Shockblast Media’s 2010 Year In Review

By at December 31, 2010 | 8:38 pm | Print

2010 has somehow come and gone in a flash, and what a year it has been across the spectrum of the entertainment industry. It certainly has been a wild ride, and I for one am stoked to see what 2011 will have to offer. When I sat down to put together my list of the top 10 games of 2010, I knew that there was no way a simple list could do this year justice. Our site is a gaming site at heart, but there are a ton of other topics and forms of entertainment that we cover. With that, this will serve as a 2010 year in review, with a number of other “best of” lists to follow the big daddy of them all: the Top 10 games of 2010.

I found  myself in a bit of a dilemma while putting together this list. The first was the simple fact that there were so many games that I loved that I felt like deserved “top 10” status. The second was my actual #1 game itself. The top three games on my list, at various points in the development of this story, probably found itself slotted at #1. I fought long and hard with myself to figure out which of the three truly deserved that #1 spot, and I feel like I made the right decision, as I will explain in a few. I would also like to establish that Wii, PSP, DS, iWhatever and PC only games were not considered for this list. Sorry, I am sure games like Donkey Kong Country, Starcraft 2 and World Of Warcraft: Cataclysm were worthy, but I just didn’t play them.

This entire article is one that I have been looking forward to writing all year, and without further ado, I give you the Shockblast Media Top 15 Games of 2010:

15. Spiderman: Shattered Dimension – Finally, a Spiderman game worth playing. The concept behind this game was cool, and the execution was on point. It hasn’t always been easy putting together a decent comic book based game, and the dynamics of Spiderman’s powers can be difficult to work with, but this was a game that lived up to the hype. Being able to play as four different Spidermen was pretty badass, especially the Noir era Spiderman, which really brought a whole different side out of Peter Parker.

14. Darksiders – So there is a battle between heaven and hell and you get to play the game as War, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. If that doesn’t scream awesome right from the start, I don’t know what does. Wait, I have a sword named Chaoseater? Sold. Mark Hamill is my tour guide throughout the game? Win! This game was pretty awesome and one of the few games I took on at the hardest difficulty. It can be quite difficult, but it is also definitely both beatable and enjoyable at that level, although if you were in the same room as me when I was fighting Tiamat, you might have thought I felt otherwise. I’ve heard rumblings of a Darksiders 2, and I am totally on board.

13. Dante’s Inferno – You know it is a good year for gaming when I have Dante’s Inferno so low. This game had an insane ad campaign and EA really went all out trying to get people excited for Dante’s descent into hell. Based on Dante Alighieri’s 14th-century epic poem “Divine Comedy,” this is a game that gives you the classic choices between right and wrong, with hack-and-slash madness that can be quite enjoyable. I’ve read a lot of comments that the game is just a God Of War rip-off, but I don’t buy that at all. Is it in the same vein? Sure. But if your main gripe about a game is the fact that it is on the same level as another, I think the game is doing something right. I love the story involved with this game and I just wish I had given it a chance sooner. Read our review here.

12. Final Fantasy 13 – I was a huge Final Fantasy fan growing up, legitimately starting with the first Final Fantasy on the Nintendo Entertainment System, and moving on like many others to Final Fantasy VII. This was the first Final Fantasy game that I had played in quite a while, and I definitely found myself getting sucked in. The characters were interesting and made you care about their story, and the theatrics and visuals were top notch. I still need to go back and beat the game, because I just got to a point on the third disc where grinding it out was just becoming too much to keep me interested, but there is no doubt in my mind that I will eventually go back to it, because I just have to know how it ends (and that is not an invitation for the answer).

11. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 – I am an enormous Star Wars dork, so leaving this game out of the Top 10 was incredibly difficult for me. I absolutely love the story of Starkiller, and was pretty shocked to see they even brought the series to a second game. Had the game been a bit longer, maybe it could have snuck its way on the of the core list, but alas, it sits just outside looking in. With lead writer Haden Blackman leaving Lucast Arts and a huge chunk of the people involved in making this game having been laid off, I am pretty worried they are not going to be able to finish the story where it left off in a third game. If that is the case, I really hope George Lucas gets his head out of his ass and at least lets someone finish off the story with a graphic novel. Read our review here.

10. God Of War III – I am definitely a day late and a dollar short on this franchise, but better late to the party then never getting there at all! I only recently picked up a Playstation 3, and one of the first acquisitions I made was the entire God Of War series. Knowing I enjoyed similar games like Darksiders and Dante’s Inferno, I wasn’t too worried about grabbing all the games blindly (and a sweet red Dualshock 3 remote to boot). Needless to say, there is a reason for the hype and his name is Kratos, one of the uber-badasses in a world of badassery. It is certainly possible that this game might have made its way a little higher had I spent more time with it, but based on what I have played, there is no doubt on my mind it at least belongs in the top 10.

9. Transformers: War For Cybertron – Finally, the Transformers game I always wanted taking part in a story I wanted to experience. This game was an absolute blast to play, and as far as I am concerned, was one of the most under-appreciated games of the year. Had the multi-player experience been a little more stable, I have no doubt that more people may have stayed with it. There was definitely a bit of a learning curve for High Moon Studios, and I am really excited to see what the second game of the series will bring. Just a word of advice, though: Prowl, Hot Rod, Grimlock. Make it happen. Read our review here.

8. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood – One of the most frustrating releases of 2010 for me has been Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. Assassin’s Creed 2 was my #2 game of 2009, and I was thrilled to hear that Ubisoft would be bringing Ezio Auditore da Firenze back for more action. He has provided a much more compelling story then either Desmond or Altair could ever dream of, and it was nice to start experiencing Ezio’s coming of age in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. Even though this game can be extremely frustrating to me, as it ramps up a lot of the things I disliked about the Assassin’s Creed franchise (killing Borgia captains, UGH!), it is still epic on a level so grand that I find myself continuing to try and go back to get things done. With so many games coming out late in the fourth quarter of the year, I still haven’t gotten the chance to fully immerse myself in the city of Rome and complete the game, but everything I have seen has really been amazing across the board. The graphics are still incredible and experiencing the Roman Coliseum as it may have been over 500 years ago was pretty awesome.

7. NBA 2K11 – Sports games rarely get the love they deserve in these year in review type articles, but few sports games in the history of gaming have ever, can ever or will ever top what the folks at 2K managed to do in 2010. Not only did they secure Michael Jordan and his 10 shades of awesome for the cover of the game, but they gave players the opportunity to relive some of the most classic moments in NBA history as His Airness himself. In a normal year, an accomplishment like that in a sports game would earn high marks by its own right, but 2K did something that makes that seem like chopped liver. They killed their competition. Literally, with a bullet in the head and millions of dollars wasted, they absolutely decimated EA’s hopes and dreams of competing in the world of basketball gaming to the point where they flat out canceled a game that had probably already been printed and was sitting in boxes ready to go. Flat out put it in the shit-can and provided one of the biggest egg-on-face moments in video game history. Amazing. Well played, 2K. Well played. Read our review here.

6. Bioshock 2 – I bought the original Bioshock the day it was released, played it for a few days and just couldn’t get into it. One of the best decisions I made in 2010 on a boring day when I was looking for something new to play was repurchasing the game a few days before the release of Bioshock 2. I found myself blown away by the fact that I somehow didn’t flat out love the original, and I found myself first in line the day of release picking up Bioshock 2 with no regrets.

5. Call Of Duty: Black Ops – I had sort of fallen out of love with the Call Of Duty series after getting close to my third prestige on Modern Warfare 2, and Black Ops was the game that brought me back. Well, at least temporarily. For whatever reason, Treyarch always seems to get a bad rap with Call Of Duty fans, and I never quite understood why, because as it stands, they have now made the two best pieces of the entire series, with Black Ops easily being the best it has to offer. Taking a page out of the Halo playbook, the options on game play are endless, and the theater mode has really allowed gamers to share those special once in a lifetime moments 30 seconds at a time. While I may not be the biggest fan of the style of play in the Black Ops multiplayer, the campaign mode was absolutely riveting. I felt a very personal connection to all of the characters, and I loved the way Treyarch was able to tie in Victor and Dmitri from World At War. Graphically, this is the best Call Of Duty has ever looked and with there legitimately being a million ways to play, it should dominate the multi-player leaderboard for a very long time. Read our review here.

4. Fallout: New Vegas – A lot like God Of War, I was a late comer to this amazing series, and I can’t even explain why. I became fascinated by Fallout: New Vegas from the moment I saw the initial E3 trailer, and the rest is history. I have already invested nearly 70 hours of game play into the Mojave wasteland, and had I not rushed through the ending, I could have easily logged 30 hours more. The story is fascinating, and the people you meet along the way and the decisions you make balanced with the effects they have on what happens next is a blast to play through.  Read our review here.

3. Mass Effect 2 – In most years, Mass Effect 2 would have been a hands down winner of the game of the  year award, and at various points in the writing process for this article, it was and very well may still be. I had to make some hard decisions, and the hardest was saying that Mass Effect 2 would be #3 on this list. I’d like to say it is more like 1C, but that would be a total cop-out on my part, and I just don’t roll that way. Everything about this game is amazing, from the graphics to the decision making right down to the story itself. I must have played the final mission 20 times trying to keep every crew member alive, not just because I wanted the achievement, but playing as such a heroic leader like Commander Shepard made me feel responsible for making sure they all made it out alive. Plus, with so many of the decisions I made in the first Mass Effect carrying over into Mass Effect 2, I wanted to make sure all hands were on deck for Mass Effect 3.

2. Red Dead Redemption –This may be the greatest western story of all time. Rockstar knows how to do the open world, and few games will ever touch the level of amazing that you feel in Red Dead Redemption. Everything about this game sucks you in, and John Marston is easily one of my favorite video game characters of all time. There are a number of ways you can approach the game, be it an outlaw or a hero, and no matter how you approach it, John Marston will be iconic right down to his bitter end. The graphics in this game are incredible, as I literally felt my breath being taken away the first time I crossed the border into Mexico. The expansions to the game have been a ton of fun, and the Undead Nightmare DLC may just be the best take on the undead ever made. Even as I write this, I can’t believe I am not putting this at #1 with a bullet, because it is clearly worthy and would have been just about any other year. Read our review here.

1. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 – That’s right, our game of the year for 2010 is a game that is, by far and away, the best first person shooter on the market: Battlefield: Bad Company 2. It completely baffles me as to why EA invested so heavily in making Medal Of Honor their marquee franchise that would compete with the Call Of Duty series when their answer was right here the whole time. The campaign on the game is definitely not the best campaign mode of 2010, but it is a ton of fun and a bit more light-hearted then your normal shoot-em up style war game. Our lovable bad of losers in Bad Company always seem to find a way to get themselves in trouble, and their journey across the globe and constant delaying of Sarge’s retirement. Then there is the multi-player, which may not have as many options as some other games, but the options available never get old, and the pride in keeping your dog tags brings the intensity to another level. Let’s face it, it’s one thing to get knifed, it’s another thing to know the person that knifed you gets to keep your dog tags in their collection forever. With nearly 600 hours of game play already invested into the game before the Vietnam expansion ever hit the ground, there is no doubt in my mind that this was my absolute favorite game of 2010. Read our review here.

Biggest Disappointments of 2010


5. Mafia II – I played Mafia II for the first time at PAX East in Boston and I knew at the time it wasn’t going to be for me. The gun play was clunky and it almost felt a little too much like a reskinned Grand Theft Auto. I understand it is a little difficult to really make these style of inner city sandbox games stand out, but I guess I was just hoping for a little more.

4. Metro 2033 – I almost bought this game outright, without playing it, because it looked like it had the potential to be pretty cool. Thankfully I didn’t and made it a Blockbuster night instead. I literally got to a point in the game where I said to myself “you know what? I don’t really care what happens” and just completely gave up. It was boring to me and I just didn’t buy into the whole sci-fi element of the game at all.

3. Halo: Reach – I really tried hard to enjoy this game, and Firefight and the co-op campaign almost made me do it. Then there was everything else in the game and I just wasn’t feeling it at all, and ended up trading it in for Medal Of Honor. I like stories that make me care about what happens, and while I had never played much of the Halo series prior to purchasing Reach, I kind of knew that everyone from this crew had to go at some point. There just weren’t any big spots in the game that made me say “oh my god” or even really care about the characters at all. While I think Bungie did a great job in giving fans a ton of elements to the multi-player experience and they have done an excellent job supporting the game, I just really think the game flow is… stupid. It doesn’t make sense to me, and I flat out don’t enjoy it. Given how hard I tried to feel otherwise, it left me a little disappointed that I couldn’t get into it. Read our review here.

2. Fable 3 – I loved Fable 2, so it was pretty much a no brainer to me that I would be picking up Fable 3 as soon as it hit stores. Imagine my disappointment when I loaded the game and found a constant lag, total repetitiveness and a largely uninteresting story. I will admit, having to choose between saving some citizens or my in game girlfriend was a pretty intense decision to have to make so early in the game, and I thought it would only get better from there. With so many other games coming out around the say time, I lost interest in this game rather quickly, and it has kind of moved on to the point of no return, as it is tucked away in the dark places that games go in my room never to be played again. The game feels like an unfinished product, and that is totally shocking to me, as I really felt Lionhead had invested a lot of time and effort into the game.

1. Medal Of Honor – While I think this was a better game than everything else on this list, it was by far and away the most disappointing game of 2010 for me, probably because my expectations for the game were so high. A lot like my complaint for Halo: Reach, I didn’t feel like Danger Close did enough to make me care about the characters. I understand part of that is by design, as the game was designed to play as just another day in the life of a Tier 1 Operative. The visuals were awesome, and DICE did the best they could to provide interesting level design in the multi-player, but in the end, there is just no possible way this game will ever compete with Call Of Duty. What was even more disappointing to me was the way that EA used all the publicity surrounding the game’s inclusion of the Taliban in the game as playable characters in multi-player and acting like they were going to stand behind principle and realism, only to back down a shortly before release. What makes that fact even more unacceptable is the fact that given the booklet packaged in the game, EA never intended to call anything the Taliban in multi-player. They were going to be the OPFOR all along. Shame on them.  Read our review here.

Taking Out The Trash of 2010:

5. Alpha Protocol – I am utterly shocked to see Obsidian has their name on this. The whole spy-guy, action-RPG sounded great in theory, but wow what a clusterfuck full of fail this turned out to be. I’m so glad I didn’t invest anything but time into this game. The whole concept was intriguing, the execution… not so much.

4. Army Of 2: 40th Day – I didn’t play the first game, but if it was anything like this… no thanks. I will play bad games to the end just because I hate not finishing games, but there is no way I could get myself through this one. It was just… stupid.

3. Iron Man 2 – I love comic books and I love video games based on comic book characters. Unfortunately, Sega doesn’t have the best of track records with either, and their effort on Iron Man 2 certainly didn’t help. With Thor and Captain America games on tap for 2011, I am definitely a little scared to invest any more time and money into Marvel games by Sega, though knowing the studio involved in Iron Man 2 won’t be involved certainly does offer a very little peace of mind. I don’t know if anyone can ever get the mechanics of Iron Man going from flight to ground combat down pat, but surely someone can do better. This was a marginal improvement over the first game, but that is not saying much. Read our review here.

2. NBA Elite 2011 – Now I know this game never saw the light of day, but I played the demo, and it made me want to kill myself. How could EA fuck this up so badly? I never really thought NBA Live was a bad product, and up until 2K decided to put Kevin Garnett on the cover of 2K9, I was pretty loyal to just about any EA Sports product. I applaud EA for pulling the plug on this one, but I do kind of feel bad for Kevin Durant not getting his cover.

1. MLB 2K10 – Every ounce of goodwill I may have created by offering a verbal reach-around to 2K earlier for their effort on NBA 2K11 is about to be shattered into a million pieces. While MLB 2K10 was certainly a minor improvement over MLB 2K9, that only makes this the second worst sports game of all time.  OK, maybe that is a slight stretch, but this game is still completely broken, with bland graphics and stupid mechanics. I am a massive baseball fan and I told myself I would never buy a 2K baseball game again, but somehow walked into a store and bought it a day before the All Star game because A. it was cheap and B. there was a time sensitive achievement that could only be acquired once during a 48 hour period surrounding the Mid-Summer Classic. Only a funny thing happened and… it didn’t work. 2K had to go into panic mode to fix it. Unacceptable. What is an even bigger travesty is the fact that 2K’s complete an utter failure in the baseball market caused the cancelation of the NHL series on the XBox 360 and Playstation 3, and I actually preferred 2K hockey much more than EA. Fortunately, now that I finally have a Playstation 3, I never have to worry about buying a 2K baseball game again, and hopefully they’ll go the way of NBA Elite and off themselves really soon. You can’t make a baseball game, 2K, and your excuses are getting weak. My favorite MLB 2K10 moment is when I hit a ball down the left field line into the corner of Fenway Park. Whoever the left fielder was held the ball and just stood there, and as I sat there and watched my base runners round the bases, the left fielder randomly threw the ball to third base… where the third baseman walked a few steps and tagged out three of my runners stuck running in place between third and home. Please stop making baseball games 2K. It is a lost cause.

Best Characters of 2010:


5. Tom Brady (Madden 2011) – The man just does it all, whether it be on the field leading the Patriots to the best record in the NFL, or dashing the hopes and dreams of Madden addicts worldwide. I know it is probably rough enough that all your Super Bowls are belong to us, but if I could just get my virtual Mr. Bundchen in a real game, it would be over. Not that the real thing is far off from some of the legendary seasons I have put up, but I digress. Running with the Pats in Madden is almost cheating, and Tom Brady is the reason why. He’s going to add his second NFL MVP award to his trophy case this season (and hopefully a fourth Super Bowl ring), but clearly being named as one of the Top 5 video game characters of 2010 is what he’ll end up hanging his hat on.

4. Claptrap (Borderlands – Claptrap’s New Robot Robolution) – Our lovable little friend from Borderlands has quite the mean streak, and his full blown messiah complex has his New Robot Robolution set to take over all of Pandora. Hey, he warned us that he was an interplanetary ninja assassin droid, but we just didn’t listen. Instead, we’ve let him go ahead and raise from the dead all of our biggest enemies and use them to fight against us as he takes over the world one brain at a time. In true Borderlands fashion, Claptrap is quite hilarious, and even while playing the role of would-be ruler of the world, you can’t help but want to bend over and pinch him on his robo-cheek and call him adorable. Read our review of his DLC here.

3. Commander Shepard (Mass Effect 2) – Lee Majors isn’t the only six million dollar man they have the technology to rebuild, as the galaxies favorite hero Commander Shepard was somehow saved from the brink of death after a trip through open space into the atmosphere of Alchera and the mile or lesson in gravity that followed. I don’t know what the cost was with inflation and inter-galactic conversion ratios, but clearly the results were worth every penny for Cerberus and the rest of the galaxy, as Commander Shepard is back and literally better than ever. He is assembling a lethal team of total badasses for the ultimate showdown with the Reapers. If you play your cards just right, you may even get a little somethin-somethin from uber-hottie Miranda, and whether your Commander Shepard is male or female, that’s all kinds of awesome.

2. Frank Woods (Call Of Duty: Black Ops) – This guy is clearly inspired by Rambo, but I am pretty sure Sergeant Frank Woods makes even Sly Stalone shake in his boots. This guy is the quintessential video game badass, and wherever he goes, death and destruction is sure to follow. Even in the many times he has stared death straight in the face and laughed, and right up until he pays the ultimate sacrifice, Frank Woods is a man with a plan and he will see it through, no matter what it takes or what the cost. Whereas many other soldiers in games this year were rather listless and uninspiring, Frank Woods is a hero that you will always remember.

1. John Marston (Red Dead Redemption) – I am hard pressed to find a character that I have become more attached to in a video game since Revan from Knights Of The Old Republic. John Marston is a good man that has done some bad things, and all he wants to do is start his life over with his family away from it all. When those dreams are taken from him and he is forced back into the life he walked away from to bring in the men he used to ride with, all bets are off. He is the ultimate cowboy, a combination of every awesome Clint Eastwood and John Wayne character and topped off with Val Kilmer’s rendition of Doc Holliday, John Martson is the epitome of the wild, wild west. When  you invest as much time in a game as Red Dead Redemption requires, you build a relationship with the main character, and since Red Dead Redemption has one of the most compelling stories I have ever experienced, and no game has ever made me drop a controller at the end quite like this one. There are rumors that a Red Dead Redemption movie is in the works and that Brad Pitt is pining over playing the role of John Marston. That about sums it all up right there.

Most Anticipated For 2011: We’re looking forward to a lot in 2011, and these are some of the games that have been announced that we are looking forward to the most:

5. Batman: Arkham City – Seriously, I think this one goes without saying. For many, Arkham Asylum was the game of the year in 2009, and I have no doubts that getting to run am-muck through the streets of Arkham City as our favorite Caped Crusader will be any less exhilarating.

4. DC Universe Online – We won’t have to wait long to get our hands on an early game of the year contender in DC Universe Online. Set to drop on January 11th, getting to play around with the demo/beta was more than enough to make my purchase of a Playstation 3 worth the price I paid. All the other stuff may be extremely over-rated (seriously, what the hell is with this POS control?) but I’ll be rocking out next to all my favorite DC super heroes that I know nothing about. Sorry, I’m a Marvel guy, but this just looks too fun to pass up.

3. Rage – I don’t know a whole heck of a lot about this game, but I do know that it totally caught my eye at E3. It looks like it could be a distant cousin of Borderlands, and considering my unending love for that game, Rage is definitely high on my radar.

2. Battlefield 3 – I may be setting myself up for disappointment here, because I know Battlefield 3 has not been officially announced for 2011, but all signs point to it dropping this year. Considering

1. Star Wars: The Old Republic – When this game comes out, you will never hear from me again. Seriously, I may be one of those uber-dorks you read about living in the basement running 18 dual monitor computers trying to rule the galaxy with an army full of Sith characters and all that awesome stuff. I’ve never played a PC MMORPG before and my computer can’t even handle it, but I am going to be dropping a lot of cash to make sure I am running this game at max settings with all the bells and whistles and can totally see myself playing as every possible character type in the game. I would have much rathered a Knights Of The Old Republic 3 on my XBox 360 that finished telling me the story of Revan, my favorite Star Wars character in the history of ever, but I digress. Fortunately, it sounds like we’re going to find out what happened to the most power force wielder to wave his fingers and tell us these aren’t the droids we’re looking for. That wasn’t him? Oh, nevermind.

Then there are some games that have not been announced that we’re kind of hoping we officially hear more about soon. Maybe some grandiose presentation awaits us at E3? I sure as hell hope so!

5. Dante’s Purgatorio (Dante’s Inferno 2) – So I am assuming this is going to happen, because Dante’s Inferno was based on a three part play called “Divine Comedy,” and “Purgatorio” is part two. They even teased Dante’s assent through purgatory at the end of Dante’s Inferno. I don’t know how successful the game was, but I do know I enjoyed the hell out of it and would love to hack and slash my way through another game or two.

4. NHL 2K12 – Time to kiss and make up with 2K. MAKE A GOD DAMN HOCKEY GAME THIS YEAR. Cut the shit with baseball and make this happen. Whoever was responsible for the NHL 2K series was doing something right, and I would much rather play this over EA’s NHL product. Make it happen. Seriously.

3. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 – I absolutely loved the first two Marvel Ultimate Alliance games, and I really hope they keep the series going. There are a ton of different directions they can go from the end of the second game. The recent Skrull invasion that resulted in the Green Goblin becoming Iron Patriot and replacing Iron Man as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D and the struggle to remove him from power would be an outstanding story and a ton of fun to play.

2.  Star Wars: Battlefront 3 – Leave it up to Lucasarts to drop the ball on something awesome. Fans have been feigning for a Battlefront 3 for ages, yet these guys have totally let us all down. In a day in age when the first person shooter is reigning supreme, why the hell can’t I run around famous Star Wars planets as a Stormtrooper or Rebel with my blaster set to stun… er, kill trying to drop noobs like their name was Alderaan? Seriously guys, what are you waiting for? Grab the bull by the horn and get this done. There have been mods based on Call Of Duty 4 and everyone loves the hell out of it. MAKE. IT. HAPPEN!

1. Borderlands 2 – 2K and Gearbox have hinted that it makes a lot of sense to make this into a series, and Marcus hinted that are cast of characters was needed on another planet before he met his untimely demise at the end of the Claptrap DLC, so the writing is on the wall here. This is easily my favorite game to ever be released on a next gen console, so needless to say, this needs to get done, and get done fast!

We here at Shockblast Media are so much more than just a video gaming site, so I’d like to throw in a few more lists from myself and a few staff members to close things out.

Top Albums of 2010:

Jason Joseph:

1. The Showdown “Blood In The Gears”

2. Sevendust “Cold Day Memory”

3. All That Remains “…For We Are Many”

4. As I Lay Dying “The Powerless Rise”

5. The Damned Things “Ironiclast”

6. Bleeding Through “Bleeding Through”

7. Haste The Day “Attack Of The Wolf King”

8. Norma Jean “Meridional”

9. The Acacia Strain “Wormwood”

10. August Burns Red “Home”

Eric Joseph:

  1. Slipknot – (Sic)nesses
  2. Sevendust – Cold Day Memory
  3. Murderdolls – Women & Children Last
  4. Demon Hunter – The World Is A Thorn
  5. Rob Zombie – Hellbilly Deluxe 2
  6. Stone Sour – Audio Secrecy
  7. Soulfly – Omen
  8. Baptized In Blood – Baptized In Blood
  9. All That Remains – …For We Are Many
  10. Avenged Sevenfold – Nightmare

Honorable Mentions: Eminem – Recovery, ill nino – Dead New World, Fear Factory – Mechanize, Disturbed – Asylum, Godsmack – The Oracle, Black Label Society – Order Of The Black

Rich Vear:

  1. As I Lay Dying – The Powerless Rise
  2. Soilwork – The Panic Broadcast
  3. Fear Factory – Mechanize
  4. All That Remains – …For We Are Many
  5. Eminem – Recovery

Honorable Mentions: Disturbed – Asylum, Godsmack – The Oracle, 36 Crazyfists – Collisions and Castaways, & Powerglove – Saturday Morning Apocalypse

Top Movies of 2010:

Eric Joseph:

  1. The Expendables
  2. Predators
  3. The Wolf Man
  4. Kick-Ass
  5. Iron Man 2
  6. Toy Story 3
  7. Grown Ups
  8. The Town
  9. Piranha 3D
  10. Scott Pilgrim vs The World

Honorable Mentions: Machete, Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps, The Social Network, The A-Team, How To Train Your Dragon

Rich Vear:

  1. The Expendables
  2. Iron Man 2
  3. How To Train Your Dragon
  4. The A-Team
  5. Predators

Top Comic Book Characters of 2010:

Marvel Comics:

Deadpool –

Jason Joseph: The Merc with a Mouth became Marvel’s go-to guy in 2010, and in February of this year, he was featured on 21 variant covers of comics other than his own!Talk about insane! I’ve lost track of how many different series he has going now, but there is no doubt in my mind that Deadpool is Marvel’s man of the year. The guys responsible for Zombieland are developing his movie and Ryan Reynolds is supposed to be portraying him. Seriously, it doesn’t get much cooler then that.

Spiderman -


Eric Joseph: Ever since Spider-Man made the deal with the devil to re-do his life, it’s been a crazy ride. Not only did Marvel do a great job at throwing in so much craziness into the life of Peter Parker and Spider-Man, but they also revamped his rogues gallery. Seeing all of the classic characters re-tooled for a future generation was great to see as well as the introduction of some new classic characters. All in all I think that Spider-Man has been through enough to make him the best character of 2010. Plus he’s a freaking Avenger now!

Hulk -

Rich Vear: Nobodies tougher or stronger than The Hulk. ‘Nuff Said.

DC Comics:

Green Lantern:


Jason Joseph:  Hal Jordan is a man on the rise. While 2011 will be the year that he is brought to the mainstream, 2o1o will forever be known for his crossover into the world of the White Lantern, bringing peace to a war between many different Lantern Corps and preventing the certain annihilation of the galaxy. Seriously, what have you done today?

Eric Joseph: The past few years has been rocky for Hal Jordan. With his rebirth then the massive Sinestro Corps War, you can see that he has been battling his demons for his past when he was possessed by the entity known as Parallax.  So to see him take charge in 2010′s “Blackest Night” and join up with enemies to take down an even greater enemy is definitely a lot to deal with. Also with the new movie due to be out this coming summer, we all expect to see plenty of Green everywhere.

Batman –

Rich Vear:

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