Best of 2010
Ramyun: Best of 2010
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Honorable Mention: Super Street Fighter IV
 You like Street Fighter IV? It's more of that. I have actually doubted the amount I actually liked this game due to my total inability to play competently. This changed completely when I had played locally with a friend and man, never have so many times the words, "Just one more time" have been uttered in one afternoon. I am terrible at Street Fighter, but I love Street Fighter, and that has to mean something special.
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Mass Effect 2 just improved on pretty much all the faults of the first game and created a superior story and combat system to boot. The lines between action shooting and RPG mechanics were blurred and an awesome blend of the two was achieved. Sure, the RPG mechanics are not as deep as people wanted it to be, but it still gave you the opportunity to choose the specific path you wanted to and as a result a supremely tight, controlled experience was given that kept me hooked all the way to the very end. Until I play it again, that is...
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RTS games and me don't usually jive well. In fact, we don't jive at all, them almost being the bane of my existence. Starcraft 2, has managed to transcend this impenetrable hatred of mine and become something that pumps adrenaline in me like no other game has done before. It was difficult getting to the non-suck position that I am now, but after my first win, there was nothing more satisfying. Yeah, and singleplayer's good too, I guess.
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It would be good to note here that I have never, ever finished a Zelda game up to this point. I guess that was what made Darksiders such a great new experience for me. As such, a dark, shameless Zelda clone was perfect for me. Everything, from the combat, to the exploration, to the story, was impressive. And dude, a map that shows all the chests in the area? YES!!!!
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One of the rare few games that makes tearing dudes apart feel SOOOO good. The third installment adds another layer of moves to Kratos' arsenal like the grapple, the battering ram and smooth weapon switching. But part of what makes it feel great is the look of it, which is phenomenal in scale and in detail. While the ending was somewhat disappointing and tainted the experience a bit, everything leading up to that point is so good, that I am willing to forgive it for that.
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I haven't played a good adventure game in so long, and I started off this return to the genre with Tales of Monkey Island. It is Sam and Max, though, that really locked in my love toward Telltale Games. The almost irrelevant connections between episodes and cheesy humor fit snugly with the pulpy detective tone that this series exudes. The puzzles are clever and neither unintuitive nor embarrassingly easy. Best of all are the characters, which are simply hilarious and memorable.
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Speaking of instant checkpoints, they are the source of my seemingly never ending addiction in finishing these levels with a Grade A , albeit with repeated grunts of frustration and the words "Come on!!" over and over again. In the same vein as VVVVVV, the masocore nature of Super Meat Boy and the brash, irreverent, referential humor that explodes out of the game is what makes it so amazing. In addition to this there are warp zones, hack zones, bandages and unlockable characters/CAMEOS!!! I guess it's time to get started.
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I have spent one afternoon, eating a metric ton of caramel popcorn in the process, finishing this game. Dude, this game is messed up. I absolutely love how they build on the simple twist of the classic platformer toward more challenging puzzles. Also, instant checkpoints is my new favourite concept.
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Starting off the list of smaller games that had my heart in 2010 is Digital: A Love Story. This game goes on my list purely on the emotional tugs it made on me, through an impressive, yet simple, execution of music and text. I just can't find any other experience like it and all through my one sitting I was completely enamored.
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OK, I admit it, they got me back in. I admit that the game was not the amazing follow up that those cunning marketing dudes made it out to be. HOWEVER, there was enough awesome moments in the single player and enough great stuff in the multiplayer (wager matches!!) that I have thoroughly enjoyed this game for hours on end.
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As a God of War fanatic, Bayonetta is somewhat the perfect middle ground alternative to the crazy Devil May Cry series. Satisfaction comes with every visceral stomp of the hair stiletto, hair fists, hair dragons and torture moves. Also, the game is a special brand of institutional-grade INSANITY!!!
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