Well, that didn't last long. In the blink of a bleary, beer-soaked eye, the turkey's been eaten, the mulled wine has been imbibed and the ropey Christmas specials have been watched. And as 2009 shudders to a drunken close, what better time to reflect on all those games that got lost among the combat boots of Modern Warfare 2, the titles that disappeared down the back of the gaming sofa? Here then, is my round up of the year's most under appreciated games.

Red Faction: Guerilla

Despite my vocal support for one of the most gloriously destructive games ever created, Volition's mighty Red Faction: Guerilla failed to make the kind of seismic impact it deserved. Infinitely superior to the decidedly average first-person shooters that formed previous Red Faction installments, Guerilla mixed GTA-style open-world mischief with a Mars setting straight out of Total Recall, while managing to sneak in a few sly digs at US foreign policy and terrorism in the process. Occasionally iffy AI and driving mechanics did little to detract from the most incredible damage engines yet seen, with the anarchic hero's absurdly powerful hammer and demolition charges capable of levelling huge buildings in a cloud of steel and debris.

A Boy And His Blob

A beautifully designed, lovingly animated platform puzzler with potentially huge appeal, Wayforward's A Boy And His Blob appears to have been buried under the sheer number of mediocre pet simulations and 'family games' now available for Wii. A thorough re-imagining of a largely forgotten NES classic, Blob immediately captivates with its blend of platform action, increasingly tricky puzzles and stunning hand-drawn visuals that occasionally rival the equally beautiful Braid. An overwhelmingly positive response failed to boost Blob's sales, and the game's currently available for bargain-bin prices. Rush out and buy a copy - this is one title that could reach collector's status in a few years' time.

Little King's Story

A refreshing combination of RPG, management simulation and real time strategy, Little King's Story's naive exterior was but a thin veil for a seriously challenging and addictive experience. You begin, as the titular diminutive monarch, with a tiny kingdom of ramshackle huts and a largely idle populace. Using little more than a few prods of your Wiimote, it's up to you to whip your subjects into shape and steadily build up your empire. With a visual style as cute and captivating as Animal Crossing, but with the strategic teeth and humour of Pikmin, Little King's Story should have cleaned up this year. But even a glowing nine out of 10 from stuffy old Edge couldn't force Little King to the top of the charts. If you got some vouchers from your auntie for Christmas, this is one top game to spend them on.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade

A 2D beat-em-up based on Japanese myths was never going to be a mega-seller, but the sheer effort and attention to detail present in every frame of Muramasa's old-school graphics makes it more than worth your attention. A highly intuitive combat system, which doesn't require pointless or gimmicky waggles of the Wiimote, makes the game's numerous supernatural brawls thoroughly engaging, and Muramasa boasts some of the most spectacular boss battles you'll see all year, including gigantic fire demons and, best of all, a colossal octopus.

Scribblenauts

Further proof that gamers prefer playing the same titles with prettier graphics to anything genuinely innovative, Scribblenauts is yet another gem of a game apparently lost in a sea of pet-related tedium on DS. An apparently simple platform puzzler, similar to 5TH Cell's own Drawn To Life, Scribblenauts is distinguished by the ability to conjure up seemingly anything by simply writing a word on the Nintendo's screen. While this rendered otherwise tricky puzzles unexpectedly simple to solve, there's hours of fun to be gained by simply playing with the game's incredible mechanic; everything from rockets to tin cans, dinosaurs and motor cars can be conjured up by scribbling down the relevant noun. Remarkable.

Raiden Fighters Aces

Thanks to Gamasutra for reminding me about this one - a game so painfully overlooked that it was never even granted a release in Europe. A hi-def updating of one Raiden, arguably one of the greatest 2D shoot-em-up franchises ever, it's nothing short of criminal that shooter fanatics in the UK can't play this.

Ryan writes his gaming column every week at Den Of Geek. Last week's is here.