Best Of 2010
[Notable 2010]
Due to article constraints, I couldn't stress enough how much of an incredible year it was for Japanese shooting developer Cave. I could have easily filled most of the 2010 slots with just their titles alone. It was that good of a year for them! This list came easier than past lists. More than just this article clicked, though. BADCP 2011 was a return to form; the way we approached content, design, musical inspirations, everything. Going into the development process for BADCP (2011) was easier after the difficulties with BADCP (2010), so mostly everything came together. BADCP (2011) feels like BADCP (2002-2003) and BADCP (2009); from overall structure and content, to parts of the design and visuals.

Xbox 360 SE Controller
[Undoing Ruin]
"Reviews" of the silver Limited Edition Xbox 360 Controller are either vague, "copypaste," or non-existent. I was surprised to see that the closest thing to any sort of coverage was YouTube, but it wasn't enough. Little to no functionality examples, and few comparisons to other controllers (past or present). We wanted to do a short hardware article, and with our experience in control hardware (both stock and custom) from the SNES and 3DO, to the DC and PS2, the goal was to detail MicroSoft's new Xbox 360 controller for fans with the same questions we had (before I took a gamble and bought one). Maybe they'll be made stock hardware if the article reaches out far-enough...

Double Dragon II
[The Revenge]
Final Fight is my #1 side-scrolling fighting series of all-time, but Double Dragon holds a special spot in our hearts, and we hadn't covered a 16-Bit brawler since BADCP (2003-2005). It may not be the most masterfully-executed series in the genre, but it is one of the founding ones (if not the founding one), and many, many game fans from the 80s and 90s have good memories tied to it. If not Double Dragon at the laundromat, then Double Dragon II at the pizza parlor, or Double Dragon III at the mall arcade, or Super Double Dragon at my friend's house; these are all memories. Memories that remind us not to "break the love of kin," and to "always keep the faith!"

PlayStation Shooters
[PS Shooting]
I never thought PlayStation hardware shooting games got the recognition they deserved. Most were either passed as "ports" or "3-D = crap," which I thought was unfair. Elitist mentalities set PlayStation shooters up for failure. Headquarters and I always wanted to do them justice, but the timing was off. Coverage was delayed indefinitely until recently. The article was a return to form of sorts, with structure, delivery, and band cameos similar to articles from BADCP (2002-2003). BADCP (2011) is more encompassing than ever, but this article shows that we haven't forgotten who we are. The material is all new, but the content has that heavy, hyper-solid, distinct, unbridled BADCP delivery.

Street Fighter IV
["Just" And (Un)Deserved]
This article was actually made shortly after the consumer release of Street Fighter IV, but is actually still open and on-going (thanks to Capcom's inability to fix the game's issues). Thus, the article's coverage from the initial arcade SFIV to the recent consumer SSFIV. It was disheartening to see that instead of telling Capcom that the "just" system had no place in an SF game (past or present), the "community" was oddly quiet and just took it on their back and "learned" it. Hard to "learn" a system that's so unpredictable and unreliable, though (let alone use it). The balance issues with Zangief, Sagat, and Ryu are nothing next to the "just" blunder.

Various Fighters
[Obscurity Heaven (Or Hell)]
SolSadGuy threw this one out and it was hillarious not just because of the content, but because it was really him. The only thing worse than him trying to get me to play some of the shit on that list was that he punished himself by playing them regularly, at his own free will! Why anyone would want to do that to themselves it beyond me, but a week later he finished the article and included a warning with it. It warned something along the lines of anal preparation for the amount of crap contained within the list in the article. And he was right; some of the stuff on that list will make you think of sick shit like "zoo-ass," or "puddy-shit" and/or "bucket-stuffing." Hope you're ready to wipe!

Resident Evil 5 - Versus
[RE5V]
Like the Street Fighter IV article, this one was a long time coming, and is the end-result of compounded frustration and absolute disappointment. I tried to give it time, and thought that maybe it was just me and I needed more time to discover. But, I couldn't stop asking myself why the game was broken beyond comprehension. Logic had no part in the dictation of its development, from balance to simple gameplay mechanics. How did existing gameplay mechanics just disappear when they were already present in the original game? Why was Wesker left broken? With such neglect, it really should have been free of charge, or at least a Reunion upgrade should have been made for compensation and/or balancing.

Gun.Smoke
[Bodies Fall]
This one was born from playing Red Dead Redemption. With the exception of the control, it's a great game; definitely one of the best of the HD generation. Still, though, I couldn't help thinking about how far the series had come, and how it got there. I didn't have the game long-enough to cover it, but it's not all bad because there are already tons of sites out there that have. Sure, since 8-Bit and/or pixelization became trendy, there are probably a lot of sites that have reviewed Gun.Smoke, but the approach isn't quite the same as how we see the game.

Raid 2020
[In The Trenches (III/IV)]
As part of our ongoing series about game heroes and drug cartels, Raid 2020 came unexpectedly. The third entry was supposed to be the almighty N.A.R.C. Its ultra-militance and street imagery are the embodiment of the war on drugs, so it was on the list from the start. With Raid 2020, however, I suddenly remembered one day that had something to do with the war on drugs. Well, it did, but that theme really looked like it took a back seat to everything else in the game. The game is so bad in so many aspects that doing screenshots was a hard decision (let alone covering it at all). It's the only title in our series featuring a character completely incapable of waging war on cartels. This one's bad. Bad.

Armored Core 4Answer
[Bad Apple Cores]
As a fan of Virtual-On, I was hyped about PurpGuy jamming out an Armored Core 4Answer article. Perhaps due to the poor reception of its predecessor, the upgrade was really an Answer to everything that was said or asked about it. Co-op play and several other things were addressed to make it a better game, but media coverage of the game is lacking in every way. PurpGuy shreds the game and details it with insight. His extensive background with Sega IPs gives the article a feel different from the (few) reviews out there written from a fan's viewpoint. Where fans compare it to past entries in the series, PurpGuy looks at the whole package more exclusively.

Dead Rising Guide
[Transmissionary Position]
Headquarters had a hellish time with Dead Rising, and he put that hell into a guide. Why a guide instead of an article? Because he didn't want others to have to go through what he went through. You see, Headquarters is a completist, and he made the guide for all the other completists out there. Moreover, he made it to save all the other completists out there time and stress. Like collecting all the coins or items in other action games, it's possible to answer every call from Otis in Dead Rising. Possible, but thanks to glitches and other assorted anomalies, not as easy as it should be. Through much trial and error, Headquarters made a guide that makes traversing the territory easier for others.