Most Underappreciated Games of 2010

There were a lot of awesome games released this year, some were critically acclaimed, while others were ripped apart. It's true that some games this year were deserving of harsh criticism, but there were also some that get picked apart for the smallest most insignificant details. Here's a list of a few games that are the latter.

I heard what you said about me.

Metroid: Other M - To me, Metroid: Other M was the biggest release for the Wii this year. Sure, there was Super Mario Galaxy 2 also, but I've always been a sucker for the Metroid series. Before this game was released, there was so much hype building it up, everyone was expecting it to be the be-all end-all for Metroid games. With Team Ninja helping out, it should have been a sure fire hit as far as action games go, right? Well, not for some people.

Although it didn't receive terrible reviews, (mostly mid 7s to 8s) Metroid: Other M caused an uproar with a lot of people. Heavily criticized for the less-than-mediocre story, and Samus' overall personality portrayed in this game, people were turned off of this title quickly. What those people failed to realize was, this game is still Metroid.

Metroid never had a deep story, or much character development at all. It's always been about killing space pirates and getting new powers to traverse and platform your way through the game. All of those elements are fully intact here, and in my opinion, they're done really well. Along with the standard shooting, there are also finishing moves you can pull off against most enemies that add some cinematics to combat.

The only complaint I found here gameplay-wise, was the game is a bit easy. Other than that, it's a solid experience that deserves a chance. There have been complaints about the auto-targeting system, as well as going into first-person view to use your missiles, but neither of these are even close to as bad as people make it up to be. All games have their own quirks, most would call them a learning curve, and that's all they amount to in this game, so get over it and give it a shot.

The Lords of Shadow don't stand a chance.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Although hailed by a lot of critics, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow got some flak for being "too much like God of War". I mean, really? The main complaint in one of the biggest action-adventure games this generation is "it's too much like our favorite action game, therefore we hate it." Riiight.

The Castlevania series hasn't exactly held its own against the bigger names in the 3D action genre. In fact, it's been struggling to even make itself a known contender. On N64, 3D Castlevania was just horrendous. On PS2, they were above average, but with games like Devil May Cry and God of War, it was easily overlooked. But now, in this generation of consoles, I must say Castlevania is back up there, where it belongs.

Sure, Lords of Shadow feels a bit like God of War, with quick-time events during boss segments, and basic combos being utilized in a similar way. You also get magical powers and items that allow you to reach areas you previously were not able to. Honestly though, what action game these days DOESN'T have all these features? And I hate to break it to you, but God of War 3 plays too much like God of War. Yeah, I said it.

If you want to get technical about which games play too much like what... Castlevania: Lament of Innocence and Devil May Cry were released before the first God of War, which both had most of the gameplay elements used throughout the GoW series. Lords of Shadow is an amazing rebirth of Castlevania, with a hefty list of combos and abilities. There's alot of replay value to be had in this game, more than other games in the genre, so give it a shot. You won't be sorry.

Final Fantasy XIII - Final Fantasy. Those two words alone bring enough attention and hype to cause a tidal wave in the gaming community for months. This game was many years in the making and possibly the most anticipated game for this generation so far for some. Initially it was supposed to be a PS3 exclusive, and later announced to be making its way to 360, the criticism for Final Fantasy XIII started going downhill from there.

Yup. Fang is badass.

Many fans were very disappointed with Final Fantasy XIII, mainly because of the linearity and lack of exploration available for most of the game. On top of that, your characters could not exceed a certain level for each of the chapters, basically putting a cap on how powerful you can get. Honestly, I felt this was a step in the right direction.

These decisions in the game design kept more focus on progressing through the story, and character development. It also kept people from grinding experience, ensuring that players would not be able to just breeze through all the fights with an overleveled party. I know, an RPG that's actually challenging at times, how absurd! I just want to kill everything in one turn! FFXIII SUCKS! No, it doesn't, you do. You have plenty of opportunity after the end of the game to grind, explore, and do side missions until your hearts content.

The battle system in Final Fantasy XIII is fast paced and simple, but complex in its simplicity as you progress and go up against tougher fights. Many people didn't get far enough in the game to realize there's actual strategy to the game and your party setup. Instead, they complained about it being too easy to just use the "auto-battle" option, essentially spamming the X button for fights. I'm pretty sure you do that in most RPGs, for the hundreds of thousands of random battles you get into. So what's the problem? Final Fantasy XIII is a good RPG, with GORGEOUS graphics, I must add. Shut up and stop hating it because it's the cool thing to do.


There's a few more games I can list here. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Darksiders come to mind, but they weren't so much criticized as they were just overlooked by the masses. Still, these games are worth a playthrough if you're a fan of the genre. Too many people pay attention to nit-picky elitist opinions and not enough to actual fun-factor. These are sad times, indeed.