It's December, and not quite the end of the year but it's close enough to begin a discussion about what games we've enjoyed most. Plus everybody loves lists right--and why not choose 7! I mean, there are just too many good games released in 2010 to just pick 5 or 6 right? 
Important Note: Dont just list your games, tell us (breifly!) why you loved these games--reading your opinion will be the fun part.
Contraint: Choose 7 video games release in 2010 that you love.
Ranking/Sorting: It's up to you! Rate 1st--->5th or just bulletpoints.
Platforms: Anything that plays a video game
Release range: January 1st 2010 - Present
Helpful link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:2010_video_games
I'll start things off. I dont have an order because I've not put enough thought into that but I can narrow things down to my top 7 favorites of 2010:
• Red Dead Redemption - A breath of fresh air if you ask me. I loved the punchy spahghetti western narrative that offers a glimpse at a receeding era, overtaken by new technology (and the politics that come along with it). The game, though mostly serious, often made me smile at times I wasnt expecting it. No one does character development like Rockstar and here it shows--I love the cast, the gameplay, the mechanics (especially the horseriding) and particularly the ending. Amazing!
• Limbo - Smartly designed, beautiful to look at and a narrative left up for interpitation of the player. The puzzles were just hard enough to make me stop and think, but not pressing enough to make me throw my hands up in the air.
• Mass Effect 2 - Damn this game, and this series--I just can't get enough of it! I've completed ME2 three times now, and every single instance the combat was vastly different thanks to the very different classes. Plus the Paragon/Renegade thing changes the story and the reactions of the casts enough to practically force another play thorugh for everyone. Everything is just so well done, well except for planet scanning right? I love the soundtrack, atmosphere, characters and, of course, the Blade Runner aesthetics. More please!
• Just Cause 2 - To me this is the ultimate open world sandbox-type game. Screw the story ("My name is Boooooalooooa Saaaantiiiina!"), give me the massive explosions, superfast and awesome gameplay--it's just craziness everywhere and I love it for that!
• Assassin's Creed Brotherhood - I really enjoyed AC2 a lot, but the inclusion of the brotherhood and it's empowering mechanics that come with it just pushed the game into a new space for me. Though the story is getting to a point of complete incoherent wackiness, I still think the premise is pretty cool.
• God of War 3 - Epic. EPIC. EPIC. What I love about Kratos and the GoW series is how unapologetically over-the-top every thing. Plus I'm a sucker for greek mythos. Plus it looks freak'n amazing in every graphical level.
• Heavy Rain - This game surprised me more than any other with just how interesting it manged to be, and on so many levels. The much overdone quick-time events were fun, the voice acting work was mostly great (excluding the kids), and the story had some real drama in it (and a few plot holes). I just didnt expect this game to pull me in like it did, but I ended up caring about the characters. Once I beat the game I actually watched me wife play the entire game--something I never do--and it was greatly entertaining. Plus I was amazed at how much she also cared about her the characters. At one point in her game one of the main characters died because she missed a few quick time events and she was visibly upset about it all, and still is to this day.
Important Note: Dont just list your games, tell us (breifly!) why you loved these games--reading your opinion will be the fun part.
Contraint: Choose 7 video games release in 2010 that you love.
Ranking/Sorting: It's up to you! Rate 1st--->5th or just bulletpoints.
Platforms: Anything that plays a video game
Release range: January 1st 2010 - Present
Helpful link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:2010_video_games
I'll start things off. I dont have an order because I've not put enough thought into that but I can narrow things down to my top 7 favorites of 2010:
• Red Dead Redemption - A breath of fresh air if you ask me. I loved the punchy spahghetti western narrative that offers a glimpse at a receeding era, overtaken by new technology (and the politics that come along with it). The game, though mostly serious, often made me smile at times I wasnt expecting it. No one does character development like Rockstar and here it shows--I love the cast, the gameplay, the mechanics (especially the horseriding) and particularly the ending. Amazing!
• Limbo - Smartly designed, beautiful to look at and a narrative left up for interpitation of the player. The puzzles were just hard enough to make me stop and think, but not pressing enough to make me throw my hands up in the air.
• Mass Effect 2 - Damn this game, and this series--I just can't get enough of it! I've completed ME2 three times now, and every single instance the combat was vastly different thanks to the very different classes. Plus the Paragon/Renegade thing changes the story and the reactions of the casts enough to practically force another play thorugh for everyone. Everything is just so well done, well except for planet scanning right? I love the soundtrack, atmosphere, characters and, of course, the Blade Runner aesthetics. More please!
• Just Cause 2 - To me this is the ultimate open world sandbox-type game. Screw the story ("My name is Boooooalooooa Saaaantiiiina!"), give me the massive explosions, superfast and awesome gameplay--it's just craziness everywhere and I love it for that!
• Assassin's Creed Brotherhood - I really enjoyed AC2 a lot, but the inclusion of the brotherhood and it's empowering mechanics that come with it just pushed the game into a new space for me. Though the story is getting to a point of complete incoherent wackiness, I still think the premise is pretty cool.
• God of War 3 - Epic. EPIC. EPIC. What I love about Kratos and the GoW series is how unapologetically over-the-top every thing. Plus I'm a sucker for greek mythos. Plus it looks freak'n amazing in every graphical level.
• Heavy Rain - This game surprised me more than any other with just how interesting it manged to be, and on so many levels. The much overdone quick-time events were fun, the voice acting work was mostly great (excluding the kids), and the story had some real drama in it (and a few plot holes). I just didnt expect this game to pull me in like it did, but I ended up caring about the characters. Once I beat the game I actually watched me wife play the entire game--something I never do--and it was greatly entertaining. Plus I was amazed at how much she also cared about her the characters. At one point in her game one of the main characters died because she missed a few quick time events and she was visibly upset about it all, and still is to this day.
