  "Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions." (HO) |
Like biting into diamond-hard fruitcake or getting kisses from a grandma who hasn't flossed since the Second World War, there's an unwelcome tradition that we must endure around this time every year: Chronicling the ones that got away.
While your noble video games scribe may possess the strength of 10 men, he has the hands of but one. Two thumbs can only play so many games in a given week, month and year, and there are several worthy games that invariably slip through the cracks and don't get reviewed here.
In a couple weeks we'll look at the best games of 2010, but today I must apologize for letting these other great games (any of which would make a perfect stocking stuffer, incidentally) sneak by. I have excuses, though! Ten, to be precise.
Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii) -- Even though the hardware is showing its age, the Wii had a fantastic year for games, capped with this neo-retro love letter to the original Donkey Kong Country. Unfortunately, it came out in that jam-packed late November release period and simply got lost in the shuffle. Bananas!
Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition (360, PS3, PC) -- This critically hailed post-apocalyptic epic has made the "ones that got away" list two years running, and occupies the pole position in the stack of games that I will play one day when I have free time. Which, short of being laid up with a broken leg, may be never.
Fable III (360) -- What were the Xbox folks thinking, releasing the third instalment in this beloved fantasy series just days ahead of the spotlight-stealing Kinect peripheral? Though this one got a few tepid reviews, I finished and enjoyed the first two Fable games, and I wish Fable III had emerged during a less hectic time.
NBA 2K11 (all platforms) -- 2K Sports' latest hoops-fest has been called the best sports games of the year by folks whose opinions I respect. Thing is, I've just never really dug basketball video games, and didn't feel compelled to see if this one would change my mind. Not when another virtual Stanley Cup in NHL 11 was calling to me.
DJ Hero 2 (360, PS3, Wii) -- I loved the first DJ Hero and I know I will be ripping up the turntables with this sequel eventually. (Like Borderlands, it's in "The Stack.") But DJ Hero 2 came out the same day as the sprawling, time-devouring yet ultimately unsatisfying Fallout: New Vegas, and got buried like a radscorpion in a sandstorm.
God of War: Ghost of Sparta (PSP) -- I love angry bald men as much as the next person - heck, I am one! - but this year's God of War III filled my Kratos Kup to the brim. No matter how good Ghost of Sparta may be (and I hear it's very, very good), I just need a break from all of Kratos' hacking, slashing and shouting for a while.
Bayonetta (360, PS3) -- With her Sarah Palin looks and giant, uh, pistols, this game's titular heroine was one of the sexiest action characters of the year. I blame an extended post-New Year's hangover for missing this one (and the groovy Darksiders as well) when it launched in early January. I deserve a spanking. Right, Bayonetta?
Cave Story (Wii) -- Ignorance won't hold up in court if you're charged with a crime, but hopefully it's enough of an excuse for overlooking this exceptional WiiWare game, which came out in March but only landed on my radar a few weeks ago. Although, there is that very recent Nintendo DS version, too.
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions (360, PS3, Wii, PC) -- Some have said this four-in-one wall-crawler adventure is Spidey's answer to the fantastic Batman: Arkham Asylum, but we received our review copy weeks after release, when the window for a timely write-up had closed. Wallopin' websnappers, Activision! Try FedEx!
BioShock 2 (360, PS3, PC) -- The original BioShock was an incredible game, but the fact this sequel was made by a different development team just didn't make me eager to dive (get it?) back into the Rapture's underwater world. The upcoming BioShock Infinite will not be appearing on any future list of games that got away, though. That I promise.
