Games: Top Five of 2010
Posted on 31st Dec 10 by Brian Lloyd | 
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The second of three end-of-year lists goes out now, as the D casts an eye back on its fave five videogames of 2010. Our albums list goes out at 11.59 tonight. Last word, yo.
As inspired by regular reader Darcie Nolan and Drop-D‘s Tadgh O’Connor, here’s my Top Five Videogames of 2010! Also, if you’ve suggestions for articles or want to argue any of these below, I’m on Twitter as well.
1 – CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS
It’s fair to say that COD has had a chequered career. Beginning as a cheap-as-chips Medal Of Honor rip-off, the series has progressed to the status of worldwide smash-hit. Black Ops beat all kinds of records and sold out of ships within a day. In fact, it had the highest midnight-opening sales of any videogame in history. And I should know – I queued for two hours to get it.
2 – THE FORCE UNLEASHED 2
You could argue that a good complaint of any game is that it’s over too quickly. This could be said of TFU2. Such was the intense detail and imagery of this game that you literally couldn’t tell the difference between cutscene and gaming. In fact, that was the chief quality of it – it felt like one massive Star Wars film. Non Star Wars-fans may not have greeted this as warmly, but it’s deserving of a place for the sheer quality of graphics. I have not see anything like it in years.
3 – MASS EFFECT 2
When I initially played Mass Effect 2, I didn’t like it. I felt that the first game had such deep levels of customisation and this didn’t live up to it. Naturally, this was a mistake. Where it may lack in RPG-esque qualities, it makes up for in sheer playability. These elements have been stripped back to allow for a more user-friendly experience. We forget sometimes that people are automatically put off when they hear ‘RPG’. This game is a gentle way of easing oneself into that genre. Of course, the story is so rich and detailed, you could easily get sucked in and never come back. What game would have references to Daoist philosophy AND a semi-naked Yvonne Strahovski?
4 – RED DEAD REDEMPTION
The noted film critic Roger Ebert has said that videogames can never and will never be classed as an art-form. I wrote an open letter to him rebutting this argument. Red Dead Redemption is one such game that I can think of that challenges his viewpoint. The scenery and storyline meshed with the incredibly beautiful music make for, in my mind, one of the greatest games ever. Play through the entire game, go through the story and that last scene as you hurry back to the farm. Jamie Lidell’s exquisite ‘Compass‘ plays over the sound of your horse galloping. Art is something attempts to elicit an emotional response from the viewer. This game has done so.
5 – PERFECT DARK
Yes, I’m aware the game was released years ago. That said, this is worth playing again as it was remastered for XBA this year. This game still manages to enthrall, infuriate and engross you just like it did all that time ago. For a game that can still do that, a decade later, is worth your time and effort.
