2010 will be remembered for the advent of the PlayStation Move, which capitalizes on the Wii’s motion-sensing breakthroughs, and the “Look, Ma, no controller” neato-ness of Microsoft’s Kinect, but the software for these systems hasn’t yet caught up to their technical capabilities. Next year’s list may be a different story, but the following 10 titles prove that games with traditional controls aren’t going away anytime soon. 1 ‘Fallout: New Vegas’
A dream combination of first-person shooter and role-playing game, the sequel to 2008’s “Fallout 3” sucked up more of our time than any other game this year. It’s buggier than an ant farm at a flea market, but the ability to join rival factions, from neo-Romans to libertarian Elvis impersonators, gives you a sense of purpose as you battle for a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas. Throw in a turn by Wayne Newton as Mr. New Vegas, and you have the game of the year.
2 ‘Halo: Reach’
The “Halo” franchise comes full circle with its final installment, a prequel to Master Chief’s adventures. Not only does the game offer a truly epic and compelling campaign that traverses the globe and manages to convey the hopelessness of all-out war, but the online multiplayer community is gigantic and ever evolving.
3 ‘Red Dead Redemption’
The Old West tale of revenge and retribution has everything: epic story, massive seamless world, tons to do, and it looks great too. It’s like playing around in a blockbuster movie. John Marston earns his place among the greatest video game characters of all time.
4 ‘Kirby’s Epic Yarn’
Trapped in a magical sock, Kirby finds himself transformed into a yarn outline that can no longer form a vacuum with which to inhale enemies. And like its hero, “Kirby’s Epic Yarn” is incapable of sucking. It would be easy to write off the whole yarn thing as a gimmick, but it’s hard to recall a game whose graphics were woven so elegantly into what it’s actually like to play the game. Kirby can unzip and unbutton the fabric backgrounds, and transform into everything from a tank to a dolphin in levels brimming with imagination. In a year full of great 2-D platformers, this is the best.
5 ‘Super Mario Galaxy 2’
The first direct Mario sequel since the Nintendo Entertainment System was originally titled “More Super Mario Galaxy,” and feels like it, for better and for worse. “Galaxy 2” is less its own game than a grab bag of design ideas, but in the tradition of its predecessor, the ideas are staggeringly imaginitive, and virtually any given level could be expanded into its own game.
6 ‘Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood’
“Brother” delves deeper into Ezio Auditore’s rise to leader of the Assassin Order, adding plenty of new features, including training your own assassins and finally offering the much-sought-after online multiplayer. And the campaign just leaves you begging to know what happens next.
7 ‘Final Fantasy XIII’
The most important F-word here isn’t “Final” or “Fantasy,” but “fun.” A great starting point for those curious about Japanese role-playing games, “FFXIII” devlivers not only spectacular graphics and a deep story — de rigeur in this dying genre — but a battle system that’s a near-perfect marriage of real-time fighting and more deliberative strategizing.
8 ‘Limbo’
Clocking in at only a few hours, this game will live long in our hearts. With a distinctive black-and-white style and minimalist soundtrack, this haunting platform-puzzler is like a silent-film tribute to “Flashback” and “Oddworld.”
9 ‘BioShock 2’
At a time when “political” entertainment is generally smug and grating, this first-person shooter franchise approaches warring ideologies with wonder rather than cynicism. And the setting — a gleaming Art Deco city at the bottom of the ocean — is among the coolest in video games.
10 ‘Darksiders’
One of the four horseman of the Appocalypse, War, is tasked with figuring out what really caused the end times. Though gameplay feels similar to a “Zelda” adventure, the colorful story and characters will keep you glued to the screen while awaiting the planned sequel.
