Jez's Choice for Best Game of 2004

This post is late in coming because I simply hadn't found time by the end of 2004 to play through all the games that I believed were the cream of the crop. To be honest, I still haven't finished all these games, but I believe that I have now played each significantly enough to gauge how I would rank them. Philo's already made his choice, and now so have I (plus a list of ranked nominees):

Best Game of 2004
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes by Retro

The first Metroid Prime had proved to be an unmitigated success in spite of all the lingering doubts and harsh assessments during its early development at an upstart studio. It was the sort of new-millennium masterpiece that would be nearly impossible for a potential sequel to match in any way. Yet Echoes has done just that, by masterfully carrying on the series' renowned tradition of presenting sublime environs that are frighteningly atmospheric and pose as carefully crafted puzzles, too, all the while connecting a cleverly understated narrative. The rousing action has improved over its predecessor to become a true challenge that concedes nothing to those who lack the ability to strategize instantaneously, and the complexity of the puzzle construction demands an ever-precise spatial memory over the course of the maps' twists and turns even across alternate dimensions. In a mere two years after the unimitable original Prime's release, Retro has conceived and developed a brilliant successor that stands just as tall alongside that magnum opus.

Nominees for Best Game
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas by Rockstar
Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal by Insomniac
Burnout 3: Takedown by Criterion
Half-Life 2 by Valve
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater by Konami
Ninja Gaiden by Team Ninja
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door by Intelligent Systems
Katamari Damacy by Namco
Halo 2 by Bungie
Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow by Ubisoft