Top Games To Own For 2010
By Rion Jefferson
The year 2010 was truly a phenomenal year for gaming on all fronts. Competition was heated and there were surprises at every bend from the companies we all grew to know and love, here are my top picks for must have games for 2010:
PSP
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleepis a Kingdom Hearts prequel for the Sony Playstation Portable (PSP). It was released in Japan on January 9, 2010, September 7, 2010 in North America, and September 10, 2010 in Europe. The game's premise is the origins of the series' hero and villain, Sora and Xehanort, and dwells deep into the mysteries of Xehanort's bleak past and forgotten memories as well as how Sora and Riku came to wield the Key-blade in the first place. This game is contains all the elements of a great game not to mention a great RPG; great replay ability, clean graphics and an enticing storyline. Whether you are a fan of the series, or not you will thoroughly enjoy purchasing this game. Even the added online multiplayer feature adds a whole new dimension to the game that RPG’s are not usually known for.
God of War: Ghost of Sparta is the second God of War title developed for the PSP and the sixth installment in the God of War series. In this chapter, Kratos, now the God of War, is still haunted by the visions of his mortal past, and decides to explore his origins. God of War: Ghost of Sparta is an action-adventure game, released in November 2010, collaboratively developed by Ready at Dawn and SCE Santa Monica Studio exclusively for the PlayStation Portable. This game is singlehandedly one of the most action packed games that has graced the Playstation Portable and has lived up to the hype of its predecessor and then some. The game features new weapons, magical powers and navigational abilities not present in previous games, and has been cited as featuring 25 percent more gameplay than its PSP predecessor Chains of Olympus.
PS3
God of War IIIis an action-adventure video game for PlayStation 3, developed by Sony Santa Monica, published by Sony Computer Entertainment and released worldwide in March 2010 and is the fifth installment to the series. In this final chapter in the current storyline, Kratos and his initial allies the Titans storm Mount Olympus in an attempt to kill Zeus and the Olympian Gods, leading to a series of confrontations across the Underworld and Olympus and the reintroduction of Pandora's Box. Players will enjoy the blood & violence of this game just like its predecessors, mixed in with a dash of puzzle solving and breathtaking graphics achieved through the graphical power of the PS3.
Gran Turismo 5 is the fifth edition of the Gran Turismo racing simulator series. Developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, it was released for PlayStation 3 on November 24, 2010. It expands on the game's Prologue version and is the first entry of the series to be developed for PlayStation 3. The game marks the first entry in the series to feature online races for 16-players. A damage model has been included with variations of damage depending on whether the vehicle falls into the "standard" or "premium"-category. Over 1,000 cars will be featured in the game; it features 26 different locations and 71 different tracks. Night racing also returns. World Rally Championship, NASCAR and Super GT licenses are featured for the first time in the Gran Turismo franchise. Marred by many a setbacks and delays to the dismay of many fans; Gran Turismo 5 is finally complete and all has been forgiven by the fans. Polyphony has truly delivered a remarkable driving simulation experience that has no equal.
XBOX 360
Call of Duty: Black Ops is a first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch, published by Activision and released worldwide on November 9, 2010 for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Nintendo DS consoles. Announced on April 30, 2010, the game is the seventh installment of the Call of Duty series, and the first to be set in the Cold War. It is the third in the series to be developed by Treyarch, and is a sequel to the developer's Call of Duty: World at War. This game franchise has gone above and beyond the call of duty for first person shooters and with each installment the following of fans grows that much larger. Within 24 hours of going on sale, the game sold more than 7 million copies, 5.6 million in the U.S. and 1.4 million in the U.K., breaking the record set by its predecessor Modern Warfare 2 by some 2.5 million copies.
Halo: Reach is a first-person shooter video game, developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 console. Reach was released in North America, Australia, and Europe on September 14, 2010. Halo: Reach grossed US$200 million on its launch day, setting a new record for the franchise. The game sold well in most territories, moving more than 3 million units its first month in North America. Initial critical reception by video game reviewers was positive; reviews from publications such as IGN, GamePro, and Official Xbox Magazine called it the best Halo title yet. The Halo series has been such a smashing success for the XBOX gaming community and has always been heralded as
Wii
Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a platform video game developed by Nintendo for the Wii. It was first announced at E3 2009 and is the sequel to Super Mario Galaxy. The game retells the story established in Super Mario Galaxy, in which the protagonist Mario pursues the evil Bowser into outer space, who has captured Princess Peach and taken control of the universe using Power Stars. Mario's subsequent adventures revolve around traveling to various galaxies to recover the Power Stars in order to travel to the center of the universe and rescue the princess. Upon its release, Super Mario Galaxy 2 was met with critical acclaim, and it has been listed as one of the highest-rated video games ever by aggregation sites such as Metacritic and GameRankings. The game is one of the best-selling games on the Wii with 5.1 million copies sold worldwide.
Metroid: Other M is an action-adventure video game for the Wii developed by "Project M", a team consisting of staff members from Nintendo, Team Ninja, and D-Rockets. It is the eleventh game in the Metroid series, featuring gameplay in both first- and third-person perspectives. The story follows bounty hunter Samus Aran, who investigates a derelict space station along with a Galactic Federation platoon, which includes her former commanding officer, Adam Malkovich. A generation of gamers grew up on the Metroid game series and it is good to see Nintendo bring back such a classic game in fine stride. Another reason for this games success is the fact that it is not considered just another childish, minimal skill level game for the Wii but something that both hardcore gamers can play and feel a sense of challenge and accomplishment.
PC
Aliens vs. Predator is a science fiction first-person shooter video game, developed by Rebellion Developments, the team behind the 1999 original PC game, and published by Sega for Microsoft Windows, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. There are three campaigns in the game, one for each race/faction (the Predators, the Aliens and the Colonial Marines), that, while separate in terms of individual plot and gameplay, form one overarching storyline. Seasoned gamers have been waiting for this release for nearly ten years and they were not disappointed. All the cool weapons, cut scenes, nostalgia and gore are back with a crisper, polished and more realistic feel. The multiplayer takes this experience that much further allowing the player to experience battle as any of the three races and adapting to the variety and difference in gameplay for each race.
Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed and released by Blizzard Entertainment for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. A sequel to the award-winning 1998 video game StarCraft, the game was released worldwide on July 27, 2010. It is split into three installments: the base game with the subtitle Wings of Liberty, and two upcoming expansion packs, Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void. This game has garnered world renowned critical acclaim and has quite the following of fans especially in Asia. People have literally gone as far as dying from playing this game so much it’s just that addictively fun.
Nintendo DS
Pokémon Heart Gold & Pokémon Soul Silver are enhanced remakes of the 1999 video games Pokémon Gold and Silver. The games are part of the Pokémon series of role-playing video games, and were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. The basic goal of the game is to become the best Pokémon trainer in the Johto and Kanto regions, which is done by raising and cataloging Pokémon and defeating other trainers. Commercially, the two are among the highest-selling handheld games of all time, with their combined sales being 10 million units as of July 29, 2010. In my humble opinion this franchise is singlehandedly the best RPG to ever hit the Nintendo handheld market, this game spans generations and is showing no signs of slowing down. Young and old, male and female, and even gamers and non-gamers will never forget the great impact this franchise had on a wide range of generations.
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies is the ninth installment in the acclaimed Dragon Quest series created by Yūji Horii. The game was developed by Level-5 and published by Square Enix in Japan and by Nintendo in North America and Europe. The game was primarily designed around multiplayer gameplay. Dragon Quest IX marks several firsts for the main series: it is the first to be initially launched for a handheld system; first to have almost no random encounters by allowing players to see enemies on the map (except when sailing); and the first to be designed primarily with the intent of being a multiplayer video game. Dragon Quest IX is such a big hit that it set a Guinness World Record with its Chance Encounter mode surpassing 100 million people communicating anonymously as reported on May 20, 2010. One of the most challenging and rewarding RPG’s in existence, truly for those hardcore gaming RPG fans out there who demand excellence from their games.
