Knight's Game of the Year: Twenty-Ten Edition

It was a pretty good year for gaming, especially for fans of RPGs and FPSs. We saw the release of Bungie's "final" entry in the Halo franchise, Halo: Reach, the redemption of Obsidian Entertainment with Fallout: New Vegas, and Rockstar make a valiant effort in making American westerns cool again with Red Dead Redemption.

And let's not forget BioWare's major release for the year: Mass Effect 2. Can't forget that.

I had a lot of fun this year, though 90% of all the games I bought were released in Autumn. Needless to say, my holidays were busy - not to mention rewarding. Some truly masterful games were released in 2010, a year I thought was surely going to end up being a little dry for the most part. So, I figured I'd go over the best of them, the worst of them, and lead up to the game that, in my opinion, was the Best of 2010.

Hence the title of the blog.

Call of Duty: Black Ops

What's this game doing here! I can hear you asking yourself that from here, but don't worry, I'm not going to sit here and tell you Black Ops made this list because of its enthralling story, its amazing level design, or Sam Worthington's flawless American accent...because that would be a great way for me to lose the few strands of credibility I still cling to.

No, this game is a runner up because I had a great deal of fun with it. Call of Duty has become an annual event all its own, and because Activision is so afraid of dropping the ball, they throw a metric shit-ton of cash at whoever happens to be developing the next game; in this case, it happened to be Treyarch. The result is a game with an action-packed campaign and a very, very addicting multiplayer mode. It's no Bad Company 2, and just a short step below its predecessor, Modern Warfare 2, but it's definitely fun while it lasts.

MASON!!! I SAID IT'S FUN WHILE IT LASTS!!! ALL CAPS, MASON!!!

Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition

I know DA:O technically wasn't released this year, but this new edition certainly was. Buying it was a good excuse to replace my original broken copy and to play all of the DLC that was released for the game over the course of the year. On the whole, I mean, most of the add-ons were, ah...negligible? They really didn't serve any sort of purpose other than to earn BioWare some easy money. (How else to you explain a repackaged zone with no voice acting and no story as DLC?)

But the few add-ons that really did work for me did A LOT to make the whole DA:O experience much more enjoyable and, dare I say: complete. It was great returning to Ostagar, helping out the Dryden family, and giving my Warden a heartwarming ending on top of the one he already got. If you've never played the game, this version is the one to own.

I'm not buying Dragon Age II to watch how Hawke's story turns out; I want to see what happened to my Warden, plain and simple.

Fallout: New Vegas

I waited a very long time for this game, and it did not disappoint when it finally arrived. Obsidian have always been a company of talented individuals who find some little way, here and there, to improve upon the classic RPG model. Whether it was your influence over your party members in KotOR II: The Sith Lords, or the dynamic story line and the "intent" wheel in Alpha Protocol, Obsidian always finds some way to deliver...and then proceeds to shoot themselves in the foot almost immediately after.

Obsidian would be right up there with BioWare in terms of writing and immersion, if they didn't ALWAYS fuck up the quality assurance process. New Vegas was, in my opinion, Obisidan finally doing everything right. They were given all the exact same tools that Bethesda had used during the creation of Fallout 3, and still managed to turn out a game that throughly trounced its predecessor. The writing was superb, the lore was deep and well-defined, the world was beautifully depressing (depressingly beautiful?), and the amount of control that you had over the story was...well, that's Obsidian.

Don't wait too long to make another RPG, my friends. We need you on the frontline.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

This game really took me by surprise. When UbiSoft announced they were releasing another installment in the AC series so soon after the stellar, involving, and masterful Assassin's Creed II, I was sure, you know, that was that. UbiSoft had decided to make the series their Call of Duty, to rush out a sequel once a year, which would arguably lead to a decline in quality.

Oh, and they're adding a multiplayer mode to it, you say? Well, shoot, there goes the series. At least it ended on a high note...

But imagine the shock I got when I actually played the game and found it to be BETTER than Assassin's Creed II, and by a very wide margin. The improvements were small, but they made all the difference. The storyline was just as long as its predecessor, but much more dramatic and immersive. Fixing up Roma and training up assassins made the whole journey much more personal, and the sidequests were many and most were unique enough as to not feel so repetitive.

And the much dreaded multiplayer actually turned out to be original as hell. It was fun, addicting, and frustrating beyond all belief. Whoever thought it up and refined it to this level should be given a medal. Definitely one of the best multiplayer experiences in a very long time.

However, I do hope that UbiSoft tries not to leave off on such a confusing cliffhanger for the next game. Does wonders for dramatics, but it definitely sours the overall feel of the story. Endings are important, UbiSoft. A bad one can leave a lasting impression that might actually bring down what was a flawless experience. Just ask Fable III.

Mass Effect 2

ME2 a runner up?! Blasphemy, says I!

For that, I'm sorry, but lemme defend myself here. The Mass Effect series is shaping up to be one for the text books. It has a well-defined universe, unique races, fantastic characters, and a story only gets better as it progresses. If people want to argue that it is BioWare's magnum opus, I won't be waiting outside your house the next day to throw bricks through your window.

But see, I buy BioWare games because they make RPGs, not because they make Gears of War. Mass Effect 2, to me, represented a big step back in what RPGs rightfully should be. Your decisions have little impact on the story, most of the tried and true elements of the genre were stripped away in favor of a streamlined experience, and, frankly, most of ME2 revolved around gathering your team - like a space-bound version of Ocean's Eleven.

Ugh, I should be talking about the good things. There were many. This game was beautiful, I loved the characters, and going to new planets for the first time was very exciting. I loved this game, I love this series, and I'll be in line to buy the final chapter at midnight at the end of this year. Definitely.

Game of the Year: Red Dead Redemption

Gah! What can I say about this game that hasn't already been said! I've sunk dozens of hours into Red Dead Redemption, and I've not regretted one second of it. The story, though flawed in a few respects, is absolutely amazing, not to mention emotional. The ending encouraged one of the few moments in my long history of gaming where I simply could not react. My jaw dropped, I stared blankly at the screen for a long time, and then slowly regained my grip on reality long enough to save my file.

But even setting the amazing story aside for a moment, there are just so many things to do in this game. You can do a whole lot of nothing and still feel like you're being productive; the world is just so vast, so beautifully crafted, and it seems to take on a life of its own no matter where you look. You can stand on a hill, look out into the distance, and watch as a storm comes rolling in, darkens the land, makes the trails go soggy. Sometimes I boot up the game just to do some sightseeing, that's how remarkable New Austin and the piece of Mexico it borders really are.

And let's not forget Undead Nightmare.

RDR is an intense and unforgettable experience. I can't wait for Rockstar's next release, LA Noire, nor can I wait for the other big releases this year:

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Mass Effect 3

Poke'mon: Black and White

Dragon Age II

Modern Warfare 3

Gears of War 3

The untitled Assassin's Creed release.

This is going to be a great (and possibly better) year for gaming! I know it! MASON!!! THIS IS GONNA BE A GREAT YEAR FOR GAMING!!! MASON!!!