Earlier in the week we revealed the nominees for P3Zine’s Game of the Year Awards 2010, and we’ll be announcing the winner – alongside the winners of each respective genre – in P3Zine tomorrow. But you’re probably wondering why exactly we nominated them in the first place. Let us explain…
ASSASSIN’S CREED: BROTHERHOOD
Ezio’s sequel may have been more of the same, but it was significantly more polished, focussed and compelling than the last Assassin’s Creed – and that’s saying something. But alongside the epic single-player campaign, Brotherhood’s ambitious multiplayer added a surprisingly awesome twist to the usual online forays, too, making this a last minute, but equally deserving addition to our list of nominees.
BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2
During a review session for Halo Reach’s Noble Map Pack held yesterday, another member of the games press asked if we could "slack off and play Bad Company 2 instead". And that’s pretty much why Bad Company 2′s found itself up for an award here. Widely regarded as one of the best multiplayer console shooters ever released, Bad Company 2 remains as fun and addictive today as it did the day of release earlier in the year. The fact that EA continues to treat us with free content (load up BF:BC2 today for four new maps, VIP members), and that it has a great campaign to boot makes BF:BC2 a fantastic – and value-tastic – package.
BIOSHOCK 2
"Was that this year?!", shouted one of the GamerZines crew when it was suggested that 2K Marin’s epic underwater adventure should be put up for nomination. Long forgotten perhaps, but BioShock 2 still delivered one of the most captivating narratives we’ve seen so far this year. Whether it was as good as the first or not is still up for debate (in our opinion, we think it was actually slightly better), but whichever camp you’re in, there’s one thing we’re sure of; BioShock 2 was one of the best games we played this year.
CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS
The terrific online multiplayer more than made up for Black Ops’ disappointing single-player campaign, with the decent mix of maps and weapons, plus the Wager Matches and significant tweaks made to the gameplay leaving many to regard Black Ops as the best online Call of Duty game yet. But while it may be Treyarch’s finest, is it the best 2010 had to offer?
FIFA 11
The best sports game ever made? Quite possibly. The best football game ever made? Almost certainly. FIFA had us screaming from the terraces when it launched back in October, as we finally got the chance to play as a goalkeeper and play full 11v11 online matches. The former wasn’t quite as exciting as we’d have perhaps hoped for, but with polished mechanics making for an almost perfect simulation of football, it’s not difficult to see why EA Sports’ most popular franchise is up for an award.
GOD OF WAR III
Kratos may only know one thing – but doesn’t he know how to do it well. If you’re ever in the mood to bash some one-eyed monsters or slice off the head of a snake-tailed beasty, there’s no better place to look than God of War. The third outing was easily the best in the series so far, with the most impressive visuals yet seen on PS3, bosses the size of mountains, and a bad-ass story. One of our favourites of 2010.
GRAN TURISMO 5
It’s Gran Turismo, the most polished, true to life racing game in existence! So not putting it up for Game of the Year might have led to a few of you questioning our scruples. It’s attracted a fair few critics though – ourselves included (the simulation is perfect, the game side of it, not so much) – so it may be a bit more difficult for GT5 to walk away with the trophy than we’d all been expecting. But regardless, Polyphony’s racer is still one of the best ever released, and that’s why it’s here.
HEAVY RAIN
Quantic Dream’s tale of a man’s love for his son gripped us from start to finish when Heavy Rain launched back in February. The ‘game’s twisting turning story and innovative approach to telling a video game narrative left us in awe, and though it had its quirky (and sometimes unnecessary) WTF moments, for the most part, Heavy Rain’s ambition was a refreshing glimpse at what games could be like if some of the more creative developers take a risk.
NEED FOR SPEED: HOT PURSUIT
Such is the power of Autolog that not a day goes by where we don’t load up Hot Pursuit to make sure we’re still at the top of the Speed Wall. Criterion’s latest is probably their best game yet (as examined by Jon in his column yesterday), and given the quality of Black and Burnout that’s not a compliment that comes lightly. Probably the PS3′s best arcade racer – but is it the best game of 2010?
RED DEAD REDEMPTION
John Marston’s Wild West frolic rooted and tooted its way to the top of the charts over summer, and into the hearts of millions of gamers all over the world. Labelled by many as a Wild West GTA, Red Dead Redemption had us skinning bears, coyotes and the local cowboys on an adventure that lasted seemingly forever. But can it scoop the big prize? Find out tomorrow.
To find out which game wins the coveted P3Zine Game of the Year Award – as well as the winners in each category – be sure to grab yourself issue 46 of P3Zine, available to download for free from tomorrow, December 2nd 2010. If you haven’t already subscribed for free, just enter your details in the form at the top left of the page and you’ll be notified as soon as the issue is available to download.
Medal of Honor: Warfighter, Sleeping Dogs, CoD: Black Ops II and God of War: Ascension previews plus reviews for Prototype 2 and Sniper Elite V2.
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