Recently some of us at pricklypixel have been playing through Gearbox Software’s 2009 release Borderlands. Its a mixture of different game types that really comes together after playing a few hours.

Often when first playing a game I’ll wander about taking in the environment, looking at how models have been built, what shaders are being used etc. Borderlands has a unique graphic style, with many surfaces appearing to be straight off a comic page. There’s also a subtle ‘cel shaded’ outline on most objects. These efforts make the game stand out to me, where most Western developed games seem to be striving for absolute realism. I have often found myself staring at a location in admiration. It’s all the more impressive as this art style was changed towards the end of the games development.

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After looking back over the best of 2009, it’s natural to look forward, to my most anticipated titles of 2010. I’ve put together a list of the titles that I personally can’t wait to play, hopefully they all come out this year.

The Last Guardian
Shadow of the Colossus and Ico are two of my all time favorite games, trailers show an exciting mix of themes and gameplay from these previous titles. Unfortunately with no announced release date, rumors point to this coming in 2011.

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Thinking back over 2009, I tried to work out what were the titles I enjoyed the most. I started with a few games that stood out as unique, adding titles that were great fun. Soon i had a lot more than 10 games. I had to cull great games like Red Faction: Guerrilla, Shadow Complex, and Assassin’s Creed 2! The 10 I am left with have such great diversity of style and genre, there truly was something for everyone in 2009.Of the games I did play in 2009, my top 10 are, in no particular order;

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I recently played through Uncharted 2: Among thieves developed by Naughty Dog. The game is simply stunning, in my mind worth the purchase of a PS3 in order to experience.

While derivative of many other titles such as Gears of War, Tomb Raider, Metal Gear Solid, everything in the game is done as well or better than its been done before. There is such variety in game play & location, the icy area shown above is but a short chapter. Though the game pushes you along I often found myself stopping to marvel at the accomplishments of the art team. Each location is densely filled with foliage, or debris and detail. Its the first game I’ve seen where a blend between different material types is seamless in places, plaster through to broken bricks for example.

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