About 2010

I'm only one guy, and can't have played enough games to create a proper "Best of the Year" list, considering some of the games everyone's talking about I've never tried myself (i.e. Call of Duty: Black Ops, Red Dead Redemption, Halo: Reach, Starcraft 2).  How did I spend my gaming year, though?  That's a question I can answer!

-dp

The year definitely started off strong!  Mass Effect 2 is a game, defying traditions, that came out in January but was still at the top of many "Best of" lists at the end of the year.  An incredible game that removed the cluttered item interface from the first game (hopefully they learn their lesson for Dragon Age 2) and focused on the story and gameplay.  Searching planets was a chore, sure, but that's forgivable in the light of such an amazing accomplishment in gaming.  I also loved the ability to play with the same character I played in the first.  It made it that much more relatable to me, and I can't wait to complete her adventures in Mass Effect 3, which finally takes place on Earth, a place I've always wanted, for some reason, to visit in the previous games.

Next came Final Fantasy XIII, which I will first say I understand all the criticism it's received.  However, I loved this game.  Not as much as IX or XII or VI or VII or VIII, but failing to live up to those games in no way makes it a bad game.  The story took too long to unfold, Hope is one the worst characters in video game history (I think anytime you hear someone say "Don't you see?" in video games or movies, the script writers should immediately be discredited),  but the combat system makes every fight something you actually need to think about, and the graphics are truly something to be marveled at.  Beyond that, though, the true genius of this game comes after you've beaten it.  You can finally super-power your characters and complete the difficult missions.  This is a much different (and better, in my opinion) approach than previous Final Fantasies, which have super powerful optional fights, but allow you get your characters so over-powered that the final story boss fight is a joke.  This way, you had to struggle to defeat the final boss, and then you could overpower you characters to beat the tough optional fights.  I'm not going to change anyone's mind, I know, if you don't like this game, but I think it's a more than worthy entry to Final Fantasy legacy, and can't wait for Versus.

Next came one of the most innovative, though flawed, game I've ever played.  Heavy Rain is something I really describe, but you know what it is and what is accomplished, whether you enjoyed it or not.  Aside from anything else, how many game have allowed to interactively strip a woman to get ready for a shower?  Sure, it could be considered exploitative, but the quick-time interactive design was completely new and an interesting way to tell a story.  It's a story that's been told before, sure, in movies all over the place, but you've never been able to be a part of the story like this before.  Quite the achievement.

As far as downloadable games, I was also to play both Limbo and Super Meatboy on the XBox 360 arcade.  I beat Limbo and got cut off from SMB when my XBox red-ringed, but both these games were a lot of fun for different reasons.  Simple side-scrollers need some innovation to survive these days, and, like Braid last year, these two bring it.  Limbo's eerie atmosphere and ultra-violence stand out in a world that is unforgiving even to children, and Super Meatboy is as hard as they come, but never gives you time to get too upset, since dying immediately brings you back to the start of a 15-second level.  And when you finally beat that level, it's fun to watch all your characters try again at the same time in the interesting replays that show up afterwards.

I also got a chance to play 3D Dot Game Heroes, a retro experience that's derivative, sure, but way too much fun to let that bring you down.  Check out that fully upgraded Giga Sword, that fills the entire screen and kills things you can't even see with one swing!  Try it if you haven't.

Other notable games include God of War 3, which, while awesome, is hopefully the last in the story, although I'm sure it won't be.  In the first game, when you had to move the caged prisoner in the path of fire and kill him to move on, it was quite the revelation when you realized what you had to do.  In the third game, while deaths became more gruesome, this was commonplace and no longer new.  That fight with Chronos, though...pretty incredible!  Sonic the Hedgehog 4 was nothing special, but I may try again sometime soon.  I really want to like it.  I love Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood so far, but haven't played enough to give it a proper review.  The multiplayer is great though, even if it takes a while to find a game.

In the Wii category, I only played one new game but boy was it a time sink! Monster Hunter Tri was such a revelation to me, and I spent hundreds of hours fighting the same monsters with online friends, trying to get the next best piece of armor.  Both the single player game and the online multiplayer are an excellent way to spend your time.  I've heard it's nothing compared to the difficulty of the previous entries, but for me this game was, except for one game, the one I spent most time with in 2010.

And that game I spent more time with was, once again, Demon's Souls, my pick for the game of the decade. As far as I am concerned, no other game carries the depth, mechanics, and gameplay to make for such an infinitely replayable adventure.  Due to unforeseen popularity, Atlas has kept the servers open until its 2-year US anniversary in October, 18 months longer than originally planned.  If that doesn't speak for it's abilities to suck you in, I don't know what does.  New players are always coming in, and I suggest you join.

I also bought a copy Fallout: New Vegas, which I've only played for about an hour and so can't weigh in, and Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is a worthy time sink.  Mindless Diablo-style gameplay and endless quests in a huge and beautiful world, but that game's 2 years old.

So in the end, I'd give my "Game of the Year" to Demon's Souls, once again, but since that was a 2009 release, I'll give it to Mass Effect 2.  Here's looking to another great year in gaming!