2010 was another great year in the video games industry. Matt, Josh and I had two heated debates over the following awards, but we do believe we have a good summary that represents the best of 2010. We want you to walk away from this thinking the GOTY is the one game you have to play overall, and per platform. Feel free to post your personal favorites in the comments section. Enjoy!
Game of the year: Red Dead Redemption
This one was unanimous. We all dove head first into John Marston’s world and walked away with a variety of positive opinions. This was easily the GOTY and we can’t wait for the inevitable sequel.
Platform GOTY Awards
360: Halo: Reach – Why is this important? Because after 10 years of Halo, the boys still know how to get it done. While Alan Wake put up a strong fight, it wasn’t enough to dethrone Microsoft’s FPS champ.
PS3: God of War 3 – The epic conclusion to Sony’s must-play series continued its pacing and straight-forward combat mechanics, while adjusting the series to the current-generation of gaming. No series had larger shoes to fill, and still GOW 3 found a way.
Wii: Mario Galaxy 2 – Iteration after iteration, and Nintendo still has the same old formula. MG 2 is not only the best game for the Wii in 2010, but arguably the best game on the Wii, period. This year’s runner up: Goldeneye 007. We had to give this game recognition as they had a huge fanbase to answer to. You won’t go wrong if you’re an old-school Godleneye 64 fan.
PC: Starcraft 2 – Well, why not? Blizzard took Starcraft to the next level and didn’t disappoint. While their big game earned a substantial add-on (World of Warcraft), nothing is year could compare to the excellent precision of Starcraft 2. I do want to mention Metro 2033 as another outstanding title this year. If you aren’t into the RTS genre, head over to Steam and grab Metro. It’s great.
Mobile: Infinity Blade – We had our biggest debate over this category. In the end, we felt that for the price you wont find better quality. Not only is this our vote for best portable game, it’s also an example of what is to come in 2011 for the iOS platform. Infinity Blade turned your iPhone into a fun, deep portable gaming platform and none of us saw it coming. Runner up this year is God of War: Ghost of Sparta. We continue to be amazed at what is possible on the PSP. And this title shows us that the platform still has life and can also lead when it comes to what we all expect out of portable gaming: taking a great, existing franchise in the road, and not losing gameplay.
Here’s to 2011!