{"id":5281,"date":"2010-12-29T16:39:49","date_gmt":"2010-12-30T00:39:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aidanmoher.com\/blog\/?p=5281"},"modified":"2010-12-30T11:08:00","modified_gmt":"2010-12-30T19:08:00","slug":"article-my-favourite-videogames-of-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aidanmoher.com\/blog\/2010\/12\/articles\/article-my-favourite-videogames-of-2010\/","title":{"rendered":"Article | My Favourite Videogames of 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"

Winner<\/h3>\n\"Donkey<\/a>\n

Donkey Kong Country Returns<\/strong> \u2014 It’s not often that a non-RPG will top my Game of the Year list\u2026 but Donkey Kong Country Returns<\/strong>, developed by the out-of-left-field Retro Studios (developers of the Metroid Prime<\/em> series), is an easy pick for me in an RPG-light year.<\/p>\n

From the charming art direction (Those silhouette levels? Gorgeous) to the tight, responsive controls and top-notch level design, Donkey Kong Country Returns<\/strong> hit all the same buttons as the original SNES entries in the series and blew other recent platformers (like New! Super Mario Bros. Wii<\/strong> and Kirby’s Epic Yarn<\/strong>) right out of the water. Another classic in the long-running Nintendo franchise.<\/p>\n

Honourable Mentions<\/h3>\n\"Limbo\"<\/a>\n

Limbo<\/strong> \u2014 A stylish puzzle\/platformer unlike anything I’ve played before. A testament to small development teams with big vision.<\/p>\n\"Mass<\/a>\n

Mass Effect 2<\/strong> \u2014 Improved over the first game in some ways (atmosphere, graphics, cast), downgraded in others (exploration, RPG-elements, story). A good-but-flawed sequel to one of my favourite games of this console generation.<\/p>\n\"Dragon<\/a>\n

Dragon Quest IX<\/strong> \u2014 I had huge hopes for this game (being an enormous fan of the earlier games), but was left both satisfied and disappointed by the ninth entry in the long-running series. The gameplay was addictive, but the story just didn’t grasp me in the way that Dragon Quest V<\/strong> did.<\/p>\n\"Civilization<\/a>\n

Civilization V<\/strong> \u2014 What is there to say? As a casual fan of the series, I love<\/em> the streamlining of the game systems and the new combat mechanics. Just as addicting as the previous Civilization<\/em> games, with an added layer of pretty graphics on top.<\/p>\n

Biggest Disappointment<\/h3>\n\"Final<\/a>\n

Final Fantasy XIII<\/strong> \u2014 It’s hard not to put Fable III<\/strong> in this spot\u2026 but at least I managed to finish that one. Unlike Donkey Kong Country Returns<\/strong>, Final Fantasy XIII<\/strong> was missing absolutely everything that make the early entries in the series so important to me as a gamer. It’s incredibly linear, the characters are under-developed, the scenario is contrived and poorly directed, and the writing\u2026 oh god, the writing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Winner Donkey Kong Country Returns \u2014 It’s not often that a non-RPG will top my Game of the Year list\u2026 but Donkey Kong Country Returns, developed by the out-of-left-field Retro Studios (developers of the Metroid Prime series), is an easy pick for me in an RPG-light year. From the charming art direction (Those silhouette levels?… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[21,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-videogames"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n