Last night was spent collecting and writing up my thoughts on a selection of games that are to feature in Eurogamer’s Top 50 Videogames of 2008 list (published towards the end of the week).

What struck me, particularly when trying to articulate something fresh and interesting about those games that feature in the top ten, is how difficult it is to articulate something fresh and interesting about the games that feature in the top ten.

These are titles that the majority of the audience will have played, finished and discussed at length on forums and blogs over the previous few months. What insight could anyone possibly shine on Fallout 3 in a 100 word paragraph for an end of year round up?

This tricksy vying for a unique angle when, in reality there are probably none left to take, reminded me of something Kieron Gillen wrote earlier in the year: that very often the highest calling for a critic is to bring her reader’s attention to something unfamiliar. He wrote:

As a listener, I use music end of year lists as a way to catch up on all the great stuff I missed. Come December, I find all the incredible records which slipped me by. That’s a big chunk of the part of criticism for me – and games writing, traditionally, has been obsessed with talking about stuff people already know about, and ignored the Stuff You’ve Never Heard Of But You Desperately Need To part of the gig. But as gaming grows ever-more mainstream, the former loses importance – if you can find out about the latest Nintendo game by opening the daily paper, why read the game press? – and the latter grows ever more important, as those disillusioned by the mainstream pay attention to those who help them locate something to sate their ennui.

In other words, the weirder and more abstruse the critics become, the more chance they’ll be of use to you, the gamer who’s looking for something a little new. If they’re not afraid to say they prefer Trial 2 or Braid over GTA4, the chance of them doing their real job – that is, leading to you to nifty stuff – is increased hugely.

There are a few surprises in Eurogamer’s Top 50 (though you’ll have to wait till the end of the week to read about them) but much of the list is predictable, at least in terms of the contenders, if not their final placings.

Which leads me to Offworld’s excellent “2008 Best Overlooked” list. Of the countless end-of-year videogame lists I’ve skimmed this year, this is by far the most useful. Like Kieron, I use Pitchfork’s Top 50 albums list to discover treasures that I’ve missed over the course of the year. Likewise, Offworld’s list points to a number of games, a few of which you will have heard of, a couple of which you may have played, but many of which will be new and interesting and, for that, it’s a genuinely useful piece.

Beyond articulating for readers their in-game experiences, beyond providing simple buyer guide recommendations, one of the most important roles for a critic is to root out the obscurely worthy, the forgotten treasures hidden behind the hulking blockbusters. Head over there now and see what you have missed.

And, while we’re on the subject, is there anything that you think they’ve overlooked?