best & worst of 2010

As the year comes to an end, we here at Gamedae sadly put down our controllers and spend time paying attention to our family, instead of our virtual family: Mario, Luigi, Princess, the Kongs.

Thus for our final post of 2010, I decided to get the gang all together in one post to reflect on the past year of gaming. What we have played what we have liked and what we are looking forward to in the new year.

Hit the jump to see what all the Gamedae contributers thoughts.

pixeljunk monsters

PLATFORM: PS 3
RELEASE DATE: 1/2008
DEVELOPER: Q-Games
ESRB RATING: Everyone
PROGRESS: 85%

I am a perfectionist, a bad winner and sore loser, what some may refer to as a "Type A" personality; which is why I became immediately obsessed with PixelJunk Monsters, a tower defense game, by Q-Games. The meditative music, simple but charming graphics and highly addictive yet uncomplicated game play makes this a perfect choice for a novice gamer who does not like to lose.

spike video game awards 2010

PLATFORM: TV
RELEASE DATE: 12/11/2010
DEVELOPER: Spike

Hosted by Neil Patrick Harris (NPH), the annual VGAs started out with a fun pun on his Oscar singing and dancing number. Gamedae is pro NPH so we were very much looking forward to the award show. As per usual, the crowd was super awkward but Neil does his best to save the show. Using video game technology on stage to project recreated level graphics from different games was a neat idea, but felt like a crutch. I just kept thinking about how dumb it must look in person as compared to on screen since the people in the room were not able to see the backdrop of the scene the actors were playing out. For example they kick it off with Neil being "questioned" in the dark interrogation scene from Call of Duty: Black Ops. All in all, the show could have been better (open bar might have helped the crowd) but it is the only televised video game award show, so they really are the only game in town.

Maybe it's just me but I don't think its appropriate to condescend your audience. I have issues with the continued references to gamers as stoners and perverts. And, what was with all the swearing? It seemed forced and was missed by the censors. I realize Spike Network is trying to appeal to their demographic but shouldn't they want to broaden their audience? Award shows have the potential to draw Super Bowl-size television ratings. Sadly, the VGAs are just not there yet and I fear, they never will be if they keep up these antics.

Hit the jump for some links and highlights

netflix instant queue

PLATFORM: PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, PC
RELEASE DATE: 2009-10
PUBLISHER: NETFLIX

I've been laid up all week with back pain. Really a shame too as I have some hot new releases (see currently playing section) to play. Since I consume movies just as much, if not more, than video games, I would like to discuss my second favorite thing in this generation of game consoles: Netflix Instant Queue. It requires a subscription to Netflix to access the instant queue but it may have you rethinking your cable subscription.

Hit the jump for more and some of my recent Netflix Instant Queue picks