Thursday, December 23, 2010

Game of the Year 2010 First Nomination: Sin and Punishment Star Successor

The Wii has had so many rail shooters over the course of its lifespan, but none of them has managed to be quite as awesome as the criminally overlooked Sin and Punishment: Star Successor. From the moment I booted this up, I felt as if I'd entered a time machine and I was back in my local arcade (before it closed down) jamming quarters into one of the machines. Sin and Punishment: Star Successor is probably one of the most action-packed titles I've ever played, let-alone this year. In what other game do you have hundreds and hundreds of enemies flying around on screen at any given moment? And let's not forget the epic boss battles every 5 minutes.


As far as the arcade vibe goes, Star Successor is loaded with all you'd want. Squealing guitars on the soundtrack at the Game Over screen? Check. Wonderfully cheesy voice acting? Check. Online leaderboards to rank your score against other people's scores? Check. Old school challenge? Aaaand check. Thia game's challenging but rarely unfair, and the (skippable) cutscenes are surprisingly frequent, demonstrating two pretty likable main characters. The level variety's also impressive, and each level and action scene feels different from the last.

Really a gem. I wish more people had gotten to experience the old school fun that is Sin and Punishment: Star Successor, definitely one of the craziest and most "hardcore" games of 2010 and one that deserves its place on this list.

Note: As with all the games that will be nominated, you can read my review of Sin and Punishment: Star Successor in the Archive, though keep in mind, my GOTY is not based on which game this year has gotten the best score. It's based on which game has, looking back, left the biggest impression on me and delivered the most memorable experience.

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