Well I thought I was gonna fit either Strange Journey, Infinite Space, or Golden Sun in before the deadline, but I guess not. Still got to finish a number of the ones that eventually made the list though so here goes:
10.
Read Dead Redemption ; I had a hard time deciding if this or The Misadventures of PB Winterbottom should get the tenth spot, and considering I am a big fan of platformers, that says something. While my opinion of RDR has diminished since playing the game (mostly thanks to Undead Nightmare), I can't deny it was a great one-time experience. The setting was a welcome change for the free-roaming genre, and there were a lot of little moments that made the journey great. Especially entering Mexico. I could go on babbling about how just that one moment is so good even though there's little gameplay involved, but I'll just leave it at that.
9.
Mass Effect 2 ; ME2 felt more like a collection of DLC than a full-blown sequel, but I still enjoyed what was there. Analyzing the game's story provided some unintentional entertainment afterward. As a game, I think it's superior to the first in the series. I enjoyed my two runs more than I did in the original Mass Effect from a gameplay perspective. However, I think what drew me into the first game, the early-80s scifi movie atmosphere and presentation, was pretty much entirely gone. I also had problems with the end-game, particularly the notice you're given (or lack thereof), but for the most part, I had a good time with it.
8.
3D Dot Game Heroes ; I almost forgot about this game when making this list. Considering it had been five years since a traditional top-down Zelda, it was great to get one again. While it's basically Zelda in everything but name only, it feels more like a loving sendup than a cheap knockoff. The only thing I disliked about it was the simplicity of the dungeons relative to the complexity of the the overworld. It felt like the former was developed in an 8-bit development philosophy while the latter was done in a 16-bit development philosophy. Still, a lot of fun, and I would love to see more.
7.
Vanquish ; Platformers and kickass over-the-top Japanese action games, that's what this year was about for me. I played Vanquish at E3 earlier in 2010, so I knew what to expect, but it's even crazier than I thought. A couple presentation issues drag it down a bit, and I personally would have loved to have seen more gigantic transforming robot fights, but it's probably the best third-person shooter I've played, thanks to its unrelenting pace and how it focuses on gameplay above anything else.
6.
Sonic Colors Wii ; I think in 2007, I gave Sonic and the Secret Rings a nod in my top ten list and it's something I regret. That said, I still like SATSR, frustrating design choices and all, but Sonic Colors for the Wii really does deserve a spot. The presentation is about as perfect as Sonic's ever been, and the powers appear in the form of a
welcome break from the push-forward-to-win rollercoaster gameplay that Sega's usually pleased their fans with. It's a lot shorter than recent console Sonic games, but it's only because Sonic Team finally trimmed the fat. Also, and there's no good segue for this, I didn't really care for the game much until I started going back to previously-beaten levels and scouring them for red rings (so I could unlock more levels). But when I did, I think I hit this game's sweet spot. It's a little bit about speed, and a little bit about precision, but a lot about exploration and some thinking outside of the box. And did I mention the presentation is amazing? Because it is.
5.
Sin & Punishment: Star Successor ; Kickass over-the-top Japanese action games and platformers. Yep, from the moment I hit the
menu screen, I knew I was in for a ride. The ability to skip cutscenes and completely customize my controller setup was extremely welcome. It's pretty much 6-7 hours of shit flying at your face for you to shoot and slash. So awesome.
4.
Super Meat Boy ; Holy fuck this game is just full of shit to do. Normal levels, dark levels, hidden levels, hidden characters. It's absolutely insane just how much there is. I'm not normally one for the "frustration platformer," but this was a pretty awesome experience. And while there's sometimes a gimmick that's underused or another that's used too much, there's so much to do that it doesn't matter. Oh, and the controls are basically perfect. Only downside was a personal thing where I started experiencing bugs up the wazoo at the end. Non-Glitch levels were glitching, ranking stuff was borked, and about two hours of gameplay was somehow not saved. Still, it was worth the $10 and more.
3.
999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors ; By far the biggest surprise for me in 2010. I'm not one for stories in video games unless I know it's what a large focus of the game will be (see: Mass Effect and the Ace Attorney games), and even then I easily grow impatient. I started this after a ten-month ordeal of playing the latest Ace Attorney game as well, so I was particularly not looking forward to starting another visual novel/point-and-click adventure game so soon. At first, I was a little bored with it. Probably the first hour or two was spent clicking through character dialog, descriptions of surroundings, descriptions of items, and people talking about the descriptions of items. It was never poorly-written, but it wasn't particularly exciting. And then I found myself becoming more and more interested in the characters and the story. By the time I reached the ending, I was genuinely surprised to find out I had massively fucked up, and determined to do the next play through right. Long story short, it took another three tries before I finally got it right. And while the story was progressively more interesting upon each New Game +, it wasn't until the final plot twist that I realized just how brilliant everything I'd experienced was. It was like that moment in RDR when you enter Mexico, except retroactively fitting an entire game. The twist itself throws so much into question that I'm contemplating another run through just to see character reactions and decisions. And then there was a final moment that pushed it higher than I thought, and I don't expect anyone else would have experienced it. It was a personal moment that made me think, "wow, that's awesome," completely unlike anything else I'd ever experienced in a game. I don't think everyone would love this as much as I did, but as far as the way the story is told, I think it's one of the most important games to hit the market in 2010. Developers with a need to tell a story need to learn from this game.
2.
Bayonetta ; And now back to kickass over-the-top Japanese action games, with the kick-assiest of them all. I loved the shit out of Bayonetta. It's by far the best action game I've ever played thanks to a battle system that makes me feel like I have total and complete control at all times. Like Vanquish, it's a game that focuses on the fact that it's a game, and succeeds massively for it. I particularly liked the part where the boss fights- or hell,
all fights- weren't just a bunch of QTE segments strung together. The fact that it doesn't take itself too seriously added to my enjoyment factor. Who really wants to smolder with generic rage? Shouldn't we have fun when we mercilessly kill things?
1.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 ; The second biggest surprise of 2010. This game was to me what the original SMG was to a lot of people. I felt SMG held the player's hand too much, especially early on, and it suffered from pacing issues thanks to a confusingly complex and unfun hubworld. SMG2 seemed to run with the notion that SMG was the tutorial, and that now you should be ready for the real thing. The gimmicks are clever, doing things in 3D space that have not been done before, and things that challenge your reflexes in more ways than one. And well, I was pretty happy with the main game, but it was the second 120 stars that makes this the best Mario game. The green stars are all about thinking outside the box and challenging your knowledge of the levels. This is the only 3D Mario game I feel like I would ever like to play to completion again.
x. The Misadventures of PB Winterbottom ; Really clever idea for a game that's probably a bit too short. Would love a sequel.
x. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle ; Far surpasses the original. Streamlined so we just get to the point (over-the-top action game killing spree), but the extras aren't hard to get and are worth getting too. Only downside I can think of was the awful platforming segment, but that didn't take
too long.