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slimepuppy

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Best of 2010

slimepuppy: Best of 2010 
 
Plenty of games I didn't get a chance to play this year: Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, Call of Duty Black Ops, Fallout New Vegas, Minecraft, Amensia Dark Descent, Starcraft 2, Civilization 5 (both Civ and Starcraft I deliberately avoided, knowing full well I can't afford the time they require). 
 
I'm sure there are some great games I have neglected to mention as well - I'm not a big fan of lists, so it is entirely likely I will change all of this around before the year is through...

List items

  • One of the finest games I have ever played. On the surface RDR could be dismissed as simply an excellent open world game with a compelling cast of characters crossing paths within a slightly cliched storyline. None of the game mechanics presented are revolutionary in and of themselves, but everything is well executed. Beyond the surface layers however this game is extremely intelligent, nuanced and it has soul to go with a black, black heart. Every single character represents either a dying past or a dim future: naive idealists die in the way of politics, revolutionaries become the tyrants they overthrow, one pseudo-science replaces another and a history of freedom seeped in violence is being replaced by a future of violence under government control masquerading as civilisation. The very title of the game turns out to be darkly ironic as no one is forgiven and no one is redeemed. A truly fantastic story within a compelling game.

  • In the style of Uncharted 2 and Assassin's Creed 2, Mass Effect 2 takes the original game and streamlines, fixes and perfects all the aspects of the previous game that were lacking. However, the reason people will be talking about this game in years to come will not be because of its streamlined levelling system or improved shooting mechanic or even its sprawling storyline. Mass Effect 2 will be remembered for its characters and your relationship with those characters. Bring up the game now, a year after its release (excluding the DLC) and everyone who played it will likely remember three things:

    1. who they had (or tried to) have sex with

    2. how the final mission went and who survived

    3. Morden's impromptu song.

    And that is truly a rare thing for a game to do: makes us remember the characters and our feelings towards them rather than any game mechanics or story

    hooks.

  • Subtlety and restraint are virtues that rarely appear in video games yet Limbo is proof that when done correctly it can help a game stand out far above the competition. Nuanced and sombre, Limbo does a lot with very little: no music, monochromatic colours, no true narrative to speak of and a simple control scheme. Each element on its own is very polished and enjoyable, but hardly innovative. It is the combination of all these elements that makes Limbo truly larger than the sum of its parts. Haunting and melancholic, Limbo stays with you far longer than, on its surface, a trial and error based puzzle game should. Also, this game has been proven to consistently scare girlfriends to hilarious effect.

  • An absolute master class in level design and how to nail down a 'feel' for the controls required by the game. The post-launch support from Team Meat has been phenomenal - answering questions on twitter, constantly working on new patches and content not to mention working on a level editor for PC that will all but guarantee that SMB is going to be played for years to come. The PC version accidentally shipped with a possibility of accessing 'dev mode' which allows the user to edit/create levels and instead of trying to patch it out of the game or discourage people from using it, Team Meat put up video tutorials on their site and decided to call it a demo of the upcoming level editor. Total class act, those two. And this is all ignoring the fantastic gameplay, excellent difficulty curve and the irreverent and hilarious animations and kick-ass music.

  • I loved the original Dead Rising even though it felt like a game that did not love me back. I am surprised and perversely relieved that Dead Rising 2 doesn't really care about me that much either. If you want to be a hero, you have to work for it and work for it hard. The people aren't going to save themselves, the psychopaths aren't going to go away with some help, the story is not going to unfold without you and Katie requires her Zombrex no matter what. Unless you make the conscious decision to abandon one or more of these quests, you won't have time to try on funny clothes, try all the weapon combinations and spend an inordinate amount of time humiliating yourself and zombies. It's a refreshing approach to game design: the player can influence the events in the world, but they are not the only catalyst. NPCs don't stand around forever, waiting for the player to come around and initiate a mission: they die or simply get bored and leave. A very interesting game that is also fun to play. Also, you can beat a zombie to death with a giant, pink dildo.

  • Simply adorable from concept to execution. A very, very light RPG that you play through for the pure joy of discovery: new areas, new costumes, new characters and most importantly new dialogue to laugh at. The game had me smiling the entire play-through time. Charming and unassuming.

  • This is a game that delights and frustrates in equal measure. Looking back on it now, I know that this is a game I will remember for its (attempts of) innovation and its overall mood rather than the game play or story itself. The music, the lighting, the level (or probably more accurately 'set') design and voice acting all go to create a palpable mood of melancholy and loss. It's a game that isn't afraid of reaching for big concepts that end up being slightly out of its grasp: themes of loss, redemption, sacrifice as well as big game play innovations of diverging character fates/paths and attempts at emotional investment from the player. Ultimately, the game falls short of these goals but manages to impress by at least aiming for them. The best Heavy Rain experience I had was in playing the 'Taxidermist' DLC/demo that perfectly encapsulates the better parts of Heavy Rain as a video game. Definitely worth a look and undoubtedly different from anything else out there.

  • The similarities of Alan Wake to Heavy Rain become apparent when looking back on these two games. Both games deal with heavy concepts and explore different ways of telling a story but while Heavy Rain tries to innovate and fails, Alan Wake treads far too familiar ground for its own good. A 3rd person shooter with a single mechanic that is introduced in the first 5 minutes and then never strays from that mechanic is a hard pill to swallow when titles like Uncharted have taken the concept so much beyond its basics. What makes Alan Wake better than its slight but capable core mechanic is in its story telling and mood. Great pacing, fantastic narrative and having 'spoilers' for events that have not happened yet is a great technique for increasing tension and making the player want to go on for just a little bit longer after each chapter-concluding cliffhanger. A perfectly capable game with a fascinating world, let down only by its surprising lack of courage and sense of adventure in its basic game play.

  • I am only very early in this game (having completed the demo a few times over and buying the full title on Steam Xmas sale), but I can feel its capitalist tentacles latching on to my cortex, preparing me for a long ride. Adventuring for loot that you then sell in your own shop for profit to villagers and adventurers is a compelling mechanic and idea. The too-goddamn-adorable-for-words presentation and inspired translation job makes the whole game a treat. Capitalism, ho!

  • Dumb and fun. The infinite parachute and grappling hook are the perfect examples of why this game was so much fun: why drive a car when you can just shoot a grappling hook into the ground and launch yourself up in the air with a magically replenishing parachute? Hilarious, stupid, over the top and a lot of fun. Shame then, that the game forces itself on you and the difficulty curve goes up for no apparent reason. The game becomes challenging and infinitely less fun for it. Let's hope Just Cause 3 decides to just concentrate on being fun.
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