End of year thoughts: Next year

OK I have been thinking about next year and it looks very impressive, alot bigger than 08 & 09 and possibly bigger than 07. All the big name titles out in 07 are all getting sequels with the exception of Half Life Episode 3 is still MIA.

As I have been doing top 10's as of late, Im going to just name the top 10 games of 2010 plus some honorable mentions. Like last year alot of these games will have the number 2

10. God of War III
9. Dead Space 2
8. Splinter Cell: Conviction
7. Darksiders: Wrath of War
6. Mario Galaxy 2
5. Bayonetta
4. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
3. Mass Effect 2
2. Metroid: Other M
1. Bioshock 2

Also worth mentioning titles coming out in 2010 are: Split/Second, Army of Two: The 40th Day, the western release of Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIV, Halo Reach, Dante's Inferno, Super Street Fighter IV, Alan Wake & MAG.

Also do not forget Sony's motion wand and Project Natal will be out next year as well, how much this affect the industry? Who knows.

One game I am really hoping that will show itself again is I Am Alive which was being done by Ubisoft, they showed a teaser and disappeared into thin air. Wikipedia says March 2010 wiki has proven to be an unreliable source for release dates, especially with this game.

End of year thoughts: Where were the 360 exclusives?

Now that its the end of the year, I just wanted to do some reflections on some of the disappointments of the year and despite there were alot of good quality titles out there. It was far from perfect.

Now on to Microsoft.

Seriously, I had to scrape the barrel for a top 5 360 exclusive list. Sony had plenty and the Wii had a good number too.

Left4Dead 2 despite console exclusive was also available for PC, Halo 3 ODST and Forza were average while Shadow Complex and Splosion Man despite very fun: were small downladable titles.

I mean seriously, Sony had plenty of fantastic exclusives this year to the point it felt like Sony played catch up. With the PS3 price point lowered Sony is in a position to change the race and Microsoft need to be ready. It was the console that had all the multiplatform stuff but nothing to set it apart this year.

Next year it should pick up: you have Mass Effect 2, Alan Wake and Splinter Cell being the 3 big system exclusives going up against MAG, God of War 3 and whatever else Sony has their sleve.

Its amazing that this year the roles really were reversed between the 2 consoles, its rare you see Microsoft have nothing of interest that is their own.

Top 10 lists for 2009

OK I have really been ignoring this blog, totally forgot about it. Guess a way to cap off the year for most are GOTY's but I will just do top 5 for the consoles (exclusive & multiplatform), best of each category and a top 10 list for overall games.

No explanations nessecary just what I considered what was most fun to play this year.

Wii
1. New Super Mario Bros Wii
2. MadWorld
3. Rabbids Go Home
4. Wii Sports Resort
5. The Conduit

X360
1. Left4Dead 2
2. Halo ODST
3. Forza 3
4. Splosion Man
5. Shadow Complex

PS3
1. Uncharted 2
2. Infamous
3. Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time
4. Katamari Forever
5. Killzone 2

Multiplatform
1. Borderlands
2. Assassins Creed II
3. Resident Evil 5
4. King of Fighters XII
5. Modern Warfare 2

Best DS game: Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Best PSP game: LittleBigPlanet
Best downloadable game: Splosion Man
Best PC game: Borderlands

Best FPS: Borderlands
Best RPG: Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Best fighting game: King of Fighters XII
Best puzzle game: Katamari Forever
Best sports game: Wii Sports Resort
Best action adventure: Uncharted 2
Best music game: They all sucked this year

Best exclusives: Playstation 3

Most disapointing game: Tony Hawk Ride
Most disapointing event: Titles being pushed to 2010

Biggest asshole to the industry: Michael Atkinson
Biggest asshole in the industry: Tie: John Riccitello & Bobby Kotick

Best original IP: Borderlands
Best sequel: Uncharted 2

Best graphics: Uncharted 2
Best sound: Modern Warfare 2
Best voice acting: Assassins Creed II
Best story: Assassins Creed II
Best humor: House of the Dead: Overkill
Best use of gore: MadWorld
Best humor: Rabbids Go Home
Best competative multiplayer: King of Fighters XII
Best co-op: Borderlands

Top 10 games for 2009

10. Madworld
9. Resident Evil 5
8. New Super Mario Bros Wii
7. Modern Warfare 2
6. Infamous
5. King of Fighters XII
4. Assassins Creed II
3. Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
2. Uncharted 2: Among Theives
1. Borderlands