The Staff at the AbleGamers Foundation wants to wish you and your family a wonderful, safe, and healthy New Year. For some 2010 was great, and for others it was the year you would like to forget. No matter how you felt about '10, all of us here at AbleGamers hope 2011 is the best year ever for you and yours.

Because of the hard work from our amaz-tastic writing staff, 2010 saw a greater swath of content across the gaming spectrum (That is Mark speak for "we posted more cool stuff then ever!" - Steve). We expanded our web game coverage by a lot, more console reviews, and even more mobile gaming, including the DS, iPhone, and iPad.

We wanted to take a few moments and give you a look back at 2010 based on the popularity of content across AbleGamers.com - to sum up what was popular for 2010 in one word: Kinect.

Happy New Year from all of us at the AbleGamers Foundation. 

The Top Stories of 2010

AbleGamers Chats with Walt Yarbrough about Evony Age 2

Evony is the originator of one of the newest crazes in web browser games. MMORTS have becoming increasingly popular as of late, Lords of Ultima, Kingdom of Camelot, etc. all started from a little web game that would one day rise to become the most popular browser based game around.

With millions of subscribers, Evony boasts one of the largest communities for online strategic games. Of course, subscribers is a poor choice of words since the entire game itself is free. No purchase necessary.

However, make no mistake about it; Evony pulls in money hand over fist thanks to its game coins system. Every item available in the game from farming npcs is also available for purchase using game coins. Fortunately, no money is actually necessary to play this game. You build resource stations to begin farming, sawing lumber, mining iron, or digging out rocks as soon as you begin the game. Next you start building up your city and preparing to wage war against the thousands of other players on the server.

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Xbox 360 Kinect: Good for Disabled Gamers, But Not for Gaming, Yet

Today, Microsoft unveiled the real name of its project Natal, now known as Kinect, at its annual E3 presentation. The demonstration was put together amazingly well, except for the acting. But the Kinect itself was the real star, everyone wants to know if it really will be revolutionizing for the gaming industry.

As you know, AbleGamers has not always been hopeful for Project Natal. Adding even greater motion to gaming systems we are just finally beginning to make accessible through third-party software and hardware, is almost cruel.

Nevertheless, time marches on and technology must advance. After all, that's the way the world, right? I don't have to tell you that most of the Kinect will be largely useless to most of you reading this article. The entire point of Kinect is to get you and your friends off of the couch and more active while playing video games.

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AbleGamers Kinects with Microsoft

It’s been a few days since Microsoft announced its new Xbox 360 device: The Kinect. Not surprisingly, some new information has leaked out from E3 but sadly nothing we have enjoyed hearing so far.

Many of you have been tweeting, emailing, and Facebook-ing us asking whatAbleGamers opinion on the Kinect would be. One reader even questioned why I personally think the voice commands were more mentionable than the motion detection itself. In my world, voice commands are a form of accessible technology enabling me to play more complex games and to use remote controls.

The truth is, like most technology for the disabled, it's going to be what you can make of it and not what it actually is. Nevertheless, we decided to reach out to Microsoft and talk to them about why new technologies in the gaming sector are often so unfriendly to the disabled gaming community.

Read On

Skate 3 - Fun Game, Unless You are Disabled

For a number of years now, “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” (“THPS”) and its sequels have set the standard for all skateboarding games. The series allowed players to challenge themselves through attempting complicated or difficult objectives, some of which had been done by actual professional skaters. Moreover, Tony Hawk is a skateboarding legend and many of the world’s most well-known skateboarders appeared in his games, lending it a significant amount of credibility and authenticity that other developers simply couldn’t match. “THPS” consistently raised the bar for what a skating game could and perhaps should be while also placing a virtual stranglehold on the market for skateboarding games, making it seem foolish to even try to compete with that gaming juggernaut.

And then came Electronic Arts’ “Skate.” Instead of using buttons on the controller and stick movements in one direction or another to perform grinds, grabs and ollies, “Skate” completely redesigned the interface and begins almost every trick by flicking the right stick in multiple directions, offering a simulation of the foot movements involved in contemporary skating (which is largely based on ollies) more accurately since the stick movements tend to mimic how the tricks are initiated.

Skate on?

Kinect and the Disabled

Kinect is all the rage right now. Every website is posting how you can use Kinect to draw in 3D, operate your pc, and learn to fly – ok, maybe not that one. But how does the Kinect fair in the game accessibility department? The AbleGamers Foundation took the Kinect into our lab last week for some stress tests and to see if they followed up on any of the suggestions made at the accessibility Roundtable we attended earlier this year. We wanted to give you our impressions of the much-hyped device as it is now, as well as some insight and predictions to what it might look like in the future.

Let’s get it out of the way right up front, for almost all gamers in a wheelchair; do not waste your money on a Kinect right now, because for the most part it is NOT going to work for you. Not because of the Kinect itself, but because of the games that are out for it. The only title you'll be able to play completely from the wheelchair is called Kinect Joy Ride, which is definitely a step forward but only if you can easily control your upper body. 

Part One and Two

Top Reviews (By Hits, Not Ratings)

FIFA 2010 for Wii

FIFA is another franchise that has several versions and this version does not disappoint. As a long-time fan of the arcade soccer genre, FIFA's simulation-heavy experience has always appealed to me because it makes you feel like your playing a real soccer game. 

FIFA 10 on Wii has been undergoing an arcade-like transformation similar to Madden, and this year's edition is an awesome mix of the typical FIFA sim-like experience and a less serious arcade game perfect for families and disabled gamers.FIFA 10 offers a lot of customization.

Final Fantasy XIII for PS3

Final fantasy XIII is a role-playing game in a long-running line of games developed by the very well-known company Square-enix . There was considerable hype leading up to the release in North America on March 9th 2010 and I had extremely high hopes and expectations for this game. It definitely delivers on what I was expecting, but does this masterpiece deliver on the side of accessibility? Let's find out shall we?

The environments and sets in final fantasy are beautifully done and varied throughout the game. There were a few parts where I would stop just to look around and enjoy the scenery for a moment, although a few parts had less than perfect water textures. This is definitely the best looking game in the series and the beach city cut scenes with the fireworks were absolutely breathtaking!

Mass Effect 2 for PC

Honestly, Mass Effect 2 is far less a game and more like a movie. I feel like I am an actor and I get to choose my lines… Do I go all butt head on everyone or do I play mister nice guy? Nope, I am going for the bio-polar nice guy one moment, crazy freak the next. That should keep everyone on their toes!

I am not going to go on about how great the game is, there are millions of reviews on how awesome Mass Effect 2. So, let's talk about how accessible the game is or isn't.

When the game starts, you are presented with the “Game Play” options right off the bat. Three options are worth pointing out. The first is the combat intensity. By default, it is set to “normal” but for those that may need it, there is a level below it. In true BioWare fashion, there is also 3 level above it. The other option that is good to see presented in such a front and center manner is that option for subtitles.

Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for XBox

“Call Of Duty” has long been a gaming juggernaut, recently culminating in the astonishing sales of “Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2,” a game which has set records and, to date, has reportedly grossed over US $1 billion. As a general rule, the franchise rarely, if ever, disappoints in gameplay – it is always a tense, engrossing experience which places players in the middle of combat and relentlessly pushes us through mission after mission until we reach the end of the game.

While the historical “Call Of Duty” games have more or less accurately captured the feel of battles in World War II, the “Modern Warfare” franchise deviates from this formula by placing players in a fictional, contemporary setting in which we fight against terrorist cells, weapons and munitions suppliers, militias and so forth. In the case of “Modern Warfare 2,” players will fight the usual groups of thugs ... as well as dangers that we never could have imagined and never saw coming.

Bad Company 2 for Xbox

Where “BC2” shines in accessibility is in its controller configuration options. It begins by dividing stick and button layouts, offering four options for each and a total of 16 possible combinations. It then offers three separate categories for soldier, land and air configurations, each with their own unique settings, resulting in a vast number of total controller layout options. While allowing players to remap their controllers is still the best solution for accessibility, EA and Dice have at least given players a significant number of options which is at least a step in a more accessible direction.

However, much like “MW2,” “BC2” makes extensive use of nearly every button, bumper, trigger and stick. While it is possible for people who only have use of one hand to play these games, it is likely to be a very difficult and frustrating experience. Likewise, players with concerns related to reaction times or precision are likely to be frustrated. Precision is important and you will engage in sniping, driving a vehicle in a semi-timed event (there isn’t a clock, but if you take too long, the mission will restart), firing weapons from moving vehicles at moving targets and so on. Keep in mind that this game is very similar in timing and in many activity types to “MW” and “MW2,” so players who have enjoyed those games shouldn’t experience a problem.