Game over, yeah!

GameShard is no more. It's been a great couple of years, but we've moved on - with a new name, a larger staff team, and a brand new site. 

The X Button

GameShard.net is closing down, but you can still find all of our great reviews, features, and more at thexbutton.co.uk

We look forward to seeing you there!

Platform Awards 2010

Page 1 of 8
awards2010-platform

Yes, its that time of year- Awards season, where every gaming website worth it’s salt doles out badges of honour to the standout games of the previous year. And so, we present GameShard's Awards for 2010.

 

best-xbox

Another bumper year for Microsoft's console, which celebrated its fifth birthday with a new design, the release of a magic camera and Bungie's swansong entry in the Halo series. Not a bad start. But what were the best games? Here's what we reckon.


Mass Effect 2

3rd: Mass Effect 2

BioWare's sequel was everything a sequel should be and much much more. Expanding on the first game in every conceivable way, Mass Effect 2 is the quintessential sci-fi epic, with its strong cast of characters, engrossing storyline, and sexy hardware. And aliens. Most of all, though, it played like a dream, rewarding and challenging in equal measure whilst never feeling dry or stale.



Bayonetta

2nd: Bayonetta

A game developed by Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya was always going to be one to look out for, but Platinum Games didn't so much break the bar with Bayonetta as send it into orbit. All the hallmarks of the best action games are present in Bayonetta's sleek package; fluid action, a stalwart challenge, massive bosses, quirky interludes, and the need for player skill, not just perseverance. It's the purest, most sublime action on any platform.


Halo: Reach

1st: Halo: Reach

Bungie has never been on as good a form as it was with Halo: Reach. Few developers ever have, in fact. As the developer's final entry in the series that made them - and the Xbox brand - Reach had to be special. It is. Its the perfection of the type of sandbox FPS Bungie has been building over the eight years of the series; chock full of memorable moments that occur on-the-fly, not pre-scripted. Every time you play, you'll discover something different, something new, something you may never see again.