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When we take a look at 2010 it is plain to see that I was a year to certainly be proud of from a gaming industry prospective. In fact it was very daunting to see the sheer amount of games that could possibly take the top spot of best game for 2010.
It hasn’t just been in one genre where games have excelled to the next level of excellence. We have been to many fine games across many different genres form FPS, RPS, RTS, Rhythm action, sports and even plat-forming. As you can probably agree it’s a tough job picking a list of just ten from a list made up of such gems.
Before I get on with announcing the Game Grill Top Ten of 2010 I first want to give an honourable mention to a few titles that didn’t quite make it into the Top Ten but what sure as hell gave it a good try.
- Halo Reach
- Splinter Cell: Conviction
- Fable 3
- Fallout: New Vegas
- World of War-Craft: Cataclysm
Now some of you may disagree with this list of honourable mainly because Cataclysm also inhabits this list, but all these games were almost chosen for the top spot based on the amount of sales they produced and the user feedback that they received and they all scored very highly in both categories.
Now that the formalities are out of the way lets get on with the real Top Ten. Enjoy.
(5) Fifth Place:
Bioshock 2
Now when I first heard that there was going to be a sequel to the critically acclaimed Bioshock I must admit I wasn’t to keen on the idea mainly because I didn’t feel how it could follow its predecessor when you take into account the very nature of the first game and how the story one set it up to be a single one off release.
So it pleasantly surprised when I played Bioshock 2 and found myself enjoying every minute of it. Not over the top enjoyment I must say but mild pleasant enjoyment. That is the main reason it gained the number eight spot in this Top Ten, mainly because it was a complete surprise to see that the developers hadn’t ruined a perfectly good game with a sequel that never should have existed.
One aspect that did impress me was the multiplayer mode that was included and even though the multiplayer was a great steaming pile of bullshit on chips, it was at least there and you’ve got to give the game some credit for at least trying.
Another nice addition I feel earns this particular title a place in the Top Ten is the sheer amount of downloadable content that has been released. The best being Minerva’s Den, which is a wholly new single player campaign which introduces new characters, weapons and levels to an already big game.
In summary if you have not played this game yet then you are defiantly missing out on a great game. But you should play the Bioshock first lest you want to be running through rapture like a man with his head up his ass with no idea what’s going on.
(4) Fourth Place
Red Dead Redemption
One of the early favourites to win, Red Dead Redemption has fallen to fourth place in my Top 10 Games of 2010. Mainly because it did not maintain my interest for very long after the credits had rolled.
A follow-up in name only to the easily-forgotten Red Dead Revolver, Redemption is one of the few recent games to use the otherwise hideously underused Wild West setting. It also happens to be the first game in ages to capture that setting perfectly, with a huge, empty prairie making up most of the in-game landscape. The emptiness of it all would be a problem for most games, as there's often nothing happening but the wind whistling through the mountains, but Red Dead Redemption's world practically oozes atmosphere and charisma, even when you're just killing time.
At the same time, when you do tire of roaming the mesas, Redemption is still packed with content. The story is centred on retired outlaw John Marston, who is forced by the government to hunt down and kill his old gang (you know the gang for the original) in return for a quiet life. John's journey takes him all over the West in search of his targets, with mini-games and plentiful side quests rounding out the adventure.
There's a basic multiplayer mode, which fattens up the game for those who hurry through the campaign, but it's the co-operative mode that we remember most fondly. Red Dead Redemption allows up to eight players to team up into posses and go out looking for trouble. It's amazing how quickly a sense of kinship can form on a server full of complete strangers, really.
DLC and expansions have recently been released for the game, balancing out the original game's bugs, as well as strangely bringing zombies to the Wild West for no real reason.
But in the long run as stated before this gamer didn’t manage to hold my attention for that long after I had completed the single played. This could be down to the multiplayer being filled with a load of hackers. But despite that it gets boring quite quickly but well worth the fourth spot.
(3) Third Place
Mass Effect 2
Now mass effect is another one of those games that you just have to play in order to get a real scope for how good it actually is. From the incredibly well written story, to the masses universe just begging you to investigate, Mass Effect does truly prove that games set in space are not dead in the water.
The only fault we can pick with the game is that Liara's voice acting is a bit flat, but that's only an issue if you're playing the new Lair of the Shadow Broker downloadable content. Aside from that, it's hard to deny that Mass Effect 2 deserves the Game of the Year 2010 award. But it’s not getting it because of one small let down.
Mass Effect 2 would have been a perfect game if it wasn’t for the crappy end boss that made me yawn and roll my eyes into the back of my head.
This is definitely one that everyone who is a fan of science fiction to play but again you should play the first Mass Effect before attempting to tackle this effort, or you will be confused, pleasantly confused, but confused nonetheless.
(2) Second Place
Call of Duty: Black Ops
One of the most controversial games of the year in the eyes of regular readers, Call of Duty: Black Ops is Treyarch's first attempt at a Call of Duty game since 2008's World at War. It's not a half-bad game either, although it reaches nowhere near the heady heights at which Call of Duty used to soar. Black Ops is Treyarch's first Call of Duty game that isn't set in World War II, and it's instead based in the Vietnam War using an entirely fictional storyline. The plot is the most predictable and crude story we've seen this year, apparently fumbling together a few fashionable clichés leftover from the likes of Lost and The Manchurian Candidate, but it just about does the job.
The multiplayer portions fair much better, as is usual for the Call of Duty series at this stage, where multiplayer is the focus. There's the usual class-based competitiveness, with players ranking up and unlocking new weapons as they play, but there's also a new Wager Match mode where gamers can gamble their points.
The returning co-operative Zombie mode is where it really shines, though. Here, players can team up to hold off waves of zombie soldiers using a growing arsenal of weapons, although they'll need to barricade the entrances and open up new areas of the level too. The Zombie mode does sit a little incongruously with the rest of the game, admittedly, but it's also a lot of fun and it's refreshing to see an AAA studio that doesn't take itself too seriously, for once.
As if that wasn't enough, Call of Duty: Black Ops also features a bunch of hidden features and Easter eggs that have just as much appeal as the full game. Hidden just away from the main menu, for example, is a complete top-down shooter and a full version of Zork!
Now after that you’re probably wondering why given the lack of story line in Black Ops I have decided to give the second place to it. Because it sells. Black Ops is the most successful piece of media in history even out stripping James Cameron’s Avatar in terms of money made and that should defiantly count for something.
(1) First Place
Star-Craft – Wings of Liberty
And at the top spot we have dum-dee-dum-dum. Star Craft 2: Wings of Liberty, the long awaited sequel to the widely successful and cult classic Star-Craft. Now there’s not much to say about this game. Apart from “It is Awesome”, and because this is a Top Ten list and not a review of the games in the top, I don’t intend to tell you anything about it. You’ll just have to play it for yourself.
You’ve got to love anti-climaxes.
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