Top 10 Games That Didn't Quite Make My Best of 2010 List
ProTip: If your favorite game doesn't appear in either of my best of 2010 lists...chances are I didn't play it. Or it fucking sucks.
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I know it's chic to trash on Final Fantasy XIII, but I still liked the game quite a bit. It's not the best FF game or anything but the deficiencies are, in my mind, balanced out by the slick-as-fuck combat system that delivers 40 something hours of interesting battles. Plus, the game has a weird quirk where it gets more awesome after you finish it. It's almost like Square is saying "sorry we made the story so linear, here's a huge-ass world to fuck around in to do missions and shit."
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Fable 3 was headed into my top ten list...and then the second half of the game started. The outright punishment for not being a goddamn tryant is ridiculous...I had to make pies for hours just to raise enough capital to keep the royal treasury out of debt. Otherwise I found the game to be outstanding with fun quests, excellent gameplay, great humor, and Reaver. Reaver makes everything better.
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I never would have thought that my favorite racing franchise would release a game and not have it in my top five, let alone top ten. Alas, Gran Turismo 5 has "accomplished" this sad fate. The racing gameplay is as good as ever but the restrictive career mode that's way too grindy makes the game drag. With Forza 3 offering so many more events to keep you playing - without lengthy requirements that make you race old races again and again to level up - GT5 seems slim on content. A sad surprise seeing that Gran Turismo 4 had approximately 1 zillion events to enter. Polyphony seems keen to fix things though, so perhaps as time marches on the game will live up to its potential.
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This might be an odd choice by damn if I didn't play the shit out of this game during the summer. I love the Hot Shots series to picking the game up was a no-brainer, but I didn't expect to enjoy the game this much. The gameplay is simple to pick up but very hard to fully master, andthe story mode and RPG-style progression is pretty addictive. Plus, like Deadly Premonition...twenty stupid dollars.
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In another year this definitely would have been a top ten game, but it will have to settle for this list instead. Still, great game with the kind of challenge that is both fair and accessible. It's also way over-the-top, which is pretty cool. The nods to classic Sega are also great. Hopefully we'll see more of this franchise in the future.
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I thought the game dragged a bit towards the end compared to the amazing first half, but I still really enjoyed this brand new series. Sure it rips off almost every action/adventure franchise that matters but if it's this fun, who cares? Like Bayonetta (which oddly shares the same release day), hopefully this series gets to continue as the generation continues - or when the next generation finally begins.
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I don't play Call of Duty multiplayer, but the Black Ops campaign is pretty damn solid. Lots of crazy shit happening, wrapped around a plot style that is new for the franchise. Plus, it has Hudson & his sunglasses. Oh, and Ice fuckin' Cube. It's not Modern Warfare 2 good, but it was worth 60 bucks.
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The formula still works...and most of the song selections were solid. In other words, Guitar Hero remains fun but definitely roams in Rock Band's shadow. At least the integration of previous games gives GH6 a "Rock Band Platform" feel in that this game will last until the next one comes out. If the next one comes out. The genre is almost dead after all.
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It's a monster ripoff of God of War but damn if I didn't enjoy it. The period of the Crusades is rarely used which makes for a unique atmosphere, and the visual interpretation of the poem's version of hell is...interesting. The game is weirdly memorable for me; I kind of want to play through it again now.
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This might sound weird, but I really enjoyed this smallish Dead Rising game more than I did either Dead Rising or Dead Rising 2 (which I didn't really get into enough to grant a spot on this list). The tiny city with a modest objective seems to hit my sweet spot more than the huge sprawling locales of the disc-based games. I went through this three times and probably will again someday to finish all the achievements. A surprisingly great $5 spent.
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