gamrReview 2010 Game of the Year Awards - PS3 - News
by Karl Koebke , posted on 22 December 2010 / 12,945 Views
Another year, another game of the year awards article. Oh how time flies, it feels like just yesterday I was waiting for God of War 3 so that I could finish Kratos' story, assuming that Gran Turismo 5 wouldn't make it out this year, and crying at LittleBigPlanet 2's delay. Well we've counted all the votes from the staff and from the forum goers and these are your winners for 2010 on the PS3.
Best First-Person Shooter: Call of Duty: Black Ops
Some people were worried about the future of Call of Duty after Infinity Ward left the franchise, but it seems the franchise is in good hands with Treyarch. A Call of Duty game has once again released to massive commercial and critical success and it's our favourite first person shooter on the PS3 in 2010.
Runner-up: Bioshock 2
Reader’s Choice: Bioshock 2
Best Third-Person Shooter: Red Dead Redemption
The Wild West isn't exactly the most popular setting for video games so who knew a game would come along that uses it so perfectly. Excellent art style and atmosphere make this a shoe in, and the award should come as a surprise to no one.
Runner-up: Vanquish
Reader’s Choice: Red Dead Redemption
Best Action: God of War 3
Kratos has finally made his debut on the PS3 and he's left nothing but bodies in his wake. Viewing a kill through the eyes of your victim is going to stick with me for quite a while and fighting a titan up close and personal is a sight to behold. Other action games this year had some interesting mechanics and great pedigree but none of them could match up to the sheer scale of spectacle that is God of War 3.
Runner-up: Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Reader’s Choice: God of War 3
Best Adventure Game: Heavy Rain
The idea of a game based almost entirely around QTE’s was a worrying thought for some and many assumed that Heavy Rain would be mediocre at best, but oh how wrong they were. Heavy Rain is an evolution of the point and click adventure genre and is perfectly adapted to console gaming. Sure, it starts off slow, but once you get into the meat of the game it’s easy to see why it deserves this award.
Runner-up: 3D Dot Game Heroes
Reader’s Choice: Heavy Rain
Best Fighter: Super Street Fighter IV
How can we not give an award to Super Street Fighter IV, with 10 new characters, improved balancing, and a host of online functionality additions? Street Fighter IV may not have won this award in 2009 but the new and improved version is clearly the winner for 2010.
Runner-up: Blazblue: Continuum Shift
Reader’s Choice: Super Street Fighter IV
Best Racing Game: Modnation Racers
While its E3 reveal was not exactly thrilling, those who looked into ModNation Racers found out that there was definitely something to be excited about. The Play Create, Share philosophy started by LittleBigPlanet was being brought to the kart racing genre, with all the user created goodness that entails. Fun racing mechanics, interesting objective-based unlockables, and more tracks and karts than you can shake a stick shift at (haha... car humor, I kill me) help make this the best racing game on PS3 for 2010.
Runner-up: Gran Turismo 5
Reader’s Choice: Gran Turismo 5
Best RPG: Fallout New Vegas
The RPG genre is all about immersing the player in an interesting setting and no game on PS3 did that better this year than Fallout New Vegas. Whether you’re searching through another crazy vault or drinking some water to keep yourself from dying of dehydration, the game pulls you in and makes you feel like a part of it. That is, of course, until the NPC you’re talking to goes all Exorcist head spin on you or you get irreversibly stuck on a rock, but we’re willing to forgive a few mishaps here and there.
Runner-up: Final Fantasy XIII
Reader’s Choice: Final Fantasy XIII
Best Strategy/Simulation: The Sims 3
The Sims is a video gaming phenomenon and the latest console iteration of The Sims 3 is no different. There is something cathartic and soothing about watching these characters go about their lives as you poke and prod them to do your bidding. Will you be an evil mastermind experimenting in different ways to kill them off, or a benevolent helping hand attempting to teach your Sim how to paint? The choice is yours, but no matter what you’ll have fun.
Runner-up: R.U.S.E.
Reader’s Choice: R.U.S.E.
Best Music Game: Rock Band 3
With all the hubbub about the dance off between Dance Central and Just Dance 2, some may have forgotten who the king of the music genre is, but Rock Band 3 will quickly fix that. Adding a keyboard, as well as the harmonic vocals from Rock Band Beatles, Rock Band 3 is the best in the series. Sure, the older tracks could use some updating to add the new functionality of keyboard and harmony, but it’s hard to argue with the fun I can have singing/playing Du Hast with my friends after attempting to pull off Good Vibrations.
Runner-up: DJ Hero 2
Reader’s Choice: Rock Band 3
Best Move Game: Sports Champions
A new add-on to the PS3 adds an entirely new genre to our awards. Much like Wii Sports before it, Sports Champions is the perfect way to get acquainted with your favorite black behemoth’s new motion control abilities while you wait for the next great Move title. Sure, most of the sports in the game have been done before, but that doesn’t stop it from being a whole lot of fun.
Runner-up: Eyepet
Reader’s Choice: Sports Champions
Best Sports Game: NBA 2K11
While many were jumping 20 feet into the air and doing triple flips with NBA Jam, those who truly love and understand the sport of basketball would probably be better served by NBA 2K11. Realism is the strong suit of this game, but it also has a plethora of different modes to keep fans busy and the use of some strange players like Snoop Dogg and Bow Wow helps give it some of that NBA Jam-like silliness. Sports games get a well deserved rap for their yearly releases, but this is one game that went above and beyond, easily deserving this award.
Runner-up: Sports Champions
Reader’s Choice: NBA 2K11
Best Downloadable Content: Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
After making the best third person shooter of the year, Rockstar weren’t completely satisfied and decided they would also make the best DLC. Undead Nightmare is a brilliant mix of Western and Zombie genres that blends together perfectly, giving you hours of extra fun and the opportunity to explore the world for new mythical creatures to kill and Horses of the Apocalypse to collect.
Runner-up: Borderlands: The Secret Armory of General Knoxx
Reader’s Choice: Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
Best PSN Game: Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Lara is finally on the way back to her former glory thanks to Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. The mix of puzzle and action harkens back to our memories of Lara from the PS1 days, which is quite a feat considering that the new top down camera angle makes the game look completely different from its predecessors. Hopefully this isn’t a one time thing and we can look forward to more adventures with Lara as she heads in a promising new gameplay direction.
Runner-up: Joe Danger
Reader’s Choice: Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Best Graphics: God of War 3
God of War 3 may not be the prettiest game ever made, but it’s hard to deny that it has one of the best character models ever in Kratos. Watching the blood pour as you swing your swords in a pirouette of death (probably not the term Kratos uses for his own moves) is quite a sight to behold. How can you not give an award to a game with “Zipper Technology”, which is a nice way to say that you can actually disembowel a centaur?
Runner-up: Heavy Rain
Reader’s Choice: God of War 3
Best Original Music Score: Heavy Rain
Heavy Rain perfectly utilises its limited score, making some of the key decisions you make in the game all the more intense. Heavy Rain's score elevates the game from a fun adaptation of the point and click genre, to an experience that every gamer should try. I only wish there were more to love.
Runner-up: Red Dead Redemption
Reader’s Choice: God of War 3
Most Innovative: Heavy Rain
Heavy Rain gets a third award in this year’s article, thanks to its creative use of QTE’s, allowing it to successfully bring the point and click genre to the PS3. The bulk of what the game does has been done before in other titles in the genre, but it’s the adaptation of the control scheme that makes Heavy Rain so deserving of this award. I can’t wait to see what Quantic Dream have up their sleeve next.
Runner-up: ModNation Racers
Reader’s Choice: Heavy Rain
Biggest Disappointment: Final Fantasy XIII
Everyone remembers that E3 where Final Fantasy XIII was announced for 360 and yet, looking back, it probably wasn’t as meaningful as we thought at the time. Sure, some may love the game, but for myself and many on the staff it didn’t live up to expectations. No description of a great game should start with “once you get past the first 30 hours it becomes enjoyable”, and Final Fantasy XIII ranks with X-2 as one of the few games in the series I haven’t been able to finish. A game that by all rights should have easily won best RPG of the year is barely even deserving of the runner up award, and that is a huge disappointment.
Runner-up: Dead Rising 2
Reader’s Choice: Final Fantasy XIII
Best Game No One Played: Vanquish
Poor poor Platinum Games. They put their heart and soul into yet another title only to be smacked down by low consumer interest once again. What do they have to do to please you people?! Vanquish is a great game, second in its genre only to Red Dead Redemption, and yet it can’t even muster up 500,000 sales across all platforms. I’m glad to hear that Sega will continue producing their games, but I truly hope that Platinum Games break their sales curse sooner rather than later.
Runner-up: 3D Dot Game Heroes
Reader’s Choice: 3D Dot Game Heroes
Most Anticipated Game: The Last Guardian
That’s right, we’re still looking forward to The Last Guardian, and I don’t care how long I have to keep up the vigil. Some may not understand why we continue to give The Last Guardian this award, but you’ll have a chance to find out when the Team Ico Collection comes out in 2011. Until that point, I will just have to watch the same trailers over and over again in an attempt to keep myself sane. Hopefully this time next year we can give this award to a different game, but if not, I’ll see you in 2011 when I write about The Last Guardian for the fourth time.
Runner-up: LittleBigPlanet 2
Reader’s Choice: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
Game of the Year: God of War 3
Kratos is a hard guy to say no to. We were thinking of giving this award to Red Dead Redemption, or Heavy Rain, but after being told the horrible things he would do with our organs (spoiler alert: it involved jump rope and small intestine) we decided that God of War 3 was probably the better choice. Sure, there are other reasons, like the gorgeous graphics and jaw dropping set pieces, but there’s nothing like the threat of violence to get a bunch of video game nerds to vote your way.
Runner-up: Red Dead Redemption
Reader’s Choice: God of War 3
Be sure to check out our other Game of the Year Awards here!
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god of war worth it.
I stopped to read this list, when I saw that the best racing game was Modnation Racer and GT5 the Runner Up!! (WTF??)
In terms of racing physics and simulation, GT5 outraces the competition, and in Graphics, GT5 photorealistic style, puts all competition in a corner.
GT5 online is the best experience online that we can find in any console:
The most realistic mechanical Damage ever seen in consoles, 16 cars in the track @ 60fps with 4xFSAA with dynamic weather and day/night transitions is... pure delight!
GT5 is the best car simulator of PS3, but more important that that:
GT5 is the best car simulator of this Console GENeration... by far (very FAR)!
haha..PS3
I'll try to give a "respectful" feedback because it's normal to be polite after all, but it is going to be really hard so excuse me in advance if this post go awry...
OK here's the problem : I looked back to the review of FFXIII, thinking my memory got blurry all of a sudden, and I could verify that you guys rated it 9, NINE! NUEVE! NEUF! KYU! NEUN! with a little note just next to it saying "EXEMPLARY". So I guess that I don't understand this codification the same way you do, because just up there I read the worst FFXIII-bashing ever, which I wouldn't expect from the most hateful blogger. Do you guys include coherence in your rating/awarding method?
But that's the light part. I won't quibble about which of FFXIII or FA:NV deserves the GOTY because I don't play Fallout and therefore can't have a objective view of the problem here. Besides, FFXIII getting the runner-up seat is more than satisfying to me. My biggest issue here is that line of yours "is barely even deserving of the runner up award" : on top of it being extremely offensive to the countless fans of the game (and certainly not "respectful" as you asked us to be), why in this case is FFXIII in the runner-up seat? Do you think you had, after all, to please the fans who voted for it (even in the overall section), as if we were masses incapable to judge the quality of a game and waiting for populist talk? Or is it a gesture of pity to us weird creatures who enjoyed this game from beginning to end? In any way, you just ruined my Christmas! THANKS!
In the overall section you have divided RPGs in to sections. I think that makes a lot of sense as both a now big and more and more different, but why not everywhere? We didn't lack RPGs this year...
When jeuxvideo.com published its GOTY, I found really ridiculous to see Modnation in racing and not GT5. I was not surprised, as they had lost all credibility since the dreadful test-like phamplet they dared to publish (not mentionning the even-worse gaming live). But I certainly not expected a notorious and respectable site like VGchartz to make the same kind of mistake. My point is simple, even if, by any chance, Modnation racer is better than GT5, I highly doubt they can be put in the same category OR two categories are needed in "racing". Now the biggest problem is that GT5 HAS NO RATING NOR REVIEW ON THIS SITE! I'll just refresh the page to be sure... done, ok. So either you just put in competition a game you've not tested, or your're still on it (in which case I might forgive you because few people waited enough time to write a honest review).
I hope I wasn't too harsh, and Merry Xmas to you if you're still celebrating.
I like how on the PS3 awards Action and Adventure are separate categories but on the Wii awards they are combined. I guess so you won't upset the fanboys by choosing God of War over Heavy Rain or Heavy Rain over God of War.
I am already looking forward to 2011. It will probably be the hardest year to rate games. There are going to be so many awesome games. I am rooting for Uncharted 3 but I will not underestimate any other game either.
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NBA 2K11 is in no way deserving of sports game of the year. MLB 10 should have won that award. I'd love to sit down with any one of the guys who rate NBA so highly, hand them the controller, and see them play one My Player game without wanting to hurl the controller at the TV. NBA 2K11 should only win the award for most frustrating game of the year.
As far as the other games go, God of War 3 deserves GOTY for sure. And in my book Vanquish is easily the runner-up in that category. It's sad that all it can muster up is honorable mentions from most game sites.
Not a bad list actually. Theres just ONE thing that pisses me off
MODNATION RACERS OVER GRAN TURISMO 5? WHAT THE FUCK!
Yep FFXIII the biggest disappointment no doubt about it. For people complaining about GT5, have u guys played the game on a Logitech Driving Force GT? Feel the force people, and you would forget ure in ur living room but in a super real sexy Lamborghini instead
Black Ops on PS3 sucks. Horrible framerate, horrible lag, horrible freezing all the time. It's not just me either. Everyone I know has the same issues.
I agree with perpride completely, Final Fantasy XIII doesn't deserve all the hate it receives, I agree with the Kotaku review, it is just one point away from perfection because of the linearity. It has become fashionable to hate on Final Fantasy XIII by the idiots who spend most of their time playing Call of Duty. Sure the game was linear and could easily get repetitive, but is that any reason to to call it a bad game?
The game is just as linear as any other western game, most notably God of War III which received the GOTY. Just because it is more linear than the past entries in the franchise does not mean it is a bad game at all, if you exlude the linearity I think this game is so much better than all of the past Final Fantasy's.
Amazing story, not a single disposable character, a fantastic NEW battle system, the best OST I have ever heard, amazing art design and a beautifully crafted world only made even better by its top notch graphics.
I could go on and on but this review below tells it like it is. From the opinion of a gamer who can appreciate other aspects of a game rather than not being able to walk around a big field the entire game.
http://www.rpgfan.com/reviews/Final_Fantasy_XIII/index.html
Gran Turismo 5 is another example of a game which doesn't deserve the hate. The gameplay is enjoyable and competitive, the challenges add so much fun and variety, the standard cars look absolutely fine to me with the only major difference being cockpit view. At first I thought the game was a dissapointment and quite irritating to play. But that was until I got an Audi R8 and drove it round the Nurburgring at sunset.
So I've gotta say out of the three years I've been a member here this is definitely the worst list I've ever seen. So much fail in there I don't even know where to begin. I'm not going to go too deep into the FFXIII thing because my stance on that is clear, although I will say that it definitely deserved musical score of the year.
The second sad thing which stands out is Mod Nation Racers as the racing game of the year. Are you guys kidding me?
absolutely agree with every award again. you guys really get me ^^
Funny how GOW 3 gets GOTY. I mean its a good game but it doesn't have much replay value. I think it should of went to um wait NVM i think GOW 3 was Sony's only big exclusive this year
@ haxxiy
GT5 was better recieved by fans and critics than FFXIII. You tried though.
FFXIII as disappointment of the year is pretty extreme. Should be GT5 instead.
Where the hell is Yakuza 3????
decent list but I don't think that GOW3 desreves GOTY imo.
Great list and Very Well Deserving PS3 GOTY.
And remember people, everyone has different opinions so no need to flame at the staff for picking ModNation over GT5.
CrapNation Racers over GT5 and NFS? Bye.
Well if GT5 had to come 2nd to something I'm really glad it came 2nd to MNR. I love that game.
No love for MAG here? My nephew can't get enough of it, and he started playing FPS at LAN parties with Modern Warfare. Well that was until he started playing inFamous.
Very happy with GOTY. I'm picking Kratos' threats of violence won't be enough to get him the overall GOTY. That'll be a 2 horse race between SMG2 and Halo:Reach I suspect.
I agree with everything whole-heartedly except for best racing game. GT5 is awesome.
I also think Heavy Rain should have won GOTY, God of War 3 was too short, and has much less replay value. Heavy Rain was possibly the most innovative and story focused non-RPG I have ever played. Thats an accomplishment.
Heavy Rains Sucks. Awful Gameplay
MOD NATION!!? ohh well good game but still MOD NATION>GT5? o.O
GOD OF WAR III !!!!
Mod Nation Racers...NO GT5, game of this generation.
Totally disagrees with GoTY award for GoW. I was hoping that Heavy Rain would have won that one but it did get it's fair share of the awards. Also glad that ModNation won best racer.
Heavy Rain best score! Could not agree more.
Good list.
mod nation over GT5, lol. And black ops over anything, have you guys even played the game, its the worst looking CoD this gen, and the online is so full of bugs making it unplayable most days.
Mod Nation Racer over GT5... Some people are nuts.
Best Game No One has played: YAKUZA FUCKING 3 MAN!
Oh well great list none the less
Best Game No One has played: YAKUZA FUCKING 3 MAN!
Oh well great list none the less
Good picks VGchartz. I agree with all of them... Well I have yet to play Vanquish so I can't really say for that one yet (downloading the demo right now actually).
gt5 needs awards!
MNR deserves best racing game, and god of war deserves best grapic's and game of the yr
I think GOW deserves it
I wouldn't have given God of War 3 any awards really. Not even for graphics.
Really really really still must play Heavy Rain. Maybe I'll pick it up this weekend.
Vanquish was really a top game that could been a total stunner if not for an absurdly dreadful storyline and porn-quality dialogue.
Looking back... it was a strange year. I think 2009 had better things on offer. 2011 is looking strong for Sony though. Hoping so anyway.
:D Good list.
it's nice to see so many Reader's Choice matched up with the ones VG selected. If this was one of the other gaming websites, Reader's Choice would have 1 game in common through the whole article. Think this shows VGChartz is run by actual gamers who enjoy gaming and don't take it themselves too seriously cough IGN cough.
good to see New Vegas beating this crappy FF13
my GOTY is definitely Red dead, but GOW3 is a good game too
I agree with all the choices except Mod Nation being the bast racer.
GT5 is so awesome I don't have words for it, it just gets beaten by God of War 3 for game of the year in my book.
Best RPG Fallout: New Vegas? No way. New Vegas is great, but not the best RPG.
Also, reviewers should finally separate WRPGs and JRPGs. New Vegas might be the best WRPG, but if you add the JRPGs in it, suddenly the category looks completely different.
LMAO at Modnation getting best racer. GT5 and NFS HP are miles better than that game IMO also Bioshock 2 and MAG are 10 times better than the rehashed COD BOs. Ah well not the end of the world. GOW 3 definitley deserves the 3 awards it got.
I know there are slim pickings for FPS's on PS3 but giving an award to a gam that by all accounts is completely broken on this particular system seems to me to just be rewarding laziness and mediocrity.
Well for me F: NV deserves it... Enjoyed it more than FFXIII..
Can't comment about Modnations and GT5 considering I only played the first one..
Leave it to the readers next time
I can only really disagree with Modnation racer being the best racer on the PS3....wtf?
LOL @best RPG and best racing game categories! I don't know what's worse, the glitchy Fallout being considered the best RPG or GT5 not winning a single award (not even best racing game)?
@ethomaz
I was wondering the same thing.
God of War III wasn't PS3 best game this year.
Good game, a very flashy one, but not the best.
In my opinion, Red Dead Redemption deserves the title.
I want to know how many staffs on VGC played GT5... I knwon just one.
@ Rob-Ot
Like stated it is a game that is loved by many, and also a game that is hated by many. However i'm sure that most can agree that the Best RPG in this list is utter B.S.
I found it funny that FFXIII was the readers choice best RPG and readers choice most disappointing.
God Of War 3 was good, not too fussed about it winning.
Modna..... LOADING ...... tion Rac...... LOADING ...... ers doesn't deserve that prize.
Yesss Congrats to heavy rain.... :) thats great.... :)
Not a PS3 owner, but quite surprised at some of the awards. Especially Fallout which has got a load of stick on the forums and the lack on an award for GT5
biggest disapointment is very true.
I can't see why people don't love Gran Turismo 5 as much as the others. It really deserves better.
Are you joking??? Modnation Racers better than GT5??? How can I congratulate the other winners after that.
I guess you win and lose some. Lemme go check out the PSP awards one more time....
Good list!
Good list overall even though I think FFXIII is dreadfully underrated.
And I'm SUPER happy Heavy Rain won Best Original Music Score.
Bioshock 2 and Gran Turismo 5 should have won.
Your best RPG is a glitchy game that is clearly unfinished? This just proved how measly and worthless your awards truly are.
