Game of the Year 2010

2010 was a damn good year for gaming, it really was. Forgetting about the family friendly and proper game unfriendly nature of the hot-selling Microsoft Kinect, and the fact that 90 of all the decent games in the year were sequels, 2010 was filled with a great range of bloody good video games, and I'm sure you'll agree that that's all that matters. I would have conducted a poll, but that would probably just end up as a tie, as I'm sure all...3 of you would vote for something different. So sorry about that, you're now just going to have to settle for a list compiled by myself and my perhaps obscure opinion. In truth, you won't. You'll have to settle for a list that looks ever single other Game of the Year shortlist - mine's just a bit pointlessly beefed up.

Candidates


Red Dead Redemption (Xbox 360, PS3)
Halo: Reach (Xbox 360)
Fifa 11 (Multiformat)
God of War III (PS3)
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
Splinter Cell Conviction (Xbox 360, PS3)
Starcraft II (PC)
Monster Gunter Tri (Wii)
Bioshock 2 (Xbox 360, PS3)
Mass Effect 2 (Xbox 360)
Limbo (Xbox Live Arcade)
Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)
Heavy Rain (PS3)
Minecraft (PC)
Pacman Championship Edition DX (Xbox Live Arcade)
Call of Duty Black Ops (Multiformat)
Goldeneye 007 (Wii)
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
No More Heroes 2 (Wii)
Gran Turismo 5 (PS3)
Vanquish (Xbox 360, PS3)
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (Xbox 360, PS3)
Dead Rising 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

23 games, that's a rough number, I know. This list is of course very predictable, but for me, picking an overall winner is very very easy.

And the winner is...

Super Mario Galaxy 2

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is an absolute beast of a game. It's not just the original Mario Galaxy rehashed and slightly improved. It's so so so much more, and it makes the already brilliant Super Mario Galaxy look a tad weak. For a game that consists pretty much solely of a single player mode, with a co-op mode of sorts tacked on, this title comes remarkably close to perfect. I had by far the most fun in 2010 playing Galaxy 2. The level design is genius, the rich orchestral soundtrack is second to none, the graphics are more crisp and colourful than what I thought the Wii was capable of and even though it constantly moves you from one fresh and creative idea to another, it always feels familiar. Everything about this game exudes joy. It's really quite beautiful, in so many ways. This game proves that a deep story, online modes and HD graphics aren't necessities, because when you look at the list above and see the likes of the titles in there - none of them were truly deserving in my eyes. It's a rush of a nostalgia, a masterpiece in how to invent a world and just run with it. Childish? No. It's child friendly, sure, but I challenge you to complete this game, because I..I can't. It's no cakewalk. I enjoyed loads of games last year, sure, and most were on other platforms (Donkey Kong Country Returns aside), but none made me grin like a mega moron quite like Super Mario Galaxy 2 did. Thanks Nintendo, this is why we didn't sell our Wii.

Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away!