Gaming Best of 2010

[Magus]

This is going to be long.

[b][u]Xbox 360[/u][/b]

[i]Best Story[/i] - Mass Effect 2
Other Nominees - Alan Wake, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Enslaved, Red Dead Redemption

[i]Funniest Game[/i] - Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
Other Nominees - Costume Quest, Dead Rising 2, Deathspank, Fallout: New Vegas
Are any of these games actually funny? Never played any of them. Never heard of Costume Quest or Deathspank and then Red Dead and Fallout don't look like it has a funny atmosphere to it... "shrugs" Games rarely make me laugh anyway.

[i]Best Competitive Multiplayer[/i] - Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
Other Nominees - Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Halo: Reach
Color me surprised to see a racing game beating out shooters.

[i]Best Co-Op Game[/i] - Splinter Cell: Conviction
Other Nominees - Halo: Reach, Laura Croft and the Guardian of Light, Madden NFL 11, Scott Pilgrim vs The World

[i]Coolest Atmosphere[/i] - Limbo
Other Nominees - Alan Wake, NBA2k11 (Why?), Red Dead Redemption, Transformers: War for Cybertron
I must admit that the 2k games for the NBA are games I have to play and from looking at videos I don't think I'll understand what's so cool about it's atmosphere. Guess I'll have to get it to see why it was nominated for this category.

[i]Most Addictive Game[/i] - Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
Other Nominees - Call of Duty: Black Ops, Chime, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Puzzle Quest 2

[i]Most Innovative Gameplay[/i] - Splinter Cell: Conviction
Other Nominees - Alan Wake, Dance Central, Mass Effect 2, Rock Band 3

[i]Best Character[/i] - Thane (Mass Effect 2)
Other Nominees - Alan Wake, Deathspank, John Marston (Red Dead Redemption), Mordin Solus (Mass Effect 2)

[i]Best Visuals[/i] - Limbo
Other Nominees - Halo: Reach, Mass Effect 2, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Red Dead Redemption

[i]Best Sountrack[/i] - DJ Hero
Other Nominees - Halo: Reach, Red Dead Redemption, Scott Pilgrim vs the World, Super Meat Boy

[i]Best Retro Design[/i] - Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
Other Nominees - Limbo, Scott Pilgrim vs the World, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1, Super Meat Boy

[i]Most Bang for Your Buck[/i] - Halo: Reach
Other Nominees - Call of Duty: Black Ops, Fallout: New Vegas, Mass Effect 2, NBA 2k11

[i]Most Challenging[/i] - Super Meat Boy
Other Nominees - Halo: Reach, Mega Man 10, NBA 2k11, Scott Pilgrim vs the World

[i]Best Quick Fix[/i] - Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
Other Nominees - Dance Central, Puzzle Quest 2, Rock Band 3

[i]Best Kinect Game[/i] - Dance Central
Other Nominees - EA Sports Active, Kinect Sports, Kinectimals, Sonic Free Riders
Didn't this just come out? I don't think it'd be fair to even judge this right now. So far I've heard that Dance Central's the only decent game on Kinect

[i]Best Sci-Fi[/i] - Mass Effect 2
Other Nominees - Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (Is this really Sci-Fi?), Enslaved, Fallout: New Vegas, Halo: Reach

[i]Best Horror Game[/i] - Alan Wake
Other Nominees - Dead Rising 2, Limbo, Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare

[i]Best Fantasy Game[/i] - Darksiders
Other Nominees - Bayonetta, Fable 3, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, Puzzle Quest 2

[i]Best Sports Game[/i] - NBA 2k11
Other Nominees - FIFA 11, Kinect Sports, NBA Jam, NHL 11

[i]Best Blockbuster Game[/i] - Mass Effect 2
Other Nominees - Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Halo: Reach, Splinter Cell: Conviction

[i]Xbox 360 Game of the Year[/i] - Mass Effect 2
Other Nominees - Halo: Reach, Limbo, Red Dead Redemption, Splinter Cell: Conviction

I'll edit or something with the Wii, DS, and PS3 as well.

[b]EDIT[/b]

[b]Playstation 3[/b]

[i]Best Story[/i] - Red Dead Redemption
Other Nominees - Call of Duty: Black Ops, Castlevania: Lord of Shadows, Fallout: New Vegas, Heavy Rain

[i]Funniest Game[/i] - Costume Quest
Other Nominees - DeathSpank, Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare, Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse, The Sly Collection

[i]Best Competitive Multiplayer[/i] - Battlefield: Bad Company 2, BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, Hoard, ModNation Racers

[i]Best Co-Op Game[/i] - Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Other Nominees - Castle Crashers, Dead Nation, Final Fight: Double Impact, Scott Pilgrim vs the World
Really...?

[i]Coolest Atmosphere[/i] - Castlevania: Lord of Shadows
Other Nominees - Enslaved, Fallout: New Vegas, Red Dead Redemption, Vanquish

[i]Most Addictive Game[/i] - Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
Other Nominees - DeathSpank, Fallout: New Vegas, Red Dead Redemption, Vanquish

[i]Most Innovative Gameplay[/i] - Heavy Rain
Other Nominees - Sackboy's Prehistoric Moves
Was this even necessary?

[i]Best Character[/i] - John Marston (Red Dead Redemption)
Other Nominees - Bayonetta, Joe (Mafia 3), Monkey (Enslaved), Scott Shelby (Heavy Rain)

[i]Best Visuals[/i] - God of War 3
Other Nominees - Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Castlevania: Lord of Shadows, Red Dead Redemption, Vanquish

[i]Best Soundtrack[/i] - Mega Man 10
Other Nominees - Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Castlevania: Lord of Shadows, DJ Hero, Scott Pilgrim vs the World

[i]Best Retro Design[/i] - 3D Dot Game Heroes
Other Nominees - Castle Crashers, Mega Man 10, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, Soldner X2: Final Prototype (What the hell is this?)

[i]Most Bang for Your Buck[/i] - Sly Collection
Other Nominees - Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Fallout: New Vegas, Red Dead Redemption, Super Street Fighter 4
This is the first time I've seen SSF4 mentioned at all. With so many uh.. "downloadable" (I guess?) games I forgot that it even came out this year.

[i]Most Challenging[/i] - Mega Man 10
Other Nominees - Bayonetta, Dead Nation (What is this?), Joe Danger (And this?), Vanquish

[i]Best Quick Fix[/i] - Hoard
Other Nominees - Joe Danger (What's this?), Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (...), ModNation Racers, Sports Champions (???)

[i]Best Sci-Fi Game[/i] - Vanquish
Other Nominees - BioShock 2, Final Fantasy 13 (?), Spider-Man: Shattered Dimension (?), Soldner X 2: Final Prototype (Seriously. What is this?)
Err... FF13 is a Sci-Fi game? I mean I can understand it in a sense since there's a lot of futuristic stuff, but I'd throw this in fantasy before I throw it under sci-fi. And then I was not aware that Spider-Man was sci-fi either. Gotta be a mistake somewhere.

[i]Best Horror Game[/i] - Heavy Rain (What!?)
Other Nominees - Dead Nation, Dead Rising 2, Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
When I think of horror, I'm usually thinking of something like Resident Evil or Silent Hill (granted I don't play horror games) but for Heavy Rain I think of it being either a thriller, but, obviously this is just going by videos since I've never played the game.

[i]Best Fantasy Game[/i] - Darksiders
Other Nominees - Bayonetta, Castle Crashers, Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
So is fantasy the new action adventure?

[i]Best Sports Game[/i] - NBA 2k11
Other Nominees - Madden NFL 11, NCAA College Football 11, NHL 11, Sports Champions, MLB '10: The Show

[i]Best Blockbuster Game[/i] - God of War 3
Other Nominees - Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Vanquish

[i]PS3 Game of the Year[/i] - Heavy Rain
Other Nominees - Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Fallout: New Vegas, God of War 3, Red Dead Redemption

[b]EDIT2[/b]

[b]Nintendo Wii[/b]

[i]Best Story[/i] - Epic Mickey
Other Nominees - Goldeneye, Metroid: Other M
Only 2 games? The Wii don't have anything else that tells a story?

[i]Funniest Game[/i] - No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
Other Nominees - Epic Mickey, Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate Allstars (seriously?)
No Mario's nominated? Wow

[i]Best Competitive Multiplayer[/i] - Goldeneye
Other Nominees - Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate Allstars, Tetris Party Delux

[i]Best Co-Op Game[/i] - Monster Hunter Tri
Other Nominees - Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kirby's Epic Yarn

[i]Coolest Atomsphere[/i] - Metroid: Other M
Other Nominees - Epic Mickey, Kirby's Epic Yarn, Red Steel 2, Sonic Colors
Could've sworn Red Steel 2 came out last year

[i]Most Addictive Game[/i] - Super Mario Galaxy 2
Other Nominees - Donkey Kong Country Returns, Goldeneye, Sonic Colors

[i]Most Innovative Gameplay[/i] - Red Steel 2
Other Nominees - Kirby's Epic Yarn, Super Mario Galaxy 2

[i]Best Character[/i] - Oswald (Epic Mickey)
Other Nominees - Travis Touchdown (No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle)

[i]Best Visuals[/i] - Super Mario Galaxy 2
Other Nominees - Kirby's Epic Yarn, Monster Hunter Tri, Red Steel 2, Sonic Colors

[i]Best Soundtrack[/i] - DJ Hero 2
Other Nominees - No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, Sonic Colors, Super Mario Galaxy 2

[i]Best Retro Design[/i] - Donkey Kong Country Returns
Other Nominees - Cave Story, Mega Man 10, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

[i]Most Bang for Your Buck[/i] - Super Mario Galaxy 2
Other Nominees - Donkey Kong Country Returns, Mega Man 10

[i]Most Challenging[/i] - Donkey Kong Country Returns
Other Nominees - Mega Man 10, Super Mario Galaxy 2

[i]Best Quick Fix[/i] - Sonic Colors
Other Nominees - Donkey Kong Country Returns, Sin and Punishment 2: Star Successor

[i]Best Sports Game[/i] - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11
Other Nominees - NBA Jam, NHL Slapshot

[i]Best Blockbuster Game[/i] - Sin and Punishment 2: Star Successor
Other Nominees - Goldeneye, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

[i]Wii Game of the Year[/i] - Super Mario Galaxy 2
Other Nominees - Donkey Kong Country Returns, Goldeneye, Red Steel 2, Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate Allstars Edited December 15, 2010 by Magus

[CaNz]

how do games get nominated for this?
I mean... some of them make sense... but Alan Wake was the worst game I have played in the last three years. (and I go through old SNES and Genesis games.)
I cant believe anyone would nominate it for anything.

I also agree with ME2 taking a lot of the awards... that game is the most well rounded rpg I have ever played (mostly cause it doesnt feel like one... but if I wanted that 'd play FFXIII) which brings to mind a question... why wasn't FFXIII even nominated for... anything... story, character, atmosphere, addictiveness, bang for buck, blockbuster... I dunno, if Alan Wake can make it why the hell not a really good game.

[Magus]

Remember, this is IGN's choice not viewer/reader's choice. Though I do question some of this stuff myself. I haven't played any games that came out this year but going by IGN's list it looks like this year wasn't great at all for games. Some of the categories had only 2-3 games... And then I question some of the picks themselves in certain categories. Some just seemed off.

Maybe we should come up with our own... "shrugs"

[CaNz]

That would be cool!
Buuuut I haven't played all that many new games. Maybe we could do a thread were OBers could give reviews of games they have played.

as for IGN... maybe sponsors got the best of them?
also... for the games that bridged more than one console like RDR, the seem to have only one in one spot per console.
a secondary character from mass effect definitely didn't deserve to win out on the main character. and there were a few other match ups like this... the only thing that makes sense is NBA 2k11 (in the 2010game of the year ) which took both best sports game slots.

also i see ffxiii did make it into a category that it didn't even belong in. sci-fi is supposed to be based in reality with a certain aaspect being changed... the name has fantasy in it...

[Sangome]

[color="#9932CC"][font="Microsoft Sans Serif"]I've not played a whole lot of XIII, but I've heard it as being described as the first sci-fi FF since VIII...so I dunno.

As for the choices, I guess maybe the more obscure ones are them trying to bring more obscure titles into light? Still, I'm not sure if that's the best way to go about it. Though I also don't put a whole lot of stock into these lists anyway, since mileages will vary hugely.[/font][/color]

[CaNz]

it has machines in it... but no actual emphasis on how they are made at all. there really aren't any factories so the best guess that I can come up with is magic. Really from what they describe in the game everything in the mechanical (sci-fi according to some I guess) world comes from these godlike magical entities. Magic doesnt fall into Science fiction in my eyes. it doesnt even have the generic futuristic technology base most sci-fi uses, because it takes place in another world.

also I like how PS3 had almost no innovative games in the category, yet rock band 3 is a multiplatform title and made it into the xbox category.

[Lyndy]

I played Fallout before, but it wasn't the new game. But it had funny aspects to it because what I was doing on the game was making a dead body dance...well, actually that was my friend doing that, and you get to blow stuff up. It can be funny if you have a great imagination. haha And God of War for best visuals doesn't really surprise me.

[James]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]I really haven't played enough new games this year to be able to say what was the best and what wasn't, but I'd be interested to see if they have an "overall" set of awards.

Anyway, yeah, I'd definitely classify Final Fantasy XIII as sci-fi. It's certainly just as sci-fi as Final Fantasy VII was, even given all the magical stuff.

And the "fantasy" category is pretty nebulous. I'm not even sure it's a good category for an award in the first instance, though.[/font]

[TheResplendent]

[font="Tahoma"]
[color="green"]Xbox 360[/color]: I definitely agree with most of the awards Mass Effect 2 has won, especially GOTY and Best Story. It was a fantastic continuation of what remains one of gaming's finest original franchises. While the game had many great characters, I'm not sure I would have chosen either Thane or Mordin to represent the "best of" category over more prominent choices such as John Marston from RDR, Ezio from AC, Lightning or Snow from FFXIII, or even Garrus from ME2.

Darksiders winning ANYTHING is just sad. It was by far one of the worst releases of the year for anything aside from art design. It is especially odd being in contention with a phenomenal game like Bayonetta, which definitely deserves recognition for pulling out some of the best combat, art, and boss battles the action/adventure or fantasy genre has ever seen. Not to mention the fact that the project started out as more of a joke game.

Black Ops not winning competitive multi-player is tragic. To make it worse it lost out to a racing game, and not exactly the best one of the year either (an honor i believe goes to Blur). As fun as these types of games used to be, in terms of innovation and lasting appeal it is a bit of a dying genre.

It's hard to argue with actual licensed music for a soundtrack category, but i really enjoyed Mass Effect 2 and RDR's soundtracks. Just thought i'd throw that out there.

I'm happy to see Enslaved getting some kind of attention for something because it truly was one of October's brightest gems. This was mostly due to having no actual expectations games like Fable 3 did in order to fall short of them. Therefore Enslaved served as a pleasant surprise.


[color="navy]PS3[/color]: Heavy Rain was one of the most original games for the PS3 but as for calling it GOTY, i'm not sure i would have honored it over Read Dead Redemption. I don't fall into the category of people who believe RDR is the best thing since sliced bread, it is a great game though a tad overrated. There just isn't enough substance outside of the main story progression to fulfill the scale of the world map. When comparing RDR to the other nominees IGN provides though it offers the best soundtrack, the most dynamic characters, the most tactful and smooth gameplay mechanics, decent replay value and is arguably the longest (Fallout:NV also in consideration for length). I love AC: Brotherhood but the fact of the matter is it is an established legacy which has easily showcased its best installment this year, where as Red Dead did not derive from a formula as instantly successful. The level of improvement between predecessor and sequel is far more impressive. Heavy Rain is better suited to win such categories as most original and best story (so in other words, I would reverse best story and GOTY). Winning best horror too i don't quite consider HR your typical horror candidate of course, but considering the PS3 saw significantly less candidates for this than the 360 I suppose overall atmosphere and tension was taken in consideration. Because personally, I don't view Dead Rising 2 enough as horror as opposed to comedy. Undead Nightmare is a DLC and therefore automatically out of contention in my standards. Dead Nation is the next closest, but is nowhere near good eonugh in any aspect of gaming to see any kind of award nomination.

Marston winning best character leads me to believe he would have won for 360 as well barring any of the ME2 characters, so I do agree with this one.

Castlevania also deserves to win absolutely nothing, with the exception of biggest disappointment of the year. If they were going to nominate a game like Vanquish for this category the least they could have done was give it the win. Though, that is coming from a sci-fi nerd. So naturally i also agree with its Sci-fi honors.


Wii: Don't give a crap.
[/font]

[PWNED]

So which is RDR: Undead Nightmare? A horror game or a funny game? It strikes me of IGN really reaching for something. Hell, I'd put Dead Rising 2 down as a humorous game before RDR.


And what is so innovative about Heavy Rain in comparison to (using an older example) Shenmue II?

Of course, this is a website that game God Hand a 3.0 for being too hard so I do not really have much time for them. Edited January 5, 2011 by PWNED