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GAF Games of the Year 2010 - Voting Thread - VOTING CONCLUDED
- Thread starter timetokill
- Start date
- Status
entremet
Member
1. Mass Effect 2 ; While I do miss the direction from the original, with a greater focus on set piece fire fights, the game is polished. It fixes the jankiness found the original ME and streamlines many of the more tedious elements of the original. The original is still one of my favorite games ever and revisiting the ME universe was joy once again.
2. Bayonetta ; The pinnacle action game. The genre seemed a bit stale with the lackluster DMC4 and NG2, however, Kamiya and Co. breathed new life into the genre. The wackiness, the varied combat and creative enemy and level design were top notch.
3. Super Meat Boy ; Super tight controls and pure platforming goodness. One of the best in years.
4. SMG2 ; Like the original, SMG2 further refines the toy box design of the Galaxy games. This is the best distillation 3D mario, putting Mario in all types of situations and environments available.
5. Final Fantasy XIII ; Not the best in the series, but its battle system alone, redeems a lackluster campaign. The difficulty was perfect, challenging and strategic. I would love an XIII-2.
2. Bayonetta ; The pinnacle action game. The genre seemed a bit stale with the lackluster DMC4 and NG2, however, Kamiya and Co. breathed new life into the genre. The wackiness, the varied combat and creative enemy and level design were top notch.
3. Super Meat Boy ; Super tight controls and pure platforming goodness. One of the best in years.
4. SMG2 ; Like the original, SMG2 further refines the toy box design of the Galaxy games. This is the best distillation 3D mario, putting Mario in all types of situations and environments available.
5. Final Fantasy XIII ; Not the best in the series, but its battle system alone, redeems a lackluster campaign. The difficulty was perfect, challenging and strategic. I would love an XIII-2.
MvmntInGrn
Member
Nominated Games list says VVVVVVVV(Vx8), but its VVVVVV (Vx6).
A Link to the Past
Banned
1. Super Meat Boy
2. Super Mario Galaxy 2
3. Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
4. StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty
5. Heavy Rain
6. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
7. Joe Danger
8. Dragon Quest 9: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
9. Dark Void Zero
10. Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale
x. BioShock 2
x. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
x. A Kappa's Trail
x. Professor Layton & the Unwound Future
50/50 DD titles. Every game in this list is an example of a game that, unlike most of the games I've bought recently, I can actually get through without stopping for a year. :0
Also, if you could, pleez add DSiWare games such as A Kappa's Trail, Dark Void Zero, Shantae: Risky's Revenge, and X-Scape!
2. Super Mario Galaxy 2
3. Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
4. StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty
5. Heavy Rain
6. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
7. Joe Danger
8. Dragon Quest 9: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
9. Dark Void Zero
10. Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale
x. BioShock 2
x. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
x. A Kappa's Trail
x. Professor Layton & the Unwound Future
50/50 DD titles. Every game in this list is an example of a game that, unlike most of the games I've bought recently, I can actually get through without stopping for a year. :0
Also, if you could, pleez add DSiWare games such as A Kappa's Trail, Dark Void Zero, Shantae: Risky's Revenge, and X-Scape!
timetokill
Banned
MvmntInGrn said:
Thank you, fixing that now.
Thanks, I fixed the entry.timetokill said:It's on the list now.
You guys are welcome to list titles not on the nominations list. I'll add them as I see them nominated. Just try to follow the game naming conventions is all
I can appreciate the difficulty of getting all the lists to parse correctly and the need for a unified naming scheme.
Foliorum Viridum
Banned
1. Super Mario Galaxy 2 ; Super Mario Galaxy instantly became my favourite game of all-time back in 2007, and just as swiftly this took the title yet again earlier this year. Every bit of imagination, charm and wonderful design that was present in the original game can be found here, but expanded even further. The new additions, such as Yoshi, only added to the greatness. Put simply, it's the best game ever made.
2. Mass Effect 2 ; In many ways its not as good as the first game, however its still one hell of an experience that had me absolutely gripped. The scope and ambition was clear from the very beginning and once I accepted that its not the Mass Effect I knew before I allowed myself to get sucked into the universe once again and wasted the best part of 50 hours over repeat playthroughs and some of the best DLC Ive ever played.
3. Fallout: New Vegas ; Obsidian managed to successfully implement a deeper RPG backbone to the game whilst somehow making it seem more manageable and user-friendly. Sure, its still using horrible technology, but the fact I was able to look past the ugly visuals after half an hour because I was trying to decide which faction to align myself with and running away from a pesky Deathclaw tells you everything you need to know.
4. Red Dead Redemption; A game that I foolishly let fly under my radar until a few weeks before release. There are two elements of the game that particularly gripped me: the first being the hunting, which turned this vegetarian into a cold hearted sharpshooter that would wander through Tall Trees for far too long searching for the next bear to skin, and the second being the focus on characters. Although the game does fall into the comfort zone later on of go here and shoot 1000 dudes, there are many beautiful moments early on that just focuses with the hardships of early 20th century life and the battle of modernity infiltrating their society.
5. F1 2010 ; It's rare for me to rank a racing game so highly, but with over 100 hours invested in to this game, I absolutely had to. It may be slightly buggy, to say the least, but at the core are fantastic driving mechanics that reward you the longer you play. It must be said this is also the "online" game of the year for me as a good 95 of those 100 hours have been spent racing with fellow GAFers, not the lame roleplaying career mode. Probably my favourite racing game ever now.
6. Mafia 2 ; Nearly everything about Mafia 2 blew away all my expectations. The wonderfully paced and acted narrative, the attention to deal, the beautiful graphics. As a huge fan of crime/gangster cinema, this was basically one big homage to the best of the best. It may have taken some stick for not being a true open world game, but in my opinion it was much better because of it. In fact, if it was slightly more linear it would've been even better. A bit too much repetitive driving for my liking.
7. Just Cause 2 ; Pretty much the complete polar opposite of Mafia 2, but wonderful because of it. Over-the-top, camp and reliant on cheap adrenaline thrills, the game sets the bar in terms of content and also graphic fidelity in an open world game. I did get bored of the limited scope of missions, however by that point I was 50 hours in and had done some of the craziest shit you can imagine. A complete step up from the original.
8. Bioshock 2. ; Better than the overrated original in every single way. There, I said it. From the narrative to the combat, everything felt much more focused and refined. I don't care that it's more linear, because in doing so it was able to take me on a much more exciting journey through Rapture that I'll remember. I feel like this game was never given a fair chance and was disregarded as a sequel that didn't need to exist, rather than recognised as one of the best shooters this gen.
9. Metro 2033 ; Aside from being the best looking game ever made (sorry, Crysis, your time has come) it also provided one of the most atmospheric experiences this year. Clostrophobic and intense, the journey through a Russian subway system was seemingly the hardest and most horrific task in the world over the few short hours of the game. If some of the game mechanics were more refined it would be up there with the very best of FPS in the last few years, for me.
10. Limbo ; It was the art style that drew me to Limbo, but as the game progressed I found myself not only engrossed in the wonderful atmosphere, but also the great design of the puzzles. Sure, it turns into slightly too much of a platformer/puzzle game by the end, but it does it so well I'll give it a pass. The length only makes the experience better, too, so don't listen to the fools who want it to be 10 hours long.
----
Honourable mentions
Dead Rising 2
Amnesia
P.B. Winterbottom
Dance Central
Prince of Persia - The Forgotten Sands
Darksiders
Metroid: Other M
Games I've yet to play (AKA: They might've been on the list if I had)
Donkey Kong Country Returns
Goldeneye
Sly Cooper Trilogy
Vanquish
Enslaved
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Lost Horizon
Biggest letdowns of the year
Yakuza 3
Crackdown 2
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Bayonetta
Splinter Cell Conviction
I hope I did everything right, and that the three lists at the bottom are allowed.
2. Mass Effect 2 ; In many ways its not as good as the first game, however its still one hell of an experience that had me absolutely gripped. The scope and ambition was clear from the very beginning and once I accepted that its not the Mass Effect I knew before I allowed myself to get sucked into the universe once again and wasted the best part of 50 hours over repeat playthroughs and some of the best DLC Ive ever played.
3. Fallout: New Vegas ; Obsidian managed to successfully implement a deeper RPG backbone to the game whilst somehow making it seem more manageable and user-friendly. Sure, its still using horrible technology, but the fact I was able to look past the ugly visuals after half an hour because I was trying to decide which faction to align myself with and running away from a pesky Deathclaw tells you everything you need to know.
4. Red Dead Redemption; A game that I foolishly let fly under my radar until a few weeks before release. There are two elements of the game that particularly gripped me: the first being the hunting, which turned this vegetarian into a cold hearted sharpshooter that would wander through Tall Trees for far too long searching for the next bear to skin, and the second being the focus on characters. Although the game does fall into the comfort zone later on of go here and shoot 1000 dudes, there are many beautiful moments early on that just focuses with the hardships of early 20th century life and the battle of modernity infiltrating their society.
5. F1 2010 ; It's rare for me to rank a racing game so highly, but with over 100 hours invested in to this game, I absolutely had to. It may be slightly buggy, to say the least, but at the core are fantastic driving mechanics that reward you the longer you play. It must be said this is also the "online" game of the year for me as a good 95 of those 100 hours have been spent racing with fellow GAFers, not the lame roleplaying career mode. Probably my favourite racing game ever now.
6. Mafia 2 ; Nearly everything about Mafia 2 blew away all my expectations. The wonderfully paced and acted narrative, the attention to deal, the beautiful graphics. As a huge fan of crime/gangster cinema, this was basically one big homage to the best of the best. It may have taken some stick for not being a true open world game, but in my opinion it was much better because of it. In fact, if it was slightly more linear it would've been even better. A bit too much repetitive driving for my liking.
7. Just Cause 2 ; Pretty much the complete polar opposite of Mafia 2, but wonderful because of it. Over-the-top, camp and reliant on cheap adrenaline thrills, the game sets the bar in terms of content and also graphic fidelity in an open world game. I did get bored of the limited scope of missions, however by that point I was 50 hours in and had done some of the craziest shit you can imagine. A complete step up from the original.
8. Bioshock 2. ; Better than the overrated original in every single way. There, I said it. From the narrative to the combat, everything felt much more focused and refined. I don't care that it's more linear, because in doing so it was able to take me on a much more exciting journey through Rapture that I'll remember. I feel like this game was never given a fair chance and was disregarded as a sequel that didn't need to exist, rather than recognised as one of the best shooters this gen.
9. Metro 2033 ; Aside from being the best looking game ever made (sorry, Crysis, your time has come) it also provided one of the most atmospheric experiences this year. Clostrophobic and intense, the journey through a Russian subway system was seemingly the hardest and most horrific task in the world over the few short hours of the game. If some of the game mechanics were more refined it would be up there with the very best of FPS in the last few years, for me.
10. Limbo ; It was the art style that drew me to Limbo, but as the game progressed I found myself not only engrossed in the wonderful atmosphere, but also the great design of the puzzles. Sure, it turns into slightly too much of a platformer/puzzle game by the end, but it does it so well I'll give it a pass. The length only makes the experience better, too, so don't listen to the fools who want it to be 10 hours long.
----
Honourable mentions
Dead Rising 2
Amnesia
P.B. Winterbottom
Dance Central
Prince of Persia - The Forgotten Sands
Darksiders
Metroid: Other M
Games I've yet to play (AKA: They might've been on the list if I had)
Donkey Kong Country Returns
Goldeneye
Sly Cooper Trilogy
Vanquish
Enslaved
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Lost Horizon
Biggest letdowns of the year
Yakuza 3
Crackdown 2
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Bayonetta
Splinter Cell Conviction
I hope I did everything right, and that the three lists at the bottom are allowed.
nelsonroyale
Member
1. God of War 3 - The awesome scale and visuals impressed me no end, but the experience
was frankly inconsistent. The labryinth was shit. Still the first 30 mins of this game and
Chronos blew away any game I have played this year. Still I think SM should now ditch
Kratos, and build a new action game with a more likeable main character and decent
story.
2. Castlevania Lord of Shadows: This one had more cohesion than GoW3, a better story, and
was overall more consistant, it just didn't quite match the spectacle of GoW3.
3. FFXIII - Huge disappointment is someways, but the battle system was enjoyable, and
some of the visuals were frankly incredible (Cacoon). Versus better be a much more in
depth and focus experience. This was linear, but the story was all over the place.
4. Mass Effect 2: Two steps forward two steps back from its predecessor. Better combat, but
a less interesting and coherent story line. Visuals were a nice improvement though.
5. Heavy Rain
6. Assassins Creed 2
was frankly inconsistent. The labryinth was shit. Still the first 30 mins of this game and
Chronos blew away any game I have played this year. Still I think SM should now ditch
Kratos, and build a new action game with a more likeable main character and decent
story.
2. Castlevania Lord of Shadows: This one had more cohesion than GoW3, a better story, and
was overall more consistant, it just didn't quite match the spectacle of GoW3.
3. FFXIII - Huge disappointment is someways, but the battle system was enjoyable, and
some of the visuals were frankly incredible (Cacoon). Versus better be a much more in
depth and focus experience. This was linear, but the story was all over the place.
4. Mass Effect 2: Two steps forward two steps back from its predecessor. Better combat, but
a less interesting and coherent story line. Visuals were a nice improvement though.
5. Heavy Rain
6. Assassins Creed 2
lastplayed
Member
1. Mass Effect 2 ; The main story wasn't much, but the cast of characters more than made up for it.
2. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 ; My favourite online shooter all year.
3. R.U.S.E. ; Just a really fun game to play.
4. Medal of Honor ; The best single player FPS campaign I've played this year.
5. Fallout: New Vegas ; Sunk many hours into this despite the bugs and limitations.
6. Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening ; More of my favourite game of 2009, continuing the trend of great characters and witty banter.
7. Alpha Protocol ; Will be remembered for its great story and dialogue.
8. Napoleon: Total War ; Epic, both graphically and tactically.
9. Heavy Rain ; One of the most unique gaming experiences I've had for years.
10. Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead ; One of the most challenging and immersive games ever.
x. Metro 2033 ; Great atmoshpere.
x. Just Cause 2 ; Nice explosions.
x. F1 2010 ; It's Formula 1!
2. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 ; My favourite online shooter all year.
3. R.U.S.E. ; Just a really fun game to play.
4. Medal of Honor ; The best single player FPS campaign I've played this year.
5. Fallout: New Vegas ; Sunk many hours into this despite the bugs and limitations.
6. Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening ; More of my favourite game of 2009, continuing the trend of great characters and witty banter.
7. Alpha Protocol ; Will be remembered for its great story and dialogue.
8. Napoleon: Total War ; Epic, both graphically and tactically.
9. Heavy Rain ; One of the most unique gaming experiences I've had for years.
10. Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead ; One of the most challenging and immersive games ever.
x. Metro 2033 ; Great atmoshpere.
x. Just Cause 2 ; Nice explosions.
x. F1 2010 ; It's Formula 1!
Rahxephon91
Banned
1. Red Dead Redemption ; It's my GOTY, because it still provides the Rockstar "story" experience without sacrificing the game part like many accuse GTAIV. A lot of content is in this game, and the wild west atmosphere is nailed to a T. Truly an awesome experience, and nothing is quite like just riding a hoarse across a beautiful landscape.
2. Final Fantasy 13 ; Awesome battle system and amazing presentation. That's what I want from FF and XIII brings it. The game is amazing to look at, truly a feast for the eyes. The battle system is probably one of the most tense and truly sells the feeling that the battle can change tides whenever. You have to be quick on your feet. The story and characters are serviceable for what they are.
3. Vanquish ; Never has a third person shooter felt so alive. The controls are beyond responsive and the battlefield is full of energy, but in Vanquish it never feels like it's out of your control, because the game feels so tight and awesome. This game may look like gears, but that game feels dead compared to it, the pop and cover gameplay has no bushiness in Vanquish's shooter heaven.
4. Resonance of Fate ; I love tinkering with and learning mechanics in my jrpgs. RoF provided that the most this year and that's why it's here.
5. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle ; Just a fun and charming game, with an awesome art style. This is why I like Japanese games. Quirky sensibilities with over the top violence and action.
6. Mafia 2 ; one of the most immerseve games this year. Incredibly attention to detail, the game brings the era alive. The shootouts may not be anything great, but there is something to handling a Tommy gun and having the environment fall apart due to your spray. All the while wearing a suit.
7. Halo Reach ; It's Halo. It's fun. Nuff said. This one also looks really good.
8. Mass Effect 2
9. Bayonetta
10. Persona 3 Portable
2. Final Fantasy 13 ; Awesome battle system and amazing presentation. That's what I want from FF and XIII brings it. The game is amazing to look at, truly a feast for the eyes. The battle system is probably one of the most tense and truly sells the feeling that the battle can change tides whenever. You have to be quick on your feet. The story and characters are serviceable for what they are.
3. Vanquish ; Never has a third person shooter felt so alive. The controls are beyond responsive and the battlefield is full of energy, but in Vanquish it never feels like it's out of your control, because the game feels so tight and awesome. This game may look like gears, but that game feels dead compared to it, the pop and cover gameplay has no bushiness in Vanquish's shooter heaven.
4. Resonance of Fate ; I love tinkering with and learning mechanics in my jrpgs. RoF provided that the most this year and that's why it's here.
5. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle ; Just a fun and charming game, with an awesome art style. This is why I like Japanese games. Quirky sensibilities with over the top violence and action.
6. Mafia 2 ; one of the most immerseve games this year. Incredibly attention to detail, the game brings the era alive. The shootouts may not be anything great, but there is something to handling a Tommy gun and having the environment fall apart due to your spray. All the while wearing a suit.
7. Halo Reach ; It's Halo. It's fun. Nuff said. This one also looks really good.
8. Mass Effect 2
9. Bayonetta
10. Persona 3 Portable
MaizeRage25
Member
1. Mass Effect 2 ; Planet scanning was the one and only flaw. Would like more RPG elements in the 3rd game though
2. Red Dead Redemption ; Very close runner-up. Best Rockstar game this generation, but controls were frustrating as usual
3. Fallout: New Vegas ; Loved FO3 and this was probably better. Got lucky when it came to major bugs, didn't have any.
4. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit ; Autolog integration was great and I love the driving model. Less time trials and more hot pursuits!!
5. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood ; Franchise continues to improve with each iteration. Unique MP is a plus
6. Halo: Reach ; Hate the MP (yes because I suck at it), but best campaign since Halo CE
7. God of War 3 ; Not a fan of the genre, but very impressive game
8. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 ; decent campaign, which seems to be rare for shooter these days
9. Heavy Rain ; story could be better but QTEs were actually fun
10. Call of Duty: Black Ops; Improved MP over MW2
2. Red Dead Redemption ; Very close runner-up. Best Rockstar game this generation, but controls were frustrating as usual
3. Fallout: New Vegas ; Loved FO3 and this was probably better. Got lucky when it came to major bugs, didn't have any.
4. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit ; Autolog integration was great and I love the driving model. Less time trials and more hot pursuits!!
5. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood ; Franchise continues to improve with each iteration. Unique MP is a plus
6. Halo: Reach ; Hate the MP (yes because I suck at it), but best campaign since Halo CE
7. God of War 3 ; Not a fan of the genre, but very impressive game
8. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 ; decent campaign, which seems to be rare for shooter these days
9. Heavy Rain ; story could be better but QTEs were actually fun
10. Call of Duty: Black Ops; Improved MP over MW2
Vlodril
Member
1. Alpha Protocol ; Best game of the year. Has problems but like most of my favorite games the result is greater than the sum of all parts. Wish there was a sequel.
2. Mass Effect 2 ; Disappointment after the first one but still one of the best games of the year.
3. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood ; Was pleasantly surprised. Despite the yearly production the game took what ac2 did well and improved on it.
4. Fallout: New Vegas ; Didn't like Fallout 3, loved this one. Nice pallete , great quests and story. Excellent job by Obsidian.
5.Heavy Rain ; Had problems but it perfectly illustrated where the adventure genre needs to go. Very , very atmospheric.
6. Sports Champions ; Completely unexpected since i was not a fun of motion control. Very precise and just plain fun on the more difficult levels. Table tennis rocked.
7. Mafia 2 ; Also very atmospheric. Fantastic Sountrack. Good enough story and totally sidestepped the cliche annoying sidekick. Joe Rocked. Also the "hero" was unapologetic about his actions which was a breath of fresh air after GTIV.
8. MAG ; Great squad based shooter. Good Move implementation.
9. Metro 2033 ; Very atmospheric. Best graphics i have seen in a while and fantastic lighting.
10. Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse ; Also liked it more than i expected. Various powers made for a fun playthrough.
Guess atmosphere counts a lot for me :lol
2. Mass Effect 2 ; Disappointment after the first one but still one of the best games of the year.
3. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood ; Was pleasantly surprised. Despite the yearly production the game took what ac2 did well and improved on it.
4. Fallout: New Vegas ; Didn't like Fallout 3, loved this one. Nice pallete , great quests and story. Excellent job by Obsidian.
5.Heavy Rain ; Had problems but it perfectly illustrated where the adventure genre needs to go. Very , very atmospheric.
6. Sports Champions ; Completely unexpected since i was not a fun of motion control. Very precise and just plain fun on the more difficult levels. Table tennis rocked.
7. Mafia 2 ; Also very atmospheric. Fantastic Sountrack. Good enough story and totally sidestepped the cliche annoying sidekick. Joe Rocked. Also the "hero" was unapologetic about his actions which was a breath of fresh air after GTIV.
8. MAG ; Great squad based shooter. Good Move implementation.
9. Metro 2033 ; Very atmospheric. Best graphics i have seen in a while and fantastic lighting.
10. Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse ; Also liked it more than i expected. Various powers made for a fun playthrough.
Guess atmosphere counts a lot for me :lol
1. Mass Effect 2 ; When it came time to really look at the games I played this year and the ones I liked, I couldn't think of anything that topped the time I spent with ME2. I enjoyed the combat, I enjoyed the dialogue system, and I enjoyed the characters. Besides the stupid mining parts, there was nothing I didn't like about this game. And that is why it is my GOTY.
2. Heavy Rain
3. Civilization 5
4. Sin & Punishment 2: Star Successor
5. Red Dead Redemption
6. Halo: Reach
7. MLB 10: The Show
8. NBA 2K11
9. Rock Band 3
10. Metro 2033
x. Super Mario Galaxy 2
x. LIMBO
x. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
2. Heavy Rain
3. Civilization 5
4. Sin & Punishment 2: Star Successor
5. Red Dead Redemption
6. Halo: Reach
7. MLB 10: The Show
8. NBA 2K11
9. Rock Band 3
10. Metro 2033
x. Super Mario Galaxy 2
x. LIMBO
x. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
timetokill
Banned
szaromir said:
Added them, thank you for the heads-up!
Dark Stalkers
Member
1. Bayonetta
2. Fallout: New Vegas
3. Mass Effect 2
4. Super Street Fighter 4
5. StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty
6. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
7. Red Dead Redemption
8. Super Mario Galaxy 2
9. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat
10. Amnesia: The Dark Descent
x. VVVVVV
x. Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars
2. Fallout: New Vegas
3. Mass Effect 2
4. Super Street Fighter 4
5. StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty
6. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
7. Red Dead Redemption
8. Super Mario Galaxy 2
9. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat
10. Amnesia: The Dark Descent
x. VVVVVV
x. Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
1. Minecraft ; Minecraft isn't the kind of thing that is a game of the year. Its the kind of thing that might become a game of the generation. It has the potential to be a paradigm shift in how we approach user-generated content and "open-world" games.
2. Super Mario Galaxy 2 ; Its pure 3D platforming perfection. It takes the genre and hones it to a keen edge where the barrier between intention and execution is almost invisible.
3. 999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors ; Got in just under the bar with this one, but was completely blown away with what I played. Best adventure game I've played in ages, best visual novel I've played...well...just about ever.
4. Bir.Trip.Runner ; Honestly one of the most surprising games of the year for me. The memory-heavy reflex-demanding musically merged platforming was absolute bliss to play through.
Those are the only truly incredible games I played this year, although there are a lot of other great games like Sonic Colors and Amnesia and Professor Layton.
2. Super Mario Galaxy 2 ; Its pure 3D platforming perfection. It takes the genre and hones it to a keen edge where the barrier between intention and execution is almost invisible.
3. 999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors ; Got in just under the bar with this one, but was completely blown away with what I played. Best adventure game I've played in ages, best visual novel I've played...well...just about ever.
4. Bir.Trip.Runner ; Honestly one of the most surprising games of the year for me. The memory-heavy reflex-demanding musically merged platforming was absolute bliss to play through.
Those are the only truly incredible games I played this year, although there are a lot of other great games like Sonic Colors and Amnesia and Professor Layton.
1. Super Mario Galaxy 2
2. Mass Effect 2
3. Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver
4. Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
5. Dead Rising 2
6. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
7. StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty
8. Transformers War for Cybertron
9. Civilization 5
Will add thoughts later.
2. Mass Effect 2
3. Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver
4. Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
5. Dead Rising 2
6. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
7. StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty
8. Transformers War for Cybertron
9. Civilization 5
Will add thoughts later.
The Librarian
Banned
1. Halo: Reach
2. Mass Effect 2
3. Alan Wake
4. BioShock 2
2. Mass Effect 2
3. Alan Wake
4. BioShock 2
timetokill
Banned
Durante said:
Thanks Durante, I'll update that now.
BaronLundi
Member
1. Demon's Souls (PAL)
2. Bayonetta
3. Heavy Rain
4. Red Dead Redemption
5. Deadly Premonition
6. 999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors
7. Battlefield: Bad Company 2
8. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
9. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
10. Just Cause 2
x. Limbo
x. Shank
Nominated games I've yet to play (aka backlog is a bitch)
Vanquish
NBA Jam
God of War III
2. Bayonetta
3. Heavy Rain
4. Red Dead Redemption
5. Deadly Premonition
6. 999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors
7. Battlefield: Bad Company 2
8. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
9. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
10. Just Cause 2
x. Limbo
x. Shank
Nominated games I've yet to play (aka backlog is a bitch)
Vanquish
NBA Jam
God of War III
timetokill
Banned
Added it, thanks chubigans, now if you can remove the parentheses note from your list that will help the parserchubigans said:
Heavy's Sandvich
Member
1. Super Mario Galaxy 2
2. Battlefield Bad Company 2
3. Super Street Fighter IV
2. Battlefield Bad Company 2
3. Super Street Fighter IV
GraveRobberX
Platinum Trophy: Learned to Shit While Upright Again.
1. God of War 3
2. BioShock 2
3. Bayonetta
4. Battlefield: Bad Company 2
5. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
6. Just Cause 2
7. Red Dead Redemption
8. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
9. Call of Duty: Black Ops
10. Vanquish
Honorable Mentions:
Alpha Protocol
Gran Turismo 5
MAG
Medal of Honor
Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse
2. BioShock 2
3. Bayonetta
4. Battlefield: Bad Company 2
5. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
6. Just Cause 2
7. Red Dead Redemption
8. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
9. Call of Duty: Black Ops
10. Vanquish
Honorable Mentions:
Alpha Protocol
Gran Turismo 5
MAG
Medal of Honor
Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse
1. Halo: Reach
2. Mass Effect 2
3. Alan Wake
4. Super Meat Boy
5. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
6. Metro 2033
7. Limbo
8. Dance Central
9. God of War 3
10. Heavy Rain
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Mafia 2
Kinect Sports
Pro Evolution Soccer 2011
Giving an order to this list of great games was way harder and took longer than I expected. I really liked them all and I would have no problem calling each one of them them my goty, even the honorable mentions. Great year, looking forward to 2011.
edit- nice Top 3 Dax
2. Mass Effect 2
3. Alan Wake
4. Super Meat Boy
5. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
6. Metro 2033
7. Limbo
8. Dance Central
9. God of War 3
10. Heavy Rain
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Mafia 2
Kinect Sports
Pro Evolution Soccer 2011
Giving an order to this list of great games was way harder and took longer than I expected. I really liked them all and I would have no problem calling each one of them them my goty, even the honorable mentions. Great year, looking forward to 2011.
edit- nice Top 3 Dax
Mt Heart Attack
Member
1. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (PAL)
2. Super Mario Galaxy 2
3. Bayonetta
4. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
5. Super Meat Boy
6. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
2. Super Mario Galaxy 2
3. Bayonetta
4. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
5. Super Meat Boy
6. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
1. Bayonetta ; Such a fresh breath of air in gaming. As I started to fear that games would eventually become these dramatic pieces that took themselves too seriously this game comes along and turns my world upside down. I love it!
2. Alan Wake ; The wait for this adventure/horror game was absurd but it did deliver.. On everything.
3. Call of Duty: Black Ops ; CoD is always going to be CoD, a streamlined and extremely addicting multiplayer game, this year was no different.
4. Donkey Kong Country Returns ; A throwback to the days when platformers came in plenty and the other better than the previous. Rare did an amazing job at bringing this old series into a new decade.
5. Football Manager 2011 ; One simulation to rule them all.
6. Cut the Rope ; Extremely addicting and balanced minigame for iOS. These games are the reason my DS and PSP gets less action than ever before.
7. Game Dev Story ; Lets just summarize this game with the word "brilliant".
8. Super Mario Galaxy 2 ; One of the few games this year that just oozes creativity from its pors. The next level tops the one before, its a nonstop gaming orgasm that will keep you coming back for more.
9. Super Meat Boy ; Hard, rewarding and fun platforming action at a great price.
10. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow ; And so the 3D curse of Castlevania games are brought to an end. We have finally vanquished the dark night.
2. Alan Wake ; The wait for this adventure/horror game was absurd but it did deliver.. On everything.
3. Call of Duty: Black Ops ; CoD is always going to be CoD, a streamlined and extremely addicting multiplayer game, this year was no different.
4. Donkey Kong Country Returns ; A throwback to the days when platformers came in plenty and the other better than the previous. Rare did an amazing job at bringing this old series into a new decade.
5. Football Manager 2011 ; One simulation to rule them all.
6. Cut the Rope ; Extremely addicting and balanced minigame for iOS. These games are the reason my DS and PSP gets less action than ever before.
7. Game Dev Story ; Lets just summarize this game with the word "brilliant".
8. Super Mario Galaxy 2 ; One of the few games this year that just oozes creativity from its pors. The next level tops the one before, its a nonstop gaming orgasm that will keep you coming back for more.
9. Super Meat Boy ; Hard, rewarding and fun platforming action at a great price.
10. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow ; And so the 3D curse of Castlevania games are brought to an end. We have finally vanquished the dark night.
Affeinvasion
Member
1. Red Dead Redemption
2. Rock Band 3
3. Just Cause 2
4. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
5. Mass Effect 2
6. Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver
7. Dragon Quest 9: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
8. Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
9. Super Scribblenauts
10. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
2. Rock Band 3
3. Just Cause 2
4. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
5. Mass Effect 2
6. Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver
7. Dragon Quest 9: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
8. Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
9. Super Scribblenauts
10. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
Morbid Angel
Member
1. StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty
2. Fallout: New Vegas
3. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 2 Chaos Rising
4. Amnesia: The Dark Descent
5. Sin & Punishment 2: Star Successor
6. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat
7. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
8. Darksiders
9. Vanquish
10. Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse
Honorable Mentions
Alpha Protocol, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom (great game - crappy Ubisoft DRM)
Haven't played yet
Super Mario Galaxy 2, Donkey Kong Country Returns, God of War 3
2. Fallout: New Vegas
3. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 2 Chaos Rising
4. Amnesia: The Dark Descent
5. Sin & Punishment 2: Star Successor
6. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat
7. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
8. Darksiders
9. Vanquish
10. Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse
Honorable Mentions
Alpha Protocol, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom (great game - crappy Ubisoft DRM)
Haven't played yet
Super Mario Galaxy 2, Donkey Kong Country Returns, God of War 3
1. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
2. Red Dead Redemption
3. Mass Effect 2
4. Minecraft
5. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
6. Battlefield: Bad Company 2
7. Limbo
8. Halo: Reach
9. Super Meat Boy
10. Alpha Protocol
I'm not too proud of my list as there are many games that I am anxious to play, but haven't had the opportunity. Starcraft 2, Civ 5, God of War 3, Rock Band 3, DJ Hero 2, NHL 11, Vanquish -- All games that I feel have the opportunity to make my list, but I've never touched them. Damn you, recession!
2. Red Dead Redemption
3. Mass Effect 2
4. Minecraft
5. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
6. Battlefield: Bad Company 2
7. Limbo
8. Halo: Reach
9. Super Meat Boy
10. Alpha Protocol
I'm not too proud of my list as there are many games that I am anxious to play, but haven't had the opportunity. Starcraft 2, Civ 5, God of War 3, Rock Band 3, DJ Hero 2, NHL 11, Vanquish -- All games that I feel have the opportunity to make my list, but I've never touched them. Damn you, recession!
GhaleonQ
Member
01. Inazuma 11 3
02. Super Mario Galaxy 2
03. Z.H.P.: Unlosing Ranger Vs. Darkdeath Evilman
04. Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth
05. Patchwork Heroes
06. Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep
07. Valkyria Chronicles 2
08. Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem
09. Sin & Punishment 2: Star Successor
10. NHL 11
x. Cladun: This Is An RPG
I won't be including remakes because that's lame. There were a ton of rather excellent ones, but my heart, as always, belongs to Lunar. I also excluded imports that are coming/probably coming here. I didn't include honorable mentions beyond 10 U.S.-released games, because lists get cluttered. I HIGHLY recommend browsing Japan-only titles, though (After-School Boy, "Dangan-Ronpa," and "Blue Roses," among others, are rather notable). I included Japanse titles in parentheses, because some of the English ones suck:
Inazuma 11 3 (Lightning 11 3: Challenge The World) (JAPANESE RELEASE); If you would have told me in 2007 that Level-5, the most overrated "big" Japanese developer ever, would produce the greatest new property of this generation and that it was a Captain Tsubasa-emulating soccer role-playing game, I would have beaten you savagely, knowing that my hobby would soon die. Instead, they amalgamated Captain Tsubasa, the touchscreen, Pokemon, Mitsuda music, Blitzball, and Shao Lin Soccer into the best video game of 2010.
Super Mario Galaxy 2; My opinions about Super Mario Galaxy 1 are known. This is the Super Mario World of the 3-d titles. Yoshi, cleverer, more memorable, more adventurous level design, perfect control "feel," and Super Mario music that actually sounds like Super Mario music and not American kids' movie stuff make this the best 3-d Super Mario.
Z.H.P.: Unlosing Ranger Versus Darkdeath Evilman (Absolute Hero Remodeling Project); The only dungeon crawlers I liked before this year were the Shiren The Wanderer series. Nippon Ichi put out Classic Dungeon AND Hero Remodeling in the same year. This has too many items, too many tokusatsu parodies, too many inside jokes, and too much grinding. The game's indulgence after indulgence in contrast with Classic Dungeons' system-driven gameplay. Yet, it works, and brilliantly!
Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (Turnabout Prosecutor 1); Yes, that 1 case drags out and it's easy, but the rest of your criticisms can shut it. You probably hated Turnabout Big Top, too. The Kidnapped Turnabout enters the Ace Attorney canon. Oh, and Iwadare's on his game, too.
Patchwork Heroes (1,000,000 Tons Of Debris); I may be wrong here. It's like Qix. It has the best soundtrack of this year and is done in a southern/eastern European style. It emulates Yurii Norshtein's cutout animation. It's not that hard a puzzle game unless you're going for scores, completion, and skill. In other words, it's subjectively designed for me. *plays 10 minutes on PSP* Nope! Awesome!
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep; How good do the combat, systems, Disney references, music, visual art, and dungeon design have to be to outweigh 1 of the worst big-budget R.P.G. stories ever? Play and find out.
Valkyria Chronicles 2 (Valkyria Of The Battlefield 2: Gallian Royal Military Academy); This is this year's R.P.G. comfort food. MMMMMMM. Satiated.
Mario Versus Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem (Mario Versus Donkey Kong 4: Mini-Land Assault); This is 1 of the great underrated series of recent generations. This is the finest iteration. If this wasn't by a Nintendo team, raising the difficulty, making the puzzles cleverer, and heightening the aesthetics would have occurred in separate games. Instead, it's on the all-time puzzle platformer shortlist.
Sin And Punishment: Star Successor (Sin and Punishment: Successor To The Universe); Too bad Bangaio Spirits is 1 of the greatest games of all-time. Sin And Punishment would be the best Treasure sequel yet if it didn't exist (and I include "Ikaruga" here).
NHL 2011; If a hero is someone one doesn't just admire, but with whom one would exchange lives, Mario Lemieux is 1 of maybe 20 people in history I consider heroes. He's forever tied, to me, with the self-apparently brilliant NHLPA 1993 and NHL 1994. Despite all of this history, NHL 2010 is the greatest hockey game ever.
Cladun: This Is An R.P.G. (Classic Dungeon: Assistance Of The Magic Binding Circle); The sequel, coming in 3 months, ditches the long subtitle for "X2" (as in "times 2"). System Prisma has the right idea. What more do you need to add to 1 of the year's top soundtracks, the visual customization, the delicate and deep (if arcane) gameplay systems, the perfectly balanced dungeons, and the Bangaioo Spirits-like story snubbing except, you know, more?
I wouldn't say this has been the best year for brilliance, in my opinion, but I've rarely seen so many "so close" releases. Sports (F-1, FIFA, NHL), puzzle (Pang, Mario Versus Donkey Kong, Hospital/Trauma, Picross), RPGS (Nippon Ichi's 2 stellar dungeon crawlers, Kingdom Hearts), and so on. I even rather loved Vanquish. It's been fun.
Oh, and I plan on kicking everyone who posts Heavy Rain in their top 3s. Booooooo!
02. Super Mario Galaxy 2
03. Z.H.P.: Unlosing Ranger Vs. Darkdeath Evilman
04. Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth
05. Patchwork Heroes
06. Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep
07. Valkyria Chronicles 2
08. Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem
09. Sin & Punishment 2: Star Successor
10. NHL 11
x. Cladun: This Is An RPG
I won't be including remakes because that's lame. There were a ton of rather excellent ones, but my heart, as always, belongs to Lunar. I also excluded imports that are coming/probably coming here. I didn't include honorable mentions beyond 10 U.S.-released games, because lists get cluttered. I HIGHLY recommend browsing Japan-only titles, though (After-School Boy, "Dangan-Ronpa," and "Blue Roses," among others, are rather notable). I included Japanse titles in parentheses, because some of the English ones suck:
Inazuma 11 3 (Lightning 11 3: Challenge The World) (JAPANESE RELEASE); If you would have told me in 2007 that Level-5, the most overrated "big" Japanese developer ever, would produce the greatest new property of this generation and that it was a Captain Tsubasa-emulating soccer role-playing game, I would have beaten you savagely, knowing that my hobby would soon die. Instead, they amalgamated Captain Tsubasa, the touchscreen, Pokemon, Mitsuda music, Blitzball, and Shao Lin Soccer into the best video game of 2010.
Super Mario Galaxy 2; My opinions about Super Mario Galaxy 1 are known. This is the Super Mario World of the 3-d titles. Yoshi, cleverer, more memorable, more adventurous level design, perfect control "feel," and Super Mario music that actually sounds like Super Mario music and not American kids' movie stuff make this the best 3-d Super Mario.
Z.H.P.: Unlosing Ranger Versus Darkdeath Evilman (Absolute Hero Remodeling Project); The only dungeon crawlers I liked before this year were the Shiren The Wanderer series. Nippon Ichi put out Classic Dungeon AND Hero Remodeling in the same year. This has too many items, too many tokusatsu parodies, too many inside jokes, and too much grinding. The game's indulgence after indulgence in contrast with Classic Dungeons' system-driven gameplay. Yet, it works, and brilliantly!
Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (Turnabout Prosecutor 1); Yes, that 1 case drags out and it's easy, but the rest of your criticisms can shut it. You probably hated Turnabout Big Top, too. The Kidnapped Turnabout enters the Ace Attorney canon. Oh, and Iwadare's on his game, too.
Patchwork Heroes (1,000,000 Tons Of Debris); I may be wrong here. It's like Qix. It has the best soundtrack of this year and is done in a southern/eastern European style. It emulates Yurii Norshtein's cutout animation. It's not that hard a puzzle game unless you're going for scores, completion, and skill. In other words, it's subjectively designed for me. *plays 10 minutes on PSP* Nope! Awesome!
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep; How good do the combat, systems, Disney references, music, visual art, and dungeon design have to be to outweigh 1 of the worst big-budget R.P.G. stories ever? Play and find out.
Valkyria Chronicles 2 (Valkyria Of The Battlefield 2: Gallian Royal Military Academy); This is this year's R.P.G. comfort food. MMMMMMM. Satiated.
Mario Versus Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem (Mario Versus Donkey Kong 4: Mini-Land Assault); This is 1 of the great underrated series of recent generations. This is the finest iteration. If this wasn't by a Nintendo team, raising the difficulty, making the puzzles cleverer, and heightening the aesthetics would have occurred in separate games. Instead, it's on the all-time puzzle platformer shortlist.
Sin And Punishment: Star Successor (Sin and Punishment: Successor To The Universe); Too bad Bangaio Spirits is 1 of the greatest games of all-time. Sin And Punishment would be the best Treasure sequel yet if it didn't exist (and I include "Ikaruga" here).
NHL 2011; If a hero is someone one doesn't just admire, but with whom one would exchange lives, Mario Lemieux is 1 of maybe 20 people in history I consider heroes. He's forever tied, to me, with the self-apparently brilliant NHLPA 1993 and NHL 1994. Despite all of this history, NHL 2010 is the greatest hockey game ever.
Cladun: This Is An R.P.G. (Classic Dungeon: Assistance Of The Magic Binding Circle); The sequel, coming in 3 months, ditches the long subtitle for "X2" (as in "times 2"). System Prisma has the right idea. What more do you need to add to 1 of the year's top soundtracks, the visual customization, the delicate and deep (if arcane) gameplay systems, the perfectly balanced dungeons, and the Bangaioo Spirits-like story snubbing except, you know, more?
I wouldn't say this has been the best year for brilliance, in my opinion, but I've rarely seen so many "so close" releases. Sports (F-1, FIFA, NHL), puzzle (Pang, Mario Versus Donkey Kong, Hospital/Trauma, Picross), RPGS (Nippon Ichi's 2 stellar dungeon crawlers, Kingdom Hearts), and so on. I even rather loved Vanquish. It's been fun.
Oh, and I plan on kicking everyone who posts Heavy Rain in their top 3s. Booooooo!
1. Heavy Rain
2. Mass Effect 2
3. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
4. Super Mario Galaxy 2
5. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
6. Red Dead Redemption
7. Vanquish
8. Halo: Reach
9. Super Meat Boy
10. Donkey Kong Country Returns
Honorable Mentions: Bad Company 2, Super Street Fighter IV, Starcraft 2, Costume Quest.
Biggest Disappointments: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2, Fable 3, Crackdown 2, Epic Mickey.
Heavy Rain's my number one because of how unique it was. Bad Company 2 had my favorite multiplayer of the year, but didn't do much of anything new. Mario Galaxy was my favorite game of 2007 (and one of my favorite games of all time), but the sequel didn't have the same magic.
2. Mass Effect 2
3. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
4. Super Mario Galaxy 2
5. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
6. Red Dead Redemption
7. Vanquish
8. Halo: Reach
9. Super Meat Boy
10. Donkey Kong Country Returns
Honorable Mentions: Bad Company 2, Super Street Fighter IV, Starcraft 2, Costume Quest.
Biggest Disappointments: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2, Fable 3, Crackdown 2, Epic Mickey.
Heavy Rain's my number one because of how unique it was. Bad Company 2 had my favorite multiplayer of the year, but didn't do much of anything new. Mario Galaxy was my favorite game of 2007 (and one of my favorite games of all time), but the sequel didn't have the same magic.
- Status