Top 10 games of 2010
This is my Top 10 list of 2010.
Although it wasn’t a particularly great year for videogames for me there still were a lot of good titles. Many of the games in my Top 10 are downloadable ones which shows the trend of a decreasing amount of time available to play games.
The highlighted games were released in 2010.
1. Valkyria Chronicles (PS3)
A strategy RPG that largely went unnoticed in 2008 but i finally made the time to play it this year. It proved to be the best game i played in 2010. I loved the brilliant combination of real-time and turn based combat and a great variety of scenarios to enjoy it in. Some battles were large in scale while in others only one character was used to give the player the background stories of the main characters.
Along with the great combat system, came a very satisfying levelling mechanic and the upgrading of equipment using R&D. Gorgeous graphics and artwork, a relatively satisfying story and some interesting characters kept the game’s quality very high throughout its duration.
2. Heavy Rain (PS3)
In my opinion, one of the most important games of recent times and it’s one of the most thought provoking (in terms of what videogames are about) i have ever played.
Why do we play games? What is a game? These are some of the questions that Heavy Rain raised. I have not yet decided whether or not Heavy Rain is actually a game because i am not sure there is not enough gameplay to warrant it. However, since it has managed to make me think as few games do it deserves a lot of praise.
3. Bayonetta (360)
I am not a fan of the genre, but Bayonetta stands tall above the rest of the competition. Even Ninja Gaiden has to take 2nd place when compared to Bayonetta. Pure gameplay joy.
4. Toy Soldiers (XBLA)
The best tower defense game i have ever played which brought back a lot of childhood memories. Me and my toy soldiers….
5. Nier (360)
I really don’t understand why big budget RPGs like Mass Effect 2 get all the love from critics and gamers while this sleeper was given the low scores it received. The most underrated game of 2010 in my opinion. A fantastic cast of characters, superb voice acting and an interesting story. It tries to do some new things in terms of gameplay mixing up shooting, platforming, real-time RPG. Some more successfully than others but it felt fresh. Oh yes, and what a soundtrack it has.
6. Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes (DS)
Addictive as hell, this is now in my Top 5 DS games
7. Halo 3: Reach
It’s just Halo. Just a bloody great one at that. Halo, is probably the last high profile FPS which does not have a tighly scripted single player campaign. Instead Bungie’s single player combat feels very “organic” where every time you entered into a fight there was almost always something new. Reach was a wonderful end for Bungie and it’s in my top 3 Halos (Halo: Combat Evolved, ODST the other two).
8. Persona 3 (PS2)
It took me 110hrs to complete, frustrating and full of grinding. If i was 15 years younger i might have loved it. Now, i just appreciate it and glad it’s over.
9. Limbo (XBLA)
A game with no tutorial and yet so natural to get into. Marvelous art style, especially the first 1/3 of the game. It loses some of its appeal later on but still managed to be great.
10. Lara Croft: Guardian of Light (XBLA)
The best co-op game of the year.
Other games of note:
The Misadventures of P.B Winterbottom (XBLA) - I was not as good as Braid but it was still excellent. It just missed the Top 10 list.
Vanquish (360) - very good game but not as good as i wanted/expected it to be.
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (360) - in terms of gameplay it’s just very average. But the voice acting, facial animations and chemistry of the two central characters set a new benchmark for videogames. If only the last 2/3 of the game was as solid as the first one it would definitely have made m Top 10 list
Biggest disappointment:
Splinter Cell: Conviction (360) i was a big fan of the Splinter Cell series but Ubisoft has taken it to a much more action oriented direction and it’s all the worse for it. It has lost its personality and identity.