Best of 2010
VRMN: Best of 2010
List items
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Could Mass Effect 2 have been a better game? Certainly; the final boss has been a walking joke for a good reason and a fair number of people bemoaned the reduction in the RPG-type systems that made up the first game. None of this really bothered me, though, when weighing my Game of the Year. It's the game and franchise I keep going back to. I loved the feeling of crafting Bioware's amazing universe and Shepard to my liking. Such satisfying character- and story-driven experiences, especially of this calibur, are hard to find, and none this year were better than Mass Effect 2.
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I was definitely late to the party on Galaxy 2, primarily because I didn't have a Wii until recently after letting it reside at my parents' place for a good long while. Mario, however, brought me back into the fold with this amazingly crafted (if still very Nintendo-brand cute) universe. An amazing platformer in a year filled with them, SMG2 tops them with its ability to keep changing it up constantly; no two levels or tasks feel all that much alike.
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I've never been a Civ guy. Hell, I'm only recently even playing games on my PC rather than on my consoles. But Civ V hooked me and good, with its intuitive systems yet strikingly deep gameplay. It is, of course, a very beautiful game, but even I was shocked when I fell prone to the Civ Effect. That is, without realizing it, playing a game all night and somewhere around 20 hours in my first weekend. Addiction, thy name is Civilization.
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It's shocking to me that so many downloadable titles were on my list of games I thought were worthy, but Super Meat Boy tops them because of tight controls, insane amounts of content, and unforgivable difficulty that somehow keeps you coming back for more. Like a helpless masochist, I kept plowing through the levels again and again, no matter how hopeless it seemed, and enjoying every curse-laden minute. A masterpiece of 2D, proving (like a number of games this year) that the art is not yet dead.
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When this game was announced at E3, with Criterion Games making the next Need for Speed, I knew it would be on this list then and there. Criterion, indeed, delivered on their promise of bringing back the things that made me love the original Hot Pursuit series, and even more. The online components to the game, Autolog and online play, make a very solid, enjoyable experience a truly long-lasting and memorable one.
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This game shocked me to my core, enslaving me to its whims nearly as much as Civ V would. A deceptively simple game, Recettear works because of its shift in perspective and altogether endearing cast of anime-and-JRPG stereotypes. It's a fast-paced puzzle at its best, with you trying to figure out how to optimize your time and make the most money, and surprisingly addictive and fun at that. Capitalism, ho!
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Halo 3: ODST was an interesting excursion last year, but brought to mind a lot of the flaws with the Halo 3 engine and a needed shakeup of the online component. Reach delivers with the multiplayer combat I enjoy so much, enhanced visuals that really bring Reach to life, and a single player campaign that's one of the best I've played in the franchise.
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The end all be all of any game being here is how much fun it is. Pac-Man Championship Edition DX may not be the most long-lasting experience on my GotY list, but it is definitely one of the most fun experiences I've had all year. Namco really outdid themselves with the original PMCE, and yet again, they've topped it once more. It's methodical, mesmerizing, and moreover, a hell of a blast to play.
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John Marston is a badass among badasses, and he's probably the best Rockstar protagonist to date in one of the best-realized western settings I've ever seen in a videogame. It may not have hooked me the way it did a lot of people, but I did enjoy what I played of it and recognize its quality enough that I know it belongs here.
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The first legitimately good Sonic game in a long time may not be the tenth best game that came out this year, but it is a game that managed to renew, however slightly, my love of the Blue Blur that came from my childhood days on the Genesis. Just making me care about Sonic again and kind of looking forward to his next adventure for the first time since those classic 2D titles is enough to land on this list for me.
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