games of the year - 2010 edition

I didn't like this year much. this is evidenced by me having three ports or near-ports in my top 4 for 2010.
 
 10. Dragon Quest IX (DS)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKPZ3PgqJZI&feature=related

You know how people use vague, condescending terms like 'soulless' and 'going through the motions' for Final Fantasy XIII? Yeah, that's Dragon Quest IX for me. It's got all the pieces that make a DQ game but it's lacking something. I'd call this way more disappointing than FF13 just because DQ3 and 8 -- my two favourite DQ games -- are combined here, but the end result was way below either of them. It's got an interesting job system that ends up being not that fun thanks to the way skill points are incorporated and skills are carried over from other classes. It's got a quest system that's just awful. The Alchemy Pot is miserable. Battles take way longer than they should due to characters running around onscreen. There's a whole bunch of stupid multiplayer nonsense that will never hit in America due to no online. The plot is awkward because you've got a party with all NPC characters, meaning that there's no dialogue coming from the protagonists at all. Ultimately, it just feels like they hit all the notes a DQ game should hit without having a cohesive whole.

And yet despite all these complaints, I put 40 hours into it in a matter of days. I liked amassing skill points and grinding for metal stuff, even if it was a pain in the ass to do so. Grotto maps seemed interesting and there was an absolute ton of optional content here, even if, again, it was a pain in the ass to do. On-screen randoms are a very welcome change and will make it hard to go back to previous games in the series. DQ9 seemed more like a timesink than previous games thanks to nonsense like hunting for Alchemy items or doing inane quests in order to unlock better jobs, but when you were just enjoying the basic DQ game, it was a meaty and fun experience.  
 
 9. Z.H.P. Darkdeath Evilman vs. Unlosing Ranger (PSP)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wn6NYU7QeU

This game had me with this trailer. "A grindfest RPG you can play 40 million times!" I usually hate Disgaea humour but something about this hit a spot for me. ZHP is basically a Roguelike mixed with Disgaea, which is a pretty unique combination. You lose all your levels and equipment each time you die -- and you'll die all the time -- but you level up base stats and get stat upgrades that you can attach to yourself so you start out stronger and stronger each time.

Like Disgaea, the sense of progression is pretty awesome as you go from doing 15 damage to 15,000. And like Disgaea, it has absolutely no gameplay depth and is just a grindfest. It's oddly fun though. I beat the game and then started playing it instantly on NG+ when they gave me even more ways to pimp out my stats. Something about this game is really appealing even if it looks and sounds stupid as hell. Anyone who's played Disgaea knows what I'm talking about. 
 
 8. LIMBO (Xbox Live Arcade)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4HSyVXKYz8&feature=related

I've been thinking about Limbo a lot lately. I've come to the conclusion that it's a survival horror game - the game is flat-out haunting. It's like a silent black and white movie that tries to kill you. You die from everything, you're being chased by frightening creatures and you're completely helpless. It's survival horror.

That first hour of Limbo is fantastic. The encounter with the spider is just disgusting all around. You get stalked and impaled and when you succeed, you pull out its arms in a really gruesome fashion. The game goes downhill once it reverts into a standard puzzle game, but even then you're going to get brutalized by deaths in ways I Wanna Be the Guy would be proud of. It can't maintain that high bar of excellence and it doesn't have the ingenuity of Braid, but it's still a special experience. 
 
 7. Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (DS)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTbz_LFnLr8

Edgeworth's game never hits the highs of the Phoenix Wright trilogy but also never drops to its lows either. The lowest point is probably the last day of the biggest case where everything drags out and nothing feels satisfying at all. Other than that, it's a remarkably consistent game with very tight cases and good characters.

The entire game takes place over the course of like one week, if that. That gives the cases a ton of continuity. The highlight of the game is case 4, a flashback case that's crucial to the main arc of the game. It introduces lots of good characters and has some excellent cameos. My least favourite aspect is that they turn Gumshoe into an idiot and make him bad comic relief -- basically, the Edgeworth equivalent of Larry Butz -- instead of being awesome. Dude has a much better role when he's with Phoenix than with Edgeworth. Fortunately there's Kay Faraday in his place, the best sidekick yet.

The highest praise I can give this game is that it managed to evade the stink that came over the series in Apollo Justice. It doesn't come close to topping PW1 or 3, but it's a game that renews faith in the series. 
 
 6. Super Meat Boy (XBLA, PC)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT_a0dcdWac

Super Meat Boy is kind of everything you could possibly want in a platformer rolled into one.

It's got tight level design. It's got dozens of unlockable characters, all of which play very differently. It's got good music, it's got a cool replay feature. it's sadistic and it's got replay value. It's got speed runs and online leaderboards. It's fast. it's got tons of content, even more optional content and a villain who is a fetus dressed up in a robot suit with a monocle. And he hates you. The only thing this game is missing is some co-op action, an option that would have been a lot of fun.

But for all the content packed into this game, it gets one thing wrong: its physics. This game is slippery as hell. One bare mistake and you'll go flying. The game's reliance on momentum combined with the controls makes this a game that is insanely trial and error-y. You'll die 50 times learning the precise muscle memory needed in order to clear some later levels. If you're doing the dark world then good luck to you and may Meat Boy have mercy on your soul. This game is hard as hell which is awesome but it also relies on pure memorization at times. That's not cool. There's also a lot of gimmicks in the middle levels like missiles and crumble blocks and etc that just aren't very fun. World 6 is the best in the game because it is pure platforming goodness.

When Super Meat Boy is good, it's really good. It can also frustrate you with the physics engine it has in place. This is a game that you just love to hate. 
 
 5. Metroid: Other M (Wii)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpBn4zHEP1g

Other M's taken a lot of crap for various things - Samus's personality, the story, the idea of having eight-way control with a sideways Wii Remote and more. A lot of it is either unwarranted or necessary criticism. Samus's personality barely matters when she's blasting space pirates left and right. Sideways WIi Remote somehow works due to some smart design choices such as putting a lot of the corridors on rails and making roll dodges really easy. Auto-target works and is not that big of a deal even though it should be. First person mode is actually pretty awesome most of the time thanks to the risk/reward system of not being able to move but having tons of firepower. Other M features the best combat in the series thanks to Ninja Gaiden-esque encounters. This game has the best collection of boss battles in a game I've played this year, which granted isn't much since I'm not much for high-budget console games, but they were nonetheless impressive.

There are a whole host of other flaws going on here - some forced over-the-shoulder sections that go on way too long, anything involving scanning an area to figure out where to go next and some first person-only boss encounters that are kind of dreadful. Other M is not a top tier game but it does succeed in doing what it wants to do - make a 2.5d Metroid game that really works. It's way too linear and lacks the replayability that makes Metroid great, but it's still damn fun. 
 
 4. Cave Story (Wiiware)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12f7ATjX7TM

I had never played Cave Story until this year. It's one heck of an impressive game for a one-man effort. It borrows elements from Metroid and Mega Man but really, it's its own thing thanks to its unique gameplay systems. You power up weapons by collecting enemy drops and power down if you get hit. It's a cool give-take mechanic that makes bosses really interesting: the beginning of the battle is easy because you're at full power but then you lose your weapon power and the boss starts doing tougher attacks as he gets lower on life.

The end result is that Cave Story has some amazing bosses, in particular the string of fights at the end of the game. It took me about 3 days to finally get through the final boss gauntlet. it's grueling and really satisfying when you pull it off. Cave Story never hits the peaks of a Mega Man or a Metroid but it is so solid all the way around. 
 
 3. Super Street Fighter 4 (360, PS3)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRR3X1Tz-mA

I can't really rank this game properly. SF4 is my 2009 GOTY and no 2010 game eclipses it besides, well, SSF4. It adds characters, balances things better and adds online modes. But despite the improvements, I probably like it less than I did in 2009 if only because it's more of the same. I didn't play nearly as much SF4 in 2010 as I did in 2009. Ranking it as my 2010 GOTY would be kind of silly in that sense. Then in 2011, when Arcade Edition DLC comes out, I'd have to call that my GOTY again. Screw that.

Anyway, SSF4 is a little bit too much for me. It's just got so many characters and so many modes. If I had infinite time then I would learn them all, but I barely have any time and often go months without playing my go-to multiplayer game. Because of that, I just stick with my main 5 or 6 guys -- most of which I've been playing for 20 years since SF2 -- and everyone else is just daunting. They're adding even more modes and characters soon too. That might just be the end of me.

I dunno what to say about this one. I love watching SF4 matches and I love playing with friends. I hate playing ranked matches because they're just not much fun. I've got a solid rotation of 6 or 7 people here that I play, all at different skill levels, and that keeps the game fresh and fun.
 
 2. VVVVVV (PC)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf06P-_1lkU

V is a one-button platformer. The amount of mileage they get out of this one mechanic -- flipping upside down -- is remarkable. V has brilliant level design and some real personality that sets it apart from other games. Like Super Meat Boy, it's really slippery and that drags the game down a little, but since the checkpoints are so numerous it's almost not a big deal. V might be the only game I can think of where dying simply doesn't matter. It doesn't even phase you or make you mad. You just go back to where you started.

It's all the little things that makes V so good. The trinkets are nothing more than pointless collectibles but they're really fun to try and get. The soundtrack is straight out of Mega Man which is a good thing. There's speed runs and postgame content and it's just really replayable. Sometimes I'm bored and just throw V on for fun. it's so easy to just pick up and play. Great game right here.  
 
 
1. Persona 3 Portable (PSP)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB4WyHe-HRM

A port of a game that wouldn't make my top 50 is my game of the year. Kinda says it all.

My biggest problem with Persona has always been its pace. These games just have miserable pacing. Everything takes longer than it should and you'll often end up doing the same thing for too long.

P3P is lightning fast. You move around quicker thanks to not having to run from location to location, battles go quicker thanks to player control, and it's overall a lot easier thanks to a few tweaks that make the annoying parts of P3 a lot more bearable. Sure, there's lots of other cool adds like new social links, female protagonist and blah blah blah, but it's the speed of the game that makes this an all-time RPG for me.

On top of that, I always preferred P3's dark setting, minimal story and awesome music to P4. Once you catch the gameplay up to P4 levels it's a no-brainer for me. Persona 3 feels more fresh because it came first and I like the atmosphere a lot more.

But if P4P ever happens and they speed the game up, that could be my 2011 GOTY. 
 
 
and a bonus list -- my top 10 most anticipated 2011 titles
 
10. Catherine (PS3 / 360)
9. Mortal Kombat (PS3 / 360)
8. Radiant Silvergun (XBLA)
7. Ace Attorney Investigations 2 / Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright (DS/3DS)
6. Ghost Trick (DS)
5. 3rd Birthday (PSP)
4. Xenoblade (Wii)
3. Outland (XBLA/PSN)
2. Hero 30 Second (PSP)
1. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (PSP)