Year end awards have been pouring in from various sites over the last couple of weeks and it seems that most sources have it as Red Dead Redemption being GOTY with Mass Effect 2 as a very close runner up. Having played both titles more than could be considered healthy the past year I have to slightly disagree as I think it should be the other way around. I’ve been drawn in by Mass Effect’s universe and characters over the past couple of years and greatly preferred watching Commander Shepard’s further exploits over the epic tale of revenge/redemption/sacrifice of John Marston.
From my own objective perspective though it’s a very close call. ME2 was an excellent game and cleaned up and streamlined a lot of the problems that the original ME had and was a much tighter experience beginning to end (even with the interminable planet scanning mini game that stuck out like a sore thumb though I know Bioware tried to fix that in patches). RDR, as a sequel to a little remembered flawed and obscure PS2 shooter, was far better than it had any right to be. It perfectly captured the spaghetti western milieu and made us wonder if we were the playing the “end days” of Clint’s “man with no name.” (Or at least it did with me.) Rockstar managed to work it’s magic once again with an open world title presenting us with intriguing characters, an expansive world to explore and, for the first time maybe, a truly sympathetic protagonist who we were rooting for. For my money we haven’t seen the last of Marston’s legacy.
But I’m interested in reading other opinions as well. Were ME2 and RDR really the best games of 2010? Were PC exclusive games like Starcraft 2, Minecraft, or WOW: Cataclysm criminally overlooked? (I’ve dabbled in Minecraft but haven’t played SC2 yet.) Is there another title that’s completely slipping my mind right now?
Super Mario Galaxy 2, without question. It often seems like gamers are looking to be moved emotionally, but few games are recognized for making you happy. Mario Galaxy 2 was just joyful to play through, putting a smile on my face the entire damn time. It perfected platforming in a 3D environment, and had so many cool twists throughout the game, that it was impossible for me to grow bored. In a day when games are trying to feel more “adult,” Mario made me feel like a kid again.
I dunno about that last bit. I think that SMG1 was a stronger game. The sequel started to get a little gimmicky. It was, however, my favorite game of the year - though my vote doesn’t count because I’m always a year behind on these things, and rarely buy new games.
Not sure if it was the best game of 2010, but Halo reach was really well made:
It rekindled the Joy of gaming for me, the music was awesome, my friends and I raced to be the first of our circle to complete the game on the highest difficulty setting, still having allot of fun with multiplayer and the daily/weekly challenges
I haven’t played Minecraft so I can’t speak to it, but I’ve played Starcraft 2 and watched people play and talk about Cataclysm (there is no way I am picking up that crack pipe again). Starcraft 2 was…OK really. I played it for a little while but it felt like a chore, and it didn’t feel groundbreaking. Most of the people I know who played Cataclysm were unimpressed, honestly. The graphics were good but it felt like there wasn’t anything new in the game, just a lot more of the same.
On the other hand, Red Dead Redemption felt epic, cinematical, bracing…it felt like a movie come to life. It celebrated the past while Cataclysm and Starcraft 2 were stuck in it.
I’m not a huge gamer, but of all the games I played this year, Red Dead Redemption would get my vote. Outstanding story, great gameplay, multiplayer value, and impressive graphics (I love Manteca Falls) made it the best game I’ve played (and am still playing) this year.
I certainly enjoyed Mario Galaxy 1 more, by virtue of it being completely unique, but there isn’t a single thing from a purely platforming perspective that I would change about MG2.
I dunno; Starcraft II is the only one of the contenders I’ve played, and I haven’t even tried to do multiplayer yet, but I think they did a really excellent job with the single-player campaign. Yeah, there’s very little in it that hasn’t been done before, but it’s a very good implementation and synthesis of what’s been done before.
Just out of curiosity, you don’t work for Gamespot, do you?
(That’s not meant as a dig - it’s just that this is the first time I’ve heard about it outside Gamespot’s Hotspot podcast.)
My personal favourite is probably Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty, since I was kind of put off by the story in Red Dead Redemption and Mass Effect 2’s actual gameplay was scarce and badly balanced. (While everything else was brilliant in both.) That said, the game that got the most played in my household was Mount & Blade: Warband. There’s something to be said for insanely addicting gameplay, although I retain my strong desire that they move to a new graphics engine ASAP.
I don’t work for GameSpot (but I do run my own gaming site). I just love Pac-Man CE DX so much. It’s really the perfect gamer’s game. No story, no “leveling up”, just pure old school game.
