Game of the Year 2010 SSF - A discussion and retrospective

[plasmid303]

Topic format:

Your GOTY
Your Runners up
Your random entry of choice (best outfit, best soundtrack, best character, etcetc)
How did 2010 stack up to previous years?


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Looking back on video gaming in 2010, I'll remember it as...

*Being a better year for games than films
*The year Hot Toys realized there were more video game licenses out there than Resident Evil.
*The year of being disappointed by two mainline Final Fantasy games (13 and 14), which is unprecedented and very depressing.
*The first year I've skipped buying a mainline Call of Duty
*The year I couldn't be bothered to pay attention to motion gaming
*the year that_a fictional corporate executive became Sony's beloved mascot
*A year lacking in true 'wows'
*A year in which Nintendo attempted to murder Samus Aran while giving new life to Kirby and Donkey Kong.
*A year in which I found storytelling in most games weak, cliche and contradictory
*Another year wthout Half Life 2 Episode 3
*The year in which I couldn't stop noticing pixelated shadows in games with otherwise good graphics.
*The year I had the first budding feelings of being tired of this console generation.
*The year the PSP went on life-support


And....


The year that a game released 11 months ago in January became my Game of the Year:


Mass Effect 2

Runners up: SMG2, 999
Best thing I learned from Heavy Rain: Most middle Americans sound vaguely French.

What's your GOTY, SSF?

 

[The Josh]

Red Dead Redemption probably for GOY. Amazing single player and DLC to go with it. MP is cool but has connection issues that I have with no other game.

Halo Reach is up there as well. SP was really great and the MP has been the best of any Halo game I've played.

Battlefield Bad Company 2. Fun story mode but the MP is awesome. I love shooting folks and when I do its legit and when they do its legit. You get that with dedicated server games. Before picking it back up before Nam came out I put almost 110 hours into the MP.

Transformers WFC: Just a fun game playing as a Transformer in MP but playing as Prime in SP was really really fun.

NCAA 2011. Playing in an online Dynasty with some freaks has been a blast.

 

[plasmid303]

I should've included RDR as a runner up. One of the very best this year.

 

[Biojex]

GOTY
Red Dead Redemption
Nigh perfection. The story, characters and gameplay were all top notch. When they added zombies that just put it way past anything else.

Runners up:
Alan Wake, Dead Rising 2.

Random entry: Um...I guess new favorite character...John Marston. One of those characters I really loved playing as. Also, I learned that bears can be ninjas too...

2010 was okay but it was severely lacking a high profile Resident Evil release . There were some damn fine games this year, but next year...oh my.

 

[Biojex]

I should've included RDR as a runner up. One of the very best this year.

I expect it to be on many peoples list, whether it be GOTY or a runner up.

 

[plasmid303]

GOTY
Red Dead Redemption

2010 was okay but it was severely lacking a high profile Resident Evil release . There were some damn fine games this year, but next year...oh my.

Lack of Resident Evil or Silent Hill eliminates 2010 from being among the best years of gaming.

 

[Biojex]

Quite rightly.

 

[plasmid303]

Best thing about 2010? Anticipating 2011.

 

[Biojex]

 

[Sweet Rabbit]

halo:reach for me

 

[dominishin]

It's weird, with RPGs giving the player more and more freedom/choices, I'm getting more and more frustrated. I could never finish Fallout 3, Mass Effect 1+2, or Dragon Age due to the frustration of missables (among other things). I was a slave to the guide(s) playing those games.

Then FFXIII came along... I did not expect much from it due to people being fairly mixed about it... but holy ****... I couldn't put it down.

- Leveling doesn't rely on random stats
- Fast, fluid, appealing combat
- I did not have to worry about missing things permanently (because the game gave you a chance to do it all anytime you want)
- There was no punishment for failure other than having to redo the fight
- And the art direction is flippin' gorgeous (maybe I'm just sick of all the militaristic and gritty themes found in today's western dominated industry's games)

While the game is not perfect, I had the most fun with it all year. I guess I like having some linearity, some structure, and most of all, NO ****ING MISSABLES!!!

So FFXIII takes my top spot for 2010, sucking out 50 hours in the first week I've played it. Probably another 50 until I'm done.

Runner up:
Bayonetta... just ridiculousness. Very refreshing in the sea of shooters.

Best news all year:
Bioshock Infinite

Haven't gamed much this year, thought I was losing interest, but I realized it was the games I was playing (western RPGs, shooters) along with being busy with school.

 

[kain4521]

My GOTY hands down is Red Dead Redemption. Rockstar took a genre few have touched and even less have had success with and made a game that blows the competition out of the water.

The visuals are stunning I couldn't tell you how many times I bragged on the view when you ride down off the bluff heading towards Armadillo with either the sunset in the distance or a rain shower heading your way.

The story and characters match some of the best westerns on the screen and really draws you into John Marston's life and by the end you will really wish things could turn out differently for everyone. The MP is pretty good with a group of friends but can also be fun playing by yourself by just taking out bandit hideouts or causing trouble and seeing how long you can survive before the law takes you down.

The DLC didnt let me down either with the first offering giving you co-op missions to do with your friends and the liars and cheats pack giving you the option to play a game of poker or liars dice with your friends. Last but not least in the Undead Nightmare DLC which took the wild west and turned it upside down with the undead running rampant in the single player story and in a survivor mode for MP.

All in all this was IMO the only game that has something for everyone from MP modes to the single player.


Runner up: Mass Effect 2

Random: Battlefield Bad Company 2

 

[Ash Housewares]

Red Dead for me also. A superb little package and the quickest I've ever completed a sand box game. Runner up for me would be NFSHP. Contraversial I know but I've had alot of late nights with
this one and it's bloody good fun and intense at times. Honorable mention goes to DKCR. Great revival and a game me and my fiancée play together which we have never done previously.

 

[Starkiller]

I don't think I have a game of the year for 2010. Every game I bought fell short of my expectations...BioShock 2, Other M, Red Dead Redemption, DKC Returns, SMG 2, and so on.


There were a few I as pleasantly surprised with like Bayonetta, Limbo, and Blur...but nothing GOTY worthy.

 

[Ash Housewares]

Not sure how anyone can say red dead fell short. Entitled to your opinion I guess but I'm a bit surprised anyone can say that game was dissappointing.

 

[Furious1]

Sorry if this is a bit long winded, but I am going to detail my favorites in several categories.

Best Shooter: Battlefield Bad Company 2. I thought that Reach was going to take the crown for me this year, but the recent map packs and Vietnam expansion has made me realize how spectacular this game really is. Even the single player campaign is interesting. If you haven't played it, you are MISSING OUT. CoD has nothing on this one.

2nd fave: Halo Reach

Best Sports: NBA 2K11. Period, end of story. Best sports game of all time...and I don't really care for the NBA!

2nd Fave: MLB 10: The Show

Best Action/Adventure: Red Dead Redemption. Such a finely crafted piece of work...unique characters, unique setting. Finally a game does the old west justice. I played this game non-stop when it released, and I couldn't get enough. I need to play the DLC!

2nd Fave: God of War III

Best Driving: NFS: Hot Pursuit. A fitting return to the franchise roots after some interesting departures. Love the melding of the NFS/Burnout gameplay. Autolog keeps things very interesting with friends. I need to get back to this one, took a little bit of a break to play other titles.

2nd Fave: None

Best Handheld: MGS: Peacewalker. Bought a PSP for this one, some consider it the best MGS ever. I wouldn't go that far, but it is up there. Its just a shame that we didn't get this on home consoles!

2nd Fave: None

There are many games from this year that I still need to play, so my feelings may change later, but I have played most of the big players...ME2, RDR, GoWIII, CoD, and others. Once I get a Wii this Xmas, I'll be able to catch up on some games like DKC Returns and Mario Galaxy 2.

MY favorite game this year......Battlefield BC2! Call it a dark horse winner! Seriously...if you haven't tried it, get it on the cheap from Amazon and download the Vietnam expansion. Brilliant.

 

[Starkiller]

Not sure how anyone can say red dead fell short. Entitled to your opinion I guess but I'm a bit surprised anyone can say that game was dissappointing.

Yeah it didn't do anything for me. I tried to get back into it many times, but it failed to hold my attention. I don't get why everyone loves it so much.

MY favorite game this year......Battlefield BC2! Call it a dark horse winner! Seriously...if you haven't tried it, get it on the cheap from Amazon and download the Vietnam expansion. Brilliant.

Tried it, hated it. Not even worth getting cheap off Amazon.

 

[Furious1]

Thanks for your opinion, it means nothing to me.

 

[wHySoSeRiOuS203]

GOTY Red Dead Remption

Runners Up Alan Wake, Mass Effect 2

Best Character Hands down, John Marston

All in all 2010 wasn't a terrible year considering we had the release of Red Dead Redemption, now one of my all time favorite games, but there were also a few titles that we were lead to believe were great but were not all that they were told to be (im lookin at you fallout)

 

[Starkiller]

Thanks for your opinion, it means nothing to me.

Thanks for being rude.