infexxionUnderdog Game Of The Year Contenders
Here at Passion For Games, I like to mix it up, so I'm going to be doing an 'Underdog Game Of The Year 2010'. Basically, this list will be made up of games that didn't sell well, that didn't get the best review scores, or otherwise didn't compete with the 'big boys' (which is a VERY subjective and opinionated term, I use it lightly because all the games I list here I think are great) but are still great games and deserve recognition as such. So, who's up? Here are the 10 contenders for UGOTY (See what I did there?)
Mafia 2 is a game that blends classic mob-like storytelling and twisting it into the video game world in an open, free roam setting. It's a very interesting take on the genre, despite the whole 'free roam' thing being somewhat limited. Despite not playing the first, I very much enjoyed the second. It's one of the first free roam games that has implemented things I've wanted for years (gas, *mostly* realistic cops, an open world setting) into an innovative, fun game thats main draw is the story, which, for the most part, does not disappoint. Despite the lack of multiplayer, I see myself playing through Mafia 2 a second time probably by next summer.
On the contrary to Mafia 2's mostly empty open world, we have Just Cause 2, an over the top, fun, explosive, action-oriented sandbox game that basically says "Here's a huge map, here's two guns, go blow sh*t up and have fun!" And boy did I! Barrels go boom, there's plenty of big things to blow up, pulling off stunts is awesome and easy, and it's just one of those games you bust out to have a good, fun, unrealistic time with to laugh and widen your eyes at chaos *you* just created.
Army Of Two wasn't a huge hit back in 2008, but the sequel improved on nearly every aspect of the co-op shooter, which dropped early this year. Playing with another person through the whole campaign is fun as hell, and the AI isn't half bad either if you choose that route. Add in some morality moments to spice up storytelling, gun customization that rivals (or surpasses) that of Call Of Duty, and as the final ingredient drop in some hectic multiplayer, and The 40th Day was an absolute blast.
At last, we have had a new Splinter Cell game this year! Indeed, something we haven't been able to say for quite a while. While this game distances itself from its predecessors with much less 'traditional' Splinter Cell Stealth, which turned away a lot of fans, it's still a good game. The story is quite interesting, and while hearing enemies shouts insults at you every 5 seconds can get annoying, it's fun to employ the stealth tactics, the cover system is awesome, and watching guys open fire or run to the spot they think you are, only to discover you disappeared sometimes makes for some good fun. The online was very fun though, co-op missions and different modes was great fun. A solid game, just not a very good 'Splinter Cell' game.
A new Castlevania game has recently been unleashed upon us, and it's quite good. God Of War styled hack 'n slash gameplay, a strong story, great voice acting, awesome graphics, and an excellent upgrading system make this a very fun game to play through. I rented it not expecting much, but I'm having a blast with Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow. Some of the bosses are slightly annoying, but they are gorgeous to look at, and despite the frustrations, I give it to the devs, they are innovative and most are pretty cool.
Some people might be wondering why this isn't actually up for game of the year. Dead Rising 2 is a lot of fun, but after beating it, I realized it did feel very familiar, like Dead Rising 1.5. While the story is good, the bosses are unique, and combining weapons and moving while shooting are all welcome upgrades, not much else changed except for minor tweaks here and there. It's still fun to destroy the masses of zombies, and the new weapons and ways to kill zombies they implemented are amazing, and the old saying "If it ain't broke don't fix it" may hold true, but after beating it I deleted it from being installed on my 360. The multiplayer, for all intents and purposes, was fun for a few times but is just boring now. I had burnt myself out of the first game and the second just didn't bring enough to the table to keep me playing, but is still fun as hell.
Enslaved is a game that sold poorly, given how great it really is. The story holds true to being excellent and gripping, and you come to care about the characters as they venture on, and you want to know what happens next in the story. The gameplay is fun, even though I did encounter a few bugs and glitches where I had to reload to an earlier save. The platforming segments, while almost too linear, are a solid break of pace from the intense fights with mechs, and the game is just gorgeous to look at, the jungle areas are really brought to life here. A great single player experience.
Alpha Protocol got a lot of heat from reviews for the buggy combat, hilarious crouch animation, and overall poor gameplay. While I don't disagree that the combat is less than stellar, I don't think it is unplayable as most sites made it out to be. The story responds to your decisions and actions more than Mass Effect, but less than Heavy Rain or Dragon Age, and overall, I'd say the game is, while sometimes not as fun as the games I just mentioned, still worth playing just to see how your decisions affect the story and how it plays out.
Bioshock 2 is the sequel to the highly-acclaimed (and rightfully so!) Game Of The Year for 2007. In fact, another sequel, Bioshock: Infinite has already been announced! Bioshock was great, and I'm sure most, if not all agree with me that the biggest draw was the atmosphere and the way the game immerses you into this underwater world, Rapture. You feel like you're there, and the sequel only improves on that. While some will argue that the story is inferior to the first, it's still a blast to play through, and it keeps you wanting to play. Maybe because now we're familiar with Rapture it isn't as gripping, but it's still awesome to see. The graphics and combat have been ramped up, the multiplayer is fast and frantic, and it's still an awesome experience, one not to be missed in 2010 if you haven't played it.
Alan Wake, as you can read in my review, is an amazing game. It probably has the best Xbox 360 graphics I've seen so far (Gears 3 might change that, though) and the story is nothing but flat out amazing. It pulls you in and makes you NEED to know what happens next. You play through 6 episodes of Alan Wake's adventures (there's 2 more if you buy the DLC) and it's just great losing yourself in this world. When I had it rented, I couldn't let a day pass where I didn't play it. The combat, while maybe getting a bit repetitive toward the end, is still fun, and the game truly freaks you out sometimes, but it only adds to the gripping tale and awesome experience that is Alan Wake.
So, there you have it, 10 contenders for UGOTY. My pick for winner will be announced soon, so be sure to check back, and let me know what yours is!
Mafia 2 is a game that blends classic mob-like storytelling and twisting it into the video game world in an open, free roam setting. It's a very interesting take on the genre, despite the whole 'free roam' thing being somewhat limited. Despite not playing the first, I very much enjoyed the second. It's one of the first free roam games that has implemented things I've wanted for years (gas, *mostly* realistic cops, an open world setting) into an innovative, fun game thats main draw is the story, which, for the most part, does not disappoint. Despite the lack of multiplayer, I see myself playing through Mafia 2 a second time probably by next summer.
On the contrary to Mafia 2's mostly empty open world, we have Just Cause 2, an over the top, fun, explosive, action-oriented sandbox game that basically says "Here's a huge map, here's two guns, go blow sh*t up and have fun!" And boy did I! Barrels go boom, there's plenty of big things to blow up, pulling off stunts is awesome and easy, and it's just one of those games you bust out to have a good, fun, unrealistic time with to laugh and widen your eyes at chaos *you* just created.
Army Of Two wasn't a huge hit back in 2008, but the sequel improved on nearly every aspect of the co-op shooter, which dropped early this year. Playing with another person through the whole campaign is fun as hell, and the AI isn't half bad either if you choose that route. Add in some morality moments to spice up storytelling, gun customization that rivals (or surpasses) that of Call Of Duty, and as the final ingredient drop in some hectic multiplayer, and The 40th Day was an absolute blast.
At last, we have had a new Splinter Cell game this year! Indeed, something we haven't been able to say for quite a while. While this game distances itself from its predecessors with much less 'traditional' Splinter Cell Stealth, which turned away a lot of fans, it's still a good game. The story is quite interesting, and while hearing enemies shouts insults at you every 5 seconds can get annoying, it's fun to employ the stealth tactics, the cover system is awesome, and watching guys open fire or run to the spot they think you are, only to discover you disappeared sometimes makes for some good fun. The online was very fun though, co-op missions and different modes was great fun. A solid game, just not a very good 'Splinter Cell' game.
A new Castlevania game has recently been unleashed upon us, and it's quite good. God Of War styled hack 'n slash gameplay, a strong story, great voice acting, awesome graphics, and an excellent upgrading system make this a very fun game to play through. I rented it not expecting much, but I'm having a blast with Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow. Some of the bosses are slightly annoying, but they are gorgeous to look at, and despite the frustrations, I give it to the devs, they are innovative and most are pretty cool.
Some people might be wondering why this isn't actually up for game of the year. Dead Rising 2 is a lot of fun, but after beating it, I realized it did feel very familiar, like Dead Rising 1.5. While the story is good, the bosses are unique, and combining weapons and moving while shooting are all welcome upgrades, not much else changed except for minor tweaks here and there. It's still fun to destroy the masses of zombies, and the new weapons and ways to kill zombies they implemented are amazing, and the old saying "If it ain't broke don't fix it" may hold true, but after beating it I deleted it from being installed on my 360. The multiplayer, for all intents and purposes, was fun for a few times but is just boring now. I had burnt myself out of the first game and the second just didn't bring enough to the table to keep me playing, but is still fun as hell.
Enslaved is a game that sold poorly, given how great it really is. The story holds true to being excellent and gripping, and you come to care about the characters as they venture on, and you want to know what happens next in the story. The gameplay is fun, even though I did encounter a few bugs and glitches where I had to reload to an earlier save. The platforming segments, while almost too linear, are a solid break of pace from the intense fights with mechs, and the game is just gorgeous to look at, the jungle areas are really brought to life here. A great single player experience.
Alpha Protocol got a lot of heat from reviews for the buggy combat, hilarious crouch animation, and overall poor gameplay. While I don't disagree that the combat is less than stellar, I don't think it is unplayable as most sites made it out to be. The story responds to your decisions and actions more than Mass Effect, but less than Heavy Rain or Dragon Age, and overall, I'd say the game is, while sometimes not as fun as the games I just mentioned, still worth playing just to see how your decisions affect the story and how it plays out.
Bioshock 2 is the sequel to the highly-acclaimed (and rightfully so!) Game Of The Year for 2007. In fact, another sequel, Bioshock: Infinite has already been announced! Bioshock was great, and I'm sure most, if not all agree with me that the biggest draw was the atmosphere and the way the game immerses you into this underwater world, Rapture. You feel like you're there, and the sequel only improves on that. While some will argue that the story is inferior to the first, it's still a blast to play through, and it keeps you wanting to play. Maybe because now we're familiar with Rapture it isn't as gripping, but it's still awesome to see. The graphics and combat have been ramped up, the multiplayer is fast and frantic, and it's still an awesome experience, one not to be missed in 2010 if you haven't played it.
Alan Wake, as you can read in my review, is an amazing game. It probably has the best Xbox 360 graphics I've seen so far (Gears 3 might change that, though) and the story is nothing but flat out amazing. It pulls you in and makes you NEED to know what happens next. You play through 6 episodes of Alan Wake's adventures (there's 2 more if you buy the DLC) and it's just great losing yourself in this world. When I had it rented, I couldn't let a day pass where I didn't play it. The combat, while maybe getting a bit repetitive toward the end, is still fun, and the game truly freaks you out sometimes, but it only adds to the gripping tale and awesome experience that is Alan Wake.
So, there you have it, 10 contenders for UGOTY. My pick for winner will be announced soon, so be sure to check back, and let me know what yours is!
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