Written by John Scalzo  on July 02, 2010

Special: R.I.P. PS2

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We've passed the halfway point of the year and its been a good six months for the video game industry. Between a bevy of high profile releases and an amazing E3 that highlighted gaming's past, present and future, it's a good time to be a gamer.

With that, here's a look at how the seven major platforms fared in the first half of 2010:




DS

Number of Retail Games Released: 122 Number of DSiWare Games Released: 73

Games of Note: Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth America's Test Kitchen: Let's Get Cooking Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow Dementium II Mega Man Zero Collection Picross 3D Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey WarioWare D.I.Y. Highest Rated Game at MetaCritic: America's Test Kitchen: Let's Get Cooking & Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver (87)

The Year So Far
With the 3DS looming, Nintendo's current handheld continues to chug along at an impressive clip. More games were released for the DS in the first half of 2010 than on any other platform, but few were what you'd call "AAA" games. The DSiWare service is beginning to come into its own with games like Earthworm Jim and Photo Dojo. Finally, the system's latest (final?) refresh, the DSi XL, is an interesting new take on the portable.

Second Half Outlook
There's not a whole lot of "AAA" games scheduled for release on the DS for the rest of 2010 either, but retro RPG Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light and bigger and more wordy sequel Super Scribblenauts have the attention of a lot of gamers.




PC

Number of Retail Games Released: 93

Games of Note: APB: All Points Bulletin Assassin's Creed II Battlefield: Bad Company 2 BioShock 2 Blur Mass Effect 2 S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat Split/Second Supreme Commander 2 Highest Rated Game at MetaCritic: Mass Effect 2 (94)

The Year So Far
I think it's telling that the second highest rated game released on the PC in the first half of 2010 is a port of a game previously released on the PS3 and Xbox 360 back in November (Assassin's Creed II). The brick and mortar retailer is not where gamers go to find new and unique offerings on the PC platform. However, the quality of these PS3/Xbox 360 to PC ports is getting better and many publishers still development a unique PC version alongside the PS3/Xbox 360 version.

As far as PC exclusives go, Supreme Commander 2 and Command and Conquer 4 partook in a head-to-head showdown during the first half of the year and Chris Taylor's game came away with the hearts and minds of RTS fans everywhere.

Second Half Outlook
StarCraft II will be released on July 27. Nuff said.




PlayStation 2

Number of Retail Games Released: 5

Games of Note: Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love Silent Hill: Shattered Memories Highest Rated Game at MetaCritic: Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love (81)

The Year So Far
After a decade of dominance, the PlayStation 2 has finally been put out to pasture. Only five games were released on the system in the past six months and none were exclusive to Sony's second console. The PS2 has had a hell of a run and it will walk off into the sunset with its head held high as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, game consoles of all time.

Second Half Outlook
A handful of sports sims are the only PS2 games announced for the second half of 2010, the surest sign yet of a system's eminent demise.




PlayStation 3

Number of Retail Games Released: 57 Number of PSN/PSone Classics Games Released: 64

Games of Note: 3D Dot Game Heroes Army of Two: The 40th Day Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Bayonetta BioShock 2 Blur Dante's Inferno Darksiders Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening Final Fantasy XIII God of War III Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City Green Day: Rock Band Heavy Rain MAG ModNation Racers Red Dead Redemption Split/Second Transformers: War For Cybertron Yakuza 3 Highest Rated Game at MetaCritic: Red Dead Redemption (95)

The Year So Far
Sony declared 2008 would be "The Year of the PS3." The next year, Sony declared that 2009 would be "The Year of the PS3." They didn't pull that same trick this year, but they probably should have because their console is having an absolutely epic 2010.

The long awaited God of War III and Heavy Rain are two diametrically opposed games when it comes to their genres, but both have garnered equally good review scores. On top of these two first party favorites, the PS3 was graced with a pair of third party exclusives that have made Xbox 360 owners cry salty tears of envy: Atlus' 3D Dot Game Heroes and Sega's Yakuza 3.


And speaking of the Xbox 360, this paragraph will be repeated during its year in review as there were a ton of amazing multiplatform games released in the last six months. Some, like Blur and BioShock 2, were a result of the "great delays" of 2009. Others, like Bayonetta and Darksiders, made the early weeks of 2010 very exciting. And of course, Final Fantasy XIII was released in March of 2010. While it wasn't the blockbuster that previous games in the series were, JRPG fans were suitably impressed.

Second Half Outlook
Gran Turismo 5 finally has a release date, so every other 2010 release for the PS3 could be total crap and Sony's faithful can still crow about having an amazing year. Of course, that's a silly assumption to make as the PS3 has tons of big games lined up for this Fall, such as LittleBigPlanet 2, SOCOM 4 and The Sly Collection. But that's not all that the PS3 will get in the second half of the year. There's also the PlayStation Move and a wide variety of Move-enabled titles (not to mention Move support for previously released games like Heavy Rain).

Supporting the PS3's new motion controller is a stacked slate of multiplatform third party games coming this Fall. Medal of Honor, Rock Band 3, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, Call of Duty: Black Ops and Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions will make Christmas a great time to be a PS3 owner.




PSP

Number of Retail Games Released: 30 Number of PSP Minis Games Released: 66

Games of Note: Fat Princess: Fistful of Cake Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord!? 2 Highest Rated Game at MetaCritic: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (88)

The Year So Far
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker overshadowed every other PSP release in the first half of the year. But it's also a game that Hideo Kojima considers the true sequel to Metal Gear Solid 4, so if you've only got one game to play, you could do a lot worse.

Second Half Outlook
Just as one game overshadowed every other PSP release in the first half of the year, it'll happen again in the back half of the year with God of War: Ghost of Sparta. Kratos' second handheld adventure will once again be developed by Ready At Dawn and its looking like a fantastic companion piece to God of War III.




Wii

Number of Retail Games Released: 88 Number of WiiWare/Virtual Console Games Released: 83

Games of Note: Endless Ocean: Blue World Green Day: Rock Band Monster Hunter Tri No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle Red Steel 2 Sin & Punishment: Star Successor Super Mario Galaxy 2 Tatsunoko Vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars Highest Rated Game at MetaCritic: Super Mario Galaxy 2 (98)

The Year So Far
2010 was the year the Wii went hardcore. Monster Hunter Tri, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, Red Steel 2, Sin & Punishment: Star Successor, Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Tatsunoko Vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars have given the system an amazing slate of action/adventure titles that could stand next to any PS3/Xbox 360 game.

Second Half Outlook
The Wii is set for an identity shift this Summer/Fall when Nintendo plans to release three different side-scrollers: Metroid: Other M, Kirby's Epic Yarn and Donkey Kong Country Returns. After the epic action that characterized the first half of the year, the second half will be focused solely on making retro gaming fans jump for joy.




Xbox 360

Number of Retail Games Released: 69 Number of Xbox Live Arcade Games Released: 36

Games of Note: Alan Wake Army of Two: The 40th Day Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Bayonetta BioShock 2 Blur Dante's Inferno Darksiders Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening Final Fantasy XIII Green Day: Rock Band Mass Effect 2 Red Dead Redemption Split/Second Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction Transformers: War For Cybertron Highest Rated Game at MetaCritic: Mass Effect 2 (96)

The Year So Far
Two games that seemed like they were forever being delayed, Alan Wake and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction, were released in the first half of 2010. In spite of all the missed release dates and raised expectations, both games managed to satisfy gamers in their own unique way (although Alan Wake was overshadowed by Sony's similarly themed Heavy Rain). Mass Effect 2 never experienced the delays they did, but its release in February was met with the best reception of all. It's exclusivity to the Xbox 360 is a big feather in Microsoft's cap.

In addition to the Microsoft-published titles, there were a ton of amazing multiplatform games released in the last six months. Some multiplatform games, like Blur and BioShock 2, were a result of the "great delays" of 2009. Others, like Bayonetta and Darksiders, made the early weeks of 2010 very exciting. And of course, Final Fantasy XIII was released in March of 2010. While it wasn't the blockbuster that previous games in the series were, JRPG fans were suitably impressed.

Second Half Outlook
Crackdown 2 will be in stores next week and Fable III will be released this Fall, but Halo: Reach outshines everything else Microsoft has on tap for the last half of 2010. Although, admittedly, the vast majority of Microsoft's game lineup has the word "Kinect" in the title. While the controllerless motion controller went over like a lead balloon at E3, the mainstream media seems to favor it over Sony's Move, no doubt due to the fact that the Move is basically a rebranded Wii Remote. This could lead to tons of casual players giving the Kinect a shot. But until more people get their hands on it (figuratively speaking of course), the Kinect is still a big question mark.

What's not a question mark is the Xbox 360's stacked slate of multiplatform third party games coming this Fall. Medal of Honor, Rock Band 3, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, Call of Duty: Black Ops and Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions will make Christmas a great time to be an Xbox 360 owner.

Did we forget your favorite game from the first half of 2010? Let us know in the comments.