Coint & Plick 2010 #66a: Call of Duty: Black Ops
15 points, 2 votes
jim in glasgow: (May 19, 2010) Once bitten thrice shy; not even going to consider playing this.
(November 7, 2010) Think i might be poop socking it.
The public library has a moral authority; it should be about learning, not learning to kill.
Chrisv2010: Black Ops has toned down the sniping to the point that there are no more of those quick scoping shitheads. A sniper rifle needs to be used like a sniper rifle.
Polyphonic: I was blown away by how incomprehensible the cutscenes are.
Antexit: I feel like I get more or less the same sort of concentrated pleasure from the new pac-man game as from this game. the amount of playtime it would take to get up to 15x prestige you could probably work at mcdonald’s and save enough to buy gold-plated guns irl…
The inherent social media dangers of courting deranged teenagers
jjjusten: oh my god the single player on this (yeah yeah i know) is the dumbest shit i have ever seen… and i played just cause 2!
Coint & Plick 2010 #71d: Split/Second
15 points, 1 vote
How Black Rock Uses Code Branches
Euler: I loved Pure and Split/Second is like that but sorta more 2D until you start falling through the freeway because some wise guy decided to blow up half the board. It’s the first worthy Burnout 3 successor I’ve played, with just enough non-linearity to make it ~next gen~.
jjjusten: Oh man u guys, Split/Second fucking owns!
Coint & Plick 2010 #71c: Perfect Dark
15 points, 1 vote
Salsa Shark: I’m going to be honest here: I’ve never played the campaign mode of either this or the N64 version. And I probably never will. If you feel that this should discount this vote because of that then fine, but given the number of people who vote for FPS games in these GOTY things without bothering to play the single-player mode it might be a bit unfair. Anyway, I’ve given this 15 points because there are some differences between the remake and the original, but almost all of these are positive. Perhaps the best change is that you no longer have to play through various combat challenges to unlock MP maps (though some weapons remain to be unlocked). Since the combat challenges get controller-throwingly difficult towards the second half and the default map selection in the N64 game was dire, this is a hugely welcome change. The starting line-up of weapons is decent enough that MP can be played straight after downloading with enough weapon variation to satisfy most people. The only minor complaint I have is that you can only load in four sims, which limits the possibilities for local MP team-based games. Still, the game is just as fun as ever and finally actually playable now that the consoles have caught up to the online and technical aspirations of the original version.
cozwn: perfect dark. xbla. 1080p. 60fps. fuck. yeh.
Coint & Plick 2010 #71b: Hero Core
15 points, 1 vote
Official Game Site and Download Hub
Nhex: So many Metroidvania clones, so many games that use a Game Boy aesthetic. This one, from the maker of the high quality Iji, nails it. Super tight controls, 2-bit graphics, a little bit of carefully placed atmospheric design and music – shows what it takes to outclass the masses of solid but unmemorable flash action games.
Coint & Plick 2010 #71a: Alien Swarm
15 points, 1 vote
Nhex: Once again proving that Valve knows how to acquire talent, this game brought out the obsession in me for a good chunk of this year. It’s basically a co-op time attack game with very well designed levels and a pretty awful community, likely due to being free. The EXP unlock / prestige system is a little evil, but I damn well know if they ever get around to releasing new weapons or maps I’ll jump back in. It’s a shame this will probably be ignored by Valve, because the effort of design shows, it gets shockingly deep and brutal. And free!
Touching heroics in Alien Swarm
Coint & Plick 2010 #75: Railworks 2
14 points, 1 vote
Jim D: There are bits in this game where you need to do nothing more than stare out of the window for 8 or 12 minutes. The challenge comes from maintaining concentration on doing nothing for that long, without then forgetting to reduce your throttle by 5% when those 8 minutes are up. Weirdly fun, pretty zen, and unlike anything I’ve done in a game before, so for that reason it gets a strong vote.
Princess TamTam: I’m starting a railworks clan everyone. Please add =[420]=LoCo-Motive to your gamertags.
Coint & Plick 2010 #76b: 3D Dot Game Heroes
13 points, 2 votes
Matt D: I’ve made very little progress in this because I spend too much time designing pixel block characters at the start. It’s basically old-school Zelda with some decent humour and blocks. There’s a texture skin for Minecraft that gives it much the same look and feel as this game – it’s good synergy.
Jamescobo: Fanservice gone impossibly right. Old-school as fuck in terms of difficulty and helpfulness, but built from the ground up to cater to the type of gameplay old-school gaming used to inspire (i.e. “next time I play through I’ll talk to X and Y and hit up the From Cave and and and…”). Also deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as WipeOut HD in terms of best graphics on the platform; whether in motion or sitting still, it just looks like the type of game you’re excited to pick up and play.
Forksclovetofu: I really WANTED to love this but it honestly bored the hell out of me. Unnecessarily slow loading times, clunky writing and level design and generally bleh combat suggest that the creators confused the least enjoyable qualities of old-school gaming with “retro”. Gorgeous design though.
Coint & Plick 2010 #76a: Puzzle Agent
13 points, 2 votes
Nhex: Didn’t finish this yet, but likely the funniest game I’ve played all year.
a passing spacecadet: How do you fit puzzles seamlessly into a hyper-realistic and fast-moving plot? Ah, don’t bother. Goofy knowingness + retro cartoon visuals = a pleasant use of an evening. Hoping for a sequel, if only to explain the ending.
Forksclovetofu: Layton fans will eat this up with a spoon; the kooky art style is tremendously winning.
Coint & Plick 2010 #78: Specter Spelunker Shrinks
13 points, 1 vote
abanana: Fantastic idea; I hope Ken Grafals completes the full game.
Forksclovetofu: Damn fun. I’d love to see this mechanic gets picked up for a full length release.
Doctor Casino: I do have to say I don’t love the 3-D engine, which feels kind of incidental to the shrinking/growing gimmick… the perspective just makes it hard to figure out distances, which is always an unforgivable problem in a platformer. Beautiful concept though.
Coint & Plick 2010 #79: Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World
11 points, 2 votes
Jamescobo: Because my parents were infuriatingly protective dicklords who refused to let me have any sort of video game apparatus when I was a kid, I never really got into River City Ransom until I played it on an emulator. I could tell it was great, but it also felt really archaic not being able to save or with such a rudimentary (by contemporary standards anyway) leveling system or etc. Scott Pilgrim, then, is basically the same exact framework, but with all of the modern gewgaws developed in the 20 years (gawd) since RCR’s release. Bonus points for the 8-bit art style (great) and the music (GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT).
Polyphonic: Like Castle Crashers but better.
trdn89
The ILG Coint & Plick Awards 
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