Jason’s Top 10 of Stuff He Played in 2010
This year I was pretty poor at finishing games. Most of the games I played were from previous years, and this year I made an effort to play all those long-form RPGs and open-world games that I hadn’t gotten around to yet. Hence I put in 20-40 hours into stuff like Dragon Age and GTA IV, the amount of time that would blow through Modern Warfare 2′s ludicrous storyline several times over, but still didn’t complete them. So I’m not putting them on my game of the year lists, although they were good and fun.
However, this was an excellent year for me for indie surprises, and smaller, downloadable games. Even if I had played all the big hitters like RDR and CODBLOPS, I still think Machinarium would top them in my list. That game has more charm, more love, more beauty than any big-budget marketing monstrosity could ever hope for. Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl is absolutely overflowing with ambition and atmosphere, and I have never played anything like it. I did not play that game last year, I lived in the Zone for a week, and it was one of the most bizarre and terrifying weeks I’ve ever lived. And Super Mario Galaxy 2, the only game from this year in my top 3, is absolute, unadulterated fun. Pure enjoyment, perfectly designed.
I may not have the same list as everyone else will have for this year, and I may not have played every game, but I will stand by those three games for my Games of the Year, in any year. I have ordered them in the list below, but they are all so very very different that the order does not matter. They are all fantastic.
Best 5 From Games Released In 2010
1. Super Mario Galaxy 2
2. VVVVVV
3. Altitude
4. Metro 2033
5. Lead and Gold
Best 10 That I Played in 2010
1. Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl
2. Machinarium
3. Super Mario Galaxy 2
4. VVVVVV
5. Bionic Commando: Rearmed
6. Altitude
7. COD:MW2 Multiplayer
8. Left 4 Dead 2
9. Metro 2033
10. Torchlight
———–
And for those who are interested, the games I played this year:
Relesed in 2010
Lead and Gold (PC)
Altitude (PC)
VVVVVV (PC)
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (PC)
Metro 2033 (PC)
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
NBA Jam (Wii)
Fifa 11 (iPod Touch)
Played in 2010 from Previous Years
Bionic Commando: Rearmed (PC)
Machinarium (PC)
Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl (PC)
Shattered Horizon (PC)
Gridrunner Revolution (PC)
COD:MW2 Multiplayer (PC)
Left 4 Dead 2 (PC)
Samarost 2 (PC)
Zeno Clash (PC)
Tales of Monkey Island (PC)
Crysis: Warhead (PC)
Torchlight (PC)
Jagged Alliance 2 – Unfinished Business (PC)
Guitar Hero 5 (Wii)
Spider: Secret of Bryce Manor (iPod Touch)
Games I Played A Whole Lot of But Didn’t Finish — I enjoyed all of these. Yes, even APB.
Saints Row 2 (PC)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (PC)
Dragon Age: Origins (PC)
Stalker: Call of Pripyat (PC)
Mass Effect (PC)
Fuel (PC)
GTA IV (PC)
Medal of Honor Beta (PC)
APB Beta (PC)
N.O.V.A. 2 (iPod Touch)
Mirror’s Edge (iPod Touch)
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