Your Gaming Year (2010)

[Baddar]

This isn't another of those "OTY" threads - I think Matzat dealt with that already.

This is the thread where you tell everyone which games you spent the most time on this year, which ones left you surprised/disappointed and anything like that, really. The game in question doesn't even have to have been released this year.

I'll kick us off...

Most Played

For so many years, this could've been given to whichever FIFA was released in the calendar year - but this time, I've put far more of my time into Red Dead Redemption. I have to be honest, with only two days to go before release, I hadn't heard much at ALL about the game (granted, I didn't go looking) so my expectations weren't as high as some peoples, but this game was just flat-out brilliant, (almost) from start to finish. I say 'almost' because the couple of herding missions were a bitch.

Yeah, this impressed me

Heavy Rain. I've never played anything like this before, and while I didn't think it involved the player as much as it could've with the controller (not to be confused with the actual storyline) it was a game that definitely had the ''one more chapter...'' factor. I'll probably go back to it in 2011, because I've only played through it once.

Most disappointed with...

Two games here - first, Resistance 2. It's been out since late 2008, and I still need to finish the game. I can't believe how much I loved the original game compared to this - I think it's because in the first, it was narrated, and everything that went on was explained to you - in the 2nd, it just seemed like a lazy effort. Hey, here's a cut-scene - go beat up some more chimera before another meaningless cut-scene. Frustratingly bad.

The other is FIFA 11 - I don't think it's through any fault of EA, either. Sure, FIFA could and should be way better than it is by now, and issues that have plagued the series for years are still there, but I just haven't been arsed to play a football game lately. It came out in early October, and I played it for a few weeks, before never touching it since.

Better than expected

Dead Rising 2 - I have the original on 360, but bought the sequel for PS3 because I knew a few friends getting it on there. The customisable weapons help things a LOT, but the clunky gun-play is gone from the second game. It isn't on GTA's level when it comes to the shooting, but it's still far better than in the first game. This could be my fault too, because I'm so used to aiming with L2/LT, and all it did in the first game was bring up the photographer's fucking camera. Fail.

Honorable mention

NFS: Hot Pursuit. Wonderful, wonderful game. Some might argue that it gets 'samey' after a while, but considering you get two separate careers (cop and racer) and how the events differentiate when you're only given certain weapons to use, there's more than enough variety in it for my liking.

Criterion know how to make a fun racing game - the online aspect of Burnout Paradise was fucking superb, as was the technical support for the game, and it looks like they're doing the same with this one too. Yeah, I love Criterion Games more than any of you will care to know.

---

Oh well, that'll do for now - you don't have to categorise things like I did, but I wanted to make sure it was different from the "game of the year" thread in some way.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Heavy Rain was spectacular and the best gaming experience I've ever had.

This year's Cycling Manager was the best yet and the edited databases, kits and equipment that were available really added to it.

Pro Evo was the best it had been in a long time and I'm still playing the Become A Legend.

Can't think of the rest.

[Skummy]

I haven't "gamed" all that much this year, really. I haven't really gamed all that much in recent years at all - last year I did quite a bit more, because I bought my DS and such. So, yeah, it's not a massive pool to choose from, but here we go...

Most Played

Probably a tie between Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Tetris DS. Though I'll give it to Super Mario Galaxy 2, as Tetris was more a couple of minutes here and there, while Galaxy absolutely consumed my free time. Easily one of the best computer games I've ever played, and the absolute best 3D platformer ever made. Bar none.

Yeah, this impressed me

Little Big Planet. I'd only played one or two PS3 games before this year, but I spent a week at my girlfriend's place while her Dad was away, and when her friends weren't constantly playing Fallout 3, or we weren't playing Katamari, a couple of people threw this on. I never really understood what it was before, all I'd ever heard about was it in terms of being customisable, I'd never realised what the gameplay of it really was, so wasn't too interested. It was fun, simplistic, charming and utterly adorable. Great fun, and unexpected.

Most disappointed with..

Epic Mickey. I almost went with Sonic Colours, because I've never given up on a game for being so dull so quickly, and while I did get my hopes up, that was more my own stupid fault for thinking that a 3D Sonic game would be any good in 2010, and not just a glorified cutscene with button cues and the least inspired platforming sections this side of Bubsy The Bobcat. Epic Mickey, though, was a huge disappointment. I explained why in the Nintendo thread, but to recap briefly - it was hyped up so much, and I bought into every little bit of it about how revolutionary it was, and how free to make decisions you are, and how it's a brand new twist on both Disney and the 3D platformer...but instead, it plays like a PS1 Croc or Spyro game; lots of precision jumping, wandering around an impractical 3D landscape, loading screens before every conversation, obviously signposted "decisions", a poorly implemented gameplay system, and marred by the worst camera of any Wii game. In a post-Mario Galaxy world, there is just no excuse to get a 3D platformer this wrong. Despite the art style being great, having a wonderful intro, and the odd glimmer of fun, it just feels like it's set back platform games a good ten years.

Better than expected

Space Invaders: Infinity Gene. Again, stemming from PS3 gaming for a week with the present Lady Skumfrog. This was just one of the maddest, most infuriating, but most addictive games I have played in years. We spent several nights playing this until the early hours, and just desperate for more each time. EVOLUTION! It's not really anything like Space Invaders, but it has a real old-school arcade mentality, the music is wonderful, the graphic style superb, and the gameplay is so much fun, yet infuriatingly difficult, and incredibly cheap - on several hundred occasions you'll get killed with no prior warning by something that practically fills the entire screen, yet it never really annoys you, because the whole thing is so utterly ridiculous that you just want to keep playing. EVOLUTION! And then when you try again, you're thinking "right, I'll go to bed as soon as I finish this level", you finally beat it, only to think "Hang on, there are still over a hundred levels to go. How can it possibly get more absurd and more difficult than that?"...yet it does. Every time. And you go through that same thought process after practically every level. Absolutely bloody brilliant game, and almost sold me on a PS3 singlehandedly. EVOLUTION!

Honourable mention

Limbo. Again, not a game I own, but one I've played on friends' consoles. This is exactly the kind of game I love, and think there should be more of. It's beautiful, it's haunting, it's intelligent, it's simplistic, and it's fiendishly difficult. Yet, much like Infinity Gene, in the vast majority of cases, even when you can't figure out what the hell you have to do, and you've died a thousand times, you just keep coming back for more, because you can't wait to see what happens next. Absolutely wonderful, wonderful game.

[New Damage]

Over the past year (including games in November and for Christmas), I've had only 4 new PS3 games. One of them was TNA Impact.

Most Time Spent On A Game

COD: Modern Warfare 2, simply because it was the easiest to just pick up and play without having to deal with story lines, and one of the few games where several of my friends have it so we can just join someone if they're playing.

Most Frustrating Game

Double award winner Modern Warfare 2. Because it's just fucking frustrating. I haven't got nor especially want Black Ops because of it, as well as general boredom of FPSs.

Most Trippy Game

Audiosurf. I played the entire of The Sword's first album on it. All 8 songs were a barrage of noise on a straight red downhill drop. I was tripping balls at the end of it. Played a couple of Between the Buried and Me on it too the other day, a fifteen minute song as eclectic as BTABM is exhausting. Prize for best song to play on it goes to "Panic Switch" by Silversun Pickups though.

The other 2 PS3 games are Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 and Dead Rising 2.

Smackdown is Smackdown. I platinumed it April and haven't been back much since. I don't like that if you do create someone, you have to use them a LOT to get them to their real life stats (I accidentally got my Kurt Angle up to 98 overall).

And Dead Rising I like and was the first (and set to be only) new game I've played in 2010, buying it in September. It's the game I'm currently playing and the game I'm closest to platinuming. It can be a little tedious when you're waiting to do something or have to drudge through to storyline again just to do something you missed (like help survivor X on day 2 at 8am because they're unmarked on the map).

Edited December 28, 2010 by TheModernWay

[SRN]

2010 has seen my gaming career dwindle down to almost a complete zero. By this end of year, I barely play any games anymore and nor do I think I will in the future. This is probably because 2010 had some really boring releases. Either that or ended up with all the dull ones. However, first comes first and I might as well throw the Most Played tag out there well. That would be definitely be Mass Effect 2 (and to an extent Mass Effect 1; yes, I know that didn't come out in 2010 but fuck you, alright?). Simply put, I love the Mass Effect series and I think it is the best thing BioWare has put out since KOTOR and I don't think they'll match it ever. Despite the massive changes between the first and second I could not help but love both of them and despite the really droll mining sections, ME2 was a great experience. So Mass Effect 2, Most Played and Favorite.

It was either that or Beat Hazard.

And now the Most Annoyed With; fucking Heavy Rain. Yeah, I finished it. Yeah, it was well-written. And I really enjoyed watching it. But playing it was so, well, non-existant. It was just so annoying with all the fucking Quick Time Event, it was like playing Indigo Prophecy (or Fahrenheit or whatever) where someone had dropped so much brown on it one would almost think it to be the most massive turd ever. It is just so over-hyped and it annoys me that people are so protective of it. At least I didn't pay 59 pounds for it (or whatever you guys pay for full-price games).

Beat Hazard is much better anyway.

So yeah, all in all, Beat Hazard is the best game of 2010, in all its epilepsy-inducing, color explosion amazingness.

[EddieRuckus]

Even though it's mentioned that it's not this type of thread at the top, I just have to say I was very impressed with ME2 this year. I really enjoyed the first one, but the second one for me was one of my top games of all time. Even though it's not my most played game of 2010, I can safely say it got the longest gaming session out of me this year. One session I spent 14 hours on the game, including short bathroom breaks and meals.

For most time spent playing a game, it's gotta be MW2, since I was trying to go for tenth prestige at a few points this year. I only made it to prestige level 5 or 6 I think.

Biggest surprise for me is a tie between Alan Wake and AC: Brotherhood. I put off playing Alan Wake til just a month or two ago for whatever reason. I heard a lot of good things about the game, but even that couldn't prepare me for the awesomeness that is Alan Wake. As for Brotherhood, I thought I would get bored of it quickly since it's so similar to AC II, but instead it was one of those games I kept putting in everyday because it was so much fun. Oh, also NBA 2K11. I know the 2K series have always had great basketball games, but 2K11 kicked that up a notch and is one of the best sports games I've ever played.

My biggest disappointment has to be the Rock Band 3 pro keyboard. It started out pretty neat, and I even learned how to play some songs off of it, but ultimately I became bored with it and I haven't played it since Halloween. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I play actual keyboard, and only playing one hand's part of a lot of songs has turned me off of it.

[SRN]

Oh yeah, totally (or luckily) forgot about Alan Wake! Apparently, unlike everyone else, I hated it. So unoriginal and so boring plus so repetitive. Only thing I liked about was the score and the stage battle. It is immensely overrated as an Exclusive title. Best one still is Dead Rising (the Wii version does not count, it was shit).

[DavidMarrio]

Most Played:

Fifa 11: Just playing clubs with me mates, ranked matches and the fact that we created like a fantasy league thing has probably meant I've played Fifa for the latter half of the year the most.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Whenever I weren't out with me mates or in college or doing something. Normally it would end up being "Wanna game of COD? Sure", hasn't quite translated to Black Ops which I personally prefer and don't go on as much but MW2 wasted a good few hours

Yeah, this impressed me:

Red Dead Redemption: Probably the best game of the year. It had everything you could expect and more the story is fantastic, it looks great, the voice acting is good. It also had one of my favourite moments when your crossing the border to Mexico and Far Away by Jose Gonzalez starts to play.

Mass Effect 2: Quite simply one of the best games i've ever played. The story is fantastic and the different routes you can go with the story knowing it will impact not only the game but Mass Effect 3 like your choices in Mass Effect affected Mass Effect 2 makes it extra special.

Most disappointed with...

Fable 3 I personally felt Fable 2 was a better game. I mean there was so much more they could have done with what was available to them and the whole idea of being king it could have been so much better. Plus they took out some of the good bits from Fable 2 or changed them and made them not as good

Fallout: New Vegas This is one of those i'm not disappointed in it in terms of oh it's crap, it could be better but i'm disappointed with it due to I just can't get into it as much as I got into Fallout 3. I don't know whether thats due to expectations, or just not putting time into it or not but I just struggle to play on it for an extended amount of time or even go on it at all. I mean it just stays on the rack.

Dragon Age: Origins Same as above. I brought this recently along with Dead Space from Play.com because they were on sale for cheap and I'm struggling to get into it. I think its cause i'm at the very start but just can't get into it

Better than expected

WWE Smackdown VS Raw 2011 I was looking forward to it, considering the last game I had was SVR08 and the features added were really good, WWE Universe mode I've enjoyed shaping the matches and direction I wanted people to go. But I had doubts when I got it due to the past of them being pretty samey

Edited December 29, 2010 by davidmarrio

[NM!]

Most Played

This would probably go to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 due to the fact that this was the only game my dad would play and thus being the only game that I would really play since we would do the Spec-Ops missions and switch controllers after every so deaths online. If I could go by single player experience, it would go to Heavy Rain, simply due to the fact that I played the game time and time again just to see the other outcomes unravel.

Yeah, this impressed me

Surprise surprise, Heavy Rain takes this slot as well. Just a fantastic experience and THE most unique game I've ever played. Even though I haven't played many games, this was just a great play and I loved every second of it. It also won me over with the look of the game, just as Mirror's Edge did for me before. If you haven't played Heavy Rain, I suggest you go out and rent it. Only reason I say one should rent the game is due to the fact that once you get all the endings, there isn't much replay value.

Most disappointed with...

This year's edition of Medal of Honor was a huge disappointment for me. I haven't played many "critically acclaimed" games such as God of War or Halo: Reach, as I only played the first and third game, so I don't have much anticipation for video games. However, this game was moderately exciting due to the idea of an actual competitor to the Call of Duty series in 2010. It turned out to be a major upset, with the controls copied from Modern Warfare 2 and a class system that seemed a tad limited to the Call of Duty crowd it seemed to want to draw.

Better than expected

This would go to Dead Rising 2. I'm a huge fan of the series and this seemed to be a step up from the first game. I wasn't a fan of the camera, which was a bit useful, seemed to be an empty space that could have been replaced with a better idea. That idea seemed to be the combination of weapons to take on the zombies and psychopaths. Definately a fun game if you're into just killing zombies and having constant boss battles in the psychopaths. The addition of TIR was a cool concept and definately allowed for a moderately average online experience. It definately isn't the best online, but it is a nice touch to the game to have it. Also the Co-Op part of the game is nice too, especially if there is a tight spot concerning bosses. I also like the looters that appear in the mall. While they are predictable to find, it's the idea of some sort of gang calling the city home.

Honorable mention

I would give this to Red Dead Redemption. A really fun game that got me a bit into western stuff. That or I'm slowly becoming a 70 year old grandpa. Red Dead gave the GTA feel to the old West and a pretty nice story to boot. I heard people raved about the online experience, and I'm sure it would have been great, but I barely played it in November and there was hardly anyone on there. I'm sure Undead Nightmare gave some life to the game and I'm a sucker of zombies. Really great game.

[Benji]

The Benji Award for Kaney's Penis of the Year (Biggest Disappointment)

This one goes to Street Fighter iV. Don't get me wrong, it's typical Street Fighter fun, but everyone said it was 'just as good as the second' and I bought into the hype like a fool. The game is so insanely cheap that it might as well be a pre-spirits Ebeneezer Scrooge, particularly the final boss. I gave up on playing it despite several attempts because you can't earn anything beyond the normal difficulty and normal difficulty is cheap enough, thanks very much.

The Benji Award for Kaney's Mum of the Year (Most Pleasant Surprise)

Torn between Red Dead Redemption and Call of Duty: Black Ops for this one. I've spent most of my time this year on these. RDR I somehow knew literally nothing of until days before it came out and ended up with it being ranked amongst my favourite games ever. Black Ops... I almost didn't buy. I hate FPS's generally, and MW2 did not change that attitude with it's awful story and mediocre maps for online. Black Ops somehow took all my hate for MW2 and turned it on its head. I'd probably give my kudos to RDR, but BlOps definately gets an honourable mention.

The Benji Award for Kaney of the Year (We Thought It'd Be Good, And It Was)

Heavy Rain. I know people take issues with what was basically one long game of quick time events, but to me it was inevitable, and they did it to almost perfection. My ONLY complaint is that the story never technically changes, only the ending and minor moments, and considering how fun the rest of the game is, that is a minor gripe.

The Benji Award for OH FUCK KANEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY BELOVED KITTIES?! (Franchise Failure)

C'mon, Final Fantasy XIII. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad game, it's just nowhere near the quality expected of Final Fantasy. Considering the waste of time XI was, the tedium that XII endures until I found it fun and the fact XIV is going to be online again, I think this franchise will have to do some serious repair work before I give a shit about any future games.

The Benji Award for Kaney's Mother's Vagina (WET)

Goes to WET, shockingly. I'm a big fan of this game. Acrobatics? Monkeys? Gunplay? Swordplay? Badass female lead? It's basically my dream game because I'm secretly 13

The Benji Award For Zero's Efforts In The Ring (Finally, It Feels Fun Again)

Football Manager 2011 gets this. I don't know whether it's my rekindled interest in football or the fact I love the layout or what, but it's recaptured my interest in the game this year.

The Benji Award For Ex-Best Friends (I Tried To Keep Going, I Swear To God)

Dragon Age and [PROTOTYPE] I've restarted playing so many times I've lost count, and I just can't get into the enjoyment of playing them as much as I'd hoped. Shame, because they're both getting sequels and on paper we're matches made in heaven.

The Benji Award For Services To Benji's Everywhere (Final Fantasy IX)

I give you one hundred guesses and you get Final Fantasy IX. Shut your mouth, Kanery.

[Herr Matzat]

I love CGR.

[thatblindgeye]

Most Played

Probably Halo Reach. My friends were extremely into Halo, and at the beginning of the year I didnt particularly care nor hate the franchise. I just didn't prefer it. After reading the books I got more into the whole universe, and ended up loving Reach. I enjoyed the story since I already read the book, so it was nice seeing the images put into something I could actually see. There are some flaws or things that annoy me when playing online, but I can still enjoy the game and probably will for a good while.

Yeah, this impressed me

Red Dead Redemption, Limbo, and War for Cybertron. At first, I thought RDR would be a typical Rockstar game that is just GTA set in an earlier time period. I was way off. Not only was the gameplay extremely fun, but the story was flat out amazing. War for Cybertron I didnt really have high hope for considering the other games, but thankfully this one wasn't just a movie turned into a game. The online was fun while it lasted. Limbo was just a flat out great game visually. It was fun solving little puzzles and the way the whole game looked amazed me.

Most disappointed with...

SD 2011, Limbo, and RDR. With RDR, the only disappointment I have is the fact that multiplayer was incredible repetitive and got very old very fast. With Limbo, I was disappointed that the game cost so much yet was so short. After I finished it I thought to myself that I should have waited until it dropped in price to get it as, while it was good, I didnt feel it was worth the amount they put it up for. SD 2011 I had high hopes for, especially after not having played a wrestling game since the original SD vs RAW. All the new features sounded great, and they were great when actually playing with them. But after a while I felt that old 'Smackdown game' feeling and just lost interest. The RTWM mode is a huge improvement over the old season modes, and Universe Mode is a good starting point, but the gameplay was too repetitive (not in a good way) and the fact that the online mode, well, sucked as far as connections and finding a good match goes... Hopefully at some point there will be a SD game where the online works perfectly, as that would be something that would keep my attention, or more detail added to the Universe mode.

Better than expected

Halo Reach and AC Brotherhood. Having only played Halo 3 with my friends rarely, I didnt really think I would get that into Reach, even after reading the books. But when my friends got it and we had a little Reach party, I was more or less hooked on it.

AC Brotherhood is surprising. Having not played an AC game before and expecting it to be overly repetitive and to get old quickly, I find the story mode to be very interesting, the game play to be repetitive but very fun, and the online multiplayer is fantastic, outside of how long it can take to find a match. The only other complaint I would have with the game is that sometimes the movement/actions dont synch up with what I am trying to do, but other than that the gameplay is wonderful.

[LUKIE]

Most Played

MW2. Just played this so much over the past year and a bit. I stopped playing when Black Ops comes out, and haven't touched it since... But then again, I haven't touched Black Ops since either.

Yeah, this impressed me

Formula 1 2010. Amazing game. Bought a G27, and the game became the best thing in the world. Just an amazing, amazing game that I can sit down for an hour straight, and do a race, be tired afterwards, but having thoroughly enjoyed it.

Most disappointed with...

DISAPPOINTED is the biggest understatement ever! BLACK FUCKING OPS BECAUSE THOSE FUCKWITS RELEASED A GAME THAT DOESN'T FUCKING WORK, and still doesn't work! I haven't touched it since, and now that the UK PC users are able to legally send their games back for refunds, hopefully it will happen here. What a joke.

Better than expected

Indi Game Pack 2. I went in with decent expectations, but everything is awesome. And then they gave me Indi Game Pack 1 for free! Even better!

Honorable mention

Company of Heroes. A game I always seem to fall back on. It is really, really good, and can get rather insane in parts. Just shelling the shit out of towns and troops and turning every battle into a shelling massacre. Delicious fun.

[Wormmaster]

Most Played

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 on the Xbox 360. I got my Xbox 360 back in February, and it was the Modern Warfare 2 edition. I played the fuck out of it, and I loved the multiplayer, but when Bad Company 2 was released, it just faded out. So many great matches with friends, so many awesome memories. No matter how much the single player sucked, nothing could dethrone it, and now that Vietnam was released, I doubt that anything will for some time.

Yeah, this impressed me

This also goes to Battlefield: Bad Company 2 on the Xbox 360, because I didn't even know about the game before I saw the multiplayer demo in Xbox Live Arcade and decided to check it out due to general boredom. So, from a title that in January wouldn't have ringed any bells to a must-prepurchase and the multiplayer game of the year.

Most disappointed with

An older title I had always heard about but never played, a friend of mine finally made me get a copy of Dead Rising on the Xbox 360. Pumped up for loads of zombie splattering fun, instead I got a tightly timed, boring tunnel run. Needless to say my disappointment was great.

Better than expected

When I purchased Dead Space for the PC a year ago, I didn't even bother to really get started due to twitchy frame rates and jerky mouse movement. I decided to give it an another shot on the 360, and oh boy. It pretty much provided me with one of the greatest single player experiences of the last decade. It's not like I expected the game to be bad or anything, but since the PC experience was such a lackluster, I went into the 360 version not expecting much, and was duly surprised. ... yeah, Dead Space on the Xbox 360.

Honorable mention

One only? Fuck that. Left 4 Dead 2 on the PC kept me amused for a lot of the year especially after Realism Versus was launched. Company of Heroes on the PC is always fun to play with a bunch of friends. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on the Xbox 360 did take a lot of my Xbox time in the start... and then finally there's Mass Effect 2 on the PC, which was awesome beyond belief.

[Exodia The Forbidden One]

Most Played

Well, I got an entire summer out of the Mass Effect series, and I played Dragon Age: Origins for the first couple of months. So, BioWare wins out here.

Impressed

I added a PlayStation 3 to my collection of consoles, and what impressed me was Heavy Rain and LittleBigPlanet. But the most impressive thing in my opinion overall was the multiplayer of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. Aside from long loading times, the game itself was well-executed.

Disappointed

Resistance: Fall of Man. I got it with my PS3 as I had always loved Insomniac Games titles on PS1 and PS2 (Spyro and Ratchet). But Resistance was just terrible to me. There were better first-person shooters out there. Traded it in for Medal of Honor. lol.

Better than expected

EA's Medal of Honor was actually better than I had expected. I actually felt that the gameplay had a better experience than the repetitive year-after-year Call of Duty series. I thought Medal of Honor was going to be terrible but it exceeded my expectations.

Honourable Mentions

Fable III and Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga. I love RPG's haha.