The fourth best videogame(s) of 2008

(Part of our series counting down the top ten videogames of 2008 -- with interruptions for the most disappointing and most overrated -- according to Variety critics Leigh Alexander, Tom Chick, Chris Dahlen and Ben Fritz. Full details are here. To check out the rest of the list, click here. Most importantly, vote for your favorite games of 2008 in the Cut Scene reader awards here.)

Tom Chick

Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks / Bethesda)

I didn't do this intentionally, but once I'd arranged my list I realized that my top four games of 2008 are all powerfully imagined and skillfully created open worlds, with rock-solid infrastructures of good gameplay and an unwavering emphasis on freedom. Here are almost unprecedented juxtapositions of developer creativity and player freedom ("Grand Theft Auto IV" would have belonged among this rare company if Rockstar had either written a better story or designed a better game). "Fallout 3" is the most contrived of the four, proceeding apace along the usual RPG trappings like dialogue trees, fussy interface muckery, and occasionally clunky world building. But it's an unforgettably bleak and epic experience, brave enough to be barren and gray, but crammed with stories, vignettes, characters, and sights. Some fans of the "Fallout" series were worried that it would be "Oblivion" with guns. "Oblivion" should be so lucky.

Chris Dahlen

Left 4 Dead (Valve and EA / Valve)

The brilliance of "Left 4 Dead’s" co-operative play lies in the way that even strangers learn to work as a team, knowing their survival is at stake.  And if you play with friends, you get a rare chance to see their true character come through. I never get sick of reading about people's experiences in the game – Daniel Purvis’ tale of cowardice under pressure is my favorite - because the same few elements can afflict you in so many ways. Sort of like browsing old chess games, with a much, much scarier queen. 

Ben Fritz

Braid (Number None)

If nothing else, “Braid” entranced me with a quality I never knew videogames could possess: relaxation. Spending hours pondering, experimenting, and rewinding time while figuring out brain-bending puzzles to the tune of a wistful cello solo and the sight of swirling watercolors was a wholly unique and utterly invigorating experience. Themes of loss, regret, and forgiveness are subtly woven and then masterfully brought home, even if the epilogue is unbearably pretentious.

Leigh Alexander

No More Heroes (Marvelous and Ubisoft / Grasshopper Manufacture)

It's shamelessly bizarre, heavy-handed, clunky and incisively brilliant from beginning to end, a loving send-up of the very gamer culture that eats up the deprecating self-references with glee. Little moments of genius abound: the actually joyous use of the Wii's controls, the necessity of playing an entire stage hanging upside down from one's couch, and the population of villains who, given only brief cameos, seem more exciting and fully-realized than all of the grave animated robots we've been fed all year.

Coming tomorrow morning: The third best videogame(s) of 2008.