Year End Look Back/Review

Ok guys its time for my annual year end look back and review of all the stuff Ive played. Last year I limited it to just new games, but this year Im gonna round up everything I got to play. Ill try keep each one somewhat short so as not to bog you guys down with too much at once, and gamespot cant handle too much text in blogs anyway so id probably run out of room. The last part will be my game of the year for 2010, only games that came out this year and ones that ive played are eligible.

So here we go!

No More Heroes

Ah heres a little gem of a game that I missed out on the first time. With great characters and a weird charm ive only seen from the likes of metal gear, No more heroes is a great game. It has pretty solid gameplay throughout, but the stages may be a bit bland and repetitive but for the most part it was fun the whole way through. Travis is a great character that is completely unique compared to most out there now. One of the aspects that stuck out the most was probably using the wiimote like a cell phone to hear about upcoming missions. I can only hope i pick up NMH2 sometime soon.

Final Score: 8.0

Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars

More than likely the best fighter for wii easily, this game surprised me a bit, but also left me wishing it had been a bit more. Fast and furious combat is the standard for the vs series and TvsC holds true, and im amazed by how deep the game still is considering how many buttons they had to work with. Good game overall, I had wished the roster was a bit better but It seems they were saving the best for Marvel Vs Capcom 3.

Final Score: 8.0

3D Dot Game Heroes

This has got to be one of my favorite games of the year, I never thought any game this year could make me this nostalgic. A great throwback that had me mesmerized from the moment I put it in, I must have spent hours just creating my characters as many of you had seen in one of my previous blogs. Music was also an outstanding aspect with midi tunes that sent me right back to 1987. The gameplay was old school zelda right down to the hookshot and items, but that's what i loved about it most and it will definitely hold me over till Skyward Sword comes out. It added its own touch the the formula with a giant screen filling blade, magic and other things. Its definitely one to check out if your a fan of old games, or fondly remember games of that era.

Final Score: 8.5

Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo

This is a game I got for a discount price so I wasn't expecting much, and I pretty much got just that. It has its charm being dragonball and some excellent character models and art design, but as far as gameplay goes it falls flat. Its just a straight beat em up game with a few decent boss fights but many glaring flaws. I normally love beat em up games but this one just offered no variety and felt really stale.

Final Score: 6.5

Super Mario Galaxy 2

What can I say that hasnt already been said about this game? It is indeed a really great game that improved upon the original In almost every way. But I still find that I enjoyed the first game more, It just felt so much fresher, and I know im the minority when I say this but the streamlined gameplay feels a little hallow. I think I miss the little narrative and cutscenes the original game had since it made the presentation that much better, and having bigger levels to explore has always been something I enjoyed more. These minor gripes shouldnt take away from the experience though, they are what held it back for me but I doubt It will hamper anyone elses enjoyment of it. Excellent platforming is what put mario on the map and here hes at his best, considering that the gameplay is pretty much unchanged they manage to get alot of milage out of it which is great.

Final Score: 9.0

Resident Evil 5: Lost In Nightmares/Desperate Escape

I dont normally buy DLC content but since capcom had a sale I had to pick it up for $5. For the most part gameplay is exactly the same, I didnt expect it to drastically change but some new weapons would have been nice. Lost in nightmares had great atmosphere and going through the spencer mansion again was like reliving the RE games of past. Desperate escape was pretty much just an escape mission that was a bit frustrating but still fast paced and good. For the price it was pretty good, still same old RE5 but a revisit is good every once in a while.

Final Scores: 8.0, 7.5

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

I'm just gonna say best mario RPG ever, yea I went there. I had had this game for a while in my closet but I didnt get around to play it till this last year, man was I missing out. Playing as bowser (one of my favorite characters) and having him rampage and travel around the mushroom kingdom with his temper usually getting the better of him was a lot of fun. The combat was quite satisfying and there were cleaver uses for activating bowsers inner powers as well, the badges and special moves kept every battle interesting and unique. A solid story and good humor (especially fawful) round out a great package, this is one of my highest rated handheld games ever and I couldnt recommend it more. Oh and "I have chortles"

Final Score: 9.5

Bayonetta

Having missed it the first time earlier this year I finally got a chance to play bayonetta after getting it during black friday. Ive seen that this is a love it or hate it game, I thought it was great since I happen to have an affinity for games that are as over the top as can be which is exactly what makes it awesome. I dont think ive seen combat as fluid as this game in game recently, and playing god of war right after this made it feel down right sluggish compared to bayonetta. All the little in game jokes are great too, this game doesnt take it self seriously since the story is meant to be nonsensical and its design is definitely one all its own, I only wish the next devil may cry was still being made by this team.

Final Score: 8.0

Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode 1

For the most part this is a very good game, its not quite the return to glory sega is always proclaiming with each installment, but its definitely a step in the right direction. Solid platforming and excellent presentation help but some of the floaty physics and slippery controls along with stages almost taken straight from sonic 2 hold it back from being truly great.

Final Score: 7.5

Bionic Commando

Well hmm, I can see what they were trying to accomplish with this game but its just so average and repetitive. The swinging mechanics work somewhat well but there are so many missteps and areas that aren't even spots you should be platforming on, and probably the worst offender is the radiation invisible walls, who thought that was a good idea? Anyway some enjoyment can still be found within but not much.

Final Score: 5.5

The Legendary Starfy

A game almost too cutesy for its own good this one was ok, nothing special but not really a must play. Slow platforming is what this game entails and Im surprised its even slower than Kirby. It was alright but nothing really makes it stand out so thats about it.

Final Score: 5.0

Metroid: Other M

I don't care what anyone who's caught up in this games controversy says, I loved this game for everything it was and is. Fast fluid combat is something new to the series but it works well, and even though the game is much more linear I had no problem with it, after years of being lost in metroid games knowing where I was going and making a difference when I got there was much more rewarding in a way. Story was good, not incredible but for nintendos first try at a serious story I commend them for it being as good as it was. Samus and her story have never been slicker and this game was a nice change up, and one I hope gets a sequel sometime soon.

Final Score: 8.5

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow

This was a game I was very sceptical of at first, being an old fan of castlevania I had learned not to expect much from their 3D entries and giving it to another team seemed to worry me even more. But to my surprise the game turned out great and better than I could have hoped. It has great combat, amazing scenery, and an atmosphere and feeling that totally sucked me into it. It may not be the way I would want the series to go but I cant deny how much I enjoyed the game for everything it accomplished. Its not perfect though, some odd camera angles and weird platforming may cause some frustration but otheriwise the rest is great. And now that we know a sequel is coming Im eagerly awaiting what comes next.

Final Score: 9.0

Super Street Fighter 4

Im gonna keep this one short, but I will say this that the game is just as awesome and completely outdoes the first one. New specials more characters and many other things make this the SF4 to own, I do miss some of the content they took out like the movie viewer and what not but it easily makes up for it with all of the other added features especially the throwback to old bonus games like car smashing.

Final Score: 9.0

Kirby's Epic Yarn

Clearly this game sports a very unique art direction, and its used to its full extent. Playing as kirby in this yarn world was great and there are so many different uses and inventive ways for him to interact with his world. A bit on the very easy side but that shouldn't hamper the good gameplay, I know losing all the jewels I collected was rather annoying but i guess thats where the challenge lies. A good game for sure and one ill continue to enjoy.

Final Score: 7.5

Read Dead Redemption

I just got this recently so Im still working on it at the moment. But so far its a really good game, such a vast array of things to do is almost mind boggling. Even my dad enjoyed watching me play it since hes big into westerns. Just riding around the mexican country side is a blast and forging my own legend in the game is proving to be well worth some of the hype.

Final Score: 9.0

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2

Easily the best representation of an anime as a game, no question about it. With gorgeous graphics this game brings the story of naruto to life like never before. It has excellent animations and good fighting engine that although works well online, but is still a bit shallow, the story mode was much more streamlined as well which was good too. Such care was taken in creating this game and its world, I only hope that one piece one day gets a game of this caliber.

Final Score: 8.5

God of War 3

One of the titles I had wanted most over the year was always somewhat out of my reach till Christmas, oh but it was worth the wait. Brutally over the top and oh so awesome, this game more than any other really makes you feel as if you a serious force to be reckoned with. Each boss battle in this game was more stunning than the previous one, playing as kratos never seemed better. There are many new weapons in this instalment that work like his default weapon but that's just fine IMO (since its the only weapon I tend to use). A fitting end for the series but based on the ending I don't think we've seen the last of it.

Final Score: 9.0

Donkey Kong Country Returns

My second favorite game this year, DKCR blew me away. I haven't been this pleased with a platformer since I was a kid, it gave me that great feeling of nostalgia while bringing something new to the table as well. Retro has done a fantastic job and I couldn't be happier with the final product. This is tight platforming at its best and Im glad nintendo finally cut out all the rubbish that was polluting the DKC series for sometime, no crocs, no unnecessary side characters just DK, Diddy, Cranky and the island is all I need. This came very close to being my game of the year, and for good reason since Its been years since ive seen a 2D platformer with such variety and lush worlds as this. I'm so happy to see DK return to his former glory, good to have you back old buddy.

Final Score: 9.5

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

Yes this game wowed me that much, It is indeed that good. I have only ever given 1 other handheld game a perfect score but now with this that makes 2. It just offers so much in such a small package, great gameplay, magnificent story, and plenty to do when all is said and done. Managing snakes army was a lot of fun, picking and choosing which soldiers I wanted and building my off shore fortress was great. The games story was quite touching as well, the connection between snake and the boss has always been something I enjoyed and this one only expands upon that even more. Multiplayer was excellent too, my friend and I must have played a ton of it since there were tons of side missions to be played. All this and more are why I chose it as my game of the year, simply amazing kojima you've done it again.

Final Score: 10

And that about does it, hope you guys enjoyed my look back at this year, There were some more games I played but I didnt have enough room to list them here. Here's hoping 2011 is just as good.