Well, I could rant about Cr-48 and netbooks and tablets and the MacBook Air and stuff, but I don't really have the heart or the time. 

So, Mass Effect 2 it is then! 

(By the way, Mass Effect 2 is only 20 bucks on Steam, though you missed your chance to get it for 10. Anyways, go buy it now. It very may well be my game of the year 2010.)

Before I get started, I should non-gamers (and gamers that haven't played either Mass Effect yet) will likely be pretty confused about this all. But it is a pretty special moment (even in a game of special moments) and I really thought it could use mentioning.

Once you recruit Tali (if you do), you will see a small cutscene in which she meets your second-in-command Jacob. As she leaves, he reminds her to check out your ship's AI. She turns and glares at him before leaving.

If you didn't know or care about the background of Mass Effect, you probably wouldn't understand it. However, the quick rundown is that Tali's race created a network of AI-controlled robots that proceeded to blow up their planet. Obviously, this makes Tali angry about pretty much anything artificial intelligence-related. Like I said though, those who didn't know about or care about the background of the universe could still interpret the scene and enjoy the game.

This is a big reason I think that BioWare are some of the best at what they do, creating a world that can be really dug into (?) but can also be enjoyed without a need for specialized knowledge.

In other words, Mass Effect 2 is definitely my favorite RPG experience of 2010.

 

For all the freedom it provides, I don't feel entirely free in Minecraft. I think this is for one simple reason: its too simple. I'm not saying it's a bad game; in fact, I think it is game of the year and a breath of fresh air from the linearity of "gritty war shooters" and "gritty Westerns" and "gritty space westerns with aliens ripped from Warhammer." I'm not looking for Minecraft to take on Dwarf Fortress-like complexity, either. However, I do believe that its defining simplicity is also, in a way, its major downfall. Besides building and mining, what is the goal?

Actually, John Walker wrote something to a rather similar effect in Rock, Paper, Shotgun about how he would prefer Minecraft if it included a physical necessity to eat, drink, and sleep, turning into more of a survival game. Though I understand why this would not be for everyone, I think having this more discernible day-to-day tedium would be good for the otherwise completely goalless game.

(And now I begin thinking [and writing] of the effect of "tedium" and "routine" on the psychology of gamers and game design.)