The industry is shaping up to making downloadable games more and more frequent, with a lot of quality games that can be downloaded not only on PC and consoles, but also handhelds. The appeal is easy to see. Slightly easier and much cheaper to develop games, which can be sold at super low prices to get maximum sells. It’s no wonder the popularity of the medium is increasing all the time.

So we pretty much HAVE to have a category for the best downloadable games. To be precise, this will only include games that are downloadable only. Any game that has a retail release in addition to its downloadable release(like Borderlands) does not count.

So what are the best downloadable games of 2009? Read on for the 5 winners!

Plants vs. Zombies

A casual game in a game of the year awards? That’s weird… Well, this game has a special quality where it can appeal to both “hardcore” and casual gamers. The more experienced gamers will breeze through the main game, but the extra unlockable modes will be a major challenge even to the best gamers. The game uses a really original Tower Defense gameplay. Instead of defending just one path while putting towers next to the path and having enemies walk to the end, you have 5 paths to protect, and you put plants directly in their way to stop them. It looks great, it plays great, and is a must at only $10.

Contra Rebirth

Contra is tough. Contra is awesome. They don’t need to do much to make a great Contra game. Just take the basic gameplay, give a few cool weapons (not forgetting the spreader of course), a few cool levels, and voilà, instant great game. This offers a big challenge with multiple difficulty levels, fun bosses and a few unlockables. At $10, any “hardcore” gamer who owns a Wii would be an idiot not to buy it.

Shadow Complex

You’ve got some Metroid in my Xbox 360. And it’s awesome. The game literally plays like a new-school Super Metroid. Solid gameplay, multiple weapons, a bunch of upgrades reminiscent of Metroid. I’d say a slight bit more linear than Super Metroid, but there’s still some exploration to be had. Doesn’t have much of a story, but games don’t need stories. Any old-school gamers with $15 to spare should check this out.

‘Splosion Man

Proof that games can still be done with just 1 button in mind. Instead of impossible to learn controls, ‘Splosion Man is a game that gives you a d-pad and a button to explode your fun-looking character. Other than the fact that the game is 3D, this looks just like something we could have seen in the SNES era. Great visual design, hilarious animations, hilarious sounds, great difficulty with a nice learning curve and great 1-button gameplay… Is there anything wrong with this game? No, not really. It’s $10, and worth every penny.

Excitebike World Rally

I love Excitebike. Really simplistic, but really fun nonetheless. Perfecting your time in each track requires lots of practice and precision control. Well, the Wii sequel is just as good as the NES version. If not a bit better, with slightly smoother controls and a few new gameplay elements. $10 is a really good price for a huge update on one of the most cherished NES titles.

jobocan Console, Game of the Year, Games, PC, xbox 360