5. EA MMA
Criminally overlooked, but brilliant nonetheless. EA Sports MMA was always going to struggle thanks to its almost complete lack of star power and a less-than-stellar demo, but spend five minutes in the cage and its quality shines through. It’s like the best bits of Fight Night mixed with the depth and drama of the best wrestling games (read: N64 era), wrapped up in genre-leading visuals. And if nothing else, it has KILLER knockouts.
4. Need For Speed Hot Pursuit
Criterion does what Criterion does best. Blistering pace, relentless action and screen-searing visuals. Need For Speed Hot Pursuit is a remarkable return to form for the world’s most popular action-racer, and the best Burnout game yet. Yes, it might be called NFS, but feels like a continuation of the Guildford studio’s benchmark series, bringing across its drifty, boosty goodness.
3. Mass Effect 2
A fantastically streamlined RPG in one of the most convincingly well-realised sci-fi universes ever made. Instead of facts and figures, Mass Effect 2 deals in action and consequence. The dialogue is a cut above the competition, the conversation system consistently compelling and the gunplay achieves parity with the rest of the genre. It might not be as tactile as Gears, but it’s not far off. Roll on the final chapter.
2. Halo Reach
What a way to say goodbye. Halo Reach’s immediate impact has probably been diminished by the fast-food blast that is Call Of Duty Black Ops, but its legacy will live long. The single-player campaign is Bungie’s finest to date, marrying the wide-skirmishes of the originals with the grunt of modern day technology. And the multiplayer, while lacking the XP progression of most of its peers, gives us something far more tangible – memories.
1. Red Dead Redemption
It was a close run thing, with the top 3 all in contention, but ultimately the sheer audacity of Rockstar’s open-world epic won the day. Red Dead Redemption is a game that is confident enough to give you acres of land and nothing to do, relying on the unbelievable ambience it crafts to pull it through. And it does. Of course, when the action does kick in, Red Dead lives up to its forebear, becoming a gratifyingly violent cover-shooter with the best ‘death’ animation in the business. Stunning work.
Tags: Red Dead Redemption
Crysis 3, Medal of Honor: Warfighter, Borderlands 2 and Far Cry 3 previews plus reviews for Prototype 2, Sniper Elite V2 and The Witcher 2.
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