I won't lie or deny it; this is a little late. I had intended to write this before December came to a close, but with looming exams, college work and generally being stricken with a feeling of apathy, I found neither the time nor the willpower. This is really if you see little point in reading the mammoth 2,000 word monstrosity posted below, and just want to get the jist.
5. Castlevania: Harmony of Despair
At a glance, this game isn't a massive achievement, at least not in Konami's history. It's basically a recycled, old 2D side-scrolling adventure game, but now with 6-player co-op. However, beneath its simple gameplay lies a mass of rare items to spend hundreds of playthroughs desperately trying to find, in an attempt to reach an end-of-the-rainbow objective of having every character fully maxed and geared out. This is more enough to make it addictive enough for me to have continued playing it since September, and to make success in grinding and farming remarkably satisfying. Not bad for an Arcade game, eh?
4. Alan Wake
I'm as willing to admit as any that Alan Wake should be more than it is. A 5 year project ended up being nothing more than a linear, 8 hour experience, with no 'revolutionary' free roam or RPG elements. However, what it does deliver is a hugely compelling story (easily the most finely crafted of this year), an innovative dual-element combat system with incredible visuals and soundtrack to top it off. Sure, we're all sick of Alan's voice by the end, but for a video game to have a plot of the same depth and quality of a Stephen King novel, you've got to hand it to Remedy for creating another brilliantly original title.
3. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Yes, another Castlevania game makes the cut, but this time its wholly different, as MercurySteam were given the job of rebooting the series and updating it for a modern audience. As much as Castlevania's hardcore audience will continue to moan about it 'betraying' the series, Lords of Shadow is aggressive yet beautiful, challenging yet accessible, and takes the player on a journey with a man who is willing to go further and turn darker than he could have possibly imagined to get back the one he loves. If you wanted a reason to believe hack 'n slash isn't just mindless blood and death, look no further.
2. Red Dead Redemption
Any gamer should have seen this one coming, and if you've played the game, you'll know why. Rockstar put back on their sandbox gaming boots, and trod on almost untouched ground with RDD, a game that puts GTAs style of play into a Western setting, with all satire and social commentary intact. If you're not wrapped up in the edgy storyline depicting the end of outlaws (but also the end of civil liberties?) the game offers just as much playtime in the dozens of extra activities, and a massive, well-sculpted map to explore. I've said it before and I will say it again: this is free-roam on a new level.
1. Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Perhaps at the end of the day, I'm just a shooter fanboy, but Bad Company 2 undoubtedly offered the most for me in 2010. Battlefield's style of multiplayer is, to me, without competition and DICE's latest game is intense, believable and highly strategetic - all the right ingredients for a multiplayer game that refuses to get old even after well over a hundred hours. This is of course helped by DICE still steadily releasing new map variations 9 months after release (for free no less) and following that, the Vietnam expansion which reinvented the experience all over again. The times I have had on this game I will never forget, and I have no regrets naming this my Game of 2010.
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