In a year where we saw the final game of the Halo franchise, yet another Call of Duty, Battlefield, Medal of Honor title, and even another Mario game, some franchises new to the scene have been forgotten. I think these new additions deserve some recognition for at least being original, and not relying on a popular character to spur their sales. Here’s the best of the new game IPs released in 2010.
1. Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar Games / Rockstar San Diego)
The last game set in the wild west that I played was GUN, which was an average game. Red Dead Redemption literally immersed me into the wild west with a great story and great storytelling. I felt legitimate anger towards my enemies and cared for my allies. The best part for me was when character were telling me stories, I was still accomplishing something in the game, such as travelling on my horse. I always hated how RPGs just made you stand there and press A or X or whatever. The gameplay and visuals are absolutely phenomenal, and this is up there for game of the year for me, not just top new IP.
2. Alan Wake (Microsoft / Remedy)
The lighting in this action/thriller game was key, and Remedy pulled it off beautifully. The game transitions through different playing styles very well, which helps it avoid comparisons to many games currently on the market, as it’s not quite an FPS, not quite a detective game, and not quite an action game. The jerky movements of Alan’s dodge and jump animations are what held this game back from being the monster hit it could have been, but it is still a very good game and is great to look at, especially when you light up a flare on your big HDTV.
3. Heavy Rain (Sony / Quantic Dream)
Heavy Rain for the PS3 offers up a great argument for video games being art. It reels you in and offers up the most emotional experiences in a video game, period. The control scheme of the game (minus walking around) really helped you feel like you were controlling every little thing your character was doing. This accompanied by the amazing graphics make Heavy Rain a breath taking title that you should definitely play if you have a PS3.
4. Bayonetta (Sega / Platinum Games)
With a solid storyline, great controls for the crazy game play, and an oddly attractive witch of a main character named “Bayonetta”, the fluidity of this game made it a winner. Even when you get hit by an enemy, you don’t get flattened to the ground waiting to get back up, you more or less roll off the punches, and while they do damage, Bayonetta keeps moving. If Sega keeps releasing games of this quality, they might be able to get back up in the talks of the top publishers.
5. Split/Second (Disney Interactive Studios / Black Rock Studio)
Split/Second is an over the top racing game that emphasizes the ability to change the track by destroying parts of the environment. Instead of building up boost through trading paint, drifting, or drafting, you fill up meters that allow you to set off explosives throughout the track, changing its layout. The “plot” of the game (like anyone cares about this type of stuff in a racing game) is a fake reality TV show that involves racing competitions across 12 episodes. The online mode is very fun, and the minimal HUD which comes trailing your car makes this game a great pick up.
That just about does it. Those are my top 5 new game IPs of the year. Your thoughts?