PC Top 5 Games of the Year

World of Warcraft, anyone? Genre-defining classics and the ever-green appeal of so many ‘coffee-break' games keep PCs well and truly at the forefront of gaming innovation. And the good news for most of us is that most of the top games don't require the very latest hardware to run. Publishers are more sensible these days. Games that you see on Xbox / PS3 are often available for PC, but not vice-versa.

Without doubt, these are the games of 2008 for our money:

Spore - from the inventor of SimCity and The Sims, Will Wright. The man is a genius and encourages us to recognise elements of this within ourselves. Spore is resource-management taken the farthest extreme, beginning with the most basic form of life evolving toward the colonisation of space. Astonishing and brilliant!

Football Manager 2009 - iTunes-style presentation and more common-sense gameplay options (including real-time tactical decisions and scouting other teams for talent) make Football Manager 2009 the most accessible of the series so far. As ever the game is supported by up-to-date stats from its fiercely loyal fan base.

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King - fanaticism akin to Beatle-mania greeted the launch of this expansion pack. Either these people are all crazy, or the game itself is so wonderful that it's not to be missed at any cost. If you've time to spare this massively-multiplayer online game can be incredibly rewarding.

Fallout 3 - not quite a role-playing game, nor a first-person shooting spree, Fallout 3 is an action-oriented quest taking place in post-apocalyptic Washington DC. As with the same studios previous epic, Oblivion, your super-human character is always evolving and decisions that you make affect how others will receive you.

Left 4 Dead - everybody knows (well, they do) that first-person shooting games work best on PC. Hence Left 4 Dead, provided that your PC hardware is fairly recent, is best enjoyed among PC gamers, and especially those who enjoy being scared witless by zombies that'll come running after you. It's truly horrific, mind.

And finally, something that's actually quite forgettable...
Legendary is a first-person shooter that bungles the fundamentals of moving and / or shooting in pursuit of a nonsensical storyline. Never mind.

Are we spot on with our choices, or do our sights need readjusting? Let us know your Top 5 PC games of the year.