There were a lot of good games that came out this year (and bad ones) that I really enjoyed and some that didn’t come out this year that I had a great time playing again. Of course I won’t be able to touch on all the games that I played in 2010 since that would end up becoming a novel so I am only going to mention a few.
First up, is Halo Reach, which came out in September but I did not pick up it up on day one. I was delaying getting this newest Halo game simply because I was unsure about it. I’ve played all the Halo games and did I really need another one? After a battle on whether or not to get this game, I finally did. Personally, I found it to be the best story in the Halo series. Of course if you follow what goes on in the Halo universe, you already know what happens in Reach, but still, I enjoyed the story and the characters. I still haven’t played that much of the multiplayer and currently I am trying to beat the campaign on legendary all by myself.
Another Halo game that I first played this year, was Halo ODST, which released in September of 2009. Unfortunately, I still haven’t beaten that game and the only thing that I really like from it is Nathan Fillion. His voice acting in that game makes it fun. However the bad lighting and the way it’s set up, is a bit of a turn off.
Rock Band 3 was a huge improvement for me from past installments, despite some kinks within the game. I haven’t had a chance to try any of the pro instruments, but all the same, a very much enjoyable game. The game goes for The Beatles Rock Band, which I still have fun playing.
I finally tried Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and it is the first GH game that I haven’t finished. Usually I will get as far as I can for the achievements, but this game was so bad, that I had to go and play Guitar Hero II to feel better about myself.
Eye Pet, a game that I wanted even before it was released was a huge disappointment once I got my hands on the US version. I wanted this game so badly, that I was close in getting the UK version. However I did wait and I stood in line at Toys R Us on Black Friday (it wasn’t that long of a wait) so I could get this game. I was worried that it might be one of those hard to get holiday games this year since it is a family friendly game. Well, I was wrong. Sure, the Eye Pet creature is very cute, however the gameplay value doesn’t last. I found it hard at times to be able to “pet” my Eye Pet and it felt like the perception was way off. I also did not like the fact that if I don’t play Eye Pet for a few days, he gets dirty. Thankfully, he doesn’t starve while I’m busy playing other games or at work. I finally decided to return the Eye Pet bundle. I have no interest in Ps3’s Move and I feel that it wasn’t worth the $100 investment.
Gran Turismo 5 finally came out this year and I bought it for my husband as an early Xmas present. Of course since I am a gamer as well, I started to play it. I’m not that far into this massive simulation driving game but GT5 feels like a game that I can play whenever and still not be done with it after a while. So far I am enjoying the game. I laughed incredibly hard when the loading times took ages but with a nice little update, that has changed.
I started to enter the karaoke scene with Lips. I have sung before in Rock Band, but I have never tried a singing only game until Lips. I am having a lot of fun with the game but the lag is a huge pain in the ass when I just want to sing a quick song before work.
Final Fantasy XIII tried too hard to be a good RPG game that it lost all of the Final Fantasy elements that we all know and love.
I’ve had the urge to play some of my old RPG games again, mainly the Final Fantasy ones, but I just haven’t gotten around to it. The only old RPG that I did start to play again this year, was Star Wars: The Knights of the Old Republic II. I was so happy when I found a work around that would allow me to play this game on my laptop. I am still a bit angry at Bioware for not working on this game and allowing Obsidian to take the helm, unfortunately rushing the game and giving us a product that was only half finished.
Fable III made me enjoy the fantasy world on an RPG once again. I actually felt like I was off in another land fighting monsters and having to deal with taxes of my kingdom. There’s two ways to play this game and that’s run through the story only and be done with it or actually take on side quests and take your time. I was able to beat this game in little under eight hours but taking my time and doing as much as I could, took much longer.
Crazy Taxi, Sonic Adventure, Blade Kitten, Comic Jumper, Puzzle Quest 2, Scott Pilgrim, and Lara Croft are among few arcade titles that I played this year but haven’t finished. Crazy Taxi, well, you really can’t finish that game and I do enjoy playing it again, even though I do own the Dreamcast version.
Red Dead Redemption is a game that I played for a few minutes before turning away from it. Westerns are not my thing and just something about that game made me want to toss it away into the garbage. It’s funny how this game got Game of the Year at the Spike Video Game Awards. Same goes for Alpha Protocol, which I had hopes for when I first read about the game in GameInformer and Dante’s Inferno and Borderlands.
Alan Wake was okay and then came the ending. I thought I had done something wrong.
I only played How to Train Your Dragon because I love the movie. We all know that a video game based off a movie is usually bad. I did enjoy playing this game, but it’s more of a rental for the kids.
Naughty Bear is a game that I still need to finish and that I did enjoy. Sadly, it does getting repetitive after a while but it’s always fun to find new ways to kill a stuffed bear.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 finally came to be via Gamefly and I love it! I’m not one for a lot of multiplayer so once I was finished with the game, I was done with it. My husband and his friend, however, killed in multiplayer and I finally bought the game. Good thing too, since neither of them enjoy Black Ops, a game that is waiting for me to play.
Battlefield Bad Company 2 is a game that I still need to buy because when I did play it, I loved it. I think it’s longer than Call of Duty because I usually beat rentals before I send them back. I haven’t played this game since March and I really need to pick it up again.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was a rental for me, even though I enjoyed the demo, once I found out that it was super short, I didn’t want to buy it. Sure, it had its moments but that game could have been so much better.
Lego Harry Potter is the newest game that I am playing but it is a bit boring. Right now I’m just trying to get to the end game just so I can rank up a few achievements. I’m not sure which is better, Lego Harry or Half Blood Prince, which I actually did finish…for achievements.
Transformers: WFC is an amazing game that I did not buy and as I think back, why haven’t I? These is the best Transformers game ever and if you haven’t played it, go do it. I just hope the second installment will be just as good.
Heavy Rain made me have reason for my Ps3. Great story, characters that made you believe them and the replay value. I’ve already played this game a few times over just to see the small difference a few choices can make.
Mass effect 2, is the action RPG game from Bioware that came out in January of this year. It is an amazing game, to say the least, which I am still trying to beat on the hardest setting. I love being able to create my own character and following her through her story. Yes, my Sheppard is female and she kicks ass. I’ve played this game so many times and I’m sure that I will play more before Mass Effect 2 is released. This game is in a close race to my favorite game that I played in 2010, but it misses by inches. The improvements from Mass Effect 1 to 2 are welcomed but the next game that I mention, in my opinion, is just a bit better.
Dragon Age: Origins, even though I have all the achievements and 100% the game, I still want to play more. In fact, I’m planning on getting (or maybe as a gift) Dragon Age via Steam. I’ve heard that this game is better played on PC and I want to experience that.
[pro-player]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmYfRt-hGpI[/pro-player]
I love this game. Yes, it does get repetitive fighting the dark spawn all the time but I can look past that. I love how the characters interact with my character and with each other and the story that develops around them. I do wish that we had gotten better DLC that focused on each character, and the final DLC wasn’t that great, but still, I enjoy this game and I want more. I hope that in March of 2011, Dragon Age 2, with all its changes from DAO will be worth it and won’t be another sequel let down.
This post was part of Gamer Banter, a monthly video game discussion coordinated by Terry at Game Couch. If you’re interested in being part of this, please email (tbosky@gmail.com) him for details.
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