Games of 2010

New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Kirby's Epic Yarn caused all the arguments and casual hate I have come to expect from co-op platforming games along the same vein as LittleBigPlanet. Phrases such as, "Stop knocking me off the frickin' ledge!" were repeated often.

I went completely old-school, whipped out some graph paper, and battled through Legend of Zelda. It was missing some niceties of the newer Zeldas, but I was amazed at how much they got right the first time. I went slightly less old-school by hitting up the Monkey Island remake. I loved the characters and writing, but often found myself scratching my head on the puzzles and begrudgingly using the hint system.

I played through two PAX 10 selections, Closure and Solace. Both were very good, not to mention free, but I hope to pay money for both of them someday (looks like I may get my wish with Closure). Limbo was engaging, but its narrative made me think the creators wanted to jump on the artsy, indie bandwagon, but didn't fully understand the concept.

Valkyria Chronicles was somewhat limited in strategic depth, but it made up for it with a strong story and art direction. I was a little disappointed with PixelJunk Shooter compared to the fantastic Monsters and Eden. Scribblenauts was a chore for me because of floaty controls and the fact that I usually didn't know the "right way" to solve a puzzle.

My pick of the year was Uncharted 2. I waited WAY too long to play it, given the fact that I loved the first one. I'm all for brand-new game concepts, but sometimes I want something familiar that is done extremely well. On that note, Super Mario Galaxy 2 was platforming crack until the end (minus the green stars).

Costume Quest reminded me off all the turn-based RPGs I played in my youth, except distilled to a concentrated experience that made it a close second for best gaming experience of the year.

I started, but quit playing Metroid: Other M and Cave Story on DSi and still haven't taken off the shrink wrap on Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, New Play Control! Pikmin, PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe, Half-Minute Hero, and Alan Wake (if downloadable titles had shrink wrap). Portal was my only replay of the year, although Cave Story felt like it because I played through the Wii and PC versions already. If you discount Portal, then I got four more games than I beat, although three of those were Christmas presents.