GameXplain's Games of the Year 2010
By:
Andre Segers
|
January 10, 2011, 7:42 pm

So, gamers. Here we are at the start of yet another year, and already we’re being inundated by more new titles than our poor thumbs can deal with. Nevertheless, we thought it would be fitting to look back on the past year of gaming and highlight some of our favorite games from 2010. Since we’re all about subjectivity ‘round these parts, rather than compile a master list, we had members of our staff put together their own lists of what they thought were the standout games of the year. Pour yourself a nice, tall glass of whatever it is you drink and settle in as GameXplain’s editors cut to the chase and offer up our favorite games of 2010.
 
 
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Simon Cobb

1. Mass Effect 2

 

Despite the fact that Micah and Andre are wrong about their picks for game of the year (Bayonetta and SMG 2 over Mass Effect? For shame!), Mass Effect 2 is easily my game of the year. Never have I been so invested in the characters, adventure and scope brought to the table by the geniuses at BioWare, making for something I keep coming back to. Mass Effect 2 has everything any gamer can want from a stand-alone game, much less a sequel. There were improvements across the board over the original, including rock-solid mechanics, an engaging story and a cast of colorful and memorable characters that help folks connect with what’s going on in the game world. As a matter of fact, when I finished my first play-through of Mass Effect, I stopped playing games altogether for a few weeks. Not because it scared me off, but because Mass Effect 2 is on a level that nobody can compete with, making everything else look like shit in comparison. That’s not a feeling that just any game can inspire.
 
2. Red Dead Redemption
 
 
Red Dead is one of those games that immediately gives you an absorbing and fascinating world to dive right into, with one of the coolest cowboys around, making it something that I had no choice but to keep playing until the very end. It utilized a hugely entertaining piece of American history as a setting and never pulled its punches and delivered an amazing story, memorable characterizations, solid mechanics, and perhaps most importantly, a fantastic flow to everything. In fact, the flow is my favorite part of the game as you’ll always have something to do, and regardless of the size of the missions you embark on, each one always played an important role to the overall narrative. Throw in the Undead Nightmare DLC and you have something that’s well worth your time. After all, who hasn’t fantasized about being a zombie-slaying cowboy who plays by his own rules?
 
Runners Up:
3. Starcraft II
4. Gran Turismo 5
5. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

Special Award--Unsung Heroes: 
GameDevStory; Rock Band 3; Infinity Blade...
 
 
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Schuyler Lystad

[Disclaimer: Since the GameBusters stabbing, I only got a chance to play up until August, and thus didn’t get to touch a lot of games. This is my list based on what my corporeal body experienced.]


1. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
 

At first, I wanted to put this game where I felt it belonged, under the heel of my boot. But since Andre said I had to keep playing it to do a review and V-Guide, I kept on. In the space of maybe two hours play time, this went from pure frustration and chain swearing, the kind I thought I had left behind in my teen years, and moved to gaming bliss.This game has many characteristics in common with other games in the series. There are way more weapons and secrets than anyone would ever find on their own, a convoluted story which you can bust your head open trying to figure out, some question-your-sexuality moments if you look hard enough, and controls that were designed by a blind chimpanzee with a case of the shakes. However, any game that has you firing from behind a breaking cement pillar at a rocket while being under siege by riot guards while Donna Burke plays in the background wins in my book. This is the closest I’ve ever felt to playing a scene in a movie, and was an unforgettable moment -- assuming no one spoils it for you. Oops.
 
2. Super Mario Galaxy 2
 

Only number two, you ask? Well, I didn’t actually play it a whole lot, and I am spectacularly uncoordinated and befuddled by the third dimension. It’s been a problem for a real long time now; I often see doctors and have trouble with basic hills. Giving me such control in such a universe is a one-way ticket to disaster, and a mass unmarked grave of Mario corpses somewhere in the forest. But I did sit and watch the game from start to finish, and I gotta say, that was more entertaining than some of the things I DID play. The graphics, the music, the clever level designs, the fun. I’m not talking about the kind of fun I get from everything smiling at me so I think I have to smile. I mean the concentrated four month long oil spill of enjoyment the game forces you to bear witness to, as it washes up on shores and kills seagulls and other probably colorblind animals, with no end in sight despite the U.S. Government’s best efforts. Mario, you will always be in my heart. And take that, Louisiana.
 
Runners Up:
 
3. Snoopy: Flying Ace
4. Limbo
5. Halo: Reach

Special Award--Best game that wasn’t actually any good:
Final Fantasy XIII - Pretty, interesting battle system, and rewarding when figured out; however, there’s really only one good character and the first half of the game isn’t fun. You know, the part where you tell the game what you want it to do and it pisses in your face. Come on, gamers, you all know exactly what I’m talking about. Limited character access before Chapter 9? Extremely indulgent story? A hip-hop song during the ending? Bosses that are only susceptible to one strategy that you have no hints about? Doom? The second Barthandelus fight? Hope? You enjoy it because you want to.
 
 
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Stephanie Lee

 
1. Red Dead Redemption
 

This gunslingin’ star just barely edged out Commander Shepard and his crew for this accolade in my Game of the Year list. My first nod goes to the game’s music. The epic soundtrack complemented the often frenetic galloping of my horse as I raced across the sprawling map to do what cowboys do best—ride horses, right? I never imagined horse-riding in a game would be so much fun, and yet it surprisingly was. The game touched on all the aspects that made the Western genre great: the bustling towns scattered about the arid landscape, a hodgepodge of characters both of the benevolent and scummy variety, superb voice acting, and the pervading mystique and the allure of conquering a danger-ridden frontier. My favorite part of all was that Red Dead Redemption wove a fine, and mostly grim, tale of the Wild West while incorporating some current real-life issues with a passion and power unrivaled by many games of today. These things aside, Rockstar’s penchant for open world sandbox games like Grand Theft Auto did not go unnoticed here; when you weren’t following the main storyline, you were spending hours upon hours scouring the unforgiving desert for whatsits, or playing Texas Hold ‘Em ‘til the cows come home. Red Dead Redemption is the gold standard by which all other Western games must now strive to reach.
 
2. Mass Effect 2
 

Mass Effect 2 was a serious competitor for my number one spot. I’m sure this game has at least tugged at the back of the mind for everyone who’s played it (unless you’re Andre and you hate everything). That being said, Mass Effect 2 was one of the most enjoyable games I played in a long time. The concept of plot divergences is getting more and more common these days, but it’s rare for a game to execute this style well enough that the consequences for your actions remain consistent throughout the game, or even over several games. The outcomes aren’t always obvious. The significance of your actions doesn’t necessarily sink in until later, when the situation has become simply irreversible or flagrantly troublesome. The fact that your choices as Commander Shepard have such a profound and far-reaching influence in the world make playing the game all that more satisfying and just downright awesome. Then, add to the mix a cast of diverse, lovable characters, a solid combat system, and a suspenseful storyline, and you’ve got yourself an extremely close runner-up to Stephanie’s Game of the Year.
 
Runners Up:
3. Donkey Kong Country Returns
4. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
5. Halo: Reach

Special Award--Most “fashionable” zombie-killing game: 
Dead Rising 2 hands down. I wore a motherfarkin’ blood red onesie and mucus green colored boots while brandishing a nail-studded bat. How’s that for freakin’ badass?
 
 
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Thomas Arnold

1. Super Mario Galaxy 2
 

I have not had this much sheer enjoyment playing a game since... Super Mario Galaxy 1!  Even though it’s “only” a sequel, Nintendo crammed in enough creativity to make the game feel new and for the better. This game sets the bar for what all sequels should strive to do in terms of improving on the original. All of this and the fact that the game played to my nostalgia for Mario 3 with all the new suits pushed Mario Galaxy 2 to the top of 2010 on my list.
 
2. Super Meat Boy
 

One of only a handful of games in the last decade that I was truly addicted to and set aside life to play it. Super Meat Boy is ridiculously tough but finely crafted to keep you from throwing the controller through the TV. When you succeed, it’s one of the most rewarding games of all time. Plus the hero’s nemesis is named Dr. Fetus!
 
Runners Up:
3. Donkey Kong Country Returns
4. Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
5. Rock Band 3


Special Award--Best import game that I finished but only know a couple words of the language:
Ryu ga Gotoku 4 AKA  Yakuza 4
 
 
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Derrick Bitner

1. Donkey Kong Country Returns
 
 
It was a complete toss-up choosing between Donkey Kong and Mario. Mario has always been great for a nostalgic trip, and I never owned a SNES of my own to play the original Donkey Kong Country games, so there was no connection there. And yet, despite that gap, I found myself drawn more to Donkey Kong Country Returns than any other game on my list. It’s just a superb 2D platforming experience. Every level feels like its own challenge and the game as a whole seems like it’s just egging you on to conquer it. Retro Studios has crafted a game that begs you to search every nook and cranny for its secrets, an endeavor that I’m more than willing to undertake and one that I can get incredibly addicted to. Donkey Kong Country Returns offers everything I’m looking for: a great style, challenging but not impossible levels, secrets and collectibles worth collecting, and music that puts me in the mood to play. This potent mix easily makes Donkey Kong Country Returns my game of the year.
 
2. Super Mario Galaxy 2
 

Simply put, Super Mario Galaxy 2 reminded me of the joy of simply playing a video game. Most games nowadays either try to challenge gamers with a complex narrative, an endless array of choices, or tense action sequences. They are, without a doubt, fun in their own right but nothing makes you feel quite as young at heart as playing a game like Galaxy 2. The tight controls, imaginative levels, and awesome music all combine to make me feel like I was five again, playing Mario for the first time and looking forward to seeing whatever the game would throw at me next. There’s just something incredibly rewarding about playing Super Mario Galaxy 2 and it’s that spark of creative energy and infectious fun that makes it the best 3D Mario game by far in my humble opinion.
 
Runners Up:
3. Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep
4. Valkyria Chronicles 2
5. Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Special Award--Game I Can’t Wait to Play in 2011:
Mass Effect 2 - Constantly hearing all the praise and adoration heaped upon this game while not being able to play it myself nearly drove me insane. It’s arrival on the PS3 has been met with much rejoicing and merry-making from me.
 
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Jimmy Thang

1. StarCraft II
 

The original StarCraft is probably my second most played game ever (right behind Super Smash Bros. Melee on the Gamecube). So it goes without saying that I was really looking forward to the sequel. Yet, at the same time, I always felt like StarCraft would be the hardest game to develop a sequel for. I mean, the original game’s tactics and balance were so sound that the country of Korea basically made StarCraft a national sport. Any kink in the formula and an entire nation’s could be upset. On the other hand, you had people out there who couldn’t stop complaining that the game looked too much like the original. Regardless, Blizzard managed to pull of the perfect sequel in my mind, as StarCraft II strikes an excellent balance between being fresh yet familiar. The single-player is superb and the multi-player will be played for years. If you want bang for your buck, this should be your game of the year.
 
2. Fallout: New Vegas


Fallout 3 is one of my favorite games of all time. So it may sound odd to hear that I was not really looking forward to its follow-up New Vegas. Now hear me out, Bethesda was handing the franchise over to Obsidian Entertainment to work on other games. It sounded, to me, like they were giving it to their B-team. In addition, all the pre-release footage made the game out to be nothing more than a glorified expansion pack. While the visuals are quite dated, in many ways, I ended up liking New Vegas even more than I did Fallout 3. 

What New Vegas had that Fallout 3 lacked was a truly deep political party system. On the Vegas strip you could align yourself with several different factions, each group having their own goals and motives. I generally try to play good guys in these type of games, but the moral ambiguity of all the alliances and choices the game offered me managed to do the impossible: it slowly but surely made me turn to the dark side. If that’s not an incredible feat., I don’t know what is.
 
Runners Up:

3. Battlefield: Bad Company 2
4. Dead Rising 2
5. Call of Duty: Black Ops

Special Award--Best Voice Actor: 
AJ Locascio - I remember when voice acting used to be glossed over back in the 90s. Now studios are bringing in professional actors to record voice overs. This year’s library of games featured a wide number of great auditory performances, but, to me, the actor who stood out the most was AJ Locascio. While his name may not sound familiar, considering he’s never done anything prior to the Back to the Future gaming episodes, you can’t really say the same about his voice. While Telltale Games was able to get the likeness of Marty McFly for its episodic series, famed actor Michael J. Fox was not able to reprise his iconic role. Regardless, it matters not because AJ sounds exactly like him! Don’t believe me? Check out this Youtube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka5Ypwub2BA
 
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Wes Ruscher

1. Mass Effect 2
 

I’m going to have to agree with about everything Simon said about Mass Effect 2 (though he did forget to mention what most likely is the year’s finest OST too). If it wasn’t for the god awful tediousness of planet probing this game would have been pretty much perfect. Where Heavy Rain made games feel more like movies, Mass Effect 2 did quite the opposite. It was a high budget Hollywood blockbuster crafted into an amazing game experience. Simply put, Mass Effect 2 is cinematic gaming at its finest
 
2. Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
 

I was a little hesitant at first to take another plunge into the Animus only a year after Assassin’s Creed 2, but I’m quite glad I did. This game is easily the best in the series. Where AC 2 fixed the lack of variety of the original, Brotherhood takes it even further with an insane amount of missions at your disposal in the sandbox setting of ancient Rome. There’s always something different to do and the story-- well all I can say about that is holy crap! Throw on top of all that one of the most immersive online multiplayer experiences ever conceived (got to love the Hellequin)  and it's impossible not to get giddy with anticipation for where the series is going next.
 
Runners Up:
 
3. Halo Reach
4. Alan Wake
5. Lara Craft and the Guardian of Light

Special Award--2009’s 2010 Game of the Year:
Borderlands - With three DLC packs added this year, this 2009 first-person shootin’, loot whorin’ co-op action frag-fest easily kept itself relevant throughout 2010. It’s often quite easy for a developer to forget about a game once it ships, especially a studio as busy as Gearbox, so props need to be given. Now, the wait for Duke begins.
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Micah Seff

1. Bayonetta
 

Bayonetta was the first game that I reviewed for GameXplain back when we first launched, so it seems a little bit odd placing it at the top of my list especially after a year punctuated by so many great releases. Nevertheless, as 2010 comes to a close, I can’t help but think back on my all-too-brief love affair with the hip-swaying, beehive-sporting, angel-killing heroine with fondness. Bayonetta, to me, was the perfect evolution of the third-person, 3D action game. Sure, God of War III had some stunning vistas, but its combat system was firmly rooted in the past, whereas Bayonetta’s strove brilliantly forward.

Giving players the freedom of being able to dodge out of every combo to evade several attacks in a row and then continue right back into the same combo felt so amazingly refreshing. The lithe, nimbleness of the titular character was apparent at all moments, as I danced and flipped my way through round after round of angelic carnage. Add to that, the large assortment of hilariously awesome weapons (up to and including Bladed Skates) which can be paired off in myriad combinations (who doesn’t want to switch between lightsabers and rocket launchers in the blink of an eye?), and you’ve got an action game that really never gets old.

Usually, I don’t pay much heed to marketing buzzwords, but the moniker of “Climax Action” that creator Hideki Kamiya bestowed on this game before its release just feels so fitting after having completed the game. For the last 3 hours or so of the title, every single encounter was so ridiculously over-the-top awesome, that I was absolutely certain it had to be the last encounter in the game. This continued until the game’s actual last moments which had me standing on the edge of my seat, shrieking at the television in glee. Bayonetta was the action game that I never knew I wanted, and its mixture of odd Christian-bashing, blatant misogyny, infinitely precise combat, and intense difficulty just barely made it squeak by the rest of the great games this year and plant its well-rendered ass firmly at the top of my list.
 
 
2. Donkey Kong Country Returns
 

Donkey Kong Country Returns is a game that is still fully on the forefront of my consciousness, as we just finished our full 100% complete V-Guide for the game the other day (which you can check out here), and it was pure joy from start to finish. From the first time I tried my hand at the game back at E3, I found myself fairly excited for what Retro had in store for us. Little did I know just how great a game the studio would be able to deliver. Donkey Kong Country Returns is absolutely everything that I would want a new entry in that franchise to be and more. Every level is an exercise in absolute joy, as you step into the shoeless feet of DK himself and tear the jungle to pieces looking for those elusive hidden goodies.

I’ve gushed about this game a whole lot the past few months, but I still stand by my assertions that Retro has put together one of the tightest, most joyful 2D platformers of all time, rivaling even some of Miyamoto’s creations themselves. The games 70 levels never feel repetitive or redundant, and instead each of them seems to offer a completely unique experience. This alone was quite a feat, but the fact that absolutely everything we see in the game feels so fresh and interesting (even after your seventh or eighth playthrough) really made the experience in my eyes. Usually making the guide for a game tends to lessen my enjoyment of said game. This couldn’t have been further from the truth when it comes to DKCR. Each and every V-Guide video I put together just gave me a deeper appreciation for the game and its intricate level design. This is a game that will most assuredly stand the test of time as one of the most finely crafted platforming titles ever to grace home consoles. Thank you Retro. You’ve blown my mind yet again.
 
Runners Up:
 
3. Red Dead Redemption
4. Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
5. Monster Hunter Tri

Special Award--Game I Loved, But Didn’t Play Nearly Enough Of:
Mario Galaxy 2 - So, it is with a heavy heart that I come out and admit that I only got to play about 40 stars in Mario Galaxy 2. The first Mario Galaxy title was far and away my favorite game this generation. Despite my eagerness to make sweet gaming love to Mario and his galactic exploits, the rigorous schedule of trying to cram in as much gaming goodness as we can this year, kept me from fully exploring a game that would surely have topped my list if I had really delved deep. I still plan to go back and finish the game at some point, but there has been such a steady stream of high profile releases the past year, that I still haven’t gotten a breather. Nevertheless, what I did play of Mario Galaxy 2 was so inspired and packed to the brim with joy that I feel safe in saying that this was a game that is truly regrettable for any gamer to pass over. Man, now all I want to do is play Mario Galaxy 2. Thanks, everyone.
 
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Andre Segers

1. Super Mario Galaxy 2
 

What more can I say that I didn’t in my review? Super Mario Galaxy 2 is magical and delightful; a triumph of modern game design based firmly on the principles of the classics. There is not a single game that I had as much fun with, nor engaged me on the level of sheer joy that Galaxy 2 managed. And all of this was in direct defiance of my expectations.

You see, when the first Mario Galaxy was released, it had been 5 years since the last 3D Mario game, and 11 years since the last good one--my expectations were sky high, and yet it blew past them all. Then Nintendo announced the sequel less than two years later and it simply looked like too little, too soon. It came across as more of an expansion pack than a true sequel, with even Miyamoto suggesting the game would re-use some content from the original.

Luckily, the game turned out to be anything but recycled content. Sure, while the core mechanics are identical, the game simply explores what can be done with the galactic theme on a level even deeper than the original, resulting in some of the craziest--and most fun--situations I’ve ever encountered in a game.

Rarely does a videogame elicit much emotion from me, yet I had a smile on my face almost the entire time while playing Super Mario Galaxy 2, a game seemingly made out of pure joy. I haven’t had this much fun with a single-player videogame in years, and that is really all I look for when choosing my game of the year.
 
2. Donkey Kong Country Returns
 

I was lukewarm on Donkey Kong Country Returns coming out of E3. The DKC games have long been one of my favorite series (putting aside the wretched DK64), so my expectations were maybe just a tad high, as the demo for Returns didn’t convey the best first impression. The controls seemed loose, the motion-controlled roll felt sloppy, and something about the game just felt a little bit off...

Then the game came out, and I fell in love. Donkey Kong Country Returns, at times, feels like a love letter to fans of the original. Hell, most of the game’s soundtrack is made up of remixed tracks from the original, which inspires an instant sense of nostalgia. But at other times, the game feels like the freshest thing to happen to 2D platformers in well over a decade--this is what must have felt “off” during my E3 preview, here was a sequel that didn’t just feel like more of the same.

The way I like to describe DKCR is: A 2D game in a 3D world. Never before has a platformer had so many interactive background and foreground elements, all the while keeping the gameplay on a strict 2D plane. Levels such as the one where you have to dodge breaking tidal waves coming in from the background, or another where you have to dodge bombs thrown by a pesky mole in the foreground, really come together to create one of the most memorable and unique experiences I’ve had with a platformer ever. If it weren’t for the superb Mario Galaxy 2, this would have easily been my game of the year.
 
Runners Up:
 
3. Sonic Colors
4. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
5. Pac-Man Championship Edition DX

Best Game that I didn’t want to play:
Heavy Rain. I tried playing it: hated it. It was paced slowly, you walked even slower, and I grew frusterated by having to input silly commands to perform the most basic of tasks. After I gave up and watched Schuyler play through instead for the V-Guide, I found myself enjoying the story much, much more. I thought several sequences were very well done, but few of them weree actually dependent upon being interactive in order to be effective. In short, Heavy Rain would have made a better movie than game, but I enjoyed watching it all the same.
 
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