Alex Navarro
Christina Norman
Picking my top 10 favorite games of 2010 was really hard! When I sat down and looked at all the great games I had played the list was monumental. Many Venti lattes were consumed as I argued with myself over each change in ranking.
In the end, I was surprised at my own list, particularly given that many five-star games did not make the cut. Generally speaking, I've enjoyed all the games that are on other top 10 lists, and the absence of any of those games from my personal list should not be taken as a slight to those games. Halo: Reach is a great example--I love the game, it's super enjoyable, it just didn't make the cut for my personal 10 favorite games of the year.
I also decided to exclude my own game (Mass Effect 2) because we Canadians just don't nominate ourselves. With that said, I am incredibly proud of Mass Effect 2, and grateful for all the effort by my friends at BioWare who helped make the game what it is. I am honored it is on so many other people's top 10 lists for 2010.
Without further ramblings, here is my list.
10. FrontierVille
I checked out FrontierVille because I had a Twitter friend who worked at Zynga who recommended it to me. I'd been avoiding all the "Ville" games on purpose, as I was sure they were not for me, but (putting my designer hat on) it seemed like a game I could learn something from. I was surprised to find FrontierVille provided a charming experience. The design was strong, with mechanics that fed back into socialization, daily play, and spending real dollars on advancement. I particularly enjoyed their quests, which drove you along a simple linear story, and taught you the mechanics of the game. Whether you love or hate Facebook social games, you can't deny these games are now an important part of the gaming economy.
9. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction
I soon discovered this game definitely was not a shooter, but its unique puzzle-stealth gameplay was really enjoyable once I got over the hump of trying to go Rambo on every encounter. My favorite feature overall was its unique cover system.
8. Alan Wake
I didn't know a lot about Alan Wake when it came out; I vaguely undestood it had been in development for a really long time, and it was highly anticipated, and it had an interesting story. That was enough to get me to buy it. I initially struggled with the combat mechanics, but once I got the hang of it I found the light mechanic was quite novel. Through the entire game I found a number of really well-crafted pieces of content and design. The story was a bit wacky, but also really engaging, and I finished the game feeling really satisfied.
7. Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale
6. Darksiders
Darksiders is a crazy kind of game, it has a whole lot going on and some of it isn't super polished but... a whole lot is going on and it's generally pretty well done. For the pure amount of cool stuff they crammed into this game it deserves being on my top 10 list. I really loved the combat in particular. It was challenging, but also very accessible, with a lot of available depth if you wanted it. I've never really liked Zelda games, but Darksiders had enough God of War to keep me interested, and in the end I really liked the Zelda-esque gameplay.
5. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
4. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
I like JRPGs but I usually play them for 5-10 hours and then quit. At some point I get "gamer vision" and I can clearly see the next 60 hours of the game and I decide to skip actually playing it. Dragon Quest IX was different. In a lot of subtle ways, it was more friendly, and easier to play, than most JRPGs. A simple example: when you die, you lose some gold, but that's it. They also had a great, deep, class progression system. JRPGs often do. The combination of accessibility and the depth of the class-building helped me get into a weird gamer optimization mode where for 10-20 hours I enjoyed grinding my characters to perfection. Actually playing the game was fun as well, including the simple but very well-done story, that was bright and cheerful, but also genuinely touching.
3. Game Dev Story
2. Sid Meier's Civilization V
Any game that can suck up hundreds of hours of your life is really good, or really evil. I think Civ V comes out on the good side. The gameplay of Civ V has been nicely refined to be faster, and more accessible. I don't really notice while I'm playing what's changed since Civ IV, but the game experience feels much smoother. Civ V was also pretty bold in its changes, removing unit stacking, giving range defense to cities without units, letting units embark, and moving to a hex grid. Each of these changes had a huge impact on the game, stirring things up and making it play in a way that was truly different from Civ IV.
1. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
ZODIAC MOTHERFUCKER
SHIT MAYBE YOU SHOULD WRITE THE FUCKING BIO
(EDITOR'S NOTE: ZMF is one of my favorite Internet Assholes, and the only person I'm aware of who has earned the right to use the word "ownage" without getting rightfully and justly curb-stomped. Formatting is the writer's original.)
10. WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2011
EVERY YEAR SMACKDOWN VS RAW OFFERS ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE MYSELF IN VIDEOGAME FORM AND STOMP THE PISS OUT OF JOHN CENA. THAT ALONE KEEPS THIS ON MY TOP TEN LIST YEAR AFTER YEAR
9. DEAD RISING 2
8. PERFECT DARK
YEAH THIS IS SOME NOSTALGIC SHIT BUT LIGHTING FUCKERS UP IN FACILITY IS JUST AS AWESOME NOW AS IT WAS WHEN PRESIDENT CLINTON WAS GETTING HIS PIPE SMOKED IN THE OVAL OFFICE. PLUS THE PEOPLE I PLAY AGAINST NOWADAYS CANT LOOK AT MY SCREEN LIKE A BUNCH OF CHEATING BITCHES
7. FABLE III
6. TOY SOLDIERS
ONE OF THE MOST SATISFYING VIDEOGAME EXPERIENCES OF 2010: GASSING THESE LITTLE FUCKS TO DEATH BY THE DOZENS. THATS RIGHT YOU LITTLE BANGERS AND MASH EATING MOTHERFUCKERS BREATHE THAT SHIT AND CHOKE
5. HALO REACH
4. RED DEAD REDEMPTION
OWNAGE ON A BIBLICAL LEVEL. THERES NOTHING LIKE HOGTYING AN INNOCENT GUY AND CARVING HIM UP WITH A HUNTING KNIFE AND SNATCHING THAT SIX BUCKS HE HAD ON HIM AND THEN GOING HOME TO BE A FAMILY MAN. I MEAN THERES LOTS OF GAMES THAT LET YOU COMMIT ATROCITIES BUT THIS IS THE ONLY ONE I CAN THINK OF WHERE YOU CAN GO ABOUT IT LIKE THE FUCKING BTK KILLER
3. FALLOUT NEW VEGAS
2. BATTLEFIELD BAD COMPANY 2
FUCK WACK OPS AND FUCK REMOTE CONTROL CARS BECAUSE BATTLEFIELD BAD COMPANY 2 IS THE REAL. IT AINT ABOUT SOME SHITBAG CAMPER HOLING UP IN A BUILDING YOU CANT KNOCK DOWN AND SENDING KILLSTREAK HELICOPTERS UP YOUR ASS ALL FUCKING NIGHT. BATTLEFIELD BAD COMPANY 2 IS ABOUT TEAMWORK ITS ABOUT FLYING YOUR OWN FUCKING HELICOPTERS AND ITS ABOUT LEVELING ENTIRE TOWNS. THATS RIGHT ENTIRE FUCKING TOWNS AND ALL YOU DESIGNERS WHO CONTINUE TO PUMP OUT FIRST PERSON SHOOTERS WITH INDESTRUCTIBLE ENVIRONMENTS SHOULD BE FUCKING ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES
1. MASS EFFECT 2
