Best of 2010

teh_blasterer: Best of 2010

List items

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  1. Mass Effect 2

  I've decided that the world of Mass Effect (specifically in the sequel) is my favorite sci-fi universe in all of entertainment media. Of course, it wouldn't be on this list if it didn't constantly give you meaningful decisions to make and have combat that rivals any other cover-based 3rd person shooter.

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  2. Limbo

  A must play for anyone remotely interested in games, Limbo manages to deftly mix tense platforming, inviting yet terrifying atmosphere, and consistent emotional punches rivaled only by #4 on this list. The spider sequences and their ultimate conclusion is my favorite moment from gaming in 2010.

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  3. Super Meat Boy

  I'm calling it: We're in a Golden Age of Platformers, and Super Meat Boy holds up that epochal distinction effortlessly. It's as "tough as nails" as most say, but the pain of its difficulty is alleviated by the length of its levels that don't overly punish you for making mistakes. I would argue that the difficulty is "just right" for about the first 60% of the game, though more difficult than most games. The developers have said that there won't be a sequel since they've exhausted the potential of Meat Boy.

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  4. Heavy Rain

  Unfortunately Heavy Rain at times is haunted by its predecessor (the terribly flawed, overly cinematic Indigo Prophecy), but the story telling, characterization, atmosphere, and mature themes made this the most memorable piece of interactive entertainment I played this year. One of my greatest pleasures from 2010 was recounting how my story played out compared to that of my friends'. Calling Heavy Rain a video game certainly isn't insulting but it's not entirely accurate. It's something grander than a "video game", and it will likely be emulated for years.

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  5. Super Mario Galaxy 2

  It says a lot about the appeal of the Galaxy franchise that this game is still fresh and extremely fun to me despite having put dozens of hours into the 1st Mario Galaxy just 6 months ago. Further proof of its appeal is my insatiable desire to get every star, even the 120 green stars scattered throughout the levels I had already mastered. Nintendo has pretty much mastered the motif of "manipulate the movement of character X in N ways to get from point A to point B."