The Blogtastic Blogfest That Is Getmeoutofthis.net!

All the everyone forever is starting to do their game of the year lists, so fuck it, I’m doing one too. I mean, I would have, eventually, either way, but the podcasts have put me in the mood of doing it today. So let’s see what my top 10 games of 2010 were, shall we?

10. DJ Hero 2: I loved the first DJ Hero, and this game basically fixed all the problems the first had, and added so much more. I wasn’t planning on buying it, but I’m so glad I did. For whatever reason, it gives me this enjoyment high other games simply don’t. It’s certainly not the most creative, or most polished, or most technically competent game of the year, but it’s my guilty pleasure of the year, and I love it a lot.

9. Snoopy Flying Ace: Purchased on a whim to play with Brer, this game’s multiplayer devoured my life for awhile. You’d never think this game would work, but it’s so polished and so much fun. Add to it that you can play split-screen online, and hey, you have one damn good game here. I’ve barely even played the single player, but I’ve sunk a lot of hours into this. It’s good times.

8. Deadly Premonition: If you want to talk about guilty pleasures, here’s one. Man, oh man, this game is amazing. I mean, it’s terrible, but it is also an experience I am so glad I had. There is so much raw creativity in this game. Francis York Morgan is one of the strongest characters of the year, and the game itself just must be seen to be believed. Somehow, despite all its problems, it works. It works so well.

7. Costume Quest: Double Fine doesn’t always nail it with their mechanics, but they know how to make a funny game with an incredible setting. Costume Quest is just that, but unlike Brutal Legend, which had mechanics that were hard to get over, Costume Quest’s simple combat never gets in the way. It’s not hard, but since the game is a short downloadable title, it doesn’t matter. If you care about Halloween, this is a game to play, though maybe wait until next October to give it a go, for the proper mood.

6. Dragon Quest 9: A classic-style game, but done with so much polish that you can’t help but completely fall in love with it. All the systems in this game are honed to perfection, and the story is constructed in a very interesting way, considering all the player characters are generated by you. It’s a shame America doesn’t get to use a lot of the cool functionality, but there’s still plenty there to make this a winner, and it certainly was to me. I’m glad I beat it.

5. Game Dev Story: By far my “iOS game of the year,” Game Dev Story is a very simple simulation, but the way it is presented is done so well that I haven’t met anyone whose life it hasn’t devoured for a few days after its discovery. It certainly did as such for me. A fantastic little game, well worth the price of admission. It simply would not let go of me, and that speaks to its awesomeness.

4. Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Forget CODBLOPS, Metal of Honor, and any other shooter. This is, by far, the best shooter of the year, in both single and multiplayer. Granted, the multiplayer is the key selling point, which brings just about the best objective-based play out there, on console or PC. But the characters in the single player are also fantastic, and shouldn’t be forgotten either. This is a mind-blowingly awesome package, and anyone who enjoys shooting dudes really should play it.

3. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light: If you had told me that I would ever love a game starring Lara Croft as much as this game last year, I would have thought you were insane. However, this almost “reboot” of Lara in a completely co-op based puzzle shooter was just so fantastically done, I fell in love immediately. If you have a friend to play it with, there is no greater co-op experience that came out this year.

2. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker: Another game I wasn’t expecting to love, but did, there is no doubt in my mind that this is pretty well the best PSP game made so far. Peace Walker somehow manages to deal with the horrible control scheme of the PSP and create an incredibly awesome shooter that keeps all the key elements one would want from a Metal Gear game while also getting rid of all the headaches that a Metal Gear game brings. The story is silly, but doesn’t devour the game like MGS4, and the game has all the awesome gameplay of MGS4, and looks fantastic to boot. And even though I stand by my statement a second ago about Lara being the best co-op experience of the year, Peace Walker is a close second if you have some buddies. If you have a PSP, this is a game you must own.

1. Mass Effect 2: Because it came out so early in the year, I nearly forgot this game. Luckily, I was reminded. Mass Effect 2 completely deserves to be Game of the Year. Not only are the characters in your team in the game completely fleshed out and interesting, the game goes to great lengths to make your decisions in the previous game, and this one, matter. You really feel like you’re making a difference in the game. On top of that, the revised combat system is fantastic, and turns the series into one of the most fun third-person shooters out there. Even if you haven’t played the first (though you’ll get more out of it if you do) you really should play through Mass Effect 2 if you have any love of sci fi games at all. Bioware has done great things here.

That’s it! Tomorrow I’m going to look at some Honorable Mentions which were on my list before I had to make some cuts down to 10, because why not? I can do that. It’s my blog.

Feel free to tell me my list is wrong, but I’m pretty happy with it. For me, these are the games of the year.