2010 was a great year for video games. We saw a lot of great new titles, long awaited sequels and even returns from older games. To be fair, I chose my top 5 from the games that I played and that were released in 2010. No bias here, just an honest gamer's decision.
5. NBA Jam (Wii)
"Swish swish!"
It's nice to see a good arcade game get some love in modern times. NBA Jam brings back the fire dunking and Boom-Shakalaking madness. It's a hoot especially when playing with other people. I had no problems with the Wiimote+Nunchuk control scheme. Shake and bake!
4. Monster Hunter Tri (Wii)
"Roooaaar!"
Monster Hunter is still Monster Hunter but the Wii version adds in underwater exporation which is quite a sight and adds to the challenge. This Monster Hunter has Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection support meaning real online gameplay and not limited to Ad-Hoc parties. Monster Hunter Tri has very good serves and offers smooth online interaction for most of it.
3. Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars (Wii)
"Owara seru!"
I got the MvC itch back in 2009 and played the Japanese release of TvC but with the announcement of Ultimate All-Stars and the new additions (especially Zero), I was sold. It's a great fighter and a worthy edition to Capcom's VS. series of fighting games. Tatsunical!
2. Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (DS)
"I challenge you to a battle of wits!"
Being a fan of the Professor Layton series, this game was a no brainer get for me. With it's great presentation and interesting storyline to keep you going. Puzzle games are perfect for portable gaming and the Unwound Future does not disappoint. Few things satisfy like a puzzle solved.
1. Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (PSP)
"Keyblades are not something you use just to bully somebody around!"
The Kingdom Hearts storyline has always intrigued me (no matter how bogus it's gets) and with this being a prequel, it ties up a lot of loose ends. The new combat mechanics are very well implemented and it requires more skill and strategy without being overwhelmingly complicated. And with 3 characters to choose from, this is the most diverse Kingdom Hearts game yet.
And there you have it, my top 5 games of 2010. I may not have a lot of game systems but 2010 has been a very rich year for video games on all platforms. There's something out there for everyone. What's your top 5 games of 2010?
The most anticipated PS3 Title has finally arrived after six years in development with countless delays that make the game release feel like a miracle. Staying true to the real driving experience they claim in their title, Gran Turismo 5 provides the most realistic driving experience in video games to date. But with that much time in development, the longer it takes to make doesn’t mean a perfect racing game. Gran Turismo 5 is actually here but was it worth the wait? [FULL REVIEW]
Gran Turismo 5
Developer: Polyphony Digital
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Platform: Playstation 3
Rating: ESRB: E, PEGI: 3
First post of the year! just like any normal being, we were busy getting drunk with our friends and families this Christmas and New Years Eve. Hope you all had a good one. We have a lot to post to come this week since we've been holding off to fix some issues in the TMG blog. Now something I just noticed when coming home.....
Those pissed off birds from your iPod is migrating to the Playstation Network tomorrow, followed by a European release the following day.
Angry Birds was originally released December of 09' for the iPhone and it managed to bring out a whopping 50 million downloads globally. It has loads of challenges and great replay value. I have it on my iPod and it can be quite the time killer. No idea yet on how much it will come out but be sure to check it out in the PSN store.
The creators of PC and Xbox 360 hit Super Meat Boy have aborted the game's WiiWare release, saying they're unable to fit a quality version of the game under the size limit Nintendo imposes on titles for the download service.
Team Meat's struggles to pare down Super Meat Boy delayed its originally planned November release. The indie developer said it was able to get the file to 50 megabytes then, but 40 megabytes is the WiiWare cap, and the sacrifices made to get the game there left creators Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes unhappy with the game's quality.
"It's mostly music," McMillen told Kotaku this evening. "We got it close to 40 (MB), but we only have five music tracks, one retro and one boss, and no cutscene music. ... The cut scenes might as well not be there, and if you beat the game, I'm sure you know the final cutscene needs a musical score, to have any impact at all."
McMillen said Team Meat "blindly assumed we could submit a bit higher. ... We assumed we might get a 5 to 10 megabyte addition." He noted that the discussions with Nintendo were not adversarial. "We loved working with them," he said. So they're pursuing leads on publishing a retail disc, but the prospects are not good.
"So far, the three biggest [publishers contacted by Team Meat] say there's no money in third-party retail (on the Wii)," McMillen told Kotaku, "but we are still asking."
Despite the difficulty, McMillen said he and Refenes remain committed to the platform. "I will tell you, we will do a game on a Nintendo platform," McMillen told Kotaku. "That's for sure." Whether that game will be Super Meat Boy, however, remains to be seen.
Wondering why there is a sudden boom in dance games recently? Why developers are going gaga for something so simple and "not for the hardcore audience"? This is the game that started it all and if you've heard about it, I bet you already hate it without even taking a crack at it. Let's think for a moment, maybe this game isn't for you. After all... [FULL REVIEW]
Just Dance Developer: Ubisoft Paris Publisher: Ubisoft Platform: Nintendo Wii Rating: E for Everyone Release: 11/17/2009
PSN was updated with loads of new stuff for christmas and one of them was the Demo of Dead Space 2. I quickly downloaded it to see what the sequel has in store for us when it hits Jan 25 next year.
If you watched the latest gameplay footage of Dead Space 2 and their demo feeds, thats exactly what your getting in this demo. The Demo starts off with a recap of the events of the first Dead Space giving a brief history of the game's story and about the main Protagonist Isaac Clark. Dead Space 2 is set 3 years after the events of the first game and has Isaac Clark waking up in this inhabited moon with necromorphs everywhere. Again he has to survive.
I've seen this demo already in E3 but playing it hands-on gives a better impression than watching someone play it of course. When you get control of Isaac Clark for the first time, everything feels familiar. I grasp the controls of the game quickly and started exploring this narrow area surrounded with containers on the walls. You are given 4 weapons to play around with. the 3 weapons were known since they were in the first game. The famous plasma cutter, the plasma rifle(which btw has a nood tube alternate fire now, better than that crap alt in the first game ) and the line cutter.The fourth one though was some sort of weapon that shoots nails. It's pretty trippy since it can stick Necromorphs to walls and you can dismember them slowly as they struggle to get free.
During the course of the demo you are introduced with new enemies. Aside from the normal necromorphs shown at the start of the demo you get enemies that can slow you down and spit green stuff that hurts. Another new necromorph is this tripod-ish thing that in the middle of the demo grabs hold of your leg and just like the first game you must shoot his obvious shiny "weak spot" before he drags you somewhere. Another new necromorh introduced were these necromorph babies with fingers as claws. Freaky stuff. I hated the baby shooters in the first one, now they have these group of fast freak babies running straight at you.
There was a small easy puzzle involving you to hack a terminal(very easy mini game to hack through) then using your stasis to fix this device. You get introduced to the new feature which has you have free control of Isaac in zero gravity which is a good improvement. The demo was roughly 20 mins long and it ends with a huge necromorph appearing in front of isaac.
I enjoyed the demo and I liked the fact that everything felt familiar. The best part of Dead Space 2 for me was the fact that Isaac Clark can talk. I hated the fact that I was controlling a character that doesn't say anything. That's what lacked in the first game, the ability to see the personality of Isaac evolve as he progress and experience the horror. Giving voice to main characters can go a long way in improving the story, especially a horror game.
Sadly, though I may have enjoyed the demo and liked the new improvements just like the first game, it doesn't feel like a game to get on day one of release. With all the games coming out early next year, I can't grab all the new games and have been deciding which game to skip. This demo has made my decision. I think I'll be experiencing Dead Space 2 a few months after release.
