11
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
90
/100
12
Portal: Still Alive
90
/100
13
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009
90
/100
14
C
Fallout 3
89
/100
15
Left 4 Dead
89
/100
16
Fable II
89
/100
17
S
Grand Theft Auto IV
88
/100
18
King's Bounty: The Legend
87
/100
19
GRID (2008)
87
/100
20
Resistance 2
87
/100
21
FINAL FANTASY IV: THE AFTER YEARS
87
/100
22
A
World of Goo
87
/100
23
Braid
87
/100
24
B
Dead Space (2008)
86
/100
25
The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director's Cut
86
/100
26
Bionic Commando: Rearmed
86
/100
27
The Witcher: Enhanced Edition
86
/100
28
Far Cry 2
85
/100
29
AudioSurf
85
/100
30
Valkyria Chronicles
85
/100
31
Soul Calibur IV
85
/100
32
Prince of Persia
84
/100
33
Crysis Warhead
84
/100
34
Battlefield: Bad Company
84
/100
35
WipEout HD
84
/100
36
S
Call of Duty: World at War
83
/100
37
Pure
83
/100
38
Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization
83
/100
39
FIFA 09
83
/100
40
Guitar Hero World Tour
82
/100
41
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky
82
/100
42
Spore
82
/100
43
Midnight Club: Los Angeles
82
/100
44
MotorStorm: Pacific Rift
82
/100
45
Devil May Cry 4
81
/100
46
Saints Row 2
81
/100
47
Mirror's Edge
81
/100
48
Defense Grid: The Awakening
81
/100
49
Condemned 2: Bloodshot
81
/100
50
LEGO Batman
80
/100
Frequently asked questions
What is the best game of 2008?
LittleBigPlanet currently tops the ranking with a score of 96/100 across 270 ratings. Ranking updated September 2026.
How is this ranking built?
Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.