From exultant triumphs to powerful rushes of nostalgia, my 2010 gaming experience was peppered with memorable moments. Here are my favorites.
Presented to you here in no particular order are my favorite gaming moments from last year. It bears noting that this is not a list of my favorite games of 2010. While several of the titles would indeed show up on such a list, not all of them would qualify. Hell, one of the games below was one I didn't particularly like at all. It just proves that fond memories can be found in the most mediocre of places.
There are so many spoilers ahead the food in your refrigerator may go bad sympathetically. You have been warned.
Mike Fahey's Favorite Gaming Moments of 2010
Thank Goodness We Didn't Have Sex (Mass Effect 2): I tried to carry out as many relationships to fruition in BioWare's Mass Effect 2 as I possibly could, though I slightly dreaded what would happen when I became fully acquainted with Salarian scientist Mordin Solus. Would I see him naked? Were he and Commander Shepard going to make out? Thankfully the answer was no. Instead I got to experience this glorious moment.
Attack Of The Poop Pigs (Nier): Hermaphrodite warrior Kainé from Square Enix's action role-playing game Nier was one of my favorite characters of the year, mainly because of her spectacularly foul mouth. It's easy to spout obscenities. Spouting them as eloquently as Kainé does is an art. 'Shit hog' might not have been a word during this spectacular boss fight, but for me it has been ever since.
Anything Is Better Than A Giant Gun (Transformers: War for Cybertron): Oh Autobots, such charming naïveté you display. As soon as Megatron uttered the name Trypticon, Transformers fans knew what they were in for. Apparently the Autobots of War for Cybertron weren't up to speed on the comic books and cartoons. Flying out of the transforming maw of this monstrous beast was a moment that gave Transformers fans everywhere happy little shivers.
Mmmm, Super-Powered Bacon (Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions): You cannot have a dimension-crossing Spider-Man game without including several key alternate reality versions of everyone's favorite web head. After a brief mention during the game's opening scenes, I saw no sign of my personal favorite incarnation. It wasn't until the ending credits that he made an actual appearance, but it was completely worth playing through Activision's buggy epic just to see him rendered (in bacon fat).
The Prodigal Son Returns, Briefly (Sonic Colors): Given Sega's history of mishandling the Sonic property, I was not expecting great things from Sonic Colors, the latest attempt to produce a game starring the blue hedgehog that both old and new fans could love. I was not expecting to like the game, let alone love it, so I was pleasantly surprised to find myself overwhelmed with giddy glee during the first few levels of Colors. For a brief, shining moment I felt the joy I did when I first played Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Genesis so many years ago. That joyous glow quickly faded as the game progressed, but those first moments were priceless.
What's Your Price For Flight? (Rock Band 3): Before Rock Band 3 came out, the rhythm genre had lost its glow for me. New releases were simply more songs added onto the pile. That all changed after a three-day search for one of the sold out Rock Band 3 keyboards finally bore fruit. The keyboard completely changed the game for me, and when I finally graduated from using the standard 5-key more to the keyboard-encompassing Pro Keys mode my sense of triumph (over Night Ranger, no less) was overwhelming.
Those were my favorite video game moments of 2010. Throughout the week, we'll be publishing the favorite moments of other writers on the Kotaku team. And at week's end, we'll want you to sound off.