It’s time to round of our summary of the games of 2010. Agree or disagree with our conclusions? Post a comment or head over to the forum.

10. Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Absolute online brilliance. Step aside Call of Duty. Battlefield Bad Company 2 is breathtaking audio carnage and team work that is accurately rewarded. Include the recent add-on Vietnam (that could have been a downloadable game in its own right) and you have the number one online FPS shooter. Headshotting the pilot of an oncoming Apache helicopter… priceless.

Shane Ryan

9. Halo: Reach

Halo: Reach presents one of the strongest single-player campaigns that Bungie has ever delivered. The planet Reach becomes something worth dying for in the studio’s swan song, and somewhere a little way in, you start to think you really can save it. From there on, you go from battling in space to flying gunships through a city. The excellent single-player campaign is complimented with Halo’s award-winning multiplayer formula.

Matt Wadleigh

8. Heavy Rain

Heavy Rain isn’t a fun game. It’s a depressing, emotionally exhausting and morally frustrating experience. Yet this is what defines David Cage’s brave experiment with the possibilities of interactive narratives. The choices that Heavy Rain presents are permanent and fundamental; but they are also shrouded under an ingenious structure which grants every narrative permutation equal weight. You can rarely second-guess the consequences of your actions or willingly control every aspect of the characters’ fates. Heavy Rain succeeds in forcing the player to relinquish total control and accept the consequences of their actions. But Heavy Rain also thrives on its own mechanical simplicity, a fact made all the more apparent when played with the Move controller. By establishing a straightforward language of basic interaction the game distances itself from the often stifling requirements of game design and achieves something truly unique – a genuinely adult gaming experience.

Tarek Robertson

7. Vanquish

In a year of big-budget sequels and annual releases, it’s Vanquish I remember most fondly, a new IP that honours the principals of Western gaming despite its Asian origins. Yet while Vanquish borrows from the best, it also carves out its own niche. Fast and fluid combat is paired with clever gameplay mechanics, while the world of Providence shifts the scenery and the parameters of the action. This is a game informed by intelligent design choices and a desire to not only entertain and excite, but live in your memory long after the credits have rolled.

Edward Love

6. Alan Wake

If you’ve ever watched Twin Peaks you’ll understand its curious allure; the setting, the eccentric characters, the bizarre plot. Alan Wake captures the haunting atmosphere of David Lynch’s series while adding its own unique flavour; primarily in the form of action. Alan Wake’s tense combat is punctuated by some truly memorable set-pieces – the combination of concert stage and dramatic standoff being one of the highlights. But it’s the setting that steals the show. It’s hard not to be captured by the unsettling fusion of idyllic town and sinister evil that is Bright Falls. The dark forests with swirling mists and lurking shadows that surround the town serve as a fittingly ominous setting, while never slipping into the survival horror clichés of old mansions and clinical facilities. Alan Wake doesn’t rely on cheap scares; it provides a subtle experience which haunts the player long after its conclusion, yet doesn’t shy away from occasionally dropping a train carriage or boat on your head. Quite literally.

Tarek Robertson

5. Super Street Fighter IV

Capcom heralded the return of one of their flagship franchises with Street Fighter IV, but before we could even ask, they answered, “Yes, it does get better” and unleashed Super SFIV. This upgrade included new faces, returning ones, gameplay tweaks, new ultras, and the return of classic bonus stages. Additionally, they took out that cheesy “Indestructible” theme song…thank goodness. Above all else, Super is a testimony of Capcom’s years of experience in finding that shangri-la between pleasing hardcore fans and attracting new ones which other developers still dream of achieving.

Stew Chyou

4. God of War III

The PlayStation 3 didn’t really have many exclusive, blockbuster titles that came out in 2010, but with God of War III in its lineup it really didn’t need much else. The members of Santa Monica Studio have achieved the absolute zenith of the action-adventure genre in God of War III, a game that continues the series’ proud tradition of pushing Sony’s hardware beyond its limits. It’s an experience so well polished it shines from graphics to gameplay, and once players get a glimpse of boss battles that are the very definition of epic, their jaws will drop to the floor—permanently.

James Dewitt

3. Bayonetta

Bayonetta’s nuts. There’s nothing sensible or modest about the game’s exaggerated level design or overly sexualized main character. This is forward movement for what was fast becoming a stagnant genre with franchises like God of War and Devil May Cry following the same formula since their first entries. Platinum Games’ have hit the peak of the genre and have proven themselves to be an unexpectedly powerful, talented development team that’s almost single-handedly keeping Japanese development relevant.

Calvin Kemph

2. Mass Effect 2

From the shocking and explosive opening, right through to the last scene, Mass Effect 2 is a joyous experience. The original Mass Effect set the stage, introducing us to a vast, detailed sci-fi world, filled with a whole host of fantastic characters; and its sequel ramps things up with an encore of magnificent proportions. The story of Commander Shepherd and his crew is as phenomenal as ever, pulling in a plethora of new, unique and brilliant characters that you really get to know and love during your time aboard the Normandy. It’s a superb narrative backed by an improved reworking of the combat system. The shooting is tight and intuitive, and utilizing both yours and your squad’s powers, often combining them together, is comparable to even the best shooters on the market. Add to that a streamlining of the clunky and unnecessary contrivance of the RPG mechanics and removal of any Mako sections and you’ve got a more well-rounded and enjoyable package. There’s hours upon hours of gameplay here and each second of it is at the pinnacle of what gaming can offer us. Superlatives do not do Mass Effect 2 justice; you just need to experience it.

Richard Wakeling

1. Red Dead Redemption

It’s been a long time coming, but we’ve finally got the video game equivalent of a John Wayne Western in Red Dead Redemption. It’s a perfected open-world game with a breathtaking setting, an excellent musical score, a story filled with memorable characters, and a successful attempt at striking an emotional connection with the player. Rockstar San Diego have achieved something spectacular here, creating a modern classic that will be remembered for years to come. Red Dead Redemption feels out of place in any conversation about “Game of the Year”. Without hyperbole, it’s one of the defining games of the generation and possibly the best.

Calvin Kemph