These are my favorite games of 2010, the ones I enjoyed the most and/or consider the best for various reasons. It was very hard to whittle this list down to just 10 and rest assured there were more games that I really enjoyed. Shout outs to games that JUST didn't make it: Civilization V, Red Dead Redemption, Just Cause 2, Rock Band 3 and Battlefield BC2.
Hands-down the most emotionally engaging game I have ever played. I started playing this at some point in the evening and was so enthralled by it I finished it in a single sitting around 4 AM. No other game has ever done that to me except for Max Payne 2. Yes, it has some uncanny valley and dodgy voice acting going on but I was able to see past that. Very rewarding and very emotional.
The most ambitious MMO expansion ever made improves on the core game in every conceivable way. Making a new character is fun like never before. The way story has been integrated into questing with cut scenes and phasing is phenomenal. No MMO can touch this.
Making good on everything the first game was supposed to be, Mass Effect 2 delivers the most polished shooter/RPG hybrid to date. Great characters, great choices, great action and plenty of replayability.
I was not expecting Brotherhood to be anything more than a glorified AC2 expansion pack. Boy was I wrong. The singleplayer campaign is long and makes some great changes to the combat, and the introduction of the assassin's guild is the coolest thing in the entire series. The story takes some significant turns for Desmond and I can't wait to see where it goes. Meanwhile, the multiplayer is exhilerating if you're playing with people that aren't running all over the place like madmen.
Alan Wake's gameplay isn't the most exciting thing in the world but it does the job, but the storytelling in this game is phenomenal. The episodic structure keeps you glued to the plot and always gives momentum to the story. A lot of games could learn from this. Even after waiting for this game for years, I was not disappointed.
God of War III reclaims the overused word 'epic' and shows all those other mamby-pamby videogames what it actually means. Immense scale, same bone-crunchingly satisfying combat and a fitting end to Kratos' vengeful journey. Something tells me we haven't seen the last of him.
I am not at all an RTS guy, and Starcraft II is the first RTS game I finished the entire campaign of. Super polished, interesting mission design and decent story kept me hooked all the way through. I didn't even touch the multiplayer and it still deserves a spot.
This game gets short thrift from a lot of people. It delivers on the vision of the original game better than it ever did in my opinion, with your choices actually having an impact on how the story plays out, which isn't so much the case in the first game. Gameplay is better, setting is still interesting and the Minerva's Den DLC alone gives this game a spot on the list.
Improving the already-stellar SFIV in every meaningful way and adding Juri, my personal favorite character makes this game well-deserving of a top 10 spot.
A lot of yang got talked about Alpha Protocol. Having not played it when it came out and picking it up for cheap in November, I was very pleasantly surprised by it. Great dialogue and choices with meaningful consequences. I played it as a stealth and pistols guy and found the gameplay fun, a few lame bossfights notwithstanding. I genuinely enjoyed it a lot.
