by dukestinks
As always, these were my favorite games that I played and not necessarily the ones I think were the best. Looking back, 2010 was a pretty good year for gaming. I think 2011 will be better, but there was a pretty steady stream of good games that lasted the whole year.
Showing 1-10 of 10 items
Is anybody as good at making video games as Nintendo? The answer is no. Well, maybe Blizzard. But having never spent more than 30 minutes playing a Blizzard game, sorry, for me it is and always has been Nintendo. Super Mario Galaxy 2 is yet another in a long line of incredibly well-developed games. Other than a lack of camera control at times, there is literally nothing to be improved in this game. The platforming mechanics are excellent and the level design... this is probably the best level design for any game, ever. Great graphics from a technical (Wii-adjusted, anyway) and artistic perspective, great music, great story... well, there's no story, forget I said that. But really, who needs a story when you have the Grandmaster Galaxy to conquer? 242 stars is an incredible amount of content and all of it is perfectly refined and polished. Bravo, Nintendo.
I just got my 100% on this game yesterday, so I'm not really in the mood to discuss it. Suffice it to say, it's an incredibly punishing game. Probably the hardest game I've ever beaten. At times, it was excessively hard. But it's amazing how two dudes could make such perfect platforming gameplay. There are so few games with great platforming mechanics and for these guys to nail it is pretty amazing. The level design, the story, and the great artwork are also great. Bravo, Team Meat.
This is obviously the end of an era, being the last Bungie-developed Halo game. Then again, Infinity Ward quit making Call of Duty games, and CoD seems to have survived. Unlike the fraudulent ODST, Reach is a legitimate Halo game and solidly-made all around. I'm a little mystified why the decided to put a curtain around some of the online stuff - it's a little irritating to be a warrant office constantly being matched up with colonels. Clearly they have some sort of internal calculus for how good you are - not sure why they got rid of the skill system from Halo 3. The experience system is brilliant - I'm just not sure why they couldn't have done both. As for the story, it's great. Not as great as Halo 3, but very solid. Good characters and Lone Wolf is a great ending.
OK, unlike AC: Brotherhood, this game is a MASSIVE step forward from its predecessor. It reminds me a little of Uncharted 2, although that's the ultimate improved sequel. The first Mass Effect was a pretty good game - really solid plot, fun gameplay, a lot of problems, but overall a fun game well worth playing. This game is WAY better. I think they actually cut from the first game a little more than they needed to, but man, it's really hard to argue with the results. The gameplay is improved - still not amazing, but certainly improved. The story... just wow. ALL the characters are strong, their back stories are incredibly well-developed, and the endless lines of dialogue are all well-written. This is just a really fucking great video game.
VVVVVV.
Too soon. I spent a LONG time playing Assassin's Creed 2 and enjoyed the hell out of it. In fact, it was my favorite game of 2009. So I wasn't necessarily ready for another AC game - but really, Brotherhood is excellent and further capitalizes on the excellent formula that leads to it being one of my favorite franchises out there. I love the sword fighting (more fun but also easier than ever), the platforming, the Italy story, the Desmond story, EVERYTHING. It's all right up my alley. So why is this #5? I dunno. It just feels too similar to a game that came out a mere year before.
My guess is that this is as close to a psychedelic experience as a non-drug using person is going to have. While the combat definitely falls short of the standard that Ninja Gaiden set for 3rd person action games so many years ago, it is stronger than 90% of the games in its class and crazier than ALL of them. I loved the plot and the characters... well, character, as the ensemble cast was mainly irritating. A ton of fun to play, watch, and simply absorb.
There's really nothing like this game out there. You can clearly see some ideas in this game in Indigo Prophecy, but graphically they are light-years apart. Light-years. I enjoyed the plot and the characters and did not have an issue with uncanny valley. Quite the opposite, actually - I was totally immersed in the world and playing through the entire game in one sitting was a really crazy experience. You definitely feel like your actions have consequences and that feeling in the pit of your stomach was the result of not being sure if you were going to save your son, which, like Red Dead... cojones.
More Perfect Dark? Yes please. My favorite game of 2000 was almost as much fun for me in 2010. The crown system was a welcome addition for hardcore fans, and I was pretty proud when I finished getting them all. Yes, this game is extremely dated, but it will always hold a special place in my heart.
I'm STILL not sure what all the fuss was about. When I hear people say that they enjoyed this game more than GTA IV, I get extremely puzzled. Really? Endlessly riding a horse and tapping A every second is more fun than driving cars, motorcycles, and helicopters? I'll grant you that the shooting is better in Red Dead, and you may even like the setting more too. But please. While the story for both games left me cold at times, as the tough-guy protagonists take way more shit than they should from the various irritating characters, MAN does Red Dead nail its ending. Killing off the main character... cojones!