Stuck on the Main Menu

2010 has been a very good year for gaming…for me. I had a chance to play through and complete more games then I had in previous years. With that I thought I would give a little review of the year.



I have an Ego!!
As always our favorite CEO, Bobby Kotick, Spent most of the year running his mouth and getting rid of the developers behind his most successful games. I had a strong hatred for this guy, but as the year went on I began to see him as just a business man who believes in his product and that no one person or group is bigger then the company. So for every hater he has (Bunny) you have a least one supporter. SO go ahead and have a monthly charge for Call of Duty, charge to have more weapons available, and keep making everyone pay to get new maps. Make as much money as possible and laugh as you swim in your money bin.

Oh look, motion gaming…welcome to 5 years ago!
Well it only took 5 years, but we finally get to see Microsoft and Sony enter into the world of Motion gaming. So how did these two companies expand upon motion gaming? Sony added a little colored ball to the end of their controller and Microsoft went controllerless creating a system that captures your movements then uses those movements in the game…after about a 1 second lag. While it doesn’t seem like a big deal it is noticeable and if this system is used in online play (where there is also lag) you are going to have problems…particularly if is used a “competitive” game. For right now I guess it’s cool if you want to train a tiger kitten.

Another top 10 (eye roll)
Well as these are the “thing” to do I thought I would give a run down of the top games for me. I’m not saying these are the best, just the ones I loved playing.

1. Mass Effect 2 – Easily the best game I played in 2010. The story was gripping, the game play great and it was one of a few games that I could not stop playing. Bioware has a way with story telling and making you care about its characters. I look forward to joining these characters again in the final installment of the trilogy.
2. Super Mario Galaxy 2 – Best game play of any game this year and the most addictive. I spent countless hours going after Stars then going after green stars. Mario Games are always something special and this may be the best one yet. Each level is unique and challenging and mastering the Mario Jumps is never an easy task, but always satisfying.
3. Red Dead Redemption – Never before had I wanted to spend time in the old west, but RDR kept me coming back. Taking Marsden across the old west into Mexico and back to the US was one of the best gaming experiences I had all year. The cast of characters were memorable and difficult to leave behind as you progressed through the game.
4. Fallout New Vegas – Fallout 3 is one of my favorite games of this generation and I jumped at a chance to enter the post apocalyptic world again. Taking the story back west and into the conflict over Hover Dam I was again put into a larger world with plenty to explore. Hours of my time have been spent in the wasteland and hours more are still to come.
5. Assassin Creed: Brotherhood – Wow…I played the 1st and came away a little let down, but seeing how the series has progressed to this point is amazing. More fun then it should be and nothing beats pulling off those stealth assassinations. Great story featuring one of the more interesting families in history, The Borgias (which thankfully Showtime is doing a series on).
6. Splinter Cell: Conviction– Easily one of the biggest surprises of this year for me. I love the original, but as of late felt the series had fallen off. This was a much needed rejuvenation of the series and one of the better stealth games I played. Co-op was a blast and multiplayer killed a few hours.
7. Alan Wake – I was more then excited about this game before it came out. The visuals from videos and screenshots were brilliant and the hype was huge. The game I got was good, but not what I had built up in my mind. Too short and too linear to hold my attention beyond the 7 hours I put into the one play through.
8. Epic Mickey – Best game to feature the most Iconic character in the world (more recognizable then Santa Claus). With the best story of any game on the Wii and some innovative ideas in game play (the use of paint and thinner) this was a great play through. If it were not for the camera issues I would have put it into my top 5.
9. Sonic All Star Racing – I love cart racers and this is easily the best one not named Mario Kart I have played and in some respect even surpasses the Nintendo Franchise. A large variety of characters, 30 tracks and a great soundtrack.
10. Call of Duty Black Ops – Easily my favorite of the series. They got rid of what made Modern Warfare 2 unplayable and brought back Zombies!!!

“You sir, are no Halo 2 or 3”
Halo Reach is my biggest disappointment of the year. Outside of the improvement to forge everything else has been mediocre. The campaign is average at best and the multiplayer is at time unplayable. The maps are “god awful” the introduction of load outs has ruined much of what made the multiplayer great. They took away the true skill ranking system and introduced the credits. I couldn’t care less about how my Spartan looks so what is the point of ranking up? Oh well good thing New Vegas came out shortly after or my October would have been bleak.

Oh 2011…how I overhype you….
Every year in gaming seems to be better then the last. More titles and hype have made big releases an event. Companies battle for the biggest launch, best reviews and best stories. In 2007 we were hit with Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, The Orange Box, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Super Mario Galaxy, Uncharted Drakes Fortune and Assassins Creed making it my personal favorite year for gaming.

I have used 2007 as the standard barer for what a great gaming year should be. Big Surprises (Bioshock), Huge releases (Halo 3), and Epic Story (Mass Effect). Some have come close and I had a lot of hope for 2010, but with Fallout New Vegas having almost no new innovations, Fable 3 being a step backwards in the series and Halo Reach being a complete disappointment I am still on the look out for a gaming year to top 2007.

As I look at 2011 I see even more promise with huge releases, several sequels to past Game of the Year winners and a slew of new titles from well established studios.

Here is a list of 2011 games that have my interest

Dragon Age 2 – the sequel to the 2009 PC game of the year and RPG of the year Dragon Age: Origins. Promises to improve game mechanics, graphics and introduces the Mass Effect conversation wheel.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – The fifth installment in the hugely popular series from Bethesda and follow up to the 2006 game of the year

Mass Effect 3: the third and final game in the Mass Effect Trilogy. Bioware has stated this is there best work yet…that from a company whose Mass Effect 2 was the highest rated game of 2010 on metacritic.

Gears of War 3: Another conclusion to a trilogy many Xbox gamers have come to love and with a revamped multiplayer should be the best in the series.

Brink – Innovative shooter that will combine 1st person action with a completely new movement system similar to those in Assassin’s Creed.

The Old Republic – A Star Wars MMO made by Bioware…this has success and epic written all over it. This game is the reason for a PC upgrade

Crysis 2 – The top PC FPS brings its game to the consoles in this much anticipated sequel. Could this be the mythical Halo killer? With Reach’s poor multiplayer experience you could see a new king of Sci Fi shooters.

Here is a list of some other games I will be checking out in 2011..

Portal 2
Dead Space 2
LA Noire
Duke Nukem Forever
Little Big Planet 2
Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
The New Call of Duty Game
Batman Arkham City
Killzone 3
Rage

If even a 3rd of these games meet the promise and expectation it could finally top 2007 for me.

I am also looking forward to the 3ds which promises to deliver 3D portable gaming to the masses…without glasses. The lineup seems pretty stellar with a Zelda game, Mario Kart, Metal Gear, and several other titles that will take advantage of the 3D system. Right now its rumored to be around 300 dollars, but by the time it comes out I look for that to drop to 250. Sony is also rumored to be releasing a new PSP that will deliver graphics as good as 1st generation PS3 games. If this is true then this would be huge and I may end up owning two portable gaming devises…my only worry is that Sony will price it at 600 dollars.

Enjoy the next few months…the game releases are coming fast and hard and it will be difficult to keep up.

Happy Gaming