2010 might go down in history as the year story-based DLC finally really came into its own, with significant new add-ons hitting some of the biggest games of the year and giving you some great reasons to fire those games back up weeks or months after you finished playing through their core storylines. But while plenty of this year's best DLC added onto and fleshed out the games on which they were based, no DLC felt like such a complete story and package in its own right like Minerva's Den.
Rather than trying to shoehorn a misplaced interlude into the events and framework of BioShock 2 itself, Minerva acts as its own self-contained story featuring entirely new areas and residents of Rapture. Minerva not only established and explored the technological backbone of Rapture with some fantastic vintage dawn-of-computing-style trappings (vacuum tubes! Alan Turing!), it also expertly told the tragic tale of Charles Milton Porter, the brilliant computer scientist who gave so much to his fellow citizens and was rewarded for it with betrayal. Minerva arguably surpasses BioShock 2 itself and is one of the best examples so far of how much can be accomplished with a low-priced downloadable add-on.
It shouldn't surprise you to hear that Halo: Reach is a terrific cooperative experience. Like the rest of the game, Reach's co-op follows in the footsteps of Bungie's previous Halo games, letting you work your way through the campaign with a crew, laying waste to everything in your path. Sure, you might not get the real feel of the game's story, since you're probably going to be yelling at your partners through most of the game, but working your way through waves and waves of enemy forces with a crew makes the campaign way more exciting.
Then there's Firefight mode, which was greatly expanded for Halo: Reach to make it a far more exciting take on the whole wave-based survival style. With the ability to tweak plenty of different variables when playing with friends to the variety of different maps you can use, Firefight might be good enough to take this category on its own. But when you add all that stuff together, Halo: Reach is the best cooperative experience to be had in 2010.
Arguably one of the strongest categories in 2010, the downloadable space saw a huge number of amazing original titles this year, though none captured our collective imaginations quite like this re-reimagining of that most venerable of pill-poppers, Pac-Man.
It's kind of unbelievable that Pac-Man could feel as vital now as he did when he first debuted some 30 years ago, but by shifting the focus from simple survival to a community-driven high-score race, and layering it with a jaw-clenching club-drug aesthetic, Namco has done precisely that. It's a miraculous balancing act between some really deep-seated nostalgic triggers and fresh, frenetic gameplay, and it's our pick for best download-only game of 2010.
I can scarcely recall a game so thoroughly dedicated to crafting an aesthetic as Kirby's Epic Yarn is. The latest platformer starring Nintendo's huggably squishy puff-ball of a hero, Kirby, is set in a world where everything has gone fully arts-and-crafts. All the characters (Kirby included) are constructed out of outlines of yarn, buttons, zippers, and other things you'd typically find at the local fabric store. Developer Good Feel stitches every single piece of this world with this patchwork art style, and manages to make it all mind-numbingly adorable in the process. Seriously, just watch Kirby morph into a little Kirby car, and dare yourself not to go "d'awwwww." Seriously, try it! If there's a heart in your chest, you'll fail!
With the launch of the Kinect drawing much of Microsoft's focus this year, it felt like the third-parties had much more to offer Xbox 360 owners in 2010. But Bungie still made a huge impact by leaving its final mark on the first-person shooter it created, Halo. Halo: Reach combines some of the best that Halo has to offer, including a quality campaign, terrific competitive multiplayer and the best cooperative play that we saw all year.
Reach also stands out for its interesting story, which fills in a key time in the Halo universe that, up until the release of Reach, had only been addressed in book form. Reach's story is great, and even though you know how it will ultimately end--the battle of Reach certainly ain't pretty for our side--the game makes the whole thing interesting by letting you see it through the eyes of the Noble Team, a great group of characters that are strong enough to make you forget about that " Master Chief" dude.
With its stellar suite of options and high quality throughout, Halo: Reach stands tall as the best thing that you can only get on an Xbox 360 this year.
Man, my memory must be all kinds of messed up because I can't remember if Limbo and Super Meat Boy have only been nominated or if they've won a category yet. I hope SMB wins something.
Shadow Broker DLC made me like Mass Effect 2 less. Too much of it was combat and I had forgotten how bad the combat was in Mass Effect 2. Still loved the game and the dlc, but less.
Good to see Halo Reach getting love. After 2 and 3 I had all but lost faith in Bungie.
" I love how there weren't even runner-ups for Best Looking Game, like 2010 looked like shit except for Epic Yarn. "
Epic Yarn is a head-scratcher for that category. I guess they're trying to recognize originality. "
I think this is their best looking artistic instead of technical...limbo/epic yarn are very stylized games, Hot pursuit has some interesting ass weather effects going on...I guess. Surprised some other games aren't on there though (God of war III)
I'd be interested to know what Jeff thinks about Out of this World/Another World, given his dislike of Limbo's gameplay. Or the original Prince of Persia, for that matter.
GoW3 is a stunning technical achievement fueled by an utterly adolescent design sensibility. But not mentioning it probably was an oversight. Who cares.
I was shocked at the length of the DLC argument... and even more shocked that God of War III wasn't even mentioned in Best Looking - to me it won in a landslide.
" Super Meat Boy is getting a retail box for the PC version... so it should be disqualified for download only. "
Lol, there's always that one person...
Is Super Meat Boy getting a retail box in the US this year? Nope. Therefore it qualifies for the category of "Best Download-Only Game" of the year... You know how sometimes the Giantbomb guys use a nasally voice to say "Well, technically..." when referring to the inevitable Giantbomb member that will write in to point out something stupid, and irrelevant? Well, that's them talking about you.
" Not even mentioning GOW3, FFXIII, and Just Cause 2 (yeah, remember how good that game looks? No one else seems to for some reason) for best-looking game is utter blasphemy. Oh, and fuck Dance Central. You're telling me some mass-market-only-moms-would-buy-it-like-they-did-with-the-Wii-so-they-can-"work out"-then-never-use-it-again-wannabe takes precedence over Alan Wake for 360 GOTY?! Ridiculous. "
I am going to go out on a limb here and say that you never played Dance Central............
@100_Hertz: I think the "best looking" category tried to be more than just best graphics, so a lot of other big contenders on other sites got left out.
When it comes down to it GOW III is just another good looking GOW game, FFXIII is just another really good looking FF game and Just Cause... that's actually crazy that it didn't get nominated, that game looked amazing. My point is they don't take such a grand leap forward in their franchises, they just do what they've done in the past better.
And yeah, I trying to keep an open mind, but the Dance Central nom is super weird.
" Not even mentioning GOW3, FFXIII, and Just Cause 2 (yeah, remember how good that game looks? No one else seems to for some reason) for best-looking game is utter blasphemy. Oh, and fuck Dance Central. You're telling me some mass-market-only-moms-would-buy-it-like-they-did-with-the-Wii-so-they-can-"work out"-then-never-use-it-again-wannabe takes precedence over Alan Wake for 360 GOTY?! Ridiculous. "
I agree with everything said here. God of War III deserved at least an honorable mention. And Just Cause 2 had / has one of the best skyboxes I've ever seen.
Also, I think Darksiders and Metro 2033 looked fucking amazing when I played them.
Not even mentioning GOW3, FFXIII, and Just Cause 2 (yeah, remember how good that game looks? No one else seems to for some reason) for best-looking game is utter blasphemy.
Oh, and fuck Dance Central. You're telling me some mass-market-only-moms-would-buy-it-like-they-did-with-the-Wii-so-they-can-"work out"-then-never-use-it-again-wannabe takes precedence over Alan Wake for 360 GOTY?! Ridiculous.
Not listening to the podcast and seeing VVVVVV as a runner-up for best download only game is ridiculous. Limbo is one of the best games this year, so it's unfortunate that Jeff hated it so much.
Brad, with what you asking about the film-like aesthetic of Limbo with its credits, it would just be called a cut. If there's a space in between the game and credits, and it would be written as "CUT TO BLACK".
Why are people getting so mad about the site awards? Go make your own top ten list and write a blog about what/who you think should win the award for the year. Everyone has their own unique opinion so don't hate on such an awesome site for sharing their honest opinions.
I'm glad that something bright and colorful won, the constant march of technology is seemingly only creating better shades of brown. "
Something bright and colorful always win best art awards, I'm frankly sick of it. It's like people have never walked into a museum or art gallery before. News flash: not all art has to be cartoony or colorful; the stylized and detailed depiction of real life or a fictionalized version of real life is equally artistic. Kirby's Epic Yarn is fine this time around - it's art style is actually markedly different and it also weaves it into gameplay (ha, get it?). My problem is that if KEY weren't released this year, Limbo would've probably won. Neither are bad looking games, but it panders to the fallacious idea that art in games must be either abstract or cartoony, it whiffs of insecurity and ignorance. "
Well if you'd like to direct me to an art museum where ninety percent of the paintings are of bald men in power armor using futuristic guns in a war-torn environment with a big old splash of sepia tone on it, then maybe I'd think your argument was valid!
Most of these awards are a joke. The usual discussion starts with 2 of them saying they never played it, one of them saying the played it for an hour, and the fourth one saying he played it and it's pretty good and then giving the game the award.
And not even mentioning God of War 3 on best looking game is a goddamn crime.
" @Karmann: I don't think they have any obligation to give any credence to the decisions of any other outlet. I played God of War and it's a hell of a game. I agree with you, it looks beautiful. However it is just another grimy world beautifully rendered to look as disgusting as possible. It seems like they stuck with games that had done new things, and gave it to Kirby for doing something we've never seen before and doing it damn good. I'm not trying to be a douche, I apologize for the "chum" thing. "
Cool, I see your point. I'm sorry about the "douche" thing.
@Karmann: I don't think they have any obligation to give any credence to the decisions of any other outlet. I played God of War and it's a hell of a game. I agree with you, it looks beautiful. However it is just another grimy world beautifully rendered to look as disgusting as possible. It seems like they stuck with games that had done new things, and gave it to Kirby for doing something we've never seen before and doing it damn good.
I'm not trying to be a douche, I apologize for the "chum" thing.
God of War not being on there or even mentioned for best looking sure seems like an oversight to me. It's pretty hard to argue against it if you've seen that opening battle sequence. Jaw-dropping and awesome. Only Uncharted 2 holds a candle to it on the PS3. Though I'm pretty sure Ryan was the only guy who played it, so no surprise it got lost in the shuffle.
" @Karmann: Or they didn't like how it looked. It's their opinion, deal with it. "
Then they are fools. "
Then maybe this site isn't for you, chum. "
I usually get along great with this community, and like many, I've been around since the arrow pointing down days, but you sir, are a douche. If GoW3 is widely considered to be the best looking game of 2010 by most outlets, they should have at least mentioned it to say why they DON'T think it's the best looking, and I'd be fine with that. But not even mentioning it seems like a glaring omission.
"I'm sorry but Kirby is NOT the best looking game of the year. Personally I'd say God of War 3, but their can be a case made for a bunch of other games other than Kirby. It's pretty, and does wonders on the hardware, but it is NOT THE best looking game of the year. Especially not in a year containing GoW3, Heavy Rain, Enslaved, Hot Pursuit, etc... "
When they say best looking they don't mean most graphically impressive, its a matter of style and artistry. "
I'm sorry but kirby is just a one trick pony, sure it's cute, but it's not visually impressive, and I'm not talking tech stuff, I'm talking BEST LOOKING, both God of War 3, and Final Fantasy 13, have great art direction,attention to detail, and an amazing sense of scale. Just looking at them without knowing nor caring about the tech, I was constantly wow'd. GoW3 and FF13, LOOK GOOD! Kirby is cute the first time you see it, and from there on it's just more of the same. ...also, what's worse is that NEITHER of those games were even MENTIONED on the podcast!!! "
God of War and FFXIII don't really look pleasing to me, so I wouldn't call them best looking. Kirby is something aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, so I think it looks better. It is not just some black and white category where the most polygons win.
Well GoW3 and FFXIII really look pleasing to me and a lot of more people as well, you are in the minority. It sounds as if you are going out of your way to agree with the staff. There are no and's if's or but's, God of War 3 deserved to be considered, even if YOU don't like it. You have to admit that it should have at least been mentioned. It seems to me that they just forgot that it came out this year.
"I'm sorry but Kirby is NOT the best looking game of the year. Personally I'd say God of War 3, but their can be a case made for a bunch of other games other than Kirby. It's pretty, and does wonders on the hardware, but it is NOT THE best looking game of the year. Especially not in a year containing GoW3, Heavy Rain, Enslaved, Hot Pursuit, etc... "
When they say best looking they don't mean most graphically impressive, its a matter of style and artistry. "
I'm sorry but kirby is just a one trick pony, sure it's cute, but it's not visually impressive, and I'm not talking tech stuff, I'm talking BEST LOOKING, both God of War 3, and Final Fantasy 13, have great art direction,attention to detail, and an amazing sense of scale. Just looking at them without knowing nor caring about the tech, I was constantly wow'd. GoW3 and FF13, LOOK GOOD! Kirby is cute the first time you see it, and from there on it's just more of the same. ...also, what's worse is that NEITHER of those games were even MENTIONED on the podcast!!! "
God of War and FFXIII don't really look pleasing to me, so I wouldn't call them best looking. Kirby is something aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, so I think it looks better. It is not just some black and white category where the most polygons win.
@MrKlorox said:
" Super Meat Boy is getting a retail box for the PC version... so it should be disqualified for download only. "
Has it been released as a retail copy yet? If not, then it certainly qualifies.
Just played Shadow Broker (on sale 200 points)....I don't know how anyone found that great, it basically is a bunch of mediocre combat, a terrible taxi chase and text files at the end. That ship looked pretty dope tho, but my lack of interest in Liara was probably a factor in not being amazed by it.
Mind you I haven't played Minerva's or Undead Nightmare, but the crew's praise of Shadow broker does seem crazy to me.
(Note: I have 3 separate characters, one of them beating the game on insanity) and 30 hours on each "career". I love me some Mass Effect)
Lair of the shadow broker wins. Add-ons are add-ons. You add it to the story already there. Lair of the shadow broker gave people what they wanted, more mass effect 2. Minerva's Den is a good stand alone. It could have been just a downloadable game, and have nothing to do with Bioshock.
"I'm sorry but Kirby is NOT the best looking game of the year. Personally I'd say God of War 3, but their can be a case made for a bunch of other games other than Kirby. It's pretty, and does wonders on the hardware, but it is NOT THE best looking game of the year. Especially not in a year containing GoW3, Heavy Rain, Enslaved, Hot Pursuit, etc... "
When they say best looking they don't mean most graphically impressive, its a matter of style and artistry. "
I'm sorry but kirby is just a one trick pony, sure it's cute, but it's not visually impressive, and I'm not talking tech stuff, I'm talking BEST LOOKING, both God of War 3, and Final Fantasy 13, have great art direction,attention to detail, and an amazing sense of scale. Just looking at them without knowing nor caring about the tech, I was constantly wow'd. GoW3 and FF13, LOOK GOOD! Kirby is cute the first time you see it, and from there on it's just more of the same.
...also, what's worse is that NEITHER of those games were even MENTIONED on the podcast!!!
"I'm sorry but Kirby is NOT the best looking game of the year. Personally I'd say God of War 3, but their can be a case made for a bunch of other games other than Kirby. It's pretty, and does wonders on the hardware, but it is NOT THE best looking game of the year. Especially not in a year containing GoW3, Heavy Rain, Enslaved, Hot Pursuit, etc... "
When they say best looking they don't mean most graphically impressive, its a matter of style and artistry.
...also, Final Fantasy 13, it might have been dissapointing, but there is no denying that that game looks AMAZING, and a helluva lot better than KIRBY!
Kirby is the best looking game when you realize there's more to looks than mega-polycount scenes that are just there to impress you. The looks in Kirby get inside, deep under your skin, they flex your facial muscles or at least give you some tics, they warm you up and move your emotions even when you're a bitter old gamer, as long a you have some heart left in you. GOW3, technically a helluva fine looking game, is just a technical achievement, and that's it. Kirby meanwhile has me goddamn explode. It's a photo of kittens to GOW3's impressive architectural shot, taken from a frogs-level angle as to make things look larger and more impressive.
e: Adding to say that I feel well when the staff vote went that way. It's a rare sight to have open eyes ears and minds like these on a website. As a collective set of staff-enses I mean ;D
" God of War III doesn't make the Best Looking Game? Even if you hate the game you can't say its not a Great Looking Game. No one with eyes can keep it off this list. AND what about Starcraft 2? That is a F'ing great looking game. Hmmm Giant Bomb methinks something is wrong with your Best Looking Game Category. Kirby's Epic YarnGod of War III Starcraft 2 is the correct list baby. "
They went for style over, as Jeff puts it "most". It's easy to say which game is the most technically advanced (PS, it's NOT God of War III), but choosing which has the best crafted aesthetic and is great to look at is different. God of War 3 didn't have that much flare, it just worked with a subject matter that has a lot of scope. "
I'm sorry but Kirby is NOT the best looking game of the year. Personally I'd say God of War 3, but their can be a case made for a bunch of other games other than Kirby. It's pretty, and does wonders on the hardware, but it is NOT THE best looking game of the year. Especially not in a year containing GoW3, Heavy Rain, Enslaved, Hot Pursuit, FF13, etc...
I have not played the Minerva's Den DLC for Bioshock 2, but I might look into it since the braintrust at Giant Bomb picked it as the best of 2010 DLC-wise.
Sane here - no interest in it prior to all the good things mentioned in various podcasts. It is making ts way to the pc version, right? I remember that being the case and will grab it once I've been reunited with my laptop.
joining in on the Minerva's Den/Shadow Broker talk... it almost sounded like Brad played the Shadow Broker DLC just so he could say that Minerva's Den was better. He didn't say much about what made MD great and spent most of his time saying that all you do in SB was run forward and shoot stuff. also, it sounded like the only reason Vinny caved in was because he was of the opinion that MD was the only thing worth playing about Bioshock 2. paraphrasing here: "if you paid money for Bioshock 2, well at least you have Minerva's Den" and I feel that's really not in the spirit of the catagory, Minerva's Den would have been just as good as a stand alone game completely unrelated to the Bioshock universe, whereas Lair of the Shadow Broker gives you a better understanding of the characters introduced in Mass Effect 2 and of the Mass Effect universe in general.
sorry, I wasn't expecting this comment to get so long
I love how the Minerva's Den argument in the podcast just turns into everyone throwing Bioshock 2 under the bus as hard as possible. "Hey, remember how we gave that game four stars?" "Yeah, fuck that game!" Poor Bioshock 2. Not even the fact that people liked you will keep them from hating you.
I can't believe they let Minerva's Den win essentially just because Brad was stubborn. I haven't played it, so I can't say how good it is, but I can say that Brad did not make a strong argument for it at all. Very disappointed with that one.
eh, they can't play every fucking game that comes out (though they probably try) and it's not like you (yes, you) have never dismissed a game based on seeing a trailer for it
besides, awards are always awkward and terrible
now if they put out a review for a game they never played, that'd be something
" Im amazed that Brad won out against that onslaught of pure ignorance and people who haven't even fucking played the shit making sweeping loaded assumptions. "
Man, as soon as Jeff booted up VVVVVV for Brad and that music kicked in, I felt an uncontrollable urge wash over me to pause the podcast and play some myself. So I did just that. And it was as awesome as I remembered it. Great game that deserves love!
Not only did I kill that "last" Sasquatch with two rifle rounds to the face, but a few hours later I found another one wandering the forest and killed him, too. Fuck that guy.
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