Red Dead felt exactly the same as GTA IV to me. the same boring old missions, the same long and uninteresting plotlines. I stopped playing red dead about half way through cause I just didnt care about the characters or plot. the missions were just like any other gta game or western game. there have been plenty of other sandbox westerns and this wasn't a lot different, just a larger scale. the only part I enjoy playing is the online zombies part.
1. Halo: Reach Brilliant AI, that has yet to be matched in any console game yet. 2. God of War 3 Great finale to a great series. Lots of epic boss fights in this one. 3. Mass Effect 2 The gameplay got much better than Mass Effect 1, but the scope and story suffered big time from being the middle chapter. Hopefully Mass Effect 3 can have the best of both games.
Another thing with Red Dead is that the combat system was, without a doubt, the best of any sandbox game I have played. That should be counted for something.
I only played 4 games that came out this year: 1. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (a great sequel in all respects) 2. God of War III (still kick ass, but just more of the same) 3. Bioshock 2 (not nearly as good as the original, but still good) The 4th game? Final Fantasy XIII deserves no mention in anybody's game of the year.
I agree. I have 3-4 games I really enjoyed, but none really seem like a GOTY. On another note, I recently bought 3 of your top 6 via Steam's Holiday Sale (Bad Company 2, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, and Super Meat Boy). Only played Super Meat Boy so far though (and only just a little bit). Pretty good so far. Interested in trying out Guardian of Light at some point. Haven't played a Tomb Raider game in a long time. Agreed. It is being a bit harsh (there were worse games...including the next FF). But such a disappointment. It was 2009. Maybe we should just let in Uncharted 2. Not just us including it in the "Best of 2010" lists: http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/12/29/insomniacs-favorite-games-of-2010/ They actually do mention that it was a 2009 title, but made me laugh when I was skimming the post and saw Uncharted mentioned again. (Dragon Age was also in that post as another 2009 release).
I liked the story to RDR more than GTA 4. Also, the online play was a lot better. For whatever reason GTA 4's online mode never really took off... on PS3 at least. Maybe PC's version is better.
As you've probably read, Guardian of Light really isn't a Tomb Raider game at all in the traditional sense, it's just using the name. It's definitely a blast to play, though note it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more interesting with 2 players. And it's simple enough for your average non-game-playing person to pick up which is good.
Castlevania: Lords of shadows on the 360 is the only game I enjoyed playing this year. Its the closes GOW type game on the 360 as you can get. The graphics in this game is absurdly great.
Mass Effect 2 and NBA 2k11 for me. Nothing really outside of those two besides Black Ops. If Uncharted 2 was released a few months later, it would top my list.
...holy crap. Forgot all about Demon's Souls. You'd think with the massive hours I spent with that game I'd have offered it right up as the GOTY....but alas, it had it's faults. With some tweaks, Demon's Souls could literally be perfect.
Just curious, what do you feel the "faults" were? I can't think of a lot I would have changed off the top of my head. For example, it would be cool if the dragons could move around freely rather than essentially being "on a track." But I feel like asking for that is pretty nit-picky. IMO, Demon's Souls and Valkyria Chronicles are the best two console games of this generation. Not only are they both incredible games, they're incredibly original.
I really enjoyed it, though the momentum kind of hit a brick wall when you first got to Pulse. Sure, the linearity stopped, but it's like the flow of the game radically changed. That was my only beef really. I didn't even mind the linearity which seemed to be the biggest complaint. But then again, I'm not a purist and had only played FF VII and FF X before this one.
