So basically you expect the upcoming releases to compete with the last ten years of gaming? You do realize, at the very least, the new Team Ico game is set to release this year, right? There aren't that many really good games a year, and you're lucky if there are one or two amazing ones. And really, it's not safe to judge the state of the industry by a bunch of games that haven't even dropped yet.
Exactly. 2010's PC market had plenty of good games. And these are merely one's I've played I would consider worthy of praise for one or more aspects.
Just Cause 2, an over the top sandbox shooter whose movement mechanics are so enjoyable I've played it as recently as yesterday, got a completion of 99%, sunk well over 100 hours into it, and play it sometimes just to screw around and fly from rooftop to rooftop like freeking Spiderman. I've driven over 1000 miles ingame; most of it simply because the vehicles are so incredibly fun to drive rather than any actual transportation goal (since you can insta-travel pretty much everywhere).
Minecraft, an indie game which has managed to sell something like 1 million copies now w/o any advertising aside from word of mouth. The game itself featuring survival-lite combined with sandbox terrain modification.
Starcraft 2, the spectator sport of gaming. I can honestly say I have watched as many hours of shoutcasted games as I have actually played.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent, scariest game evar.
And Mass Effect 2, another epic from BioWare. As usual, their games aren't particularly replayable, but are a hell of an experience to play through, especially if done in one or two long unbroken periods of time. Say what you will about gameplay preferences, but BioWare does what they do exceptionally well. And what they do is make RPG storylines which are immersive and engaging.
Recettear, another indie game, this time ported over from the Japanese version of the (also) indie game. Very successful and may be a portent of things to come. The game itself was something seldom seen, a mix of humorous revelry in all things RPG while managing to pull off solid gameplay in the process.
Were there bad ones? Heck yeah. But like always, they will be lost in the bins of time. Were the big studios a bit lax as far as innovative releases? Perhaps. However, much of that can be attributed to the economy which remained poor through most of last year, with the major companies seeing for the first time some major layoffs. They aren't going to be launching new IPs or ideas when they have old ones which are proven to keep them in the black.